The King of Boxing

"...Lu Dongbin, drunk, hoists the wine pot with a thousand-jun of force; Iron-Crutch Li pivots and smashes his knee into his opponent, returning to sobriety..."

A slightly tipsy yet manly voice rang through the living room.

"Chu-zai, you're sitting here watching a movie first thing in the morning?"

Fish Head Xu yawned as he came out of his room. At a glance, he spotted Yang Chu sitting on the living-room sofa, watching a movie.

"I didn't sleep much."

Yang Chu replied casually, his eyes still fixed on the TV screen. He pointed toward the dining table on the other side. "I left you some breakfast."

"You've already eaten? Wow, Chu-zai, living with you means all I think about every day is food."

Fish Head Xu swayed over to the dining table and picked up the serving of rice rolls left for him. After a couple of bites, he returned to the sofa and sat down beside Yang Chu.

His crossed eyes glanced at what was playing on the TV. With half a rice roll in his mouth, he mumbled, "This movie's more than ten years old. I even had a bit part in it back then."

"Is Drunken Fist real, then?"

Hearing Fish Head Xu say he had been an extra in the movie, Yang Chu looked away from the TV, seeming interested.

"Drunken Fist is definitely real. It's a style of kung fu, after all." With the rice roll between his teeth, Fish Head Xu gestured with his chopsticks. "The Earth Dragon Manual is strongest in its low attacks; crouch like a tiger, stretch like a soaring dragon... They recited that all the time on set back then. I learned it by heart, and I still can't forget it."

"So it can really be used to fight?" Yang Chu asked, looking quite serious.

"Not the way it is in the movies. What you see there is all fake, just choreographed reactions. But there are real fighters, too. Su Can of the Ten Tigers of Guangdong, for instance—I often heard people talk about him when I was a kid. There are so many martial arts gyms on Hong Kong Island, and plenty of them teach real fighting. A lot of us stuntmen came up through those places."

As he spoke, Fish Head Xu suddenly studied Yang Chu's face closely with his crossed eyes.

"What is it?" Yang Chu asked, puzzled.

"Oh, nothing." Fish Head Xu shook his head, perplexed. "You just seem a little more mature somehow."

"Do I?" Yang Chu touched his face. "Maybe that's the price of growing up."

"Pfft—" Fish Head Xu curled his lip and took another bite of rice roll. Then his expression turned serious. "So... Chu-zai, are you still going to the film set?"

Fish Head Xu still seemed to be joking around, but inside he was unsettled. He had barely slept the whole night.

No ordinary person could witness what had happened the night before and simply put it behind them.

Fish Head Xu might not be the sharpest, but he wasn't truly stupid. There were just some things he chose not to think too hard about.

"I'm not going."

Yang Chu shook his head. He had found filming movies on set quite interesting, and the pay was decent, but it was no longer what he wanted.

He reached over to the other sofa and pulled out a promotional flyer. "Brother Xu, take a look at this."

"Hold on."

Fish Head Xu didn't take the flyer. Hearing that Yang Chu wasn't going back to the film set, he quickly put down the half-eaten rice roll, got up, and went to the coffee table on one side of the living room. He picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hello, Jia Le? It's Fish Head Xu. Here's the thing... Right, right... Chu-zai has something to take care of and can't get away... Could you let Big Brother know for me? ...Thanks."

After talking for a while, Fish Head Xu let out a quiet breath and returned to the sofa.

"All taken care of. I told them you had something to deal with and couldn't get away for now. Luckily, Jia Le's got a newcomer there, too. Hong Ye, I think his name is. I hear his skills are first-rate, so he can take your place as Wu Zai's stunt double."

"Thanks, Brother Xu." Yang Chu smiled and nodded.

His stunt work had been good enough to impress everyone, but no stuntman was truly irreplaceable.

And though someone else had replaced him the moment he decided not to go, Yang Chu didn't feel disappointed. He had already found what he wanted to do next.

"Chu-zai, what was that you wanted to show me?" Fish Head Xu asked.

