Chapter 17 – The Cage And The Beast

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The boss called out Hai Lian simply to give him the typical rules: anything was allowed to subdue one’s opponent, including, but not limited to, fists, feet, teeth, forehead. Anything went as long as the other couldn’t stand up again. If he could win three battles, he would be allowed weapons and would participate in the most exciting event of the evening — an even more exciting and bloody fight featuring weapons.

Of course, the end of the armed battle would only come when one side could “never stand again.”

“Any weapon is allowed; we have everything here brass knuckles, spears1spears: they look like this.2, Donzhou style sabers, Beimo swords… ” The boss said.

“But pistols are forbidden. We don’t want the guests getting hurt and they make for boring fights. Even the marksmen of Beimo need strength and a good eye, but guns only require a pull of a trigger to put a hole through someone. Quite boring, no?”

“I understand the rules, but just one question,” Hai Lian interrupted. He pulled out his own dagger.

“I have my own, is that alright? It’ll be easier to use than an unfamiliar weapon.”

Hai Lian’s dagger was slightly different from those used by the Nanjing assassins; the handle was straight, engraved with some sort of pattern that had been worn down over time, and the back of the blade curved like a smooth wave. It shone like a ray of light, nearly bright enough to illuminate one’s figure. The blood groove ran like a silver river into the handle. Even laymen could tell from a glance that this was no ordinary knife.

The boss looked Hai Lian over sharply, then pointed to a nearby table.

“Of course. Just put it there.”

Hai Lian nodded, set the blade down, then walked out into the ring.

A subtle murmur swept through the crowd as everyone fixed their gaze on Hai Lian. This new contestant didn’t look at all like someone that might fight to the death. Though the boy was very good looking, this wasn’t some theatre; a pretty face did nothing but bring more mockery once it was beaten black and blue.

Hai Lian slouched listlessly, his mouth settling in an indifferent expression. His entire manner was extremely calm, as if he had no idea of what was to come.

Had his old master been here, only he might have made out the excitement hidden deep between Hai Lian’s half-lidded eyes.

Unfortunately, that excitement turned to disappointment moments later.

Sorry master, I was wrong. I should have believed your words. Hai Lian thought as he pinned down his second opponent.

This really was bullying people.

He wasn’t without injury, but when compared to the wounds he’d inflicted on his opponents, Hai Lian’s were but a scratch. Hai Lian licked the corner of his lip, savoring the metallic taste of blood while distracted looking at his next opponent.

Coincidentally, his third fight was against that tall, beefy man that had taunted him in the back room. Who knew if it was the words of his friends that got to him or the way Hai Lian had defeated the previousother two men like child’s play that scared him, but the man charged at the boy hoping only to die a quick death and be reincarnated. Hai Lian pouted at this reckless attack; he dodged it with ease while simultaneously striking at the other man’s head. The two exchanged blows for only four or five rounds before the burly man fell to the ground, covered from head to toe with dust. The ground cut into his right cheek, forming a gash symmetrical to the one on his left.

“Still need me to teach you how to break arms?” Hai Lian asked amidst the cheers.

The man who could barely lift a finger lay choking on the dust, hoarsely crying for mercy. He sounded truly pitiful. Hai Lian wasn’t evil; since the rules stated that the fight was over when one party couldn’t stand anymore, then he wouldn’t kill his opponents. He loosened his grip and stepped back to let the audience confirm for themselves that his opponent was spent.

However, this small act of mercy displeased the spectators. They complained that no lives were lost even after three battles, yelling excitedly for Hai Lian to step on his opponent and directly break the man’s neck. The cheers went in one ear and out his other. To further incite Hai Lian, the audience started tossing coins into the ring. They clattered to the ground around Hai Lian and a few even bounced off his body.

“This place is a cage” Ah’ge pointed upwards.

“A cage?”

“Everyone trapped here is a barbarian.”

“Including them?” Hai Lian pointed towards the frenzied audience.

“Of course,” Ah’ge said. “They think that the people in the ring are barbarians and that they are merely watching barbarians fight, but anyone that enters these doors isare no longer human. Everyone is a barbarian.”

“But, the two of us are inside too… Ouch!” Hai Lian felt a sharp rap on his head.

Hai Lian felt the places struck by the coins hurt more than those struck by fists. His master was a bastard, that much was true. But even bastards speak the truth sometimes. Everyone that stood in the cage was a beast for spectators to play with, a mere toy. These fights fixed within a small circle had nothing to do with survival, and even less to do with glory. They only served to please the other beasts who were aroused by the scent of blood.

