Flashback
Sunlight came through dirty windows and laid prison-bar shadows across the desks. Li Ming sat on Zhang Jian's back while the smaller boy's arms shook under the weight.
Li Ming hopped off and stretched. "You're getting a new partner soon, Jian-zi. That fat bastard finally dropped out."
Wang Jun cracked his knuckles. "Should've gone easier on him. At least he had money."
"The transfer kid will make up for it." Li Ming showed too many teeth when he smiled.
The door opened and the teacher walked in. A boy followed behind him. Buzz cut, plain face, steady eyes. He looked at the room the way someone looks at a problem they've already solved.
"New student. Introduce yourself."
"Hou Qing. From Chongqing." His voice left no room for a follow-up.
The teacher pointed to the empty desk beside Zhang Jian. Hou Qing sat without looking at anyone.
Lunch came. Zhang Jian leaned toward his new seatmate and kept his voice low. "Hi. I'm Zhang Jian."
Hou Qing closed his eyes and said nothing.
"It's lunchtime. Do you want to—"
The slap cracked across the room. Zhang Jian's face hit the desk. Li Ming's hand was still in the air above him. "Excited to have a friend? Get me food and shut up."
Zhang Jian stood on shaking legs. Wang Jun kicked him in the backside as he passed. "Don't forget about me."
Li Ming turned to Hou Qing. "You'll bring food for Wang Jun."
Hou Qing opened his eyes. "No."
The room went quiet.
Li Ming grabbed his collar and yanked him close. "Someone doesn't know his place."
Wang Jun circled around behind.
Hou Qing kept his voice level. "I know exactly where this goes. You won't like what happens when I get angry."
They laughed. Li Ming raised his hand.
He never finished the motion. He didn't see what happened. He just felt his feet leave the floor, felt everything spin, and then his face hit the desk edge and blood spread across the floor.
Wang Jun swung wild with fury. Hou Qing moved his head one inch and caught the arm. What followed wasn't a fight. Hou Qing hit Wang Jun's face in a steady, deliberate rhythm until the boy stopped struggling and went limp. He wiped his knuckles on Wang Jun's shirt, returned to his seat, and closed his eyes.
Nobody spoke.
Zhang Jian stood in the doorway with two lunch trays in his hands, staring at that unremarkable back. He couldn't look away.
---
Weeks Later
Hou Qing looked at the bread and milk on his desk. "I didn't ask for this."
Zhang Jian smiled nervously. "I brought them because I wanted to."
"What do you want? You've been following me for weeks."
Zhang Jian set the food down and bowed at the waist. "Teach me to be strong like you."
Hou Qing studied him. "Why would I do that?"
Zhang Jian looked up with his face red. "You saved me. You're the strongest person I've ever seen. You're my idol."
Something shifted in Hou Qing's expression. Not quite embarrassment and not quite warmth, but something between the two. Nobody had ever looked at him that way before. Not with fear or calculation. Just with honest admiration.
"I'll teach you," Hou Qing said. "But if you quit, I'll beat you myself."
Zhang Jian's face lit up. "Yes! Thank you!"
That day, two boys who had nothing in common found the one thing neither had expected. They found a friend.
---
A Few Years Later
Bodies covered the classroom floor. Broken desks and shattered glass everywhere. The smell of blood in the air.
Zhang Jian shook out his knuckles and caught his breath. "Third years weren't so tough."
Hou Qing looked around the room with tired eyes. "Why is there always trouble."
Zhang Jian handed him a tissue. "Strong people attract attention. When an elephant walks, dogs bark."
Hou Qing cleaned his hands. "We've come far."
"I'm stronger now," Zhang Jian said.
Hou Qing chopped him on the head.
"That hurts! You bastard!"
"You're cursing at me now."
Zhang Jian rubbed his head and grinned. "Learned from the best." He straightened up. "When do I finally meet this mysterious brother of yours?"
Hou Qing stopped walking. A memory surfaced sharp and clear. A tall figure standing over two bodies, blood on his knuckles, breathing hard. A hand on Hou Qing's shoulder and a voice that didn't flinch. Don't worry, Qing. I'll handle this.
