Translator: Larbre Studio
Editor: Larbre Studio
Kido Minami died a brutal death.
This was also the first time Li Yan had ever killed someone.
With someone like Kido Minami, there was little hesitation for Li Yan to kill him. But he knew very well that if he had died in the ring today, the audience would still be screaming and cheering.
He liked to think that he was less delusional than most, as he did not try to convince himself that he was doing society a favor by getting rid of Kido Minami. The fact that he was alive while Kido Minami was not had nothing to do with doing good.
“There is not a ravine beneath the eyes of a tiger…”
Li Yan muttered to himself as he washed his hands before the mirror.
He thought of Liansheng’s Huashan Jiu, Zhou who practiced Wensheng Fist, Red Ghost who was his manager, the rich Judy and finally the Grand Duke, the boss he had never met…
Li Yan felt like he might have caught onto something, something more than just three million HKD and a place in the book “The Probe into Ancient Novels”…
He exited the washroom and walked into the waiting room to look for Red Ghost, earning looks from many fighters along the way.
He passed a tan Phillipino, a fierce Malaysian, an unbothered Vietnamese, and even a heavily built, muscular black man; they came in all shapes and sizes and all reflected different shades of red.
After a few days of observation, Li Yan was generally able to understand the meaning behind the red glow reflecting from their skin.
Only when a person viewed him with animosity would they emit this red glow. The richer the color, the greater the animosity. This seemed to be the advantage of being the Yanfu; no one else had his same ability.
Amongst all of these people, the Vietnamese clad in combat uniform wiping down his dagger had the deepest red glow, which seemed to Li Yan to be as deep as, if not deeper, than Zhou, the master of Wensheng Fist.
Those who did not pose a threat would reflect a white glow, also in different levels of intensity.
As he made his way across the waiting room, he saw Red Ghost walking straight towards him.
“Yours,” Red Ghost said as he shoved a stack of cash into Li Yan’s shirt pocket. He continued, “Open up an account later. I’ll transfer the money you won from the matches to you then.”
Li Yan pointed to his pocket and asked, “What is this for then?”
Red Ghost flashed a patronizing smile, then glanced slyly towards Li Yan. “This is from Mrs. Deng. She wants you to buy some new clothes so she can take you out for a meal tomorrow.”
Li Yan nodded and remained silent.
“I’m sure you’re hungry after such a long fight. Let’s grab some supper.”
Li Yan hesitated before replying, “Red Ghost, I’ve seen blood today and feel a little unwell. How about another day?”
“That’s why you need to eat. Let’s go!”
Li Yan flashed a smile and didn’t insist further.
After interacting with Red Ghost so far, Li Yan found him to be much warmer than he had initially thought.
Contrary to what Li Yan had imagined, Red Ghost brought him to a bustling roadside hotpot stall rather than a brothel or another entertainment venue. To be honest, Li Yan was somewhat disappointed.
The piping hot, creamy white hotpot soup was boiling in the pot, and the red flakes of chilli peppers swirling just made him hungrier than before.
“This dog meat hotpot is the best in town. Try it!” said Red Ghost as he picked up his chopsticks and took a bite.
They were sweating from the heat as they ate when Red Ghost asked nonchalantly, “So, Yan, which line of masters did you learn your martial arts from? I thought you were with the Eight Trigrams, but you were using Singing Crane today, right?”
Li Yan smiled as he replied, “I see that you know your martial arts pretty well.”
Red Ghost shook his head, rejecting the notion, “No way. No one in the Grand Duke’s territory will claim to have good knowledge in martial arts. I picked up these little tidbits under the guidance of the Grand Duke.”
Li Yan was a little unsettled. “The Grand Duke has good knowledge in traditional martial arts?”
“He’s the honorary chairman of the Hong Kong Martial Arts Association. You can’t imagine how many martial arts studios he’s wrecked. He even fought for the title of the Boss of Kowloon’s Fighting Ring. And you’re asking me if he has good knowledge of martial arts?”
Li Yan puffed an, “Oh…” in realization, then questioned, “So which line of martial arts was he in? Hong Fist? Cai Li Fo?”
Red Ghost glared at Li Yan and jokingly scolded, “What the…I asked you first and now you’re questioning me?”
Li Yan let out a small chuckle. “I learned from the Masters of the White Crane lineage in Canton, but I went in with some prior knowledge.” His eyes lit up as he continued, “Have you heard of Lei Hongsheng?”
Red Ghost thought for a little, then shook his head. “Nope.”
