by Jeremy Bai
“Well, then what do you call it? We’re here behind closed doors, refusing to see or speak to anyone. All we do is meditate and practice while our enemies roam the streets, plotting how to either use us or kill us.”
Sun Mai rubbed his chin. “Hm, good point. Well, I still think that hiding is the wrong term. We’re just removing ourselves from the outside world, secluding ourselves, so to speak. We’re spending most of our time in meditation, improving ourselves, refining ourselves. The right state of mind is essential to self-improvement, you know. So we’re secluded, in meditation. Secluded meditation! That’s what we’re doing!”
Sunan frowned. “Fine. Secluded meditation. Well, I’ve had it with this secluded meditation. I want to go out. I’m ready to fight again. In fact, I’m itching to. All of these stances and moves I’ve been working on are great, but I won’t know how effective they will be until I actually use them in a real fight.”
Sun Mai sighed. “But Sunan, you yourself said that you’re on the verge of major progress. Don’t you think it would be better to achieve that third breakthrough before you compete in the arena again?”
Sunan shrugged. “Maybe, but I don’t know how to break through. I’m stuck. Stuck in the second level.”
“Why don’t you—”
Sun Mai was interrupted by a knock at the door. A message had arrived for them. A burlap envelope sealed shut with a crude iron awl.
When Sun Mai and Sunan saw that iron awl, their gazes met, and they could see the anxiety in each other’s eyes.
Sunan let Sun Mai open the envelope. Inside was a sheet of coarse paper with a simple message written on it, which Sun Mai read out loud.
“Your wounds should be healed. Come fight tonight. This time, win.” Sun Mai looked at Sunan. “Well, that settles it, apparently.”
Sunan nodded.
Chapter 12: Disdain of the Ogre
Sunan was nervous stepping back onto the platform to fight. Rat-Hearted Li gave them a long, telling look but didn’t say anything. The other fighters looked at him out of the corners of their eyes.
They looked more nervous than he did.
When the time came for the actual fight, Sunan was shocked. His opponent moved incredibly slowly, telegraphed his each and every move, and left holes in his defense wide enough to ride elephants through.
All that training paid off, he thought. Or is it just that this guy is a terrible fighter?
The difficulty in the fight was making it look realistic. Because of Sunan’s recent increase in speed, power, and fighting ability, the platform seemed small, even restrictive. He had to hold back from countering the man’s strikes, and eventually he allowed the man to land some blows. They felt like the blows of a sleeping baby.
He somehow managed to make it through two full rounds before finishing the fight off by knocking the man clean out. Although he tried to make it look like a wild punch, Sunan knew that he could have killed the man without the slightest effort, and he actually had to work hard to make the blow look realistic without seriously injuring him. He was even confident that he could have knocked the man out with the brush of a hand, which made him think back to when his village had been invaded, and he had been struck by that Demon Emperor soldier.
This must be why the Demon Emperor and his army are so invincible. They’re all qi fighters!
Time passed. Sunan followed the orders of Iron Awl Hu, winning and losing fights when instructed to do so. While he focused on fighting, Sun Mai ingratiated himself with the other managers. Whether that was intentional or not, Sunan wasn’t sure, but in the end, Sun Mai managed to fit in and even made some friends.
Eventually they learned that only about a quarter of the matches were fixed ahead of time. Most of the fighters who participated had no idea about the arrangement—only the select elite were part of the system.
After they identified who these select elite were, Sunan spent more time observing their matches. He quickly realized that although they were skilled, that was only in terms of fighters with no qi.
The Golden Immortal was the exception.
The first time Sunan watched the Golden Immortal fight, he saw the man use a move in which he jumped up into the air to an impossible height—to quite a few oohs and ahhs from the crowd—and then dropped down with a spinning back kick that leveled his opponent.
He can use qi, Sunan realized almost immediately. I wonder how many breakthroughs he’s achieved.
Sunan watched him more and more closely over the coming weeks and months, and soon he realized that the Golden Immortal was also studying him.
