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I Can Cross Between Earth and a Martial Empire at Will, So I Went Shopping for Machine Guns — Transcript

by BEM BEM BEM RECAP · 36,817 words · 4,997 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00There's a mold stain on my ceiling
0:01shaped like a map of a country that
0:03doesn't exist. I've been staring at it
0:05so long I could tell you its capital and
0:07its main export. Main export.
0:10Depression. July 23rd, 2024. A rented
0:14room in Hawai City, so hot you could
0:16spread the air on toast. The air
0:18conditioner in the corner is making the
0:20noise a dying man makes. Next to my
0:22plank bed, a cup of instant noodles has
0:24tipped over onto yesterday's interview
0:26letter. A media company. Unlimited
0:28growth potential under 3,000 a month.
0:31The soup improved it. My name is Lin Yu,
0:3424, orphan, a perfectly ordinary degree
0:37paid for with a student loan and a
0:39thousand nights of part-time jobs, and I
0:42graduated straight into what the news
0:43calls the hardest graduating season in
0:46history. My diploma is now a very
0:48expensive coaster. Fine, I tell the mold
0:51stain. Delivery scooter it is. At least
0:54I won't starve. Then something buzzes
0:56across my skin. Outside the window,
0:59hanging in the dusk, there's a dot of
1:01light the size of a green bean. Way too
1:03bright, breaking about four laws of
1:06physics at once. It looks alive. It
1:08turns toward me and it comes straight
1:10through the glass like the glass is a
1:12rumor. I throw myself off the bed into
1:14the corner. The full startled cat
1:16routine. Doesn't matter. The dot banks
1:19in midair, ignores inertia like inertia
1:22owes it money, and hits me right between
1:24the eyebrows. Ice pours into my skull.
1:27The world goes into a washing machine on
1:29the spin cycle. Then black, then a cold
1:32rock under my back and a mountain wind
1:34on my face. I open my eyes on green so
1:36saturated it looks fake. Leaves the size
1:39of umbrellas. I'm lying on a huge bluish
1:42black boulder and the ground is shaking.
1:44Boom. Boom. Between trees taller than
1:47apartment buildings, something walks
1:49past. Shaped like an elephant. If an
1:52elephant were a hill, moss on skin like
1:54rock, tusks like battering rams. It
1:57doesn't even look at me. To that thing,
1:59I'm a speck of dust. I pinch my thigh.
2:02It hurts. Not a dream. I look down at my
2:05plastic flip-flops and my see-through
2:06shorts. You could have worn me before
2:08you dragged me off. At least drop me
2:10somewhere with people. I don't even have
2:12a bottle of water. Then it clicks. The
2:15dot, the cold spike, and the part of my
2:18brain raised on web novels sits up and
2:20says, "Oh, we know this one." System. My
2:24voice is shaking. System, buddy. I know
2:27you're in there. Come out. Ding. A clear
2:30little sound like a drop of water
2:32falling into an ice spring right inside
2:34my head. The air in front of me ripples
2:37and a soft white translucent panel just
2:39appears floating there. Name Lin Yu.
2:43Lifespan 24 out of 89. Realm mortal
2:47skills Chinese proficient. My heart is
2:51trying to punch its way out of my chest.
2:53It's real. The cheat every trans
2:55migrator gets. Then I read it again. 89
2:58years back home. That'd be a great run.
3:01Here next to a walking mountain. I'm not
3:03so sure. And then the skills line. One
3:05skill. Chinese. 24 years of life. I tell
3:09the panel. And my entire skill set is
3:11speaking my own language. Hell mode.
3:14This is hell mode system. I want to go
3:17back. I try. And the moment I think it,
3:20a breeze goes by. The jungle flickers
3:22like a bad video signal. And the next
3:24second, I'm breathing dust and stale
3:26noodle broth. The air conditioner is
3:28wheezing. The plank bed is digging into
3:31my spine. The mold stain is right where
3:33I left it. As if the jungle and the
3:36giant were just a very convincing
3:37hallucination. except I know they
3:39weren't. What hits me next is the purest
3:42joy I've ever felt. It just floods me.
3:44It's like being dropped into a hotring
3:46and having a thousand lb sack lifted off
3:49my back at the same time. I'm lying on
3:51the bed with a smile so big it hurts.
3:54Jackpot. Not a jackpot. The jackpot. A
3:57system plus travel between two worlds.
4:00Mortgage. Car loan. Wedding. A bride
4:03price I'd never be able to pay. Working
4:05myself to death for some boss who sees
4:07me as a battery. That whole straightline
4:10life where you can see your own funeral
4:11from your first day at work. Get lost.
4:14My life just forked. I sit up and force
4:17myself to calm down because being
4:19excited is how people in my position
4:21die. First test privacy. I pull the SIM
4:25card out of my phone, kill the Wi-Fi,
4:27prop the phone up on the desk, and hit
4:29record. Panel. The panel appears. I play
4:32the video back. Three or four seconds of
4:34a guy standing there staring at nothing,
4:37looking a little too excited. No panel,
4:39just me. Only I can see it. Web novel
4:42law holds up again. Second test travel.
4:46System, take me back to that spot. The
4:48pull, the drop, the flicker, and my
4:51flip-flops are on that freezing boulder
4:52again. I don't even look around. System,
4:55take me home. Spin cycle, and I'm back
4:57in my room. So, I can go both ways on
5:00demand. Okay, but is there a cool down?
5:03A cost? A limit I haven't hit yet? And
5:06more importantly, that forest is not a
5:08nice place. I saw the thing that lives
5:10there. Rule one of every survival story
5:13ever. Don't get cocky in the first
5:14chapter. Lie low. Grow strong. That's
5:18not a web novel rule, by the way. That's
5:20a me rule. You don't get through 24
5:23years as an orphan without learning that
5:25the slow, careful guy is the one still
5:27standing at the end. I'm not sleeping
5:29tonight. I lie down in the dark, turn
5:32off the lamp, and the thoughts just
5:33won't stop. Panel. The white glow
5:36spreads out in front of me. Close.
5:39Darkness. A few seconds. Panel. Glow.
5:42Lifespan. 24 out of 89. And every time I
5:45see it, I feel safer. Realm mortal.
5:48Fine. I'll get stronger. Skills.
5:51Chinese. Okay, that's still a skill.
5:54Kind of technically. And in the dark, I
5:57start laughing quietly at first. Then
5:59louder and louder. This stupid happy
6:02reborn kind of laugh. For the first time
6:04in my life, a door just opened a crack.
6:07Morning comes in gold through the
6:09window. Cicas, footsteps in the
6:11stairwell, a mom yelling at a kid to put
6:13his shoes on. Down on the street,
6:15there's traffic, steam from the
6:17breakfast stalls, the whole ordinary
6:19city waking up. I stretch, wash my face,
6:22eat two bites of something, and pick up
6:24my phone. Then I open every online
6:27lending app I've ever heard of. Backup
6:30hidden power source, I whisper.
6:32Activate. No family, no money, no one to
6:35back me up. So what? Nobody's going to
6:38lift me up to the clouds, so I'll borrow
6:40my way up there. I need weapons. I need
6:42gear. I need everything. And a fresh
6:45grad who hasn't paid back his student
6:46loan doesn't exactly have startup
6:48capital. The apps don't care. They pay
6:51out fast. Ding. Bank text. 30,000 yuan
6:55transferred in balance 126,000. Please
6:59beware of fraud. Thanks bank. I'm aware.
7:02By the end of it, I've scraped together
7:04about 120,000. And yes, that's debt.
7:07I'll pay it back later when I'm rich.
7:10That's the plan. First stop, the best
7:13military surplus store in the city.
7:15Behind the counter, there's a tanned
7:17built middle-aged guy scrolling short
7:19videos. He sees me and lights up. Hey,
7:22handsome. Looking for gear? Tell me what
7:24you want. I'll help you pick. Full
7:27protective suit, high-top waterproof
7:29combat boots, a helmet, a strong
7:31tactical flashlight, one gas mask. I'm
7:34talking fast. I did my homework. And
7:36what have you got in stab vests? His
7:39eyes go wide like he's just seen a whale
7:41swim into his shop. He yanks a vest off
7:43the rack. New arrival. Hard armor stab
7:46vest. Works great. Watch this. And
7:49before I can stop him, he's put the vest
7:50on himself. picked up a demo knife and
7:53he's stabbing himself in the chest.
7:55Thunk, thunk, thunk. See? Steel plate
7:58lining. Solid. This man is his own
8:01product demo. I respect it. Got any
8:04fully flexible ones? I ask. I'll take
8:07the hard one, plus a flexible stabroof
8:09shirt to go under it. Stack the defense.
8:12Always stack the defense. Got it. Of
8:15course, I've got it. He thumps his
8:17chest. Best surplus shop in Hawaii City.
8:19And since you're this straightforward,
8:21I'll throw in a top-of-the-line folding
8:23shovel. Cuts through iron. Everybody
8:25loves it. Then a farm machinery market
8:28where I ask for a steel chainsaw. The
8:30guy looks me up and down. What model?
8:33Got everything from the 170 to the 382.
8:37For home use, the 170 is plenty. The
8:40382, I cut in with the 25-in bar.
8:44Anything carbon based that isn't too
8:46ridiculous in size, I'm going to try to
8:48saw it. And do you have one of those pig
8:50driver prods? I add, it looks like
8:53nothing. It's a stun prod for livestock,
8:55and it hits a lot harder than a normal
8:57stun baton. Then the drone store. Two
9:00top-of-the-line drones. And on the way
9:02home from the market by my building, one
9:05live cruian carp in a plastic bag.
9:07Science. The gear isn't delivered yet. I
9:10take the fish into the bathroom, hold
9:12the bag, and think, go. Boulder, jungle,
9:17mountain wind. The fish, which was
9:19thrashing in the bag one second ago, is
9:21stiff and still dead. I toss it, slide
9:25off the rock, and I'm back in the
9:26bathroom. So, that's a rule. Carry
9:29something living across, and it dies on
9:31the way. Also, I can pick where I land,
9:34anywhere around me. I file that away as
9:36a last resort card. If anyone ever grabs
9:39me, all I have to do is take him along
9:41for the ride, and he arrives as a fish.
9:43Not something you use unless you have no
9:45other choice, though. If he's holding a
9:47knife to my throat when I jump, he might
9:49still get a swing in on the way out.
9:51Staying alive comes first. After lunch,
9:54the deliveries arrive. I suit up. Vest,
9:57helmet, boots, gloves. I fly the drone
10:00around the living room until I stop
10:02crashing it into the fridge. The
10:03chainsaw I don't test because firing up
10:06a chainsaw in a residential building is
10:08how you meet the police. 1:35 p.m. I
10:11check myself in the mirror. I look like
10:13a special agent who's lost his mission
10:15and his dignity. I grab the drone case
10:18and I'm gone. On the boulder, I put the
10:20drone together and send it up. The first
10:23few seconds are wobbly. Then I've got it
10:25up and up and the whole valley spreads
10:27out on my screen. Mountains wrapped in
10:29cloud, closing the valley in on every
10:32side. Below that endless virgin forest,
10:35trees strangling each other, brush
10:37growing wild, a herd of brown deer
10:39drinking at a stream, and in the shadows
10:41of the brush, flattened in the grass, a
10:44pack of wolves, gray, huge, green eyes
10:48locked on the deer, 2 m at the shoulder.
10:51I'm looking at a wolf the height of a
10:52basketball player. I pick a direction
10:55and fly straight. I don't care about the
10:57wildlife. I want to know where I am and
10:59whether anything here can talk. The
11:01drone screams over the wolves. The
11:03biggest one, the pack leader, lifts its
11:05head and its ears turn toward the
11:07buzzing. The deer panic and scatter. The
11:10ambush falls apart and the wolves end up
11:12chasing a few stragglers while the rest
11:14of their dinner runs into the trees.
11:17Sorry guys, nothing personal. You were
11:19just in the flight path. Then, right
11:21before the drone hits the end of its
11:23battery range, I pull up for a wider
11:25look and the trees start thinning out.
11:27Fewer animal tracks, less wild. I nudge
11:31the stick, tilt the camera up, and my
11:33heart nearly stops. Way off on the
11:35horizon, a thin gray white column is
11:38rising straight up into the sky. Chimney
11:40smoke. Smoke means people. People means
11:44some kind of civilization. The battery's
11:47almost dead. I bring it home and cross
11:49back. And that's when I pick up my phone
11:51and see the time. 1:35 p.m. That's when
11:55I left. I was out there half an hour
11:57minimum. And on this side, not one
12:00minute moved. My heart's going like a
12:02drum. When I'm over there, time here
12:04stops completely. When I'm here, time
12:07over there keeps running. I grab a
12:09notebook and write it down so hard the
12:11pen nearly goes through the paper. Rule
12:13one, while I'm in the other world, Earth
12:16time is frozen. Rule two, while I'm on
12:18Earth, the other world keeps moving.
12:21current mission, make contact with the
12:23locals, safety first, zero exposure,
12:26possible opportunity, trade between the
12:28worlds. Then I sit and think about the
12:30wolves, and about how I lasted half an
12:33hour in that gear before I was gasping
12:35like an old dog, and how the legal stuff
12:37I can buy here is a joke against
12:39anything that lives over there. When I'm
12:41done thinking, I pull an old metal basin
12:43out from under the bed, take out a
12:45lighter, and burn the notebook. Every
12:47page I watch the orange flame curl the
12:50paper into black. Until I'm strong
12:52enough, nobody gets to see my cards, not
12:54even a notebook. The march toward the
12:56smoke is not a march. It's a crawl.
12:59There's no path. Every step is a wall of
13:01leaves. I'm flying a drone with one hand
13:04and watching for snakes with the other.
13:064 hours later, I check my watch and I've
13:08covered less than 5 km. Nope. I we
13:12hugging a tree. This is not a job for a
13:15human being. and I blink out of
13:16existence. Sofa, air conditioner, ice
13:20cold cola, earth, the land of paradise.
13:23I'm lying there chewing a popsicle and
13:25it hits me. Why am I suffering? I've got
13:27to cheat. Tired? Go home and lie down.
13:31So that's my whole strategy for the next
13:32week. Explore until I drop, vanish,
13:36recharge, go back. A python the size of
13:38a fire hose, vanish. Some spiky thing in
13:41a tree, vanish. Then one day, I hear a
13:44low, familiar howl. The wolves, the
13:462-meter wolves, and they followed the
13:48buzzing of my drone. I don't even have
13:50time to recall it. I just roll back to
13:53Earth. 2 hours later, I go back and
13:55there's nothing left of my drone but
13:57shredded plastic and gears scattered
13:59across the dirt. My brand new drone, I
14:01scream at the forest. Thousands of you,
14:04you mangy animals. I'm turning every one
14:06of you into a wolfkin rug. The forest
14:09does not apologize. Another week, three
14:12new drones, and blisters on my blisters,
14:15and I finally stagger out of the jungle
14:17at its edge. I lean against a tree
14:20couldn't hug and chug half a bottle of
14:22cola until I'm burping like a frog.
14:24Other guys get transported and land as
14:26gods with a girl on each arm. I got a
14:29hiking simulator. Then I hide in a gully
14:31behind the bushes and send up my last
14:33drone. On the screen, the jungle turns
14:36into fields, neat furrows, farmers bent
14:39over, pulling weeds, wearing head wraps
14:41and rough sleeveless tunics, arms brown
14:43and strong. One of them straightens up
14:45and squints at my iron bird. I yank it
14:48higher, and there's the village.
14:50Thatched huts, a few blue tile roofs,
14:52and right in the middle, a twocourtyard
14:54compound of gray brick behind a high
14:56wall. That's the local landlord, 100%.
14:59Black hair, dark eyes, faces like ours,
15:03clothes like an ancient Chinese drama.
15:05No sound, though. Fine. If the drone
15:08can't hear them, I'll go listen myself.
15:11Back home, I dig out the costume pieces
15:13I ordered online and put on the
15:14dulllest, roughest short jacket I've
15:16got. Plan B. I'm a traveling peddler in
15:19a mountain village. Gold and silver are
15:21probably useless, and they've got
15:23jinsing growing out their ears. What
15:25they don't have is sugar and good salt.
15:28and the language problem. I pick up a
15:30plet drum and give it a shake. For now,
15:32I'm a mute peddler. How do all those
15:34other trans migrators just land and
15:36start chatting with the locals anyway?
15:38Is the whole multiverse learning
15:40Chinese? I load an old bamboo backpack
15:42with packets of malt sugar and bags of
15:45coarse white salt, the plet drum on my
15:47belt, the pig driver prod,
15:51pepper spray in my inside pocket. Then I
15:54cross, circle around to the village
15:56road, and walk in like I've been walking
15:58for a week. Kids playing under the big
16:00tree at the gate spot me first and start
16:02shrieking. Adults come out to look. I
16:05give them my best simple peddler grin.
16:07Open my mouth to start mimming. And an
16:09old man with a cane and a half-white
16:11beard squints at me and says in a thick
16:13country accent, "Young fella, you a
16:15mountain peddler? How come we ain't
16:17never seen you before?" My whole body
16:19jolts. I understood every single sound
16:22and it is not any language on earth. The
16:25panel flickers skills myriad world
16:28language mastery. My little Chinese
16:30proficient just evolved. So I open my
16:33mouth and the local dialect comes out of
16:35it like I was born here. Grandpa, times
16:38are hard. I couldn't make it in the city
16:39anymore. So this is my first trip out to
16:41the countryside to earn a bowl of rice.
16:4410 minutes later, the whole village is
16:46mine. I hand out free sugar to the kids.
16:49One boy sprints off yelling, "Mom, the
16:51candyman's here." And the market starts.
16:54Salt sells out by the 20 lb. And then a
16:56skinny, wiry guy shoulders through the
16:58crowd carrying a bone. A leg bone taller
17:02than a 10-year-old. Brother, I say,
17:04"What animal is that from? That's
17:06terrifying." "This here's a tiger leg
17:09from the Yunang Mountains." He's
17:11beaming. That beast stood twice as tall
17:13as me on its hind legs. My sworn
17:15brother, Big Jang, nearly died taking it
17:17down. He gave me a whole leg. I do the
17:20math. That tiger was about 3 m at the
17:23shoulder. No sniper rifles here. No high
17:26explosives. Who the hell is Big Jiang?
17:29Deal? I say, I'll trade you for it. The
17:32skinny guy is old Woo. And after that,
17:34he's basically my bodyguard. By evening,
17:36I've got 10 roots of wild ginsing. Four
17:39around 60 years old and six around 40,
17:42plus a pile of furs. I ask Woo if I can
17:45leave the furs at his place. And then
17:47casually I bring up his brother. That
17:49big Jiang of yours sounds like some kind
17:51of god. You bet he is. Old Wu's chest
17:55puffs up. When he was young, he was a
17:57hero in the Great Joe border army.
17:59Killed demons. Fought the barbarians. He
18:01did something so big the human emperor
18:03himself called him in. Then the light
18:05goes out of his face. Then he got hurt
18:08bad. He was at the Gangchi realm and he
18:10couldn't keep it. Lost a leg. Came back
18:13here. Gangchi realm. This world has
18:16superhumans.
18:18Brother Woo, when he's back, could you
18:20introduce me? You're an honest one.
18:23Sure, I'll tell him. That night, back in
18:26my room, the tiger bone is lying across
18:28my desk like a museum exhibit, and I'm
18:30doing threat assessment. A man in this
18:33world killed a 3 m tiger by hand, and
18:35he's a [ __ ] now. The force level here
18:38isn't high. It's ridiculous. And my plan
18:40for this place was a pig driver prod.
18:43Top priority, get close to Big Jang.
18:46Second priority, real weapons. And where
18:49do you buy real weapons without anyone
18:50asking questions? Pakistan, Peshawir.
18:54Sell the Jins Singh, get cash, go
18:57abroad, and arm myself to the teeth.
18:59Next time I walk into that village, I
19:01want firepower that makes a gang key
19:03master stop and think twice. Online, I
19:07apply for an electronic travel
19:08authorization. valid 90 days, approved
19:11within 24 hours, and book a flight that
19:14costs me over 9,000. Then I take the
19:16Jins Singh to Jinling to a private
19:18clinic where an old doctor named Chen
19:20does appraisals for rich people. He
19:22looks at my roots through a magnifier
19:24for a very long time. Top quality, age
19:27is right, genuine, no question. There's
19:30a man in a good suit with him who needs
19:32the stuff for a sick elder in his family
19:34and clearly doesn't care what it costs.
19:36The 60-year ones at market price for top
19:39wild ginsing 30,000 a gram. The 40-year
19:42ones 6,000 a gram. How does that sound?
19:4523 g* 30,000 plus 38 g * 6,000. My brain
19:51does it, refuses to believe it, and does
19:53it again. Deal. Let's round it up for
19:56Mr. Lu. The suit tells his assistant.
19:59920,000.
20:01In the taxi on the way back, I open the
20:03lending apps one by one and pay off
20:05every single loan. Ding. Loan settled.
20:09Ding. Loan settled. My balance is
20:11964,000
20:13and change. And I owe nobody anything.
20:16That's the lightest I've felt in my
20:17entire adult life. Next stop is Lamabad.
20:21I'm stashing all my gear in the other
20:22world first, by the way, because nothing
20:25says, "Please search me." Like a Chinese
20:26kid flying to Pakistan with a stab vest
20:29in his luggage. At the airport, my guide
20:31is waiting with a sign. Malik, mid30s,
20:35big smile, and he's practiced exactly
20:37one phrase of Chinese for me. Mr. Lyu,
20:40Niha, welcome to Pakistan. I am Malik. I
20:44spent the whole 11-hour flight next to
20:46people speaking erdo, and that panel
20:48skill of mine has been drinking it in
20:50like a sponge. Hello, Malik. Nice to
20:52meet you. We can speak erdo. He freezes.
20:56Oh my god, I have never in my life met a
20:58Chinese man who speaks erdo like this. I
21:01change money, buy a local sim for 556
21:05rupees, and then I ask how much he wants
21:07per day. Locally, a worker makes 600 to
21:10a,000 rupees a day. I offer him 80,000
21:13for the trip. That's a little over 2,000
21:15yan to me. To him, it's a month and a
21:17half of income. You must be an angel
21:20sent by Allah, the most generous boss I
21:22have ever seen. Great. Destination
21:25Pawar. First though, food. Malik takes
21:29me to a famous kebab joint in Islamada.
21:31And the sign out front is a giant
21:33cartoon of a man who looks exactly like
21:35the Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong with
21:37the slogan, I am Anthony Wong. My kebabs
21:40are the best under heaven. Nobody knows
21:42why. Nobody asks. The place smells like
21:4550 sheep a day and a hundred years of
21:47smoke. And the skewers are the size of
21:50my forearm. Malik, I say between bites.
21:53You're from Peshawar, right? You know
21:55the scene there. Where do I get the best
21:57quality stuff? He lowers his voice.
22:00Everybody local says the best is from
22:02Muhammad's family. Then when we get to
22:05Pishawir, your turf, you owe me a real
22:07hometown meal. He laughs. I pay. We
22:11drive 180 km northwest, 2 hours, and
22:14Peshawar opens up in front of us like
22:16somebody took the Wild West and gave it
22:18a bizaar. Guns everywhere, on shoulders,
22:22in shop windows, on the backs of
22:24motorcycles. This city alone supposedly
22:26turns out a third of the small arms in
22:28the region. And on Gun Street, the
22:30prices are insane. Pistols for 4 or 500
22:33yun. AK-47s,
22:35the local specialty, 7 or 800. That's
22:38not a price. That's cabbage at the end
22:41of the market day. I chat with one shop
22:43owner in the local dialect and he looks
22:45at me like I've grown a second head.
22:47Brother, your accent's perfect. Malik
22:50pulls me aside. Honestly, boss, cheap
22:53means junk. Works in every country. A
22:55bad round jams and you're dead. If you
22:58want real quality, we go to the expert.
23:00Dra. A village in the hills that's
23:03basically one big gun workshop. At the
23:05gate of a compound, a young guy in a
23:07vest is waiting with his arms crossed.
23:09Young Muhammad. Malik starts the
23:11introduction and I cut in and greet him
23:13myself in the exact dialect of his own
23:16village. Peace be upon you, dear brother
23:18Muhammad. A pleasure to know you. May
23:21God bless the friendship between us and
23:23make it as solid and lasting as the
23:25stones of the Himalayas. His jaw drops.
23:28God in heaven. Malik wasn't bragging for
23:31once. He sounds exactly like old
23:33Basher's kid down the road. That works
23:35better than any bribe. He gives me the
23:37full tour. Rifles, pistols, a rack of
23:40RPGs like it's a rack of brooms. Then he
23:43takes me to the range out back, slaps a
23:45modified M1911 into his hand, and
23:48empties a magazine at a target 20 m
23:50away. Seven shots. Six in the chest, one
23:54in the head. So fast it's one sound. Try
23:57my new improved model, brother. I try
24:00it. Seven shots. Three or four hit the
24:02paper. The rest are somewhere in the
24:04next valley. Muhammad and Malik are both
24:06very polite about it, but I can read
24:08their faces. A gentleman from a country
24:11where guns are illegal. What did we
24:13expect? I rub my buzzing wrist and
24:15think, "Okay, big gap. Whatever you want
24:18to do in life, you can't skip the
24:20basics." And the moment I think that,
24:22the air in front of me ripples and the
24:25panel opens up all by itself. Same as
24:28always, except there's a brand new line
24:30under my language skill. Marksmanship.
24:32Seven out of 10. Not yet entry level. My
24:35heart stops. Then it starts again at
24:37twice the speed. It's not a system with
24:40quests. It's a proficiency panel.
24:42Everything I practice gets counted. And
24:44something I put into it stays there.
24:46Once a skill is in, it never goes back
24:49down. Friend, I say very calmly. Could I
24:52shoot another two magazines with this
24:54one?
24:55I get it. I get it. Muhammad thinks I'm
24:58embarrassed. He brings me ammo. Bang,
25:01bang, bang. Eight out of 10. More ammo.
25:04Then the bar fills and a jolt of warmth
25:07runs into my arms, my wrists, my eyes.
25:10Marksmanship, four out of 20. Entry
25:12level. The tremor in my hands is gone.
25:15My grip is steady. My next group is
25:17tight enough that Muhammad stares at the
25:19paper and says, "Lucky." A little too
25:22quickly. After that, it's a buffet. He
25:24lets me try the AK and its kick. A car
25:2798K, an M249,
25:30an M4, a SCAR. Every trigger pull, I can
25:33feel the numbers going up. This is
25:35addictive. Dangerously addictive. That
25:38night, over a dinner of kebab in his
25:40workshop, I bring it up politely.
25:42Brother Muhammad, thank you for your
25:44hospitality and your coaching today. I'd
25:47like to buy a few little toys from you.
25:49Oh, what caught your eye, brother? I
25:52start a list. 2 M1911s,
25:55two Desert Eagles in 050, two AKs, two
25:59HK416s,
26:01and you'll have a PKM, right? The Iron
26:03Broom from the North, the Rolls-Royce of
26:06light machine guns, two of those with at
26:08least four 200 round belt boxes each.
26:11Then two USA's 12 automatic shotguns
26:14with 20 round drums. Then two RPG7s and
26:1850 rockets. Malik's fork is just hanging
26:21in the air. Then ammo, 10,000 pistol
26:24rounds, more than a 100,000 rifle
26:27rounds, 2,000 shotgun shells. A rocket
26:30here runs $200, about 1,400 yuan, and I
26:34just ordered 50 like I'm ordering
26:35dumplings. I'd like to see a so-called
26:38gangi warrior take a PKM to the face and
26:40keep smiling. I'm still a little short
26:43on money, I say. Or I'd get something
26:45with real punch. Firepower deficiency
26:48syndrome. I have it. It's terminal. The
26:51second Muhammad goes to fetch the goods,
26:53Malik grabs my arm. Lyn Yu, my brother,
26:57boss, have you lost your mind? This is a
27:00war. In China, you get a bullet for a
27:02single gun. You can't take this home.
27:05Relax. I have my own way of moving it,
27:07and none of it will ever come back on
27:09you. I press about 50,000 rupees into
27:12his hand. Here, you've done more than
27:14enough. Go home after this. He pushes
27:17the money back. No, I can't let you take
27:19this risk alone. We're friends. We're
27:22brothers. Okay, that one gets me. I've
27:26known this guy for 2 days and he's ready
27:28to go down with me for a stack of guns
27:30he doesn't even understand. Malik, I
27:32ask, how much does a guide make in a
27:34month here? 50,000 rupees if he's lucky.
