“Look at this,” AnGangseh said, pointing to a posting on the Jinan wharf bulletin board. “You were right. HaMo brought the boys here.”
“It says the fights are tonight,” Tonglong said, scanning the announcement. “It's already getting dark. We had better hurry.”
“Do you remember how to get there?” AnGangseh asked.
“Of course,” Tonglong said. “It's only been two years since I won the Grand Championship here.”
AnGangseh grinned. “Your performance that night was unforgettable. Perhaps you can use sssome of those sssame techniques on your brother, Ssseh?”
“We'll see if he's here,” Tonglong said. “He may not have survived the river.”
“He sssurvived,” AnGangseh said. “The girl went after him. She is ssstrong, I can tell. She is sssmart, too—and lucky. I have a feeling they will both be at the fight club.”
Tonglong tugged on the tiny green crane around his neck. “Perhaps we should have finished off her and Seh when we had the chance.”
“What's past is past,” AnGangseh said. “Don't give it a sssecond thought. If she is at the fight club, you will get your chance. That is, unless I get my hands on her first. Let's go. I have had enough of these children from Cangzhen.”
It took Hok, Seh, and Charles until early evening to get to the Jinan Fight Club. The distance wasn't too great, but the city was incredibly crowded—even more so than Kaifeng. Hok had never seen so many people.
The going was also slower with Seh on Hok's arm. Seh did a superb job of staying on his feet, but every step they took took longer than it would have if Seh had been his old self. Hok tried not to think about it, but she decided that Seh had been right. His mother had to be worse than her father ever could be.
Once they finally got into the fight club line, it was another three hours before they reached the front door. It seemed the men guarding the entrance were very particular about who they let in, and they took their time making their decisions. Hok saw far more people turned away than let in.
Hok adjusted the elegant turban on her head and straightened her dress, shifting her bag full of herbs directly in front of her so that she could keep a close eye on it once they got inside. Charles had guaranteed that they wouldn't be turned away. She hoped he was right.
Hok glanced down at Seh's bulging midsection. He had several lengths of rope wrapped around his waist beneath his gray robe that served to both disguise his physique and, hopefully, aid in their rescue attempt. Seh's snake was a barely noticeable lump coiled around his left forearm, beneath his sleeve. Hok looked at the large hat Seh still wore pulled low across his brow and doubted either she or Seh would be recognized in their headwear, which made them both look much older than twelve. Still, she hoped age wasn't a consideration for entry here.
It turned out age wasn't an issue for them getting in, nor was anything else. Charles had Seh's coin pouch tied to his own sash, and he handed the guard at the door ten times the normal entry fee. They were allowed inside without any questions. Charles then handed more money to a seating attendant.
The three of them were led deep into the crowded fight club, down a series of tiered sections that sank lower and lower toward a large circular hole in the center of the room. Seh took Hok's arm and remained glued there, doing an admirable job of weaving around tables, chairs, and, most of all, groups of people dressed in fine silk robes and fancy hats. Fortunately, some crowd members wore simple gray peasant's robes like Seh was wearing. They all fit in just fine.
As they walked, Hok noticed that Charles hadn't uttered a single word. He had told her earlier that “money talks” in Jinan and that foreign merchants often try to earn trading rights with local businessmen by treating them to extravagant nights at the fight club. Charles had also said that they would be sure to see several tables of Chinese men accompanied by one or two “round eyes,” usually a foreign ship captain plus his cabin boy or servant. Hok did see several examples of this throughout the room, and she knew that it would work to their advantage. Charles could sit with them without raising any eyebrows.
Their final destination was a choice table on the very edge of the fighting pit. Charles nodded to the attendant as if pleased, and handed over even more money. The attendant nodded back, and left.
Hok found herself at the heart of the Jinan Fight Club. She quickly scanned the room. Small wooden tables draped in blood-red silk ringed the enormous round fighting pit, with larger silk-covered tables radiating outward and upward on the tiered wooden floor all the way to the building's tapestry-covered walls. An oil lamp sat on every table, giving the entire room an orange glow. Torches protruding from the pit's inner walls added additional light to the fighting area, as well as a fair amount of black smoke.