Shackles of Humanity

The shadow sprinted straight ahead. After passing through the small woods, it ran for another mile or so before reaching a small valley where a group of men were roasting meat and drinking around a bonfire.

Luo Kai had followed him all the way to the valley but hadn’t found an opportunity to strike. The shadow had a handgun tucked into his waistband. Although Luo Kai’s skills had greatly improved, he was far from reaching Shisan’s level and still felt an instinctual fear of firearms.

The men in the valley were indeed the same group from the daytime who had come to collect taxes. Every one of them was powerfully built and armed with a gun. A sinking feeling grew in Luo Kai’s heart. He carefully climbed a tall tree and hid within its dense canopy to observe them.

The shadow entered the valley and tossed Erya from his back onto the ground. He grinned and said, ”Got her, easy as pie. Boss, what’s the next move?”

”You didn’t alert anyone else, did you?”

”Boss, you know my skills. Besides, the people in this Small Fishing Village are dumb as rocks. They don’t even lock their doors at night.”

”Good. Keep a close eye on the girl. That stubborn old mule... let’s see if he’ll yield this time.”

The speaker was the skinny man, who appeared to be the leader of the group. With a sinister and cruel expression on his face, he looked like a completely different person from how he had appeared during the day.

Seeing that Erya seemed to be merely unconscious on the ground, Luo Kai felt a small measure of relief. He furrowed his brow, racking his brain for a way to rescue her. These men all had guns and wore uniforms; they were likely government officials, but their actions were no different from those of robbers.

”If you ask me, why go through all this trouble? This fishing village is so remote, we should just slaughter them all and burn the place to the ground!” The speaker was the man in the turban. He was gnawing on a leg of lamb, his savage nature on full display.

The skinny man’s face turned cold. He snapped, ”Bullshit! We’re officials now, not robbers!”

A man wearing glasses next to him added, ”Fourth Bro, use your head before you speak next time. This village is full of the old, weak, women, and children. The younger generation is definitely working elsewhere. If they come back to find their homes gone, they’ll certainly report it to the Commandery City. If we attract the attention of the Criminal Inspection Department, we’ll be in deep trouble!”

The man in the turban muttered something and fell silent.

”Boss,” the man with glasses asked, changing the subject, ”speaking of which, why did the Jiuyuan Farm Stronghold choose to build a dock here?”

”We’ve scouted the area these past few days. Not only is this fishing village extremely remote, but it also has an excellent deep-water pier. With a few modifications, it could accommodate ten-thousand-ton ships.”

”But this place is so remote, and land transportation is inconvenient. Even if they build a ten-thousand-ton dock, it would be hard for it to develop in the future, right?”

The skinny man sneered. ”Hmph. The Jiuyuan Farm Stronghold is playing a clever game. If I’m not mistaken, they’re planning to get into the grain smuggling business, nine times out of ten. They certainly don’t want this dock attracting any attention.”

”Smuggling grain?” The man with glasses seemed to recall something and said in horror, ”You mean the Jiuyuan Farm Stronghold wants to sell grain to pirates?”

The skinny man took a large swig of wine and nodded. ”Pirates have never been short on gold, only grain. Selling grain to them is guaranteed to be incredibly profitable. The Jiuyuan City Stronghold started out as pirates themselves. They only settled on land after being granted amnesty by the Great Lord. Over the years, they’ve come to control vast swathes of fertile land and maintain a private army of over ten thousand men. They’re extremely powerful. As far as I know, they’ve always maintained contact with the South Sea Pirates.”

”The year before last, the Dragon Shark Pirates clashed with our country’s Cangya Fleet in the South Sea. The Cangya Fleet was soundly defeated, and the pirates have grown incredibly bold, even starting to harass coastal regions. Rumor has it the Great Lord might reach a settlement with the pirates. If that happens, the Dragon Shark Pirates will no longer be pirates, but a formidable navy. Even if the amnesty fails, the South Sea will belong to the pirates for the next two years. That’s why the Jiuyuan Farm Stronghold dares to smuggle grain to them so openly.”

The skinny man then added with a smile, ”If we help the Jiuyuan Farm Stronghold pull this off, there’ll be no shortage of benefits for us down the line. If the amnesty succeeds, they’ll likely be garrisoned in Longyang Commandery City. That means we’ll have a powerful backer!”

Imagining a future where they could run amok in the Commandery City, the men’s faces lit up with excitement.

After a moment, the man with glasses suddenly asked, ”Boss, that old man in the village is stubborn as hell. Do you think he’s guessed something? Otherwise, there’s no way he’d refuse the great offer we made him!”

The skinny man pondered for a moment. ”It’s possible. The Jiuyuan Farm Stronghold’s collusion with pirates is hardly a secret.”

”Then what if he refuses no matter what?”

The skinny man’s voice turned cold. ”If that old man doesn’t care whether his own granddaughter lives or dies, then we’ll do it Fourth Bro’s way. Massacre the village, wipe out their clan, and then report that pirates did it. If we’re clean about it, they won’t be able to trace it back to us even if their superiors investigate!”

The man in the turban chimed in with a lecherous expression, ”Boss, that little girl is quite a looker. Why don’t we let the boys have a taste first?”

”Hold off for now. Don’t ruin the important business at hand. Once this is done, we’ll come back, kill the old man, and deal with the girl. She’s pretty, so she should be worth something. When we’re tired of playing with her, we can sell her to the Slave Trade.”

Luo Kai’s expression grew colder and colder as he listened. ’I seriously underestimated how vicious these people are,’ he thought. ’I never imagined the outside world was this turbulent, or that these so-called officials could act with such impunity.’

His life in the Small Fishing Village for the past year had brought him an increasing sense of peace, and he was gradually approaching a state of mind unswayed by worldly matters or personal fortune. But now, he could no longer remain calm. A surging murderous intent rose in his heart, impossible to suppress.

Luo Kai took a deep breath, silently climbed down from the tree, and quietly circled the outside of the valley to survey the terrain. He had already decided to make this valley their permanent resting place. To deal with these fully armed thugs, he would have to rely on the lay of the land.

He was alone and outmatched. If his opponents were unarmed, he’d be somewhat confident, but the presence of guns changed everything. Firearms were an asymmetrical weapon; even a child could use one to take down an adult.

Before coming here, he had noticed some large, scattered boulders on the small hill flanking the valley. His mind immediately went to the landslide on Nanya Island. The valley was narrow and the hillside extremely steep. If he could push the rocks down, their velocity would be immense, and few in the valley would be able to escape. His only worry was Erya. She was still down there. From the sound of it, the men planned to stay for a while. He would wait until they sent Erya away before making his move.

Under the mottled moonlight, Luo Kai climbed the hill and began to push at a massive boulder. His muscles bulged as the multi-ton rock slowly began to give way. Afraid of making too much noise, he placed a large bundle of hay in front of the boulder for every inch it moved.

This work was a tremendous test of endurance and resilience, but Luo Kai had forged an unyielding will during his nearly two years of imprisonment.

Just as Luo Kai was quietly setting up his deadly trap, another man in camouflage clothes came running from outside the valley. He rushed in, panting, and shouted, ”Boss, bad news! The old man found out his granddaughter is missing! He’s gathering people to search everywhere!”