27:38Less than 2,000 yan. Doctors make 30 to
27:4150,000. Police 20 to 30. Then I'm
27:45offering you a job. Special procurement
27:47officer. You buy what I need when I need
27:50it. Fixed salary. I pause just for the
27:52drama. 200,000 rupees a month. Mck's
27:56mouth opens and closes like a fish. Then
27:59he grabs my hand with both of his and
28:01comes out with Chinese he clearly
28:03learned from war movies. Through fire
28:05and water, boss. Through fire and water.
28:08I agree. Get an AK. Get a rifle. Grow
28:12bigger. Grow stronger. He adds, beaming.
28:15That's not the saying, but yes, exactly.
28:18That's the spirit. The goods are ready
28:20by the end of the evening, and Muhammad
28:22pulls out a card machine, a union pay
28:25terminal in a gun village in the hills.
28:27Of course, my friend, global payments.
28:29Keep up with the times. The screen says
28:33189,650
28:35yuan. Less than 200,000 for a private
28:38army. This isn't shopping. It's buying
28:41cabbage by the pound. Pleasure doing
28:43business, Lyn, my friend. Muhammad says,
28:46"Come back next time. 10% off." I don't
28:49sleep that night in the Dera Guest
28:51House. Every time I close my eyes, I see
28:53customs officers. At 6:00 in the
28:56morning, I drive the beat up Honda that
28:57Muhammad lent me out of the village, 10
29:00km into a grove with the back seat, the
29:02trunk, and even the passenger footwell
29:04packed solid with ammo crates. I put my
29:07hand on the dashboard and think, "Go."
29:10The car comes with me, the whole car. It
29:12appears next to my boulder in the other
29:14world like somebody dropped it from the
29:16sky. Then I spend half an hour unloading
29:19crates by myself. And by the end, my
29:21arms are noodles and my soul has left my
29:23body. Storage space. Storage space.
29:27Whatever it takes, I'm getting a storage
29:29space. I throw a camo net over the pile,
29:31pull the memory card out of the dash
29:33cam, and crush it under my boot. Drive
29:35the car back across, and the clock on
29:38Earth hasn't moved a minute. Let's see.
29:40Anybody call me underarmmed now? When we
29:42say goodbye, Muhammad hugs me and lowers
29:45his voice. Next time, you want tank
29:47shells, main gun rounds. I genuinely
29:50don't know what my face does. Then Malik
29:53asks, a little nervous, whether I need
29:55him to stay in Peshawar on call. No,
29:58keep doing your guide thing. I'll call
29:59you ahead of time when I need you. And
30:01don't worry, these aren't for anyone
30:03you'd be scared of. I've got a special
30:05use for them. Nothing will ever come
30:07back on you. On the drive out of the
30:09city, Malik goes quiet. Then he starts
30:11talking. His father was a gunsmith in a
30:14little workshop in Dera. One day, there
30:16was a bombing at the mosque. Hundreds of
30:18people. His father was dying in the
30:19street. And the last thing he told his
30:21son was, "Leave Peshawar. Go to
30:24Islamabad."
30:25Live. It's not that I don't want to make
30:27guns for a living. Malik says, "I'm
30:30scared to come back. Every time I see a
30:32gun, I see my father. He hasn't been
30:35back in over 10 years. So, we stop at
30:37the old biryani place he ate at as a
30:39kid. The hometown meal he owes me. He
30:42takes a bite. He doesn't say anything.
30:44One tear runs down his face and drops
30:46into the bowl. I don't say anything
30:48either. I just keep eating. Sorry you
30:50had to see that, boss. It's only human.
30:53I clap his shoulder. Come on, let's go
30:56see your old house. His father's flat is
30:58on the third floor of a crumbling
31:00building, and the lock on the door is
31:02new. Boss, you were right. Somebody's
31:05living in there.
31:06Polite first, force second. Knock. Make
31:09up any excuse. Get him to open the door.
31:12So Malik puts on the performance of his
31:14life. The jealous husband looking for
31:16his runaway wife. Aisha, I know you're
31:19in there. The door flies open. A guy
31:21with a pistol in his belt. Get lost.
31:23There's no Aisha here. Malik keeps going
31:26and the guy loses it, grabs him by the
31:29collar, drags him in, and shoves a
31:30toarev against his head. You little
31:33bastard. What were you barking about out
31:35there? I'm standing beside the door
31:37frame. The guy never sees me. I bring
31:40the pig driver prod up and jam it into
31:42his neck. He drops like a sack and I
31:44kick the gun across the floor.
31:46Unbelievable. I bought this thing from
31:48monsters in another world and its first
31:50job is in Pakistan. We drag him into the
31:53back room and search him. A Glock, four
31:56magazines, three grenades, and a bag of
31:59drugs. He comes around, sees the zip
32:01ties, and starts shouting, "Who the hell
32:03are you? You know who you're messing
32:05with? We're the militia. You're dead."
32:08Malik goes white. He pulls me into a
32:10corner, his voice shaking. Boss, they're
32:13real. They're mad dogs. They do hundreds
32:15of attacks a year. What do we do? I
32:18already know. If I let him go, I fly
32:21home to China and I'm safe. And you,
32:24your family in Islamabad, can they
32:26survive mad dogs coming after them?
32:28Malik doesn't answer. That's the answer.
32:31So I sit down in front of the guy and
32:33ask very calmly and a few minutes later
32:36he's talking. There are five of them.
32:38They came to Peshawar to move a
32:39shipment. Washing powder they call it.
32:41The other four are out selling it and
32:43we'll be back around 2:00 in the
32:45afternoon. Then his face twists and he
32:47grins at me. They're coming. They're
32:49already coming. You're both dead. I
32:52figured. I say I knew you were lying
32:54about something. I make the call. One
32:57shot from his own silenced Glock and
32:59it's over. Malik is shaking so hard his
33:02teeth click. Then he grabs the knife
33:04from the table like he needs to prove to
33:06me he's in this too. And I catch his
33:08wrist before he can do anything with it.
33:10Enough. I say the dirty work isn't
33:12yours. He stares at me and from now on I
33:16tell him your salary goes up 3,000 a
33:18month. Rupees you won. Boss, that's too
33:23much. You already pay me too much.
33:25Really? No, you're worth it. Now go wait
33:28for me at the restaurant. Leave the rest
33:30to the professional. Once he's gone, I
33:33search the flat properly. And that's
33:34when I find the real treasure. AKs, C4
33:38charges, bricks of heroin, and three
33:40cases stuffed with $100 bills, at least
33:43$20 million. I just stand there. I sold
33:4610 roots of Jins Singh for less than a
33:48million yuan and thought I was rich.
33:50Turns out robbing robbers pays a lot
33:52better. The cash goes across first, then
33:56the guns, then the explosives. The
33:58heroin goes into the toilet, and I flush
34:00until the bowl is clean. Then I put my
34:03palm flat on the floor of that room and
34:05send it. Everything, the body, the
34:07broken chair, the zip ties, the
34:09footprints Mik and I left, even the
34:12dust, and the smell of gunpowder. The
34:14panel takes the whole lot with me in one
34:16go. And when I step back into the flat a
34:18second later, it's cleaner than the day
34:20the building was finished. I take him
34:22out into the forest far from my base,
34:24strip every piece of earth off him, and
34:26leave him in the brush. Then I'm gone. I
34:28find Malik at the restaurant, pale as
34:31paper. Boss, are you okay? Did his
34:34friends run into you? Relax, Malik.
34:37Nothing's left. But to be safe, we're
34:39leaving for Islamabad right now. Here's
34:42what happened back in that flat, which I
34:43found out much later. Half an hour after
34:46I walked out, a Land Cruiser pulled up
34:48and four men went upstairs. The leader
34:50was a guy everybody called Vulture. The
34:53door was a jar. They went in with guns
34:55up. No body, no blood, no bullet holes,
34:58no cash, no guns, no Bilal, the man
35:02who'd been with them 3 years and seven
35:04missions. Nothing. Like the room had
35:06been reset to factory settings. Vulture
35:09called his bosses, and by evening there
35:11was a 1 million bounty out for anyone
35:13who knew where Bilal and the shipment
35:15went. Peshawar was about to get very
35:18interesting. Meanwhile, I'm in a car
35:20with my guide on the way to the capital,
35:22checking my panel. Marksmanship 15 out
35:25of 20 almost. Halfway there, we stop in
35:29the desert. I'm going to test the gun.
35:32Haha. Go ahead, boss. Out here, you
35:34could fire a cannon and nobody would
35:36care. I screw the silencer onto the
35:38Glock and aim at a stone 15 meters away.
35:42Seven shots, four hits. Then the bar
35:44fills. Marksmanship, one out of 50.
35:47proficient. And this time it's not a
35:49little warmth, it's a wave. Energy
35:52floods through my whole body and then it
35:54drains into my eyes and my eyes catch
35:56fire. I'm on my knees in the sand
35:58clawing at my face and Malik is yelling
36:01my name. Then it stops. I open my eyes
36:04and the world is in high definition. I
36:06can see the grain in the stone. I can
36:08see a beetle crawling on a rock 30 m
36:10away. I stand up and snap off shots at
36:13every small thing I can see. Pebble hit.
36:16bottle cap hit. A twig 30 m out hit.
36:20Every bullet goes exactly where I look.
36:23God. God above. Malik whispers. For the
36:27rest of the drive, he stares at me in
36:28the mirror like I'm either Allah's
36:30messenger or a god walking the earth at
36:32his small modest apartment in Islamabad.
36:35I tell him straight. Those people won't
36:37let this go. They'll hunt for whoever
36:39took their money. If you hear anything,
36:41if anything feels wrong, you call me
36:44wherever you are. Yes, boss. I'll give
36:47it everything. Then a long flight home
36:49and two or three days after I left, I'm
36:52back in my rented room. Clean air,
36:54safety, order. I've never been so happy
36:57to see a mold stain. I fall face first
36:59onto my bed. A week ago, I was a broke
37:02graduate. Now I have a gun skill, a
37:05private arsenal hidden in another world,
37:07and $20 million I can't touch. And all I
37:10can think about is that village and the
37:11one-legged man who killed a tiger. I
37:14sleep like a dead man. And when I wake
37:16up, I do the accounts. 200,000 gone on
37:19guns. 700,000 in change still usable.
37:22And $20 million of dirty money that I
37:25can't touch. Not yet. A broke graduate
37:27who suddenly starts spending millions is
37:29how you get a visit from people with
37:30badges. That money is a hot potato. And
37:34I'm holding it in oven mitts. Then the
37:36to-do list. One, buy a fresh load of
37:39trade goods for the village. Two, get my
37:42furs back from Woo. Three, get closer to
37:45old Woo because he's my only bridge to
37:47Big Cang, the Gangchi guy. Four, get my
37:50arsenal out of the other world because
37:52it's sitting under a camo net next to a
37:54boulder and the wolves already know
37:56where I live. And for four, I need a
37:59safe house, big private basement, yard.
38:02Buying a villa is out of the question,
38:04so I'm renting. I walk into the nearest
38:07real estate agency and the woman at the
38:09desk looks up and we both just stop.
38:12Lynn, you Cheni? We were in the same
38:15class at university. She works here now
38:18in a crisp little office suit with a
38:20name badge that says she's doing a lot
38:22better than me. I want to rent a
38:24detached villa, I tell her. Her mouth
38:27falls open a little. A villa? Old
38:30classmate? Did you win the lottery? Got
38:32lucky. Made a little money. She starts
38:35pulling up. listings. And behind her, I
38:37see a guy in a tight shirt with gel in
38:39his hair watching us like a hawk. The
38:41branch manager. He waits until I'm
38:43looking at a floor plan, leans down to
38:45Chen Xi and says just loud enough. Come
38:48on, look at his clothes. Under 500 yuan,
38:51head to toe. 10 to one. He's maxed out
38:53his credit cards and he's broke.
38:55Probably wants to borrow money off you.
38:57Cheni doesn't even look up. Mind your
39:00own business. We go see the villa. Yunlu
39:03Garden, unit A7. 320 meters inside, a
39:07220 meter yard, and a basement of about
39:1080 square meters. I walk down into that
39:13basement, and I swear it's glowing. I
39:15could stack an army's worth of ammo in
39:17here. This one rents 130,000 a year,
39:21Cheni says carefully. 2 months deposit
39:24plus one paid upfront, one-year lease.
39:26That's 150,000 today. The manager is
39:29standing in the doorway with a little
39:31smirk, waiting for me to start
39:33stammering. I take out my phone. Card or
39:36transfer. The contract is printed in 10
39:38minutes. I pay 150,000 without blinking.
39:42And I watched the manager's face slowly
39:44go through about five stages of grief. 5
39:46minutes ago, he was telling her I was in
39:48debt and putting on a show. Now he's
39:50looking at his own shoes. Chen, I asked
39:53quietly. Your manager seems to really
39:55not like me. Does he think I'm the
39:57competition? Ignore him, she says. He's
40:00a drama queen. Thanks for the fast work,
40:03old classmate. I owe you a dinner. You
40:05pick the place. She grins. Lynn, you
40:08renting a villa this fast. Are you
40:11planning to hide a mistress in it? A
40:13mistress? Not at the moment. I just got
40:16lucky. That same afternoon, I rent a
40:18pickup, walk out of my old rented room,
40:20and take nothing but the other world's
40:22stuff. Goodbye, Mold Stain. You were the
40:25worst roommate I ever had. At the villa,
40:27first thing I sweep every wall, floor,
40:30and ceiling for bugs. Half an hour, inch
40:33by inch, clean. Then I cross over to my
40:35boulder, and the hauling begins. Every
40:38crate is a round trip. Pick it up in the
40:40other world, cross, set it down in the
40:42basement, cross back again and again and
40:46again. Ammo crates, machine guns,
40:48rockets. Three cases of dollars, 2 hours
40:52and change. And when the last crate hits
40:54the basement floor, I'm lying next to it
40:56wheezing. Storage space. I'm getting a
40:59storage space if it kills me. Still,
41:01look at it. My base is finally taking
41:04shape. Then, because I apparently
41:06haven't learned anything, I order a
41:08recurve bow online. A full set with 12
41:11arrows, 8,800 y delivered in 2 hours.
41:15Because here's my theory. The panel
41:17unlocked marksmanship when I picked up a
41:19gun. What happens if I pick up a bow? I
41:22set up targets in the backyard at 10,
41:2420, and 30 m. 30 lb draw. First arrow.
41:28It goes into the fence and the panel
41:31opens. Archery 1 out of 10. Not yet
41:34entry level. Yes, I'm actually punching
41:37the air. It works. Any skill. The panel
41:40counts anything. So, I shoot from noon
41:43until it's too dark to see the targets.
41:4510 out of 10. Entry level 20 out of 20.
41:49And then around nightfall, archery, 1
41:51out of 50. Proficient. The wave hits
41:54again, except this time it doesn't go to
41:56my eyes. It goes everywhere. Arms, back,
42:00legs, lungs. When it's done, I can see a
42:03moth at 10 m. I can see the veins on a
42:06leaf at 100. And when I pick up a brick
42:08from the flower bed and squeeze, it
42:10crumbles into powder in my hand.
42:12Strength, agility, stamina, eyesight,
42:15all of it across the board. This is
42:18insane. This is cheating. I love it.
42:20Then a thought cuts through the high.
42:22Four or 5 days. That's how long I've
42:24been away from the village. Time keeps
42:26running over there while I'm here. A
42:28traveling peddler who leaves a pile of
42:30furs at a guy's house and vanishes for
42:32most of a week. That's weird. That's
42:35suspicious. That's the kind of thing
42:37that gets people asking questions. So, I
42:39go shopping again. Five boxes of malt
42:42sugar, 20 kilos each. Five boxes of
42:45salt. 10 boxes of 60 proof grain liquor,
42:4812 bottles a box, brazed meat, 5 lb of
42:51every kind they've got, a wheelbarrow to
42:53carry it all. If modern industrial
42:56seasoning can't conquer the stomach of a
42:57man from an ancient world, nothing will.
43:002 p.m. I cross. At the village gate,
43:03there's a crowd waiting. A crowd for me.
43:06Young fella, you're finally here. We've
43:09been waiting for days. Same rules as
43:12always. Salt, sugar, enough for
43:14everyone. Line up one at a time. I'm
43:17their rain in a drought and half my
43:20stock is gone in an hour. Then Woo comes
43:22running down the road red-faced.
43:25Those furs you left at my place. I kept
43:27every one of them safe. Not a single one
43:29missing. What are you talking about? Of
43:32course I trust you. Your words good
43:34enough for me a hundred times over. Is
43:36Big Cang home? I ask. He's home. He's
43:40home. got back from the mountains just
43:42yesterday. I'll take you right now. Old
43:44Woo is already walking. Then he slows
43:46down and lowers his voice. Only little
43:49brother. Big Jeang's a bit cold. Doesn't
43:52talk much. Don't take it personal. We
43:54walk to the very edge of the village and
43:56there's a yard there that doesn't look
43:58like anything else in Little Stone
43:59Village. A wall of packed earth and
44:02stone, tall and thick, like a small
44:04fort. The gates open and inside a man is
44:07doing a boxing form. He's big, broad as
44:10a door, gray at the temples, and he only
44:13has one leg. His right trouser leg is
44:15pinned up and empty, and he's standing
44:17on his left, punching the air with a
44:19three-fingered hand. Except punching the
44:22air doesn't cover it. Every punch makes
44:24a sound like a whip crack. He hops on
44:26that one leg and covers several meters
44:28in a single bound, lands, and the dirt
44:30under him jumps. I've seen professional
44:33fighters on TV. This is not that. This
44:36is a prehistoric beast that's decided to
44:38look like a man for a while. So that's
44:40the Gangchi realm. He finishes the form,
44:43plants himself, and lets out one long
44:45breath, and it's visible. The breath
44:47shoots out of his mouth like a white
44:49arrow, a meter long, and hangs in the
44:51air before it fades. I'm pretty sure my
44:54soul leaves my body for a second. Then
44:56he turns his head and looks at us. Woo!
44:59That's it. That's the greeting, brother
45:02Jeang. I swallow my heart back down.
45:05step forward and clasp my fist in the
45:07old-fashioned salute as respectfully as
45:09I possibly can. I'm Lin Yu, a traveling
45:12peddler. Brother Wu has told me so much
45:14about you. I've heard you're a real
45:16hero, and I came to pay my respects. I
45:19brought a little something from the
45:20outside. He looks at me for a long
45:22moment. Come in and sit inside his hut.
45:26I unpack the wheelbarrow onto his table,
45:28and Wu's eyes get bigger with every
45:30package. brazed beef, brazed pork, duck
45:34wings, and then I pull the cork on a
45:36bottle of 60 proof grain liquor, and the
45:38smell hits the room like a slap. "What a
45:40fierce liquor," Big Jang says, and for
45:43the first time, something moves in his
45:45face. He takes the first bowl in one
45:47swallow. He holds it there. Then he sets
45:50the bowl down very gently. "Good, good
45:53liquor that has teeth." He tries the
45:55brazed beef and he actually says it out
45:57loud. "Good, good flavor." Three bowls
46:00in, half the meat gone, and the ice in
46:03the room has mostly melted. Old Wu is
46:05gnawing a duckwing with grease all over
46:07his chin. Brother Jang, when are you
46:10going back into the mountains? Take me
46:12with you. I want to see how you handle
46:14the big ones. Big Jang sets his bowl
46:16down and shakes his head. He taps his
46:19empty trouser leg. Woo! The mountains
46:21aren't a rice field. Those beasts have
46:23sharp noses and nasty tempers. I can't
46:26protect the people next to me anymore.
46:28You stay in the village.
46:30Wu's face falls and he doesn't push it.
46:33I've been watching. The liquor's
46:35working. He's relaxed. So, I slip in my
46:37question. Brother Jang, I'm embarrassed
46:39to say it, but a few days ago, I went
46:41deep into the forest and I saw a gray
46:44black wolf 2 m at the shoulder, maybe
46:46close to three, fangs out and eyes that
46:49made my skin crawl. Was that one of the
46:52demon beasts from the stories? He looks
46:54up and his eyes go over my face like a
46:56search light. Then demon beast, huh? The
47:00stuff on the outer edge isn't worth
47:02calling a demon. He sips his liquor.
47:04Those are just animals that soaked up a
47:06little more of heaven and earth's energy
47:08and grew bigger than normal. Real demons
47:11wake up. They speak like people. They're
47:13born with powers. They fly. They bring
47:16wind and rain. They control the energy
47:18of a whole region. That's a demon. He
47:20points a finger at me. Boy, if you ever
47:23meet one of those, don't think. Turn
47:25around and run as fast as your legs go.
47:28Thank you, brother Zang. Then I asked
47:30the big one, sounding like the country
47:31kid I'm pretending to be. To be honest,
47:34I've never been further than a few
47:35counties over. How far is the capital of
47:38the Great Joe from here? And where
47:40exactly is Little Stone Village? He
47:42doesn't suspect a thing. A peddler who's
47:44never seen the capital, curious about
47:46it. Normal. And the liquor has put him
47:48in a mood to talk. He takes his iron
47:51cane and starts drawing in the dirt
47:52floor. This is the ground under our
47:55feet, the Yun Mong Mountains. He taps a
47:57corner. We're up in the northwest Nook.
48:00The capital's that way. The cane sweeps
48:02east toward nothing. In the heart of the
48:04central lands, more than a 100,000 Lee
48:07from here. He traces the mountain range.
48:10The Yunmong Range is the southwest wall
48:12of the Great Joe. North to south, it's
48:15over 10,000 Lee. 6,000 of those are
48:18ours, nailed into the south like a
48:19spike. The other 4,000 belong to the
48:22southern wilds, 100,000 mountains that
48:24eat people. Beasts everywhere, great
48:26demons sleeping in them, and they've
48:28been the court's mortal enemy for
48:30centuries. Then he jabs the spot where I
48:33said I saw the wolf. Where you went
48:34isn't even the outer edge. It's the
48:36corner of the corner. That wolf around
48:39here that's bottom of the barrel. The
48:41stuff deep inside, you'd wet yourself
48:43just looking at it. 10,000 lie. That's a
48:46mountain range you could lay across all
48:48of China. And it's just the border
48:50fence. Then the great Joe. And Big Jang
48:53lights up like a furnace. Even old Woo
48:56sits up straighter, proud, like this is
48:58his country, too. Which I guess it is.
49:01The Great Joe. Big Jang slams his three
49:04fingers on the table. Founded 1,800
49:07years ago, holding the vast central
49:09lands built on marshall strength, flying
49:12the dragon banner, towering over the
49:14world, pressing down on every barbarian
49:16at our borders. He stands up on one leg
49:19like a tiger about to charge. Our
49:21standing army is 16 million armored
49:23soldiers. Wherever our blades point,
49:26heroes bow their heads and barbarians
49:28shake. The cane swings like he's
49:30pointing at a map in the sky. East, we
49:32hold back the beast tides of the
49:34wastelands. West, we crush the horse
49:36lords. North, we stop the demon breeds
49:39of the ice fields. South, we guard
49:41against the demons of the southern
49:43wilds. And we push the border out and
49:45never stop. The Great Joe. 10,000
49:48victories. The last shout goes off like
49:51a thunderclap in that little hut and
49:53dust rains down from the roof beams. I'm
49:56just sitting there staring at a
49:58one-legged veteran shaking with passion
50:00and it's like getting hit by lightning.
50:021,800 years. 1,800 years ago, China was
50:06in the Three Kingdoms. And this dynasty
50:08is still going. And it doesn't look
50:10anywhere near its end. 16 million
50:12soldiers, four great enemies on four
50:15borders.
50:16This isn't some laid-back cultivation
50:18world where I sit on a mountain and
50:19meditate. This is a military super
50:22empire running on iron and blood with
50:24war as the engine. Brotherhang, I ask,
50:28if the great demons of the southern
50:30wilds are that strong, is there anyone
50:32in the great Joe who can match them? He
50:34bangs the table so hard the bulls jump.
50:37Match them? More than match them. His
50:39majesty, the human emperor, sits in the
50:41divine capital and rules all four
50:43corners of the world. He's the pillar
50:45that holds the whole world down. No one
50:47knows how deep his power goes. And the
50:50army is full of masters like clouds,
50:53like rain. His eyes are burning, flying,
50:56moving mountains, filling seas. That's
50:58nothing. When marshall cultivation gets
51:01high enough, a man can pluck stars and
51:03grab the moon. Flip heaven and earth.
51:06Otherwise, how could the great Joe stand
51:08for 18,800 years? Because the great Joe
51:11is the strongest. pluck stars and grab
51:14the moon. Inside, I'm grinning. That
51:16means this world's ceiling is skyhigh.
51:19And I've got a panel that counts
51:20everything. Brother Jiang, I ask, and
51:23this one is for me. When martial arts
51:25get that high, can a man fly like an
51:27immortal? Can he live forever? The fire
51:30in his face cools. He drinks for a while
51:33before he answers, and his voice comes
51:35out lower. Back in the army, I was just
51:37a centurion. I only got as far as the
51:39Gangchi realm. He pats his empty trouser
51:42leg. The marshall path is an ocean. What
51:44I know is the tip of the iceberg. He
51:47dips a finger in his liquor and draws
51:48circles on the table. It starts with the
51:51body realm. You beat your bones, senus,
51:53and skin. You temper your blood. You
51:55push the body to its limits. Bones like
51:58iron. That's the foundation. When the
52:00body is complete, you can feel the
52:02energy that's everywhere between heaven
52:04and earth and draw it into yourself.
52:06That's the primal key realm. Then you
52:08compress that energy into true key. The
52:11true key realm. You can hurt people from
52:13a distance. Split stone tablets. Then
52:15you compress it again harder until it's
52:17hard as steel. That's gang key. He
52:20presses his three fingers on the
52:22tabletop. A soft little sound. And
52:24there's a hole in the table. A clean
52:26hole like it was laser cut. Gangqi
52:30protects the body. Swords can't cut it.
52:32Released. It breaks anything. In the
52:34army, that makes you a centurion. You
52:36command a 100 men. Above that is the
52:39chief field realm that I can't even see.
52:41They say you control the energy around
52:43you in a certain range and make your own
52:45domain. Most colonels in the army are at
52:47that level. He stares at the wet rings
52:50on the table. But an old colonel told me
52:52once when he was drunk that all of those
52:55body, primal key, true key, gang key,
52:59even key field are still struggling
53:01inside one big stage. They call it
53:03embryo dwelling. People in it can lift
53:06mountains, even fly, but they never
53:08escape being mortal. Their lifespan is
53:10the same as any farmers, a h 100red
53:12years and back to dust. His finger
53:15trembles as he draws one line upward out
53:17of all the circles. Only by breaking out
53:20of that into what they call the shedding
53:22embryo realm, being remade from the
53:24bones up. That's where the powers no one
53:27can explain come from. Growing back a
53:29lost limb, maybe living hundreds of
53:31years or longer. Not a fantasy. That's
53:35the first realm that really touches the
53:37edge of forever. The hut is quiet. Too
53:40bad. He looks down at his trouser leg,
53:42rubbing the cold iron cane with his
53:44thumb. With this broken body, gang key
53:47is the end. The road ahead of me is cut
53:49off. 2 minutes ago, this man was roaring
53:52about the glory of an empire. Now he's
53:54sitting there like a candle somebody
53:56blew out. I can't help asking, "Brother
53:59Jeang, if this world has people who fly
54:01and grab stars, isn't there medicine
54:04that brings back the dead? A doctor who
54:06can regrow a limb?" He laughs. It's not
54:09a happy sound. Elixirs regrowing limbs.
54:12The alchemists who can make pills like
54:14that are all locked up in palaces in the
54:16divine capital where they're honored
54:18guests of kings and generals. One of
54:20their pills is worth more than you can
54:22count. He drinks the last of his bowl.
54:24Me? A [ __ ] A little gang key
54:27centurion with one leg. To those people
54:30I'm less than an ant who'd waste that
54:32kind of mercy on me. Woo can't take it.
54:34He grabs his bowl. Big Jeang. Why talk
54:37like that? Drink. Drink. We grew up
54:40rolling around in the same mud with our
54:42butts out. Even with one leg, you're the
54:44toughest man I've ever known. Come on.
54:46Bottoms up. Big Jang looks at him and
54:49some of the darkness goes out of his
54:51face. He picks up his bowl and clinks it
54:53against old W's hard. Good brother.
54:56Bottoms up. And I just sit there and
54:59file it all away. Alchemists, pills,
55:02limbs growing back, living for
55:04centuries. It's all real. And it's all
55:06locked behind a door marked nobles only.