"Maybe someday," Hou Qing said. "Let's go."
They stepped over groaning bodies and walked out together.
---
Present Day
Hou Qing looked down at Zhang Jian.
His first friend. The only person who had ever looked at him without fear or calculation. The boy who followed him into Red Dragon without hesitation and never once complained about where it led them.
He lay broken on the floor of a banquet hall because Hou Qing hadn't been there.
The rage didn't burn. It went cold and it went still and it went absolute.
Hou Qing walked toward Baki. Each step was slow and deliberate. He stopped ten feet away and looked at the man who'd burned through his way across the entire hall without slowing down.
"You have no idea what you've done," Hou Qing said quietly.
Baki smiled. "You're making me the villain."
Hou Qing closed his eyes. He took one breath. When he opened them he was already moving.
Their fists met in the center of the hall.
The floor cracked outward from the point of impact like a spiderweb. Windows rattled. The last few guests who hadn't fled yet ran. Both men slid back, their feet cutting furrows through the marble.
Baki's grin widened. "I'm addicted to this feeling."
Hou Qing didn't answer. He surged forward with no warmup and no probing. A jab pulled Baki's guard up. A cross started toward the ribs and became an uppercut at the last second. It caught Baki's chin and snapped his head back. First blood from a split lip.
Hou Qing followed immediately, both fists locked together, swinging down like an axe.
Baki rolled sideways. The strike hit the floor where his head had been and the marble exploded into chunks.
Baki came up from ground level with a jumping uppercut that caught Hou Qing under the jaw. He followed him into the air with a second one to the sternum. Hou Qing left the ground but twisted mid-flight, turned the momentum into a backflip, and landed with his guard already up.
He looked at Baki. "Very strong," he said.
He came in lower this time. A kick to the midsection. Baki caught the leg. Hou Qing jumped off his planted foot and drove his knee into Baki's face. The grip broke. He spun in the air and his other leg whipped around and caught Baki's temple.
Baki staggered. Hou Qing landed and closed the distance instantly. He grabbed Baki's collar, pulled him forward, and their foreheads met with a crack that echoed across the empty hall. He twisted and threw Baki over his hip.
CRASH!
The floor shattered. Dust rose.
Baki's laugh came through the settling debris. He rolled to his feet and wiped blood from his nose. "This is fun!"
They went again. Baki's high kick drove Hou Qing back three feet on the block alone. His forearm went numb. Hou Qing ducked a crescent kick and came up hitting short and hard into Baki's floating ribs. He pulled him into a clinch and drove two knees into his midsection. The sound was heavy and solid. He threw him.
Baki hit the ground and bounced back up like it meant nothing.
He came forward with an overhead kick that came down hard and fast. Hou Qing crossed his arms above his head. The heel drove him down to one knee. It came down again. And again. Each one forced him lower.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Baki created distance with a backward leap, then threw a long kick. Hou Qing swayed and it missed his face by nothing. A second kick came and he swayed again. The third caught his shoulder and sent him stumbling. Baki closed the gap and drove a straight right into his chest. The air left Hou Qing's lungs in one shot. The uppercut that followed launched him off the floor.
Hou Qing was airborne and hurt and he was still dangerous. He locked both fists together mid-flight and came down with everything he had left toward Baki's skull.
Baki crossed his arms in an X-block. The double strike hit with enough force to crater the floor beneath his feet and buckle his knees.
Hou Qing landed and spun immediately. His hook passed close enough for Baki to feel the wind. He continued the spin and drove his other fist into Baki's gut. It connected. Baki folded slightly. Hou Qing's uppercut caught his jaw and his head whipped back hard. Hou Qing turned one more time and threw a full-weight haymaker.
It hit Baki square in the face. Baki flew backward into a marble pillar and the pillar cracked from top to bottom.
Li Xiu watched from across the hall and took a slow sip of her drink. "My, my. This one should hurt."
Baki pushed himself off the cracked pillar. Blood ran down his face. He stood straight and something in his eyes changed. His pupils shifted. His stance dropped a fraction. The air around him felt different.
"Haven't had to do this in a while," he said.
Hou Qing felt it immediately. The temperature of the fight had just changed.