Returning to the village proper felt like coming late to a hanging. The streets were dead when we returned from the valley. Windows were sealed shut, morose chimneys slept, and dried footprints in the mud told stories of hasty retreats and long lockdowns. Sen carried me down empty roads at a brisk jog unimpeded by anything living nor, thankfully, dead.

“That’s Lady Yu’s place. We should drop off the tincture while we’re here.”

“No time. Uncle first, then errands.”

My brother stayed stoic the entire run back. We made good time, even going uphill, but he wouldn’t rest before his heart gave out. I seriously wondered what he would do if we found Uncle being tortured by Cultivators. Would he fight them haggard and out of breath? Surely he knew we wouldn’t last long.

Sen dropped me inelegantly as we arrived at the steps of the silent citadel. I rushed to keep up as he marched straight to the doors.

I expected a grotesque scene of villainy as he threw them open. Instead, we got quiet mundanity. In a near-empty civil hall, we found my aunt surrounded by sleeping children, breastfeeding her newborn. She immediately went to cover up but my brother didn’t spare her more than a glance. “Where’s Uncle?” He spoke as if he were the highest authority in the land. My Aunt rolled her eyes.

“He’s fine. He and half the town are stuck in the training hall with a minister of the Emperor. Of all the omens to visit us, he’s one of the Sanshu if you could believe it. But he’s friendly-ish at least…try not to bother him. Please?” My brother did an about-face while she was still talking. He stomped out of the citadel, leaving me alone to face my Aunt. She tilted her head but she didn’t fall over and faint like my Uncle said she would.

“Lin?”

Instant recognition this time. Maybe it would be different if I wasn’t covered in mud and cuts. My aunt debated a lot of words but in the end, she just gave me a smile. “You look good.”

“Lin!” My brother saved me from having to blush in front of her. I hastily spun around and ran after him.

—

By the time we got to the Training Hall, I was starting to miss riding on my brother’s back. I had no idea how he moved so quickly with so much determination and didn’t bother to stop for a drink of water along the way.

When we arrived, he pulled the same trick as in the citadel, crashing through the double doors, entering the room like a god…Not a soul looked up from the raucous sparing on the grounds below.

“Break his leg, Xiao Yin.”

“Crash and die, Lao.”

“You got him, Xiao Yin. Don’t let him toy with you.”

From the shouts, I could tell my cousin was very unloved in this matchup. I peered over the head of an excited and balding man to see.

Lao was toing with his opponent. Oh, she had better range with her spear and a dexterity that nearly matched Lao’s, but he had the technique, deflecting every lunge with remarkable efficiency. Only one of his dual swords sparked with impact. The other he kept behind his back while he perfectly pivoted away from Xiao Yin’s commendable force, and she was not handling Lao’s showboating well.

Xiao Yin’s anger was consuming her. Her attacks turned wild, each riskier than the last. She even went as far as abandoning her weapon.

I thought the match would end when she dug her spear into the ground and flung herself into the air. She rose above Lao like a deadly crane, then descended with a kick fast as a meteor. Anything she struck would break.

Lao didn’t move while she raced towards him, seemingly starstruck at Xiao Yin’s beautiful attack, but Lao wasn’t to be underestimated. Xiao Yin’s move was flashy, flashier than even Lao’s lazy pirouettes, but jumping in the air and falling back down was still slower than a spear thrust.

Lao dodged it with the same deftness he had shown before, and Xiao Yin raged in the air instead of rescinding her outstretched leg.

The way it bent on impact, I thought she had broken it, but she kept fighting. She returned to her spear, pain quenching her rage, but sharpening her drive to make Lao suffer.

Sen dragged me by the collar just as I was getting into the match. The Xiao Yin didn’t seem to ever run out of tricks and Lao didn’t seem to ever stop running.

“We’re not here for them, Lin.” My brother reminded me of his mission, however pointless. I spotted my uncle, possibly before Sen did. He was watching the match with a fake smile while being absolutely drenched in sweat. I couldn’t blame him. I would sweat too if I were forced to sit beside a cultivator.

Clad in gold and green, wearing leathers with shimmering scales as if they were unrefined hide wrenched from the back of a dragon, the man was, frankly, unimpressive.

The last cultivator who had stepped onto the Isle made me want to vomit. He had submerged us in his presence, made us drown on dry land. I felt nothing like that from this man. He could have been a Cultivator no better than my sister. He could be the Emperor in disguise.

