When the Heart is Ill at Ease, One Kills
The Thanh Ha Bang had thousands of members and also colluded with the yamen of Binh Dinh and Thanh Dinh counties. Its power spanned two counties and had long accumulated awe, deeply ingraining itself in people's hearts.
Furthermore, for better control and to prevent subordinates from engaging in favoritism due to clan or friendship ties, the Thanh Ha Bang arranged for people from Thanh Dinh County to manage Binh Dinh County.
Gang members from Binh Dinh County managed Thanh Dinh County.
Moreover, the Thanh Ha Bang provided food and lodging for its members. The families of gang members were all concentrated in the towns of the two counties, or within areas controlled by the Thanh Ha Bang.
Phuc Trach Village had no Thanh Ha Bang members at all.
It was only by borrowing the tiger's skin for a big flag that the scar-faced man and his group dared to be so unscrupulously brazen.
"Mother, Father, save me, save me..."
Tong Yen struggled desperately, but how could a malnourished, weak girl be a match for the scar-faced man? In a moment, she was dragged into the room by him.
"Yen Tu, Yen Tu..." Tong Gia's eldest daughter cried out desperately, struggling with all her might to break free from the Thanh Ha Bang lackey's grip, all to no avail. She looked towards Liu Shu, cowering in the corner, wanting him to intervene.
But Liu Shu was so scared he had lost his wits, acting as if he didn't see anything.
This tragic scene of a house search, coupled with the Tong family's mournful wails and miserable cries, immediately attracted many villagers, filling their hearts with anxiety.
After all, they were fellow villagers, familiar with each other. Seeing the Tong Dien family suffer like this, it was hard not to feel empathy.
But at most, it was just sympathy in their hearts.
Anything more?
They didn't dare.
After all, even those martial artist masters didn't dare to provoke the Thanh Ha Bang.
The eldest daughter looked at the villagers outside. Seeing no one offering help, she immediately fell into despair.
"I'll fight you to the death..."
Tong Dien had once been a pig butcher and possessed brute strength. Although old, his back bent by life, his spirit diminished, his bones were not yet broken.
Seeing his family suffer such humiliation, and hearing Tong Yen's miserable cries from the main bedroom.
The primal ferocity in Tong Dien's heart could no longer be suppressed and erupted.
Grabbing a nearby chopping knife, he raised it and swung down, hacking at the shoulder of the Thanh Ha Bang lackey restraining his eldest daughter.
The hacked lackey immediately collapsed, fresh blood spurting out.
Before the other lackey restraining the eldest daughter could react, the chopping knife in Tong Dien's hand slashed towards his face.
With a miserable scream, the lackey shrieked and fell.
Only now did the other Thanh Ha Bang lackeys react, rushing forward with vicious expressions.
Tong Dien was old, after all, no match for young men. Being able to strike down two consecutively was entirely due to the advantage of striking first. This time, being attacked, he was immediately beaten to the ground, followed by a barrage of fists and kicks.
"Father!" The eldest daughter, seeing this, immediately grabbed a piece of firewood and charged.
Clang—
The sound of a dao being drawn!
"Pfft..."
The sharp dao stabbed into the eldest daughter's abdomen, then was pulled out, and a gush of blood spurted forth.
"Thud..."
The firewood in the eldest daughter's hand fell to the ground. She looked down at her wound, then tightly pressed her hand against it, but it was all useless. Her strength drained away bit by bit. She stared blankly at the Thanh Ha Bang lackey in front of her, then her gaze slowly shifted towards the main bedroom, her eyes losing focus: "Yen... Yen Tu..."
Before she could finish her words, she fell to the ground, silent.
"Van Nuong..." Tong Dien's wife, looking at her eldest daughter lying in a pool of blood, let out a hoarse scream.
"I'll fight you to the death!" Tong Dien's wife struggled to her feet and rushed forward...
...
Tran Family Home.
After smearing pot soot on Han An Nuong's face, Tran Mac still didn't feel at ease. He went into the cellar and brought out some grain, placing it in plain sight.
From what Truong Ha had said earlier, he had given them all the spare money in his house before they stopped.