But Hai Lian wouldn’t giggle obsequiously for the audience like Jackal or Sabertooth. He pressed his lips together and strode up to the boss.

“It’s the final round now, right? I’ll take my dagger.”

“Here.” The boss handed it over.

“This isn’t mine,.” Hai Lian said after glancing at it.

“Yes it is.” The boss said.

The thing in Hai Lian’s hand was but a half rusted piece of iron stuck into a wooden handle. The two glaring notches on the blade smiled up at him, resembling a child’s mouth after losing their baby teeth. Calling this thing a “dagger” would be an insult to the word.

“Give me my dagger.” Hai Lian repeated.

“Did you bring one? How come I don’t remember?” The boss grinned.

“You —”

“Go on, don’t keep the audience waiting.”

The boss somehow now held a gun. The round barrel pressed against Hai Lian’s waist, much like the one Fang Tinglan had pressed against the boy’s cheek.

For a brief moment, the anger surging through Hai Lian’s chest nearly burst forth like a wild beast to bite that shameless face. This person wasn’t a skilled fighter like the one surnamed Fang; he was only a brainless swindler. Hai Lian had no less than ten methods to slit his throat before he had a chance to fire his gun. Unfortunately, Hai Lian couldn’t do that; the Amber Scorpions were still mixed in the audience. If he still wanted to live, then he needed to behave now and play a good little toy.

He clenched his teeth and turned his dark eyes downwards, staring at that unmoving gun barrel. A moment later, he suddenly let out a low laugh.

Hai Lian’s shoulders suddenly relaxed and he took that rusty piece of metal into the ring.

“You’re not scared of him?” Someone asked after Hai Lian left.

“Why would you fear a corpse?” The boss smiled. Hai Lian had performed better than the boss had expected, but it was still within his bounds of control — exactly like how he’d accepted that worn out dagger.

“This brat was personally escorted by those people; clearly he’s to die today. I’m not stupid, so of course I’ll do as they like.” The boss said.

“Then… who will his opponent be?”

The boss thought for a moment.

“Let Wild Horse pick an ax. His backer bet a large sum today, so of course we ought to let him see some blood.”

The other man made a noise of assent and left to find Wild Horse. Moments later, he returned with a man holding a stainless steel ax. The crowd spotted him before he even entered the ring.

“It’s Wild Horse!”

The man had no sooner spoken than the entire stadium burst into cheers. The crowd cheered for this standing champion. Both his vicious appearance and the flashing battle ax hanging from his hand painted a stark contrast between the two contestants. It seemed that the battle to come would likely be less a fight and more a massacre. Indeed, there was someone already shouting that if Wild Horse could behead Hai Lian, he’d give the man an entire bag of gold.

The boss was very pleased as the crowd’s reactions were swept in precisely the direction he desired. He put away his gun, took out Hai Lian’s dagger, and leisurely admired the blade,

“Such a lovely weapon,” He sighed. “Letting that little brat keep it would be such a waste, why not keep it for living people to use…?” The man murmured to himself. Turning the blade in his hand, the man’s eyes suddenly widened.

“This is… ”

In the ring just a few steps away, the boy that had already been marked as dead had already taken his shirt off.

Hai Lian was only twenty, his physique was something between a teenager and a man in his prime. Years of grueling training and brutal fighting had kept Hai Lian slim, but his body still developed all the same.

But what shocked the boss the most wasn’t the boy’s figure, nor was it the myriad of scars across his body. Rather, it was a palm sized mark across his brow.

That place originally had an intricate tiger tattoo. Even under the dim evening light, one could vaguely make out a pair of slender ears and the two thick teeth that ink had carved into the skin. But the rest of the tiger was covered by a hideous and terrifying brand. A single glance sent one’s skin crawling.

In the underground, there were many that knew how to tattoo a tiger, but only those from the Baihu Gang had tigers like this one. Three years ago, that gang had fallen into a bloodbath due to internal conflicts. Not only had their leader been sent to the gallows, all of the core members had either died or been jailed. Even the number one assassin of Jiumeng, Blind Eagle Ah’ge, had lost his life in the chaos. An exaggerated rumor said that when the person came to clean up the corpses, the ground was as if a torrential rain had passed. After such a thorough clean-up operation, it was impossible to have left out even the slipperiest of fugitives.

Suddenly, the cold dagger in his hands seemed to be a piece of red-hot iron that burned straight to his heart.

Only one person could possibly have survived. Only that loose canon of a traitor…

“No… f*cking… ” He said in shock.

“Don’t let Wild Horse fight!”