It made me sweat. One can challenge the peak of the mountain, but can do nought but fear the depths of the sea.

I was grateful my uncle pretended to not see us. Instinct was screaming at me to leave, but my brother was determined to walk into the leviathan’s jaw just to make a name for himself.

“Uncle…Minister.” My brother bowed twice, deeper for the cultivator, too deep to see my uncle nurse his migraine.

“Ah, there you are, Sen. Lin. Are you all complete with the harvest? Already? You harvested all of it, right? Very well, you make a good time. As always. Even Tong’s patch in the back then? Yes? Good. Well, I have no more work for you, but I’m sure your parents have other tasks they could use you for. No? Are you sure? Mhmmn. Yes. Very good. You may go then. Now.” Sen ignored my tugs and Uncle’s best attempts to dismiss us. He was planted like a statue, and the Cultivator was beginning to take interest. “Really Sen, there’s no need to stay.”

“Who are these dashing young men DaBai? I just adore this young one’s painted face, I had no idea you all kept up with Eastern fashion all the way up here. The Nobels in court would fawn over your looks, boy. And this steer of a man. Hah. There’s a soldier for the Emperor’s no legions if I’ve ever seen one.”

“Thank you, minister. This one is humbled to be in your good graces.”

If my brother kotowed any lower he’d bury his face between the minister’s thighs. I on the other hand was stock still. This sole Cultivator had me rethinking everything I knew about the martial world and everyone who came from it. He had a high voice that I didn’t like and exaggerated his intonation as if he were about to break into song. His smile was jovial but nowhere near as genuine as my uncle, and they both harbored the same unfortunate style of mustache. My uncle snuck glances at his white patch of fur on the Cultivator’s face as if it was unimaginable for a man to shelter such a travesty of fuzz.

He clearly tried to come off as non-threatening and amicable as could be, but there were chinks in his facade. I don’t know how to explain this but…He wasn’t real. He was more like a living painting, extremely detailed with nothing of substance underneath. The inlays of his armor changed every time I blinked, The pores on his skin were shifting, and when I focused my eyes and tried to force what I was seeing into some semblance of stability, they burned.

“Don’t do that.”

The cultivator broke from his conversation with my brother to frown at me. There was a spiraling rage beneath his blue eyes. I averted my gaze towards the open sky above us, but it was like looking away from a tsunami, the danger was still there at the periphery.

My uncle felt the change in the Cultivator. I think the damn arena felt the change in the Cultivator. No one was shouting anymore.

“Has Lin offended you, minister? If so, he surely meant no harm.” I quickly mimicked my uncle's rapid hand movements by bowing apologetically. “Yes, minister. I’m sorry for what I’ve done. Please forgive me.” I had seen just a sliver behind the veil, and I was going to die for it. I was sure I would die for it.

“Hah. It’s no issue, boy!” The Cultivator shouted for me and the crowd. My skin crawled with how quickly he was able to change back into a fake old man.

“You just have very good eyes. Very good eyes indeed. With eyes like that and a bit of hard work, you could be an officer in the new legions.”

“Legion’s sir?” I shouldn’t be engaging with him. I should be running. But I was prey before this predator’s eyes.

“I have to apologize again, minister. I am not a cultivator. My presence in the legions would only bring disgrace to the emperor’s name.”

“Not any longer son.” The Cultivator raised his already booming voice. “As I was just telling your brother, The emperor has decreed the instantiation of a fifth legion! One composed entirely of peasants. You have the opportunity to bring glory and honor to your homeland. You all have the opportunity!” The minister spoke past me at the crowd itself.

But it was personal for my brother. “I would be honored to join these new legions. Could even one such as I be an officer?”

“You will have to forgive me, Minister.” my uncle hastily broke into the conversation. “And Sen as well for forgetting…Yunchi village is small, and we struggle to provide enough resources for the Emperor’s alchemists as it is. It is a great honor and we are happy to do it, yet I’m afraid we have no men or women to spare for these new legions. Not even ones such as Sen and Lin. We’re all needed to work the fields to bring in the Emperor’s bounty.”

“Nonsense,” the minister shouted again. He seemed to love piercing eardrums. “These young men have completed a harvest all on their own. Have they not? Surely one of these two could be spared for the Emperor’s efforts. Could not this entire arena? All these young people are enjoying a sparing match instead of working your fields.”

