章 10: Chapter 7 The Dark and Windy Night of Murder
This happened ten days after Chen Yi's departure from the martial arts school, the Pier Fish Market experienced changes.
Hu Ye held dominion over the pier. He didn't accept gifts on normal days and didn't oppress the fishermen, but he was secretly doing underhanded deals with the big fishing trawlers.
He privately bought all the large fish weighing more than five pounds and then shipped them to the county town miles away to sell.
In this process, he pocketed a 30% commission meant for the gang, which went straight into his personal purse.
One day at the pier, the Elder of the Fish and Dragon Gang carried out the gang's punishment in front of a crowd, questioning Hu Ye about his accomplices?
Hu Ye bit the bullet and claimed he acted alone. He was lashed thirty times, his skin broken and bleeding, and fined a hundred taels of silver. He was also expelled from the gang, and only then was the matter considered settled.
The biggest beneficiary of this incident turned out to be a man named Lame Liu.
He had discovered Hu Ye's illicit trade just one month into his service and reported it, earning himself a promotion.
Lame Liu successfully took over and became the authority figure of Pier Fish Market!
That afternoon, Lame Liu swaggered over to Chen Yi's stall in the market with two of his followers. He first threw a disdainful look at Chen Yi:
"Kid, not studying martial arts anymore? Can't buy the decoction, can't practice right?
Heh, heh, think it's easy to gain control over one's Vitality and Blood?
Just a scrawny, little shit like you, I could crush with one hand! Hmph, aspire to practice martial arts, you think you're fit?!"
Then, he turned to Chen Yi's Mother:
"Mother-in-law, well, can you agree to what I said? There's no more old tiger to protect you now!"
Chen Yi's Mother held Ranran behind her and shook her head to refuse.
Seeing this, a malevolent grin spread across Lame Liu's pockmarked face:
"You like selling fish, right? Great, from tomorrow, please move your stall.
That stall number 92 over there will be your exclusive spot!
Without my permission, you're never ever allowed to move!"
Hearing this, Chen Yi's Mother's face turned ashen!
Stall number 92 was located in the innermost part of the fish market, right next to the garbage hill. The area was filled with dead fish, rotten prawns, innards, fish scales, and so on. It reeked horribly, and during summer, flies buzzed and maggots crawled all over.
It was utterly disgusting!
Almost no customers were willing to go there to buy fish. Apart from beggars who didn't even own a fishing boat occasionally willing to sell the cheapest small fish and shrimps, the stalls in that corner were usually vacant.
Hence, ordering the Chen Family to sell their fish at that location was akin to asking for their lives.
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi's Mother's face paled. She tried to give some coins to Lame Liu from her can, but he kicked it away. "You think I'm as greedy as Hu Ye, pleased with your peanuts?
Either promise Ranran to me, or don't you dare hang around this fish market anymore! Hmph!"
After finishing his spiel, Lame Liu swaggered off to the restaurant in the town with his two followers.
Chen Yi's Mother was crestfallen, her brow furrowed in distress. Chen Yi strove to comfort her:
"Mom, it's okay. We can stop selling fish at this pier. I occasionally manage to catch a big fish weighing five pounds now. We can take it to the high-end market in town to sell. Even after giving the gang their 30% cut, we can make do."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi's Mother felt this was their only option. "Xiao Yi, I thought we could at least hold out for a year or so if I managed to placate Hu Ye. I didn't expect Lame Liu to be so ruthless, to have defeated Hu Ye handily.
I think, if we can't make it after some time, we should find another family to marry Ranran into. This would be far better than leaving her at Lame Liu's mercy!"
Chen Yi gently dissuaded her. "Mom, let's put this spear aside for now. Lame Liu is ungrateful and arrogant. Does he really think Hu Ye is pushover after all these years? It's uncertain how long he can actually hold out at the pier."
With that, Chen Yi purposefully ended the discussion and helped Chen Yi's Mother and Ranran to pack up the fish stall and head home.
After dinner that evening, Chen Yi said, "Mom, you guys rest at home. I'm going to practice for a while."
"Sigh, be careful in the darkness, okay?"
The darkness of the night, perfect.
Chen Yi strolled along the path leading to the town, choosing a patch of reeds on the other side of the narrow lakeside road as his hiding spot.
Having recently become a local leader, Lame Liu would probably head back to Widow Wang's place in the village after celebrating at the restaurant tonight.
This past month, Chen Yi had more or less tracked Lame Liu's movements.
He would loaf around with the gang during the day, drink when there was wine, gamble when there was no wine, and at night he would shuttle between the homes of a widow and a manless woman in the village.
The sky tonight was overcast; the moon was completely obscured. Aside from the occasional flash of lights from fishing boats on the lake, everything was pitch-black.
The lake's nighttime waves, with the wind howling overhead, made a constant roar as Chen Yi squatted silently in the reeds.
With his current level of Vitality and Blood, he could easily squat for one or two hours while maintaining the vitality of his Vitality and Blood.
This was the advantage of having gained control over his Vitality and Blood.
