Chapter 7
Liao paced across the room waiting for the next round of matches to begin. Although he had learned to overcome much of this while living as a mercenary for the Kingdom of Kush, Liao was an impatient man, even under the best of circumstances. But these were not normal circumstances. This was Hainan Island, and he had begun in what he considered to be a shameful, dishonorable fashion. It wasn’t so much that he had lost. Liao knew well the way of the Han People. To lose to a superior opponent is not shameful, and Cheng was certainly a worthy, if not superior, opponent. Liao had even learned enough of the man’s tactics and weaknesses, that, should they meet again in the tournament, he could best him.
No, it was not the simple fact of defeat that troubled him. It was the way he had