In other words, the main purpose of this group coming to search the village was not their primary goal.
The main purpose was to extort money.
That being the case, once they got some benefits, they would leave quickly.
Afterwards, Tran Mac buried his Tang Dao in the back vegetable garden.
After all, in a small mountain village, for someone's home to have a weapon that wasn't an agricultural tool would arouse suspicion.
Most importantly, this Tang Dao had cost a lot to make; Tran Mac was worried they would take it.
As for the Zi Yang Turtle shell, he had buried it in the vegetable garden last night.
But even so, Tran Mac still didn't feel at ease.
He glanced at his sister-in-law's body, like a small branch bearing large fruit; it was hard for it not to attract attention.
Tran Mac wasn't afraid of these people who came to search the village; he was mainly worried about attracting the Thanh Ha Bang's notice.
Just as he was thinking about whether to have his sister-in-law hide for a bit.
Truong Ha, who had been watching outside, ran in: "Brother Mac, not good, something happened at the Tong family's!"
Hearing this, Tran Mac's eyes narrowed. He thought for a moment and said, "Sister-in-law, you wait at home. I'll go take a look."
"Uncle, be careful."
...
At this time, outside Tong Dien's main door, a circle had already formed, all fellow villagers.
Outside the Tong family home was a mess. Standing outside, one could see that things inside the house had been smashed, and a bed-mat had been directly overturned, quilts and pillows scattered on the ground.
"Make way, everyone make way." Truong Ha pushed through the crowd, letting Tran Mac go forward.
Tran Mac saw a patch of bloodstains outside the room, stretching all the way into the house and the woodshed.
Tran Mac entered the woodshed. Truong Ha beside him was instantly startled, his mouth agape.
He saw Tong Dien, Tong Dien's eldest daughter, and Tong Dien's wife all lying in a pool of blood. Tong Dien's younger granddaughter knelt beside her mother's body, wailing loudly.
Liu Shu cowered in a corner, his lips trembling, constantly making shaking sounds: "Don't... kill me, don't kill me."
"Brother Mac, they're all... dead," Truong Ha said, after checking the three people in the pool of blood.
Tran Mac nodded, realized someone was missing, and quickly ran into the main bedroom to check.
He saw a young girl lying on the bed, her clothes torn and tattered, her body covered in wounds, and a red mark around her neck.
Tran Mac went forward to check; she too had no breath.
From the looks of the scene, the young girl had been inhumanly abused while alive and then strangled to death.
Tran Mac covered her with a quilt and walked out of the room.
Outside, snippets of discussion reached Tran Mac's ears.
"The Tong family is so tragic. Butcher Tong, Old Madam Tong, and their eldest daughter Van Nuong, they all met with disaster."
"I heard that Thanh Ha Bang's Brother Ho was killed, and his goods were robbed. The Thanh Ha Bang ordered an investigation. The Tong family resisted during the investigation, so..."
"Everything was fine, they didn't provoke anyone, how could it... Ai..."
These words, sentence by sentence, were like needles pricking Tran Mac's heart.
When he had ambushed and killed Brother Ho, he had thought of ten thousand scenarios, but he had never thought something like this would happen.
Looked at this way, the Thanh Ha Bang searching the village was because of him; the Tong family was just one of those implicated and affected as a result.
How could it be like this, how could it be like this...
Thinking of the three members of the Tong family lying in a pool of blood in the woodshed, Tran Mac's mood could not calm down for a long time. He wanted to shout, but was afraid people would notice something was wrong. His fingers clenched into fists, then slowly relaxed.
"Truong Ha, where are their men?" Tran Mac said.
"Brother Mac, they've already left."
...
Returning home, Han An Nuong, her face blackened with soot, immediately came forward to greet him. Seeing Tran Mac's expression, her face froze: "Uncle, what's wrong?"
"My heart is ill at ease."
Tran Mac walked past Han An Nuong and went to the vegetable garden to dig up his Tang Dao.
"Brother Mac, what are you going to do?" Truong Ha walked over.
Wiping the mud from the blade, Tran Mac's cold face was reflected on its surface. His eyes sharp, his voice icy, he said:
"Commit murder!"