55:08My plan to get rich trading between
55:10worlds just went out the window. Now I
55:13want power. Real power. A few more
55:16rounds. And when the mood is right
55:18again, I put my bowl down and take my
55:20shot. Brother Zang, I have a big favor
55:23to ask. I'm a peddler. I go to the
55:25poorest villages and the deepest
55:27forests. I never thought much about it,
55:29but this time I ran into that wolf and
55:31nearly lost my life. Now I know. Without
55:34some real skill, I won't last. I look
55:36him in the eye. Look at my age. If I
55:39wanted to learn martial arts now, is it
55:41too late? He looks me up and down like
55:43he's checking a horse he doesn't plan to
55:45buy. Too bad, he says. You're too old.
55:49Ouch. Do you know how old the heirs of
55:51the noble families are when they pass
55:53the Keyfield realm? 15. The sex test
55:56their children at three, start teaching
55:58at 5, lay the foundations at seven, and
56:01you you're past 20 and your body's
56:03already set. The cultivation road is
56:05hard, hard, hard. Three hards. He means
56:09it. I'm not afraid of hard, I say.
56:12Please point me down the road. He's
56:14quiet for a while. Then martial arts and
56:17the great Joe belong to the court and
56:19the sects. Commoners don't get to touch
56:21the real thing. There's only one door
56:23for a man like you. Join the army, kill
56:26the enemy, earn merit, and use the merit
56:29to buy your way in to learn to grab at
56:32the tiny chance of becoming something
56:33more. Then he gets up on his one leg,
56:36hobbles to a chest in the corner, and
56:38digs out a battered little booklet with
56:40a cover soft as cloth. He tosses it on
56:43the table in front of me. Army manual.
56:45Wild bull force. Lowest grade basics.
56:48Common as dirt. Plenty of people
56:50practice it. Almost nobody finishes it.
56:53I'm holding it with both hands like it's
56:54made of glass. Brother Jeang, will you
56:57take me as your disciple? No need for
56:59that. I'm a [ __ ] I can't carry that
57:02weight. He waves his hand. It's just a
57:04chance. You walk the road yourself. Oh,
57:07Big Jang, you have no idea what you just
57:10handed me. A key. The first stone in the
57:12door to a whole superhuman world. I came
57:15through the jungle on foot and flew to
57:17Peshawar for guns. And this is what I
57:19was really looking for. Brother Zang,
57:22from now on, whatever you need, liquor,
57:24meat, rice, medicine, clothes, as long
57:27as it's within my power, I'll bring it
57:29to you with both hands. No second
57:31thoughts. His stone face doesn't move,
57:34but in the very back of his eyes, I
57:35catch it. A tiny ripple. Relief. Like a
57:38man who's been standing alone in the
57:40cold so long he forgot what it feels
57:42like when somebody holds out a coat.
57:44Having the thought is enough, he says a
57:46little horse. He puts that
57:48three-fingered hand on my shoulder and
57:50pulls me up out of my bow. Up. I'm only
57:52giving you a chance. He points at the
57:54booklet. Bones like iron, blood like a
57:57bull's. One arm swinging a thousand jin.
58:00Skin tough as old oxhide so ordinary
58:03blades can barely scratch it. That's the
58:05peak of the body realm. If you can
58:07really train to that point, come find me
58:09again. Then he waves me off. And I get
58:12it. To him, I'm a traveling peddler. The
58:15liquor was good and the food was better,
58:17but a peddler doesn't stay. All that
58:19talk about supplying him for life. He
58:21didn't take it seriously. He's crippled,
58:23but he's still gang and he can hunt for
58:26his own meat. He doesn't need charity
58:28from a kid. I don't argue. I bow to him
58:31and to Woo, who's half drunk, and I head
58:33out. Brother Jeang. Brother Wu, I'll
58:36take my leave. I'll come bother you
58:38again soon. I'm barely out the gate when
58:41I hear stumbling footsteps behind me.
58:43Old Woo, red-faced, breathing liquor
58:45like a dragon. Little brother Lynn,
58:48wait. You're leaving? Come on, I'll help
58:50you pack those furs. I'll load the cart
58:52for you. I grab him before he falls
58:55over. Brother Wu, you've had too much.
58:58Go back and drink two more bowls with
59:00Brother Cang. The furs. I lean in and
59:02lower my voice. Keep them in your store
59:04room. Look after them for me. I'll be
59:06back later. Huh? back later. His drunk
59:10brain can't process it. On the walk to
59:12my hiding spot, I do the math. Big Jeang
59:14taught me something worth more than a
59:16mountain of gold. I keep him in liquor
59:18and meat for the rest of his life.
59:20That's a fair trade. If he won't accept
59:22charity, I'll just keep showing up. I
59:24have no shame. None at all. Back home, I
59:27look at my phone. 200 p.m. on the dot.
59:30Not a single minute past. I strip off
59:32everything I was carrying under my
59:34jacket. The Desert Eagle, two grenades,
59:36a short barrel AK. Big Jang turned out
59:38to be decent, but you never walk into a
59:41stranger's house without a backup plan.
59:43My phone buzzes. Chen Xi, just a
59:46reminder, somebody still owes me a
59:48dinner. No time like the present.
59:50Tonight, I'm treating Miss Chen to
59:52something good. You pick the place.
59:55While I wait for the evening, I hit a
59:57wholesale supermarket. Four 50 kilo
59:59sacks of rice. Three 25 kilo sacks of
1:00:02flour, 20 bottles of oil, five boxes of
1:00:05liquor, 10 boxes of cola, beef, pork,
1:00:08and lamb. 10 kilos here, 5 kilos there,
1:00:12and a 500 L chest freezer, plus a rush
1:00:15fee, so they deliver it today. 18,765
1:00:19yuan and 32. Behind me in the checkout
1:00:22line, a woman whispers to her husband,
1:00:24"Is the zombie apocalypse from those
1:00:26novels coming? Why is he stocking up
1:00:28like that? Ma'am, you have no idea. Then
1:00:31I sit down on my living room floor with
1:00:33the manual. The writing is in some
1:00:35ancient script I've never seen, and it
1:00:38doesn't matter. Myriad world language
1:00:40mastery activate. The characters just
1:00:42rearrange themselves in my head and make
1:00:44sense. The first page says, "The weak do
1:00:48not learn this. The short of breath do
1:00:50not train this. The faint of heart never
1:00:53even look. Love the confidence. Then the
1:00:56forms, a stance, a horn punch, a shake
1:00:59of the whole body, like a bull throwing
1:01:01off a rider. I read it all. I understand
1:01:04it all. I stand up and try it. My brain.
1:01:07I've got this. My arms and legs. No, you
1:01:11don't. What did you say? Say that again.
1:01:13I fall over twice and nearly put my
1:01:15elbow through the TV. Okay. Reading
1:01:18isn't enough. I need someone to correct
1:01:20me. I need big zang. And then then it's
1:01:23just grinding. Grind until it's
1:01:25proficient. Grind until it's mastered.
1:01:27Grind until I hit the peak of the body
1:01:29realm. That evening, I take Cheni to
1:01:32dinner. The sand left bank downtown.
1:01:34How's that? That's a two Michelin star
1:01:37place. It's really expensive. Then it's
1:01:40perfect. It is very expensive. White
1:01:43tablecloths, a candle on every table, a
1:01:46waiter who walks like he's on ice
1:01:48skates. Halfway through dinner, the head
1:01:50chef himself comes out to greet us. a
1:01:52Frenchman, Pierre, who used to run a
1:01:54three-star kitchen. He speaks French,
1:01:57and the waiter translates every sentence
1:01:59into slow, careful Chinese for us. And
1:02:02Lin Yu, the guy with one skill on his
1:02:04panel a few weeks ago, just answers him
1:02:06in French. Perfect French. Good evening,
1:02:09Chef Pierre. The meal was absolutely
1:02:11exquisite. The chef's face goes blank.
1:02:14The waiter's face goes blank. Chenshi's
1:02:16fork stops halfway to her mouth. Mondu.
1:02:20Then the chef and I chat for 5 minutes
1:02:22about sauces and his old restaurant, and
1:02:24he sends out a free dessert, and the
1:02:26waiter keeps staring at me like I've
1:02:28just revealed I'm a prince. When we
1:02:30leave, Cheni stops me on the sidewalk.
1:02:33Linu, exactly how many secrets do you
1:02:36have? Secrets? What secrets? Careful.
1:02:39Curiosity killed the cat. There's a trap
1:02:42right in front of you, Miss Chen. Don't
1:02:43fall in. Huh? We'll see who falls in
1:02:46first. Next morning, before I cross, I
1:02:49stand in my basement looking at the pile
1:02:51of groceries and realize I've made a
1:02:53rookie mistake. Plastic barcodes,
1:02:56product of Hilong Jang. If I wheel this
1:02:59into a village in an ancient empire, I'm
1:03:01not a peddler. I'm a time traveler with
1:03:03a shopping problem. So, I repackage
1:03:05everything. The rice goes into rough
1:03:07hemp sacks, about 30 jin each. The oil
1:03:10goes into brown clay jars, soy sauce,
1:03:13oyster sauce, bean paste, all into
1:03:16little clay pots. The meat gets wrapped
1:03:18in lotus leaves. It takes me 2 hours,
1:03:21and by the end, my basement looks like a
1:03:23medieval market stall. Then I arm up,
1:03:26pistol on the hip under the jacket,
1:03:28grenades. Being weak is the original
1:03:30sin. And right now, my only defense is
1:03:32to lie low and keep a gun handy. I cross
1:03:35a little before noon and push the
1:03:37creaking wheelbarrow straight up to Big
1:03:39Cangs gate. Brother Jiang, are you home?
1:03:42It's Lin Yu. I'm back. He's in the yard
1:03:45leaning on the iron cane. And for the
1:03:47first time since I've met him, his face
1:03:49isn't stone. It's blank, totally lost.
1:03:53Who? Lyn, you Why are you back? He's
1:03:58looking at the wheelbarrow, the bulging
1:03:59sacks, the clay jars, and the wheels are
1:04:02turning. Where did this kid get all
1:04:04this? What does he want? I just grin at
1:04:06him. Brother Jiang, I told you you
1:04:09taught me martial arts, and that's a
1:04:11debt as big as a mountain. I haven't
1:04:13bowed to you as a master, but I'm
1:04:15keeping it right here. I tap my chest. I
1:04:18won't forget. And before he can say a
1:04:20word, I push the wheelbarrow right into
1:04:22his yard like I live here and park it at
1:04:24the kitchen door. He lifts a hand to
1:04:26stop me. Too late. Sleeves up. I'm
1:04:29unloading. The rice goes whoosh into his
1:04:31rice jar. The flour sacks thump down
1:04:34beside the chopping board. The oil jars
1:04:37land in the corner of the stove. "This
1:04:39is salt, sugar, and what are all these
1:04:42little pots?" he asks, frowning at the
1:04:44soy sauce and the bean paste. "It's hot.
1:04:47Meat won't keep. Five jin of pork, five
1:04:50of beef. Enough for today." He just
1:04:52stands there watching me move around his
1:04:54kitchen like it's mine. And somewhere
1:04:56behind that stone face, the ice is
1:04:58cracking a little. Since he lost his leg
1:05:00and came back to this quiet village, I
1:05:03don't think anybody has walked into his
1:05:04house just to take care of him. I don't
1:05:06think anybody has remembered him at all.
1:05:09Brother Cang, you haven't had lunch,
1:05:11have you? Not yet. Just chop some
1:05:14firewood. Even a martial arts master has
1:05:16to eat. You rest, I'll cook. Hey, you.
1:05:20And he swallows the rest. He shakes his
1:05:22head, picks his axe back up, and goes
1:05:24back to chopping wood. And I swear the
1:05:26rhythm of that axe is a little lighter
1:05:28than before. In his kitchen, there are
1:05:30two huge black iron walks, old as the
1:05:33house. Battle stations, left wuck, red
1:05:36brazed pork, fat and lean pork belly,
1:05:39blanched, then rock sugar melted down to
1:05:42amber caramel. The pork goes in with a
1:05:44sizzle. Then light soy, dark soy,
1:05:47starinise, cinnamon, bay leaf, ginger,
1:05:50scallion, boiling water, and down to a
1:05:52simmer. Right wuk brazed beef, beef
1:05:55shank, the spice packet, oyster sauce, a
1:05:58big spoon of pixie and bean paste, a few
1:06:00lumps of rock sugar, lid on. In about 20
1:06:04minutes, the whole yard smells like a
1:06:05restaurant. Big Jang, I knew you
1:06:08wouldn't have the fire going. I shot two
1:06:10or three rabbits this morning. So, for
1:06:12lunch, Woo comes bursting through the
1:06:14gate with a plate of cleaned rabbit,
1:06:16stops dead, and stares at the
1:06:17wheelbarrow. Then at the kitchen, then
1:06:20at me in an apron, waving a spatula.
1:06:23Little brother Lynn, why are you cooking
1:06:25in here? Brother Woo, perfect timing.
1:06:28Don't just stand there. Get the fire
1:06:30going. Huh? Oh, okay. His brain hasn't
1:06:34caught up yet, but his body is already
1:06:36sitting at the stove feeding in
1:06:38firewood. Poor old Woo. 30 seconds
1:06:41through the door and he's the kitchen
1:06:42boy. When I yell, "Food's ready." Big
1:06:45Jang actually swallows hard from across
1:06:47the yard. Glistening red braised pork
1:06:49that wobbles when you look at it. A big
1:06:52bowl of sliced brazed beef. Wu's rabbit,
1:06:55which I fried up with chili bean paste,
1:06:57white rice, and two clay jars of red
1:07:00star grain liquor. Old Woo takes one
1:07:02bite of the pork and his eyes go round
1:07:04his plates. M. Little brother Lynn, this
1:07:08is incredible. Big Jang tries the beef.
1:07:11He doesn't say anything, but he starts
1:07:13eating a lot faster. A few bowls of
1:07:16liquor later, Wu's tongue has gone
1:07:18thick. Little brother Lynn, I knew
1:07:20yesterday you said you'd be back later,
1:07:22so I knew you'd come back, huh? Old W's
1:07:26got a good eye for people. And his head
1:07:28drops onto the table, and he's snoring
1:07:30with an empty bowl in his arms. The
1:07:32sun's going down. Big Xang is sitting
1:07:35quietly with his long pipe. I clear the
1:07:37bowls, walk over and bow. Brother Zang,
1:07:41I read the wild bull force, but figuring
1:07:43it out alone, I just can't get it. I've
1:07:46got the shape and nothing inside. Please
1:07:48teach me a little. He looks at me for a
1:07:51long time. Rice, meat, oil, salt, a
1:07:54home-cooked meal, his best friend drunk
1:07:57under the table, and now this. I can
1:07:59practically hear him thinking, "Eat a
1:08:01man's food and your mouth goes soft.
1:08:03Take a man's gifts and your hands go
1:08:05weak. It's a perfectly open trap and he
1:08:08can't dodge it." He gets up on his cane.
1:08:11Come here. We stand in the middle of the
1:08:13yard. I take the opening stance, the
1:08:15wild bull stamping the ground. Feet
1:08:18wide, knees bent, fists pulled back to
1:08:20my waist. I punch. I shake. I do the
1:08:23whole sequence. And his face. I've never
1:08:26seen a man look so disappointed in my
1:08:28life. Stop. He limps over and puts his
1:08:31hand on my elbow and it's hot, not warm.
1:08:34Hot like a hand straight out of an oven.
1:08:36And a strange force goes through my arm
1:08:38and moves the joint where it's supposed
1:08:40to be. Then the wrist, then the
1:08:42shoulder. Then he taps my spine and my
1:08:45hips, joint by joint, like he's
1:08:47adjusting a machine. Power rises from
1:08:49the ground, starts in the legs, runs
1:08:52through the spine, gathers in the fist,
1:08:55then the breathing. Follow my rhythm.
1:08:57In, out. I breathe with him. I move with
1:09:01him. And for the first time, the shape
1:09:03has something inside it. The panel opens
1:09:05on its own. Wild bull force. One out of
1:09:0810. Not yet entry level. It's in. It's
1:09:11on the panel. Brother Jang, I think I'm
1:09:14starting to get a feel for it. He looks
1:09:16at me sharply. When you practice martial
1:09:18arts, your heart has to be honest.
1:09:21Either you can or you can't. What's
1:09:23starting to get a feel supposed to mean?
1:09:25You're right to scold me, Brother Xiang.
1:09:28So, I do it again properly. Start to
1:09:30finish. Two out of 10. He frowns. This
1:09:33kid was hiding his skill before. Again.
1:09:36Three out of 10. Again. Four. His frown
1:09:40is gone. And there's something else on
1:09:41his face now. Again. Five out of 10. A
1:09:45fourth time, he mutters. Is this boy
1:09:47made of iron? Then he barks. Enough. I'm
1:09:51drenched. I'm shaking. And I've never
1:09:53felt better in my life. Training martial
1:09:55arts is a business that burns blood and
1:09:57key. He tells me very serious. Every
1:10:00time you squeeze your body past its
1:10:02limit, you need an ocean of meat and
1:10:04blood to fill the hole. There's a
1:10:06saying, "The poor study books, the rich
1:10:09study martial arts." I've seen big,
1:10:11strong recruits in the army train this
1:10:13thing until they spat blood after one
1:10:15round. And he's right. My stomach
1:10:17suddenly feels like a black hole. I had
1:10:20a whole bowl of pork, half a jin of beef
1:10:22and rice for lunch, and I'm starving. He
1:10:25thinks it's a warning. To me, it's good
1:10:27news. Ordinary people in this world have
1:10:29limited resources. I have the whole
1:10:31modern world behind me. I've got an
1:10:33infinite supply chain. Brother Jiang,
1:10:36brother Woo, are you hungry? Want me to
1:10:38make you a bowl, too? I pull out instant
1:10:41noodles, seven or eight blocks, eggs,
1:10:44sausages, leftover braised beef.
1:10:46Everything goes into one huge pot, and
1:10:49the smell is so strong that old Woo, who
1:10:51was dead drunk a minute ago, sits
1:10:53straight up. "Want some?" "Yes," says
1:10:56Wu. "Yes," says Big Jang. The three of
1:11:00us sit there slurping instant noodles in
1:11:02an ancient yard at sunset. And when he's
1:11:05done, the gang key master who once met
1:11:07the human emperor sets down his empty
1:11:09bowl and gives his verdict. Not bad. I
1:11:13can't help it. I burst out laughing.
1:11:15When I'm leaving, I stop at the gate.
1:11:18Brother Cang, I've been calling you Big
1:11:20Cang this whole time, and I don't even
1:11:22know your real name. Old Wu jumps in.
1:11:24Ha. His real name is Jeang Tedon. Jang
1:11:28iron egg. Big Jang gives him a look that
1:11:31could peel paint. Then quietly, Zang
1:11:34Jeene. Jang Jian, I repeat. The loyal
1:11:37Marshall Marquee gave it to me himself.
1:11:40Something moves in his face. Gian means
1:11:42firm. Firm as a rock. Bend a hund times
1:11:46and never break. He's looking at
1:11:47something far away. I joined the army at
1:11:5017. The marquee pulled me up from a
1:11:52common soldier to squad leader to
1:11:54centurion in the vanguard of the Tiger
1:11:57Guard. Too bad. In the end, I failed
1:11:59what the marquee hoped for me. Brother
1:12:02Zang, how did you But he stops. His
1:12:05mouth shuts like a door. Whatever
1:12:07happened to his leg? He can't say it out
1:12:09loud. So, I change the subject. I point
1:12:12at the tiger bone lying by his wood
1:12:14pile. Brother Cang, I'm ignorant. Does
1:12:17tiger bone have any special use? that
1:12:19bone. Steep it in strong grain liquor
1:12:22with a few warming herbs and you get
1:12:23tiger bone wine. It heals. He pauses and
1:12:27it's good for restoring a man's spirit.
1:12:30Immediate results. Then he looks at me
1:12:32with the closest thing to a smirk I've
1:12:33ever seen on him. Why? You need it? No.
1:12:37No. No. How could I? I don't need it.
1:12:40Absolutely not. I was just asking.
1:12:43Purely academic interest. My face is on
1:12:46fire. I meant, does it help with
1:12:48training? Big Jang lets me off the hook.
1:12:51Barely. Drink one small sip after you
1:12:53practice, and it gets your blood and key
1:12:55moving, livelier, rushing. It brings
1:12:58your strength back and helps the wild
1:13:00bull force. Then he holds up one thick
1:13:02finger. But remember this, never drink
1:13:05more. If you can't digest the bones
1:13:07power, all you get is your blood vessels
1:13:10bursting with heat and your essence
1:13:11wasted. My eyes light up. A recovery
1:13:14potion. a grinding potion. That's
1:13:17exactly what I need. I'll take the bone,
1:13:19then I say. Thank you, brother Jiang. He
1:13:22waves me off and I find a hidden spot
1:13:24outside the village and cross home. My
1:13:27phone says 10:48. Same minute I left.
1:13:30Every time it does that, I get a little
1:13:32chill down my spine. In the other world,
1:13:34I've lived a whole day. I've cooked a
1:13:36feast. I've learned a martial art. And
1:13:38here, the coffee I left on the table is
1:13:40still warm. I sit on the sofa and lay
1:13:43out the priorities. Wild bull force
1:13:45first. That's the foundation. That's my
1:13:47body. Then the gun. Then the bow. In
1:13:50that order. Then I check my bank
1:13:52account. And my priorities change. I'm
1:13:55almost broke. The 900,000 from the
1:13:58ginsing gone. Loans, guns, the villa,
1:14:02the groceries, the freezer, and the $20
1:14:04million sitting in my basement might as
1:14:06well be monopoly money. Because the
1:14:08second I try to spend a scent of it, I
1:14:10have to explain where it came from. I
1:14:12stare at the ceiling. The ceiling here
1:14:14doesn't have a mold stain. I miss it a
1:14:17little. It helped me think. Then my eyes
1:14:19fall on the tiger bone lying in my
1:14:21basement doorway. Wait. Tiger bone wine.
1:14:24It heals. It restores a man's spirit on
1:14:28earth. That's not a supplement. That's a
1:14:30miracle. That's a product that sells
1:14:32itself to every rich old man in the
1:14:34country. Do it, I say, and I jump off
1:14:37the sofa. Problem one. The bone is too
1:14:40big. It weighs 70 80 jin. It won't fit
1:14:43in any jar I own. So, I go online and
1:14:45order a professional Bosch metal cutting
1:14:47saw. Rush delivery, 100 tip, and it's at
1:14:51my door in under 50 minutes. I put on
1:14:54goggles, clamp the bone, and start
1:14:56cutting. The blade hits the bone and my
1:14:58whole arm jolts. Sparks fly. Actual
1:15:01sparks off a bone. Is this thing even
1:15:04carbon-based? Now, I get it. When Big
1:15:07Jang said it was harder than refined
1:15:08iron, he wasn't being poetic. The
1:15:11density of this thing is insane. The saw
1:15:13screams. I lean on it with all my
1:15:15weight. It's a 10-minute wrestling match
1:15:17between me, a German power tool, and a
1:15:20dead tiger. And the tiger is winning on
1:15:22points. Then, finally, crack. The bone
1:15:25splits. And inside it, there's marrow.
1:15:28Not the gray stuff you get in a soup
1:15:30bone. White, jade white, glossy, almost
1:15:33translucent. And it smells amazing, like
1:15:36some kind of sweet herb. Big Jang said
1:15:38this tiger hadn't become a demon yet,
1:15:41but its bones had been tempered for
1:15:42years, and the marrow held something
1:15:44special. Okay, if you can steep the bone
1:15:47in liquor, can you eat the marrow? Just
1:15:50a taste. Just a tiny taste. I run
1:15:53upstairs for a teaspoon, come back down,
1:15:55scoop out a little blob of white marrow,
1:15:58look at it trembling on the spoon, and
1:15:59put it in my mouth. It melts instantly,
1:16:02and then the heat comes. A hot current
1:16:04rolls down my throat into my stomach and
1:16:07spreads out from there through my whole
1:16:08body, warm and full and thick like I
1:16:11just drank a cup of liquid sunshine.
1:16:14It's a natural energy bar. It's an
1:16:16energy bar from heaven. I don't think
1:16:18twice. I go into the wild bull stance
1:16:21right there in the basement and run the
1:16:22form. The stamp, the horn punch, the
1:16:25tail sweep, the shoulder slam. With the
1:16:28marrow's energy pushing behind me, I
1:16:30feel like I have unlimited power. Every
1:16:32punch is sharper. Every breath fits the
1:16:34movement. Sweat is pouring off me and I
1:16:37don't care. First run, wild bull force,
1:16:406 out of 10. Second run, seven. Every
1:16:43time I start to fade, the marrow kicks
1:16:46in again and my strength just comes
1:16:47back. By the fifth run, I can feel the
1:16:50energy draining faster. I scoop out the
1:16:53last big piece of marrow from that half
1:16:55of the bone and swallow it whole. Sixth
1:16:58time. Break. My skin goes red as blood.
1:17:01Steam is rolling off me. There's a sound
1:17:03like wind and thunder around my fists.
1:17:06Last move. The shoulder slam and the air
1:17:09in front of me compresses and goes off
1:17:11with a dull boom. Wild bull force. One
1:17:14out of 20. Entry level. Then the flood
1:17:17hits. Not a wave like the gun or the
1:17:19bow. A river bursting through a dam. It
1:17:22rips through every inch of flesh, every
1:17:24bone, every senue, every patch of skin.
1:17:27And I can't help it. I groan out loud.
1:17:29It doesn't hurt. It's the opposite of
1:17:31hurt. It's like every chain I ever had
1:17:34snapping at once. My muscles feel like
1:17:36they're being hammered on an anvil. They
1:17:38get tighter, denser, harder. My whole
1:17:41body actually swells. The lines of my
1:17:43arms look carved with an axe. My bones
1:17:46crackle like popcorn, and I can feel
1:17:48them getting heavier, like they're
1:17:49turning from cheap iron into steel. My
1:17:52skin feels like it's been oiled from the
1:17:53inside. Tougher, smoother, springier.
1:17:57Before this, after the gun and the bow,
1:17:59I was maybe a top athlete. Now, I just
1:18:03broke through the limit of the human
1:18:04body. I open my eyes and clench my fist,
1:18:07and the knuckles go off like
1:18:08firecrackers. I take a step forward to
1:18:11run, and the next thing I know, I'm at
1:18:12the far wall of the basement, and
1:18:14there's a blur in the air behind me. 100
1:18:17m and 7 seconds. I don't think I'd need
1:18:19that long. I open the panel. Name: Lin
1:18:23Yu. Lifespan 24 out of 89. realm. Body
1:18:27realm body realm, not mortal. I'm a
1:18:31martial artist now. And here's the thing
1:18:33about my skin. It feels different,
1:18:35thicker, like I've got invisible leather
1:18:37armor laid over the top of it. So
1:18:40carefully, I test it. I take the
1:18:42sharpest kitchen knife I own and press
1:18:44the edge against my forearm. Nothing. I
1:18:47lean on it slowly, the way a normal
1:18:49grown man would push with his whole
1:18:51strength. And finally, with real force,
1:18:54it breaks the surface. Barely a scratch.
1:18:57A grown man with a sharp blade and all
1:18:59his weight behind it and he barely gets
1:19:01through. Huh? Knives can't hurt me.
1:19:05Okay, not completely, but in modern
1:19:07society, I'm half a superhero now. Then
1:19:10I stand up straight and hear a ripping
1:19:12sound. My t-shirt just split down the
1:19:14back. I go measure myself against the
1:19:17door frame. 180 when I left this
1:19:19morning. 183 now. My shoulders are
1:19:22wider. My clothes don't fit. The wild
1:19:25bull force really did turn me into a
1:19:27bull. There's still half of the marrow
1:19:29left in the other half of the bone. I
1:19:31put it away like it's gold because it
1:19:33is. And then I have a thought that's
1:19:35either very smart or very dumb. How much
1:19:38can I actually lift? The best gym in the
1:19:40neighborhood is called Extreme Power.
1:19:42And at 3:00 in the afternoon, I walk in
1:19:44wearing the only shirt I own that still
1:19:46fits, which is to say it's screaming for
1:19:48help. The two girls at the front desk
1:19:50look up and one of them grabs the
1:19:52other's arm. Look, a hottie top grade. I
1:19:56pretend I didn't hear that. The braver
1:19:58one leans over the counter. Sir, would
1:20:01you like to hear about our membership
1:20:02plans or um we could add each other on
1:20:05WeChat for updates? If you want my
1:20:08WeChat, just say so. I tell her. Someone
1:20:10as pretty as you. How could I say no?
