Fear

"Father, don't move!" Chen Yue stepped forward and gently pressed down on Father Chen, who was trying to get up.

His body had stopped trembling, and his gaze had regained its calm, even seeming deeper than before. "You and Mother stay inside. Don't go anywhere. Just act as if nothing happened. I'll handle this alone."

After speaking, Chen Yue bent down and lifted the black-clad man's corpse with one hand, slinging it over his back. His other hand gripped the short knife he had taken from the man.

Chen Yue went to the door and first pressed his ear against it, listening carefully for a moment. Only then did he cautiously pull it open a crack.

Outside, torrential rain poured down as lightning flashed and thunder roared. The night and the curtain of rain provided perfect cover.

Chen Yue didn't hesitate any longer. His figure blurred as he used Roaming Mountains and Rivers, his feet lightly touching the muddy ground without making so much as a sound. Carrying the corpse on his back, he quickly disappeared into the rainy night.

Like a silent shadow, Chen Yue swiftly crossed the jumble of shacks on the edge of Pearl Village and reached the rocky shore.

The violent waves crashed against the rocks along the shore, roaring deafeningly. Their thunder mingled with the rumble in the sky, drowning out every faint sound.

Chen Yue didn't immediately throw the corpse into the sea. Taking advantage of the flashes of lightning that occasionally split the night, he laid the body on a slightly higher rock and quickly, carefully searched it.

Beneath the damp straw raincoat, besides the leather pouch of broken pearls, there was also a filthy cloth purse.

Chen Yue removed both items and took a quick look inside. The leather pouch contained a dozen or so broken pearls of various sizes and middling quality. The purse held several dozen copper coins and a little over an ounce of silver.

Chen Yue tucked the valuables into his clothes. Then he scanned the area, found a jagged rock nearby, tore a strip from the black-clad man's belt, and firmly tied the stone to the corpse's ankle.

Once he was done, Chen Yue drew a deep breath, exerted himself with both arms, and pushed the corpse with the stone tied to it off the rock.

"Splash!"

The dull sound of the body entering the water was instantly swallowed by the crashing waves. Weighted down by the heavy stone, the corpse quickly sank beneath the surface.

After taking care of everything, Chen Yue returned home without a sound.

He was soaked through, rainwater dripping constantly from his hair and the hem of his clothes. The moment he pushed open the door, Father Chen and Mother Chen, who had been anxiously waiting, hurried over. Both their faces were as pale as paper.

"Yue, how did it go? Did anyone see you?" Mother Chen grabbed her son's drenched arm, her voice barely above a whisper and choked with tears.

Chen Yue nodded and wiped the rain from his face. "Father, Mother, don't worry. I tied a stone to him. He's sunk beneath the rocks in the sea."

Yet the fear in Father Chen and Mother Chen's eyes didn't fade.

Chen Shan slumped onto the edge of the bed, his hands trembling slightly. "It's taken care of... for now, it's taken care of. But Yue, he was one of the Sea Shark Gang! A living man has vanished! By tomorrow, the day after at the latest, they'll investigate and ask questions! What if—what if someone saw him come into our house? That... that would bring disaster on the whole family!"

Terror seized the couple, who had lived honest lives all their days. It was as if they could already see the Sea Shark Gang's fearsome thugs coming to demand answers, binding their whole family to stones and sinking them into the sea.

Seeing his parents' terrified faces, Chen Yue stepped forward to reassure them. "Father, Mother, listen to me. Especially at a time like this, we mustn't panic. The more afraid we are, the more likely we are to give ourselves away.

"From now on, we act as if nothing happened. He came here, took our broken pearls, and left. We know nothing else."

Father Chen and Mother Chen listened. Though they were still afraid, they knew their son was right: this was the only way for now.

Only then did Mother Chen notice that her son was soaked through. She hurriedly said, "Yue, go change into dry clothes, or you'll catch a chill!" As she spoke, she busily searched for some clean old clothes.

After Chen Yue changed, Father Chen and Mother Chen returned to the inner room.

But that night, no steady breathing came from the inner room again. There was only the sound of restless tossing and turning, stifled as best they could, and the occasional heavy sigh.

Chen Yue lay on the cold bedboard, listening to the uneasy movements of his parents in the inner room and staring at the dark ceiling as rain battered it again and again. The brief scene that had just unfolded replayed in his mind over and over.

"Once you bear a sharp weapon, the urge to kill arises..."

Chen Yue suddenly recalled a saying he had come across somewhere in his previous life. He had once thought it merely described violent thugs. Only after experiencing it himself did he truly understand.

When you have the strength to fight back, and you witness injustice and cruelty directed at your own family, the killing intent spreads like wildfire. There is simply no holding it back.

What if he had never learned these martial arts?

The outcome was obvious: his father would have been injured even worse, groaning in pain. Their home might have been turned upside down, their last few savings stolen. The whole family would have trembled in fear and humiliation until dawn, then gone on living from day to day, at the mercy of others.

Worse, if the black-clad man had been more vicious, he might have beaten them to death by accident... In Pearl Village, if a Diver died, the Sea Shark Gang would make a show of investigating, then inevitably let the matter drop.

That was the fate of the pearl divers!

It had been that way before, and without strength, it would remain that way. But tonight, Chen Yue had used his strength to tear open a corner of that fate with his own hands.

He forced his turbulent thoughts down at last, closed his eyes, and began silently circulating the Mountain-Climbing Art.

Pure inner energy flowed through his body, calming his turbulent emotions and easing his physical exhaustion, bringing a cold clarity and composure. Before he knew it, Chen Yue had fallen into a deep sleep.

The next morning, the heavy rain had stopped, though the sky remained overcast. Pearl Village looked no different from usual. Cooking smoke curled into the air as the people went about their work in silence.

By noon, several members of the Sea Shark Gang began moving around the village, whispering among themselves.

At dusk, just before the light faded, Scarface led five gang members armed with clubs from door to door.

They weren't in a hurry, but their steps were heavy and their eyes fierce. The Pearl Village, which had still held a little life, fell deathly silent in an instant, leaving only the brutal pounding on doors and the faint sounds of questioning.

Before long, heavy footsteps stopped outside Chen Yue's house.

"Bang!"

The door was shoved open roughly and slammed against the wall. Scarface's burly figure strode in first, his sinister gaze sweeping over the cramped room like a blade scraping bone. Several gang members filed in behind him, their eyes hostile.

Without asking a single question, Scarface waved his hand. The gang members immediately spread out and began searching.

They lifted the rice jar, kicked aside the junk in the corners, and even poked the thatch on the roof with their clubs, inspecting the ground and walls for any suspicious traces.

Father Chen and Mother Chen huddled close together in a corner of the inner room, their faces as pale as paper. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, and they kept their heads lowered, afraid to look at the gang members.

Chen Yue stood near the outer room, his eyelids lowered slightly, wearing the numb expression common among pearl divers.

After a rough and swift search, one of the gang members leaned close to Scarface's ear and whispered something, then shook his head.

Only then did Scarface slowly turn his gaze toward Father Chen and Mother Chen. His stare was so oppressive it seemed he could see straight through them.

Father Chen lowered his head even further, and Mother Chen could barely breathe. Scarface's gaze lingered on them for several breaths before finally settling on Chen Yue, who stood slightly ahead of them.