The next few days were quiet in the village, and nothing happened.

Wang Shizhang was survived only by his two daughters, both of whom had married into other families. But daughters who married out could not inherit property.

According to the law of the land, his family’s fields were certain to be confiscated by the Government Office.

But the large residence, along with the grain and livestock the bandits couldn’t carry away, were not taken by the Government Office.

So the Wang Family Patriarch made the decision and distributed them among Wang Shizhang’s close relatives.

The funeral lasted for seven days, and the feast went on for seven days as well.

Many of the villagers, who hadn’t had much rich food all year, took the opportunity to finally have a proper feast.

As the new year approached, every household began preparing for the celebration.

The tragedy of the Wang Family’s massacre seemed to be slowly fading, washed away by the festive bustle and cast to the back of everyone’s minds.

...

「Night.」

Chen Li was meditating alone in his study.

In the utter silence, the sound of a few extremely faint footsteps from the backyard—sounds that could not have been made by his family or their livestock—instantly shattered his concentration.

"Who’s there?"

Chen Li’s eyes flew open, a sharp glint in them. His right hand had already snatched the Iron Staff leaning in the corner like a bolt of lightning, and he slid silently from his bed.

Chen Li’s old house, a three-courtyard residence, had been built by his great-grandfather a century ago.

Although it had been repaired many times, the main structure remained unchanged.

The front courtyard held the main hall and guest rooms for receiving visitors, the central courtyard contained the main living quarters for the family, and the rear courtyard housed the kitchen, woodshed, pigsty, cattle pen, and a small vegetable patch.

The footsteps were coming from the rear courtyard.

Chen Li held his breath, moved silently through the Central Hall, and crept into the shadows of the moon gate that led to the rear courtyard.

By the dim moonlight, he clearly saw three black figures slip out from the direction of the kitchen like phantoms, their movements swift and practiced.

They crept silently to the window of the main house’s high wall. One squatted down to keep watch while the other two tried to pry open the window latch with a tool.

’The Unpredictable Three Fierce?’

Without the slightest hesitation, a cold light erupted in Chen Li’s eyes. He pushed off with his feet, his body shooting out from behind the moon gate like an arrow from a bowstring.

The heavy Iron Staff in his hand tore through the air with a low whistle, aimed straight for the tall, thin figure crouched under the window, the one closest to him.

"Who’s there?"

The two men prying the window reacted instantly, whirling around at the sound.

The tall, thin figure, alerted by the vicious gust of wind at the back of his head, had no time to stand. He scrambled backward in a clumsy heap, narrowly avoiding the overhead strike.

The Iron Staff smashed heavily onto the bluestone windowsill, sending sparks and stone chips flying.

"A master?"

The tall, thin man hissed, rolling to his feet. A cold light flashed in his hand, revealing a long, slender willow-leaf saber that struck toward Chen Li’s throat like a viper’s tongue.

The move was vicious, the speed astonishing.

Chen Li instinctively sidestepped, his Iron Staff shifting from a chop to a sweep, smashing against the man’s blade with immense force.

CLANG!

A ear-piercing screech of metal on metal.

The tall, thin man felt a colossal force travel up the blade. A sharp pain shot through the web of his thumb, and the willow-leaf saber was knocked from his grasp.

He staggered back several steps, a flicker of horror in his eyes. He quickly pulled a small oil-paper packet from his robes, ripped it open, and threw it at Chen Li.

The packet burst, and a white powder scattered through the air.

’Lime powder?’

Startled, Chen Li held his breath and quickly retreated.

At the same time, the other two figures pounced like hungry wolves.

On the left, a burly man wielding a Thick-Backed Ghost Head Saber brought it down with crushing force, aiming straight for Chen Li’s Celestial Spirit.

On the right, a short, stocky man with a Water-Splitting Needle circled silently to Chen Li’s flank, viciously stabbing at his lower back.