“You beckoned me to bring them here, sir.” My uncle actually glared at the Cultivator. “Were it not for that, they’d all be working the fields as they surely were when you arrived.”

The two began to rehash what must have been an ancient argument. My uncle was adamant that no one could be spared especially in the face of the upcoming winter, but the minister insisted that at least fifty recruits enlist from the village.

That would be just shy of half of us if he was just talking about the youth. Most of the village was made up of old men and women, and if the most capable of us left for an entire winter. A shiver crept up my spine. We would freeze.

In face of these demands, my uncle refused to capitulate. Sure he was sweating through his linens and his hands shook every time the Minister’s smile took a dip, but he starchy defended the place of every soul in the village. My brother couldn’t hide his frown. If he had the mayor’s position he’d gladly give away the village to this wolf.

“And what about that young Lad?” the minister pointed to a man in the ring doing his best with a short sword.

“That’s LaoBao is the only son in a family of six, well five now. They need him. His father has the Wasting and his mother is lame. Taking him away would be a death sentence for the entire family.”

“Hmmm. And that one?”

“Oh Xiao Xi is blind.” On and on, the minister grew frustrated. He pointed randomly at even the weakest among us. Surely that emaciated man in a wheelchair was fit for the emperor’s legions? But the great thing about living in a small village was that we all knew each other and our mayor knew all of our struggles and strengths.

“TanXue has arms like a lion and the mind of an architect. He’s the best mason in the village. Without him, half the buildings we erected would fall. We need him most to make repairs in the winter. The storms here are otherworldly.

At that, the minister’s presence flared out again. I saved my Uncle before this dragon could breathe fire.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Appology’s minister,” I broke into their argument. “What exactly will this new legion be responsible for? How would us peasants be useful in a battle against cultivators?”

“Hah,” the Minister gripped my shoulders in mirth. “You see this DaBai. This is a man. And a man doesn’t refuse the Emperor’s summons. He prepares himself. Are you interested in enlisting, my boy?”

How the minister could look at my tiny figure and my lanky arms and think, ‘There's a boy ready for war’ was beyond me.

“I apologize but my father is also lame and I must aid my mother and grandmother this winter. I was only curious how simple folk like us could possibly stand up to a cultivator.” My uncle smiled at that and I did my best not to mimic him.

“That,” the minister said with a twist of the mustache and a sigh. “Is a very good question. Let me see, boy. Have you ever heard of Hongzhu?” I shook my head.

“Well of course you haven’t! It’s a heavily classified military secret but I’m telling you as you look like a trustworthy young man.” The minister practically shouted that line and a few heads turned in our direction. “The emperor has uncovered an alloy of gold that negates the abilities of even second-stage cultivators.”

“Surely that’s not possible?” My brother broke into the conversation. Ambition suddenly burned in his eyes. The minister seemed to adore that he would play along. My uncle’s migraine suddenly returned.

“Son it’s very possible. Hongzhu is a miracle sent from the heavens that will bring another century of prosperity to the empire.” I thought about how we, the Emperor’s own, were struggling to survive our winters with the little we were rationed, and wondered how many of us would survive into that prosperous century.

“Peasants will be like dragons amidst the battlefield. Fire will vanish with a slash of our steel. Our enemies will be rendered impotent before it. With Hongzhu a babe could behead a cultivator.” The glory and vision in his eyes were the only truly real thing about this man. If what he was saying was the truth, then maybe even I would have a place on the battlefield.

Maybe the mainland was where I was meant to be. At the very least it seemed to be acceptable for men from the East to wear a bit of makeup from time to time.

The minister blew a heavy sigh. “Babes on the battlefield it will have to be for only peasants can wield the power of Hongzhu.” The minister stood up with tears suddenly brimming in his eyes. “I implore all of you to consider enlisting for the emperor’s legions. You will be akin to gods on the battlefield and you will have third-stage Cultivators looking over you at all times. Free yourselves from this sleepy isle and seek victory and glory.” The minister seemed to say that line directly to me, but I forgot to show the same level of wonder my brother wore.

A sigh escaped from the minister as he put on a gilded helmet shaped like a dragon’s maw. It was a pleasure meeting with you DaBai. Unfortunately, there are many more villages in the Floating Isles that must hear the good news, so I will take my leave. I will return to you in the early morning. I expect you to have prepared a register of all able-bodied young men and women available for manual consumption in that time.