1:20:13Oh. She turns pink. Her friend is dying
1:20:16of laughter. I scan her code and walk on
1:20:18in. I'm not here for that. I'm here for
1:20:21science. The free weight area is busy.
1:20:23Plates clanging, guys grunting, the
1:20:26usual. I go straight to the bench press
1:20:28at the very back. There's a guy there
1:20:30loading up. Round face, full beard, at
1:20:32least 190 tall and 200 jin. He sees me
1:20:36coming and freezes. Whoa, bro. Look at
1:20:39those muscles, those lines. How many
1:20:42years have you been training? You want
1:20:44to press? Come on, you go first. I'll
1:20:46spot you. He's so excited he's
1:20:48practically shoving me onto the bench.
1:20:50Honestly, with that beard and that
1:20:52enthusiasm, I'm a little scared. No, no,
1:20:55you were here first. No way. Experts
1:20:58first. Experts first. I'll be your
1:21:01assistant. Fine. Could you help me load
1:21:04some plates then? You got it. He looks
1:21:06at the bar. 40 kilo plates on each side
1:21:09plus the 20 kilo bar. 100 kilos already.
1:21:13Bro, is that your warm-up weight? or
1:21:15before he finishes, I pick up a 25 kilo
1:21:18plate off the rack with one hand and
1:21:20click it on. Then another one on the
1:21:22other side. 150, then 20s, 175, 15s,
1:21:27190, 10, 200. I'm moving like I'm
1:21:31grabbing bottles of water at a
1:21:32convenience store. And the beard guy
1:21:34goes from helping to watching to just
1:21:36standing there with his mouth open while
1:21:38the bar fills up with plates. 250, 280,
1:21:42300. B, bro, we're out of plates. The
1:21:46bar is actually bending a little. 300
1:21:49kilos. That's an Asian record number.
1:21:51His face says he's switched from amazed
1:21:54to this guy is about to embarrass
1:21:56himself, and I want to watch. I lie
1:21:58down, grip the bar, unrackck it, and
1:22:01press. 1 2 3. It feels like a broomstick
1:22:05with some groceries hanging off it. I do
1:22:0820 reps, and rack it, and the beard guy
1:22:10makes a sound like a balloon losing air.
1:22:12I frown at the bar. Still a little
1:22:15light. By now, people have stopped their
1:22:17own workouts to stare. Then the owner
1:22:19comes jogging over. A thick guy in a
1:22:21polo shirt with Lee stitched on it.
1:22:24That's That's already over the world
1:22:26record. The raw world record, no drugs,
1:22:29no gear, is 355 kilos. Boss, I say, do
1:22:34you have any heavier plates? This still
1:22:36feels light. He swallows. Yes. Yes. 355
1:22:41set by an American, Julius Maddox. Then
1:22:44let's do 500. The owner turns around and
1:22:47yells for every big guy in the building,
1:22:49and they start hauling plates from every
1:22:51rack in the gym. By the time the bar is
1:22:53loaded, there's a crowd of 50 people
1:22:55around the bench, and a girl in yoga
1:22:57pants is live streaming on her phone.
1:22:59500 kilos. I unrackck it. The bar bows
1:23:03like a fishing rod with a whale on the
1:23:05end. I lower it to my chest and I push
1:23:08up. The gym goes absolutely silent. Then
1:23:11it explodes. While the owner is
1:23:13directing his guys to strip the bench, I
1:23:15wander over to the squat rack and he
1:23:17spots me and practically sprints.
1:23:20Master, squat, how much are you going
1:23:22for? I'll have him help with everything.
1:23:24We've got plenty of plates. I roll my
1:23:26shoulders. I can feel that power running
1:23:29through me like a river. 800 800 kilos.
1:23:34The gym goes crazy. People in the back
1:23:36are climbing on machines to see the yoga
1:23:39pants girl is screaming into her phone.
1:23:41Family, did you hear that? 800 800
1:23:44kilos. He's going to squat 800 kilos.
1:23:47Her live chat is not impressed. 800? You
1:23:51mean Jin, right? That's staged. This app
1:23:54keeps getting dumber. How much did they
1:23:56pay the extras? 800 kilos? Did your math
1:23:59teacher also teach PE? And then the
1:24:02owner does something I didn't expect. He
1:24:04pulls out his own phone and starts a
1:24:06live stream on the gym's official
1:24:07account. The title says, "Extreme power
1:24:11live 800 kg squat. Witness a miracle."
1:24:15Hello everyone, I'm Lee Chong, owner of
1:24:18Extreme Power Gym. I swear on my name
1:24:20and on my gym's reputation that 500 kilo
1:24:23bench press just now was 100% real. I
1:24:26already posted the video and now this
1:24:29master is going to squat 800 kilos. His
1:24:32chat goes nuts. Boss Lee, have you lost
1:24:35your mind? Even the owner's in on the
1:24:37script now. You don't want your gym
1:24:39anymore? One of his regulars types,
1:24:41"Boss Lee, is this for real? I watched
1:24:44the bench video. That weight looked
1:24:46real." And Lee Chang points his camera
1:24:48at the 50 kilo plates going onto the
1:24:50rack and shouts, "I put up the extreme
1:24:52power sign as my guarantee. No editing,
1:24:55no effects. Come see it yourself. I'm
1:24:58nearby. I'm driving over right now." the
1:25:00regular types. Then he runs over to me
1:25:03nervous. Master, I started a live
1:25:06stream. Is that okay? It won't affect
1:25:08your performance. It's just so more
1:25:10people can see your power. I look at the
1:25:12wall of phones pointed at me from every
1:25:14direction and sigh. Everybody's filming
1:25:16anyway. One more stream won't make a
1:25:18difference. Go ahead. Thank you, master.
1:25:21Thank you. The special powerlifting bar
1:25:24is loaded until it's bent into a curve
1:25:26like it's about to snap. A dozen staff
1:25:29members link arms and push the crowd
1:25:31back to clear a 3 m circle. The owner's
1:25:34stream is past 5,000 viewers now. Here
1:25:36comes the climax of the script. Waiting
1:25:39for the face plant. I've reported this
1:25:41for spreading superstition. Five
1:25:43spotters take position. I step under the
1:25:46bar, settle it on my back, and stand it
1:25:48up out of the rack. It's heavy. Okay,
1:25:52it's heavy. For the first time today, I
1:25:54feel something. My legs set. My back
1:25:57locks. I go down. All the way down. Deep
1:26:00below parallel. And I come back up. One.
1:26:04Somebody screams and the whole room
1:26:06starts counting with him. Two. Three. By
1:26:10five, the yoga pants girl is crying. By
1:26:128, there's sweat running down my arms
1:26:14like a river. 9. 10. On 10, I come up
1:26:18like a compressed spring snapping open.
1:26:21Take two steps forward, rack the bar,
1:26:23and the rack shutters like it's been hit
1:26:25by a truck. The owner's live stream is
1:26:27at nearly 10,000 people and the chat
1:26:29isn't laughing anymore. It's just a wall
1:26:31of exclamation marks. I roll my neck.
1:26:34Having power, I say mostly to myself.
1:26:38Doesn't feel bad at all. Then the crowd
1:26:40hits me. Everybody wants to touch my
1:26:42arm, feel my back, take a selfie. One
1:26:45guy keeps trying to poke my abs. Hey,
1:26:48you're a guy. Why are you touching me?
1:26:50What's your plan here? Everyone laughs.
1:26:53Somebody shouts for a speech. So I give
1:26:55them one line. Remember this. Strength
1:26:58has never belonged only to the Americans
1:27:00and the Europeans. That gets a roar.
1:27:03Then 30 minutes of photos. 30 minutes.
1:27:07Afterwards, Lee Chang drags me into his
1:27:09office, shuts the door, and pulls a fat
1:27:11bag out of his safe. Master, this is
1:27:14500,000 cash. Just a small thank you.
1:27:17And this? He holds out a black card with
1:27:20gold lettering. is our Supreme Black
1:27:22Gold Lifetime membership. There's only
1:27:25one in the whole gym. I take both. Boss
1:27:28Lee, that's real class. You're a solid
1:27:30guy. Anything you need? Just tell me.
1:27:34Boss Lee, does this place have a back
1:27:36door? I'm out the back with half a
1:27:38million in cash, and the money problem
1:27:40is fixed for now. So, I go straight to
1:27:42the luxury mall and walk into Zegna.
1:27:45This one, this one, and that one. Suit,
1:27:48shirt, trousers, shoes. I look in the
1:27:50mirror and I barely recognize the guy
1:27:52looking back. That's everything. I'll
1:27:55pay. And I drop a stack of cash on the
1:27:57counter. The clerk blinks. You can't pay
1:28:00by card. Sure, I could, but nothing in
1:28:02this world feels as good as slapping
1:28:04cash down on a counter. By the next
1:28:06morning, the videos are everywhere. Gym
1:28:09owner confirms it himself. No edits, no
1:28:12effects. 800 kg squat video leaks. One
1:28:15of my spotters posts. I was one of the
1:28:18spotters. I swear it's real. And
1:28:20somebody replies, "Spotter, I bet you
1:28:22nearly pooped yourself. Great acting. If
1:28:25you don't win best supporting actor, I'm
1:28:27not watching." Then it goes abroad.
1:28:29China man squats 800 kg. New world
1:28:33record or biggest hoax. And then within
1:28:36a few days, it just fades. The internet
1:28:38decides it's fake, gets bored, and moves
1:28:41on to the next thing like it never
1:28:43happened. Except for one place, Lee
1:28:45Chang's gym. Membership up 10 times in
1:28:48one week. He puts up a sign over the
1:28:50squat rack like it's a holy relic.
1:28:52Birthplace of a miracle. 800 kg squat,
1:28:56500 kg bench. The peak of human strength
1:28:59was witnessed here. I'm standing outside
1:29:01the Zegna store at Hang Long Plaza.
1:29:03Still admiring my reflection in the
1:29:05window when my phone rings. Linux. Lyu.
1:29:10That guy online, the one everybody's
1:29:11talking about. Is that you? Chenshi. Of
1:29:15course she recognized me. Of course.
1:29:17Which guy online? Don't play dumb. The
1:29:20squat guy. 800 kilos. He's wearing your
1:29:23face. Did you go to some alien planet
1:29:26for special training these past few
1:29:27days? I'm at Hang Long Plaza outside
1:29:30Zgna. Come see for yourself. Wait for
1:29:33me. 20 minutes. No, 10 minutes. So, I
1:29:37wait in a brand new suit at a size I
1:29:40didn't used to be outside a luxury
1:29:42store. and I find out very fast what
1:29:44it's like to be the thing everybody in a
1:29:45mall turns around to look at. A woman
1:29:48walks into a pillar. Two security guards
1:29:50whisper to each other. I stand there
1:29:53trying to look like I'm not aware of any
1:29:54of it, which is hard because I'm aware
1:29:56of all of it. Sheni comes up the
1:29:59escalator at a run, stops 5 m away, and
1:30:02just stares. Then she walks a slow
1:30:04circle around me like I'm a car in a
1:30:06showroom. Half this floor is staring at
1:30:08you, she says. Enjoying yourself, Linu.
1:30:12Why does it smell like vinegar all of a
1:30:13sudden? Did somebody knock over a jar?
1:30:16Vinegar? Her cheeks go pink. Who's
1:30:19jealous? Not me, Miss Chen. Opportunity
1:30:22favors the prepared. If you don't put in
1:30:25the effort, you can't blame other people
1:30:27for having ambition. Who wants to put
1:30:29effort into you? Don't flatter yourself.
1:30:31Then she squints at me. Okay, show me.
1:30:34Show you what? Your arms. I want to see
1:30:37your biceps. Biceps. Do you understand?
1:30:41So, I do what any reasonable man would
1:30:43do in the middle of a crowded mall. I
1:30:45lift up my shirt and show her my abs,
1:30:47eight of them, in full view of the whole
1:30:49floor. She actually squeaks. Then she
1:30:52grabs my shirt and yanks it back down
1:30:54like she's covering a crime scene,
1:30:56glaring around at the women who are
1:30:57suddenly very interested in the
1:30:59escalator. You even Korean plastic
1:31:02surgery isn't this fast. She drags me
1:31:04out of the mall by the arm, shoves me
1:31:06into the passenger seat of her white
1:31:08Audi, and drives us through the city
1:31:10into a little alley full of neon signs
1:31:12and smoke. The air smells like cumin and
1:31:14chili and charcoal. She parks in front
1:31:17of a battered red sign with yellow
1:31:19letters. Authentic northeastern
1:31:21barbecue. Tada! My secret treasure. The
1:31:25owner's from the Northeast. Her skewers
1:31:27are the best. The owner is a plump,
1:31:29red-cheed woman in a greasy apron
1:31:31flipping skewers over a huge charcoal
1:31:33grill. She looks up and beams. Oh,
1:31:36you're here, little sister, and you
1:31:38brought a friend. Oh my, this young man,
1:31:41your boyfriend, is it? So handsome, like
1:31:43a movie star. Cheni turns the color of a
1:31:47sunset. She opens her mouth to explain,
1:31:49decides it's hopeless, and just says,
1:31:51"M, find us a table. Sit inside. The
1:31:55smoke's bad out here. Don't let it get
1:31:57on your precious boyfriend. Once we're
1:31:59sitting on plastic stools at a folding
1:32:01table, it finally dawns on Chen Xi that
1:32:04I'm wearing a suit that costs more than
1:32:06this restaurant. Um, Lynu, I didn't
1:32:08really think this through. Isn't this a
1:32:10bit of a step down for you dressed like
1:32:12that? I pull my collar loose and undo a
1:32:15button. A step down. The smoke of a
1:32:18street kitchen is what comforts ordinary
1:32:19people the most. And next time I'll come
1:32:22in shorts, a tank top, and flip-flops.
1:32:24Guaranteed down to earth. Huh? You said
1:32:27it. No takebacks. The table fills up.
1:32:31Lamb skewers, chicken racks, grilled
1:32:33chives, ininoi mushrooms. She pulls two
1:32:36ice cold beers out of the fridge. You're
1:32:38driving. It's fine. I'll call a driver.
1:32:42Skewers without cold beer are like
1:32:44dumplings without vinegar. No soul. Two
1:32:47bottles pop. Cheers to the treasure
1:32:49barbecue. We talk about the stupid stuff
1:32:52we did in college and the stupid stuff
1:32:53at her work. And after one bottle, her
1:32:56cheeks are red and her eyes are
1:32:57swimming. Meanwhile, under my feet,
1:32:59there are two crates of empties, and I
1:33:01feel like I've been drinking water. Body
1:33:03realm, my liver has a black belt now.
1:33:06She props her chin on one hand and pokes
1:33:08my chest with a finger. Lyn, you I
1:33:11forgot to ask. Did you secretly go to
1:33:13outer space? How did you change so much?
1:33:16Miss Chen, you're drunk. Nonsense. I'm
1:33:20not drunk. I can still drink. And before
1:33:23I can stop her, she grabs a full glass
1:33:25of beer and chugs it. Glug glug glug.
1:33:29Ooh, cold. Her eyes roll. She tilts
1:33:32sideways on the stool and I catch her
1:33:34before she hits the floor. Well, now
1:33:36you're really drunk. I look at her, then
1:33:39at the table. Clever move, Miss Chen.
1:33:41You invite me to dinner, then you pass
1:33:43out first, so I have to pay. I've
1:33:45learned something today. The owner winks
1:33:48at me as I pay. Young man, take good
1:33:50care of your girlfriend. Come again. I
1:33:53call a driver, carry her into the back
1:33:55seat, buckle her in, and she snores
1:33:58softly against the window the whole way
1:33:59home. Every once in a while, smacking
1:34:01her lips and mumbling, "Tasty, one
1:34:04more." At my villa, I carry her up to
1:34:06the guest room, take off her high heels,
1:34:09pull a blanket over her, set the air
1:34:11conditioning, and put a glass of warm
1:34:13water on the nightstand. Sweet dreams,
1:34:15Miss Chen. Then I take a long hot
1:34:18shower, let the water wash the barbecue
1:34:20smoke off me, and I'm just standing
1:34:22there with my eyes closed, thinking
1:34:24about my training plan when the bathroom
1:34:26door lock clicks open. It's Chenshi,
1:34:30barefoot, half asleep, looking for the
1:34:32bathroom she thinks this is. She takes
1:34:34one step on the wet tile and her foot
1:34:36shoots out from under her and I catch
1:34:38her. She looks up at me and with a
1:34:41little smile, she says, "Didn't you tell
1:34:43me earlier today that I wasn't putting
1:34:45in any effort?" Well, now I've got
1:34:47ambition. As you command, Miss Chen. And
1:34:51that's where the story politely steps
1:34:53out of the room. In the morning, I'm in
1:34:55the kitchen making porridge. Rice, a
1:34:57little salt, and because I'm curious,
1:34:59one tiny pinch of tiger marrow. I bring
1:35:02it up to her. She eats three spoonfuls
1:35:04and stops, eyes wide. What did you put
1:35:07in this? I feel like I just took a whole
1:35:09box of herbal tonics. Okay, that tiger
1:35:12marrow is a bit too effective. I'm
1:35:14keeping the rest for myself. Then she
1:35:16picks up her phone and screams. Dozens
1:35:19of missed calls. Her mom, her dad, her
1:35:21mom again. I'm dead. I'm so dead. I
1:35:24didn't go home last night. I didn't
1:35:26answer my phone. My parents must be
1:35:28losing their minds. She's pulling on her
1:35:30shoes and running for the door at the
1:35:32same time. Lynn, you I'm going. I have
1:35:35to go deal with my parents. I'll settle
1:35:37this with you later. The door bangs. The
1:35:39house is quiet. I stand there in the
1:35:42kitchen with a ladle in my hand. Soft
1:35:44beds are where heroes go to die. I put
1:35:46the ladle down and go to the basement.
1:35:48Time to work. The hollow half of the
1:35:51tiger bone is still lying there. I want
1:35:53it in pieces the size of ma jong tiles.
1:35:56And the bone wants to stay in one piece.
1:35:58It wears out five diamond cutting discs.
1:36:01Five. By the time I'm done, there are
1:36:03dozens of little chunks and a pile of
1:36:05dead saw blades that look like they lost
1:36:07a war. I put the chunks into a huge clay
1:36:10jar half as tall as a man along with the
1:36:12warming herbs I brought from the village
1:36:14and pour in grain liquor until the jar
1:36:16is full. And I watch it change right
1:36:19away. The clear liquor starts going gold
1:36:22like amber swirling out from the bone
1:36:24pieces while I'm still holding the
1:36:25bottle. I dip a little out and taste it.
1:36:28A wave of heat rolls down into my lower
1:36:30back and just sits there glowing. Big
1:36:33Jang was right. Restores the spirit,
1:36:36strengthens the root. I can sell a
1:36:38little of this, but most of it stays
1:36:40here for training. Then I go back to
1:36:42grinding and I find out the bad news
1:36:44about entry level. Before the
1:36:46breakthrough, I could run the Wild Bull
1:36:48Force six times in a row. Now, two runs
1:36:51and I'm on the floor. The form got
1:36:53heavier. It eats more, so I feed it. A
1:36:56spoonful of marrow. Two runs marrow. Two
1:36:59runs marrow. Wild bull force. 10 out of
1:37:0220. Halfway to proficient. And the
1:37:05marrow is gone. that whole tiger and
1:37:07I've eaten its insides in two days. The
1:37:10tiger bone just isn't enough. I need to
1:37:13ask Big Jang what else grows in those
1:37:15mountains that a man like me can eat.
1:37:17Then I'm lying on the floor of my
1:37:18basement staring at the ceiling and it
1:37:21clicks. Wait, what do people on Earth
1:37:24eat when they train hard? Protein
1:37:26powder, energy bars, stuff literally
1:37:29designed for people who push their
1:37:30bodies past the limit. So, I go back to
1:37:33Extreme Power. The girl at the front
1:37:35desk nearly falls off her chair. Lee
1:37:37Chang comes out of his office like I'm a
1:37:39visiting emperor. Master, what brings
1:37:41you here? Is there anything at all I can
1:37:43do for you? Boss Lee, no trouble. I came
1:37:46to buy some stuff. I need high purity
1:37:48whey protein and high energy bars. His
1:37:51face lights up. This one, gold standard
1:37:54whey, the highest purity, the best
1:37:56absorption. And these M9 energy bars.
1:38:00Even the military buys them. 391
1:38:03calories per 100 g. Five tubs of protein
1:38:06to start. 10 boxes of bars. Master,
1:38:10could I take a few more photos with you
1:38:12to hang in the shop? Fine. A few. He
1:38:16calls his photographer. And the second
1:38:18the flash goes off, somebody in the free
1:38:20area shouts, "It's him. It's the 800
1:38:23kilo squat god." And a stampede of
1:38:26people with phones comes at me. By the
1:38:28time I escape, Lie Chang has refused to
1:38:30take a single yuan for the supplements.
1:38:32And I've learned that being famous isn't
1:38:34all good news. Back in my basement, I
1:38:37scoop protein powder into a mixing bowl.
1:38:39Not a shaker. A mixing bowl. 500 g,
1:38:43which is more than 400 g of pure
1:38:45protein. The label says a serving is 30
1:38:47g. I'm having 16 servings for lunch,
1:38:50plus three energy bars as a side dish. I
1:38:53drink it like a man drinking water in
1:38:55the desert. And then I train. It works.
1:38:58It's not the tiger marrow. That was a
1:39:00flood. This is a trickle. A steady
1:39:02little stream of fuel coming out of my
1:39:04stomach and into my muscles, but it's
1:39:06enough to get me through two full runs
1:39:08of the Wild Bull Force. And my stomach
1:39:10just keeps digesting it like it's
1:39:12nothing. A martial artist's stomach is a
1:39:14bug in the game. So that's the new
1:39:16system. Protein, bars, two runs. More
1:39:20protein, more bars, two more runs. And
1:39:23when I get desperate, one tiny sip of
1:39:25the Tiger Bone wine, two fuels, double
1:39:28barrel. 18 out of 20. 19. I force down
1:39:32the last scoop of powder, which by now
1:39:34tastes like sweetened drywall, and I
1:39:37start the final run. 20 out of 20. And
1:39:40on the last horn punch, something comes
1:39:42out of my fist. Not wind, a shape. For a
1:39:46split second, there's a wild bull in
1:39:47front of me, gray, black, made of
1:39:49nothing. horns down and it smashes into
1:39:52the basement wall and cracks the
1:39:54concrete in a spiderweb. Fist intent. I
1:39:57just made my punch take the shape of a
1:39:59bull. The panel. Wild bull force. One
1:40:03out of 50. Proficient. Then the bill
1:40:06comes. And this time it's not a flood of
1:40:08good feeling. It's a forge. Every bone
1:40:11in my body feels like it's being heated
1:40:13and hammered. And every senue feels like
1:40:15it's being twisted like a rope. I'm on
1:40:17the floor. I can't breathe. And I don't
1:40:19know how long it lasts, long enough.
1:40:22When it finally lets go, I'm lying in a
1:40:25puddle of my own sweat. And when I sit
1:40:27up and roll my shoulders, my bones ring.
1:40:29Actually, ring like hitting a steel pipe
1:40:32with a hammer. I stand up and my foot
1:40:34leaves a print in the concrete. I jump,
1:40:37just a little jump, and the air under me
1:40:39goes wump. Bones like iron. That's what
1:40:42Big Jang said the peak of the body realm
1:40:44feels like. This is the peak of the body
1:40:47realm. So, what happens when I max out
1:40:49the wild bull force? Invincible in the
1:40:51body realm. My genius is terrifying.
1:40:55Okay, the panel did a little of the
1:40:56work, too. I go to the kitchen to test
1:40:59my defense properly. A cleaver against
1:41:01my forearm. Nothing. A full strength
1:41:03chop. The cleaver bounces off. I take a
1:41:06long bon knife, set the tip against my
1:41:08chest, and push as hard as I can. And
1:41:11the tip of the knife bends, then curls,
1:41:13then snaps. Ordinary blades just don't
1:41:16work on me anymore. That's insane. Of
1:41:19course, I can only test my defense in
1:41:21this house because if I test my speed or
1:41:23my strength, there won't be a house, and
1:41:26I need new kitchen knives. I need to go
1:41:28to the great Joe and really let loose.
1:41:30Except there's a problem, and his name
1:41:32is Big Jang. Yesterday, I was a
1:41:35beginner. Today, I'm at the peak of the
1:41:36body realm. He's going to notice. And a
1:41:39Gangchi master who watches a nobody go
1:41:41from zero to the top of the body realm
1:41:43in one day, he's going to wonder what my
1:41:45secret is. And people kill for secrets.
1:41:49Big Jang has been good to me, but never
1:41:51put yourself entirely in another man's
1:41:53hands. So, I cook braised beef, brazed
1:41:57ribs, packed into clay pots along with
1:41:59the liquor. And then I pick my insurance
1:42:01policy, the USA12, full auto combat
1:42:05shotgun, 12 gauge, drumfed, 300 rounds a
1:42:08minute on paper. I load a drum, grenades
1:42:11on my belt, the stab vest under my
1:42:13jacket, the Desert Eagle on my hip. I
1:42:16don't know if a gang key master's
1:42:18protective key is stronger than a USA12.
1:42:21I really hope I don't find out today. 7
1:42:24in the evening. I push my wheelbarrow up
1:42:26to his gate. The gate's half open.
1:42:28There's fire light inside and the smell
1:42:30of roasting meat before I can even
1:42:32knock. Come in. It's not locked. He's
1:42:35sitting with his back to me on a little
1:42:37stool, roasting a whole river deer over
1:42:39a fire, fat dripping into the coals, his
1:42:42iron cane leaning right next to his
1:42:44hand. Brother Cang Jeene, I'm here. He
1:42:47doesn't turn around. Sit. I set his
1:42:50little table next to the fire facing his
1:42:52back and lay it out. The clay pots, the
1:42:55meat, the liquor, two bowls, two cups. I
1:42:59pour. Brother Jeang, please. Brother Wu
1:43:02didn't come today. He keeps turning the
1:43:04spit. Silence. The fire pops. Then after
1:43:08you left last night, Woo wouldn't stop
1:43:10pestering me to take him into the inner
1:43:12ring of the mountains so he could see it
1:43:14for himself. The iron spit scrapes the
1:43:16coals. This morning, we ran into those
1:43:18graybacked wolves of yours. And in the
1:43:21middle of the fight, the mate of the
1:43:23tiger I killed came looking for revenge.
1:43:25A long silence. I protected him as much
1:43:28as I could. Woo still got hurt. He's got
1:43:31a fever that won't break. The wounds are
1:43:33festering and now we just have to leave
1:43:34it to He never says the word fate
1:43:38because right then he turns around to
1:43:39take the meat off the fire. And he sees
1:43:41me. His face, that rock of a face,
1:43:44cracks wide open. His pupils shrink to
1:43:47dots. His hand clamps on the spit so
1:43:49hard his knuckles go white. You. You.
1:43:54I know what he's seeing. A bigger frame,
1:43:56thicker bones, muscles that look like
1:43:58they're holding back an explosion. and
1:44:00skin that in the fire light has this
1:44:03faint sheen like polished jade over old
1:44:05oxhide. One day, last night this kid was
1:44:09barely through the door of the marshall
1:44:10path. Tonight, he's at the peak of the
1:44:13body realm. How is that possible? I
1:44:15stand up and look him in the eye. As you
1:44:17can see, Brother Jang, I think I've
1:44:19reached the peak of the body realm. And
1:44:21I let my body settle, and every joint in
1:44:24me goes off at once. Ting tang. A string
1:44:28of sharp metal sounds like swords
1:44:30tapping together from my spine, my
1:44:32shoulders, my knees. Bones singing like
1:44:35iron. Bones and senus ringing like
1:44:38metal, he whispers. It's real. The real
1:44:41thing. And then the cold comes. I feel
1:44:44it before I see it. The air in that yard
1:44:46drops 10°. The killing intent of a
1:44:49Gangchi warrior who's been on a 100
1:44:51battlefields comes off him like heat off
1:44:53a furnace, and it's pointed at me. The
1:44:55peak of the body realm in one day. What
1:44:58a talent. His voice could cut glass. If
1:45:01you've got power like that, why did you
1:45:03come begging a crippled old soldier for
1:45:05a cheap little wild bull force? I'm a
1:45:07discarded soldier with one leg. I have
1:45:09nothing. I have no secrets. He leans
1:45:12forward. His one leg plants itself like
1:45:14the root of an old tree. His
1:45:16three-fingered hand wraps slowly around
1:45:18that iron cane. What do you really want?
