Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: The Strong One
Editor: Larbre Studio

Li Yan kept his eyes locked onto the golden-red flame on the sand tray, relentlessly pursuing it. After passing through seven or eight alleys, a deep, hoarse male voice finally reached his ears.

“End of report, the report lasted one minute.”

Li Yan’s pace came to an abrupt halt as he let out a somewhat disheartened sigh. Of course, it wasn’t all for naught—at least he now knew that there were indeed two more fragments of the map in Kowloon Walled City, and the entire area spanned no more than five square miles. It wouldn’t take too long to find those two pieces.

Li Yan scrutinized every face before him. At the moment the sensation vanished, he was only about fourteen or fifteen meters from the golden-red flame. Perhaps all it would take was a turn, or entering one of the shops, and he might find the person with the fragments.

“Hey, friend, we’re not doing business today, be smart and clear off.”

A few menacing thugs—short of tattooing “gangster” on their foreheads—said to Li Yan.

They stood guard in front of a tent, its curtain drawn, obscuring the view inside.

This was likely a heroin stall run by some gang in Kowloon Walled City, where one could find many such tents and shanty buildings. Venturing inside, one would come across a sprawl of addicts lying around, shrouded in smoke. Li Yan wasn’t sure if the person he was looking for was inside, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to take a look.

Li Yan sniffed, affecting a swallowing motion as if he was a real addict. He stepped forward, indistinguishable from an actual junkie craving a hit.

“Bro, I know the drill, the entry fee is seven fifty, right? I’ll give you ten.”

The thug waved his hand impatiently, “No goods, brother, try somewhere else.”

Li Yan found it amusing—he had gone through the trouble of disguising himself as an addict only to encounter a drug den out of stock. What a rarity.

“What’s all the noise about? Shanjiu is pissed.”

A short-haired man poked his head out from the tent and spotted Li Yan.

“Is that you?”

Li Yan, also surprised, greeted the man with his mouth agape.

“Hello there, Master Zhou.”

…

“Wow, look who it is if it isn’t the hotshot Yan Wang of the City. What brings you here so late? Has Taishuai’s bowl of rice not filled you up, looking to join a gang and make a name for yourself?”

The spacious tent echoed with Hua Shanjiu’s jeering remark as he greeted Li Yan with a strained smile.

Hua Shanjiu was Li Yan’s first financier after arriving in Hong Kong. Without his fifty thousand, Li Yan couldn’t even muster up the points to maintain “A Fleeting Glimpse” during his fight against He Andong. Even though Hua Shanjiu’s tone wasn’t friendly, Li Yan took no offense. He replied, “Shanjiu, I can’t afford your joke. Calling oneself ‘Yan Wang’ in Kowloon City? I wouldn’t have enough lives for that. Some sneaky thief stole my wallet, and I’ve chased him all the way here. I wanted to see if he had ducked inside. I didn’t expect to run into you.”

“With your skills, how could any petty thief steal your wallet?”

Zhou found it hard to believe.

“That’s not quite right. There are specialists in every trade.”

Li Yan gave a vague reply, then said, “How about it, Master Zhou? Running into me like this, why not have a spar to fulfill your long-standing wish?”

“There’s no need for that. In a few days, we’ll naturally meet in the ring.”

Zhou’s tone was cool.

“Our Zhou has only entered the ring a few days ago, achieving four consecutive victories, making those Vietnamese monkeys jump around with his Chinese martial arts. Who wins and who loses when you meet in the ring is still uncertain.”

Hua Shanjiu chimed in; he loved watching fights the most. He had lost face that day at Red Ghost’s, and it was a bit embarrassing. But after watching his brother dominate the ring these past days, any dissatisfaction had long since vanished.

Although he was a formidable fighter of the alliance, Hua Shanjiu didn’t put on airs and seemed approachable. However, anyone inquiring in Kowloon City would remember the fierce Hua Shanjiu of those days, who, armed with only a hollow metal baton, dared to go to Yau Matei and plant a flag with less than a hundred underlings, earning him unyielding respect.

Li Yan didn’t pay much attention to Hua Shanjiu’s words. He couldn’t gauge Zhou’s depth during the brief encounter, but he didn’t think he would lose. With “A Fleeting Glimpse” at his disposal, he was even more confident—over ninety percent sure of defeating Zhou in the ring. The thought of being beaten by Zhou and ending his 1986 trip to Hong Kong was something Li Yan hadn’t considered.

“But Shanjiu, why are you so free tonight? The den is as empty as if it doesn’t even have a half a fly.”

