No Way Back

"Passed?"

Chen Yue's father and mother froze for a moment. When they understood, Mother Chen's tears flowed even harder, though this time they were tears of joy. She clasped her hands together and murmured without pause, "Heaven bless us. Sea Goddess bless us..."

Father Chen vigorously wiped at the corner of his eye. A smile bloomed on his face, mingling pride, heartache, and overwhelming relief. He said again and again, "Good! Good! My son has made something of himself! He's made something of himself!"

To them, their son's safe return would have been a blessing enough. Passing the County Examination was an unexpected joy beyond their wildest dreams.

The Broker stood to one side, watching the family's touching reunion with a faint smile. He was just about to offer a polite farewell when disaster struck!

"Bang!!!"

The flimsy wooden gate was suddenly kicked open from outside with brutal force! The latch snapped, and the door slammed into the wall with a deafening crash, sending dust drifting down.

Six burly men in the Sea Shark Gang's uniform short jackets, each armed with a short blade, filed in menacingly. In an instant, they filled the tiny courtyard, their killing intent palpable.

At the front were two men. One was Zhou Qi, his face cold and grim. The other was a brawny man with a savage knife scar across his face and a ferocious glare—Scarface He Chong, a minor leader of the Sea Shark Gang around Pearl Village!

The Broker's face turned deathly white. With practiced ease, he raised both hands high and edged slowly along the wall, saying repeatedly, "Good sirs, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! I'm only the guide. This has nothing to do with me, nothing to do with me!"

As he spoke, he hurried into the shadows in the farthest corner of the courtyard, wishing he could wedge himself into a crack in the wall to make it clear he wanted no part of this.

Scarface He Chong glanced at the Broker and snorted through his nose, then paid him no further attention. His eyes, gleaming with savage light like a hunting eagle's, locked onto Chen Yue and his parents in the middle of the courtyard.

"Chen Shan, Chen Yue!"

He Chong spoke, his voice grating like sandpaper, thick with undisguised mockery and malice. "You people have some nerve! Who gave you permission to secretly sign up for the Martial Examination, huh?

"And who gave you the gall to leave Pearl Village without permission and come to the county seat? Did you really think the Sea Shark Gang's rules were just for show? Have we been too kind to vermin like you?"

Faced so suddenly with Scarface He Chong and the pack of thugs behind him, Chen Yue's parents trembled uncontrollably, as if cornered by their natural enemies. Their faces turned deathly pale, and they instinctively wanted to bow their heads and plead for mercy.

Under the crushing weight of fear, any thought of resistance had long since been ground to dust.

But Chen Yue stepped forward, placing himself between his parents and the men.

Meeting He Chong's gaze, he said in a low voice, "The imperial court holds the Martial Examination to recruit talent from across the realm. It never explicitly barred Pearl Folk from taking part. I registered according to the court's rules, so how can you call that doing it in secret? And I had my reasons for leaving Pearl Village. I didn't flee without cause."

"The court's rules? Hahaha!"

He Chong laughed wildly, as if he'd just heard the biggest joke in the world. The knife scar on his face twisted with the laughter, making him look even more fearsome. "In Pearl Village, what the Sea Shark Gang says goes! If we say Pearl Folk like you can't take the exam, then you can't! Who gave you the nerve to throw the court's name at me?"

He stepped forward, unleashing the brutal aura of a Skin Refining Realm martial artist upon Chen Yue without restraint. The gang members behind him advanced in unison, their blades flashing coldly in the sunlight.

Thinking of his parents behind him, Chen Yue said in a low voice, "Leader He, the County Examination just ended. Zhou Jingfeng, the master of Iron Mountain Martial Hall, has already sent a disciple to your gang to mediate on my behalf. Master Zhou said he hoped your gang would show some consideration and let the matter drop."

"Zhou Jingfeng?"

He Chong's sneer faded slightly. His brows furrowed, and a trace of wariness flashed in his eyes.

In Hepu County, few who worked the docks or made their living in the martial world hadn't heard of Zhou Jingfeng, master of Iron Mountain Hall. He was a genuine expert who had reached the Bone Forging Realm, with unfathomable strength and considerable influence among the county's great Lineages and even the authorities.

He had few disciples, but several had made a name for themselves out in the world. The Sea Shark Gang might be powerful, but even they had no desire to provoke a tough opponent like Zhou Jingfeng without good reason.

He Chong eyed Chen Yue suspiciously. How could a lowly Pearl Diver have anything to do with someone like Zhou Jingfeng? And why would Zhou send someone to mediate on his behalf?

Chen Yue remained composed as he met He Chong's scrutinizing gaze. "I'm still a Pearl Diver, and my family still lives in Pearl Village. If I'm lying to scare you with his name, I'll have to go back sooner or later. By then, won't I be at your mercy? Why tell a lie that would fall apart at the first poke?"

His words made sense, and some of the doubt in He Chong's heart ebbed.

That was right. A monk might flee, but his temple couldn't. If this kid dared borrow Zhou Jingfeng's name, he'd have to be planning to take his whole family and flee for their lives right away.

"Boss! Don't listen to his nonsense!"

Seeing that He Chong seemed to be swayed, Zhou Qi grew frantic. His eyes reddened, and he pointed at Chen Yue, shrieking, "He's just a stinking pearl diver! His ancestors have all been commoners for eight generations! How could he possibly know someone like Master Zhou?

"He's clearly cornered now that his scheme has been exposed, so he's throwing Zhou Jingfeng's name around to scare us while he looks for a chance to run away with his whole family! Boss, if you let him go now, people will laugh at us afterward!"

Zhou Qi's scream was full of frenzied hatred, and the courtyard's tense atmosphere tightened once more.

He Chong's eyes shifted in their deep-set sockets. The savage scar on his face twisted as his features twitched.

Being scared off by a Pearl Diver using someone's name on his own turf would be humiliating. Besides, why would Zhou Jingfeng stick his neck out for some nobody Pearl Diver?

"Hmph!"

He Chong forced a cold snort through his nostrils, his voice like a dull blade scraping bone. "Zhou Jingfeng? Even if he really sent someone to mediate, our Sea Shark Gang still has to agree! In Hepu County, there are few people we want to take who manage to walk out in one piece!

"Kid, surrender quietly and come back to our hall with us to explain yourself! Resist, and you'll be killed on the spot!"

Chen Yue's heart sank. The very outcome he'd feared had come to pass. They weren't buying the offer to mediate—or, rather, in the face of overwhelming violence, all reason sounded feeble.

At his words, every last trace of color drained from Chen Yue's parents' faces. The faint light of hope that had just kindled when their son passed the County Examination was instantly swallowed by boundless despair and terror.

The Sea Shark Gang's hall? To Pearl Households like them, it was no different from the gates of hell!

Of those who went in, fewer than one in ten came out whole. Torture and beatings were routine; people were beaten to death or crippled as casually as if it were an everyday occurrence.

The first glimmer of sunlight they'd felt as they broke free from the shackles of fate had been swallowed by darkness in an instant. The crushing blow of gaining something only to lose it again nearly left them unable to stand.