Chapter 61: Daredevil of the Night
Early the next morning.
Old Wang and Skye, who had slept in the shop, woke up and opened the door.
Skye went out to buy breakfast, while Old Wang carried his recliner to the doorway, settled himself in, and began reading the newspaper.
It was a habit formed in the orphanage. Back then, there was no money for phones or computers. Director Grandpa Li loved reading the newspaper, and Old Wang, selling the charm he’d brought from his previous life, had asked Grandpa Li to teach him English at an early age (he’d learned it early in the life before that, but returned it all to the teacher). Aside from old textbooks, newspapers were the best learning material.
Though Old Wang had never left Chinatown as a child, he had a fair grasp of the situation across Marvel’s Earth, all thanks to this routine.
But Grandpa Li passed away four years ago.
The old man who had picked him up from the puddle outside the orphanage was finally taken away by the goddess he worshipped, Mazu. He left peacefully, without pain.
A funeral of joy.
Only then did Old Wang leave the orphanage, his place of sorrow, and begin living alone.
He opened the newspaper, letting the headlines wash over him.
“Ghost Rider Appears in New York: Vigilante or Criminal?”
“The Only Photo of Ghost Rider: Blurry Back, Our Hero Is Thin and Frail.”
“Police Successfully Raid Underground Drug Factory, Rescue Over a Hundred Blind People. Chief George Publicly Declares All-Out War on Crime!”
“An Anonymous Police Officer Reveals: Drug Factory Connected to Rand Corporation.”
“Graceful as a dragon, delicate as a startled swan—Chinese Martial Arts Display Their Might? Reporter Wang Dalong of the Chinese Daily Tracks the Story.”
…
…
Upon seeing the last headline, Old Wang paused.
Chinese martial arts display their might?
Was someone present when he fought Lady Gao?
That shouldn’t be possible—he was certain no one was around.
Had someone managed to evade his senses?
Or perhaps Skye hadn’t noticed a camera, maybe a privately installed pinhole camera for some reason.
Moreover, the situation was chaotic and the basement environment complex; if someone had hidden far away, possessing eyesight equal to Hawkeye’s, it was possible they’d seen him without being noticed.
Maybe they didn’t see it at all.
Some people can know what you’re doing without using their eyes.
For example…
Daredevil!
Old Wang continued reading the article.
“A Columbia University law student, who declined to be named, claimed to have witnessed someone using Chinese kung fu to defeat a gang of criminals. His blind roommate remained silent on the matter.”
Old Wang stroked his chin.
Columbia University? Law school? Blind roommate?
Interesting…
“Skye, do you think we should hire a couple of legal advisors?” Old Wang asked with a smile.
“Huh?”
Skye, just back with breakfast, was taken aback. “We’re just a specialty shop, do we need legal advisors? That’s expensive! I’ve seen the latest survey—America’s most lucrative jobs are doctors and lawyers! Let’s not. Even a bathhouse attendant doesn’t need an associate professor!”
“Relax, two college students who haven’t graduated yet won’t ask for much.” Old Wang’s smile was inscrutable. “Besides, those two aren’t just future big-shot lawyers…”
Skye blinked, feeling that Old Wang was up to no good again.
After Robbie, who was he planning to trick next?
…
…
Columbia University.
A certain dormitory.
With a bang, the door was violently flung open. A chubby blond kid waved a newspaper and shouted, “Matt, look! I’m in the paper! I’m in the paper! And I got the money from the newspaper! Guess how much? A whole thousand, you get eight hundred, I get two hundred!”
Matt Murdock, wearing sunglasses, smiled and nodded, though his mind was elsewhere.
A few days ago, he took on a private commission. A certain lady suspected her husband had a mistress and wanted evidence.
He and his good friend Foggy Nelson tracked the husband to a basement and installed a pinhole camera at a critical spot.
Originally hoping to gather evidence, they unexpectedly captured a scene beyond their imagination.
