Avengers
In the bright office, Gao Junxiao tapped on the desk. The little thing opposite him was making things difficult for him. Although he had intercepted it halfway, he still had the idea of breaking the law. He had to teach the little thing a lesson.
Shan Hai stood in the center of the table, his big head bowed, a suspicious blush creeping onto his dark face, like a docile black panther that had lost its claws.
"Attention!" Gao Junxiao shouted, and the people opposite him immediately stood up straight.
The room fell into a cold silence again. The shadows of the trees swayed gently on the carpet. Gao Junxiao blew on the steam in his water glass. The more nonchalant he was, the more unbearable it became for Shan Hai.
Sigh~ Gao Junxiao finished drinking the water and let out a long sigh. Shan Hai, who was opposite him, probably thought he was about to speak, and immediately tensed up to wait for the hearing.
But Gao Junxiao put the water glass back, raised his eyes and stared at the mountains and sea without saying a word.
Finally, Shan Hai couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward to give a military salute: "Report, I want to surrender."
"What did you do wrong? How come I don't know?" Gao Junxiao asked sarcastically.
"Superintendent Gao, please don't do this. I... I really have no money left. That kind of special medicine is more valuable than gold. It was originally only available in Hong Kong, but I heard that a German-owned clinic in the concession just bought a batch. I want it." Shan Hai finished speaking in one breath, speaking very quickly as if afraid of being interrupted.
*Smack!* Gao Junxiao slammed his hand on the table, causing clear water to spill out in tiny specks. Gao Junxiao glared at Shan Hai like an angry Vajra and cursed, "If you don't have money and want it, then go back to your old ways!"
"Believe me, I didn't mean to rob anyone. I just wanted to get some special medicine from the warehouse, really." Shan Hai said anxiously, stepping forward to explain.
The steam rose gently from the cup, and Gao Junxiao's face returned to its calm expression. He silently tossed a set of files from the drawer, which read "The Shuangfo Town Massacre of the Tenth Year of the Republic of China".
The moment Shan Hai saw the words on the file, a helpless sadness appeared in his eyes. Gao Junxiao noticed the change in his expression and his suspicions were now supported.
"So you really can read. You were quite good at pretending to be illiterate before." Before Shan Hai could explain, Gao Junxiao pulled out a file and asked in a cold tone, "Should I call you Zou Shan Hai, or Mr. Hai?"
Immediately, Shan Hai opened his mouth in surprise and asked stammeringly, "You already know, so why haven't you arrested me yet?"
“Mr. Hai isn’t just you alone; it’s your team’s code name, right?” Gao Junxiao said definitively.
"No, it's just me. If you want to arrest someone, arrest me." Shan Hai denied it outright.
"Tch, I'm not in the same good mood as Zhuge Liang, repeatedly arresting the same person. Besides, you've performed well since surrendering, so why would I want to cause trouble for myself?" Gao Junxiao pointed at the dossier. "As for whether to arrest others, it depends on what you confess and whether I find it pleasant to hear. First, reintroduce yourself."
"Reporting to Inspector Gao, my original name was Zou Shanhai. I changed my surname after being adopted by my master. I was born in the third year of the Xuantong era. However, I haven't celebrated my birthday for almost ten years because my birthday is also the anniversary of my family's death." Beneath Shanhai's thick eyebrows, his eyes carried a heavy sorrow.
The early years of the Republic of China were filled with too much suffering, and the tragedy of the Shan Hai family was just a minor crack in that broken world.
Memories flood my mind like a clear spring. I still remember clearly that day was the most pleasant day of the third month of the lunar calendar. The house was unusually noisy, and the wet nurse's calls were quickly drowned out by the laughter of the children.
He ran along the green vine-covered corridor to the door in one breath, and hugged his long-lost older sister. She was wearing a modern outfit of a blue top and black skirt, and the scent of jasmine on her neck permeated his heart.
His older sister, who studies in Nanjing year-round, also brought him many pastries and cakes from Jinling, which made Xiaoshan Hai, who loves sweets, very happy. He couldn't help but show them off to his friends.
Because it was a big birthday, my father specially invited a very famous acrobatic troupe that happened to be touring Xuzhou to perform for the guests at our home.
"Is the troupe leader Lei Huozi? Isn't he an independent performer?" Gao Junxiao asked.
Shan Hai shook his head and explained that Master Lei's original team, including his apprentices, consisted of about twenty people. He wasn't born a scoundrel, but all it took to turn a good man into a vengeful ghost was a bandit attack.
Years of famine and war led some refugees astray. These bandits, like a snowball rolling downhill, merged with each other and eventually became a giant, man-eating snowball, leaving nothing but desolation in their wake.
They had all been involved in suppressing bandits outside Xuzhou City and knew how formidable they were. It was a pity that ten years ago there was no Governor Gao, nor any bandit suppression team. The darkest moment in Shan Hai's memory unfolded before Gao Junxiao.
