River-Crossing Dragon (Please Read On)

After reading the newspaper, Li Xiuwen's heart surged with emotion.

"In my past life, no matter how high your kung fu, you still feared a cleaver. Beyond seven steps, the gun was faster; within seven steps, the gun was faster and more accurate..."

"But in this life, once martial arts cultivation reaches a certain realm, you can truly become impervious to blades and bullets, fly through the sky, and burrow through the earth!"

Therefore, Li Xiuwen desired nothing else. He sought martial arts with all his heart.

"A Wen, dinner!"

"Coming."

At the dining table piled high with clutter, Li Xiuwen ate while pondering his grand plan to make money.

"In the blink of an eye, you've been in Fragrant Sea for three years already." His aunt wiped her dripping hair, wearing flip-flops and a faded floral dress.

"Thank you for taking me in, Aunt. Otherwise, I'd still be in those snake smugglers' Snake Den." Li Xiuwen looked grateful.

A few years ago, the colonial government issued a law.

It roughly meant that if illegal immigrants from Prosperous State successfully entered Fragrant Sea's urban district and met with local relatives, they could obtain a Fragrant Sea green card.

If they were intercepted in the border restricted zone, they would be sent back to Prosperous State.

After that, great numbers of Prosperous State citizens left their homes behind and came to Fragrant Sea to chase their dreams, hoping to live the legendary life of glittering excess and dazzling nightlife.

The original owner had illegally crossed into Fragrant Sea three years ago. But the moment the boat reached shore, he was seized by a local snake-smuggling gang that specialized in kidnapping illegal immigrants.

His uncle had brought twenty thousand in ransom before taking him back to the Enclave.

His aunt smiled. "You say you're timid, but back then you dared to cross the sea in a broken boat with several fellow townsmen... Was Prosperous State not good enough? Why come here to suffer?"

"Didn't people say Fragrant Sea had gold everywhere?"

"Now the dream's shattered, huh? How do you find life in this Walled City?"

"Pretty good. I can see airplanes just by looking up. I've never seen them this close in my life."

Though he had awakened the wisdom of a past life, Li Xiuwen still tried hard to imitate the original owner's mannerisms, looking like someone who had never seen the world.

"Airplanes are nice, but what do they have to do with us..." His aunt watched the iron wings fly past and lit a cigarette.

"Aunt, I've made up my mind. Once I save enough tuition, I'll go learn boxing. After I master it, I'll find a way to make money and repay you for the ransom first."

"Why say such things between family? Your uncle's money is my money. If it weren't for your father, I'd have starved to death during the famine years."

"That's a different matter. If it weren't for me, you might have moved out of the Enclave already. I know Uncle hasn't had it easy these past few years."

"The Enclave's not so bad either. At the very least, we have [Everjoy Society] protecting us. Small troubles, no great calamities... We'll make do."

"That's true."

"You think it's better outside the Enclave? This is what all of Fragrant Sea is like. People at the bottom like us live the same wherever we go."

"Aunt, don't you want to live in a big villa up in the hills? Drinking red wine like those big bosses in the movies, looking down over Fragrant Sea?" Li Xiuwen said with a smile.

"Of course I do. I dream about it..." His aunt rolled her eyes. "The problem is, can you give me a million? I've been working since the previous dynasty, and I still can't afford one."

"There's no chance if you work honestly... But if you learn boxing, there might be a chance." Li Xiuwen brought over the Ming Pao he had just bought.

Pointing at an article, he said with a grin, "Aunt, look. If I can join the Crossing River Association next year around this time and get into the Learning Society,

then I'll have a chance to get a home in the New Enclave District on the edge of the Enclave. They're all sunlit apartments with big windows there!

When that time comes, we'll move into the new place, and this old house on Longjin Road will only be a workshop. No one will live here anymore."

"With that utility-pole body of yours..." His aunt patted Li Xiuwen's frail shoulder, then compared him with the boxers in the Grand Arena.