Uncle tried for a word, but the Cultivator shot up into the sky with nothing left to say. Uncle seemed all the worse for wear but my brother was brimming with coal and fire. “Uncle. How may I enlist?”

—

Sen and I stood around in the training halls while Uncle went to go ring the bell. I wanted to be free of this place, but I was not prepared to walk home alone with a face covered in muddy makeup, and my brother was adamant that he couldn’t leave until he showed cousin Lao how a real warrior fought.

They were in the midst of their fourth round, and I rapidly teetered down a vortex of unconsciousness. Today was exhausting, and their too even fight along with a second wave of numbness from the Autumn Mandril was lulling me to sleep.

But I couldn’t sleep after all that happened.

It all didn’t seem real, well the Cultivator certainly wasn’t real for all I felt his presence. That face was a mask, and his disguise had been blown the moment he took to the skies. Not a single person could walk away from that sight and think he was just like us.

What stage of Cultivation did it take to fly anyway. Three? Four? My sister never did it. She could jump certainly, but fly. Not even with all the training in the world. Someone like the minister would be watching over us on a battlefield.

It sounded too good to be true. It probably was.

Everything in that came from the Emperor was propaganda. Our “empire” was just a little peninsula no one on this war torn continent cared for. Our emperor served at the behest of a real Empress whose lands were apparently a hundred times larger than his domain’s, and I would never see an inch of them because the world outside Gongxue’s Empire was not meant for peasants like me.

Unless I joined the legions.

Legions. Hah. Just a scarce group of Cultivators the Emperor garrisoned intermittently at the borders to stave off other would-be warlords. That’s how weak his legions were. We were too far inland to ever face one of the Empress’ enemies, so the Emperor sicked his legions on the bandits plaguing her lands and struggled to hold them back.

It was all so unnecessary and insignificant and if I joined these new legions then I would be too.

Maybe that’s what I want? Maybe being a nameless face in the legions would give me the anonymity to be who I want, and grow into the person I should be without the constant pressure to be like Sen. Or Lyn. I doubt people would care if I was wearing makeup when Cultivators were flying overhead.

And in the worst of it, Sen would be there to pull me out of danger. I couldn’t imagine a world where he stayed in the village after all the minister said. There really didn’t seem like there was a downside to joining the legions. As long as this Hongzhu stuff wasn’t bullshit.

“I like your hat.” Salvation from sleep came in the form of a voice from the heavens and the upside-down face of an angel from above. One of the girls who liked my art was smiling at me. Wait. What did she mean by hat?

“Thanks?” I returned with a groggy crack of the throat.

“Oh.” The girl scrunched her eyes at me. “I didn’t know you were a boy.” the girl tilted her head nearly to a right angle because recognizing me sideways was easier than recognizing me upside down. “Lin? Li Lin?”

I rolled my eyes. It shouldn’t have been hard to recognize me. I was a spitting image of Lyn and our names sounded so alike I would have answered to either. “Yeah, DaXue. It’s me.”

“What’s with the makeup?”

I pinched my face and came up with a lie. “I was hoping to paint a portrait of my sister for my parents. I figured with some makeup-”

“You might look like her? Hmm. Sure.”

“Sure? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. What about the crab hat?”

“Crab hat?” in my sleepiness reached a finger up. It came away red. “Ah. Heavens! Stop that.” The damn crab was back. I surged to my feet and flung the thing down. It burst apart on the floor.

“You didn’t have to do that. I thought it was cute.”

“Cute? The damn thing is a menace. It’s the reason I’m out here like this.” I shouted at nothing but I bet the spirit heard me from wherever it was reconstituting.

“Mhmmn. So the crab is the reason your face is all made up? Not some art for your sister?”

“Yes. Well. No. Shutup. And it’s of my sister. Not for her. You remember Lyn right? She’s dead if you forgot. I wouldn’t be able to paint something for her.” My reddening face only intensified DaXue’s smug grin. “It’s none of your business anyway.”

“Lin!” My brother waved me down from the stands. “Come here.”

“Who are they calling?” DaXue mused. “Isn’t your name Lyn?”

“I hate you.” She waved as I stomped down the stands. My brother and Lao had finally finished sparing, too sweaty and haggard to continue, but they had not stopped fighting.

