On the South China Sea Coast, waves broke in flying spray.
Far across the sky, a ball of fire gave off its last light and heat, hanging at a slant, not quite ready to set.
The sea breeze swept past, carrying the sounds of a commotion from the tidal flats.
Looking toward the noise, one could see several young boys and girls gathering seafood.
No, it was several boys bullying a lean, dark-skinned girl.
The girl wore very plain clothes, her trousers covered in patches and holes. Her frame was scrawny, and she huddled on the beach, still shielding a little yellow dog in her arms. Even as punches and kicks rained down on her, she kept her teeth clenched.
The boys jeered and taunted her, undisguised malice written across their faces.
Seeing that the girl offered no resistance, they grew even more brazen. One seized the moment when pain distracted her to snatch the whimpering yellow dog from her arms with lightning speed, then hurled it into the sea amid peals of raucous laughter.
But what followed was a scream.
"Ah!"
Bracing one hand against the ground, the girl flung up sand with the other. Like a lone wolf driven into a corner, her slender brows bristled, her narrow eyes flew wide, and her expression turned savage and ferocious. She stumbled into a roll beneath the flurry of fists and feet, then drove a punch into the ringleader's Celestial Chimney Acupoint.
The Celestial Chimney Acupoint lay between the collarbones, at the neck, like a chimney through which the lungs' breath reached the heavens. It was a lethal weak point on the human body.
That furious strike already carried the intent to kill.
But perhaps she lacked strength, or perhaps her balance was unsteady. In the end, her murderous intent