Curse Masters and Fist Masters

Sha Lie walked through the dense rubber forest, stopping only when he reached a brown wooden house deep within it.

A green water jar stood in front of the house. Mountain spring water had been channeled down to it, trickling into the jar with a gentle patter.

Sha Lie picked up the dipper in the jar and carefully washed the mud from his feet with the spring water, then walked barefoot into the house.

The wooden floor was made of teak and coated with moisture-resistant tung oil. It made no sound at all underfoot. A woman in a tube skirt, with one shoulder and arm exposed, was sitting on the floor washing banana leaves. When she saw Sha Lie, she hurried to her feet and pressed her palms together in greeting.

Sha Lie gave the woman a slight nod and continued inside. He passed through room after room with practiced familiarity, finally stopping in front of a small courtyard.

"Teacher."

Sha Lie knelt facing the courtyard and bowed respectfully.

In the courtyard, a figure sat with his back to him. His features were impossible to make out, but his back was exceptionally broad and thick, and the exposed muscles of his arms looked as though they had been carved with a blade and chiseled with an axe. His hair was flecked with gray, and he appeared to be fairly old.

Hearing Sha Lie call to him, the figure gave a soft grunt of acknowledgment without stopping what he was doing. With a long-handled dipper, he continued ladling water into the jar in front of him, one scoop at a time.

The water was black and slightly viscous. It fell into the nearly overflowing jar without making a sound, like thick oil.

"This year's assessment is over. There was one with good aptitude..."

Sha Lie raised himself and briefly recounted the assessment to the figure, focusing on Zhou Wenye.

"The Ruan Clan?"

Hearing the words "Killer Bee," the figure paused briefly in the act of ladling water. "The Ruan Clan has always stayed around Wenqian and Wunan Island. What brought them to Wuda Prefecture?"

"I'm not sure."

Sha Lie shook his head. "Probably a disciple or follower of the Ruan Clan, hired by the Zhou family at a high salary as a bodyguard or something of the sort. I've already warned that Zhou family kid. Even if it's the Ruan Clan, they probably won't dare provoke us again..."

"Mm."

The figure nodded and said mildly, "Handle it yourself."

With that, he put down the dipper and slowly rose from the jar.

He turned around, revealing the unremarkable face of a middle-aged man. The only things that might leave an impression were probably the scars of all sizes across his body and the enormous black crocodile tattoo that stretched from his chest to his neck.

The man's name was Su Tai. He was the current head of the Black Killing Style, Sha Lie's master, and Sulai's father.

In certain circles in Wuda Prefecture, that name carried considerable weight.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to Bangtun. From then on, you'll take over everything at the gym."

Sha Lie was startled, then seemed to recall something. "Teacher, have they found that person?"

Su Tai did not deny it. He merely said calmly, "Wengzan has urgently summoned every boxer at the fighter level or above in Wuda Prefecture to Bangtun. They've probably found a lead on that person."

Sha Lie's expression changed, and he gritted his teeth. "That person fled all the way from the Nacha Royal State, killing who knows how many people along the way. Even two of Wengzan's curse masters died at his hands.

"If they summon fighters to go after him now, wouldn't they be sending you and the others to your deaths, Teacher?"

"Can you defy the orders of Wengzan's curse masters?"

Su Tai gave him a cold look, and Sha Lie's voice caught in his throat.

After a while, Su Tai continued slowly, "Once the Black Tide erupts, we'll still need Wengzan's protection. Only curse masters can stand against the evil spirits and monsters that emerge from the Black Tide...

"So-called fighters are nothing more than ordinary people in the face of curse masters and the Black Tide. What right do we have to choose?"

"Teacher."

Sha Lie still seemed unwilling to accept it. "Can martial arts really not stand against Curse Arts?"

"Many fighters have asked the same question as you."

Su Tai answered.

"Then what's the answer?"

Sha Lie raised his head and looked Su Tai straight in the eye, a flicker of yearning in his gaze.

Su Tai was silent for a while before saying in a low voice, "A Fist Master can.

"By breaking through the true limits of the human body and mastering the art of combat to its utmost, one can, to a certain extent, cease to fear Curse Arts.

"The powerful fighters throughout history who earned the title of Fist Master were treated with great respect even by Wengzan's curse masters.

"But..."

Su Tai shook his head. "In all the time the martial arts of our Black Killing Style have been passed down, we have never produced a Fist Master.

"Sha Lie, you are the disciple I value most, and the most gifted. Hold on to that fearless drive to forge ahead...

"One day, you may be able to reach that realm."

"Fist Master..."

Sha Lie's eyes flickered as he murmured the words, as though he wanted to carve them firmly into his mind.

A moment later, he lowered his head and knocked his forehead against the floor.

"I'll remember your words."

A look of gratification appeared on Su Tai's face.

"Come in."

Cheng Sheng and the others took off their shoes and socks and carefully entered the room. The sliding wooden door quickly closed behind them.

Two hours had passed since the Black Killing Boxing Gym's assessment for formal disciples had ended.

Three other people were with Cheng Sheng. Everyone had thought the Black Killing Boxing Gym would only take on one or two formal disciples this time, but all three people who had taken part in the final round had been selected, regardless of whether they had won or lost. Including Cheng Sheng, they had recruited a full four people.

The room Cheng Sheng and the other three entered was simply furnished, with four white walls. Apart from a long table in the center and a vase in the corner, there was nothing else.

There were no chairs around the table, only cushions-exactly four of them.

"Sit."

The wooden door on the other side of the room slid open, and Songpa walked in, his face expressionless.

The four sat down at the table in turn. Songpa then took out four documents and placed them in front of them.

"Now that you've become formal disciples of our Black Killing Boxing Gym, the tuition you paid before will be refunded. From now on, you'll also receive a monthly allowance of five thousand Nan Currency..."

"...Those are the benefits. As for the obligations you're expected to fulfill, they're written on the paper. Read them yourselves."

Five thousand Nan Currency? That much?

Cheng Sheng's heart stirred at those words. He looked to either side and found that he seemed to be the only one who cared about that.

The average wage in Qingsha City is only a little over two thousand. The Black Killing Boxing Gym is more flush with money than I imagined.

From what Sha Lie said earlier, opening a gym and teaching classes is just one way the Black Killing Style recruits disciples. To keep such a large gym running and cover the daily costs of the disciples' martial arts training... the Black Killing Boxing Gym must have other businesses.

The rubber forest outside the gym was one of them. With a rubber forest that large, tapping the trees alone probably brought in several hundred thousand a year.

With that thought, Cheng Sheng lowered his head to examine the document in front of him.

It listed rules that formal disciples had to observe after joining: roughly speaking, they could not do anything to damage the Black Killing Style's reputation or betray it, and fellow disciples had to help and care for one another.

The important part was the punishment for breaking the sect rules. The punishments described in the document were undoubtedly somewhat cruel and severe by an ordinary person's standards.

Before Cheng Sheng had finished reading, the person seated on the far right raised his head and spoke to Songpa. "This thing isn't legally binding, is it?"

"If you violate the rules on it, the police won't come looking for you..."

Songpa looked at the person who had asked and said expressionlessly, "The Black Killing Style carries out the punishments itself."

"Heh..."

The man laughed, speechless, then tossed the document aside and stood up. "What age are we living in? You're still doing things like this?

"I only took up boxing as a hobby. I joined in the first place just to have some casual fun. If that's how it is...

"I'm out."

With that, the man pulled open the wooden door and walked straight out.

Songpa made no move to stop him, nor did he show the slightest anger. He merely turned his gaze to Cheng Sheng and the other two.

"What about you? Are you going with him?

"There's still time to leave now."