Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 5: Kowloon City Tournament

Editor: Larbre Studio

As the speaker stepped into the arena, the crowd on either side retreated like a tide.

This was a young man in his twenties, wearing a leather jacket, tall and slender with a bit of a baby face, looking as innocent as a student still in school.

Hua Shanjiu leaned back in his seat and said nonchalantly, “Red Ghost, you scared the hell out of me. What’s going on? Has Mr. Wu turned against us, saying we’re now so overbearing we’re chased out of Longcheng even for watching a match?”

The young man called Red Ghost walked over to Hua Shanjiu, sat down next to him, lit a cigarette, and mumbled, “The feud between Mr. Wu and the coalition has nothing to do with us who make our living off the ring, we’re with Taishuai. But you treating my ring like a chicken coop, hopping in and out whenever you want, isn’t that breaking our rules? If anyone who comes to watch the fights thinks they can just jump into the ring, how are we supposed to handle the betting slips, right?”

Hua Shanjiu snorted and pointed at Li Yan in the ring.

“Let me put it straight. Zhou has been wanting to find a master of Bagua Palm for sparring for a long time now, and you must have heard about it. It’s not me, Hua Shanjiu, causing trouble. I fear that outside of this place, your men won’t even want to see me. At the end of the day, Mr. Wu and Taishuai both work on the Executive Committee of Kowloon City, they run into each other all the time. I understand that you don’t want to get involved with this stench on me. Let’s be clear, I’m not looking to disrupt Longcheng’s rules, just wanting my guy to have a fight with one of your boxers. If you can’t even agree to that, then let’s just lay it all out.”

Red Ghost folded his arms and slowly shook his head.

“Rules are rules. I don’t care about the rest, but today, having your man in the ring is causing trouble in Longcheng.”

Hua Shanjiu burst out laughing in frustration, “Fine, then there’s nothing to talk about…”

“Shanjiu!” Zhou jumped down from the ring and called out to Hua Shanjiu, then addressed Red Ghost.

“You just mentioned that I followed the Coachman from Kowloon City. Does that mean, as long as I follow the rules and fight in the ring, I can sparr with him?”

Red Ghost’s eyelid drooped.

“Then you’ll have to start from the first match. If the Executive Committee determines that your performance is similar and someone is willing to place a big bet, then of course it’s not a problem.”

“Fine, I’ll start from the bottom at Longcheng’s ring.”

Red Ghost nodded, his indifferent gaze turning towards Hua Shanjiu.

“What does Shanjiu say?”

Hua Shanjiu’s face was dark and menacing, but he said nothing.

Zhou moved closer to Hua Shanjiu, his throat bobbing, “Shanjiu.”

Hua Shanjiu glanced at him sideways, “When does a boss ever not take care of his own men?”

Zhou grinned sheepishly.

“Shanjiu, I can handle this myself.”

Hua Shanjiu muttered something under his breath that sounded like cursing.

“Let’s go.”

Hua Shanjiu stood up from his seat. About forty or fifty people stood up and walked out, some thugs glancing provocatively at the seated Red Ghost as they left, but Red Ghost ignored them.

Before leaving, Zhou approached Li Yan.

“The Master Li, there aren’t many who fight traditional martial arts on the rings of Kowloon City. Today was unsatisfying. Once I get my footing in the rings of Longcheng, we’ll have a proper fight.”

Li Yan nodded, saying,

“I say, Master Zhou, does that fifty thousand from your Shanjiu still count?”

Zhou was taken aback, then after a while, nodded with a peculiar expression on his face.

“It counts…”

…

“You’ve gained five Yan Fu points. You’ve unlocked additional purchase privileges for this Yan Fu event (0/1)”

Your purchase limits are as follows:

[A Fleeting Glimpse]

Category: Skill scroll

Quality: Common

Grants the ability to obtain personal information of others, with a certain probability of uncovering their weaknesses.

You can use this skill directly, consuming one Yan Fu point each time you gather someone’s information, or you can choose to spend ten Yan Fu points to purchase this skill. Once bought, you can use this skill freely.

[es Hematopoietic Cell Enhancer]

Category: Consumable

Quality: Fine

Origin: Big Ben Research Institute

Has a strong therapeutic effect on physical damage caused by blood and hematopoietic cell anomalies. It can also enhance the vitality of the user’s blood, and ordinary people have a very small chance of comprehending the skill: Blood Activation.

Mo’s message: While it can’t cure your illness, it won’t make you fight with an injury.

You can spend ten Yan Fu points to acquire it.

[es Hematopoietic Cell Completer]

“`

Category: Consumable

Quality: Rare!

Origin: Big Ben Research Institute

Has an extremely powerful healing effect on blood and cellular pathology and can also enhance the blood vitality of the user. People with normal body functions will acquire the skill after consumption: Blood Vitalization.

