The water, tinged with red, pattered noisily into the basin. Li Yan nursed his right shoulder where Zhang Mingyuan's kick had landed, a circle of ice bags offering scant relief.

"When you dropped your sword, I was genuinely afraid you'd lose."

The newcomer, sporting a sharp crew cut and bandaged fists, was none other than Little Zhou, master of both Literary Saint Boxing and Tai Chi Plum Blossom Praying Mantis.

"You couldn't have been so idle as to just watch my match. Who are you up against next?"

"The four hottest fighters in the Boxing Ring right now: you, me, Martial Two Lang whom you've just defeated, and the last one."

Li Yan licked his teeth, ensuring no blood remained in his mouth, then turned to face Little Zhou.

"Don't let the ship sink in the gutter."

Li Yan was proud and aloof; there were few of his peers in the martial arts world he held in high regard. Yet he had a certain admiration for Little Zhou, who was stubborn in nature, cool on the outside but warm on the inside. Little Zhou had earned Li Yan's respect, having honed his combat experience and developed his own unique style while following the Group's Flag-Planting and Fire-Merging. Taisui once called him a genius, a clear sign of recognition.

In this era, traditional martial arts might no longer uphold the grandeur of the Golden Signboard inscribed by Mr. Sun Yat-sen himself, yet it was still filled with innumerable talents. In Li Yan's time, a master like Little Zhou would have been as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

His refusal of Lei Jing's invitation was partly due to his own short life expectancy, and partly because the trend was in decline. What good would it do to be the Hejian Skinny Tiger? Wealth might be within reach, but anything more was pure folly. Lei Jing wanted to use him to overpower the other elders of the National Martial Arts Association, but regardless, the Association's fate seemed sealed, destined to fall into the hands of those who knew nothing of its essence.

Such a mess was not worth Li Yan's life.

Little Zhou rarely showed a smile, but now he did: "Take care of your injuries. I don't want to take advantage of the weakened. Your sword technique is not bad; I'll have to experience it for myself sometime."

"You'll see something even better when the time comes," Li Yan laughed heartily.

Someone knocked on the restroom door.

"An-ge, Brother Nine is calling for you. The boxing match is about to start."

Little Zhou nodded, "Understood."

He turned back, "There's one more thing."

Li Yan attempted to move his right arm, wincing in pain, "Go ahead."

"Young Master Gongsun and Zhang Yi are no true gentlemen!"

With that, Little Zhou left without hesitation, turning on his heel and striding away.

Li Yan opened his mouth to speak but saw Little Zhou had already departed. Frowning deeply, he unwrapped the melted ice pack and tossed it into the trash.

"Wealth should not lead to immorality," he muttered to himself, "Can't he speak plainly without putting on airs like some intellectual?"

The phrase was from "Mencius," followed by the familiar "Wealth should not lead to immorality, might should not lead to submission, and poverty should not sway integrity." He likely knew about Li Yan's affair with Judy and thought Li Yan was after her wealth, attaching himself to a wealthy woman.

Li Yan felt such people lived twisted lives, criticizing others about wealth and immorality even after they themselves had made it. But he didn't find them detestable.

The bloodstains on the Marble Arena had been wiped clean, and the chatter of the spectators in the stands was incessant.

"Who do you fancy to win?"

"That guy with the brass knuckles last time was fierce, moving so fast he didn't seem human."

"Yeah, did you see his opponent? Clearly a student, with such a bright smile, like he's in a housewife drama."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"No, I heard that student is ruthless."

This time, Little Zhou entered the ring not with his Iron Claw Tiger but with a Nine-ringed Broad Sword, which seemed even more ferocious than Li Yan's Eight-sided Han Sword.

Floral Shirt Nine was beaming at ringside, speaking loudly to a Man with Sunglasses beside him, "Here, Brother Le, this is my head horse, Little Zhou. He's never lost in the boxing ring, and today will be no different!"

Ruan Hongzhi hurried after Little Zhou, urgently addressing the unflustered man, "Hey, Little Zhou, you're my protégé, so I'll look out for you. This opponent is no ordinary fighter; he's left his last ten opponents either dead or crippled. Put aside your mercy and strike hard."

"I've never held back. It's just that there's no need for ruthless overkill."

Little Zhou leaped onto the platform, sizing up his opponent.

A youth of about eighteen or nineteen, with delicate features, squinting and smiling, revealing tiger teeth. It was hard to imagine that such a person was the one Ruan Hongzhi described with such exaggerated words.

"There's something I need to say beforehand."

The delicate-looking young man suddenly spoke.

Little Zhou glanced at him, puzzled.

The youth licked his lips, "Once you step into the boxing ring, life and death are beyond dispute."

Little Zhou pressed his lips together in a cold smile, offering no reply, but instead gave a respectful bow.

