Chapter 12: Leng Qing Qiu’s New Place and the Underground Boxing Gym
At dusk, Leng Qing Qiu, wearing her dried clothes, carefully navigated through the alleyways.
Yesterday, she had come to an abandoned residential area she had visited once before and made do with a night in a derelict unfinished building. She had used discarded wood from the building to start a fire. Although the hard, cold cement floor was not a good place to sleep, it was much better than sleeping outside.
She decided to stay in this unfinished building for a while, waiting for the heat to die down before deciding whether to stay in the city or leave in disgrace.
The immediate priority was to find some daily necessities and things for emergencies. Antibiotics, water, and food went without saying, but a sleeping bag and warm clothing were also essential.
The temperature was dropping rapidly, and winter was not far off. Leng Qing Qiu didn’t think she could escape this place before winter arrived.
If she didn’t prepare winter supplies, she would most likely freeze to death in the unfinished building.
And to get supplies, she needed money.
Now that she was wanted, she couldn’t kill and rob people to get money to cover her tracks. She also couldn’t go back to her home or the bank. After much thought, she decided to go to the underground boxing gym where she used to work to get some money.
Many of the people who fought in underground boxing matches had murder charges against them. The people there should not report her.
After deciding on her goal, she left the unfinished building early in the morning and, weaving through various streets, finally arrived at her destination by evening.
After the rain stopped, the sense of smell of the police dogs would no longer be hindered, and the police would have a clearer view. It would be much more difficult to hide from them than on a rainy night.
“Whew… I’m finally here.”
She exhaled a breath of stale air and wiped her forehead.
Her hands and feet were still cold. She had stayed in the rain for too long last night, and she hadn’t fully recovered yet. Fortunately, she didn’t have a fever, otherwise, she might not have even been able to leave the unfinished building.
Looking up, Leng Qing Qiu faced the bar standing before her.
The neon lights of the red-light district were dazzling. It hadn’t been long since the rain stopped, and the area had already resumed its usual hustle and bustle.
To avoid being recognized, Leng Qing Qiu had let down her hair beforehand. Although it partially obscured her vision, it was manageable.
She walked into the bar in front of her.
This bar was small and didn’t offer any adult services, so there weren’t many people here to get drunk. Those who came to watch underground boxing matches wouldn’t linger in the downstairs establishment, so the bar was somewhat deserted at the moment, a stark contrast to the liveliness of the red-light district.
Leng Qing Qiu looked at the bartender behind the counter. She hadn’t been here to fight for a while, and she wasn’t sure if the bartender still recognized her.
“Miss, what would you like to drink?”
Looking at Leng Qing Qiu, whose hair was disheveled, the well-dressed young female bartender asked kindly.
“…”
Without answering the question, Leng Qing Qiu walked to the counter and pushed aside the hair covering her cheeks.
“Do you still recognize me?”
She asked in a low voice.
“Oh… it’s you.”
After a slight pause, the bartender realized who she was.
Recognizing Leng Qing Qiu, she left the counter and led her through a hidden door, then took the elevator down to the basement.
“Welcome, Miss Cold Face.”
After exiting the elevator, the bartender bowed to Leng Qing Qiu and then returned upstairs.
Cold Face was Leng Qing Qiu’s former nickname because she was always poker-faced and maintained a cold demeanor.
“…”
Wordlessly, Leng Qing Qiu looked at the long corridor before her, the resting rooms, and the iron door at the end of the corridor.
That door led to an arena, where fierce fighters battered each other with passion, sweat, and blood.
There were few rules for the matches held here, only that prohibited knives and guns couldn’t be brought onto the stage.
The conditions for winning a match were also simple: kill the opponent or force the opponent to surrender.
Bloodthirsty lunatics liked to come here to watch desperate fighters bloody themselves for not-so-generous rewards.
Leng Qing Qiu didn’t particularly like it here. She enjoyed killing, but she didn’t like being watched like a fighting cock. Therefore, unless she was extremely short of money, Leng Qing Qiu was reluctant to come here.
“Yo, look who’s here? Isn’t this Cold Face? In need of money?”
A mocking voice sounded in her ear. Leng Qing Qiu turned her head, and in her field of vision was a well-built woman wearing only a shirt and shorts.
She was the owner here and also a lunatic who loved blood and death. She would occasionally step into the arena herself, and of course, her opponents rarely dared to go all out against her.
“Yes, arrange a match for me.”
Nodding, Leng Qing Qiu touched her arm.
On a ring where all sorts of foul play were not restricted, Leng Qing Qiu didn’t believe she would lose. In the thirty matches she had participated in before, she had never lost.
The owner of this boxing gym was also happy to arrange a match for Leng Qing Qiu. The reappearance of a long-retired star fighter could indeed stir up people’s emotions. When the lunatics who came here were happy, there would be a lot of money flowing in, so why not?
“Alright, go to the resting room and relax for a bit first.”
Agreeing to Leng Qing Qiu’s request, the owner took her into a tidy resting room.
The resting room contained a sofa and a coffee table. The walls were painted with white putty.
On the coffee table were compressed biscuits and cola, which could quickly restore physical strength.
Leng Qing Qiu hadn’t eaten all day and hadn’t slept well. She indeed needed to replenish her energy.
Otherwise, even a skilled fighter like her might capsize in a ditch.
Silently contemplating many things, Leng Qing Qiu tore open the compressed biscuits on the coffee table, ate several pieces carelessly, and drank more than half a bottle of cola.
The sugar and starch helped her body recover a lot of strength.
“Hoo…”
Exhaling a long breath, Leng Qing Qiu clenched her fist and swung it with great force.
Her replenished body restored a sense of security.
Thinking about the upcoming match, she remembered Lu Zhiyin.
“I wonder if she saw me when she got back, and what she’ll think of the door to her house being broken. She’ll probably be happy, right?”
She muttered to herself. The thought of Lu Zhiyin smiling happily after she left made Leng Qing Qiu feel a bit upset.
“…Alas.”
But no matter how upset she was, what could she do? Leng Qing Qiu sighed. It was impossible for her to go home now, and it was impossible for her to pin Lu Zhiyin down on the bed and kiss her fiercely. It was even more impossible to do all the dirty things she had in mind to her.
Leng Qing Qiu stood up and began to pace back and forth in the resting room, but she still couldn’t let go.
She couldn’t rest assured leaving Lu Zhiyin alone. Even though Lu Zhiyin hated her, how would she survive now that she could only use one hand and had left her?
Leng Qing Qiu thought she had gone mad, actually starting to care about Lu Zhiyin’s safety.
Distraught, she found a mask and two pairs of cloth gloves in the resting room. She also chipped a corner off the glass-covered coffee table, wrapped the glass shards in the interlayer of the two pairs of gloves, and put on her homemade weapons.
Soon after, the owner knocked on the door, telling Leng Qing Qiu to go up to fight.
The owner also noticed the chipped corner of the coffee table, but she didn’t say anything. After all, such coffee tables weren’t expensive, and she could just make Leng Qing Qiu pay for it at its original price later.