He was now only one rank behind, so it was inevitable that a showdown would occur eventually.
Sun Mai and Sunan were now regulars at the Heavenly Meat Palace. After some discussion, they decided that they didn’t care what kind of meat it was they were eating, as long as it was well cooked and they added enough spice. After some clandestine investigation, they came to the conclusion that the “yellow wine” was genuine, although of low quality and quite watered down.
One night after another profitable fight, they were wolfing down “lamb” skewers and guzzling yellow wine, when Sun Mai suddenly slapped his hand down onto the table.
“Twenty-one!” he declared.
By now Sunan was quite used to Sun Mai’s odd way of beginning conversations, so he took the sudden statement in stride. “Twenty-one what?”
“Twenty-one moves. The Golden Immortal. Haven’t you noticed?”
Sunan was also learning to follow Sun Mai’s seemingly random trains of thought. “You’re talking about how he relies on a fairly limited set of moves?”
“Yes! Excellent. Great minds think alike.”
“I noticed it but haven’t really been paying attention. You’re saying that he only uses twenty-one moves?”
“After much thought and analysis, I believe so. In fact… Waiter!”
A waiter scurried over. When Sun Mai demanded some paper and writing utensils, the boy looked at him oddly for a moment but eventually hurried off and returned a few minutes later with the requested materials.
Sun Mai prepared some ink and then cleared a space in front of him. Placing down a sheet of coarse paper, he began to draw a man in a pose that Sunan recognized as the Golden Immortal’s opening fighting stance. Then Sun Mai made some notations below it and went on to draw another figure.
Over the course of the next hour or so, Sunan continued to eat and drink while Sun Mai worked. In the end, he had a sheet of paper with twenty-one illustrations and accompanying notes.
“Those are his moves,” he said, handing the paper over to Sunan. After packing the writing materials away, Sun Mai then descended upon another pile of meat.
Sure enough, the illustrations Sun Mai had just laid out on the paper were all of the moves Sunan remembered seeing during the handful of matches he had observed. Of course, in actual combat, there would be plenty of variations involved, but the foundation was relatively simple.
Combined with the observations Sunan had already made, this information caused his mind to spin into overdrive. Of course, his mind had already been spinning a bit from the yellow wine, but in this instance, it actually helped.
He began to analyze the moves he often used, including their strengths and weaknesses. Then he fell into a trance. Brilliant light began to flow through him, light that only he could see. He could feel energy coursing through his blood vessels and qi passageways. All the meridians in his body felt as if they were being cleaned. Popping sounds rang out, sounds that no one else could hear, and then he felt completely calm.
His eyes opened to find a dark noxious mist surrounding him, which quickly faded away. He felt clean. And strong. The spinning sensation caused by the alcohol was no longer present.
Shockingly, the table had been cleared at some point, and it was no longer nighttime, but rather, dawn. Sun Mai still sat across from him, although his chin was resting on his hand, and his eyes were closed.
S
unan took a deep breath then cleared his throat.
Sun Mai opened his eyes. “Ah, you’re back. If I’m not mistaken you…”
“Yes, I had that breakthrough.”
“The third?”
“Yes.”
Sun Mai nodded. “Excellent. Now, let’s go get some breakfast. I stood watch over you the whole night, and I’m famished.”
Sunan chose not to point out that Sun Mai had just been sleeping, casting a bit of doubt into the words “stood watch the whole night.”
He and Sun Mai left the Heavenly Meat Palace and headed south to where vendors sold breakfast food from stalls.
They were only halfway there when something caught Sunan’s ear. He stopped in place, cocked his head, and turned toward a nearby alley. As he approached, he heard a gruff voice speaking.
“Tell me where the money is, bitch, otherwise I’ll slit your throat!”
Sunan’s eyes turned cold, and he hurried into the alley, Sun Mai following close behind. What he saw caused the coldness in his eyes to turn into fire.
