Chapter One

BANG!

Sixteen-year-old Ying shoved his former sister, Hok, to the ground with all his might.He saw her eyes widen as a qiang ball whistled over her head. Ying’s carved face twisted into an angry scowl. How many times was he going to have to save her life tonight? He turned and slammed the door closed on the burning arena of the Jinan Fight Club.

Inside the club’s main tunnel, Ying’s eyes quickly adjusted to the orange-yellow glow of torches lining the stone-walled corridor. He glanced down at Hok and, next to her, Seh. Through the smoke drifting in from under the door, Ying saw that Hok held a tiny jade crane in one hand and Malao’s ornate monkey stick in the other. Both were trophies from her time in the pit arena.

In his own hands, Ying held his long chain whip and a ring of keys he’d just taken from LaoShu, the qiang-wielding fight club owner. LaoShu screamed suddenly on the other side of the door, and Ying heard roof timbers crash down. The ground and walls shook, and Ying knew that LaoShu–the Rat–would give them no more trouble.

Ying spat and pivoted away from the door, ignoring the pain of cracked ribs and weeks-old bone bruises. The nagging injuries were his trophies, presented to him in prison by General Tsung almost a month before. Ying wrapped his chain whip around his waist and groaned. He grabbed the collar of Hok’s dress, yanking her to her feet.

“Move!” Ying hissed, pointing down the corridor. He looked at his former brother Seh. “You too.”

Hok took a step forward, but Seh didn’t react. He just stared at Ying, blank-faced. What is wrong with Seh? Ying wo