The youth earnestly returned the salute with a fist wrapped in his palm.

"Du Family Fist, Zhou Weian."

"Wing Chun, Xu Tianci."

...

Li Yan entered the infirmary where Zhang Mingyuan lay on a makeshift sickbed, swaddled by the boxing ring's nurse to the point of resembling a zongzi—a traditional rice dumpling.

"Wow, you really are tough, losing so much blood and still fine. This wound is nearly deep enough to expose your spine. Does it hurt?"

Li Yan cleared his throat at the doorway, drawing the attention of both individuals.

"I need to discuss something with him; could you give us a moment, nurse?"

Li Yan's gaze lingered, half-smiling, half-serious, on the nurse's hand resting on Zhang Mingyuan's thigh.

The nurse swiftly withdrew her hand, flustered, and scampered away with small, hurried steps.

"Fragmented Manuscript."

Li Yan extended his hand.

"You're quite direct, aren't you?"

Zhang Mingyuan offered a wry smile and signaled with his eyes, "It's in my embrace. My left hand's cartilage is shattered, and my right hand bears a wound over forty centimeters long, thanks to you. Don't be so cruel as to ask me to retrieve it myself."

Li Yan, with a stern face, sat down beside Zhang Mingyuan and reached into his embrace.

"Where is it?"

"Further down."

"I don't feel anything."

"A little lower."

Sure enough, Li Yan's fingers grazed something with the texture of paper and he drew out a sheet of rice paper embellished with gilded patterns; it depicted a one-legged Kui bull bellowing skyward.

"Where did you get this?"

"Lucky find. Bought it for two thousand from Lixing Pawnshop. An old Daoist, in throes of addiction, stealthily killed an unfortunate soul wandering the night in Nine Dragons City and snatched it off him before pawning it. For more than that, you'd have to ask the dead man."

Zhang Mingyuan watched Li Yan, "You have two pieces yourself, where did you get them?"

"These five Fragmented Manuscripts were stolen by a gang of bandits from a bank vault. I killed those bandits."

Zhang Mingyuan inhaled sharply at the revelation. No robber could possibly hold up a bank in Hong Kong with just a fruit knife. Even he, with his Enlightened Beast Heritage, stood no chance against a few sharpshooters, let alone imagine how Li Yan, who should still be nearly an ordinary man, managed it alone.

"By the way, isn't this your first time involved in the Yanfu Incident?"

"The second."

Zhang Mingyuan responded with a touch of dejection.

“Was it a fat man who brought you in?”

Zhang Mingyuan was taken aback.

“No, the one who brought me in was a very beautiful woman, unforgettable for a lifetime.”

“What reward will one receive after completing the Yanfu Incident?”

Li Yan threw out another question.

Zhang Mingyuan answered honestly, “Upon first completion of the Yanfu Incident, one will receive a Yanfu Heritage item with absolute certainty, like my Enlightened Beast.”

At this point, a flicker of fervor passed through Zhang Mingyuan’s eyes.

“Without having possessed one, you can’t comprehend that feeling—the extraordinary, transcendent power.”

“Cut the crap, stick to the point. Why prattle on so much? If it were really useful, I would be the one lying here, not you.”

The young man’s cheeks flushed with irritation: “If I hadn’t gone for that Han Sword, the outcome might still be undecided.”

Li Yan slapped Zhang Mingyuan’s shoulder with considerable force, his tone sinister: “You’re laid out on a bed, why bother making yourself miserable? Am I right?”

He lit a cigarette and asked, “What else is there?”

“After the Yanfu Incident concludes, all your actions will be evaluated. The higher the evaluation, the more Yan Fu Points and greater Purchase Authority you can obtain.”

“What’s Purchase Authority?”

Li Yan tapped the table, sensing he was onto something substantial.

“It’s related to everything that appears in the Yanfu Incident. I’m not sure how to explain it.”

He recalled for a moment: “My last Yanfu Incident was in the thirteenth year of the Republic of China, near Phoenix Mountain in Western Hunan, at a Righteous Village where a Corpse Transformation occurred. In the end, the local warlord leveled the entire Righteous Village with artillery fire! And in my final Purchase Authority, I saw things like 'Corpse-Driving Technique,' and even 'Purple Stiffness,' 'Blood Stiffness.' But my Yan Fu Points were far too few; I didn’t even have enough for White Rigor Mortis. As for Purple Stiffness, it was darkened out, completely out of my reach to purchase.”

“What’s the most efficient way to increase one’s Purchase Authority?”

Li Yan pressed on, his heartbeat quickening. He suddenly remembered the fat man’s eerie smile, and his words.

“I can give you something better.”

“If you ask me, the most efficient way to increase it is... killing!”

**********

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