On stage, Master Lei was performing his signature act—the illusion of a hundred plays. Shan Hai sat next to his grandmother, watching intently as Master Lei conjured a large red carp. Suddenly, the carp leaped over the Dragon Gate, transformed into a golden dragon, and flew away on the clouds.
Just as Shan Hai was laughing heartily, immersed in the wonder of the illusion, the chaotic sound of horses' hooves broke the harmonious atmosphere. Grandma looked a little uneasy and hugged Shan Hai tightly. At that moment, Shan Hai naively thought that Master Lei's apprentice was performing ventriloquism again and continued to clap and cheer.
Until the bloodied servants burst into the main hall, shouting, "Bandits have broken in! Master, run!"
Instantly, the main hall descended into chaos. Amid the confusion, Shan Hai was handed over to his mother by his grandmother. He had no idea what terrible things were about to happen. In a daze, he let his mother lead him to the well outside the west wing. Without saying a word, his mother made him sit in the bucket. Then he watched as the well opening grew smaller and smaller, and his mother's face became more and more blurry.
In the deep well, the mother's pitiful screams and the man's wild laughter made Xiao Shan Hai tremble. He was plunged into endless darkness, smelling the pungent smell of burning, and hugged his knees tightly. He hoped that this was also Master Lei's illusion, and that his grandmother, parents, sister, and wet nurse would still be alright after tonight.
However, reality is often so cruel. Shan Hai had almost cried his eyes out, but the outside was still chaotic. Screams came from adults, children, and women, all of which rushed into his ears.
In a daze, Shan Hai noticed that the wailing outside had weakened. Suddenly, the bucket shook, and he was so frightened that he shrank into a ball and covered his mouth tightly.
Creak, creak! The bucket continued to rise little by little. Shan Hai resignedly closed his eyes, thinking he was doomed.
Finally, he sensed a glimmer of light and slightly opened his eyes. The man at the well's mouth had a terrifying face, bloodshot eyes, and a gaping, bloody mouth that revealed his teeth. His cracked lips moved, but he couldn't hear what he was saying.
*Slap!* Shan Hai was slapped across the face by the man, and then he heard the man's hoarse voice: "Young Master, it's Master Lei. Are you alright?"
Shan Hai was stunned for a moment, then immediately hugged Master Lei and burst into tears. He knew he was saved. Master Lei wiped away his tears and then went to find the other survivors.
In the charred courtyard, corpses lay scattered everywhere, their limbs mangled. Then he saw a familiar hem of clothing in the grass. He shouted for his mother and tried to run over, but Master Lei covered his eyes and forcibly carried him away.
Later, Shan Hai learned that after the capture, the bandits began to plunder indiscriminately, killing anyone they saw, regardless of age. Young women were dragged into the bushes and raped. The master, who had practiced the Turtle Breathing Technique, barely escaped, but his face was still slashed open by the bandits, who then cut off pieces of flesh for their amusement.
Shan Hai's low sobs were not yet finished. In the central hall where the play was being watched, he found the bodies of his father and grandmother. Their heads had been cut off and hung from trees with wire. Their faces were covered in bruises from being beaten. His father was a bureau chief (equivalent to a town mayor), and the family owned some land. It was probably the bandits who tortured them in order to force them to reveal the valuables in the house.
What was even more despairing was the horrific scene on the stage. Shan Hai saw his friends having their eyes gouged out, their legs cut off, and half of their heads removed. White brain matter mixed with dark red blood, and the stench of blood wafted into their nostrils. Being young, he vomited on the spot.
He vomited everything out, but his legs were still trembling. Shan Hai felt terrible, but he couldn't shed a tear. He didn't want to face this, sobbing as he gripped his master's hand tightly.
But Master Lei suddenly turned pale, let go of his hand, and rushed towards a roaring fire as if he had lost his mind. Only after entering the mountain and sea did he realize that it was not a pile of firewood, but a corpse pillar made of corpses tied together.
The thick smoke made it hard for Xiao Shan Hai to open his eyes. Through his squinty eyes, he saw his master pulling two charred corpses out of the pile of corpses. He seemed to be wiping something with the corner of his clothes.
A flash of silver light revealed the two corpses: one wearing a silver bracelet, the other a silver locket. It was a miracle they hadn't been stolen. Their grotesque expressions suggested they had been set on fire while still alive. Master Lei dug out one charred corpse after another, his sobbing cries as mournful as those of a wounded wild animal.
After entering the mountain village, Shan Hai learned that this was called "lighting the sky lantern," which involved drilling a small hole in a person's brain, pouring in lamp oil, and lighting it, causing the person to be burned to death in extreme pain.
Almost all the members of the opera troupe died from this torture, but the two people with silver ornaments were Master Lei's chief apprentices whom he had adopted in his early years. They were like his own children. Shan Hai heard that the two were in love and had already married. Master Lei was almost able to retire and enjoy family life.
After that, neither of them said a word. Shan Hai and Master Lei were numb. The tranquility brought by death enveloped them like grease, sticky and suffocating.
At this point in the report, Shan Hai broke down in tears and could not continue. It took him a while to recover: "You should be able to guess who was behind this vicious and cruel torture and murder."
