Chapter 94: Bare Fist Trial

Beside the SUV, Silas frowned.

The script they had discussed at the house called for Anna to use the demonstration as an excuse to back out, giving Silas the win without blowing her position.

Why was she pushing forward?

Unable to speak plainly in front of Jude, Silas raised his voice.

"Stubborn. Mr. Lawson, are you really letting your security step in front of that? He already told you he won’t hold back."

Jude looked at him, amused. "You sound more concerned about my security than I am, Silas."

Silas cleared his throat. "I have no interest in an ambulance call tonight. If you want to force it, don’t blame me. Master Liu... finish it."

Liu stepped to the center of the road, circling his hands again to set his stance. The men around the cars watched closely.

Instead of staying back, Anna closed the distance in 4 quick strides, stopping less than 2 feet from Liu’s face.

Liu hesitated, his arms pausing mid-motion before he recovered.

"Foolish. Keeping distance softens the blow. At point-blank range, this will break ribs."

Anna looked at his waving hands. "Are you done setting up? Can I hit you now?"

Sweat beaded on Liu’s forehead under her direct stare. "At this range, you won’t survive the impact. Walk away."

"Quit stalling," Anna said. "Say when."

Liu took a breath, brought his hands down to his hips, dropped into a low stance, and barked, "Now!"

"Right," Anna said.

Without a wind-up, her right fist snapped forward from her hip, driving straight into the bridge of Liu Guoping’s nose.

Cartilage gave way with a crunch. The grandmaster produced no invisible shockwave.

Both feet lifted off the ground as he flew backward, landing hard on his back.

His head bounced once against the asphalt, and he lay completely motionless, knocked out cold in a single shot.

Across the road, silence fell over the crew...

Silas Vanguard’s 8 guards looked down at Liu Guoping sprawled across the asphalt.

Moments earlier, Liu had performed his demonstration across a 15-foot gap, leaving an assistant spitting blood on the ground. Everyone had expected him to follow through.

Instead, Anna had stood in front of him, waited for him to set his feet, and dropped him with a single straight punch.

Lucas stared at the ground, his voice rising in disbelief. "What happened?! Get up!"

Watching his ringer go down in seconds left Lucas red-faced and speechless.

The assistant rushed over from the shoulder, recovered from his earlier collapse.

Kneeling beside Liu, he pressed hard above the man’s lip to bring him around.

Liu groaned, his eyes opening as blood dripped from his broken nose.

Seeing Anna standing 2 feet away, he pushed himself backward across the gravel on his elbows.

Jude gave a laugh from the driver’s side. "Macau’s specialist seems done for the evening."

Anna didn’t look down at the man. "His stance had no balance, and his breathing was staged. He’s never spent real time in a gym."

"What about the demonstration across the road?" Jude asked.

"A simple setup," Anna said. "The assistant throws himself backward on cue and bites down on a fake capsule."

"Classic routine," Jude noted dryly. "Must make decent money on private retainers."

Anna kept her tone flat. "Only someone completely gullible falls for it."

Jude laughed, turning his eyes toward Silas and Lucas. "Did you catch that, Silas? Even my security says only someone paying zero attention falls for a routine like that!"

Lucas’s face darkened, his hands clenched tight at his sides.

Silas felt the hit, his expression tightening.

Remembering his reaction during the private demonstration earlier that afternoon made his jaw set hard.

Still, admitting he had been taken for a ride in front of Lawson wasn’t an option...

Silas tapped his cane against the pavement, his tone turning sharp. "You think you fooled me, Liu? I saw through it the second you walked through my door. I let you step out here so Miss Anna could expose you in public. Take them behind the building and handle it."

4 guards moved forward immediately, grabbing Liu and his assistant by their jackets and dragging them toward the side alley.

Jude watched the guards walk off, unimpressed.

High-society circles had seen a string of self-proclaimed traditional masters charging steep retainers, only to fold the second they faced anyone with basic sparring experience.

It had turned what used to be practical close-quarters training into a running joke.

Jude looked back at the SUV.

"Well, Silas, your specialist is behind the dumpster. Ready to settle the wager?"

While Lucas glared in silence, Silas straightened his coat. "Since I already knew he was a fraud, Lawson, you don’t think I came out here without someone who can actually fight? Li San, step out."

A man stepped into the headlights from behind the lead vehicle.

He was in his early 30s, around 6 feet tall, with a lean, compact build.

Unlike the guards, he walked quietly across the gravel, his posture balanced.

Anna’s relaxed posture vanished immediately. Her eyes narrowed, and her uninjured right hand came up into a tight guard.

Her background let her read movement quickly.

Where Liu had been pure posturing, this man carried the clear habits of an experienced fighter.

Jude looked over at him, then asked, "Is that the one from the house earlier?"

"Yes," Anna said.

She had never seen him before...

She had cut her own arm to sell the story, and Silas had brought in real muscle without giving her the details.

