The Phoenix of the Slums

Tianming stood silently on the rooftop of a worn-down hotel in Beiwang, the cold wind whispering through his jacket like the murmurs of old ghosts.

Below, the neon lights painted the alleyways in blood-red glows, and across the street, inside the Dragon Claw Casino, sat the man he had been tracking for days—Wei Long, an underground broker with deep ties to the Lotus Clan. His fingers clenched tightly around the steel railing.

Ever since his confrontation with Song Rui, the Lotus Clan had gone underground, shifting their movements, dispersing their enforcers like shadows. But Wei Long was their mouthpiece in Beiwang, a weak link in an otherwise solid wall.

Lu Qingshan’s intel had been precise—Wei was here to finalize a deal with a mysterious buyer connected to the foreign syndicate known as the Black Falcon Circle. Tianming’s goal was clear: infiltrate, intercept, extract information.

He descended the fire escape like a phantom, each step quiet, controlled. At the casino entrance, he adjusted his collar and walked through the gaudy doorway. The atmosphere inside buzzed with cheap perfume, clinking chips, and the occasional roar of a win. Tianming's eyes scanned the room, locking onto Wei Long seated near a blackjack table, flanked by two brutish guards.

He moved casually, pretending to check his phone, drifting past the bar until he reached the corridor that led to the VIP room entrance. He ducked inside the staff hallway, kicked open a supply closet, and retrieved a custom-tailored tuxedo and forged ID badge hidden earlier. Seconds later, he was no longer Tianming, but “Mr. Xu,” liaison from the Yongye Foundation, an identity created to bait Wei Long into talking.

He stepped into the VIP suite. Dim lights, smoke trails, whispers. Wei Long turned his head and smirked.

“You’re late,” Wei said, swirling the golden liquor in his glass.

“Traffic,” Tianming replied smoothly, sitting opposite him. “I trust the merchandise is ready?”

Wei leaned forward, eyes sharp. “You’re not the regular guy. What’s your name again?”

Tianming smiled faintly. “Names are for the living.”

Wei chuckled, but unease flickered in his expression. The guards moved subtly, shifting positions. One hand drifted toward a concealed pistol.

The tension snapped like a bowstring.

Tianming shot from his chair, catching the nearest guard off-guard with a vicious elbow to the throat, silencing him instantly. The second guard lunged forward with a roar, drawing his weapon, but Tianming had already closed the distance. He grabbed the man's wrist, twisted sharply to disarm him, then sent a knee crashing into his solar plexus. The man folded over, gasping.

Wei tried to flee, but Tianming’s hand shot out and slammed his face onto the table. The force cracked the edge of the glass and split Wei’s lip. Blood dripped onto the green felt.

“Don’t kill me!” Wei gasped. “I’ll talk!”

Tianming leaned closer. “Then talk fast.”

Wei coughed. “The deal’s happening in three nights... The old shipyard in Tiangang… They’re bringing something big, not just weapons. Something biological, man. Dangerous.”

Tianming’s expression darkened. This was bigger than drugs or money. “Who’s the buyer?”

Wei hesitated. Tianming pressed a finger into the bloody gash on his lip.

“Argh! Someone called Madam Yurei. Japanese, maybe. No one’s seen her face, but they say she runs the Falcon Circle’s eastern operations.”

Tianming released him, letting Wei slump to the floor. Just then, sirens wailed in the distance. No time to linger. He dragged both guards into the closet, shoved Wei into a maintenance chute, and vanished through the back exit just as local enforcers arrived.

Outside, the night was sharp and full of secrets.

Back at his temporary hideout in an abandoned calligraphy academy, Lu Qingshan waited with a small fire flickering in a metal drum.

“Well?” the old man asked.

Tianming threw down a bloodstained flash drive. “We’ve got a name. And a storm coming.”

Lu Qingshan’s eyes narrowed. “Yurei… I’ve heard that name before. If she’s involved, we’re dealing with more than the Lotus Clan. We’re dealing with something that transcends borders and rules.”

Tianming sat beside him, firelight dancing in his eyes. “Then we break their rules.”

As the night deepened and the wind howled outside, Tianming began planning. If Madam Yurei truly was involved, then the road ahead would only get darker. And for every secret he uncovered, ten more seemed to slither from the shadows.

But he had no choice. He would walk this road of vengeance, through blood and smoke, until he found the truth buried behind the facades—about the Lotus Clan, his past, and the identity he never asked for but was born into.

The shipyard in Tiangang would be the next battlefield.

And this time, he wouldn’t go alone.