"Do you ever get scared?" a new university friend asked Li Cu one autumn night, knowing that he would often wander alone into the city's darkest areas without the slightest air of concern.

Li Cu thought about the scars covering his back, how the toughest gangs were nothing compared to the Wang family, and the way he still woke from nightmares of snakes and knives in a cold sweat multiple times a week; none of that would help him pretend that he could become an ordinary student again. Instead, Li Cu grinned at the friend who'd asked him to walk her across campus that night after a study session run too late, and said, "Sure, but there's nothing here to be afraid of."