Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Cheng Hunan died a tragic death.

This was also the first time Li Yan had ever killed someone.

Li Yan found it hard to feel compassion for someone like Cheng Hunan. However, he was aware that if it had been him who had died in the ring, those gamblers would have cheered hysterically just the same.

He prided himself on being more clear-headed than others in that he didn’t delude himself with thoughts like “I’m just enforcing justice, that kind of person deserves to die.” To know that Cheng Hunan had died up there while he could survive, had nothing to do with so-called good and evil.

“Beneath the eyes of a fierce tiger, there lie no ravines…”

Li Yan, in front of the mirror, washed his hands, murmuring to himself.

With people like Hua Shanjiu from Lian Sheng, Zhou who played Wensheng Fist, his manager Red Ghost, Dashuihou Judy, and the unseen backstage boss Taishuai…

Li Yan faintly felt he was on the verge of grasping something, three million Hong Kong dollars, the ancient Sink Hook Chen Record Book, and perhaps even more.

Exiting the restroom, Li Yan made his way to the lounge to find the Red Ghost, drawing the gazes of many fighters along the way.

The dark-skinned Filipino, the fierce-looking Malaysian, the expressionless Vietnamese, and even a big black man with a scar-riddled face, all different shapes and shades, emitting red glows light and deep.

Through these past few days, Li Yan had basically understood the function of the red glow.

The red glow would only emanate from someone if they harbored animosity towards you. The higher the threat level they posed, the more intense the red on their body would be. This seemed to be a special treatment as “Yan Fu incarnate,” invisible to others.

Among these people, the one with the deepest red was a Vietnamese man in combat gear, wiping a dagger. At least in Li Yan’s opinion, the red aura was not less intense than that of the Wensheng Fist master Zhou, perhaps even more so.

As for those who posed no threat, they would emit a glow of white light of varying degrees.

He walked through the lounge and saw the Red Ghost coming towards him.

“This is for you.”

The Red Ghost stuffed a stack of banknotes into the shirt pocket over Li Yan’s chest.

“I’ll open an account for you later, and deposit the money you won from the match.”

“What’s this for?”

Li Yan pointed to his pocket.

The Red Ghost looked at him with a half-smile.

“That’s from Mrs. Deng. Take it and buy some nice clothes; she wants to have dinner with you tomorrow.”

Li Yan nodded, saying nothing.

“You must be hungry after fighting for so long, come on, let’s go have a late-night snack.”

Li Yan’s gaze flickered momentarily.

“Red Ghost, I’ve just seen blood, and I’m not feeling too well, how about another day.”

“The more you see blood, the more you need to replenish, come on!”

Li Yan grinned and didn’t insist anymore.

With more contact, he found that Red Ghost, this man, was much more compassionate than he had thought.

Contrary to what Li Yan had imagined, Red Ghost didn’t take him to any brothel-like place, but instead brought him to a smoky hot pot stall. This left Li Yan somewhat disappointed.

The hot pot arrived quickly, bubbling milky broth filled with red chili peppers, which was mouthwatering.

“This dog meat hot pot tastes really authentic, give it a try.”

Red Ghost motioned and picked up his chopsticks, putting a bite into his mouth.

The two of them ate till their noses sweated, and then Red Ghost casually asked,

“By the way, Yan, which sect did you learn martial arts from? I saw you were using Bagua Sect techniques before, why did you switch to playing White Crane today?”

Li Yan looked at Red Ghost with a smile.

“Red Ghost seems to be quite knowledgeable about traditional martial arts.”

Red Ghost shook his head: “Nah, who’d dare to say they’re knowledgeable about martial arts in Longcheng, and that too on Taishuai’s turf? My little insight is also thanks to Taishuai’s guidance.”

Li Yan’s heart stirred, “Taishuai is well-versed in traditional martial arts?”

“Honorary President of the Hong Kong National Art Association, a pair of legs that have probably kicked apart countless martial arts schools in Hong Kong, Taishuai’s reputation as Longcheng’s ringmaster was built on his fists and feet—do you think he’s got skills?”

Li Yan hummed in acknowledgment, then asked, “What is Taishuai’s martial arts heritage? Hong Fist? Choy Li Fut?”

Red Ghost looked at Li Yan with annoyance and scoffed, “Damn it, am I asking you, or are you asking me?”

Li Yan laughed and replied, “I once took a naïve apprentice role under a Master of the White Crane Sect in Guangdong,” while speaking, his eyes flashed.

“Ever heard of Lei Hongsheng, Red Ghost?”

Red Ghost thought for a bit and shook his head.

“Nah.”

Li Yan nodded and didn’t speak further. While eating the meat, he glanced up and saw a familiar figure.

A bleached white shirt, ill-fitting cloth shoes, and underfoot, an orange kitten nuzzling against her pants leg from time to time.

The girl from across his door, seems her name was Xiu.

She must have come out to help at night, since living in Longcheng didn’t afford much luxury, but now, she seemed to be in trouble.

“Are you blind? Clumsy!”