1:45:21My eyes flick to the wheelbarrow, to the
1:45:23cloth wrapped shape lying on top of it.
1:45:26One thought, and the shotgun is in my
1:45:28hands. I don't move. Brother Cang,
1:45:31you've got me wrong. I keep my voice
1:45:33steady. I really did run into a fortune
1:45:35of my own, but it's tied up in things so
1:45:38big that I can't tell anyone about them.
1:45:40Please forgive me for that. I give him a
1:45:42small bow. But before I met you, I had
1:45:45never touched martial arts in my life.
1:45:47Not a drop of cultivation. You gave me
1:45:49the wild bull force. You taught me the
1:45:51breathing. You pulled me through the
1:45:53door. I'll remember that for the rest of
1:45:55my life. Tonight, I came with liquor and
1:45:57a few dishes to thank you for teaching
1:45:59me. That's all. Nothing else. He stares
1:46:02at me for a very long time. He's going
1:46:04back to the first day. A young peddler
1:46:06with a wheelbarrow, sharp eyes, decent
1:46:09build, but loose senus, ordinary blood,
1:46:12messy breathing. A completely ordinary
1:46:14man. His fingers loosen on the cane just
1:46:17a little. The killing intent pulls back
1:46:20like a tide going out, but it hasn't
1:46:22gone very far. The Marshall path is full
1:46:24of fortunes no one can predict, he says
1:46:27quieter. Take care of yourself. And he
1:46:30turns back to his roast dear like
1:46:31nothing happened. I let out a breath I
1:46:34didn't know I was holding. Then I look
1:46:36past him at the closed door. Brother
1:46:38Jiang, how is Brother Woo? Can I go in
1:46:41and see him? He doesn't turn around. He
1:46:43just tilts his head toward the inner
1:46:45room barely. The door caks. The smell
1:46:48inside is blood and herbs. There's one
1:46:51oil lamp on the windowsill the size of a
1:46:53bean. And in its light, Woo is lying on
1:46:55the brick bed under a thin, worn
1:46:57blanket. His face is yellow as old
1:47:00paper. His lips are cracked and purple.
1:47:02And even asleep, his body keeps
1:47:04twitching. His chest and his left arm
1:47:06are wrapped in rough gray cloth
1:47:08bandages, and they're soaked dark. I
1:47:10unwrap the chest carefully. A claw wound
1:47:13runs across the left side of his chest,
1:47:15deep, and the edges have gone gray. It's
1:47:17infected badly. An inch deeper and it
1:47:20would have reached his heart. The arm is
1:47:22worse. A bite the size of a bowl.
1:47:24Swollen and the whole arm has gone dark.
1:47:27High fever, infected wounds, sepsis. On
1:47:30Earth, this is a hard case. In an
1:47:33ancient village, this is a man waiting
1:47:35to die. Then, old Woo jerks awake, eyes
1:47:38wide and bloodshot, not seeing anything.
1:47:41Run, run. And he drops back down, his
1:47:44breathing even weaker. The door caks.
1:47:47Big Jiang comes in on his cane and just
1:47:49stops at the edge of the bed, staring at
1:47:51the wounds. In that dim light, his face
1:47:53is gray. I stop the tiger, he says like
1:47:56sandpaper. But there were too many
1:47:58wolves. I protected him as much as I
1:48:00could. He still took one bite and one
1:48:03claw. He doesn't look up. This
1:48:05afternoon, I brought the best old doctor
1:48:07around. He said the poisons in his
1:48:09bones. The fever won't break. The pus is
1:48:12going for his heart. We've done what
1:48:14people can do. Now it's up to heaven
1:48:16whether he makes it through. He sigh,
1:48:18and it's like the cane can't hold him up
1:48:20anymore. And this iron-blooded veteran
1:48:22who's seen mountains of bodies and lost
1:48:25a leg without flinching has water in his
1:48:27eyes. "Brother Jeang," I say. I think
1:48:31Brother Woo can still be saved. His head
1:48:33snaps up. His dead eyes catch fire like
1:48:36a drowning man who just touched a rope.
1:48:39What did you say? And before I can
1:48:41answer, a hand like an iron vice clamps
1:48:43onto my arm. Say that again. He's
1:48:46breathing hard, staring into my eyes,
1:48:48and there's hope in his face and a
1:48:50threat right behind it. If I'm lying,
1:48:53he's going to tear me in half. I put my
1:48:55hand on top of his, the one with the
1:48:57veins standing out like ropes, and pat
1:48:59it. "Brother Ciang, calm down." I said,
1:49:02"Brother Wu can still be saved. And I
1:49:05can't help a tired little smile. I just
1:49:07hope you don't think I'm up to
1:49:08something. I'll be quick. I shake my
1:49:11wrist and the force in my arm pops his
1:49:13grip open easily. Then I'm out the door.
1:49:16Behind me, I hear him start to say,
1:49:17"Wait, you and stop." I grab the
1:49:20wheelbarrow and I run. Peak of the body
1:49:22realm, full speed, and the village gate
1:49:25goes by in a few breaths. Bushes, nobody
1:49:28watching. Cross. Cold, dry basement air.
1:49:31No time. I run out of the villa, flag
1:49:34down a taxi on the street. Old town. The
1:49:37Hui Chun Tang Clinic. Fast. The driver
1:49:40sees my face and floors it. Hu Chunang
1:49:42is a little clinic I heard about once,
1:49:44hidden in an alley in the old town. The
1:49:46kind of place that has the stuff
1:49:48hospitals won't sell you. 15 minutes
1:49:50later, we stop in front of a faded sign.
1:49:52And I throw 200 yuan notes at the
1:49:54driver. Wait for me. I'll be right back.
1:49:57Inside, it smells like disinfectant and
1:49:59herbs. A skinny old man with reading
1:50:01glasses and white hair is behind the
1:50:03counter with a newspaper. Young man,
1:50:06fever or a cold? He doesn't even look
1:50:08up. Doctor, I'm not sick. I'm buying
1:50:11medicine and some medical equipment.
1:50:13Then I rattle it off. Dexamethasone
1:50:16injections, amoxicylin capsules,
1:50:18ibuprofen, sterile gauze and bandages,
1:50:21eunan bayo powder, hydrogen peroxide,
1:50:24iodine, saline, scalpel blades for
1:50:27cleaning a wound, a suture kit. His
1:50:29wrinkles bunch up in the middle of his
1:50:31face. Young man, what do you want all
1:50:33that for? Are you going to do surgery at
1:50:36home? That's not a game. Somebody could
1:50:38die. I don't explain. I just hold my
1:50:41phone up to his payment code. Ding.
1:50:44WeChat payment received. 10,000 yen. He
1:50:47looks at me for a long second. He sigh.
1:50:50Wait here. And he shuffles into the
1:50:52back. Oh, right. I call after him.
1:50:56Rabies vaccine. Do you have it? Give me
1:50:59a few shots. His hands stop for a
1:51:01second. I have it. He comes back with
1:51:04his arms full of bags. And while he's
1:51:06stuffing everything into one big black
1:51:08bag, the doctor in him can't help it.
1:51:11Young man, dexamethasone is a steroid.
1:51:13It fights inflammation and fever, but
1:51:16used together with the rabies vaccine,
1:51:18it might weaken the vaccine. Better not
1:51:20to use them together. Got it. Thanks,
1:51:22doctor. I'm out the door. Behind me, I
1:51:25hear a mutter. Kids these days,
1:51:28honestly. Taxi, villa, basement, cross.
1:51:32I dump everything into the wheelbarrow
1:51:34and run. The second the wheelbarrow
1:51:36stops at his gate, the door of the house
1:51:38flies open, and Big Jang is standing in
1:51:40it like a temple guardian. You got the
1:51:43things? You can save him now. I can.
1:51:47Inside, Woo is even worse. His breathing
1:51:49is like a candle in the wind. I pull out
1:51:52the IV bag and the tubing, and Big Cang
1:51:54stares at the clear plastic and the
1:51:56glass bottles like they're alien
1:51:58artifacts. I don't explain. I take Old
1:52:01Bubble's swollen arm, press my
1:52:03fingertips into the crook of his elbow,
1:52:05feel for the faint, faint pulse, then I
1:52:08slide the needle in first try into a
1:52:10vein I can barely see in the light of
1:52:13one oil lamp. Dark blood comes back into
1:52:15the line. Got it. I tape it down,
1:52:18connect the line, set the drip, and the
1:52:20medicine starts falling drop by drop
1:52:23into woo. A few weeks ago, Lin Yu the
1:52:25graduate couldn't have hit that vein in
1:52:27a hospital with the lights on. Body
1:52:29control at the peak of the body realm is
1:52:31something else. What What technique is
1:52:34this? Big Jang breathes. A needle in the
1:52:37blood vessel sending medicine into the
1:52:39body. Next, a moxicylin and ibuprofen. I
1:52:43pry old W's jaw open and put the pills
1:52:46in his mouth, but he's unconscious. He
1:52:48can't swallow. I look at Big Jang. He
1:52:51gets it right away. He reaches out with
1:52:53his three fingers and taps W's throat
1:52:55once. And old W's throat moves and the
1:52:58pills go down. These people have never
1:53:00taken an antibiotic in their lives. No
1:53:02resistance. This stuff should hit like a
1:53:04truck. Then the hard part. The wound has
1:53:07to be cleaned. I peel back the blanket.
1:53:09I take out the peroxide, the iodine, the
1:53:12saline, the powder, the gauze, and a
1:53:15sealed foil packet with the scalpel
1:53:16blades. I sterilize a blade with iodine
1:53:19and hold it out to him. Brother Zang,
1:53:22please use this to cut away everything
1:53:24that's black, rotting, or full of pus.
1:53:26All of it. Clean. Leave nothing. He
1:53:29takes the blade and turns it in his
1:53:31fingers. Thin as a willow leaf, sharp as
1:53:34nothing he's ever held. Then he just
1:53:36nods. Good. His hand moves and I've
1:53:39never seen anything like it. A gang key
1:53:41warrior's control over his own body
1:53:43turned into surgery. Fast, steady,
1:53:46precise, cleaner than any surgeon I've
1:53:48ever seen on TV. In a minute, the rod is
1:53:51gone and there's healthy red underneath.
1:53:53Woo groans and twitches in his sleep.
1:53:56Hold on. I pour the peroxide over the
1:53:59wounds and it foams up white and hisses.
1:54:02Old Woo arches off the bed with a scream
1:54:04and drops back. Big Cangs eye twitches.
1:54:07I rinse it all with saline over and over
1:54:10until it's clean. Iodine around the
1:54:12edges and inside. Then a whole bottle of
1:54:15Eunan Bayo powder thick over the chest
1:54:18and the arm. Gauze elastic bandage
1:54:21wrapped firm. Then the rabies vaccine. I
1:54:24fill the syringe, find the shoulder
1:54:26muscle, and push it in. Done. My
1:54:28forehead's wet. Big Jang has been
1:54:31standing there like a statue the entire
1:54:32time, watching every move I make, every
1:54:35strange bottle, every word printed in
1:54:37letters he's never seen. And a thought
1:54:39hits him like lightning. The fortune I
1:54:41found wasn't a martial arts legacy. It
1:54:44was the lost legacy of some ancient
1:54:46medical sect. That explains everything.
1:54:48With a legacy like that, of course, I
1:54:50could temper my body to the peak in one
1:54:52day. And those bottles, those tools,
1:54:55ancient treasures, obviously. We go out
1:54:58into the yard and he sits down heavily
1:55:00by the fire. Then carefully he asks,
1:55:03"Those methods of yours, those
1:55:05medicines, are they the legacy of an
1:55:07ancient medical sect?" "Ancient? What
1:55:10ancient?" He frowns at me like I'm a
1:55:12slow student. "You don't know. The
1:55:14ancient era was 108,000 to 50,000 years
1:55:17ago. The middle era 50,000 to 20,000.
1:55:21The near era 20,000 to 8,000. And the
1:55:24great Joe was founded just 1,800 years
1:55:27ago. Whole sects and whole arts from the
1:55:29old eras have been lost. Anyone who digs
1:55:32up a piece of one, he shakes his head.
1:55:34An ancient medical sect. That's a
1:55:37perfect cover. And he came up with it
1:55:39himself. Maybe, I say slowly. You could
1:55:42call it a kind of medical legacy. I knew
1:55:45it. He leans back. And just like that,
1:55:47the last of the suspicion leaves his
1:55:49face. Then his eyes drop to his empty
1:55:52trouser leg and something old and
1:55:54painful rises up in his face. Something
1:55:56he's kept pushed down for years. Lynu,
1:55:59your medical legacy is so profound. I
1:56:02wonder this broken leg of mine. He
1:56:05doesn't finish. He doesn't have to. I
1:56:08shake my head. I have to be honest with
1:56:09him. Brother Jeang, growing back a lost
1:56:12limb is stealing a miracle from heaven
1:56:14itself. That's beyond my cultivation and
1:56:17beyond my legacy. I really can't. The
1:56:19light in his eyes goes out like a
1:56:21candle. He gives me a bitter little
1:56:23smile. I was dreaming. Regrowing a limb
1:56:26is too much to ask of anyone. I don't
1:56:28say anything, but I remember the line he
1:56:31drew on the table out of all the
1:56:32circles. The shedding embryo realm where
1:56:35lost limbs might grow back. Then I bring
1:56:37up the thing I came here worried about.
1:56:39Brother Cang, there's a bigger problem.
1:56:42The wolves and the tigris. The one whose
1:56:44mate you killed. Somewhere in the back
1:56:46of my head, I'm remembering my drone in
1:56:48pieces on the forest floor. She lost her
1:56:50husband. She'll want blood. What do we
1:56:53do? His aura flares up like a fire
1:56:55getting a gust of wind. The beasts want
1:56:58to die. If they come, they don't go
1:57:00home. Then let me come with you next
1:57:02time you go in. I have my own secret
1:57:05weapon. He snorts. What weapon? You'll
1:57:08see. He studies me for a moment, then
1:57:11pours us both a bowl. And after the
1:57:13second bowl, he gets philosophical. I
1:57:15ask him, "Brother Jeang, the peak of the
1:57:18body realm, bones like iron, a thousand
1:57:20jun of strength. Is that really the end
1:57:22of the road?" His eyebrows go up. "You
1:57:25know about that?" Then he leans in.
1:57:27There's a legend above the ordinary
1:57:29peak. Copper skin, golden muscles, jade
1:57:33bones, and blood so strong it rises off
1:57:35your body like the smoke of a signal
1:57:37fire. Most men never touch it. A,000 jun
1:57:40is 30,000 jin. Exceptional men get 40,
1:57:4450. Can I test it? He sets down his bowl
1:57:47and gets up on his cane, his one leg
1:57:50planted like the root of a thousand-year
1:57:52pine. He holds out his left hand, palm
1:57:54open. Good. Come. I set my feet. My
1:57:58spine lines up like a dragon. Joint by
1:58:00joint. Power from the ground. Legs,
1:58:03spine, fist. Wild bullhorn punch.
1:58:06Everything I've got. and the air in
1:58:08front of my fist turns into a visible
1:58:10white shock wave. It lands in his palm.
1:58:13A thin layer of gangqi wraps his hand
1:58:16and the sound is like a hammer hitting a
1:58:18war drum. The campfire flattens
1:58:20sideways. Dust jumps off the ground and
1:58:23Big Jang doesn't move. Not an inch. He
1:58:26looks at his palm, which has gone a
1:58:28little red. Good. Good. Good. With the
1:58:31wild bull force behind it, that punch is
1:58:3340,000 jin. Maybe more. 40,000 jin, 20
1:58:38tons in one punch. And this is just the
1:58:41beginning. Before I leave, I go back
1:58:43into the inner room to check on Wu. Big
1:58:46Jang follows me, sits down beside the
1:58:48bed, looks at his friend for a long
1:58:50time. Then he says it slowly like every
1:58:53word costs him. Thank you. If Wu pulls
1:58:56through, I
1:58:58owe you a life. Brother Zang, don't say
1:59:01that. You taught me martial arts. How
1:59:04could I dare to talk about owing a life?
1:59:06Tomorrow morning, I'll come back first
1:59:07thing to change his dressings. That
1:59:10night, back in my basement, I finally
1:59:12opened the crates I took off the militia
1:59:14in Peshawar. Their local specialties are
1:59:16about to earn their keep. C4, 10 blocks
1:59:19of it, a kilo each. Half a kilo of this
1:59:22stuff can wreck a solid truck. I cut
1:59:24detonators to length and set them up
1:59:26with delay fuses, slow and careful, like
1:59:29I'm diffusing my own future. Explosions
1:59:32are art. very loud art. Then the RPG7
1:59:36and four rockets from my Dara order. Two
1:59:38armor-piercing, two high explosive. The
1:59:40armor-piercing ones can go through 600
1:59:43mm of steel plate. Then the PKM, over 9
1:59:46kilos empty, and two 200 round belt
1:59:49boxes loaded with armor-piercing rounds.
1:59:51And my USAS12 stays in the mix because
1:59:54it's my emotional support shotgun. I
1:59:56look at the pile. Somewhere out there is
1:59:59a tiger the size of a bus who thinks
2:00:00she's going to take revenge on a guy
2:00:02with a cane. Lady, times have changed.
2:00:05Lyn Yu, the broke graduate has a PKM
2:00:08now. Then I order more fuel. 10 tubs of
2:00:11protein powder and 20 boxes of energy
2:00:13bars from a rush delivery app. 10
2:00:16minutes guaranteed or you can take the
2:00:18wheels off my scooter. The courier makes
2:00:20it in 9. I tip him 100 and while I wait
2:00:23I text Chen Xi. Miss Chen, how did the
2:00:27trial go at home? Did your parents tag
2:00:29team you? Small stuff. Everything's
2:00:32under control. Looks like she handled
2:00:34her parents good. Then I go downstairs
2:00:36and grind for five straight hours.
2:00:39Protein, bars, two runs again. Wild bull
2:00:43force. 20 out of 50. Proficient. Not bad
2:00:46for one evening, Lin Yu. Then I pack the
2:00:48medicine and the weapons and I cross. At
2:00:51Big Jangs house, the inner room door is
2:00:53open and Big Jang is sitting by the bed
2:00:55with a bowl of porridge, feeding old Woo
2:00:58with a spoon. Woo! Awake! Face still
2:01:01pale, but his eyes are clear. Don't
2:01:04move. Behave yourself. Big Jeang growls,
2:01:07shoving another spoonful at him like
2:01:08he's feeding a stubborn mule. Old Wu
2:01:11sees me in the doorway and his eyes fill
2:01:13up. Little brother Lynn, Brother Ciang
2:01:16told me everything. Thank you for saving
2:01:18this worthless life of mine. this
2:01:20worthless life. I'll never be able to
2:01:22pay you back. Brother Wu, don't talk
2:01:24like that. If you hadn't introduced me
2:01:26to Brother Jeang, if Brother Jeang
2:01:28hadn't taught me, I'd still be a peddler
2:01:30walking from village to village. Just
2:01:32rest and get better. That's the best way
2:01:34to pay me back. Hey. Hey, good brother.
2:01:38I check his fever down. I change the
2:01:41dressings. The wounds are clean and pink
2:01:43at the edges. No more rot. The
2:01:45antibiotics are doing exactly what I
2:01:47hoped. Then I turned to Big Cang.
2:01:50Brother Ciang, how about we go hunting
2:01:52today? He looks at Woo, then at me.
2:01:55Good. But somebody has to look after old
2:01:57Woo while we're gone. So Big Jang sends
2:02:00for Aunt Lee, the old woman who lives
2:02:02three houses down. She comes in, takes
2:02:05one look at Woo, and starts scolding him
2:02:07before she's even through the door. You
2:02:09running into the mountains at your age
2:02:11with nothing in your head? You and
2:02:13little Jean? I watched you both grow up
2:02:15running around with your bare bottoms in
2:02:17the dirt and now look at you. Then she
2:02:20sits down next to him and pats his hand
2:02:22and mutters, "One of these days your
2:02:24auntie is going to find you a nice girl
2:02:25and then you'll stay home." Old Wu goes
2:02:28bright red. Big Jang looks very
2:02:30interested in the ceiling. Outside the
2:02:32village, Big Cang stops me. Lin Yu, you
2:02:35really want to come into the deep
2:02:37mountains with me? You're young. You've
2:02:39got a future. If you fall in there, it's
2:02:41not worth it. Brother Ciang, I've got my
2:02:44own ways of staying alive. I won't drag
2:02:47you down. He studies me, thinking, "An
2:02:50ancient legacy? Maybe he really does
2:02:51have something to lean on." I pick up
2:02:53the loaded wheelbarrow with one hand
2:02:55like it's a grocery bag. He raises an
2:02:57eyebrow. We go. We cover about 30 km in
2:03:01an hour. It took me weeks of crawling to
2:03:03get through this forest the first time.
2:03:05Now I'm jogging it with a cart. On the
2:03:07way, I ask him, "Brother Ciang, do you
2:03:10think the tiger will come find us?" Her
2:03:12husband ended up in my stomach. She'll
2:03:14come looking. That tiger's a real
2:03:16romantic. Then I stopped dead. There's a
2:03:19mark on a tree trunk. A mark I carved
2:03:21with my own knife. The character for my
2:03:24family name, Lynn. I made that the first
2:03:26week I came to this world on my way to
2:03:28find the village 7 or 8 days ago. It
2:03:31feels like a different life. Back then,
2:03:33I was crawling through this forest in
2:03:35flip-flops, terrified of everything. Now
2:03:38I'm walking through it next to a Gangchi
2:03:40warrior with a cart full of machine
2:03:41guns. What's wrong? Big Jang asks.
2:03:45Nothing. Let's go. Another 10 oddly, and
2:03:48the trees open up around a little
2:03:50mountain pool, clear as jade with mist
2:03:53hanging over the water. Big Jang says,
2:03:55"We'll rest here." He disappears into
2:03:57the trees and comes back a few minutes
2:03:59later, carrying a big stag with a single
2:04:01neat finger-sized hole in its neck. One
2:04:03poke, dead. Nice moves. He doesn't
2:04:07react. He skins it and cleans it. And I
2:04:10bring out my secret weapon. Number one,
2:04:12a packet of modern barbecue seasoning.
2:04:14Cumin, chili, salt, garlic. Over the
2:04:18fire, the venison crackles and goes
2:04:20golden. And even Big Jang, the man with
2:04:22nerves of iron, swallows audibly. We're
2:04:25tearing into it with greasy hands when
2:04:27the bushes start rustling. Little
2:04:29rustles, lots of them. We both freeze
2:04:32and look up. And all around us in the
2:04:34trees and the brush, there are a dozen
2:04:36little heads sticking out, fluffy,
2:04:38golden monkeys, but not ordinary ones.
2:04:42Their fur shines like real gold thread
2:04:44in the light coming through the leaves,
2:04:46and they're staring at our venison with
2:04:48big black eyes like jewels. My greasy
2:04:50hand goes straight for the USS 12 under
2:04:53the cart. Don't move. Big Jang grabs my
2:04:56wrist hard. Golden flame spirit monkeys.
2:04:59He's whispering and he sounds
2:05:01respectful, which I've never heard from
2:05:02him before. Very smart, fairly gentle.
2:05:05They almost never attack people. What
2:05:08they're best at is gathering a hundred
2:05:09kinds of fruit and morning dew and
2:05:12brewing spirit monkey wine. In the
2:05:14divine capital, the nobles in the palace
2:05:16fight over it. Priceless, the governor
2:05:19of Yun Province sends a little to the
2:05:21capital every year as tribute. These
2:05:23monkeys normally live 800 lee deep with
2:05:26a monkey king guarding them. Why would
2:05:28they be out here? Strange. Oh, so the
2:05:32Yunmong mountains are part of Yun
2:05:33Province. He turns his head and looks at
2:05:36me like I'm an idiot. You don't even
2:05:38know that the range crosses three
2:05:40provinces, but the main ridge is under
2:05:42the Yun Province garrison. That's common
2:05:44knowledge. My face goes red.
2:05:48So, uh, Brother Jeang, what do they
2:05:50want? The monkeys are creeping closer
2:05:52from every direction, keeping a safe
2:05:54distance, making little whining noises
2:05:56at the meat. They don't like to attack,
2:05:59he says, frowning. But I don't know what
2:06:01they're after. They can't just be here
2:06:03for the barbecue smell, can they? And I
2:06:06pick up the venison leg I've eaten and
2:06:08toss it toward them. Hey, don't. Too
2:06:11late. The leg lands in front of them.
2:06:13They jump back. Then the smell wins. A
2:06:16couple of brave young monkeys dart in,
2:06:18grab it, and the rest pile on,
2:06:20chattering and screeching and bouncing
2:06:22up and down, faces covered in grease.
2:06:25Big Jang and I look at each other. Well,
2:06:28I say, looks like they were starving.
2:06:30So, I tear the rest of the roast off the
2:06:32fire and throw it all to them. Meeting
2:06:34you is fate. Have it all. We're full
2:06:36anyway. They lose their minds. In 2
2:06:39minutes, there's not a scrap left. Then
2:06:41they don't leave. They just sit there
2:06:43licking their lips and looking at us.
2:06:45And out of the middle of the troop comes
2:06:47an old monkey, bigger than the rest, fur
2:06:50gold, stre with white, with old, wise
2:06:52eyes. In its hands, it's carrying a jar
2:06:55carved out of a single piece of blue
2:06:57stone, smooth old-fashioned. It walks up
2:07:00to three steps away from us, looks at
2:07:02me, looks at Big Jang, and sets the jar
2:07:04down on the grass in front of us very
2:07:06carefully. Then it lets out a long low
2:07:09call, and the whole troop vanishes into
2:07:11the forest like streaks of golden fire.
2:07:14Open it, Big Jang says, and he sounds
2:07:16almost eager. I lift the stone lid, and
2:07:19the smell hits like a mountain spring
2:07:21bursting out of rock. A hundred kinds of
2:07:23fruit all at once. Then something cold
2:07:26and fresh like dew at sunrise. Then the
2:07:29smell of a forest after rain, and
2:07:31finally curling up through all of it,
2:07:33the deep, slow smell of wine, straight
2:07:35to the top of my skull. The jar is more
2:07:38than half full of something clear and
2:07:40golden, like liquid gold, shining in the
2:07:43light. This is spirit monkey wine. Big
2:07:46Jang dips one finger in and tastes it.
2:07:48He closes his eyes. Then they snap open.
2:07:51That's it. What pure energy. Gentle,
2:07:55long, it goes straight into the organs.
2:07:57Sweet, mellow, clear, crisp, smooth.
2:08:00It's better than the legends. These
2:08:03monkeys have manners. They ate our
2:08:05barbecue and paid us back with this. We
2:08:07made a killing on that trade. He looks
2:08:09at the jar with a strange expression. I
2:08:12never thought I'd live to drink tribute
2:08:13wine in the middle of the wilderness,
2:08:15something even the nobles in the palace
2:08:17don't get to drink often. Then serious,
2:08:20this wine's energy is pure and easy to
2:08:22absorb. It'll do wonders for your bones
2:08:24and blood. And me? He touches his empty
2:08:27trouser leg. I've got old injuries piled
2:08:29up inside me for years. My gang key gets
2:08:32stuck. This might clear some of it. Come
2:08:34on, half each. Let's not waste what the
2:08:37monkeys gave us. He drinks a careful
2:08:39little share and passes the rest to me.
2:08:42I drink it all in one go. It doesn't
2:08:44burn. It goes down like a line of ice.
2:08:47Then a warm flood opens up in my stomach
2:08:49and runs out into every part of me like
2:08:51a river thawing in spring. And then
2:08:54something else, cold and clear, goes
2:08:56straight up into my head. It's like
2:08:58having ice water dumped on my brain on
2:09:00the hottest day of summer. like somebody
2:09:02just bolted a top-of-the-line water
2:09:03cooler onto my CPU. Every bit of mental
2:09:06fatigue from the training and the
2:09:08crossing is gone. Everything is sharp. I
2:09:10can hear bugs moving in the grass 30 m
2:09:13away. I can feel the wind on each leaf.
2:09:16Brother Zang, this wine. He has his eyes
2:09:19half closed, and the pain that's always
2:09:21sitting in his face looks a little
2:09:23lighter. You feel it? Its real value
2:09:25isn't in the blood. It feeds the spirit.