Li Yan nodded silently. As he was eating, he caught sight of a familiar silhouette in his peripheral vision.
She was wearing an overwashed shirt with poorly-fitting shoes, and there was a little orange kitten by her feet that bumped its nose into her legs every so often.
He remembered her name as Xiu.
She was probably working here part-time here at night, since most people living in Kowloon were struggling to make ends meet. This girl seemed as if she was in trouble when a young man with red highlights in his hair and a nose ring yelled, pointing to the wet patch on his pants, “Are you blind? So clumsy!”
“I…I’m sorry,” she stuttered and paled in fear.
“Sorry my ass! Get me the kettle,” he yelled as he picked up the kettle of boiling water and splashed it towards her.
Xiu instinctively avoided it; the hot water splashed onto the ground and white steam rose.
“How dare you avoid me?” The man gritted his teeth and raised his hand to slap her across the face. Her cheeks were visibly swelling when he grabbed her by her hair and yanked her to his side.
Tears rolled down her eyes as she crouched in pain and the orange kitten cried loudly while circling him. It was a mess.
“Lick this clean.”
The man suddenly felt a surge of pain in his wrist; he heard a crack before he even realized a leather shoe had struck his nose. The force of the kick sent him flying across the tables as a pot of boiling soup spilled onto his body.
“It was just water. How about I apologize on her behalf.”
Li Yan had a relaxed smile as he pulled the girl to his side and confronted the man.
Suddenly, a whole gang of thugs gathered around him, flashing the knives and cleavers they had with them.
“Don’t move!”
Li Yan shrugged his brows at the man who had unexpectedly shouted for his men to stop.
He staggered as he stood, his face filled with anger and viciousness.
“How cool. You’re pretty good at fighting, aren’t you? Who do you mix with?”
Li Yan could hardly hold back his laughter at the man’s use of lines from a classic Hong Kong movie. He could only shake his head in silence.
“Look at you trying to be a hero. You even came for He Shunchang’s people.” The man became increasingly arrogant as Li Yan remained quiet. He circled Li Yan twice, his crooked nose looked a little funny, but menacing nonetheless.
The nose ring man snatched a knife from one of his men and slammed it onto the table.
“Here, if you really like acting heroic, how about you be a hero instead. Slash this through my neck. End me or I will kill…”
Before the man could finish, Li Yan had already picked up the knife and stabbed it towards the man’s neck!
The sound of the blade slicing through his leather jacket completely paralyszd the man.
He fell to the ground, gripping onto the knife handle for his life, his eyes bulging as he felt a warm sensation running down his thighs, his pants damp.
He felt something cold on his neck.
That knife had cut through his shirt collar, and the cold metal on his skin gave him goosebumps.
“I thought you weren’t afraid of death,” Li Yan smirked as he looked down at the man condescendingly.
“Kill him!” Yelled the man hysterically, as he called for his men to attack Li Yan.
Savagery flashed across his face. Li Yan was ready to attack when Red Ghost came over from their table, howling, “Wow, what an impressive fight, it’s my lucky day.”
The man swung his head around to glare at the man who was breaking into a sweat while enjoying his meal. The anger in his face instantly drained as he stuttered, “Red…Red Ghost, you’re here too.”
Red Ghost nodded while smiling. “I’ve never seen you before, what are you doing with He Shunchang?”
The man broke into cold sweat as his voice trembled, “Red-head Cai, a capo in He Shunchang. My boss is Shandao Peng.”
“Oh, I know Four-eyed Peng.”
Red Ghost wiped his mouth and continued. “I come here often. The girl’s job is not easy. You didn’t have to lash out at her. Apologize to her, pay for the damages, and leave.”
The nose ring man nodded patronizingly, then rushed over to the girl. “My sister, I’m sorry about that. I’m just a bully. Please forgive my foul mouth and accept my apology.”
Xiu hid behind Li Yan, unable to say a word.
“Boss!” Red-head Cai pulled out some cash and placed it in the hands of the stall owner, still drenched in hotpot soup. He said, “I will pay for all the damages.”
He then looked toward Red Ghost. “Look, Red Ghost,” he said as he rounded up his men, ready to leave the hotpot stall. “Please enjoy your meal.”
Li Yan pulled Xiu over so that she could sit, then replied. “That’s the power of the Red Ghost.”
Meanwhile, Red Ghost, his mouth full of dog meat, said, “The Mainland has already revolutionized and opened up their markets. Those people have no future.”
Li Yan took a huge gulp of wine without speaking as his face flushed from the alcohol.
Today was his fifth day at Kowloon.