C9: Seriously Injured
As the saying goes, if one person is a liar, then two people are merely co-conspirators.
Since Daredevil came forward and essentially handed over his trust and by extension, his reputation Li Ran naturally accepted it as part of his new legend.
Holding onto Li Ran's words with lingering suspicion, Madame Gao, a high-ranking member of the Hand and centuries-old wielder of chi-based powers, forced down her surprise and coldly asked, "Since you claim to hail from Penglai, and we have no known grievances, why are you interfering with my business?"
"If I said it was all just a coincidence, would you believe me?"
"What do you think?" she replied icily, gesturing to the broken and battered guards at her feet.
In this world particularly one riddled with shadows like Marvel's Earth-616 no one takes the truth at face value.
Watching Madame Gao's wary expression, Li Ran realized she didn't believe him in the slightest—even though this time, he was telling the truth.
He shook his head internally, but externally remained composed, slipping back into his assumed identity: "Though Penglai remains hidden from the world, we do not abandon our moral compass. What you're doing blinding innocent people and exploiting them for production is not just unethical, it's monstrous. That's why I won't allow it to continue."
"A self-righteous offshoot like Kunlun…" Gao muttered, more to herself than him, resentment flashing in her eyes. "Whether it's Iron Fist's sacred city or your so-called Penglai, all of you meddlesome mystics are the same."
The moment turned tense. Li Ran could feel it in the air Gao's chi signature subtly shifting. Someone who had survived centuries and matched fists with Danny Rand couldn't be underestimated.
He tensed.
Across the room, Daredevil, hiding in the shadows of the rafters, found the standoff intolerable. His mission in this raid had always been twofold: to sever the Hand's presence in Hell's Kitchen and to uncover Gao's ties to Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime.
"Tell me your connection to Fisk," Daredevil demanded, launching himself from above like a descending shadow.
"Watch out!" Li Ran shouted.
Too late.
With a swiftness that belied her age and fragile appearance, Madame Gao turned, her palm bursting with chi-enhanced force techniques passed down from the Hand's secret martial arts and struck Daredevil mid-flight. The hero in crimson flew backward, smashing into Li Ran's arms like a wrecking ball.
With astonishing agility, Gao turned and fled with speed that mocked her previous frailty, leaving only the echo of her cane tapping once theatrical, now abandoned.
Li Ran caught the impact, staggering a bit as he absorbed Daredevil's crash.
"You're too reckless," he muttered to the groaning vigilante. "Even I'm not confident in stopping her without prep time."
"Who… are you?" Daredevil coughed, blood pooling at his lip.
"My name is A Xing. I come from Penglai."
"What… what's your connection to her? That strike... that's not normal—"
"I don't know. But I can feel she's something else. And now you've confirmed it for me."
Daredevil grimaced.
"I still have… more work to do."
He tried to rise, but stumbled, his red suit darkening with blood near the chest.
Li Ran's expression darkened. He tore open Matt's suit to reveal a large, chi-burned palm print, clear evidence of Gao's unnatural martial prowess, a technique not unlike the Iron Fist's focused strikes.
"You're in critical condition," Li Ran said solemnly.
"No… there's still more. I have to—"
"You're only making it worse," Li Ran snapped, holding him steady. "Whatever it is, can't it wait until tomorrow?"
"Help me… Ah Xing…" Daredevil's voice was weak but full of conviction. "If Penglai stands for justice like you say, you have to help."
"Then of course I will," Li Ran replied without hesitation, fully slipping into the role he'd crafted.
At those words, Daredevil exhaled with relief. "Save… save the workers. They're all victims. Gao's manipulation… the drugs… the blindness… they had no choice."
Despite his cynicism toward superheroes, Li Ran found himself touched by the unwavering sense of duty in Matt Murdock's broken voice.
"No problem. I'll handle it."
…
After dispersing the blind workers, most of them drugged, manipulated, and enslaved by Gao's branch of the Hand—Li Ran returned to Daredevil's side, lifting him gently.
"Wait… Ah Xing… one last thing…"
Li Ran groaned. "Brother, you're half-dead. Can't this wait till after a healing potion or whatever?"
"This is… my last… request…"
"Okay, fine," Li Ran muttered. "As long as it's not something insane."
"Burn the factory down."
With that final sentence, Matt passed out, the red cowl slipping slightly off his bruised face.
Li Ran glanced between the unconscious vigilante and the now-empty narcotics facility. He sighed.
"Guess I'm the cleanup crew too now…"
He picked up a fallen submachine gun and fired a round into a leaking oil drum. Sparks hit fuel. The explosion caught. Fire spread rapidly across the illicit facility.
Orange light painted the factory in infernal hues. Smoke billowed upward, climbing into the Hell's Kitchen skyline. Flames danced around steel scaffolding and drug-filled vats.
Hearing distant sirens, Li Ran wasted no time. He slung Daredevil over his shoulder and dashed out just as the roof began to groan under the heat.
…
BANG BANG BANG—
"Who is it?" Claire Temple's instincts kicked in as the pounding echoed through her apartment door.
She approached cautiously, not opening the door right away. Peering through the peephole, she frowned, no one in sight.
Retreating to her kitchen, she grabbed a cast-iron pan and returned, flipping the locks with tense fingers.
She cracked the door and gasped.
"Matt!"
Daredevil lay unconscious on the doorstep, barely breathing, his suit scorched and torn.
Claire's night had just begun.
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