2:09:28It tempers the soul. The strength of the
2:09:30spirit is the root a martial artist
2:09:32needs to break into higher realms.
2:09:34Ordinary medicines can't even touch it.
2:09:36No wonder it's tribute. And right then
2:09:38the bushes rustle again. Not playful
2:09:41this time. Fast, lots of them from the
2:09:44deep, dark part of the forest. Then a
2:09:46howl. Long, cold, hungry, like a battle
2:09:49horn. Big Jang stands up and plants his
2:09:52iron cane in the dirt. They're here. Get
2:09:55ready. Then the forest comes alive.
2:09:57Running feet from every direction. Howls
2:10:00left, right, behind. Gray black shapes
2:10:03flickering between the trees like ghosts
2:10:05and green eyes. Dozens of them glowing
2:10:08like lanterns from hell. All locked on
2:10:10the two of us by the pool. I'm already
2:10:12at the cart. I rip off the oil cloth.
2:10:15Black, cold, beautiful in that ugly
2:10:18industrial way. The PKM and its 200
2:10:21round belt box. I pick up the 9 kilo
2:10:24machine gun with both hands, flick the
2:10:26safety off with my thumb, and rack the
2:10:28bolt. Clack. I don't look for cover. I
2:10:31just stand there, feet apart, back
2:10:33straight. With the belt, the gun is
2:10:35close to 16 kilos. And right now, it
2:10:38weighs about as much as an umbrella.
2:10:40Then I pull the trigger. The PKM roars.
2:10:43That non-stop tearing cloth roar that
2:10:46rips the ancient silence of the Yunmang
2:10:48Mountains right down the middle. Muzzle
2:10:50flash, brass spraying, full power 7.62
2:10:54armor-piercing rounds, over 650 a
2:10:57minute, a hot steel storm pouring into
2:10:59the thickest part of the pack. These
2:11:01wolves have hides that turn swords. The
2:11:03bullets don't care. The first dozen
2:11:05wolves in the charge never even see what
2:11:07hit them. They just go down one after
2:11:10another like somebody swinging an
2:11:12invisible sythe through the front row.
2:11:14Next to me, Big Cang, the Gangchi
2:11:16veteran of a 100 battles, is frozen. His
2:11:19eyes are huge. He's watching a shaking
2:11:21steel thing in my hands spit fire and
2:11:23thunder and watching the pack fall like
2:11:26wheat. What? What is that thing? His
2:11:29throat sounds dry. A voice like a
2:11:31thunderstorm spitting fire. Killing
2:11:33wolves hundreds of paces away. That
2:11:36power, that efficiency of killing. And
2:11:38then the thought lands. So that's the
2:11:40secret weapon. A guardian treasure from
2:11:42the ancient medical sect. His respect
2:11:45for my imaginary ancient sect just hit
2:11:47an all-time high. The pack doesn't know
2:11:49what's happening to it. Since they
2:11:51started following that wolf king of
2:11:52theirs, they've owned this forest.
2:11:54They've hunted tough beasts. They've
2:11:56cornered lone gangqi warriors. And now
2:11:59there are no claws, no fangs, just
2:12:02thunder and hot metal and their friends
2:12:04dropping. Their charge stalls. Some of
2:12:06them start backing up, whining. Then
2:12:09from a rocky rise about 500 meters
2:12:12behind the pack, there's a roar, not a
2:12:14howl. A roar, furious and full of
2:12:17authority. The Wolf King. Close to one
2:12:20jang tall, 3 and 1/2 m, fur standing up
2:12:23like steel needles, and eyes glowing
2:12:25red. And he's smart. One look and he
2:12:28knows I'm the problem. He barks in
2:12:30order. Three wolves shoot out of the
2:12:32pack, bigger than the rest. Muscles
2:12:34bulging, their fur with a faint metal
2:12:37shine. elite wolves. They come at me
2:12:39like three gray lightning bolts, using
2:12:41the trees for cover in a triangle
2:12:43formation. The plan is simple. Distract,
2:12:46close the distance, tear them apart. The
2:12:48spirit monkey wine has my senses turned
2:12:51up to 11, and I feel them coming like
2:12:53three blips on radar. Oh, you've got
2:12:56something. I switch off full auto.
2:12:58Short, precise two round bursts. Tap tap
2:13:01tap tap. The PKM in my hands turns into
2:13:04a sniper rifle. The three of them
2:13:06zigzag, roll, dodge behind trunks so
2:13:09fast they leave after images, and my
2:13:11marksmanship skill tracks every single
2:13:13move. The bullets hit their heads and
2:13:16spark. Clang, clang, clang, like hitting
2:13:20a steel helmet. Under the fur on their
2:13:22foreheads, there's a faint black glow
2:13:24like armor. The armor-piercing rounds
2:13:26break through the glow, but they've lost
2:13:28most of their punch by then. Shallow
2:13:30wounds, nothing fatal. And now the three
2:13:33of them are angry. Okay, there's a
2:13:35saying back home, a wolf has a copper
2:13:38head, an iron tail, and a tofu waste.
2:13:41Let's see if your waist is made of tofu.
2:13:43I drop the barrel a hair onto the softer
2:13:46side of the first one as it leaps. Two
2:13:48rounds. The first one stalls like it hit
2:13:50thick rubber. The second one goes
2:13:52straight through. The wolf screams, its
2:13:55back half collapses under it, and its
2:13:57own momentum sends it rolling across the
2:13:59ground. It's done. one. The second one,
2:14:03I don't do single shots. I put more than
2:14:0610 rounds into exactly the same spot on
2:14:08its spine, one after another, and its
2:14:10whole back end just stops working. It
2:14:13hits the ground and doesn't get up. Two,
2:14:16the third one is the clever one. It saw
2:14:18what happened to its friends, and it
2:14:20dives sideways, going for a big boulder
2:14:22for cover. And as it leaves the ground,
2:14:24the world slows down for me. Bullet
2:14:27time. I see every muscle twitch, every
2:14:29speck of dust. And I see the one moment
2:14:32less than a thousth of a second when it
2:14:35blinks. One round, 825 m/s right through
2:14:40the eye. It just opened. It's dead
2:14:42before it hits the ground. Three. That's
2:14:45for my drone. By the way, Linu doesn't
2:14:47forget a grudge. I let go of the
2:14:50trigger. There's a thin wisp of smoke
2:14:52coming off the barrel. The only sounds
2:14:54by the pool are the PKM ticking as it
2:14:56cools and the wind in the trees. Big
2:14:59Jang is standing there with his cane
2:15:01like a clay statue. He came into these
2:15:03mountains thinking he'd be the main
2:15:05force. And the kid with the cart just
2:15:07took out every elite they had. And he's
2:15:09working out the most terrifying part.
2:15:11This weapon doesn't need trueqi. It
2:15:13doesn't need gangi. It doesn't need any
2:15:15cultivation at all. Even a child could
2:15:18pick it up and threaten any warrior
2:15:19below the Gangchi realm. On the rise,
2:15:22the Wolf King lets out a howl of pure
2:15:24grief and rage. It's three best wolves
2:15:27gone in a few breaths, each one worse
2:15:29than the last. It barks at the pack to
2:15:31charge again. And the pack doesn't move.
2:15:34They're not stupid. They're looking at
2:15:36the iron thing that spits fire and at
2:15:38their friends lying on the ground. And
2:15:40their fear is stronger than their king.
2:15:42If they charge that machine gun, they're
2:15:44just there to fill the body count. The
2:15:46king sees it. The pack's spirit is
2:15:48broken. A king who can't lead his army.
2:15:51The only way to fix that is to tear
2:15:53apart the man with the fire stick
2:15:54himself. But first it lifts its head
2:15:57toward the far mountains wrapped in
2:15:58cloud and lets out a different howl.
2:16:01Long, strange, like a message. And then
2:16:04it charges. Its whole huge body crouches
2:16:07down. The back legs compress like
2:16:09springs and boom, it launches itself at
2:16:12us like a cannonball, trailing a
2:16:14stinking wind and a wave of dark demon
2:16:16energy. So fast it leaves a smear in the
2:16:18air. And from deep in the mountains, an
2:16:21answer, a roar, heavier, fiercer. The
2:16:24roar of the king of all beasts. It's the
2:16:27tigris. Big Jiang's face goes hard. We
2:16:30look at each other and we both know we
2:16:32have to finish this wolf before she gets
2:16:34here. Two gang key beasts at once, front
2:16:37and back. And this ends badly. Beast
2:16:41die. Big Zang stamps his one leg and the
2:16:44ground under him blows out into a
2:16:45shallow crater and he launches himself
2:16:48straight at the Wolf King, his iron cane
2:16:50glinting cold. Meanwhile, I pop the
2:16:53empty box off the PKM, grab a fresh one,
2:16:56200 armor-piercing rounds, slam it in,
2:16:58and rack the bolt. And I open up before
2:17:00Big Cang can even get there. A beam of
2:17:03bullets straight down the Wolf King's
2:17:05path. And this time, it's different. A
2:17:08layer of dark demon light shoots up
2:17:10around the Wolf King's body, thick as
2:17:12smoke and three chih high, like a force
2:17:14field. The armor-piercing rounds hit it
2:17:17like rain hitting a banana leaf. Little
2:17:19ripples. Then they bend, deform, and
2:17:21bounce off. Right. A Gangqi demon beast.
2:17:25Its protective energy is in another
2:17:27league. I was half expecting that. I
2:17:29drop the PKM and grab the USA12. I rack
2:17:33it. Machine gun won't crack you. Let's
2:17:35try this. By then, Big Cang is on him.
2:17:39Beast, have a taste of my cane. And the
2:17:42heavy iron cane in his hand suddenly
2:17:44moves like it weighs nothing. like a
2:17:46feather, silent, lightning fast, at an
2:17:49angle I can't even follow, straight at
2:17:51the wolf's forehead, lifting a heavy
2:17:54thing as if it were light. That's a real
2:17:56master's skill. The Wolf King feels the
2:17:58danger and twists its head away at the
2:18:00last second. At the same time, its tail
2:18:03lashes out like a steel whip, and a half
2:18:05moon blade of black demon energy comes
2:18:07screaming at Big Jang while he's in
2:18:09midair with nothing to push off. Come on
2:18:12then. There's fire in his eyes. In
2:18:14midair, he taps the empty air with the
2:18:16tip of his cane, like there's an
2:18:18invisible wall there, and flips over it
2:18:20like a hawk. His one leg comes down like
2:18:23a battle axe. And off the edge of his
2:18:25leg comes a blade of green gang chi,
2:18:28bright, sharp, a whole jang long. The
2:18:31green blade hits the black one. It
2:18:32shatters the black one into nothing and
2:18:34keeps going straight at the wolf's
2:18:36chest. The wolf twists with everything
2:18:38it has, but the edge still rips across
2:18:41its side and cuts it open deep. The Wolf
2:18:44King goes flying, rolls over a few times
2:18:46in the air, and slams into the ground in
2:18:48a cloud of dust. You got hurt once, and
2:18:51you still didn't learn. Big Jang tells
2:18:53it. I'm standing at the back with my
2:18:55mouth open. It's like watching a movie.
2:18:58No, it's way better than any movie
2:19:00special effects. This is the first time
2:19:02I've ever seen the real superhuman class
2:19:04of this world fight headon. That
2:19:07weightless cane, that mid-air turn, that
2:19:09blade off his leg that could split a
2:19:11mountain, and he's half crippled. No
2:19:13wonder he got woo out alive from a wolf
2:19:15pack and a tiger at the same time.
2:19:17Seriously impressive. The wolf king gets
2:19:20back up. It's covered in wounds. Its
2:19:22side is bleeding into the dirt, and it's
2:19:24looking at the two of us side by side
2:19:26with fury and for the first time, fear.
2:19:29It throws its head back and howls toward
2:19:31the mountains again, fast, desperate.
2:19:34Come on, hurry up. Silence. Just the
2:19:37wind in the trees. The Tigris has
2:19:39vanished. So I start walking toward it.
2:19:42USS 12 held low nice and easy. And I'm
2:19:45grinning. Hey big guy, stop howling.
2:19:49Looks like your buddy got held up by
2:19:50something. Or she just got scared and
2:19:52ran. I tilt my head. That's really left
2:19:55you in a bad spot, huh? It can't
2:19:57understand my words, but it understands
2:19:59my tone just fine. It explodes. It roars
2:20:02and leaps at me like a mountain coming
2:20:04loose. All fury and no plan to rip apart
2:20:07the little human who hides in the back
2:20:09throwing hidden weapons. It gets
2:20:11halfway. Beast, your opponent is me. Big
2:20:16Jang cuts in from the side and the cane
2:20:18strikes at its waist like a poison
2:20:20dragon. The wolf has to twist away and
2:20:22the charge at me is just gone, cut off
2:20:25midair. I'd already raised the shotgun.
2:20:28My finger was halfway down on the
2:20:29trigger. I lower it and mutter, "Come
2:20:32on, brother Zang. Give me a chance. I
2:20:34wanted to see what this shotgun can do.
2:20:37He doesn't give the wolf a breath. Jabs,
2:20:39sweeps, smashes, a storm of iron. He's
2:20:42got one leg and somehow his footwork is
2:20:45impossible to read. Every time he moves,
2:20:47that one leg lands exactly where it cuts
2:20:49off the wolf's escape. That iron cane in
2:20:52his hand is heavy as a mountain one
2:20:54second and light as a feather the next.
2:20:56The wolf king is dodging left and right
2:20:58and picking up a new wound every few
2:21:00seconds. and its threeqi of demon light
2:21:03is flickering like a bad bulb against
2:21:05his gang key. 30 odd exchanges and the
2:21:08wolf can only block. It can't hit back
2:21:10at all. Let's end this. Big Jang sees an
2:21:14opening and pours everything into the
2:21:16cane and the leg at the same time. A
2:21:18shadow of the staff from the left, a
2:21:20blade of chi from the right, two green
2:21:22dragons roaring in from both sides at
2:21:24once. The wolf has nowhere to go. It
2:21:28burns everything it has left. like its
2:21:30blood is on fire, gathers all its demon
2:21:32energy into its mouth, into a ball of
2:21:34black light, and spits it out to meet
2:21:36them. The explosion blows the brush
2:21:39around us flat. The Wolf King gets
2:21:41thrown more than 10 m like a sack of
2:21:43rags and slams down. Its fur scorched,
2:21:46its breathing ragged, it's finished.
2:21:48Watching from the side, all I can think
2:21:50is everybody knows that in a beam clash,
2:21:53the guy on the left always loses.
2:21:55Brother Ciang was on the right. You were
2:21:57on the left. What did you expect? Big
2:22:00Cang appears in front of the wolf king
2:22:02like a ghost. His cane pointing at its
2:22:04head. Huh? Trash like you. Back in the
2:22:07army camp when I was at my peak. I could
2:22:09take 10 of you. He looks down at it like
2:22:12a veteran looking at a recruit. Still
2:22:14waiting for that tigress. Too bad. You
2:22:16got sold. You're nearly dead and she
2:22:19still hasn't shown up. And that hits the
2:22:21wolf harder than any blade because it's
2:22:23remembering a deal. A blood essence
2:22:25herb. The kind of thing that could push
2:22:27it to its next breakthrough. Help me
2:22:29kill that one-legged old soldier, the
2:22:31Tigris told it. And the herb is yours.
2:22:34An easy job, no risk. Now it's lost
2:22:37every elite wolf it had, and it's about
2:22:39to die on a hillside for nothing. It
2:22:41snarls one last time, rolls to its feet,
2:22:44and crouches to leap at Big Jang like a
2:22:46beast that's going to die fighting. "At
2:22:48least you've got some backbone," he
2:22:50says, lifting his cane. "I'll make it
2:22:52quick." Then in midair, the wolf twists.
2:22:56Its whole body bends at an impossible
2:22:58angle, kicks off its own momentum, and
2:23:00it changes direction. Not at Big Zang,
2:23:03at me faster than it's moved all day. I
2:23:06can practically read its little wolf
2:23:08brain. That one-legged human is a
2:23:10monster. I can't win. But the young one
2:23:12who's been hiding at the back with his
2:23:13little hidden weapons, with that weak
2:23:15aura, he's soft. Kill him. If I'm going
2:23:18to die, I'll take him with me. No. Lin
2:23:21Yu, look out. Big Jang launches himself
2:23:24after it, but he's got one leg. He's not
2:23:27catching a wolf running for its life.
2:23:29And I'm standing in the middle of it
2:23:31with this huge shape coming at me. Fangs
2:23:33and claws and stinking breath. And I
2:23:36smile. I've been waiting for you. The
2:23:38USAS12 is already level, safety already
2:23:41off. 20 rounds of 12 gauge buckshot in
2:23:44the drum. The wolf comes inside 10 m and
2:23:47I pull the trigger all the way down.
2:23:49This roar is different from the PKM
2:23:51scream. Lower, heavier, like non-stop
2:23:55thunder. A foot of flame out of the
2:23:57barrel. 20 shells in 2 or 3 seconds. A
2:24:00wall of lead coming at the Wolf King
2:24:02like a steel rainstorm. And the Wolf
2:24:04King's eyes actually look contemptuous.
2:24:06Another fire stick. Fine. The last one
2:24:09couldn't even get through my aura. It
2:24:11doesn't even bother dodging properly. It
2:24:13just puffs up what's left of its demon
2:24:14light into a thin black shell. And I
2:24:17swear it's deciding how it's going to
2:24:18kill me. The first wave of buckshot hits
2:24:21the shell and the shell breaks like
2:24:23glass under a hammer. It doesn't even
2:24:25last an instant. The contempt in its
2:24:28eyes turns into pure terror. How is that
2:24:30possible? That clumsy looking thing hits
2:24:33harder in one shot than the other one
2:24:34did all day. It tries to twist away. Way
2:24:38too late, way too close. The spread is
2:24:40way too wide. The next dozen shells slam
2:24:43into its back legs and its hind
2:24:44quarters, and it screams. Those back
2:24:47legs, strong as iron a minute ago, are
2:24:49wrecked. It can't stand on them. It's
2:24:52stumbling backward, howling like a dog
2:24:54with a broken back. Running. I hit the
2:24:57release. The empty drum drops. I grab
2:25:00the second drum off the cart and slam it
2:25:02in. Second steel storm. The Wolf King is
2:25:04rolling and scrambling on three legs,
2:25:07dodging for its life. And there's
2:25:09nothing left of the king. It was 5
2:25:10minutes ago. And right then, Big Jiang
2:25:13arrives. He catches the wolf in that
2:25:15dead moment between one dodge and the
2:25:17next. He plants his one leg, waist and
2:25:20stance locked together, his right fist
2:25:22closed, and Gang Chi gathers on his
2:25:24knuckles. Beast die. A fist of green
2:25:28light flies off his hand like a cannon
2:25:30shell and hits the wolf's unprotected
2:25:32side. The sound is like somebody
2:25:34punching a drum made of leather. The
2:25:36Wolf King gets hurled seven or eight
2:25:38jang about 25 m like it was hit by a
2:25:41truck. It lands in a heap and stays
2:25:43there. It's barely breathing. I walk
2:25:45over with the shotgun up to finish it.
2:25:47My fingers on the trigger. And a roar
2:25:50goes off right above our heads. Not from
2:25:52the mountains, from above. It's so loud
2:25:55my eardrums ring and a pressure comes
2:25:57down on me like a mountain landing on my
2:25:59shoulders. I look up. In the crown of a
2:26:02giant old tree next to us, 100 meters
2:26:05tall, so thick it would take several men
2:26:07to hug it. There's a shape, yellow and
2:26:09black, enormous, and it's using the
2:26:12spring of a huge branch to throw itself
2:26:14down at us like a falling meteor over 5
2:26:17m at the shoulder, more than 10 m long.
2:26:20A wind full of the stench of blood hits
2:26:22us before she does. The clouds follow
2:26:24the dragon. The wind follows the tiger.
2:26:27The old saying wasn't lying. She was
2:26:29right here all along, hiding in the
2:26:31tree, waiting for the exact second we'd
2:26:34finished the wolf king and let our guard
2:26:36down. Back. Big Jang roars. He kicks off
2:26:40his one leg and shoots backward like an
2:26:42arrow. I hit the wild bull force with
2:26:44everything. 40,000 jin into my legs. The
2:26:47ground under my feet blows out into a
2:26:49hole and I fly backward like a
2:26:51cannonball. Both of us clear the center
2:26:53of her pounce by a hair. She lands like
2:26:56a meteor. The whole forest jumps. A ring
2:26:59of air and dirt and dead leaves blasts
2:27:01outward from where she hits. And she
2:27:03leaves a crater in the ground like
2:27:05somebody ran a plow through it. The dust
2:27:07settles and I finally get a good look at
2:27:09her. She's bigger than the male Big Jang
2:27:12killed. A lot bigger. Over 5 m at the
2:27:15shoulder, close to 20 m long, counting
2:27:17the tail. Muscles piled on muscles. The
2:27:20yellow and black stripes on her coat
2:27:21look like some kind of ancient writing.
2:27:23And around her there's an aura so heavy
2:27:25and vicious it's like standing next to a
2:27:27whirlpool. But she's hurt. Fresh wounds
2:27:30on that beautiful coat. The worst one is
2:27:33on her left front shoulder. Deep and
2:27:35ugly. She's just come from a fight. A
2:27:37bad one. That's why she was late. Big
2:27:40Jeang steps half a pace in front of me,
2:27:42putting himself between me and her. And
2:27:44his voice comes out low and fast.
2:27:46Something's wrong. She broke through.
2:27:48She's bigger than last time. And her
2:27:50aura is worse. She might be able to
2:27:52match a warrior at the Kefield realm.
2:27:54Then flat Lin Yu. She's beyond anything
2:27:57I expected. If it goes bad, I'll hold
2:28:00her with everything I've got. You run.
2:28:02Don't look back. Chi field. Realm. The
2:28:05realm above Gangchi. The one where your
2:28:08energy becomes a field around you and
2:28:10anything inside it gets slowed,
2:28:12squeezed, weakened. From what he told
2:28:14me, the difference between Gangchi and
2:28:16Chi field is like the difference between
2:28:18heaven and earth. Brother Ciang, you're
2:28:21saying she was Gangqi before and now
2:28:23she's a match for a Chi field warrior?
2:28:26He nods slowly, eyes never leaving her.
2:28:2910 to one. We're in big trouble. But she
2:28:32doesn't attack. She shakes her huge head
2:28:34like she's just done something minor.
2:28:36And then she strolls, elegant,
2:28:38unhurried, over to the wolf king, who's
2:28:41lying there twitching. She looks down at
2:28:43her former partner with these cold amber
2:28:45eyes, almost amused. And then she talks.
2:28:49A low, rough, perfectly clear woman's
2:28:51voice comes out of that huge mouth. They
2:28:54say wolves are cunning that they know
2:28:56which way the wind blows. H, not so
2:28:58much. One blood essence herb promised,
2:29:01and you happily led your whole clan to
2:29:03help me take my revenge.
2:29:05Perfect cannon fodder. And now you've
2:29:07been squeezed dry. She talks. This
2:29:10Tigris has reached the point where she
2:29:12can speak like a person. The Wolf King,
2:29:14half dead, hears every word. Its eyes go
2:29:18wide with shock and rage and the worst
2:29:20kind of regret. It somehow gets up on
2:29:22its three good legs, wobbling, and
2:29:24lunges at her with its jaws open one
2:29:26last time. Doesn't know when to die, she
2:29:29says, bored. She doesn't even use her
2:29:32energy. She just lowers her head and her
2:29:34jaws close. And that's the end of the
2:29:36Wolf King. She tosses what's left of it
2:29:39aside like garbage. Then she turns that
2:29:42huge head and looks at us with eyes that
2:29:44have no feeling in them at all. Now it's
2:29:46your turn. Big Jangs whole body is tight
2:29:49as a bow string. Gangqi is moving under
2:29:52his skin. He's watching every twitch of
2:29:54her muscles and I rub my chin and lean
2:29:57over to him like I'm about to ask a very
2:29:59important tactical question. Brother
2:30:01Jiang, there's something I've been
2:30:02wondering about for a while. His mouth
2:30:05twitches. He gives me a look that says,
2:30:07"Shut up." I keep going and loud enough
2:30:09for her to hear, I ask him an extremely
2:30:11rude question about her late husband and
2:30:13her size. The kind of question you never
2:30:16ask a widow. I won't repeat it. Just
2:30:18trust me. It was rude. Big Jangs face
2:30:21goes as black as the bottom of a walk.
2:30:23You little shut your damn mouth. Are you
2:30:26in a hurry to die? This is life or
2:30:28death. That's a beast that could fight a
2:30:30keyfield master. And this kid is
2:30:33wondering about something that crude.
2:30:34Maybe they could have died quickly
2:30:36before. Now she's going to chew them up
2:30:38slowly. But then his eye catches on my
2:30:40wheelbarrow, on the bulging backpack, on
2:30:43the long tubes lying next to it that I
2:30:45haven't touched yet. And he thinks,
2:30:47"This kid has been way too calm this
2:30:49whole time." Joking even. Does he have
2:30:52another ancient treasure, even scarier
2:30:54than the fire stick? And some of the
2:30:56despair goes out of his face. Maybe the
2:30:58kid really does have a trump card. She
2:31:01heard every word. Of course she did. Her
2:31:04whole body goes stiff. Her eyes go blank
2:31:06for a second, like she can't believe
2:31:08what she just heard. And then her aura
2:31:10explodes like a volcano. The air around
2:31:12us gets thick and hot. Human brat. She
2:31:16squeezes out every word through her
2:31:18teeth. Very good. Very, very good. I've
2:31:21changed my mind. I won't let you die
2:31:23quickly. I'll break your arms and legs
2:31:25and let you crawl on the ground like a
2:31:27worm. Then I'll chew you up one inch at
2:31:29a time, starting from your feet, and
2:31:31make you watch, and I'll bite your
2:31:33filthy head off last of all. Good. She's
2:31:36angry. Angry is exactly what I want. And
2:31:40because she's furious, or because she's
2:31:42sure she's already won, or because it's
2:31:44been eating her alive for a long time,
2:31:46she starts to talk. Ignorant insects.
2:31:49What would you know about fortune and
2:31:50fate? My husband and I were once equals.
2:31:53Same strength, same size. We ruled this
2:31:56forest together until we found a pool of
2:31:58thousand-year stone milk in a deep cave.
2:32:01A treasure of heaven and earth full of
2:32:03endless life. I couldn't help myself. I
2:32:06drank it all and fell into a long sleep.
2:32:08When I woke, my mind was clear.
2:32:11Everything foggy and it was gone. My
2:32:13power surged and my body grew. I'd
2:32:15stepped into a whole new realm. Then her
2:32:18voice goes cold. My husband came later.
2:32:20All he got was a few drops left on the
2:32:22cave walls. Then he went out hunting and
2:32:25ran into you. Her eyes snapped to Big
2:32:27Jang, full of hate. You one-legged old
2:32:29soldier. He thought you'd be a meal.
2:32:31Instead, you killed him. Those few drops
2:32:34of stone milk, he never had time to
2:32:36absorb them. And you ate his body.
2:32:38Today, I'm going to eat both of you and
2:32:40take back the power that should have
2:32:42been his. And suddenly, it all makes
2:32:44sense. That's why the tiger marrow was
2:32:46so ridiculous. That's where my
2:32:48breakthrough came from. Those few drops
2:32:50of thousand-year stone milk soaked into
2:32:52his bones, and Big Jang never noticed.
2:32:55He just thought it was a good bone. Then
2:32:56a piece of that bone traveled from his
2:32:58yard to old Woo to me, and I saw it open
2:33:01in my basement. We trade a look. This
2:33:04goes deeper than either of us thought,
2:33:06and there's zero chance of talking her
2:33:08down. Except one more thing clicks. The
2:33:11last time she attacked Big Cang and Woo,
2:33:14she couldn't have finished absorbing the
2:33:15stone milk yet. If she'd been this
2:33:17strong then, I wouldn't even have had
2:33:19the chance to bury them. So, I step
2:33:21forward, not back. Forward. I drop the
2:33:24jokey face, and I give her a long,
2:33:26disappointed look and shake my head like
2:33:28a teacher. Huh, what a touching story. A
2:33:31loving wife avenging her husband. But
2:33:33the way I see it, the root of all this
2:33:35tragedy isn't Brother Jang, and it isn't
2:33:37your unlucky husband. It's you. Her
2:33:40pupils shrink. A low growl starts in her
2:33:42throat. I keep going. It's because
2:33:45you're selfish. You don't know how to
2:33:46share. You found thousand-year stone
2:33:49milk, the fortune of a lifetime, and all
2:33:51you thought about was drinking every
2:33:53drop yourself and going to sleep. Did
2:33:55you save even one sip for the husband
2:33:57you loved? Husband and wife are supposed
2:33:59to support each other. Share the good,
2:34:01share the bad. If you'd had even a
2:34:03little bit of tenderness, if you'd drunk
2:34:05half and left half for him, you'd both
2:34:08have broken through. Two tigers leaping
2:34:10together, side by side, ruling the Yun
2:34:12Mong Mountains. A love story every demon
2:34:15would tell. How did you end up here? Her
2:34:18eyes. I swear something moves in her
2:34:20eyes. So in the end, all of it is your
2:34:23fault. Your greed, your selfishness. You
2:34:26made this tragedy with your own paws.
