I knew it was over. The crowd began counting with the referee.

"1... 2... 3..."

I calmly walked to my corner and accepted the small pail of water Gyn held out for me. I took a swig and rinsed the blood from my mouth.

"4... 5..."

I looked down on the grimy canvass where the Irishman named "Baby Blue Mickey" was now unconscious, the bald referee hovering over his bloody face. He'd be "Black and Blue Mickey" for a while. I feel a bit sorry for him.

"6... 7... 8..."

Gyn was already jumping up and down, her small pail making a clanging noise that only added to her excitement.

"Nine... Ten! Knockout!"

The crowd screamed as the referee crossed his arms. The fight was over. I won. The crowd was cheering, so I knew it was one hell of a show. Gyn jumped in the ring, did her funny victory dance and raised my right hand in the air before the referee did. It was a good night to be alive.

"Keep on fighting plenty rugged goons like that, boy, and you'd be leaving an orphan." Madame WaiYu said as she handed me a wad of cash wrapped in red paper. Gyn agreed silently as she helped herself to a mouthful of dim-sum.

"This is too much, ahpo." I divided the cash and handed half to the old lady. She refused.

"Take it, boy. If it took you five rounds to knock the lights out of that goon, then you are obviously not eating well. You two eat lunch at the tea house tomorrow. Bring that nightingale of yours too, if you want."

I smiled my thanks and pocketed the dough.

"I wonder who's the genius who gave that guy his name." Gyn asked, her mouth still full of half chewed dumplings.

"Swallow first, talk later, kid. The Irish just like that off the cob sort of thing." I answered.

"Speaking of the Irish" the old lady cut in. "The man you just knocked out worked for the Oh Aces mob. The boss McGinty was found dead not two days ago. Poisoned, they say."

"I heard about that."

"Good for him." The madame smirked.

"You think so?"

"A lot of the other gangs don't like him. No respect for tradition. No respect for boundaries." The Madame lit the end of her long stemmed jade pipe and blew out a stream of smoke. "I say good riddance."

I saw Gyn stifle a yawn but the old lady caught it. She stood up and wrapped a box of dim-sum and a bottle of baiju with a silk scarf. She handed Gyn the package.

"Take this, child, and you both go home. Rest. Especially you." She ordered, pointing a gold tipped finger at me. "KanBo will be at your doorstep if a good fight comes along. For now, rest. Try not to drink all of that firewater."

"Thanks, ahpo." I smiled and gave the old lady a curt bow. Gyn did the same. As we were about to go out the door, the old lady told Gyn to hold on a minute. She then opened a drawer from her apothecary cabinet and handed the girl a silk purse.

I waited until we got out of the Madame's office before I asked Gyn what was inside the purse.

"She said to dab it on your wounds after you clean up." Gyn opened the purse and pulled out an amber colored bottle labelled with a skull and crossbones. I knew exactly what it was.

"Tincture of Iodine? No thanks, kid. That stuff hurts."