The Night of the Killing

Xu Zhen, the daughter of the chief patrol officer.

Chen Xia thought silently as he arrived at the front door of the chief patrol officer's home. First he climbed over the wall and peered inside, but didn't see anyone.

Then he jumped down and knocked forcefully on the door twice, calling out, "Xu Zhen, are you there? It's your brother Chen."

Hurried footsteps sounded from inside the house, and soon reached the door. It opened slightly, revealing a small head and a pair of bright eyes.

"Brother Chen...hello," a crisp voice called out, with a hint of shyness.

"Hello, hello," Chen Xia said with a laugh. Then he explained, "I'll be taking care of you from now on. Your father must have told you, right?"

"Mm-hmm," Xu Zhen nodded awkwardly. Her hands fidgeted with her skirt, clearly a bit nervous.

"Then I'll go move my clothes and bedding over to live here!" Chen Xia suggested.

"Ah?!" Xu Zhen was startled. A blush quickly spread over her pretty face and she hurriedly shook her head. "No, no, no, that's too fast. And I'm not of age yet. Even if I was, it might not necessarily be you, Brother Chen."

"Although you're a good man, please forgive me for rejecting you first."

Xu Zhen spoke all in one breath, and even brought her hands together over her lower abdomen as she bowed respectfully to Chen Xia.

It was a perfectly kind rejection.

Chen Xia was actually a bit confused - he just wanted to move in to take care of Xu Zhen.

But thinking about it carefully, it could easily be misunderstood, so he decided to let it go and didn't push it.

"Just come find me if you need anything. I live in the third house down on the street across from here," Chen Xia instructed.

"Okay, okay," Xu Zhen hurriedly nodded. Her pretty face was still a bit flushed.

As a fifteen year old young lady, with no one else at home, Xu Zhen was sensible and knew how to wash clothes and cook. But there were still some things that a fifteen year old girl simply couldn't handle alone.

So Chen Xia began helping her.

For example, if a young lady went to the market alone to buy meat, vegetables, and clothing, it would be easy for her to get cheated. Not to mention being overcharged, just directly being heckled would be infuriating.

Therefore, Chen Xia went to help Xu Zhen buy things.

In this market area, he, Chen Xia, was the biggest and strongest, especially now since all the other patrol officers had left.

Whether it was oil, salt, vinegar, soy sauce, writing brushes, ink sticks, paper, or even intimate clothing, it was all bought by Chen Xia on Xu Zhen's behalf.

And Chen Xia didn't use Xu Zhen's money for this, but rather his own government salary. Though he didn't spend much money either - he always got discounts when buying things, at least 50% off, uncapped.

At first Xu Zhen felt a bit uncomfortable, but later she got used to it. Though when Chen Xia bought her intimate clothing, the young maiden would still blush shyly.

Aside from this, Chen Xia also taught Xu Zhen, explaining some mathematical and physical knowledge to her.

"If an immortal swordsman jumps down from 100 meters and strikes with his sword but fails to kill the enemy, then with all other conditions unchanged, jumps down from 10,000 meters and pierces the enemy through - why is this?"

"Because the swordsman didn't use his full power before?" Xu Zhen blinked her bright eyes, innocently guessing.

"No," Chen Xia shook his head.

Xu Zhen furrowed her elegant brows, racking her brain for a long time but unable to find an answer. She had to ask, "Why is that?"

Chen Xia waved his big hand. "Because of gravitational acceleration!"

Xu Zhen's eyes widened. From this moment on, a new door had opened in her mind.

Physics!

Aside from this, Chen Xia would also perform magic tricks for Xu Zhen, like crushing an iron knife into a ball with his bare hands, or turning a rock into powder with a strike.

Each time, Xu Zhen would open her bright eyes wide, exclaiming how amazing it was.

Though there was nothing that amazing about it - the principle was simple.

Chen Xia was just strong enough.

Time slowly passed day by day. Tail Creek Town was remote and had not been affected by the ravages of war.