A tall, lanky man was holding a woman up against the stone wall of the building. His hand was gripped around her throat while her hands clutched at his forearm. She was pregnant.
When she spoke, she could barely force the words out of her throat. “I don’t… have any money… I promise…”
“Hmph,” the man said. “Then you’re no use to me.” He then began to draw a long, curved dagger from his belt.
“HEY!” Sunan shouted, breaking into a dead run.
The man turned his head to look at Sunan and almost immediately dropped the woman. His shoulders swiveled as he continued to draw the knife and charged toward Sunan.
As soon as Sunan saw the man’s chest, his heart began to thump in nervousness. Clearly visible on the man’s garment was the insignia of the Demon Emperor.
He’s one of the Lions of Peace! Dammit, a Demon Emperor soldier!
Wishing he’d had more time to think and plan, Sunan’s hands twisted into claws like that of a dragon. As the Demon Emperor soldier neared, Sunan planted his left foot and slashed out with both hands. The soldier was still two meters away, but the power of Sunan’s qi caused two translucent illusory dragons to appear and surge toward the soldier.
It was hard to say whose eyes widened first, Sunan’s or the soldiers. However, the soldier was clearly a trained fighter. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and splayed them wide, shouting, “Disdain of the Ogre!”
A shimmering, circular ripple appeared, which the two dragons slammed into and then dissipated.
Sunan’s attack had been completely countered.
Grinning, the soldier stopped in place. “So you know a bit about the divinity brought to this world by the King of the Pure Ones. A Misos attack? Did you invent it, or did someone teach you? Either way, the Lions of Peace could always use more hands. Why don’t you come with me? Become one of the greatest soldiers in the world.”
The two illusory dragons had surprised Sunan. He had simply used one of the moves he had been practicing for the past few weeks with Sun Mai, except in the heat of the moment, he had sent the qi flowing a bit differently, slightly adjusting the angles of his arms. Based on the feeling of how the qi had flown through him and the way it stuck slightly in some of the meridians in his arms, he could already guess how to improve the move.
So they name their moves, huh? Fine!
Not deigning to respond to the soldier, he unleashed the same attack as before, except tweaked slightly, and shouted, “Rebuke of the Dragon!”
This time the dragons shimmered like flowing water as they shot toward the soldier.
The soldier immediately crossed his arms. “Disdain of the— URG!”
He was too slow. The dragons slashed into his chest, ripping his leather armor, sending blood splashing in all directions. The soldier shouted in pain as he staggered backward a few paces, but just as quickly, he snarled and slashed out with his dagger. This time he didn’t yell out the name of the move, and yet the blade sent a blast of light in Sunan’s direction.
Sunan instinctively spun to the left, but he wasn’t fast enough to avoid the blast. It hit his shoulder, sending piercing pain down through his torso, knocking him off his feet. He flew through the air, and he saw a trail of blood flying out from a gaping wound. Then he slammed hard into the ground.
As the soldier closed in, Sunan struggled to his feet. The soldier raised his dagger. “How appropriate to kill you with a move called the Peasant-Beheading Slash!” He laughed loudly.
Dammit. What do I do? Sunan thought.
That was when Sun Mai made his move. He extended his index and middle finger, and while the soldier was completely focused on Sunan, he slashed his hand down.
An invisible force flew through the air, hitting the soldier in the side of the neck. He shouted in rage as blood spurted out onto his shoulder.
Sunan took advantage of the man’s distraction to lurch to his feet and blast him with another Rebuke of the Dragon.
The force of the blow landed directly in the man’s face. His jaw was broken as his head snapped back violently. He was knocked off of his feet and then slammed down flat on his back on the ground.
Sunan’s hands clenched into fists, and Sun Mai once again extended his index and middle fingers.
However, the soldier didn’t get up, nor did he move. After a long moment passed, Sun Mai carefully approached the man. After nudging him with his toe, he carefully reached out and felt the man’s pulse.
