Vent His Rage

A moment later, Scarface let out a barely audible snort.

"Move out!"

He barked the order, then led his men straight out of Chen Yue's house and toward the next home.

Only after the heavy footsteps had receded and vanished at the end of the alley did Father Chen seem to have all the strength drained from him. His legs gave way, and he slumped onto the edge of the bed, gasping for breath, his forehead slick with cold sweat.

Mother Chen also sagged against the wall, her face deathly pale. She looked at Chen Yue, her lips trembling as if she wanted to say something.

Chen Yue gave her a slight shake of the head. Mother Chen immediately bit down hard on her lower lip, forcing the words back down. Only the fear and worry in her eyes remained, so thick they seemed impossible to dispel.

The only sounds in the room were the three of them breathing in subdued gasps and the deepening dusk outside the window.

Scarface led his men on a thorough sweep of every place in Pearl Village they could reach.

His face was dark, his gaze sharp, but deep down, he did not truly believe these Pearl Households had killed anyone.

In his eyes, these Pearl Folk knew only how to endure whatever was done to them. His grand search was more for show—for upholding the rules, and for seeing whether he could turn up any clues.

Scarface was even more inclined to think that one of the gang's other rivals had done it, or that the unlucky bastard had gotten himself into some other trouble and met with an accident in Pearl Village.

But a night of torrential rain had washed away almost every trace, and the Pearl Households' identical fear and bewilderment revealed nothing. After going from house to house, they came up empty-handed.

Back at the Sea Shark Gang's Pearl Village outpost, Scarface spat on the ground and waved to a few of his men. "All right, break it up. That idiot Zhou Zhe might've been killed over gambling debts he owed somewhere else. From now on, you'd better stay sharp on night patrol, damn it. Don't go looking for your own deaths!"

To the Sea Shark Gang, the death of a low-ranking member was no great matter.

Soon, apart from one or two people who had known him, nobody spoke of it again.

For the next two days, Father Chen and Mother Chen were like startled birds. The slightest noise at night woke them.

Only after confirming that the Sea Shark Gang had not returned over the incident and that no new rumors had spread through the village did they finally manage to catch their breath, as though recovering from a serious illness.

That day, the endless rain at last let up. Sunlight pierced the clouds and fell on the rain-soaked Pearl Village, sending up a briny stench of earth mixed with seafood.

"Father, Mother, the weather's cleared up today. I'm planning to go to the county seat." Chen Yue paused, meeting the alarm that instantly returned to his parents' faces, then said clearly, "I'm going to register for the Martial Examination."

The words "Martial Examination" struck the fragile calm in Father Chen and Mother Chen's hearts like two heavy stones.

Father Chen opened his mouth, but in the end all that came out was a heavy sigh.

Like most Pearl Households, he had long since accepted his lot in life, growing used to curling up beneath oppression and exploitation just to survive.

But that night, Chen Yue had shown a strength he could not understand, like a faint glimmer of light breaking into his bleak, despairing view of life.

Perhaps... perhaps there really was a path that meant he did not have to remain a Pearl Diver, trampled underfoot by anyone who pleased?

Father Chen's gaunt hand clenched, then relaxed. At last, as if summoning all the strength in his body, he said hoarsely, "Yue... if you've really made up your mind, and you think this path is worth taking... then go. Your father... isn't capable of much. I can't help you..."

Beside him, Mother Chen's eyes were already red.

In the Martial Examination, fists and feet showed no mercy, and neither did blades or spears.

She had heard too many tales of people being beaten to death with no one held responsible. To her, it was not merely a ladder to a better life; it could just as easily be a one-way road to the gates of hell.

She was afraid—terrified. Afraid that if her son left, he would never come back.

But when she looked at Chen Yue, her lips trembled, and in the end she could not say a single word. She only nodded with all her might as tears streamed down her face.

She could only turn away, pretending to tidy the stove.

Chen Yue gave his parents a reassuring look and said nothing more. He took out the mid-grade pearl he had planned to exchange for the registration fee and, following his old method, swallowed it with water.

Once he was ready, Chen Yue slung an old, nearly empty bundle over his back and headed for the entrance to Pearl Village.

Before he reached the village gate, he saw eight or nine Pearl Households gathered there. There were men and women, all carrying baskets or bundles, seemingly hoping to take advantage of the clear weather and go to the county seat together to buy supplies.

But at that moment, they were all being blocked on the inside of the village gate.

A Sea Shark Gang member stood atop the wooden table by the gate. He looked to be in his early twenties. One hand rested on the hilt at his waist as he glared down at the Pearl Households, who stood below in terrified silence.

"Listen up! My brother, Zhou Zhe, died in your lousy village a few nights ago! Who knows if some bastard among you did it!"

He smacked his chest hard. "I'm Zhou Qi, and Zhou Zhe was my own brother! This isn't over! Until we find out what happened, every last one of you worthless bastards is a suspect!

"Starting today, nobody's allowed to leave Pearl Village—not even a step! Anyone who dares cross the gate, I'll chop off his feet! Do you understand?"

Hearing this, the Pearl Households gathered below all looked shocked. The news that someone had died in the Sea Shark Gang a few days ago, and that the gang had conducted a grand search, had already spread throughout the village.

They had heard that a gang member had vanished during the night and was suspected of having been killed and sunk in the sea. No one had imagined that the dead gang member had a younger brother in the gang too—and that he was now clearly looking to vent his rage.

Everyone groaned inwardly. With the village sealed off, their plans to go into town and buy supplies had gone up in smoke.

But with Zhou Qi clearly on the verge of exploding, who would dare say no? To argue was to walk right into the blade. The crowd stirred briefly, then quickly fell silent again. Everyone lowered their heads and turned back.

Chen Yue watched the whole scene from a little farther away, his brows drawing together slightly. This sudden lockdown had thrown his plans into disarray.

"There are still a few days left to register. I don't have to go today."

Chen Yue quickly weighed his options. "And the guards at the gate don't stay the same. The Sea Shark Gang's men have to rotate and rest too. Zhou Qi can't keep watch here forever. Maybe after his shift changes, the new guard won't be so unreasonable. I can wait for a chance to leave then."

With that, Chen Yue, like the other Pearl Households, quietly turned around and headed back the way he had come.

Standing on the table, Zhou Qi watched the Pearl Households fail to so much as fart in protest. The vicious anger inside him did not fade; it burned even hotter.

He was seething, just waiting for some blind fool among the Pearl Households to complain—even to give him one extra glance—so he could lash out at once and vent some of his grief and pent-up fury.

Yet these wretched commoners had not put up even the slightest show of resistance. They had simply withdrawn in silent submission!

"Bah! Bunch of spineless cowards!" Zhou Qi spat viciously in the direction the Pearl Households had gone. He jumped down from the table and paced back and forth irritably, his hand never leaving the hilt at his waist.