Beginning with the Ubume Bird - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Before the Final Game

July 6th, 1986.

Li Yan replayed the tape of Zhou and Xu Tianci’s fight.

Xu Tianci was using a pair of Butterfly Knives. In his hands, the knives danced like a meandering dragon.

Zhou wielded a nine-ringed broadsword. His broadsword rained down heavy blows on Xu Tianci, and the sheer pressure prevented Xu Tianci from retaliating. The sight of the seamless Wensheng swordplay caused Li Yan’s palms to break out in sweat.

Twenty-one slashes. For a total of twenty-one slashes, Li Yan himself could not find any opening to retaliate. It was these twenty-one slashes that carved Xu Tianci into a bloody mess.

Right at that moment, Li Yan focused his attention on the screen.

Retaliation!

Indeed, the footage showed that Xu Tianci suddenly exerted force from his waist to block the ringed broadsword with both his knives. He then slashed forward and ran his knife along the blade of the broadsword. Zhou was an experienced fighter, and he reacted immediately by turning the blade and slashing upwards, pressing the broadsword towards Xu Tianci’s neck. Xu Tianci shook his left shoulder and blocked Zhou’s forearm with his wrist. With his other hand, he slashed at Zhou’s eyes, the blades of his Butterfly Knives almost touching Zhou’s eyelids. At the same time, the nine-ringed broadsword was already pressed against Xu Tianci’s neck, drawing a line of blood.

Whoever retreated would die.

In the end, the nine-ringed broadsword boasted more power. Zhou roared and pressed forward, making Xu Tianci retreat. Each frantic step that they took caused one’s heart to beat faster.

“Clang!”

Xu Tianci retreated all the way to the edge of the ring, his body dropping downwards.

But Li Yan could clearly see on the screen that Xu Tianci’s foot had not stepped on air, but landed solidly on the granite floor!

With Xu Tianci’s stumble, Zhou thought that he had stepped off the edge. He drew back the force in his blade and changed it into a push, hoping to drive the off-balance Xu Tianci out of the ring.

Then the tables turned!

Xu Tianci burst into action, jumping at Zhou. The Butterfly Knives followed the blade of the nine-ringed broadsword and knocked it out of the center. Xu Tianci advanced with Zhou’s center open as his knife slashed across Zhou’s sword hand.

Blood spurted out and a forearm flew into the air. The nine-ringed broadsword fell to the ground with a clang.

Xu Tianci did not stop there. He dropped to one knee and his twin knives flew out like a pair of butterfly wings, drawing a vicious ‘X’ across Zhou’s belly…

Li Yan quietly turned off the video, his face calm.

“He knows how to use his head. He has fighting talent.”

Was Zhou’s loss an injustice? Most would say yes. If he had not held back and changed the force in his blade, but rather had slashed onwards to force Xu Tianci out of the ring, the situation would be very different.

Was Zhou’s loss an injustice? Li Yan did not think so. He lost, so there was no injustice.

In a life or death situation, if you chose to show mercy, you must be mentally prepared to pay a price. And why would you not think that the opponent was not deliberately putting up a weak front? Li Yan himself had used such methods to bait his opponents and then quickly win the match from there.

“Xu Tianci uses the Eight Slashing Knives, passed down directly from Ip Man himself. Are you confident?” Red Ghost asked.

Li Yan nodded.

“Still plan on using the sword?”

Li Yan shook his head this time.

“My right hand is ruined. Although the Han Sword is powerful, it takes up a lot of energy. I’m thinking of changing it up.”

“What will you change to?”

“Against the Eight Slashing Knives…” murmured Li Yan. He had never faced authentic Wing Chun Eight Slashing Knives before, even in Guangdong, and was happy to see a new type of prey.

“There’s a unique weapon in the Eight Trigram Style. The Deer Horn Knives.”

Yu Shu, who was sipping her wine, stared at him quietly.

“You’ll use only one with your left hand?”

“You’re mad.”

Grand Duke laughed and shook her head.

Red Ghost looked at Grand Duke and then back at Li Yan. He slapped his thigh and got to his feet.

“I’ll go prepare it.”

With that, he left.

In the room, only Li Yan and Yu Shu were left.

“Do you want a drink?”

Yu Shu pulled out a bottle of Shaochun wine out of nowhere.

“No thanks.”

“Oh.”

The two of them didn’t have much to say to each other. The atmosphere was strange but harmonious.

…

The Deer Horn Knives were an unusual set of weapons from an art passed down by the Eight Trigram Palm founder Dong Haichuan. Each knife consisted of two intersecting crescents, one large and one small, forming a shape similar to the ‘x’ in algebra but with a gap in the middle where the user could hold the weapon. This was a dual wielding short weapon, even rarer than the Butterfly Knives.

“Thock!”