Half an hour later, a large, stumbling silhouette humming an unidentifiable tune came closer and closer.
Despite the darkness, Chen Yi could tell from the person's body shape and the melody he was humming that it was Lame Liu, even though he couldn't see his face clearly.
"Little widow, I'm coming to pleasure you tonight~"
Lame Liu was walking along the lakeside path that he knew well. When he reached the spot where Chen Yi was hiding,
Suddenly,
A figure burst out of the reeds.
"Who?!" A surprised Lame Liu cried out.
"What are you..." Just as he was about to question, he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his eyes. A handful of pepper powder had been violently thrown into his eyes.
Ahhh!!!
With his eyes closed, Leprous Liu swung his fists wildly, attempting to attack the enemy in front of him.
Chen Yi quickly bent down and lunged forward, taking Leprous Liu directly into the lake.
Once in the water, Leprous Liu blindly grabbed at his waist, instinctively opening his eyes to see what was happening.
But the chili powder, upon contact with water, dissolved faster, causing more damage to the eye membranes, and the accompanying effect was excruciating pain!
Ahh!
Leprous Liu grabbed at his waist with one hand and frantically rubbed his eyes with the other. He attempted to shout, but instead swallowed a mouthful of water which led to a violent cough!
Chen Yi didn't bother paying attention to all that.
Supporting Leprous Liu's waist, he swam straight to the bottom of the lake. After he controlled his Vitality and Blood, his already excellent ability to dive was greatly enhanced.
In the water, drunk Leprous Liu with severely injured eyes was less capable than a twenty pound fish.
Quickly, Chen Yi reached the bottom of the lake, holding Liu,
discovered the rope prepared for over a dozen days, which was tied to a large rock, seized Leprous Liu's feet and coiled it tightly around him.
Thirty laps, knotted securely.
Then, Chen Yi surfaced to catch his breath and dived again.
Leprous Liu struggled desperately in the water,
bent down to untie the rope around his foot,
but was seized by a somewhat thin hand,
By then, the lake water had washed away the chili powder in his eyes,
enduring deep pain, he opened his eye,
and under the occasional beam of light above, he finally recognized Chen Yi's face.
For a moment, Liu's face changed in realisation, then filled with extreme rage.
It turned out to be you young chap, you dare confront me, Leprous Liu, wait until I am out, I must have your lives!!!
Upon recognizing Chen Yi, Leprous Liu was uncontrollable, feeling utterly humiliated by a young lad.
Leprous Liu violently swung his arm, intending to strike Chen Yi down with a punch, then untie the rope around his foot,
After he swung with full force, he alarmingly discovered that his arm was not moving at all.
The opponent was far stronger than he was?!!
When did he become so powerful? Wasn't he unable to buy the decoction? Didn't he get kicked out of the martial arts school because he had no money?
Where did this horrifying strength come from?!
Leprous Liu struggled furiously, trying to move his arm, to break free from Chen Yi's grasp,
But Chen Yi's hand was like a firm plier, gripping him tightly, leaving Leprous Liu completely unable to move.
Gradually, due to the lack of air, Liu's face was increasingly bloated.
His expression and eyes gradually turned from anger to fear,
Eventually, because of holding his breath for too long, his arms were completely devoid of strength,
Leprous Liu looked at Chen Yi with pleading eyes.
Please, I beg of you, let me go. I promise not to do it again.
From beginning to end, Chen Yi's face remained expressionless, pouring all his Vitality and Blood into his arms to grip Leprous Liu's hand tightly, leaving him with no chances.
Eventually, after who knows how long,
Leprous Liu could no longer hold his breath,
Glug glug,
He swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, his flushed face instantly turned pale,
His pupils gradually dilated, in the end, his eyes expressed regret,
If I had known this beforehand, I would have killed that kid from the Chen family earlier....
Chen Yi went up to catch his breath again, then dived once more
discovered that Leprous Liu's eyes had rolled back and his body remained motionless.
Only then did Chen Yi untie the rope around his foot and dragged Liu to the center of the lake, then he went ashore and returned home, uh, gripping three taels of silver filched from Liu's waistband.
There was a heavy storm that night, and the huge lake was boundlessly vast, hiding the body of a dead man, not knowing where it would be carried off to. Perhaps the body will be found in a few days or, in two or three months, only a pile of bones will remain.
Flesh-eating creatures inhabit this lake after all.
Heh, this Leprous Liu bragged about practicing martial arts and having abundant Vitality and Blood in his younger years, yet after a few drinks and a little chili powder, he was so weak.
Chen Yi felt he had wasted so many days studying,
Even if confronted with Leprous Liu in his prime, he could easily overpower him and kill him with his newfound strength.
Of course, a safe and secure method like today's will always be the first choice.
Heh, you wanted my family to sell fish by a rubbish dump, you aimed to harm my sister, now you have plenty of time to think about that.
After Chen Yi came ashore, he arrived at a prepared location to change into dry clothes, adjusted his state of mind on the way home,
He treated the event as if it had not happened, he had no intention of telling his mother,
If the Fish and Dragon Gang investigates, playing ignorant is the best response.
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