A Murder in Broad Daylight

Morning sunlight spilled over the ancient archway at the entrance to Ox-Horn Town, making every line of writing on it shine clear and bright:

Sharpen your edge and point your horns toward the sky; let your soaring ambition pierce the dust and smoke. Though tempered by a thousand trials and struck by ten thousand blows, remain steadfast and unyielding; take up your courage and charge bravely forward.

This poem had been left by the founder of Ox-Horn Town, who had also been its first town head.

Back then, there was no Zhou Family Fort. There was only the dirt-poor Ox-Horn Town and a few scattered little villages nearby. It was nowhere near as prosperous as it was now.

But in those days, the people were simple and honest, helping one another. Though poor, they were content with their lot, and everyone wore a smile.

Now, however, though Ox-Horn Town seemed prosperous, no one knew when vengeful spirits and cries of sorrow had begun to appear.

Who had gained and who had lost? It was hard to say in a few words.

After glancing at the archway, Li Hai passed beneath it and followed the flow of people onto a broad avenue paved with gray stone.

On either side stood row upon row of shops, gatehouses, and low buildings.

Wooden signboards of every size hung along the fronts and sides of each shop, house, and building.

The signs bore words like silver ornaments, fabrics, apothecaries, pawnshops, shoe stores, teahouses, taverns, hot pot restaurants, fragrant meat shops, rouge and powder... and so on.

In short, there was an astonishing variety of goods, with everything one could want.

Besides these, plenty of street vendors and peddlers lined the gray-stone avenue, constantly hawking their wares to passersby.

The hubbub of the crowd, the clamor of children, and the peddlers' cries all rang in Li Hai's ears, together painting a vivid picture of bustling street life before him.

But as soon as that bustle came near, his towering, hulking frame seemed to cut it down by a third.

Whether young or old, man or woman, anyone who saw Li Hai up close was bound to be intimidated by his "imposing" figure. They couldn't even bring themselves to speak loudly, and only wanted to lower their heads and get away.

Li Hai himself, though, seemed unaware of this—or, rather, he simply didn't care.

At the moment, all he wanted to know was where the Zhou Family residence was.

"I'll have to ask someone."

Muttering to himself, Li Hai looked around.

After sweeping his gaze across the street, his eyes lit up as he picked out a target.

"Hey!"

Li Hai walked up to a Civilian Militia guard by the roadside, who wore vine armor and carried a spear. Lowering his head, he asked in a muffled voice, "Where's the Zhou Family residence?"

"Uh..."

The guard, barely over five foot seven, looked up at Li Hai's expressionless face. Intimidated by his imposing presence, he stammered nervously, "W-what do you want?"

As he spoke, he raised his spear and pointed it shakily at Li Hai.

Whoosh—

In an instant, Li Hai snatched the spear from his hands and casually flung it into the sky.

Wheee—

The guard craned his neck, mouth hanging wide open, as he watched the spear soar higher and farther with a string of explosive cracks. In the blink of an eye, it had flown beyond Ox-Horn Town and vanished from sight.

"Did you not hear me?"

The shout snapped the guard back to his senses. He quickly turned and bowed and scraped to Li Hai. "Y-yes, yes. Go ahead, go ahead."

"I asked you."

Li Hai patiently repeated his question. "Where's the Zhou Family residence?"

"Just follow this road for two li, turn right, then go another one and a half li," the terrified guard replied in one breath, without missing a detail.

"Mm."

Li Hai nodded in satisfaction and patted his shoulder. "Good. You've got a silver tongue. You've got a bright future ahead of you. Now let me ask you one more thing."

"Go ahead, go ahead," the guard said with a fawning smile.

"Of all the Civilian Militia captains you know..."

Li Hai asked mildly, "Is any of them in poor health because someone stabbed him in the kidneys?"

"Stabbed in the kidneys... in poor health..."

The guard furrowed his brow in thought, then said hesitantly, "I heard... our deputy captain, Chi Daxiao, hurt his lower back about three years ago. It took him a long time to recover, and he never fully healed. Even when it's scorching hot, he has to wear a thick robe. Otherwise, he shivers and gets cold sweats."

"That sounds a lot like the man."

Li Hai nodded. "All right. Go call this Chi Daxiao over."

"Sir, there's no need to call him."

The guard pointed to a teahouse stall around the bend in the road to the right. "Unless someone from above comes to inspect, Captain Chi spends every day there, drinking tea and killing time."

"What a coincidence."

Li Hai glanced over and grinned. "Heh, that's worked out nicely."

Then he strode toward the teahouse stall.

The distance of seven or eight zhang vanished in a flash.

As soon as he entered the stall, Li Hai spotted the Captain the guard had mentioned.

He was so sure because there were only five or six people scattered around the stall, and only one of them was wearing a thick robe in this sweltering heat. Who else could it be?

"Chi Daxiao."

Chi Daxiao, who had been resting as he drank tea, heard someone call his name from behind and slowly turned around.

Then he saw a giant of a man, as pale as snow yet built like an ox, watching him coldly from a zhang away.

"Who are you?" Chi Daxiao asked warily, puzzled. "I don't know you."

"Then do you know Zheng Dashan?" Li Hai replied coldly.

"Zheng Dashan?!"

The instant he heard that name, Chi Daxiao's expression changed drastically. He barked, "Who are you?"

"Heh, heh, heh. You've got quite a temper."

Hearing the hatred in his voice, Li Hai grinned. "But it looks like these past three years haven't been easy for you. So, how's your kidney? Still hurting? Can you still perform?"

"Cut the crap!" Chi Daxiao snarled through clenched teeth. "Where's that Zheng bastard hiding? Tell him to get his ass over here—"

Before he could finish, Li Hai suddenly grabbed Chi Daxiao by the hair, slammed him to the ground, then dragged him away, grinding his face along the road until they reached the edge of the teahouse stall.

The sudden turn of events and Chi Daxiao's heartrending screams sent every customer and even the owner fleeing in terror.

In just that short time, Li Hai had dragged Chi Daxiao seventeen or eighteen meters. Bloodstains and chunks of flesh littered the ground behind them, sending the onlookers scrambling backward in fright.

When they had gone a full twenty meters, Li Hai stopped at once and let go of Chi Daxiao, who was barely clinging to life.

His entire face was now a bloody, mangled mess. None of his features could be made out; only a hole in his face remained, opening and closing as he struggled to breathe.

Looking at Chi Daxiao's wretched state, Li Hai couldn't help laughing.

"You drink a little rotgut and think you're some kind of tough guy, huh? You see a commoner's wife and can't wait to violate her, huh? Since you've got no shame, I'll help you take your face off."

After saying that, he wiped the smile from his face and looked at Chi Daxiao's blood-smeared features.

"Zheng Dashan isn't dead, so I won't kill you either. As for how long you'll live from here on out, that's up to you."

With that, he turned and strode away, leaving Chi Daxiao alone, lying in the street corner and groaning in agony.

After groaning for a while, Chi Daxiao spewed a large pool of blood from the hole in his face. As the surrounding onlookers screamed, he breathed his last.