2:34:28It's got nothing to do with us. And I
2:34:30put my hand on my heart. What you did,
2:34:33it breaks the heart of every male in the
2:34:35world. And it lands because she isn't an
2:34:37animal anymore. She can think. She can
2:34:40feel. She has a conscience. And I just
2:34:42drove a knife straight into the guilt
2:34:44she didn't even know she had. I can
2:34:46practically hear it. Was it really my
2:34:48fault? If I'd given him half, would we
2:34:50be? Her whole huge body trembles. The
2:34:53murder in her eyes turns into confusion,
2:34:55pain, panic. Then her pride slams back
2:34:58in, and she roars, trying to drown out
2:35:01her own heart. Shut up, filthy human
2:35:04thief. Don't think you can bewitch me
2:35:06with clever words. I'll tear your mouth
2:35:08off. I'll crush your bones. She crouches
2:35:10to pounce and I step forward one more
2:35:13time and say it cold and clear. Lies
2:35:17don't hurt anybody. The truth is the
2:35:19sharp knife. She flinches like I hit her
2:35:22with a hammer. All the fury and murder
2:35:24drains out of her eyes and leaves
2:35:26nothing but a wounded cornered look. And
2:35:28she staggers back two steps. Her huge
2:35:31paws thump in the dirt and the forest is
2:35:33so quiet you can hear them. A,000lb
2:35:36tigress backed off by a kid with a
2:35:38mouth. Next to me, Big Ciang is just
2:35:41staring at me, at her, and his face says
2:35:44it all. An ancient sex legacy is this
2:35:47terrifying. Even their mouth technique
2:35:49is this powerful. We ordinary mortals
2:35:51can never hope to reach that. It lasts
2:35:54about 1 second. Then the pride of the
2:35:56queen of beasts comes roaring back and
2:35:58her eyes go from amber to pure red.
2:36:01She's done thinking. She just wants to
2:36:03kill the thing that hurt her. She comes
2:36:05at me so fast, she's a yellow and black
2:36:07smear. Oh crap. My body moves before my
2:36:11brain. I grab the shafts of the
2:36:13wheelbarrow. 40,000 jin goes into my
2:36:16arms and I yank the whole cart backward
2:36:18with me. Beast, don't you dare. Big Jang
2:36:22roars. He's onelegged and he moves like
2:36:24green lightning straight into her path
2:36:26to buy me time. Boom. And that's the gap
2:36:30between them right there in one sound.
2:36:32He comes flying back faster than he went
2:36:34in. Like he got hit head-on by a train.
2:36:37He hits the ground near me and rolls. He
2:36:39props himself up on his cane, coughing,
2:36:42one hand clamped on his chest, and spits
2:36:44blood. His face is white. Her mother's,
2:36:47he swears through his teeth, and he
2:36:49plants the cane and launches himself at
2:36:51her again.
2:36:53I can't believe it. But this time, he's
2:36:55different. He takes one deep breath, and
2:36:58his gang key boils. A layer of green
2:37:01energy wraps his whole body like a suit
2:37:03of jade armor, so thick that the dust
2:37:05around him gets pushed away. Then he
2:37:07grips his iron cane in one hand like a
2:37:09spear, leaps into the air, and pours
2:37:12everything he has into one thrust. Sky
2:37:15splitting spear. The green energy tears
2:37:19off the end of the cane and turns into a
2:37:21dragon. A real one. Head, horns, scales,
2:37:24claws roaring wrapped around him as he
2:37:26dives in. Man and spear and dragon, all
2:37:29one green meteor. She doesn't dodge. The
2:37:32queen of beasts doesn't run. She swings
2:37:35a huge paw wrapped in black demon light
2:37:37straight into it. The collision is like
2:37:39the sky splitting. A shock wave of green
2:37:42and black blasts out. Trees around us
2:37:44snap in half, and the wind is so strong
2:37:47I can barely keep my eyes open. And in
2:37:49that exact moment, with the light and
2:37:51the noise at their worst, I've already
2:37:53got the RPG7 on my shoulder. A long PG7
2:37:57VL armor-piercing round, loaded. I'm
2:38:00standing there like a nail. The shock
2:38:02wave doesn't even move me. My cheek on
2:38:04the cold tube, my right eye on the
2:38:06sight, finger on the trigger, breath
2:38:08held. But Big Jiang and the Tigris are
2:38:11locked together at arms length. They're
2:38:13slamming into each other, and their
2:38:15positions are changing every instant. My
2:38:17crosshairs are jumping all over the
2:38:18place. If I fire, I might hit him. Damn
2:38:21it. Big Cang is giving it everything.
2:38:24He's burning his own reserves, but
2:38:26they're a whole major realm apart. And
2:38:28that's not something courage fixes. 30
2:38:31odd exchanges and that green dragon
2:38:33starts to flicker like a candle in a
2:38:35draft. She finds an opening and her tail
2:38:37comes around like a black whip. Crack.
2:38:40His jade armor shatters into a cloud of
2:38:43sparks. The tail keeps going and hits
2:38:45him square in the chest. He goes flying
2:38:47like a kite with a cut string. smashes
2:38:50through seven or eight trees that it
2:38:51would take several men to hug and
2:38:53crashes into the brush tens of meters
2:38:55away. And he doesn't get up. Now, I
2:38:58don't even have time to see if he's
2:38:59alive. She's just thrown her strongest
2:39:02enemy. Her old strength is spent, and
2:39:04her new strength isn't there yet. And
2:39:06for one heartbeat, she relaxes. My
2:39:08crosshairs are already on her left front
2:39:10shoulder, the deep, ugly wound I saw
2:39:13when she landed. I pull the trigger. The
2:39:16back of the tube spits a huge blast of
2:39:18hot gas and fire. The rocket leaves the
2:39:20tube 25 m out. Its fins snap open. The
2:39:24second motor kicks in and it goes from
2:39:26fast to stupid fast. Over 300 m a
2:39:29second, a gray streak screaming through
2:39:31the air. 100 m is nothing at that speed.
2:39:35She doesn't even hear it coming. She's
2:39:37still riding the high of knocking Big
2:39:38Jang out. It hits the wound. Her
2:39:41automatic black aura ripples trying to
2:39:43stop it. But that's the scary thing
2:39:45about an armor-piercing round. It's not
2:39:47about hitting hard. The fuse in the nose
2:39:50fires, the shape charge goes off, and
2:39:52almost all of that energy gets focused
2:39:54into one tiny jet of metal moving at
2:39:56insane speed. That jet doesn't care
2:39:59about demon auras or tough hides or
2:40:01bones. It goes through her shield like a
2:40:03hot iron through butter, straight into
2:40:05the already damaged shoulder all the way
2:40:07in. A tenth of a second later, the rest
2:40:10of the charge goes off inside her. The
2:40:13roar she lets out shakes the whole
2:40:15forest. And her left front leg, that leg
2:40:18as thick as a tree, is just gone, torn
2:40:21off at the shoulder by the explosion. A
2:40:23three-legged tiger. She's exactly where
2:40:25she put the wolf king 10 minutes ago,
2:40:28except he lost a back leg and she lost a
2:40:30front one. The pain hits her like ice
2:40:32water and wipes all the fury right out
2:40:34of her. She stumbles, gets herself
2:40:36steady on three legs, and turns those
2:40:38bloodshot eyes on me. You damned insect.
2:40:41You dare. She opens her mouth and black
2:40:44demon energy rushes into her throat and
2:40:47compresses into a ball the size of a
2:40:49man's head with little black lightning
2:40:51bolts crackling inside it. Die. She
2:40:54spits it at me like a black cannonball
2:40:56and the air it passes through actually
2:40:58hisses. I was expecting that. The second
2:41:01the first rocket left the tube, I was
2:41:04already reaching back to the cart like
2:41:05I'd practiced it a thousand times. An
2:41:08OG7V high explosive round into the tube.
2:41:11tube on the shoulder under two seconds.
2:41:14Come on then. I put the iron sights on
2:41:17that ball of black energy, lit it, and
2:41:19fire. About 50 m out in midair, a
2:41:23chemical high explosive rocket from
2:41:25Earth and a ball of demon power from
2:41:27another world hit each other headon.
2:41:29They both stall for an instant. Then the
2:41:31sky goes up and a huge cloud of fire and
2:41:34smoke and black mist. A martial artist
2:41:37with modern weapons. It's not 1 + 1
2:41:40equals two. It's something else
2:41:41entirely. And right now it's me. I find
2:41:45Big Jiang in the bushes, half buried in
2:41:47broken branches with blood on his chest.
2:41:50Before I go, I grab my backpack off the
2:41:53cart, the one with the C4 in it. Brother
2:41:56Jiang, how are you? How bad is it? His
2:41:59eyes open a crack. Brother Lynn, I can't
2:42:02hold on. My organs are out of place. My
2:42:04gang cheese scattered. He grabs my
2:42:06sleeve. If you have any more of your
2:42:08ancient treasures, don't be stingy now.
2:42:10If you don't, then run. Forget about me.
2:42:13Run. And his eyes roll back and he goes
2:42:16limp. I put two fingers on his neck. A
2:42:19pulse. Strong. He's not dying. He's just
2:42:22completely spent, badly hurt, and out
2:42:25cold. Okay, one thing's clear. She can't
2:42:28find him. If she finds him unconscious,
2:42:30he's dead. So, I drag him deeper into
2:42:33the brush and cover him with branches.
2:42:35And then I step out into the open where
2:42:37she can see me. And I run away from him.
2:42:40She sees me. She comes after me on three
2:42:43legs. And even on three legs, she's
2:42:45fast. I run, pivot, throw the RPG back
2:42:48up, and fire a rocket at where she's
2:42:50going to be. A perfect lead. She leaps
2:42:53into the air, takes a step in midair,
2:42:55actually stepping on the air, and swats
2:42:58the rocket aside with her tail. It blows
2:43:00up against a tree. She learns fast, so I
2:43:04reassess while I run. RPGs alone aren't
2:43:07going to finish her anymore. Against a
2:43:09body realm warrior or a weaker Gangchi
2:43:12beast, this thing is still the great
2:43:14equalizer against her. Now that she
2:43:16knows what it is, no. The only reason
2:43:19that first rocket worked is because I'd
2:43:21made her so furious. She wasn't
2:43:23thinking. The real fight is just
2:43:25starting. I check my backpack. Two of
2:43:27the 1 kilo C4 blocks. Each one has
2:43:30enough energy to blow up a city bus. And
2:43:33I look ahead at the trail I'm running
2:43:34down. You You're the one. There's a
2:43:38thick tree right on the path, right
2:43:39where she'll have to pass. I slap both
2:43:42blocks onto its base, set the delay
2:43:44fuses, and pull them. 1 2 3 4 run. I
2:43:50sprint a 100 meters and dive behind a
2:43:52big boulder. She comes around the bend
2:43:54after me and she runs right under that
2:43:56tree with the stump of her missing leg
2:43:58hanging right over the C4. The shock
2:44:01wave of C4 goes out at 8,000 m/s. The
2:44:04tree disappears. The ground lifts and
2:44:07she gets hit point blank right on the
2:44:09stump of her missing leg. She goes down
2:44:11screaming, rolling, the wound torn wide
2:44:13open again. She staggers sideways like a
2:44:16drunk. And only her right front paw
2:44:18jammed into the dirt keeps her from
2:44:20going all the way down. And I'm already
2:44:22up from behind the boulder with my last
2:44:24armor-piercing rocket in the tube. I
2:44:27fire while she's still off balance. She
2:44:29sees it coming. And for the first time,
2:44:31there's real fear in her eyes. She can't
2:44:34dodge. She can't get her tail around at
2:44:36this angle. So, she wraps her right paw
2:44:38in black demon energy and swings it up
2:44:40to slap the rocket out of the air. The
2:44:43rocket hits the paw and that paw is
2:44:45done. Ruined. Left front leg gone. Right
2:44:49front paw wrecked. The fight just
2:44:51flipped. She lies there in the dirt,
2:44:53breathing hard, bleeding from two legs,
2:44:56and stares at the rock where I'm hiding.
2:44:58Her eyes are full of hate and
2:44:59calculation. Then, after a long silence,
2:45:03she's the one who speaks first. Human, I
2:45:06concede. Every word costs her. There was
2:45:08never any deep hatred between us, just a
2:45:11misunderstanding. Hunter and hunted.
2:45:14You've hurt me this badly, and I'm
2:45:15willing to let it go. Let's make peace.
2:45:18How about it? I hop out from behind the
2:45:20rock, but I keep a nice safe distance.
2:45:23Concede, make peace. That's easy for you
2:45:26to say. You want to wipe it all off with
2:45:28one sentence? And my two brothers? I let
2:45:31my voice get hard. Yesterday, you and
2:45:33your wolves nearly killed my brother Wu.
2:45:35He's still fighting for his life. And
2:45:37just now, you nearly killed my brother
2:45:39Cang. I don't even know if he's alive.
2:45:41And now you're lying on the ground with
2:45:43no strength left. And you want to make
2:45:44peace. There's no such thing as that
2:45:47cheap a deal. How could I trust you? She
2:45:49laughs, a broken, wheezing laugh.
2:45:53You humans are the most treacherous
2:45:54creatures in the world. Fathers and sons
2:45:57killing each other. Brothers turning on
2:45:59brothers. Don't pretend you're some
2:46:01loyal soul crying over your brothers. I
2:46:03can see what you are. So, I say, very
2:46:06matterof fact. You'll have to pay more.
2:46:09She's silent for a second. Then she
2:46:11roars with laughter like I just proved
2:46:13her right. Ha, I knew it. You humans
2:46:16only care about profit. Don't worry. We
2:46:19demons always keep our word. If we make
2:46:21peace, you won't be shortch changed.
2:46:23Come closer and I'll give you the blood
2:46:25essence herb I promised that stupid
2:46:27wolf. Come closer. Sure, I'm not an
2:46:30idiot. I stay where I am. She waits a
2:46:32dozen breaths, sees I'm not moving, and
2:46:35finally, with a lot of effort, spits a
2:46:37plant out of her mouth and flicks it 10
2:46:39steps toward me. A blood red herb with
2:46:42leaves like little flames. I walk over,
2:46:44keeping one eye on her, pick it up, look
2:46:47at it, and tuck it into my shirt next to
2:46:49my chest. Then I look up and shake my
2:46:51head. Not enough. She stares at me. One
2:46:55blood essence herb isn't enough. She
2:46:58goes berserk. Her wounds tear. She bears
2:47:00her teeth in pain. Liar. You humans
2:47:03never keep your word. Your greed has no
2:47:06bottom. Now, now. Don't put it like
2:47:09that. Your offer just isn't big enough.
2:47:11That's a fact. They're my dearest
2:47:13friends, my brothers. You want me to
2:47:15give up avenging them for that? So I
2:47:18spread my hands. You'll have to pay
2:47:20more. How do I know that if I give you
2:47:22more, you won't go back on it again? You
2:47:24humans? You're the one who asked for
2:47:26peace, I say. Now you're the one saying
2:47:29I'll go back on it. What do you want?
2:47:31Should we keep fighting? And I let my
2:47:33eyes wander over her missing leg and her
2:47:35ruined paw. She chokes. One blood
2:47:38essence herb. That's it. Take it or
2:47:41leave it. Take it now and go, and I'll
2:47:43pretend none of this ever. Enough. I cut
2:47:46her off cold. Look at the situation.
2:47:49You're the one begging me now,
2:47:50sister-in-law. Those treasures I hurt
2:47:52you with. I can pull out 10 or eight
2:47:54more of them whenever I like. I step
2:47:56forward, still far away. But now I'm the
2:47:59one with the power. You want to
2:48:00negotiate? Show some sincerity first and
2:48:03then the lie, delivered with a little
2:48:05arrogance. I'll tell you the truth. I'm
2:48:07an heir of an ancient sect. I've come
2:48:09down the mountain to train in the world
2:48:11and I have guardian treasures stacked up
2:48:13like hills. What did you think I was?
2:48:16That hits her like a hammer because it
2:48:18explains everything, doesn't it? How
2:48:20else could a body realm human have all
2:48:22those weapons nobody's ever seen? How
2:48:24else could he be so calm in front of her
2:48:26and keep winning? She's smart. She runs
2:48:29it all back in her head. And the more
2:48:30she thinks about it, the deeper I look.
2:48:33She believes 70 80% of it. And the last
2:48:36bit of doubt gets crushed by terror of
2:48:38my stacked up treasures. Her voice
2:48:41softens. There's even a little awe in
2:48:43it. If you're an heir of an ancient
2:48:45sect, you're nobility. Why are you
2:48:47running around with a crippled border
2:48:49soldier? I wave it off like it's beneath
2:48:51me. A sex training means tasting all of
2:48:54life in the mortal world. Something that
2:48:56deep you wouldn't understand. Enough.
2:48:59Enough. She lets out a long sigh like
2:49:01she's given up. And it's written all
2:49:03over her. She broke through to the
2:49:05Kefield realm she was going to rule the
2:49:07outer Yun Mang mountains. And now she's
2:49:10lost everything to a body realm brat.
2:49:12And of all the people to run into on a
2:49:14random walk, an ancient sect heir? Who's
2:49:16she supposed to complain to? Are there
2:49:18just ancient sect heirs everywhere these
2:49:20days? Ancient sectir? If my sect exists,
2:49:24its founders are Muhammad and a gun shop
2:49:27in Dera. But I'm not going to tell her
2:49:29that. Then I drop the act and get to the
2:49:31point. It's simple. Tell me exactly
2:49:34where you found that thousand-year stone
2:49:35milk. Then we have peace and I'll leave
2:49:38immediately. Her pupils go to slits. You
2:49:41I knew it. I knew you were up to no
2:49:44good. She looks like she wants to slap
2:49:46herself for ever mentioning the stone
2:49:47milk. Up to no good. We're three major
2:49:50realms apart. If you hadn't chased me to
2:49:53kill me, would I even be talking to you?
2:49:55Besides, if you told me a fake location,
2:49:57what could I do about it? I can't go
2:49:59check it right now. I'm not asking to go
2:50:01get it this minute. I just want to see
2:50:03your sincerity, your attitude. I nod
2:50:06gravely. That's how we males are. A lot
2:50:09of the time, all we want from you
2:50:10females is the right attitude. She
2:50:12thinks about that for a long time, her
2:50:14big eyes rolling. Then, finally, she
2:50:17lowers her voice like it's a deep
2:50:19secret. This matters a great deal. The
2:50:22place is hidden. Come closer. The art
2:50:24isn't shared with six ears. This place
2:50:27is too open. Other beasts might hear.
2:50:29Here it comes. I take a breath, tighten
2:50:32every muscle, push my senses as high as
2:50:35they'll go, and walk toward her one
2:50:37careful step at a time. 20 steps away, I
2:50:40stop. Close enough to hear, far enough
2:50:42to run. Speak. Her eyes drift like she's
2:50:46remembering. From the pool where we
2:50:48first met. Go straight east about 100
2:50:50Lee or so. You'll see a huge lake
2:50:53covered in thick fog. The source of the
2:50:55stone milk is under that lake. Under the
2:50:57lakes? She drags out the last word
2:51:00slowly, naturally, like she's searching
2:51:02for how to describe it. And every alarm
2:51:05in my body goes off at once. Deep inside
2:51:08that weak, drooping aura, there's demon
2:51:10energy gathering fast. I'm already
2:51:13moving back, half a step too late. Her
2:51:15face twists into a snarl of pure
2:51:17triumph. And black demon energy explodes
2:51:20out from her body, thick as ink, sticky
2:51:23as tar. Not an attack. A dome. a huge
2:51:26black dome 50 meters across with her in
2:51:29the middle and me inside it. The air
2:51:32turns to mercury. It's heavy. It's
2:51:34thick. And pressure comes from every
2:51:36direction like I'm at the bottom of the
2:51:38sea. Every movement I make takes a
2:51:40thousand jin of effort. And worse, I can
2:51:43feel my strength and my blood being
2:51:45slowly sucked out of me, like something
2:51:47invisible is drinking me.
2:51:51She pushes herself up on her back legs,
2:51:53broken, and looms over me. Human brat.
2:51:56Didn't see that coming, did you? I just
2:51:58broke through to the key field realm. I
2:52:00haven't even mastered my field yet, and
2:52:02I get to use it on you first. Surprised
2:52:05inside this field, I am the master. Your
2:52:07speed and your strength will keep
2:52:09getting crushed. Ancient sect air or
2:52:11whatever you are, when I've eaten you,
2:52:13skin and bones, who'll ever know? She
2:52:16grins. I admit you've got some strange
2:52:18tricks, but so what? In the end, you
2:52:21fell for mine. And right in the middle
2:52:23of that crushing freezing field, I just
2:52:25shake my head a little sadly. Oh, is
2:52:28that right? Then why do I feel like the
2:52:30one who's about to die is you? Her face
2:52:33freezes. What? What do you mean? Because
2:52:36during the few seconds she's been
2:52:38gloating, my right hand, the one that
2:52:40looks like it's barely able to move in
2:52:42the field, has slipped into the open
2:52:43backpack on my chest. My fingers have
2:52:46found the eight blocks of C4 still
2:52:48inside it, 1 kilo each, and I've pulled
2:52:51all eight delay fuses at once.
2:52:54A tiny little hiss. I lift my hand just
2:52:57barely in her field and give her a
2:52:59friendly little wave. What I mean is
2:53:01exactly what I said. Bye-bye. And right
2:53:04there in the center of her field, in the
2:53:06middle of all that black demon power, I
2:53:09vanish. All that's left on the ground is
2:53:11a black tactical backpack, open with a
2:53:14tiny glow inside. She stares. Where did
2:53:17he go? A whole man gone? An ancient
2:53:20sect's escape art? One that ignores my
2:53:23field. 2 seconds later, 8 kilos of C4 go
2:53:27off inside a field she built to crush
2:53:28and seal everything in it. It's like
2:53:30setting off a bomb inside a steel shell.
2:53:33The pressure has nowhere to go. It piles
2:53:35up on itself and then her field cracks
2:53:38and bursts like a balloon and everything
2:53:40inside it goes straight into her. No.
2:53:43That's all she gets out. Meanwhile, on
2:53:45Earth in my basement, the air ripples
2:53:47and I'm standing on the concrete floor.
2:53:50I brush the dust and smoke off my shirt
2:53:52and let out a long breath. What are you
2:53:54going to fight me with? Lyn's got a
2:53:57cheat. I can teleport home whenever I
2:53:59want. Can you? I open the mini fridge
2:54:01next to my workbench, grab an ice cold
2:54:03Pepsi, and crack it open. The first sip
2:54:06alone is worth three yuon. But I don't
2:54:08hang around. It's not over until it's
2:54:11over. I load up the RPG again. One
2:54:14rocket in the tube. More in the pouches
2:54:16on my belt, 10 in all. I check my watch.
2:54:19About 5 minutes. Time to go clean up. I
2:54:22cross back and the smell of smoke and
2:54:24blood hits me in the face. where the
2:54:26field was. There's a scorched crater
2:54:28seven or eight meters wide and a few
2:54:30meters deep. The trees around it are
2:54:32knocked flat in a circle pointing
2:54:34outward. And at the edge of the crater,
2:54:36the tigress is lying in a heap. Her fur
2:54:39is burned black. She's barely breathing
2:54:41and she's twitching a little, just
2:54:43barely alive. I don't walk up to her. I
2:54:46put the RPG on my shoulder, aim at her
2:54:48head, and my fingers on the trigger. And
2:54:50then, very slowly, painfully, she turns
2:54:54her head toward me. One of her eyes is
2:54:56gone. The other one, cloudy with just a
2:54:58little amber left in it, finds me and
2:55:00focuses. She looks at me. She looks at
2:55:03the tube on my shoulder that's hurt her
2:55:04so many times. And something like a sigh
2:55:07comes out of her throat. An ancient sex
2:55:09disciple really is extraordinary. Seeing
2:55:12is believing. The depth of an ancient
2:55:14sect is beyond imagination. My face does
2:55:17something funny. I press my lips
2:55:19together and don't say a word. But
2:55:21inside, I'm thinking, "Wow, this ancient
2:55:24sect label is a universal brick.
2:55:26Wherever there's a hole, you just stick
2:55:28it in. From now on, anything I bring
2:55:30over from Earth, it's an ancient sect
2:55:32relic. Perfect. I'm a genius." She takes
2:55:36my silence as a yes. Human boy, at this
2:55:39point, isn't there anything you want to
2:55:40ask me? I'm still on guard, but the urge
2:55:43to kill her has faded a little. If I
2:55:46ask, will you tell me? Is the Stonem
2:55:48cave really where you said? She doesn't
2:55:51answer. With a huge effort, she turns
2:55:53her head toward the sky, toward the
2:55:55little broken pieces of blue between the
2:55:57leaves, and something in that one eye
2:55:59goes soft and far away. If we'd never
2:56:01found that cave, she says so quietly
2:56:04it's almost a dream. If I'd never drunk
2:56:06the stone milk, would my husband and I
2:56:09still be running through these mountains
2:56:10together, side by side, morning and
2:56:12night, instead of this, my husband dead,
2:56:15and me dying, and two tears mixed with
2:56:18blood, roll out of that one huge eye and
2:56:21fall into the burned dirt. Then she
2:56:23turns back to me, and the softness is
2:56:25gone. Do it. Avenge your brothers. And I
2:56:29lower the RPG. I lean it against a
2:56:31broken stump and I step forward. You
2:56:34hunted me all day. You were vicious. You
2:56:36nearly killed me more than once. But
2:56:38after you grew powerful and your mind
2:56:40woke up, you didn't forget the one you
2:56:42loved. Everything you did, you did for
2:56:44your dead husband. That kind of loyalty
2:56:46until death isn't common in this world.
2:56:49I think of the kind of people back home
2:56:51who climb one step up the ladder and the
2:56:53first thing they do is dump the person
2:56:55who stood by them. Compared to plenty of
2:56:57people I know, you were truer than they
2:56:59ever were. I respect that and I respect
2:57:02you as a strong opponent in your last
2:57:04moment. So, I'll give you dignity. End
2:57:06it yourself. She's quiet for a moment.
2:57:09Then a strange little sound comes out of
2:57:11her ruined mouth.
2:57:13You humans are not as faithful as we
2:57:15demons. Then her whole body shudders
2:57:18like something inside her just snapped.
2:57:20She lifts her head one last time and
2:57:22looks straight at me. The stone milk you
2:57:24want. Find the place yourself. I don't
2:57:27want to tell you. A breath. You hit me.
2:57:30It hurt. Human boy. Her head drops to
2:57:34the ground with a thud. And she's still.
2:57:36I don't move. I don't go closer. I just
2:57:39stand there perfectly still, watching. 1
2:57:42minute. 10 minutes. I barely blink. 30
2:57:45minutes. Then finally, I let out a
2:57:47breath. Caution catches the
2:57:49thousand-year cicada. Care sails the
2:57:52boat for 10,000 years. And then I pick
2:57:54up the RPG and put a rocket into the
2:57:57ground right next to her. The blast
2:57:58throws dirt over her and ripples her
2:58:01burned fur. Nothing. Not a twitch. Still
2:58:04not enough. I cross back to earth and
2:58:07start dragging everything in my basement
2:58:08against the walls. Crates, tools, the
2:58:11workbench. I need a lot of floor. Then I
2:58:13go back. I walk up to that dead mountain
2:58:16of a tiger with every muscle locked,
2:58:18ready to vanish at the first flicker of
2:58:20anything wrong. And I press my palm flat
2:58:22against her side and cross. She comes
2:58:25with me. That whole huge body lands in
2:58:27my basement with a thud that rattles the
2:58:29walls and the smell of smoke fills the
2:58:31room. This isn't for convenience.
