"Me? What did I do? I swear I've never done anything like that!" Shawn Young protested, feeling wronged.
"Liu Zhengfeng" chuckled, "I'm talking about your current identity. We're in their territory now, so I'm reminding you not to forget who you're pretending to be! You know this Guo Fenglin, also known as 'Mantis the Pursuer,' right?"
Shawn nodded, then asked, "Yeah, I know that's his nickname, but I have no idea why he's called that."
"Liu Zhengfeng" said seriously, "This is something you need to know, since you're using his identity now. Let me tell you—Guo Fenglin got the 'Mantis' nickname not just because his mantis boxing is fierce, but also because he's notorious for being a womanizer! Among the Thirteen Enforcers, he's the biggest skirt-chaser, and he's as famous as the other notorious member, Nine-tailed Blue Fox Gu Meier, who's into men. Both are infamous for their wicked ways!"
Shawn was stunned and asked curiously, "Huh? Into men? Wait, so this Nine-tailed Blue Fox Gu Meier is a woman, right?"
"Liu Zhengfeng" nodded, "That's right. Nine-tailed Blue Fox Gu Meier is a very beautiful woman. No one knows exactly how old she is, but besides her fighting skills, she's rumored to practice a strange technique called 'Harvesting Yang to Nourish Yin.' She's an expert at absorbing young men's life force for her cultivation, though what she actually practices, we're not sure!"
Upon hearing this, Qianqian Liu spat, "Pah! 'Harvesting Yang to Nourish Yin'—she must be a natural-born seductress!"
Shawn felt a jolt inside, suddenly curious about this Gu Meier woman. So he asked, "So, for this mission, are we going to run into Gu Meier? Or maybe some of the other Thirteen Enforcers?"
"Liu Zhengfeng" replied, "Most likely! We had to leave in a hurry, so I didn't get to brief you on all the details. Let me fill you in now. Over the years, we've gathered intel on the Thirteen Enforcers. We don't know much, but at least we know their main core members. The Thirteen Enforcers are extremely powerful. They're called 'Thirteen Enforcers' because when they split from the Small Knife Society at the end of the Qing Dynasty to form their own group, they've always had thirteen core leaders!"
"Oh, so that's why they're called the Thirteen Enforcers!" Shawn nodded, finally understanding.
"Leon Grace" continued, "But they've split up their duties clearly. Only five of them operate in the Chinatown underworld, five are developing in Japan, and three in the US. The ones we're up against are the five in Chinatown! They're the most important core members, because the Thirteen Enforcers' strongest and most powerful are all here. The five in charge of Chinatown are: Gavin Grant, the second-in-command and head of the Punishment Hall Iron Monkey An Tianqi, Fierce Tiger Wan Chongyun, Nine-Tailed Vixen, and the mysterious new leader of the Thirteen Enforcers, Jade-faced Demoness Xiao Yuewu, who took over less than six months ago. The other seven only show up if something urgent happens. Their roles and territories are strictly divided, so you need to remember all this!"
Shawn nodded. Ever since his wild adventure and swallowing that 'elixir,' he'd found his strength had shot up—though he still hadn't mastered how to control it. His mind was sharper than ever, too. Leon Grace only had to say things once, and Shawn could remember everything perfectly, especially the important intel from before. Leon Grace and Qianqian Liu were secretly impressed.
The three were chatting in the private room when—"Bang! Bang! Bang!"—suddenly, a series of urgent knocks sounded at the door. A rough, booming male voice yelled from outside, "Gavin Grant, you spend all day chasing women! Don't you ever do anything useful? Hurry up and open the door! The second boss wants to see you!"
Shawn jumped at the sound, quickly lowering his voice to ask Leon Grace, "Officer Cheng, what the heck is happening now?"
Leon Grace shook his head, "I'm not sure either, but judging by the voice, he seems to know Gavin Grant pretty well. He probably isn't one of the Blue Wolf Syndicate!"
Before he finished, "Boom—boom—boom—" the knocking started again. The rough voice outside bellowed, "Damn it! Open up! Grant, you having fun with your women in there? Making me wait outside like a chump? You want me to crush your big elephant with my tiger paws?"
At that moment, Leon Grace suddenly remembered someone. He quickly whispered to Shawn, "Ah! The guy outside must be Fierce Tiger Wan Chongyun from the Thirteen Enforcers! He's rough but clever, and he's closest to Punishment Hall Chief An Tianqi. If he's here, An Tianqi probably isn't far behind!"
"Ah! So, what do we do now?" Shawn asked nervously.
Leon Grace thought quickly, then said to Qianqian Liu, "Qianqian, you need to work with Shawn right now, or Fierce Tiger Wan Chongyun will see through our act and we'll blow our cover!"
Qianqian Liu had never been in a situation like this before. Her pretty face paled, and she anxiously asked Leon Grace, "What should I do to work with him?"