Shawn Shaw hobbled out of the hotel room and made his way downstairs.
His leg was still in a cast, every step stabbing him with pain, but right now he couldn’t care less.
All Shawn Shaw wanted now was to rush home and beg his old man to step in personally.
Once outside, he got in the car—the driver was one of the Shaw family’s people—and headed straight for the Shaw family villa.
The Shaw family villa was blazing with lights as Shawn Shaw hurried through the door.
“Dad! Dad! Something’s seriously wrong!” Shawn Shaw paused at the entrance, steeled himself, then limped in and burst through the door, his voice desperate.
At the head of the hall sat a man who looked about fifty, features fierce, clutching a string of Buddhist beads. His skin was dark, and a white tiger was tattooed on his arm.
Beside him sat a middle-aged man in a white mandarin jacket, tall and lean, eyes half-closed. His left hand rested on the table, two fingers lightly holding a cup of Da Hong Pao tea.
“What happened to get you so worked up? You just got your leg broken at Imperial Grand, and now, after only a few days, you’re stirring up trouble again?” The fierce-faced man frowned deeply as he saw his son Shawn Shaw limp in, his eyes flashing with disappointment. “In just a few days, it’ll be time to redivide Brightsea’s territories! At a moment like this, can’t you give me a break? Or do I have to break your other leg myself before you’ll finally behave?”
“Dad, it’s really not me this time! It’s that kid who broke my leg at Imperial Grand—he’s come knocking!” Shawn Shaw’s face twisted with misery. “Just now, that guy called me on Snake (Brother Snake)’s phone. He said he’s at the casino right now, Snake (Brother Snake)’s already been crippled, and he wants me to come pay up!”
“Snake (Brother Snake) got crippled? You’re kidding!” Barry Shaw snorted. “There are people in Brightsea who could beat Snake (Brother Snake), but saying someone actually crippled him? That’s nonsense!”
“Dad, I swear I’m not lying!” Shawn Shaw shouted.
Barry Shaw frowned, about to order someone to call Snake (Brother Snake) and check, when suddenly a man burst in from outside, panic written all over his face. “Tiger Boss! Something’s happened at the club!”
The man had rushed in so fast he tripped and fell, landing in a heap on the floor.
“Something happened? What could possibly happen?” Barry Shaw—Dongting Tiger—asked in a low voice.
In all these years in Eastcourt, no one had ever dared mess with his people.
Even the Imperial Grand crew wouldn’t cross the line unless they really thought it through.
“It—it’s Snake (Brother Snake)’s club, it got wrecked by one guy! A bunch of people inside had their hands chopped off!” The man’s face was deathly pale, voice shaking. He was clearly terrified.
“What about Snake (Brother Snake)?”
“Snake (Brother Snake)—Snake (Brother Snake) was also…”
At that point, the man couldn’t even finish his sentence.
Barry Shaw’s expression shifted, a flicker of shock in his eyes.
Snake (Brother Snake) was his top enforcer, had followed Barry through all sorts of trouble. A third of Eastcourt was won thanks to Snake (Brother Snake), and Barry knew better than anyone how tough he was.
Anyone who could cripple Snake (Brother Snake) had to be seriously strong.
Thinking this over, Barry paused, then turned to the middle-aged man in the white mandarin jacket, finally smiling. “Howard Chou, I originally asked you here to help with the upcoming territory split, but now my place has been smashed up. Looks like I’ll need you to step in early tonight—would you be willing?”
“Dad, who’s this?” Shawn Shaw asked nervously from the side.
Shawn Shaw knew exactly what kind of person his father, Dongting Tiger Barry Shaw, was. Even if the mayor of Brightsea showed up, Barry probably wouldn’t bother being polite.
But now, watching his old man talk to this middle-aged guy, Shawn Shaw actually saw him acting nervous, even asking for the guy’s opinion. That was seriously unusual.
Not only that, but even though the man didn’t look especially burly, just sitting there he radiated a steady, restrained aura that made people take him seriously.
“This is Howard Chou, second master of Heaven’s Number One Fist Gym in Jiangcheng. Back when he was in Brightsea, he had a nickname—‘Emperor of the Fist.’” Barry Shaw explained slowly, introducing him to Shawn Shaw.
“Emperor of the Fist! The same Emperor of the Fist who ruled all of Brightsea thirty years ago?” Shawn Shaw was stunned. He’d grown up at Barry Shaw’s side and heard plenty about Brightsea’s underground battles—especially the legendary Emperor of the Fist.
Legend had it Emperor of the Fist came from nothing, always bullied and broke, but with his iron fists he fought his way up in Brightsea. At his wildest, he took on fifty men alone on a rainy night, killed twelve with his bare hands!
But later, for some reason, Emperor of the Fist faded away from Brightsea.
“That’s right, the same Emperor of the Fist I told you about. But now Howard Chou is the second master at Heaven’s Number One Fist Gym in Jiangcheng.” Barry nodded, then turned to Howard Chou. “I’m guessing you’ve mastered inner strength by now?”
Howard Chou slowly opened his eyes and shook his head. “I’m afraid not. I’m still a few steps away from true inner strength. But I’ve dedicated myself to the fist all these years—even against most inner strength masters, I’m not the least bit afraid.”
With that, Howard Chou rose, picked up his cup of Da Hong Pao tea, drained it, and gently set the empty cup on the sandalwood table.
“Let’s go. I’ll meet the guy who dared wreck your club. I’m curious just how tough Brightsea’s new generation really is.” With that, Howard Chou strode out the door on his own.
Almost at the same moment, the cup he’d just set down suddenly shattered, leaving a deep imprint in the sandalwood table beneath it.
Barry’s eyes lit up at the sight, then he turned to Shawn Shaw. “Get up. Let’s go see for ourselves. If you get the chance, I want you to learn the fist.”
With that, Barry got up and walked out. Shawn Shaw hobbled over to the table, reached out, and touched the imprint. He was taken aback.
Then his face lit up. “With a master like this around, Evan Lin, let’s see how you die!”
Thinking that, Shawn Shaw’s face shone with excitement as he hurried out the door.