2:58:34Remember my first rule. Carry anything
2:58:36living through the crossing and it
2:58:38arrives dead. If there was even one
2:58:40spark of life left in her, it's gone
2:58:42now. No fake death, no last surprise.
2:58:46Now she's absolutely, completely 100%
2:58:49dead. Then I put my hand on her again
2:58:51and carry her right back to the forest
2:58:53because I have a brother lying in the
2:58:55bushes. I crouch, set my feet, shove my
2:58:58arms under her like forklift prongs, and
2:59:00with a roar I lift. 40,000 jin of
2:59:03strength, and the ground under my feet
2:59:05sinks. She's like hauling a truck. I
2:59:08don't bother with the path. Bushes,
2:59:10thorns, saplings. I flatten them. Crack,
2:59:13crack, crack. A minute later, I come
2:59:15crashing back to the bushes where I left
2:59:17Big Jang, and I drop her on the ground
2:59:19with a boom that throws dust everywhere,
2:59:22and Big Jangs eyelids flutter. He looks
2:59:24up at me, covered in dirt and blood,
2:59:27grinning. Lin Lu, didn't I tell you to
2:59:30run for your life? His eyes wander. Is
2:59:33this the underworld? Why is it so
2:59:35shabby? Brother Ciang, it's me, Lin Yu.
2:59:39The Tigris is dead. I help him sit up
2:59:42carefully, my hand behind his back, and
2:59:44then he sees her. The burns, the missing
2:59:47leg, the wrecked paw, the size of her.
2:59:50He stares for a good few seconds and
2:59:53then he sucks in a breath so sharp it
2:59:54hurts his chest. You You actually killed
2:59:57her. He struggles for words and finally
3:00:00it just comes out of him. She crossed
3:00:02into a whole new realm and you killed
3:00:04her from the body realm. You're the
3:00:06first man I've seen in my life who could
3:00:08do that. Then his face goes gray. It's
3:00:10just my chest. That beast's last swing
3:00:12of her tail broke a few ribs. His head
3:00:15tips sideways and he's out again. Gangqi
3:00:18warrior. His body is a fortress. Anyone
3:00:20else would be dead, but he needs to get
3:00:22to a bed. I put my hand on the tiger and
3:00:25send her to Earth, to my basement. Time
3:00:28stands still there while I'm here so she
3:00:30won't spoil. Then I take Big Jang on my
3:00:33back, tie him on with strips of cloth so
3:00:36he won't slip, and I run. I'm soaked in
3:00:38her blood and it's still not dry. And
3:00:41that turns out to be the best thing that
3:00:42could happen. Every snake, every wolf,
3:00:45every beast in that forest smells the
3:00:47queen of the mountains on me and they
3:00:49scatter. Nothing comes near me. I cover
3:00:5240 km in about an hour, faster than we
3:00:55came in. Then I can see the fences of
3:00:57Little Stone Village and the smoke from
3:00:59the chimneys. In Big Jang's house, Aunt
3:01:02Lee is sitting by Old Wu's bed with a
3:01:04clay bowl, spooning porridge into him.
3:01:07He's much better already, but she's
3:01:09still fussing. Then the gate bangs open
3:01:11and the smell of blood rolls in. She
3:01:13looks up. She sees me covered in blood.
3:01:16She sees who's on my back. The bowl hits
3:01:18the floor. Jan boy. My Jan boy. What
3:01:22happened to you? You were fine this
3:01:23morning. She's screaming. She's nearly
3:01:25fainting. Auntie. Auntie, don't panic.
3:01:29Don't cry. Brother Jeang's fine. He's
3:01:31not dead. He's just hurt and passed out.
3:01:34Really? My GN boy? He's really still
3:01:37alive. Alive. Alive is good. Alive is
3:01:41good. I'll go find the doctor. And she
3:01:44runs faster than any old lady I've ever
3:01:46seen into the middle of the village,
3:01:48yelling at the top of her lungs. Here's
3:01:50something I didn't know about Big Jang.
3:01:52He grew up in this village, eating at
3:01:54every family's table and wearing every
3:01:56family's handme-down clothes. When he
3:01:58came back from the army crippled, nobody
3:02:00pushed him away. They looked after him
3:02:02even more. So when the news spreads that
3:02:04he's been carried back half dead,
3:02:06practically the whole village comes
3:02:08running. The men carry him into the
3:02:10house and lay him on the bed and the
3:02:12women boil water and stand in the
3:02:13doorway with their hands over their
3:02:15mouths. Heavens, he's hurt so badly. If
3:02:19even Hunter got hurt like that, how
3:02:21dangerous must the mountains be? Can we
3:02:24even go into the hills to cut wood or
3:02:26gather herbs anymore? Fear spreads
3:02:28through the yard like a cloud. inside.
3:02:31I'm working on Big Jang. His chest has a
3:02:34clear dent where the ribs broke, and I
3:02:35don't dare touch that. But I put him on
3:02:38the same IV as Woo, give him a moxicylin
3:02:40and dexamethasone, and clean what I can.
3:02:43Then I step out for some air, and I hear
3:02:45the villagers whispering. So I walk to
3:02:47the gate and clap my hands loud.
3:02:50Everyone turns, "Hey, isn't that the
3:02:52peddler, Lynn?" He's the one who carried
3:02:55Hunter Jiang back. Everyone, elders,
3:02:58neighbors, I'm Lin Yu, the peddler.
3:03:01Don't worry. The beast in the mountains
3:03:02that hurt brother Jang and brother Wu,
3:03:04Brother Jeang and I killed it together.
3:03:07The danger's gone. From now on, when you
3:03:09go into the mountains, just be careful
3:03:11like always. They mutter to each other.
3:03:13Their faces say it. He's just saying
3:03:16that to calm us down. Nobody believes
3:03:18me. Fine. Words are cheap. I walk out of
3:03:22the village, find a quiet spot with
3:03:24nobody around, and cross. And when I
3:03:26come back, I'm carrying the tigress on
3:03:28my back. I walk back through the village
3:03:30with her. Boom. Boom. Boom. Every step
3:03:34shakes the ground. The villagers in the
3:03:36yard hear it getting closer. Boom. It
3:03:38stops right outside the gate. A skinny
3:03:41kid called Guang is standing in the
3:03:43gateway. His eyes are as big as bells
3:03:45and his mouth is open wide enough to fit
3:03:47an egg. Guang, what are you standing
3:03:50there like an idiot for? What's out
3:03:51there? It's It's the the So I jump
3:03:56straight over Big Jeang's wall with the
3:03:58tigris on my back and land in the middle
3:04:00of the yard. Demon beast. Somebody
3:04:03screams. People scatter. Kids are
3:04:06crying. Somebody falls over a bucket.
3:04:08Everybody, don't be afraid. Take a good
3:04:11look. This beast is dead. The fear
3:04:14drains out of the yard like water out of
3:04:16a sink. And what comes in after it is
3:04:18pure shock. Then joy. Heavens above.
3:04:21That tiger's bigger than a plow ox,
3:04:24bigger than two. I can't imagine what
3:04:26kind of fight Hunter Jiang and little
3:04:28brother Lynn went through to kill a
3:04:30thing like that. Heroes. There are
3:04:32villages heroes. Right in the middle of
3:04:35the cheering, there are quick footsteps
3:04:37at the gate. An old man with a medicine
3:04:39box. The same doctor who looked at old
3:04:41Woo yesterday, Dr. Wang. He walks in,
3:04:44sees the dead tiger in the middle of the
3:04:46yard, and nearly drops his box. The
3:04:49villagers all start explaining at once,
3:04:51and he looks at me with very strange
3:04:53eyes. Quickly, where are the wounded?
3:04:56Let this old man look first. The first
3:04:58person he sees inside is Woo, sitting up
3:05:01in bed with porridge on his chin. The
3:05:03doctor's mouth falls open. You? Why
3:05:06aren't you dead yet? Then he realizes
3:05:09what he just said, spits three times to
3:05:11take it back, and looks embarrassed.
3:05:13When I treated you yesterday, the poison
3:05:15was deep in your bones. The fever was
3:05:18burning your organs. The pus was going
3:05:20for your heart. I'd have bet my whole
3:05:21practice you wouldn't see today. Old Woo
3:05:24just gets hit in the face with that and
3:05:25sits there looking offended. This one
3:05:28little brother Lynn right here. He's the
3:05:30one who dragged my worthless life back
3:05:32out of the king of hell's hands. Him?
3:05:35Impossible? Absolutely impossible. I
3:05:38just smile. I'm not going to argue with
3:05:40him. I take his arm and steer him to Big
3:05:42Jangs bed. Doctor, what matters most
3:05:45right now is that his ribs are broken
3:05:47and caved in. Maybe his organs are
3:05:49shifted, too. That's beyond me.
3:05:51Honestly, I didn't expect much from a
3:05:54mountain doctor who'd given up on Woo.
3:05:56But a man with broken ribs is a
3:05:58different problem from a man with
3:05:59sepsis. Then he sees the IV, the bag,
3:06:02the tube, the needle in Big Jang's arm.
3:06:05His voice jumps an octave. This This is
3:06:08sending medicine through a needle into
3:06:10the blood. He whips around to me. Did
3:06:12you do this too? I nod and he looks at
3:06:15me with even more curiosity and
3:06:17something like awe. Then he pulls
3:06:19himself together and very carefully
3:06:21peels back the cloth over Big Jangs
3:06:23chest.
3:06:25This is serious. His chest took a full
3:06:27hit from that tiger's tail. He feels the
3:06:30pulse for a while. H the pulse is
3:06:32floating, but the foundation is still
3:06:34there. Strong, tough. Then he presses
3:06:37around the ribs with his fingertips.
3:06:39Three broken. If it were an ordinary
3:06:41man, he'd be finished. But this and a
3:06:44little proud smile creeps onto his face.
3:06:46This I can treat. That incurable poison
3:06:49of wus, this old man really couldn't
3:06:52handle. But broken bones, bones, I know.
3:06:55Old Woo backs him up from the bed. In
3:06:57all the villages around here, every man
3:06:59who goes up the mountain for hunting or
3:07:01herbs falls and breaks something sooner
3:07:03or later. Dr. Wang sets them all. He's
3:07:06the best. Oh, that makes sense. These
3:07:09people live off the mountains, hunting,
3:07:11herbs, falling off cliffs. This man has
3:07:14been setting bones his whole life. It's
3:07:16like back home up north where it snows a
3:07:19lot and people slip on ice all winter.
3:07:21The bone doctors are the best in the
3:07:23country. Leave a specialist to his
3:07:24specialty. Hot water, the doctor says. I
3:07:28run out and come back with a steaming
3:07:30basin of clean water and a towel,
3:07:32thinking he's going to use it on the
3:07:33wound. And he just plunges his own
3:07:35wrinkled, calloused hands into it and
3:07:37scrubs them. So that's what the hot
3:07:40water was for. You just wanted to wash
3:07:42your hands, Grandpa. Before you touch a
3:07:44patient's wound, of course you clean
3:07:46your hands, he tells me. Dead serious.
3:07:48That's the most basic rule of a doctor,
3:07:50young man. Okay, fair. That's actually
3:07:54ahead of a lot of history. Then he turns
3:07:56to the bed and his whole face changes.
3:07:58His hands go to Big Jangs chest and
3:08:01there's a feeling of something moving
3:08:02under his palms like warm wind and then
3:08:06crack.
3:08:08Three sounds quick and clean. The whole
3:08:10thing takes less than 15 seconds. He
3:08:13lets go. Done. That's it. It's done. I
3:08:17just followed the bones back to where
3:08:19they belong, he says, wiping his hands,
3:08:21very pleased with himself. Know where
3:08:23they are. undo the twist and they go
3:08:25home. Then to me, "Come, young man, help
3:08:29me lift him." He packs short wooden
3:08:31splints around the ribs and binds them
3:08:33with cloth strips, smooth and fast, like
3:08:36he's done it 10,000 times. There, he's a
3:08:39martial artist. His blood and bones are
3:08:41far stronger than an ordinary man's.
3:08:43Five or six days lying still, and he'll
3:08:46be on his feet. I bow to him with my
3:08:48fists together. Thank you, Dr. Wang.
3:08:51Truly. He looks at me for a long moment
3:08:53with those cloudy old eyes and something
3:08:55like appreciation comes into them. Young
3:08:58man, your methods with Woo were things
3:09:00this old man has never seen. And you've
3:09:02got steady hands and a good eye. I
3:09:05wonder would you be interested in
3:09:07learning a few humble tricks of setting
3:09:09bones from me. If you're willing to
3:09:11teach, doctor, that's more than I could
3:09:13ask for. He nods slowly, satisfied, and
3:09:16packs his box. Then a voice comes from
3:09:19the bed. Rough, weak. Brother Lynn, Big
3:09:23Cang, awake again. Brother Jiang, you're
3:09:27up. He doesn't ask about himself. That
3:09:30tigress, did you bring her back? She's
3:09:33in the yard. His eyes sharpen. Then
3:09:36listen. A keyfield demon beast. Every
3:09:38part of her is a treasure. You have to
3:09:40cut her up now while she's freshly dead
3:09:43before her blood and energy settle and
3:09:45scatter. Wait too long and half of it
3:09:47goes to waste. Brother Zang, you need to
3:09:50lie still. He's already getting up.
3:09:52Splints, broken ribs, IV and all. I try
3:09:56to stop him and he gives me a look. So I
3:09:58unhook the drip and help him outside. He
3:10:00leans on his cane, looks at her lying in
3:10:03his yard. And for a while, he just
3:10:05stands there. Something moves in his
3:10:07face. A pair of tigers that ruled this
3:10:09forest. One of them killed by him for a
3:10:12meal, the other one dead for revenge.
3:10:14something like regret for both of them.
3:10:16Then he shakes it off. Start. So I get
3:10:19his biggest chopping knife and bring it
3:10:21down on her hide and the knife goes in
3:10:23less than half a fingernail deep. I try
3:10:26again. Same thing. This isn't a hide.
3:10:28It's armor. Stop linu. He says that was
3:10:32my mistake. I didn't think. He turns
3:10:34toward the house. Come with me. Inside.
3:10:37He points at a floor brick near the
3:10:39wall. Lift that one. I pull it up.
3:10:42Underneath there's a hole and in the
3:10:44hole there's a long black wooden case. I
3:10:46lift it out. Whoa, heavy. He opens it.
3:10:50Inside, wrapped in oiled cloth, there's
3:10:53a sword. A big heavy sword with an
3:10:55eight-sided blade, dark and plain. And
3:10:58when he draws it very slowly, the steel
3:11:00gives off a sound like a bell and a cold
3:11:03light that lights up his whole face.
3:11:05Back in the border army, when I broke
3:11:07through to Gang Ki, the loyal marshall
3:11:09marquee gave me this sword with his own
3:11:11hands. He looks at it the way you'd look
3:11:13at an old friend. Its name is Jing Hong,
3:11:15startled swan. 4chi 2 klong, about a
3:11:18meter and a half, 302 jin. Star iron and
3:11:23refined gold. He holds it out to me.
3:11:25Handle first. Brother Jiang, this sword
3:11:29is too precious. You're giving it to me?
3:11:31I'm half a [ __ ] now. I've got the
3:11:33gang key realm and none of the courage I
3:11:35had back then. What good is it lying
3:11:37under a brick? He pushes it into my
3:11:39hands. A sword named Startled Swan
3:11:42belongs with someone as startlingly
3:11:43gifted as you. Take it. I hold it with
3:11:46both hands. 302 jin, 150 kilos, and with
3:11:51the wild bull force in my arms, it feels
3:11:53just right. Brother Zang, I'll remember
3:11:56what this sword means. I won't shame its
3:11:58edge. Then we go back out into the yard
3:12:01and I put jing hong to the tiger's hide.
3:12:04It slides in like the hide is paper.
3:12:07What a sharp sword. Big Jang sits on a
3:12:10stool and coaches me through every cut.
3:12:12Where the hide comes away clean. Where
3:12:14the tendons join. How to keep the pelt
3:12:16in one piece. It takes a long time. When
3:12:19we're done, there's a mountain of meat
3:12:20and a pile of huge bones and a pelt you
3:12:23could carpet a room with. The meat and
3:12:25the bones. You take them. He says the
3:12:28meat won't keep. You eat it fast and the
3:12:30marrow of a keyfield demon beast is the
3:12:33essence of the essence. Don't waste a
3:12:35drop. Brother Jiang, I have a secret
3:12:37method that'll keep it fresh as today.
3:12:40He just nods. You handle it. I trust
3:12:42you. So, I haul it all to Earth. Load
3:12:45after load through a hidden corner of
3:12:47his yard. The meat goes into my 500 L
3:12:50freezer. The freezer is full almost
3:12:52immediately. I stand there looking at
3:12:54the rest of the meat piled on my
3:12:56basement floor, a mountain of Keyfield
3:12:58Tiger, and the freezer door won't even
3:13:00close. Nope. I need another plan. So, I
3:13:04call a refrigeration shop. Hello. How
3:13:07fast can you install a small cold
3:13:08storage room? Brother, if you're in a
3:13:11hurry, I've got readymade mobile cold
3:13:13rooms, modular, snap together. The
3:13:16biggest one you've got? No problem,
3:13:19brother. within 1 hour, guaranteed,
3:13:21delivered and installed at your door.
3:13:24While I wait, I take one tiger loin, a
3:13:26chunk of about a dozen gin, and put it
3:13:28in the pressure cooker with ginger,
3:13:30starinise, and soy sauce. Then I take
3:13:32Jin Hong and start splitting the big
3:13:34bones on the basement floor because my
3:13:36saw would die of fright. Sorry, startled
3:13:39swan. Today, you're a butcher's cleaver.
3:13:42The truck shows up in under an hour. Two
3:13:44workers bolt the panels together in a
3:13:46hidden corner of my yard. Mr. Linu. This
3:13:49is our biggest model. Over 20 cubic
3:13:51meters. Goes down to minus 35. It'll
3:13:54freeze anything rock solid and keep it
3:13:56fresh. Under 20,000 yen by card. And the
3:13:59whole tiger goes in. Meat on the
3:14:01shelves. Bones in the back. Done. Modern
3:14:05technology. So convenient. The pressure
3:14:08cooker hisses. I open the lid and the
3:14:10smell that comes out is something else.
3:14:12Rich, deep, almost sweet. And I make one
3:14:15more thing. a porridge with a scoop of
3:14:17tiger marrow stirred through it. Then I
3:14:20pack it all into clay pots and cross
3:14:22into Big Jangs kitchen. Woo smells it
3:14:24before I'm out of the kitchen door.
3:14:26Brother Gian, do you smell that? What is
3:14:29that smell? Why is it so good? I bring
3:14:31it in. Old Woo looks at the big bowls of
3:14:34meat, worried. Little brother Lynn,
3:14:36we're badly hurt. Shouldn't we be eating
3:14:39something light? Something this rich?
3:14:41Won't it be too much for us? Brother
3:14:43Woo, don't worry. This isn't ordinary
3:14:45meat. This is the flesh of a chfield
3:14:48tiger. He doesn't need to be told twice.
3:14:50They eat and I watch it happen right in
3:14:53front of me. Color comes back into their
3:14:55faces. Woo flexes his bandaged arm and
3:14:58stares at it. It's a miracle. A real
3:15:00miracle. Little brother Lynn, this meat
3:15:03works. Big Jang moves his chest
3:15:05carefully, breathing deep for the first
3:15:07time since the fight. At this rate, one
3:15:10or two more meals and our wounds will be
3:15:12mostly healed. There's plenty of tiger
3:15:14meat. I'll bring it on time. You two get
3:15:17better fast. I give old Woo his next
3:15:19rabies shot. And as I'm packing up, I
3:15:22catch the look the two of them give each
3:15:23other. Like two men who know exactly how
3:15:26lucky they got the day a peddler walked
3:15:27into their village. Back home, I sit
3:15:30down and think hard about that fight.
3:15:32The truth is, I won by luck. The first
3:15:35rocket only landed because I'd made her
3:15:37furious. The C4 under the tree only
3:15:40worked because she was chasing me blind.
3:15:42Then she learned she swatted a rocket
3:15:44out of the air with her tail and she was
3:15:46only freshly into the key field realm
3:15:48against anything stronger, anything
3:15:50smarter. An RPG7 slow, straight, unable
3:15:54to change direction. Wouldn't even
3:15:56scratch it. So, two goals. One, push the
3:16:00body realm to its true peak while I've
3:16:02got a whole tiger to eat. Two, upgrade
3:16:04my arsenal. I'm going to have Malik
3:16:06reach out to young Muhammad and get some
3:16:08heavy firepower that could actually kill
3:16:10a highle superhuman. Then I eat tiger
3:16:14marrow. Wild bull force. Marrow wild
3:16:17bull force. 1 hour 2 4 5 wild bull
3:16:22force. 45 out of 50. I've been training
3:16:25so long I've forgotten what time it is
3:16:27over there. So I grab a box of instant
3:16:29noodles, Big Jeang's favorite, and cross
3:16:32straight into his kitchen like I've been
3:16:33doing in here. I don't need to worry
3:16:35about anybody seeing me. I open the
3:16:38kitchen door and the smile freezes on my
3:16:40face. They're both in the yard up moving
3:16:43around. Big Jeang is doing slow
3:16:46stretches with his cane and Woo is
3:16:48walking back and forth swinging his good
3:16:50arm. And old Woo is looking straight at
3:16:52me coming out of a kitchen I definitely
3:16:54never walked into. Huh? Lynn Yu, when
3:16:58did you get back? I've walked past the
3:17:00kitchen door a bunch of times and I
3:17:02never saw you. Where did you pop out of?
3:17:04My heart stops. Lyn, you idiot. Then my
3:17:08mouth starts on its own. Oh, I've been
3:17:11back a while. You must have missed me.
3:17:13And I hold up the box. Look, your
3:17:16favorite noodles. As much as you want.
3:17:18His eyes light up like a kid's.
3:17:21Brother Lynn, you know me. Old Woo loves
3:17:24these more than anything. Crisis
3:17:26averted. I cook seven or eight packs
3:17:29with a pile of brazed tiger meat and a
3:17:31pot of brazed eggs. And the three of us
3:17:33eat in the sun. Halfway through, Woo
3:17:36puts his bowl down and looks at me. Lu,
3:17:39if it weren't for you, forget eating
3:17:41chfield demon meat. I'd be buried by
3:17:43now. Grass would be growing on my grave.
3:17:46Big Jang is quiet for a while, chewing.
3:17:49Then back in the army, meat like this
3:17:51from a chi field beast you could only
3:17:54get with merit. Everything in the army
3:17:56runs on merit. No exceptions. Brother
3:17:59Jang, this army merit, can you really
3:18:01trade it for anything? What exactly can
3:18:03you get? He looks at me. Pills,
3:18:06techniques, weapons, beast meat. If
3:18:09you've got enough merit, even the secret
3:18:11arts of the sex that live outside the
3:18:13world, the core teachings, they never
3:18:15show anyone, you'd have a chance to
3:18:17learn them. He sets down his chopsticks.
3:18:19Brother Lynn, everything I know up to
3:18:22the gang key realm. I'll teach you. But
3:18:25after that, he looks me right in the
3:18:27eye. My honest advice, join the army.
3:18:30Join the great Joe army. Then he gets up
3:18:32on his cane and limps off to the far end
3:18:34of the yard and stands there looking at
3:18:36the mountains for a long time. I can
3:18:39guess what he's thinking about. The day
3:18:40he lost his leg. I don't decide
3:18:42anything. The ship will straighten out
3:18:44when it reaches the bridge. When I
3:18:46really reach Gangchi, I'll think about
3:18:48it. Maybe I'll stumble onto some ancient
3:18:51sex legacy on my own. And if things go
3:18:53wrong, I can always cross back to the
3:18:55modern world. Doing a lap through the
3:18:57Great Joe army doesn't sound impossible.
3:19:00But I can't deny it. That conversation
3:19:03just planted a seed. When I leave, I'm
3:19:05careful. Out of the village into a
3:19:07hidden ravine where nobody could
3:19:09possibly see. That kitchen door almost
3:19:11blew my whole secret. From now on, I
3:19:14only cross from places where there's no
3:19:16chance of anyone watching. Back in my
3:19:18basement, I grind. 46, 47, 49. I drink a
3:19:23whole bowl of fresh tiger marrow, run it
3:19:25again, and the bar fills. Wild bull
3:19:28force. 50 out of 50. Wild bull force.
3:19:32One last time. I take the stance. Slow,
3:19:35serious, every move like a ritual. And
3:19:38on the last horn punch, three wild bulls
3:19:41come off my fist. Three shadowy gray
3:19:43black bulls made of fist intent charging
3:19:46together. Moo. They hit the basement
3:19:49wall and leave a crater in the concrete.
3:19:51Then the panel. Lifespan. 24 out of 89.
3:19:55Wild bull force 0 out of 100. Small
3:19:58success. A whole new tier. And I know
3:20:01exactly what's coming. I've been through
3:20:03it twice. I lie down on the floor and
3:20:06wait for hell. It's worse than before.
3:20:09My skin, my flesh, my bones, my blood,
3:20:12all of it gets torn down and rebuilt at
3:20:14the same time. And my body temperature
3:20:16goes so high the sweat steams off me.
3:20:18When it finally lets go, half an hour
3:20:20later, I'm lying in a puddle, gasping
3:20:23like a fish on a dock. And the first
3:20:25thing I notice is my blood. It moves
3:20:27differently now. Heavier, thicker, like
3:20:30mercury. Blood like mercury. Big Jang
3:20:33mentioned that once as a sign that a
3:20:35martial artist is reaching a high level.
3:20:37It's It's over. I survived. I stand up.
3:20:41My bones twang like bowstrings. My skin
3:20:44has a faint shine to it now. Like old
3:20:46bronze with a cold metal gleam. And I
3:20:49want to know what this body can do.
3:20:51Knives. Pointless. I'm past knives. I
3:20:55want to test it against the thing that
3:20:56rules my world. I walk over to the gun
3:20:59crates and take out the Glock 17 9mm,
3:21:02the weakest pistol round I own. I'm
3:21:04confident, not stupid. I'm not testing a
3:21:07Desert Eagle on myself. I check the
3:21:09magazine. I screw on the silencer. and I
3:21:12pointed at my own left forearm. Three
3:21:14muffled shots. In my eyes, the world
3:21:17goes slow. I can see the muzzle flash
3:21:19curling out. I can see the bullets
3:21:21spinning through the air, drawing little
3:21:23spirals. They reach my skin, and a thin,
3:21:26faint layer of bronze light flickers
3:21:28over it for an instant. Ting, ting,
3:21:31ting. Three little flattened copper
3:21:33discs drop at my feet and roll on the
3:21:36concrete. I lift my arm and look. Not a
3:21:39mark, not even a scratch. A tiny buzz in
3:21:42my skin and that's it. My body stops
3:21:45bullets. Not that long ago, I was lying
3:21:48in a rented room under a mold stain,
3:21:50deciding between a delivery scooter and
3:21:52a factory line. Tonight, I'm standing in
3:21:54my own basement with a dead tiger in my
3:21:56cold room, a marquees sword and pistol
3:21:59bullets bouncing off my arm. And it's
3:22:01only the beginning. If I push the wild
3:22:03bull force to great success, to
3:22:05perfection, and let the panel rebuild me
3:22:08again, then all the ordinary weapons of
3:22:10this modern world won't be able to hold
3:22:12me back for very long. Linu has a cheat
3:22:15and it's really, really good. Then I go
3:22:17upstairs, sit down, and wire Malik his
3:22:20salary for the month. Then I call him.
3:22:23Hello, Lynu, boss. It's only been a few
3:22:27days. Is there something you need?
3:22:29Malik, I've sent your salary for this
3:22:32month. He's surprised and then very
3:22:34happy. That extra money is enough to
3:22:36keep his wife and kids comfortable in
3:22:38Islamabad for a long time. And contact
3:22:41young Muhammad for me ahead of time.
3:22:43Tell him to have the goods ready. When I
3:22:45get there, I want to see them right
3:22:47away. I can hear him breathing. He's
3:22:49doing the math on that last order and
3:22:51wondering what kind of war his boss is
3:22:53planning next. I'll contact him right
3:22:55away, boss. One more thing, Malik. I
3:22:58keep my voice very calm. The militia
3:23:00safe house we cleared out in Peshawar.
3:23:02Their people. Have any of them found
3:23:04you? And on the other end of the line, I
3:23:06hear Malik suck in a breath.

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