“I’m telling you, Sen.” It’s easy money for the village. We don’t have to do but stand around and pretend like nothing is happening.”

“They’re offering too much money for too little work. You don’t sense something wrong with that?”

“Of course I do, but whatever’s wrong, we can handle it. You, me, XiaoYin, and a dozen others here and abroad. Everyone’s in on it and we’ll all work so that nobody gets hurt no matter what the catch is.”

“Lin. Talk him out of this.” Sen shoved me in front of Lao like he shoved me in front of Tong, unapologetic and impatient. I didn’t bother with a glare this time, I just focused on sizing up cousin Lao.

“What’s going on this time Lao?” I had seen this smile of Cousin Lao before. He made it when he offered to take us island hopping, and that time he planned an incursion on the mainland, and that other time he put a bunch of herbs together in a bowl and dared us to see what happened. It was a smile that meant one of us, often cousin Lao, was going to have a good time while the others, Sen and I, were going to need to come along to bail him out.

“You’re brother is trying to avoid the payout of a lifetime.”

“It’s an obvious trap that I’m trying to get you to avoid.” Sen said from behind.

“Sorry, what are you two even talking about?”

My brother sucked in his breath. “It’s too dangerous for you to know.”

“What? Then how am I supposed to talk Lao out of anything?”

“I don’t know. You’re a smooth talker. Smooth talk him.”

“Thats…That’s not remotely how smooth talking works.”

“Tonight’s island fights are happening here,” Lao broke in. “Some big shot from WuXue Island is fighting and his friends don’t like him very much. We’re being offered a lot to help take him out.”

“I’m sorry. Island fights? What are those.”

“You’re not supposed to tell him about the fights.” Sen muttered under their breath.

“Excuse me.” I said. “I’m right here.”

“Lin’s a man now Sen.” Lao gave me a strained look. “Mannish. He should know about the fights. Hell, he should come. It’s a per-person payout.”

“He’s not coming. I’m not coming. I don’t feel good about any of this. There are Cultivators flying around and the Emperor wants to conscript us. What do you think the minister would think about brutality like that? It’s not the time to start assassinating people.”

“We're not…We’re not-” Lao suddenly shifted closer forcing us into a huddle. “We're not killing anyone, Sen. Okay? So keep your mouth shut. The task is to help hold the guy down if they need help doing so while his friends lay into him. That’s it. Eighty sen for each of us, enough for a warming stone in every hand this winter if enough of us come. If you come. I’ve already roped everyone else in. Me, Xiao Yin, Tong.”

“Old man Tong is going to be there?” I asked.

“What? No. Tong’s younger son. I mean, the guy can’t hold a spatula much less a sword but he’s coming for the payout same as his wife and daughter.”

“It’s stupid.” Sen said. “He should stay home like we will be. This reeks of a trap, and I am not bailing you out this time.”

“I’ll go.”

Sen’s head spun so fast I thought it would snap off. “You’ll what?”

“I said, I’m going. Eighty sen could buy a lot, and if the payout is guaranteed…it can’t be tough to hold one guy down, right?”

Sen wore a rage I had never seen before. Stoic, impassive, unparsable Sen suddenly looked like he wanted to murder someone. “Lin. You are not going to help Lao beat the shit out of some poor soul for a few copper bits.:

“It’s hard silver.” Lao broke in.”And we’re not beating anyone up. We’re just not stoping the beat down.”

“That’s just as bad.”

“No, it’s not.”

“I fail to see the issue here, Sen.” I shivered under Sen’s gaze, but held. My brother wasn’t an angry person. He didn’t throw a tantrum. At best, he would stomp off. “You know our family could use the money. We barely have enough as it is.”

Sen must have hated those words because he closed his eyes for a long time. “Lin, you’re fucking disappointment. Stay home. You too Lao.”

Their argument resumed without me. I let it drift away in a stupor. What did my brother just say about me?

“I’m not a disappointment.” I didn’t even register that I had said the words. All I was feeling was a sudden rage. All the stress of today was whirling in my head. All the embarrassment and shame. All the laughter. All because I was different from my stupid brother who was just an ox on two legs. What right did anyone have to say I was less than him?

Sen didn’t even bother to address my words so I shouted them for all to hear. “I’m not a fucking disappointment!” What few heads remained in the training hall swiveled toward my direction. A few kids had been abandoned here by the adults. When they saw me. They laughed. I didn’t care.

