Chapter Forty-Nine: The Little Fiend

An eye for an eye, a debt repaid in kind—Zhou Zhi understood these truths well. He still aspired to take the imperial exams in this great Ming dynasty and make something of himself; how could he allow himself to be ruined for life by these two petty thieves before him? Yet, they must be taught a lesson, one so profound that they would remember the name Zhou Zhi for all their days and never again dare to provoke the Zhou family.

The axe, raised high, came down hard upon the man’s ribs. He immediately writhed on the ground in agony, howling and wailing. The sharp knife he’d held slipped from his grasp, vanishing into the wild grass. Zhou Zhi had struck him with the back of the axe; had he used the blade, it would surely have left a gaping wound, perhaps injuring the man’s organs and putting his life in grave danger. As it was, several ribs were broken, and the man could no longer rise.

One dealt with, another remained. Zhou Zhi’s lips curled into a faint, cold smile as he glanced icily at the man who had fallen into the pit. Axe in hand, he bent and approached slowly. The pit was deep, its bottom littered with wooden stakes and iron spikes. The man’s shoes had already been pierced; some stakes had even jabbed into the soles of his feet, the pain unbearable. His legs were powerless—climbing out was impossible.

At this moment, Zhou Zhi’s eyes glinted with a chilling light, his presence radiating cold menace. The man in the pit saw this clearly and could not help but tremble, fear flooding his voice. “What… what do you want?”

“Hmph! Was it not my life you sought? Today, I’ll take yours first!” Zhou Zhi sneered.

He stammered, “I… I didn’t mean to harm your family—it was someone else who put us up to it.” As he spoke, he gripped the edge of the pit, struggling in vain to climb out. Zhou Zhi raised the axe and, without a flicker of emotion, brought it down hard on the man’s fingers.

The man tried desperately to pull his hands back, but he was a moment too slow. The axe struck true—five fingers, all but the thumb, were severed in a single blow. The pain was excruciating, and he howled like a wounded beast.

With both men rendered helpless, Zhou Zhi let out another cold laugh. He pressed his left foot hard into the back of the man who had held the knife. The man tried to struggle, but each movement sent agony lancing through his broken ribs; he soon begged for mercy. “Zhou Zhi, please, take it easy! We were only following orders—we had no choice!”

Zhou Zhi demanded, voice harsh, “Speak. Who sent you two dogs to do this? If you hide even half a truth, I’ll cut you both down where you lie.”

The man, having witnessed Zhou Zhi’s ruthless use of the axe, saw that the youth’s brow never even furrowed; his spirit broke. “My name is Niu Desheng, and he is Liu Wa. We’re both from Zhao Village.

Just the other day, someone approached us with a task: kill your family’s official horses, and we’d get ten taels of silver. Ten taels! Zhou Zhi, even if we worked ourselves to the bone for a year, we’d never see that much money. Who wouldn’t be tempted? So we agreed.

At first, we planned to use poison to kill the horses outright, but we feared the government would investigate if they died suddenly. So we tried laxatives instead, feeding it to the horses for several days, hoping they’d die slowly, growing weak from constant diarrhea. But today, the third day, you caught us. Zhou Zhi, please, for the sake of our ignorance and greed, show us mercy.”

He ended his plea with a pitiful expression. But Zhou Zhi was unmoved. He pressed down harder with his foot, making Niu Desheng break out in a sweat from the pain, crying out, “Master Zhou, I’ve told you everything—why won’t you let me go?”

Zhou Zhi thundered, “What nonsense! I asked who ordered you, not for useless chatter. Speak—who exactly set you two on this path?”

He’d already suspected the Chen family, but wanted confirmation.

Niu Desheng hesitated. “I… I dare not say…”

“Afraid to say? Fine! Looks like you don’t value your life at all,” Zhou Zhi said coldly, raising the axe—this time, blade down.

Liu Wa, in the pit, was nearly faint from pain, his face deathly pale. His wails were animalistic, and his terrified eyes watched Zhou Zhi deal with Niu Desheng. Zhou Zhi glanced down and snapped, “If you dare make another sound, I’ll cut off the fingers on your other hand!”

Liu Wa, terrified, fell silent at once. He thought to himself: This Zhou Zhi is no honest boy from a poor farm family—he’s a fiend, a demon! Had I known, we’d never have crossed him.

Liu Wa and Niu Desheng were as close as brothers, always getting into trouble together. But Liu Wa was clearly the more timid; now, he was utterly cowed by Zhou Zhi, this little terror.

He pleaded, “Brother Niu, just tell him! Our lives are more important. The Chen family can’t be worse than this Zhou Zhi!”

That did it—he’d given away the Chen family’s involvement. Even if Niu Desheng had wanted to keep his mouth shut, he had no choice; his resolve was already wavering.

Face twisted with pain, Niu Desheng cried out, “Master Zhou, I’ll tell you. It was the Chen family from your own Baiyue Village. A servant of theirs named Gou Wang’er approached us a few days ago.

We held no grudge against you, Master Zhou. If not for the lure of those ten taels, we’d never have harmed you.”

Zhou Zhi listened, then raised his head and took a deep breath, calming himself. So it was as he suspected—the Chen family.

Liu Wa, as if anxious that Niu Desheng hadn’t been thorough, added, “Master Zhou, that Gou Wang’er also told us the job had to be done in secret, and that—”

“And what?” Zhou Zhi pressed, voice sharp.

Liu Wa hesitated briefly, but then blurted, “Gou Wang’er said we must keep it from Old Master Chen.”

Old Master Chen was the clan patriarch, Chen Zonghe—father of Chen Wenju.

Zhou Zhi was taken aback. Keep it from Old Master Chen? Why? Would he not approve of such underhanded plots? But Chen Zonghe wasn’t exactly a good man himself—could it be he’d actually let his son’s humiliation at Zhou Zhi’s hands go unavenged? Strange. Very strange.

As Zhou Zhi pondered, Niu Desheng and Liu Wa pleaded, “Master Zhou, we’ve told you everything. Please—let us go?”

No sooner had they finished speaking than a voice called out from beyond the burial ground: “Zhou Zhi, you wield an axe, have wounded two men, and now want their lives as well—such cruelty and nerve!”