A man who called himself “Iron Fist of K’un-Lun” defeated a woman known as “Lady Gao” and killed more than a dozen armed thugs!
According to Foggy’s account, both Iron Fist and Lady Gao were incredibly strong.
Stronger even than himself, who had trained harshly since childhood!
Many details were puzzling.
Some martial arts moves defied explanation. For example, “Iron Fist” liked to roll on the ground, and his rolling speed was faster than the Olympic hundred-meter champion—how was that possible?
A single palm strike, before even touching the opponent, sent them flying?
Could this be the “chi” that Master Stick used to mention, the energy only true kung fu masters could cultivate?
Matt wasn’t sure.
Even Master Stick hadn’t mastered “chi.” There were very few in the world who had.
Unfortunately, when Iron Fist suddenly made a move, the pinhole camera malfunctioned—possibly electromagnetic interference, or a short circuit—he never found out the final outcome, whether Lady Gao was killed by Iron Fist.
Matt didn’t mind Foggy selling information to a friend at the newspaper for some extra cash.
The video wasn’t leaked, their identities weren’t exposed. The only issue was that the friend mentioned in the paper that he had a blind roommate.
No one would specifically seek him out, right?
Matt wasn’t too concerned.
Two names echoed in his mind:
Ghost Rider, Iron Fist of K’un-Lun.
Who exactly were they?
They had destroyed a drug manufacturing and trafficking gang—were they vigilantes?
There were so many criminal forces in this world. His own father had been killed by them. The law and state violence agencies couldn’t eradicate all evil. Sometimes, measures beyond the bounds of law were necessary.
Vigilantes—maybe he could be one too…
Ring, ring, ring!
Suddenly, the phone rang.
Foggy hurried to answer. “Hello, who is this? What, you’re looking for Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson? Legal advisors? Really? Not much money? No problem, no problem, we’re not in it for the money, we’re in it for… for… Okay, deal!”
He hung up and rushed to Matt, hugging him excitedly. “Matt, someone’s hired us as legal advisors! Twenty thousand a year, all expenses reimbursed, extra for agency and litigation, one-year contract, raise if we do a good job!”
“Who is it, or which company?” Matt was delighted.
Making money wasn’t easy these days; otherwise, they wouldn’t have taken low-paying jobs like catching cheaters—
After all, rich people wouldn’t hire two students who hadn’t graduated, not when New York is full of law firms!
Twenty thousand a year as basic pay was already a lot for students.
“Uh… Seems it’s called ‘Azeroth Specialty Shop’.”
Foggy searched online and was stunned. “Looks like a small shop in Chinatown, not a big place, just opened a few days ago…”
…
…
Somewhere in America.
An underground, enclosed training arena.
Stick, hair graying and body thin, hung up the phone and fell silent.
The call came from a True Purity Society informant in New York, related to last night’s events.
With limited information, a lot could be deduced.
New York’s drug business was mostly tied to Lady Gao. The destroyed factory and heavy casualties among Triad members pointed to one thing:
Lady Gao was in trouble.
One report from the Chinese Daily even directly claimed a person called “Iron Fist of K’un-Lun” had fought Lady Gao!
“After so many years, has Iron Fist finally appeared again?”
Stick muttered, uncertain.
The True Purity Society followed the elders of K’un-Lun and the immortal Iron Fist, but lacked the privilege to enter K’un-Lun itself, so the reliability of the news was undetermined.
At the very least, it was time to take a look.
This was an opportunity—a chance to completely eradicate five K’un-Lun traitors.
“Erica,” Stick called.
“Yes, Master?” A woman in her twenties came over.
Fit, brisk, radiating vitality.
“Pack up. We’re going to New York.”
Stick said, “First, find your ex-boyfriend, Matt Murdock.”
(Regarding the comments about the tone not sounding American: check the setting—the orphanage director in Chinatown is a Chinese speaker, so it’s natural for Old Wang and Skye to speak Chinese as well. Besides, I won’t use awkward translation tones for American dialogue—it would feel uncomfortable to read.)