Li Yan casually remarked, but Hua Shanjiu’s face darkened immediately, and he scoffed coldly, “Wu is trying to wipe out my bases. He thinks it’s that easy? To hell with him, I’ll have him sleeping with the fishes in a few days.”

Li Yan didn’t pick up the conversation, but in his view, when one resorted to such harsh words, it was likely that the alliance was being pressured too hard by Wu Haoxi.

As Hua Shanjiu continued to curse, his gaze returned to Li Yan.

“Well, any interest from Taishuai in getting involved? How long can she defend Longcheng’s ring? Wu’s tyranny hasn’t started yesterday. Hasn’t she felt it serving on the committee together?”

Li Yan quickly waved his hand and joked, “Shanjiu, I’ve only been in Hong Kong for a few days, I haven’t even seen Taishuai, don’t scare me like that.”

Hua Shanjiu laughed heartily, not taking it to heart. In truth, neither Wu Haoxi nor the alliance wanted complications at this time, much less dragging other members of Longcheng’s executive committee into the mix, especially Taishuai, a notorious madwoman. Hua Shanjiu was merely joking, and besides, he didn’t believe that Li Yan, a newcomer to Hong Kong, could influence the current situation in Kowloon Walled City. Let alone him—his manager, Red Ghost, wasn’t capable either.

“By the way, Shanjiu, as a newcomer, I don’t know much. Is there any larger pawnshop in Kowloon Walled City?”

“Why are you asking this?”

“When I came from the mainland, I had a family heirloom with me, and I wanted to see how much I could sell it for.”

Such a lie came as easily to Li Yan as farting, with over four thousand variations and no fear of being caught. No matter how detailed Hua Shanjiu’s questioning was, Li Yan could always spin the story round.

However, he didn’t get the chance to show off his skills, as Zhou on the side had already chimed in.

“Across the street, there’s a pawnshop called Lixing Daya. The owner offers fair prices, has wide connections, and will take anything. Not many in Kowloon City are in the pawn business, after all, if you have something valuable, you wouldn’t pawn it in the Walled City. If you want a high price, you should go outside Kowloon City.”

Li Yan was overjoyed and excused himself before heading out.

“Master Li!” Zhou called out to Li Yan with a burning gaze, “I’ll see you on the fighting ring.”

“I’ll see you on the fighting ring.”

Li Yan laughed heartily and headed straight for Lixing Daya.

…

“With all these new fighters on the ring lately, Taishuai must be thrilled.”

Liao Zhizong, the leading coachman of Kowloon Walled City and Taishuai’s most trusted manager, was 56 years old and picked up a form from the table. The photo showed Li Yan, with Zhou’s form beside it.

“It’s the first time Ring Six of Kowloon Walled City has been this busy,” he mused.

“Yeah, when I was fighting, there weren’t nearly as many tricks,” said Red Ghost, also holding a form, the photo on it featuring a person wearing a ferocious green mask.

“Wu Erlang, hehe, what a playful name.”

Red Ghost chuckled with a hint of scorn. Despite the good recent results of this newcomer on the form, such pretentiously mysterious moves were generally only flaunted in some low-level rings and didn’t quite catch his interest.

“By the way, Uncle Liao, where’s Taishuai?”

Liao Zhizong glanced at Red Ghost.

“A significant figure has come to our Longcheng fighting ring, and Taishuai has gone to meet him.”

“Significant?”

Red Ghost’s curiosity was piqued.

Liao Zhizong pulled one of the forms out and laid it in front of Red Ghost.

“It’s him.”

Red Ghost took a look.

“Xu Tianci.”

The photo showed a young man around eighteen or nineteen years old, with tiger teeth showing when he smiled, still carrying a hint of youthfulness.

Red Ghost frowned inexplicably.

“Taishuai went to see this kid?”

“He’s a fighter who recently started in the Longcheng rings and hasn’t lost yet.”

“Uncle Liao, you said he’s only just arrived, so it’s normal he hasn’t lost yet. Even if he really is unbeatable, why would Taishuai want to see him alone?”

Liao Zhizong waived his hand.

“Taishuai is seeing him not because of his record, but mainly because of his grandfather…”

Red Ghost almost blurted out, “What, his grandfather is the Governor of Hong Kong?” but he held back.

“Who’s his grandfather?”

Liao Zhizong unusualy displayed a serious demeanor and spoke with gravity.

“Xu Shangtian.”

Xu Shangtian, a direct disciple of Ye Wen, was one of the four great masters of Wing Chun and hailed as the “King of Thoughtful Prospects”. He had once set a record of thirty-two consecutive victories on the fighting rings of Kowloon Walled City, to the point where no one in Kowloon Walled City dared to compete anymore.