“Lin. Keep your voice down.” Sen finally acknowledged me but once again didn’t apologize for pushing me.

“I won’t keep my voice down. You owe me an apology. I’m not a disappointment.”

“Yes, you are, you dumb, onerous waste of space.” Sen finally erupted too. “Even Lyn thought you were. You don’t work the fields, you can’t fight, you can’t drive wagons or craft elixirs, or even weave baskets or anything that would actually help the village. What even is the point of you? All you can do is paint but instead of doing that, you still cause me headaches while I’m already forced to do your work and mine. You’re worse than Lao.”

“Hey,” Lao butted in. I flashed him a look that could kill. He returned a meek shrug.

Sen didn’t stop his rant for Lao though. “The one thing I liked about you that anyone liked about you is that you were at least not an asshole. Mom even thought you were kind, but here you are, Lin. Not only joining Lao in beating the crap out of poor soul but saying you don’t see anything wrong with it. What if I beat you up, Lin? Would you change your mind then?”

I looked away. I shouldn’t have. It gave him all the validation he needed. “So yes, Lin. You’re a complete utter disappointment and I’m ashamed that you’re even related to me.”

“You have no right to speak to me that way.”

“No right? No right, he says.” Sen laughed and leaned so far forward that our noses touched. “Hit me.”

“What? No.”

“Hey, Sen. Don’t mess with the kid, okay?”

Sen gave Lao none of his attention. He stared me down with blinding white teeth.

“Hit me.” Sen said. “Hit me and if I feel it, then I know you can at least hit someone who's being held down by an entire village. If you can’t do that then you stay at home where your useless ass belongs.”

“If you feel it?” I suddenly didn’t care that the man I was facing was my brother. I balled my hand into a tight fist.

“Do you see his tiny arms? A jellyfish wouldn’t feel anything.”

A voice from the stands, hardening my resolve. I turned to face my accusor. Of all the people it could have been, it was BaoBao who front seat to our fight. “Oh, scary face Lin. What? Do you want to hit me too? I’ll take that challenge.” His mere voice made me shiver with anger. BaoBao would be the weakest boy in the village if I wasn’t around. He was scrawnier than me, tinier than me, and he still managed to make every bit of my life miserable.

Except for this one. For once I was glad he was here to make fun of me. Every sliver of rage I could muster would be useful. I balled my fingers into a fist, took a step back, and watched the sky suddenly fall away from me. A few blinks later, I finally realized I was on my back.

“Hit me,” came my brother’s voice from upside down. I scrambled to my feet and scurried away so that all of him was in my view. I took more than a few steps back. He suddenly seemed a mile taller. “You cheated.”

“You think they care if you cheat in the Island Fights? It’s bloodsport, Lin. So if you can’t handle this, how are you going to handle that guy if he breaks free? You can’t, Lin, 'cause you’re a godawful-”

I ran after him but once again found myself facing the sky. “Come on Lin. You’re not a disappointment? Do you really believe that? Do you believe that you’ve got any right to say that? Do you think anyone in this village is grateful to have you around when they had your sister? You’re less than useless Lin. You’re nothing.

I kept running at him as he made his speech. Up and down. Up and down. Again and again even after my gut lost its orientation, and the sand was speckled with blood and tears, I came after my brother until he came after me.

I swear a bone broke when I held out my hands to catch myself. The sudden jerk of pain distracted me from the rapidly approaching ground. My nose smashed onto the packed dirt of the grounds. I felt a tooth crack, and then I started screaming.

“Oh, what now crybaby? You sprained a muscle or something. Are you going to run home to Mom finally? Going to tell on me? Well, I might as well have some fucking fun before then right?” My brother’s punches came between every word. Each punch to the gut excelling blood and vomit.

“Hey. That’s enough.” BaoBao’s voice came from behind and I couldn’t bare to have him pity me. That shame hurt more than the punches. I started to crawl away from my brother’s beating.

He stopped after noticing my feeble attempts. “That’s right Lin. Crawl back home. You think this was bad? You can’t even imagine the fights! What I did to you is half of what Lao wants to do to that poor sucker. Do you get it now, Lin? Do you get it now, Lao? Do you think eighty Sen is worth that? Lin? Come back if you do. Come back and fight me.”

I couldn't even look back. All I could do was limp back home.