"This." Yang Chu handed him the flyer.

At the top of the flyer was a picture of a rugged, muscular man. Promotional text was printed beside and below the photo.

"Shark Martial Arts Gym now open! Owner Mai Rong'en, champion of Hong Kong and Macau, offers personal instruction. Learn the basics of boxing in three months; achieve intermediate proficiency in a year. The perfect choice for settling scores, street fights, and competitive bouts. Try a class before paying. Genuine skills guaranteed. Martial artists from all schools are welcome to visit, exchange pointers, and spar. Rates as follows..."

As Fish Head Xu read through the flyer, he couldn't help exclaiming, "Wow, Chu-zai, where did you find this?"

"I happened to see someone handing them out when I went to buy breakfast, so I took one." Yang Chu answered with a smile.

After returning from the late-night food stall the previous evening, he had accelerated his metabolism to heal his injuries. He had also done the necessary physical training, then headed to the private pool in the upscale Victoria Harbour Bay residential area and slept for a while.

That morning, after buying breakfast, he had been thinking about how to improve his hand-to-hand combat skills. When someone handed him a flyer, he took one back with him.

"Is this Mai Rong'en guy any good?" Yang Chu asked, pointing to the name on the flyer.

Fish Head Xu clearly knew the name on the flyer. Pointing at the photo, he said, "Shark Yan's the real deal. I've heard gamblers say that everyone who bet on him to win made a fortune. He's gone dozens of fights undefeated, and last year he won the Hong Kong and Macau boxing championship, sponsored by a few tycoons. The papers called him the King of Boxing in Hong Kong and Macau. Speaking of which..."

Fish Head Xu paused, as if trying to remember something, then continued, "Oh, there's also some King of Northern Legs. Supposedly he's incredibly good. The martial arts community and all the major gyms seem to recognize him as the best leg fighter."

"Sounds interesting!"

Yang Chu's eyes lit up a little. He had never known anything about boxing and martial arts before, but after a life-or-death fight the previous night with that broad-shouldered, round-faced man, he had realized how vast and profound the field was.

Unless a person had an overwhelming advantage in every aspect of physical ability, such as strength and agility, they might not have the upper hand against these fighting styles.

And if weapons were involved, superior technique combined with a lethal weapon could more than make up for differences in strength and physical ability.

"Chu-zai, so you want to learn from Shark Yan at his gym? Wait, your skills are already so sharp. Are you going there to challenge him?"

Seeing the rare excitement on Yang Chu's face, Fish Head Xu didn't think he was planning to learn from Shark Yan.

"I'll know once I get there."

Yang Chu didn't say whether he meant to learn or challenge them. Neither really mattered to him. He just wanted to learn and understand more fighting techniques, and he didn't care how he went about it.

Besides, Shark Yan was billed as the King of Boxing in Hong Kong and Macau, but Yang Chu had no idea how good he really was.

"Mm."

Fish Head Xu nodded lightly, then hesitated before asking, "So... Chu-zai, are you all right?"

Fish Head Xu didn't know exactly what had happened the night before, but when he saw Yang Chu, the man could barely stand. There had also been the overturned vehicle and bodies strewn everywhere. It had clearly been a major incident.

Yet now Yang Chu seemed perfectly fine. For some reason, Fish Head Xu couldn't shake an uncomfortable feeling.

Yang Chu stood still, his expression calm, seemingly lost in thought.

From Fish Head Xu's words, he had vaguely realized there might be something wrong with him. From the thug named Chen Yaowei he had killed after waking up, to Lin Guoyu, and then the two men the previous night—

He seemed to take it all in stride.

"Chu-zai, are you... are you all right?"

Seeing Yang Chu standing motionless, Fish Head Xu asked again. He looked a little nervous, as though he thought he might have said something he shouldn't have.

"I'm fine, Brother Xu."

Yang Chu came back to himself. Seeming to understand what Fish Head Xu was thinking, he smiled. "I just want to see what it's like."