Black Kill

Cheng Sheng ignored Song Cai and boarded the minibus, finding a window seat on the left side of the back row.

"All right."

Song Cai sat down right beside him and said, chewing on a sandwich as he spoke:

"When we get back from the gym today, I'll take you along!"

Cheng Sheng couldn't help shaking his head in amusement.

Just then, the minibus started moving. There weren't many people aboard. A short, dark-skinned, plump female conductor stood up from her seat beside the front door and walked over to them.

"Where to?"

"Banba."

Cheng Sheng gave her the name of the place and handed her a ten-Nan bill.

In the local Wuda dialect, "ban" meant "village," so Banba actually translated to Ba Village. There were similar names, such as Banka, Banlong, and Bansha.

A ticket to Banba cost five Nan, so ten was just right for two people.

The conductor took the money and quickly made a few strokes with a pen on a stack of bright yellow slips in her hand, each two fingers wide and half a finger long. Then she tore off two and handed them to Cheng Sheng.

Those served as their ticket stubs.

Cheng Sheng put the tickets away, glanced at the conductor as she walked back, and turned to Song Cai. "That place-how much does one visit cost you?"

"Three hundred Nan."

Hearing Cheng Sheng ask about the price, Song Cai thought he was interested. His eyes lit up, and he added with a grin, "Don't worry, it's fine if you didn't bring enough money. My treat today.

"It's your first time, right? The one I know... gives you twenty percent off your first visit!"

"You're that rich?"

"Then lend me two thousand," Cheng Sheng said. "I'll pay you back in half a month."

"Uh..."

The sudden turn left Song Cai momentarily stunned, the slightly lecherous smile frozen on his face.

A few seconds later, he stammered, "A Sheng, it's not that your buddy won't lend it to you. It's... it's just that I... need my money for something lately."

He certainly did.

After going once, he'd probably want to go every day...

Cheng Sheng had expected this outcome. He shook his head but said nothing.

The sex trade was legal and regulated in Nantu, so he wasn't about to look down on Song Cai for it.

To be fair, for guys like them, whose looks, grades, and family backgrounds were all average, and who were practically invisible to the opposite sex their age, who besides the ladies in the red-light district would give them the tenderness and affection they wanted?

Perhaps he felt a little ashamed for turning down his good friend's request for a loan, but for the next stretch of the journey, Song Cai was especially quiet, dutifully eating his sandwich the whole time.

Happy for the peace and quiet, Cheng Sheng took the opportunity to enjoy the scenery along the minibus's route.

After some unknown amount of time, Song Cai suddenly spoke up. "A Sheng, what do you need the money for?"

"To buy sheep."

Cheng Sheng kept his eyes on the view outside the window as he answered, without turning his head.

"Buy sheep?"

Song Cai stared blankly, thinking Cheng Sheng was giving him a spiteful answer, and didn't dare ask any more.

And so, with no further conversation along the way, the old minibus rattled and swayed out of the city.

The outskirts of Qingsha City looked completely undeveloped. The paved road gave way to dirt, growing more and more rutted as they went. Vast stretches of rice paddies and scattered wild coconut trees lined both sides, and every so often, a monkey could be seen running across the road.

The bus bumped along for about fifteen minutes before slowly passing a rubber plantation.

"Anyone getting off at Banba?"

The conductor shouted from the front, turning to look at Cheng Sheng and Song Cai.

"Yes!"

Cheng Sheng hurriedly pulled Song Cai to his feet, and the two quickly made their way to the door.

After getting off, they headed straight for the rubber plantation across the road.

There was only one path into the plantation. Frequent rain of late had made it terribly muddy, and clear tire tracks from a pickup truck ran down the middle.

The two of them carefully made their way into the plantation, stepping along the relatively dry edges of the path.

Before long, a crude wire fence blocked the way ahead. There was an opening in the middle of the fence that served as a gate, with a rubberwood sign hanging beside it.

The sign bore writing in both Nantu and Dongyue script:

Black Killing Boxing Gym!

"Hello, Dongni! Long time no see!"

Song Cai stood in front of a massive gray elephant, greeting him in an exaggerated tone.

He picked up a rotten apple at his feet and tossed it to the elephant.

The gray elephant didn't even look at it. He curled his trunk and gave a soft snap, then turned around and presented his enormous backside to him.

Seeing this, Song Cai put on a solemn face. "Dongni, being a picky eater isn't a good habit!"

"All right! We're already late."

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Cheng Sheng tugged at Song Cai's clothes and urged him to hurry farther inside.

Not far away, an old man holding a machete had been watching them the whole time. He was the gym's gatekeeper, and they were acquainted with him; otherwise, he wouldn't have let them in.

"Bye, Dongni. I'll bring you something tasty next time."

Song Cai made one last quip, then hurried ahead.

Before leaving, Cheng Sheng couldn't resist taking another look at the gray elephant named Dongni, whose body was covered in yellow mud.

If only I could find an elephant like Dongni to use as a live sacrifice...

Unfortunately, that was impossible for him at the moment.

Dongni was a pet elephant kept by the gym. In the countryside in many parts of Nantu, people had a habit of taming elephants. They could be used to carry heavy loads or serve as transportation... they were excellent laborers.

The two walked a few steps farther in and soon saw a large clearing where the ground had been flattened.

An old pickup truck and several motorcycles were parked at the edge of the clearing. Beside them stood a shelter, under which were piled stacks of old tires, old punching bags, chains, boxing gloves, and other odds and ends, along with two cages of chickens.

Beside the shelter was a shrine containing an image of a Ruesi, the kind enshrined in every boxing gym in Nantu. Offerings of coconuts, bananas, soda, garlands, and other things were laid out before it.

Farther back stood several low buildings in the rubber plantation.

The entire clearing was the training ground for the Black Killing Boxing Gym's students, and quite a few were already practicing there.

A tall, powerfully built man in his thirties stood in the middle of the clearing with his arms folded, watching everyone expressionlessly.

"Why is Black-Faced God instructing us today? If only it were Coach Su..." Song Cai muttered under his breath. Cheng Sheng said nothing. He pulled him quickly over to the man, pressed his palms together before his chest, and addressed him respectfully. "Coach."

The dark-skinned man, whose exaggerated muscle definition made him look full of power, glanced at the two of them and gave a quiet grunt of acknowledgment. Then he looked away, paying them no further attention.

The man's name was Songpa, one of the instructors responsible for teaching the students.

The other was named Sulai. She was said to be the gym owner's daughter, and the two took turns appearing.

Songpa looked fierce, rarely smiled, and was rather cold toward the students.

Sulai, on the other hand, had a much gentler personality and was also very pretty, making her more popular with the students.

After greeting Songpa, Cheng Sheng and Song Cai hurried off to train.

As he left, Cheng Sheng stole a glance at Songpa's chest, where he had a crocodile tattoo.

It was the mark of a formal disciple of the Black Killing Boxing Gym.

The Black Killing Boxing Gym worshipped crocodiles and took them as its totem. Black Kill Fist was said to be a school of boxing created by imitating the habits of crocodiles. Deep inside the gym, there was even a huge crocodile pool, filled with fierce crocodiles.

Any enemy at odds with the Black Killing Boxing Gym, or any disobedient disciple or student, would be thrown into the pool to feed the crocodiles...

All right.

That last part was probably made up by someone else...