Chen Li remained calm in the face of danger. With footwork as nimble as the wind, he took a sharp step back to evade the descending Ghost Head Saber and, in the same motion, swung the Iron Staff backward in a vicious blow aimed at the shorter man’s abdomen.

Caught completely off guard, the short, stocky man was sent flying. He slammed into the wall with a miserable shriek.

"Second Brother!"

Seeing his companion grievously injured, the burly man’s eyes nearly split with rage. He let out a furious roar and attacked Chen Li with suicidal abandon, his Ghost Head Saber a whirlwind of steel.

"Father, I’ll help you!"

A clear shout rang out.

Chen Shouheng, awakened by the fight in the courtyard, rushed out bare-handed.

He immediately saw the tall, thin man about to launch a sneak attack on his father from the side. With an angry roar, he unleashed his Tiger Subduing Fist with all his might, the punch whistling through the air as it aimed for the man’s waist.

The tall, thin man was forced to turn and engage Chen Shouheng.

Although Chen Shouheng’s Fist Technique was fierce and his foundation solid, he was still young and lacked experience. After just a few exchanges, he was at a disadvantage, finding himself in constant peril.

The pressure on Chen Li eased. His Iron Staff danced. Within a few exchanges, the force of the impacts made the burly man’s palm go numb, forcing him to drop his Ghost Head Saber. Chen Li struck his arm, then smashed the Iron Staff into his chest.

CRACK!

The sickening sound of cracking bone echoed.

"Aaargh..."

The burly man let out a bloodcurdling scream as his massive body crashed to the ground.

Seeing his sneak attack had failed and his other companion was now gravely wounded, the tall, thin man grew fearful. He launched a sudden, ferocious flurry of attacks at Chen Shouheng, forcing him back several steps, then turned to flee over the wall.

Without a glance at the fallen man, Chen Li pushed off with his feet, his figure flashing like lightning to the base of the wall in an instant.

The tall, thin man had just leaped up. His hands had barely gripped the top of the wall as he prepared to vault over when a deadly gust of wind rushed at the back of his head.

Chen Li brought his Iron Staff down with the full force of his body, like a pile driver.

THWACK!

A dull thud.

The tall, thin man’s head deformed in an instant, like a watermelon struck by a sledgehammer.

He didn’t even make a sound. His hands, still gripping the wall, went limp, and his body slid softly to the ground, lifeless.

The cold moonlight cast a deathly pallor over the backyard.

Chen Shouheng fought back his nausea and crept closer for a look at the tall, thin man’s gruesome state. His stomach immediately churned, and he grimaced, turning his head away. "Father... you... you were too ruthless."

"Desperados don’t follow the rules of Martial Arts."

Chen Li had no time for the kid’s reaction. Expressionless, he began to search the three bodies.

To his disappointment, he only found a little over five taels of scattered silver coins on all three of them combined.

’So poor it’s infuriating!’

’Weren’t they the ones who robbed the Wang Family?’

Chen Li was puzzled, but he soon found a small, hard bundle tucked close to the tall, thin man’s body.

He opened it and found a palm-sized booklet with heavily worn edges. It was densely filled with characters that were hard to make out in the moonlight.

"Don’t just stand there gawking. Lend a hand. We need to clean this up, quickly."

Chen Li patted his son, who was still dry-heaving.

Chen Shouheng snapped out of it. Staring at the bodies on the ground, he was at a loss. "Father, should we... should we report this to the Government Office?"

Chen Li shook his head. "No need."

"Then... what about the bodies?"

"We’ll throw them in the septic tank in the backyard."

Chen Li picked up a body and walked toward the large cesspit in the corner of the backyard, which was half-covered by a stone slab.

Some years ago, he had specially dug this pit, nearly ten feet deep, to compost manure for improving the soil. He’d been collecting animal and human waste in it, and now it had another use.

Working together, the father and son sank all three bodies and their weapons into the filthy bottom of the pit.

Finally, Chen Li meticulously cleaned up the bloodstains and signs of the fight in the courtyard. Everything seemed to return to its previous state of peace.