Chapter 5: The First Breath of Power
The small room was silent save for the steady rhythm of the brothers' breathing, in and out, like the tide. Li Xuan sat cross-legged, his eyes closed, his focus entirely inward. Across from him, Li Jian mirrored his posture, though his brow was furrowed with concentration.
The old healer's words echoed in Li Xuan's mind. "Qi follows the breath, and the breath follows the mind." It sounded simple, but the act of truly listening to the flow of Qi—of allowing it to move through him, rather than forcing it—was harder than he had imagined. For days, they had practiced in silence, their impatience gnawing at them, but neither willing to give up. Not now.
And then, as his thoughts stilled and his breath deepened, something shifted.
It was faint at first, a subtle warmth in his core, like the first flicker of a flame. Li Xuan's heartbeat quickened, but he forced himself to remain calm, to continue the rhythmic breathing. The warmth grew, spreading through his chest and into his limbs, a strange energy that hummed just beneath his skin. It was Qi—he could feel it now, moving through him, following the path the scroll had laid out.
His eyes opened, and the room seemed different—sharper, more alive. He glanced at Li Jian, who was still deep in concentration, his own breath steady, his body rigid with focus.
"Jian," Li Xuan whispered, his voice barely audible.
Li Jian's eyes snapped open, and the look they shared was one of mutual understanding. Li Jian's face softened for a moment, his usual impatience replaced with awe as he, too, realized what they had done.
They had touched Qi.
Li Jian grinned, the sharp, reckless edge of his personality reasserting itself. "Told you we'd figure it out," he said, standing up and stretching. There was an unmistakable energy to his movements now, a fluidity that hadn't been there before.
Li Xuan stood as well, feeling the subtle shift in his own body—the Qi moving through him, strengthening him. For the first time in their lives, they were no longer just rats scrambling for survival. They had power. And though it was only the beginning, it was enough to give them hope.
They stepped out into the narrow alley behind their hovel, the night air cool against their skin. Li Jian tested his new strength, clenching and unclenching his fists, feeling the Qi surge within him.
Li Xuan, ever the cautious one, scanned the streets, his eyes sharp in the low light. "Let's not get too confident," he warned. "We've only just begun. We're still vulnerable."
Li Jian shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips. "Vulnerable, maybe. But not powerless. I'd like to see the Iron Eagles try something now."
As if summoned by the mention of their name, the shadows shifted, and five figures stepped into the alley from the other side. Their faces were familiar—lackeys of the Iron Eagle Gang, the ones who did the dirty work, extorting and intimidating anyone who crossed their path.
At the front of the group stood Chang Bo, a heavyset man with a thick neck and cruel eyes. He wasn't smart, but he didn't need to be. His job was to break things—people, mostly—and he was good at it.
"Looks like we found the little rats," Chang Bo sneered, cracking his knuckles. "You've been causing a lot of trouble, boys. Time to teach you a lesson."
Li Jian's grin widened. "I was just thinking the same thing."
Before Li Xuan could caution his brother, Chang Bo and his men moved in, their heavy footsteps echoing in the narrow alley. The fight had begun.
Chang Bo lunged first, his massive frame barreling toward Li Jian like a charging bull. But Li Jian was faster now, more agile. He sidestepped the attack with ease, his movements smooth and precise, the Qi in his body guiding him like a current in a river.
As Chang Bo stumbled past, Li Jian struck—his fist connecting with the side of the larger man's jaw. The force of the blow sent Chang Bo reeling, his head snapping to the side as he crashed into the alley wall. There was a brief moment of stunned silence from the lackeys, who clearly hadn't expected this level of resistance.
Li Xuan, meanwhile, was already in motion. One of the lackeys—Hao Ping, a wiry man with quick hands—drew a knife and lunged at him, slashing wildly. Li Xuan dodged the first strike with a fluid twist of his body, the Qi enhancing his reflexes. As Hao Ping overextended, Li Xuan grabbed his wrist and twisted sharply, disarming him in a single, smooth motion. With a swift kick to the man's chest, Li Xuan sent him sprawling to the ground, gasping for air.
Another lackey, a brutish man with a scar across his cheek, charged at Li Jian from behind. But Li Jian, sensing the movement, spun around just in time to block the incoming punch. He countered with a powerful knee to the man's stomach, knocking the wind out of him before delivering a final blow to the back of his head, sending him crumpling to the ground.
Li Xuan turned to face two more lackeys who had drawn crude clubs. They advanced cautiously now, realizing this fight wasn't going to be as easy as they had thought. Li Xuan sized them up quickly—Yun Fei, a lanky man with a long reach, and Liu Shen, shorter but stockier, with a look of grim determination on his face.
Yun Fei swung first, his club whistling through the air toward Li Xuan's head. But Li Xuan ducked beneath the blow, moving with the same fluidity he had felt when first sensing Qi. As Yun Fei staggered off balance, Li Xuan swept his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground.
Liu Shen was on him immediately, swinging his club in a wide arc. Li Xuan blocked the strike with his forearm, the impact reverberating through his body, but the Qi softened the blow. He spun around, using Liu Shen's momentum against him, and delivered a sharp elbow to the man's temple. Liu Shen's eyes rolled back, and he dropped to the ground, unconscious.
That left only Chang Bo, who had recovered from Li Jian's earlier blow and now stood, glaring at the brothers with fury in his eyes.
"Stupid kids!" he roared, charging at them again.
This time, Li Jian didn't move to dodge. He met Chang Bo head-on, his body low and ready. As Chang Bo swung his massive fist, Li Jian ducked under it and drove his shoulder into the larger man's midsection, using the momentum of his charge against him. With a final burst of Qi, Li Jian twisted and threw Chang Bo to the ground, hard.
Chang Bo groaned, his body limp on the dirty alley floor, his breath labored.
The fight was over.
The brothers stood in the aftermath, their hearts pounding, their bodies still humming with the energy of battle. Around them, the lackeys lay sprawled across the alley, groaning and unconscious. The Iron Eagle Gang had been beaten, at least for now.
Li Jian wiped a streak of blood from his lip, still grinning. "Not bad, eh?"
Li Xuan gave him a stern look, though a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "We need to go. They'll send more if they find out."
Li Jian nodded, but there was a fire in his eyes now—a fire that hadn't been there before. For the first time in their lives, they had power. They had faced a real fight, and they had won. The thrill of it coursed through him like the Qi flowing in his veins.
But Li Xuan's mind was already moving ahead, calculating. This wasn't the end. The Iron Eagle Gang would come for them again, and next time, it wouldn't be just lackeys. They had won a battle, but the war was far from over.
"Two weeks," Li Xuan said quietly as they slipped away into the shadows, disappearing into the maze of alleyways. "We need two weeks to prepare."
Li Jian glanced at him, surprised. "For what?"
Li Xuan's eyes were sharp, focused. "For what comes next."
And with that, the brothers vanished into the night, leaving behind the remnants of their first victory, the flicker of Qi inside them now burning brighter than ever.