Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 24: Chapter 24 A Bold Heart Gambles for Wealth and Honour

Editor: Larbre Studio

“If you’re not dead, then run, do you want to end up minced meat at the hands of the Heung Shing guys?”

Xu Tianci wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and the smile on his face finally disappeared.

“This kick, I will definitely return it to you.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Li Yan’s tone was cold and harsh as he turned and walked downstairs; his pocket suddenly buzzed with the sound of his phone vibrating.

He looked at the phone, cleared his throat twice with a cough, and answered the call with a soft voice.

“What’s up, Judy?”

The woman on the other end of the line sounded resentful.

“Where the fuck have you been?”

“I, I’m working.”

Xu Tianci looked over at Li Yan with a puzzled expression at the smiling face, their pace not slowing down.

Two Heung Shing guys were squatting near the stairwell, smoking and eyeing the exit. They saw two men walk out side by side, one of them on the phone.

“Buy a car, what the hell for a car, Judy? You’re so generous, why not give me the cash instead?”

“Still need money without a business, eh~”

“Wow, how dare I. No, definitely not.”

The man whispered, speaking in a soft and tender voice to the person on the other end of the phone.

The two Heung Shing guys exchanged a smile, looked away from them, and when they were three or four steps away, one of them suddenly blinked and stood up abruptly.

“Hey, buddy ahead, wait a second.”

He hurried a few steps to grab Xu Tianci’s shoulder; the man on the phone suddenly turned around, delivering a fierce side kick to his chin. The kick skewed the man’s body and toppled him to the ground.

The other man dropped his cigarette butt, instinctively reached for the crooked leg knife at his waist, and then a blur rushed at him, a black shadow carrying a gust of wind smashing into his face!

“Noises, oh, I’m working, of course there are noises.”

Li Yan stepped on the blade of the crooked leg knife, flicked his foot upwards, and grabbed the knife in his hand. He pulled Xu Tianci’s arm and ran down to the next level.

“Ball Boy, what’s happening?”

A gang of Heung Shing guys heard the commotion and hurried up the stairs only to face Li Yan coming down.

“Fuck, this son of a bitch has such sharp ears, ah, no, not you Judy, I wasn’t talking about you.”

Li Yan tossed the Ericsson to Xu Tianci, grabbed the stair railing with his left hand, and launched himself into the air, sweeping his legs like steel whips at the crowd, his right foot planting on a Heung Shing guy’s chest. With a flip like a sparrow turning in the air, he powered up from his waist and smashed his fist hard against the man’s cheek!

Xu Tianci stood to the side, holding the still-ringing Ericsson:

“Yan, what the hell are you doing, why is it so noisy around you? I don’t see you with Taishuai. Wow, it’s quite bustling this time, Taizi Le doesn’t come to Kowloon City often, thinking that bringing a few hundred gang committee members would make him untouchable, Taishuai must be nuts. He’s making quite a fuss here, probably won’t make it out of Fuyi Building today. Did you hear what I said?”

“He…”

Xu Tianci opened his mouth towards the phone.

“Heard you, of course I heard you.” Li Yan shook off his sleeved fist and walked up, snatched the phone away, and glared at the eager Xu Tianci.

“Judy, I’ll be done here soon, I’ll call you back.”

Li Yan hung up the Ericsson and gave Xu Tianci a meaningful look.

“Let’s go.”

…

“Yu, we’ve been sitting here ’til our asses are growing sores. Are we really gonna wait for the guy to show up?”

Hei Yatai shooed the fierce water mosquitos around him, spitting a lump of thick phlegm into the filthy puddle.

The man glanced at him, replying impatiently, “Shut up.”

“No, seriously, Yu. Taizi Le rarely comes to Kowloon City, and now that there’s trouble, you’ve got us here being mosquito food while everybody else is sucking up to him in the Fuyi Building, for fuck’s sake! Even a loser like Geesi Keung, who usually runs first when there’s trouble, knows enough to stay close to those in power.”

Although the others remained silent, they clearly shared Hei Yatai’s sentiments.

In this group, aside from Hei Yatai who had been around four years, the rest were just fresh out of school.

But don’t underestimate these kids who ditched their textbooks for the baptism of fire. Aside from a few who thought a body full of tattoos was cool and who didn’t expect to pay for meals or collect protection money for playing games, most who joined the fringes did so to make a living and seek fortune.

Thus, these kids could be ferocious, risking their lives to stand out. Now that a gang leader’s son was in the Fuyi Building, it was natural for the low-level thugs to want to be around him.

The man took a deep drag of his cigarette, stamped out the butt on the ground, and let out a cold laugh.

“With such a big fuss, did you happen to see the student who cut An open from belly to bowel while you were at Fuyi?”

Hei Yatai was taken aback, “No, I didn’t.”

“Taishuai may have the smallest turf in Kowloon City, but he’s known for fighting hard! Staying there would bring misfortune rather than luck. As for that student.”

The man bared his ghastly white teeth, “You can bet your ass Fuyi Building told him to get the hell out of town. I’ll just wait at the gates of Kowloon City. Once I’ve nabbed him and brought him before Le, who do you think will be credited for the catch?”

After the man spoke, the others nodded in agreement.

Maybe because they’d been waiting too long, the man asked Hei Yatai casually,

“Oh, by the way Tai, that pathetic gambler who wanted to trade toilet paper for cash at your stall last time, has he been back?”

Hei Yatai shook his head like a rattle drum, “Yu gave me a heads-up to keep an eye out, and he hasn’t shown up since then.”

“Is that so.”

The man replied indifferently, reaching into his pocket for another pack of cigarettes, but with a sidelong glance, the pack fell to the ground with a clatter.

“He’s here!”

Hei Yatai shouted excitedly.

Rustling sounds followed as a dozen or so men stood up, each holding a gleaming weapon.

“Yu, there are two people…” One of the kids turned his head, but was startled by the man’s grim expression.

The man known as Yu swallowed hard, his eyes flashing with cold light, his voice tense and ecstatic, “Tai, didn’t I tell you to get a piece from the Vietnamese, just in case? Give it here, quick!”

Hei Yatai was stunned. In his view, although the opponent was a trained fighter, with serious injuries – he had seen Zhou’s Nine Rings Broadsword slash the kid’s belly with his own eyes. With their side numbering over ten and armed to the teeth, even bringing a hunting hook, they shouldn’t have any trouble taking down the kid.

He answered, despite the almost murderous look in the man’s eyes, “Yu, getting a gun from the Vietnamese takes time. You pushed too hard, I…”

The man didn’t speak, his gaze lingering on the tall, thin figure by the Kowloon City metal sign.

He turned back, scanning the excited yet anxious young faces, his own expression twisted with conflict.

“You didn’t secure a gun, did you?”

“I thought…”

“Is there one, or not?”

“…No, no there isn’t.”

The man’s gaze bore into Li Yan’s figure fiercely. From between gritted teeth, he managed to grind out one word.

“Retreat!”

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