In the fourth year, Chen Xia chose to add more points to Strength again. Now with a punch he could drive his fist deep into the ground, leaving a hole as deep as his arm.

And stomping his foot would leave a hole too. Every move contained immense brute force.

This resulted in Chen Xia having to restrain his strength in daily life.

And Tail Creek Town's peace also began to crumble. Hunters who went out into the deep mountains were found dead, according to the survivors who made it back. They said the hunters had been killed by roving bandits.

As the town's sole patrol officer, Chen Xia naturally had to go up the mountain to investigate.

By the time he arrived, there was no trace of the bandits on the mountain. Only the corpses of the hunters, pierced through with large blades.

Chen Xia brought the bodies of the hunters back. For a time, the townspeople were all made uneasy.

Throughout history, bandits were mostly deserters from the battlefields, who specifically targeted remote towns to invade. The more ethical ones would just take money, not lives.

But if one encountered malicious madmen, they would take both money and lives.

And right now military forces were stretched thin, with no soldiers in the town. Even strong young men were fewer. Chen Xia was the only patrol officer left - how could he alone deal with a group of bandits?!

The wealthy families of Tail Creek Town began fleeing to the city. Those without money had no choice but to resign themselves to fate, and could only hope these bandits would have some conscience.

Chen Xia searched the mountain twice but didn't find the bandits, so he could only advise the town residents to not leave town these days and to stay put honestly.

With the current situation, there were likely spies for the bandits already in town.

Chen Xia told the residents to watch for strangers and report to him immediately if they saw any.

The residents had no choice. They could only lament that the times were becoming more and more difficult to live in.

First there were demons appearing, then conscription for war, and now bandits had come directly.

Unsettled times, truly unsettled times.

Deep in the mountains far away, a group of bandits gathered, discussing something.

Not far away, someone rushed over in a hurry - it turned out to be the blacksmith from Tail Creek Town. At this moment he had an obsequious smile as he said to the crowd:

"Brothers, I've investigated everything."

A brawny man with a heavy blade dragging on the ground, leaving a scar, walked out from among the bandits. He asked:

"Oh? What's the situation?"

The blacksmith hurriedly smiled and nodded. "Tail Creek Town only has one patrol officer left now. And the town can't rely on soldiers from the city either. Many wealthy people have already fled to the city!"

"Damn it!" The brawny man cursed and spat. He scolded, "Took all my silver and ran!"

The blacksmith quickly waved a hand placatingly. "No bother, no bother. Although they ran, the merchants of Tail Creek Town are still there. They're enough for you brothers to earn a pot full of money."

"Hmm." The brawny man let out a cold laugh. "It better be so. Otherwise, for any silver that comes up short, you'll have to make it up to me."

Cold sweat beaded on the blacksmith's forehead. He hurriedly nodded. "Of course you won't be shorted, brother."

"It better be so," the brawny man said, hand resting on the hilt of his blade. He asked again, "You said there's only one patrol officer left in that Tail Creek Town now?"

"That's right, that's right," the blacksmith hurriedly nodded, and added, "The remaining patrol officer is the youngest one who just took over the position a few years ago. He's young in years and poses no threat."

"Oh? You seem to understand it thoroughly," the brawny man smiled faintly.

The blacksmith also smiled. After hesitating a moment, he went on, "Big Boss, we had an agreement before, remember."

The brawny man nodded. "Naturally. As long as my brothers earn enough, you'll certainly get your share."

"And...and also..." Greed shone in the blacksmith's eyes as he said covetously, "Also the young mistress you promised me, Xu Zhen."

"Mm-hmm," the brawny man nodded and waved a hand. "Don't worry, you'll get her too. Just wait for the good news."

Hearing this, the blacksmith quickly expressed his thanks and took his leave.

On the second night, the sky was extremely dark tonight, the wind extremely strong.

A line of bandits silently made their way down the mountain.

Dark windy night for killing!