The curved blade in Li Yan’s left hand chopped against the wooden dummy.

“The Deer Horn Knives are dual wielding weapons, and you’re using only your non-dominant left hand to wield one of them. Your chance of winning is too small.”

Li Yan tightened the bandages on his hands and turned to look at the man who spoke.

“Brother Red Ghost, I’ve been in Kowloon Walled City for so long, but I’ve never fought you before. How about a quick spar?”

“No problem, if it’s just a spar.” Red Ghost, who was sitting to the side, stamped out his cigarette. “Oh right, Yan, let me ask you. How has Fuyi Tower been treating you? How have I been treating you?”

“Not bad.”

Li Yan tossed the single Deer Horn Knife aside and looked quietly at Red Ghost.

Red Ghost massaged his temples then let out a deep breath as he looked glumly out of the window.

“I grew up begging on the streets. I never learned how to fight. I just kept punching until my fists became hard.”

He stuck out one finger and said, “I’ll always remember the gratitude that I owe people. Grand Duke took me in when I was about to starve, so I would give my life for her. You tell me, when people owe me gratitude, how do they repay me?”

Li Yan said nothing. He simply continued to quietly wrap round after round of bandages around his right hand.

“He Lian Sheng is finished. Did you know that?”

“I did.”

“When Judy gets angry, all of the gangs in Hong Kong shudder in fear. You’re the hot new guy now, but how’s your memory, huh?”

As Red Ghost spoke, his tone became colder.

“Brother Red Ghost, get to the point.”

Red Ghost stood up.

“Someone came to look for me yesterday. They said you were selling us here at Fuyi out. Is that true?”

Li Yan nodded.

“I did say those words.”

Red Ghost didn’t do anything. He simply looked at Li Yan and said, “Why did you betray me?”

“I said the words, but I did not betray you.”

Li Yan calmly replied.

“If He Lian Sheng had not fallen, would you have tried to take out our boss after another two weeks?”

Li Yan laughed. He would have left Hong Kong the very next day. Those words that he said were just to get into Taizi Le’s head.

At that time, he had broken up with Judy. He did not wish to continue getting money from her, so what was there to do? Set up a scheme to cheat He Lian Sheng of their money. This was what Li Yan had in mind, but in the end, his plans had not managed to catch up with the change in situation.

Now that Red Ghost was questioning him, Li Yan did indeed feel rather embarrassed, although he had never really intended to do those things.

He was not worried however about getting on bad terms with the people at Fuyi Tower. Rather, he was more worried about word of what happened that night getting out…

“Brother Red Ghost,” Li Yan began, carefully considering his tone of voice so that his words would not have future repercussions.

“You want to deal with me. Have you asked Grand Duke?”

“Of course.”

Red Ghost laughed bitterly. “She said alright. And told me to not go too far.”

“Since Grand Duke already said so, why don’t we wait until my match is over tomorrow?”

Red Ghost bit his thumb and walked up to Li Yan. “Now that Judy is protecting you, how could I dare touch you, huh?”

Li Yan looked at this man who had been taking good care of him since the day he arrived. He wondered how things had gotten to such a state and decided to go along with Red Ghost.

Li Yan’s face broke out into a cocky smile.

“That’s right, Brother Red Ghost, think about it. Even Grand Duke with her fiery temper won’t lay a hand on me. You should reconsider your decision.”

The baby-faced Red Ghost let out a laugh. He leaned forward on his left leg and sent a vicious right hook into Li Yan’s face.

Li Yan could dodge, or he could block, but he did neither. He simply stared as the fist made a mark on his face.

Blood splattered.

Red Ghost kept it coming with a knee to Li Yan’s stomach and a thumping fist on Li Yan’s back as he doubled over in pain.

Li Yan took the first punch willingly. At the second knee, Li Yan was calm. At the third fist, Li Yan found it hard to hold his anger.

He pushed at back Red Ghost with his shoulder and wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth.

“That should do, right? Any more and I’ll hit back.”

“I wouldn’t ask for anything else!”

“You son of a b*tch!”

The two of them leapt at each other!

…

July7th, 1986.

“Are you two talking to me?”

Yu Shu had put down her bottle of wine for once and was glaring wide-eyed. Liao Zhizong stood to the side, shaking his head. The rest of them wanted to laugh but didn’t dare.

The corners of Li Yan’s mouth were blue-black, and he said nothing. Red Ghost had two black eyes and his face was dark.

He saw Ruan Hongzhi’s mouth curve into a smile, and he glared with his black eyes.

“What are you laughing at, you b*stard.”

“Enough!”

Yu Shu shouted and stopped Red Ghost.

“Today Yan is going to fight. We’ll talk about other matters after the fight is over. Get into the ring.”

She walked past Li Yan, patted him on the shoulder, and said softly, “All the best.”