The basic gist of what he'll learn is that it is completely inhospitable to normal life. Any youkai that are out there are essentially wild monsters, at least that's what everyone thinks. Most people assume this Iron Bear has found some way to get the wild youkai to work together, but know one really knows how, or even cares.

Also, the smuggling is done from the Sanzu, not the Wasteland. Iron Bear's gang is based out of somewhere out there in the Wasteland, but the smuggling business is done on the river itself, as it's what connects part of the realms.