A young man with a nose ring and a strand of red in his hair pointed to the wet spot on his pants and cursed loudly.

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

Xiu’s face turned pale as if she was shocked to the core.

“Sorry to your mom! Bring the boiling water.”

While speaking, the young man grabbed the kettle from the table and splashed the water towards the girl’s face.

Xiu instinctively dodged to the side, and the scalding water spilled onto the ground, raising a cloud of white steam.

“You dare to dodge?” The man with a nose ring gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and slapped her across the face, making a loud smack. The girl’s cheek swelled at a visible rate, and the man grabbed her hair and yanked her towards him.

The girl’s eyes brimmed with tears from the pain, her body curled up, and the little orange kitten around the man cried out loudly, creating a chaotic scene.

“Lick it clean.”

Suddenly, the man engrossed in his rage felt a severe pain in his wrist, accompanied by a faint cracking noise, followed by a blur in front of his eyes as a size 41 leather shoe, with a muffled gust of wind, almost flattened his nose! He flew backward, not only toppling tables and stools but also getting drenched by a boiling hot pot.

“It’s just some boiling water. Shall I apologize on behalf of the little sister? How about that?”

Li Yan had a relaxed smile on his face as he pulled the girl aside and spoke to the fallen nose ring man.

Things escalated quickly, and over a dozen gang members stood up, surrounding Li Yan with gleaming machetes in hand.

“Nobody move!”

Li Yan raised his eyebrows, and, surprisingly, it was the nose ring man who spoke.

He staggered to his feet, his face filled with bitter venom.

“Looking pretty tough there. Which gang do you roll with?”

Hearing this classic line from a Hong Kong movie, Li Yan almost laughed out loud. He didn’t respond, just shook his head.

“It’s so exhilarating to play the hero, huh? You dare to hit someone from Heshunchang?”

Seeing that Li Yan remained silent, the nose ring man’s arrogance intensified. He circled Li Yan a couple of times, his crooked nose looking somewhat comical yet sinister.

The nose ring man snatched a fruit knife from one of his men and slapped it on the table.

“Hey, since you like playing the hero so much, why not go all the way? Drive this knife into my neck, and it’s all over. Otherwise, I’ll kill…”

Before the spittle-flying nose ring man could finish his sentence, Li Yan’s hand had already pulled the fruit knife from the table and thrust it towards the man’s neck!

“Putsch.”

The sound of the blade cutting through skin made the nose ring man collapse instantly.

He fell to the ground on his ass, his hands desperately clutching the handle of the knife, his eyes bulging out as a warm fluid flowed from his crotch.

It took him a while to realize his neck felt cool.

The fruit knife had passed through his collar and back out again, the coldness of the blade causing the man to break out in goosebumps all over his neck.

“I thought you were not afraid of death.”

Li Yan looked down at the nose ring man with a half-smiling, half-mocking expression.

“Kill him for me!”

The nose ring man roared hysterically.

A flash of ferocity crossed Li Yan’s face as he was about to make a move, but then the voice of Red Ghost, exaggerated like a student, called out from the table.

“Wow, that’s some intense knife action, what a treat for my eyes.”

The nose ring man glared fiercely in that direction, but upon seeing the sweaty face of the man eating hotpot at the table, the fierce expression collapsed instantly.

‘Red, Red Ghost Bro~ You, you’re here too.”

Red Ghost nodded with a smile, “Good boy, but I’ve never seen you before. What are you doing at Heshunchang?”

The nose ring man wiped away his sweat, his voice trembling, “Heshunchang Four Three Two Straw Sandal Red Head Cai, disciple of the big boss Shandao Peng.”

“Oh, if you’d said Siyan Peng, I’d know who you were talking about.”

Red Ghost wiped his mouth. “I frequent this place. It’s hard work for this young lady, why so irate? Apologize to the young lady, cover the damages for the tables and chairs, and leave.”

The nose ring man nodded with a flattering smile, hurried over to the little girl with an amiable and pleased expression.

“Little sister, I’m sorry, I’m a rough guy. Please forgive my rudeness. I want to say I’m sorry.”

Xiu hid behind Li Yan and didn’t dare to speak.

“Boss!” Red Head Cai took out Hong Kong dollars from his pocket and handed them to the owner of the hotpot restaurant, patting his chest, not minding the spill on his own head, “I’ll cover all the damages here.”

Having said that, the nose ring man looked towards Red Ghost.

“Red Ghost Bro, what do you think~”

Red Ghost raised his hand. The nose ring man, as if pardoned, left the hotpot stall with his gang of ruffians in a sorry state.

“Don’t let it ruin the mood, keep eating.”

Li Yan pulled Xiu to sit down, replying, “Still, Red Ghost Bro has the clout.”

With a mouthful of dog meat, Red Ghost mumbled indistinctly.

“Mainland has opened up and reformed, still messing with gangs? It’s a dead end.”

Li Yan took a big gulp of baijiu, the alcohol burning his face red. He remained silent.

Today was his fifth day in Kowloon City.