She shook her head and said bitterly, "A Wen, why not forget it? Starting tomorrow, find yourself a proper job. You can live with your aunt. Your uncle and I will support you now, and you can support us in our old age later. We're family. We don't need glory and riches. It's enough if we live well."

"Then we'll only ever be able to live here." Li Xiuwen was unwilling to accept that. "This place is far too damp. You caught a chill while you're still so young."

"I know getting into the Learning Society is like a carp leaping the Dragon Gate, a wild chicken turning into a phoenix, but it's not realistic." His aunt sounded helpless. "The Learning Society was founded by Mr. Ming. Millions of people in the Enclave, and even countless wealthy people outside it, all want in. It's an army of thousands crossing a single-plank bridge. With that money, you might as well bet on horse racing or buy number slips. You might even strike it rich."

"It's not that bad," Li Xiuwen said.

There was no need to mention horse racing. Number slips were the "lottery" of this era.

Those industries all had shady dealings. He did not believe in fate—only in his own strength.

"With so many people, only thirty 'river-crossing slots' are offered every year. How hard do you think that is?" his aunt said.

That's because you've never seen something called the college entrance exam... Li Xiuwen grumbled inwardly.

Seeing A Wen so determined, his aunt thought of something and asked, "Did you suddenly want to learn boxing because of what happened a month ago?"

A month ago, on his way home from work, A Wen had been punched by Brother Ji, a thug from the Children's Gang, and knocked unconscious.

After waking up, A Wen's already timid personality had become even more cowardly. Whenever he went out, he looked around like a rat crossing the street, and he did not even dare walk at night.

He was already a grown man of twenty-one, yet when he encountered a few useless Children's Gang brats, he would turn and run in fright.

Li Xiuwen said, "Yes. If I learn boxing, Brother Ji probably won't dare touch us anymore."

His aunt looked at Li Xiuwen with pity. "Have you saved enough for the apprenticeship fee?"

"Almost. At most another half year, and I can start learning boxing. Aunt, start looking at the good neighborhoods in Fragrant Sea now. We'll be moving in someday!"

Li Xiuwen patted his chest, half-jokingly.

"How much are you short?"

"Two thousand."

"That's not very much." His aunt muttered, "When your uncle comes back from deliveries, I'll talk to him."

Li Xiuwen hurriedly shook his head. "Aunt, don't... I don't want your money. Don't trouble Uncle because of me."

"What's this? Your wings have hardened? You want to be independent now?" His aunt laughed.

"No... I don't want to make Uncle argue with you because of me. I'm already causing you plenty of trouble by staying here."

"Your uncle... sigh, he's all sharp tongue and soft heart. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken twenty thousand to ransom you back then." His aunt sighed.

"It's precisely because Uncle is a good man that I don't want to trouble him. If he were a bastard like those thugs outside, I wouldn't feel burdened at all."

After eating, Li Xiuwen left. He had to go work at the fish ball factory that afternoon.

Watching A Wen leave, his aunt felt deeply unsettled.

"This little brat is as stubborn as my second brother! When Brother Yi comes home tonight, I'll make some good soup and have a proper heart-to-heart with him."

Nightfall.

"I'm back." A gaunt middle-aged man in a shirt, with dark circles around his eyes, opened the door listlessly.

Chen Ziyi, Li Xiuwen's uncle.

His aunt wore an apron and smiled. "Brother Yi, you've worked hard."

"Hm? What's with that tone, Yingmei? What is it?" Chen Ziyi asked suspiciously.

"I made soup. Come in and drink it while it's hot." His aunt pulled Chen Ziyi by the arm with a smile.

After setting down his bag, Chen Ziyi took a sip of soup and asked, "Go on. What is it?"

"Didn't A Wen have that incident last month? It shook him up, and now he wants to learn boxing. He's saved two thousand, but it's not enough... Let's cover the rest for him," his aunt said.

"Learn boxing?" Chen Ziyi's expression tightened as he fell silent.