You can obtain it by spending three hundred Yan Fu points.

Please note that the additional purchasing privileges gifted to you by Mo can be activated once during each Yan Fu event, and after three Yan Fu events, the gift will vanish.

Mo’s message: Newcomer, I think I’ve been quite generous.

After reading this information, Li Yan instantly felt enlightened.

es Hematopoietic Cell Completer!

This was what the fat man promised could cure his illness.

And what he needed to do was earn enough Yan Fu points!

It was only then that Li Yan truly started to ponder what it meant to confirm ownership. After all, it determined the way Li Yan would make money, and in this world, there were too many ways to earn money quickly.

Li Yan sat in a corner, pretending to be lost in thought, while mulling over his plan. A figure walked up to him, looking down at him.

It was Red Ghost.

“Your name is Li Yan, right? How long have you been in Hong Kong?”

Li Yan looked up, pretending to rub his eyes.

“Just recently.”

The young man known as Red Ghost squatted down.

“From now on you follow me, boxing under me. Money, women, I’ll see that you’re well taken care of, understood?”

Li Yan nodded coolly.

Red Ghost smiled.

“Come with me.”

As he said this, he turned and walked upstairs. Li Yan got up silently and followed, scrutinizing the young man with a kind appearance but known as Red Ghost.

Even Li Yan himself didn’t notice that after looking at Red Ghost for a short while, a ripple of black appeared in his pupils!

“You have acquired some information. Viewing it will cost one Yan Fu point. Would you like to view it?”

Li Yan thought it over for a moment and eventually decided not to view Red Ghost’s information, merely following Red Ghost up the stairs.

The two walked up to the rooftop, one after the other, with a haphazard array of antennas on the concrete roof making it a tricky place to set foot.

As far as the eye could see were clustered, twisted, and tall buildings; they were rudimentary, run-down, and crowded. But they were also bustling, impressive, and full of vibrant life.

“Kowloon Walled City, sounds scary just when people talk about it, but it’s actually nice here. I’ll take you for a dog meat hotpot sometime. You’ll love it so much you might swallow your tongue,” Red Ghost said.

“Longcheng is a well-known enclave, no one meddles with it, yeah. Malaysia, Macau, Taiwan, you wouldn’t believe how many fugitives run out of options and flee here every year. Some end up being thugs for the triads, but most end up on Kowloon City’s boxing stages. Just like you.”

He paused, then added:

“Ninety percent of Hong Kong’s Miss Bais come from here. Half the population of Kowloon City has used drugs. Firearms, smuggling, human trafficking, gambling dens, brothels, it’s chaos. And Liansheng, 14K, Hong Yian, the gangs are everywhere.”

He held up a finger.

“But in Longcheng, it’s not allowed by the Executive Committee, and no one dares to stir up trouble. If the Committee says something, not a single gang dares to say no. Here, the Governor doesn’t hold as much sway as the Committee, you get me?”

Without expecting Li Yan to reply, Red Ghost went on.

“Boxing in Longcheng, you’re living off Taishuai. Taishuai, that’s the Executive Committee member of Longcheng. He’s the behind-the-scenes boss of all the boxing stage businesses in Longcheng. I heard about your fight from Fei Bo; you were pretty fierce today, huh? Two moves and you took down Cha Chai? Even Fei Bo said he misjudged you.”

“When I arrived in Hong Kong I wasn’t used to the climate and got seriously ill. It’s only recently that I’ve started getting better.”

Red Ghost nodded in a noncommittal way. He did not press further, but lit a cigarette and said:

“Taishuai appreciates the younger generation with powerful fists the most. You have potential.”

Li Yan gazed at the cramped and decaying buildings in front of him, seemingly casually asking:

“Red Ghost, I heard I fought on the fourth ring. How much can you earn from the higher rings?”

Red Ghost sniffed.

“The fourth ring, huh? It’s a small venue, typically only workers from Longcheng and shop owners watch. You get five thousand for a win and still a thousand if you lose. The first five rings are open daily, as long as someone bets on you going up, you can make money. The sixth ring isn’t open every day; fewer fighters, probably three or four times a week. Fighters get thirty thousand for a win, five thousand for a loss, and there’s a variety… If a Waterpipe (a lavish gambler) is willing to put down more money, anything goes: cage fights, weapon fights, you can make a few hundred thousand in one night. Though, often, people die.”

Red Ghost spoke lightly, but Li Yan could imagine what it was like on stage, two people brandishing blades, gambling with their lives, blood soaking the floor while the onlookers roared with increasing frenzy…

With these thoughts, a hint of chill flashed through the corner of Li Yan’s eyes.

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