When Sun Mai turned to look back at Sunan, his upper lip was twisted in the slightest of smiles. “As dead as a rat in the Heavenly Meat Palace. Although not as tasty, I imagine…”
Chapter 13: Lessons Not Learned
Sunan turned at the sound of muffled weeping. He turned his head and saw the pregnant woman who the soldier had been accosting, huddled against the wall a few meters away.
Her right arm was cradled protectively around her swelling belly, and her left hand was covering her mouth. Although her eyes were closed, tears streamed down her cheeks, and she couldn’t stifle her sobs.
Sunan walked over to the woman and squatted down onto his heels about a meter away from her.
Now that he was close up, he could see that she was young, probably not much older than he was.
“Big Sis,” he said softly, “it’s over now. You’re safe.”
The woman struggled to calm herself, then brushed the tears off of her face and opened her eyes.
She looked over at the blood-soaked body of the dead soldier, shuddered, and then looked back at Sunan.
“Who are you?” she asked.
Sunan heard soft footsteps from behind him as Sun Mai joined them. “We’re friends,” Sun Mai said.
The woman nodded.
“Why did that man want to hurt you?” Sunan asked.
The woman sniffed. “He wanted money that my husband owed him. But… I don’t have any money.”
“Is your husband not in the city?” Sun Mai asked.
She looked down. “I don’t know where he is. He told me that he had a business opportunity in Nansun. That’s why he borrowed the money from Iron Awl Hu. But he left three months ago, and he’s sent no word back. Eventually Iron Awl Hu sent people for the money.”
Without even thinking, Sunan pulled a money purse out of his tunic and offered it to her.
“This isn’t much, but it should help. It’s just a few spades.”
The woman eyed the purse but didn’t reach out to take it.
“Take it, please,” Sunan said.
She hesitated for a long moment, but in the end she reached out and took the purse.
“Wait a moment,” Sun Mai said, his eyes flickering. “You said your husband borrowed money from Iron Awl Hu?”
She nodded.
Sun Mai’s brow furrowed, and he turned to look at the nearby corpse. “But that man was a Demon Emperor soldier.”
She nodded again. “I was surprised t
oo.”
Sun Mai turned his head and looked at Sunan, who looked back at him for a long moment. They both nodded.
“Big Sis,” Sunan said, “do you have a safe place you can stay?”
The woman made to rise to her feet, and Sunan and Sun Mai both stepped forward to help her up.
“My brother has a farm outside of the city. I can go there.”
“You should hurry,” Sun Mai said. “Once word starts to spread about this soldier, things could get dangerous.”
She nodded, then clasped hands and bowed to both of them. “Many thanks, heroes. I hope that one day I can repay your kindness.” With that, the woman hurried out of the alley, cradling her belly.
After she was gone, Sunan and Sun Mai walked back over to the corpse of the soldier. Sunan looked at it for a long moment, then crouched down and began to search the man. He quickly relieved him of a money purse, a Lions of Peace identification medallion, and a narrow wooden box sealed with wax.
“Sunan, we should leave,” Sun Mai said, looking nervously up and down the alley. “If we get implicated in this man’s death, it could lead to serious consequences.”
Sunan nodded and rose back to his feet. Glancing once more around the alley, he hurried back toward the street.
***
As expected, news that one of the Demon Emperor’s soldiers had been killed soon spread like wildfire through the city. That night at the Heavenly Meat Palace, Sunan and Sun Mai didn’t talk to each other at all as they ate. Instead they eavesdropped on the surrounding conversations.
“Did you hear that one of the Lions of Peace was killed?”
“Good riddance! Nobody wants that damn Demon Emperor up here!”
“Supposedly, he was killed by some wandering hero! Stabbed through the eyes is what I heard.”
“You’re wrong there, friend. His head was chopped clean off. I saw it myself!”
“Do you think it will draw the attention of the Demon Emperor?”
“Probably not. He was just an ordinary soldier.”
“I heard he wasn’t just a soldier, he was actually a spymaster. They say that the Demon Emperor is turning his attention to the north!”