Silas watched her reaction, satisfied. "This is Li San. Fought underground circuits in Bangkok for years. Every strike is built to break bone."

Li San was Silas’s backup plan. If Anna hesitated to take the dive, Li San would force the outcome and take Jude out of the equation.

"Can you handle him?" Jude asked, stepping closer to her.

Anna looked across the road. Silas hadn’t briefed her on the man, which meant her handler was already working around her.

"I’ll handle it," Anna said.

In the center of the lane, Li San pulled off his windbreaker, dropping it onto the asphalt.

He brought his forearms up into a tight, high guard, setting his weight forward.

"Fists don’t care who you are," Li San said. "Ring work is meant to finish fights. Step down before your collarbone breaks."

"Cut the talk," Anna said.

Closing the distance before he could establish kicking range, Anna drove off her back foot, crossing the 15 feet between them and firing a straight punch down his centerline.

Forearms and elbows cracked together as Li San blocked the entry with a hard forearm shield, catching the second strike on his shoulder before stepping back half an inch.

"Centerline work," Li San noted, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Wing Chun."

The guards around the vehicles went completely silent.

After the farce with the first man, the pace had shifted into a real exchange...

Across the asphalt, Anna pressed the centerline with quick strikes.

Her footwork stayed tight over the gravel, her fists firing in straight vertical lines.

But Li San absorbed the pressure cleanly, taking the impact on his forearms and elbows with conditioned blocks.

The knife cut on Anna’s left shoulder slowed her lead hand just enough to keep her from breaking through his guard.

40 seconds into the exchange, her left arm lagged after parrying a downward elbow.

Li San stepped inside the opening, turning his hip to drive a right shin kick straight into her ribs.

The momentum knocked Anna backward off her feet, sending her skidding onto the pavement.

By the car, Jude watched closely.

Anna hadn’t thrown the round; once the strikes landed, she had fought to win, but going up against an experienced fighter with a damaged shoulder was a losing matchup.

Anna pushed herself up on one palm, trying to set her feet to step back in.

But her breathing hitched, a sharp spasm caught her ribs, and her knees gave way.

Jude crossed the distance in 2 strides, catching her by the arm before she hit the ground.

"Can you stand?"

Anna leaned against him, catching her breath. Her ribs were bruised and her vision was blurred.

Li San lowered his leg, shaking his head. "All form, no stopping power."

By the SUV, Silas and Lucas broke into loud laughter.

"Done already?" Lucas called out, stepping forward. "Looked a lot tougher 5 minutes ago."

Silas tapped his cane against the tarmac, smiling. "Well, Mr. Lawson, your security is down. By the terms of the wager, the winner sets the condition. Ready to hear it?"

Leaning against Jude’s arm, Anna looked across the road at Silas.

He hadn’t checked whether she was seriously injured; his only concern was using the loss against Lawson.

"I lost, sir," Anna said.

"You fought fine," Jude replied. "Sit by the car for a minute. I’ll take the next round."

Anna looked at him, confused. "Your turn? Sir, you can’t be serious."

Jude looked past her toward Silas. "Anna lost her bout, not the side. I’ll take the next round against Li San."

Silence fell over the road for 2 seconds before the guards and the Vanguards laughed.

Silas leaned on his cane, shaking his head. "Did you say you want to fight him? Your private security is sitting on the pavement, and you think you can take a round?"

Lucas laughed along with him. "Let him try, Dad. Li San will take care of him in 10 seconds."

Li San looked Jude over. "I don’t fight civilians. She at least had practical training. You’re wasting my time."

"Hear that?" Silas said. "He won’t even take the match! Are you out of your mind?"

Anna grabbed Jude’s sleeve. "Sir, don’t do this. You can’t take a clean hit from him."

"You’re on my payroll, Anna," Jude said evenly, looking down at her. "He put a mark on you. I’m settling it."

He guided her over to sit against the front fender of the Koenigsegg, buttoned his jacket, and walked into the center of the road.

Anna tried to stand, but the pain in her side forced her back down against the car.

Jude stopped 6 feet in front of Li San, rolling his shoulders once. "You injured someone working for me tonight. I’ll make this straightforward... I won’t be holding back. Brace yourself."

Another wave of laughter broke out from the SUV.

Li San’s expression didn’t change. "I don’t make a habit of putting civilians in the hospital. But if you want to stand here, I’ll put you down."

"Take the first hit," Jude said, tapping his chest. "Once I step in, you won’t get another."

Li San took a short breath, pivoted on his rear foot, and drove a full-power left hook into Jude’s midsection.

The guards waited for Jude to double over.

The fist slammed hard into Jude’s stomach.

Jude looked down at the punch resting against his jacket, then met Li San’s eyes with a calm expression. "That’s Bangkok circuit power? A little light. Try putting some weight into it this time."

The laughter from the vehicles cut off immediately.

Li San pulled his hand back, staring at his knuckles in disbelief.