“Liu Shengqi.” Gao Junxiao blurted out, his hands clenched into fists. He had personally witnessed the captured soldiers of the bandit suppression team being disemboweled, their necks strangled with lead wire, and hanging naked outside the mountain gate.
The bandits intended to use this as a warning to the bandit suppression team to stop outside the mountain gate, but they did not know that this would only ignite the men's bloodlust. As the commander, Gao Junxiao would be letting down his fallen brothers if he retreated even half a step.
“Yes, he deserves to be torn to pieces. Not only my family, but the entire town is now only left with my master and me alive.” Shan Hai continued to recount his ordeal.
He and his master counted the bodies of the old and young in the mansion and the opera troupe. There were 75 people in the Shanhai mansion, but the body of the elder sister was missing. Master Lei then guessed that the thieves probably took the elder sister to the mountain because of her beauty and unmarried status, and made her their wife.
Sister Feng is an anomaly. The wives of bandits are not respectable wives. Most of them have tragic endings. Their dignity is trampled on. If they resist, they will die. In despair, they become food for wild beasts or are abandoned and become fat meat that everyone can share.
But Shan Hai was young, and Master Lei was powerless. What could they do? There were bandits everywhere—official bandits, military bandits, police bandits, and local bandits. The common people had nowhere to turn for help. No matter how rich or poor, everyone was in danger.
The Shan Hai family had been completely looted. His master helped him pack some clothes and then planned to take him back to the city to reorganize before going to find his maternal grandfather's family.
On their way back to the city, they unexpectedly found the older sister lying unconscious at the foot of a cliff. Her clothes were disheveled, half of her face was swollen, and her body was covered in bruises and abrasions, which showed how much suffering she had endured.
Master Lei was truly a living bodhisattva. Despite his own injuries, he carried his sister for dozens of miles and used the money hidden in the soles of his shoes to send the siblings to get treatment first. Shan Hai was fine, but his sister was in a daze after the ordeal. Occasionally, when she regained consciousness, she would try to commit suicide and was diagnosed by the doctor with dissociative identity disorder.
Shan Hai still doesn't understand why a woman who loses her virginity should die. Who knows what kind of filthy bastard the person who invented this bullshit is?
Back then, when Master went to help Shan Hai and the others find their relatives, he discovered that several large towns nearby were in similar dire straits. His maternal grandparents' family had also perished around that time.
To protect his sister's reputation and prevent her from being slandered by gossipy women, and also to stabilize her condition, the master deliberately settled in a small town where no one knew him. He claimed that he only had one daughter who was weak, and that Shan Hai was an adopted boy from the countryside. He also brought his wife from his hometown, and the four of them depended on each other for survival, just like a family.
In fact, under the careful care of his teacher's wife, his older sister gradually became no different from ordinary people. In addition, she was well-educated, reasonable, and had an outstanding temperament. She had many suitors in the town, and the threshold of our house was almost worn down by matchmakers. Shan Hai's lips curled up, revealing a proud look.
Of course, the master knew about the sister's unresolved issues and did not arrange a marriage for her. Shan Hai also patted his chest and said that he could support the sister for the rest of her life: "The ones who are unclean are those bandits. My sister has always been pure and innocent in my heart."
"That bandit queen on the mountain isn't your biological sister, is she? The way you look at her is strange." Gao Junxiao coldly swept his gaze over Shan Hai.
After Gao Junxiao pointed it out, Shan Hai showed a hint of shame on his face: "Her nickname is Xiuxiu. She is my neighbor across the street. She is three years younger than me. She is lively and quick-witted, and we are very close. However, boys and girls should not sit together after the age of seven. She was just seven years old and was kept at home by her parents, so she could not attend my birthday banquet."
Although she escaped death, she was still kidnapped by thieves as their property. The next time they met was in a brothel in Nanyuan. She was playing music on stage, and Shan Hai happened to be there doing some rough work such as bricklaying and painting. They recognized each other at a glance.
If it weren't for the bandits' repeated humiliation, Shan Hai would have just wanted to find an opportunity to get Xiu Xiu out of that hellhole so that the two of them could live a good life and take care of their master and mistress.
Shan Hai sighed helplessly. He and his master were always traveling around making money. Once, after they returned home from a tour, his sister's dissociative identity disorder relapsed, even more severely than before.
The teacher's wife had a serious eye disease, and fearing that she might run around or harm herself and that the teacher would not be able to handle it, the teacher could only tie her to the bed and feed her water and food at regular intervals every day. In just a few days, the teacher's sister had become emaciated and looked like a sixty-year-old woman.
According to the teacher's wife, her older sister was brought back by Tian Qi, an apprentice at the pharmacy next door. Tian Qi often came to their house to help with chores. The teacher's wife remembered his footsteps, and she also smelled a medicinal scent on him. She was certain.
When his master's wife asked him questions, he didn't answer anything, clearly indicating that he had something to hide. Enraged, Shan Hai immediately gathered a few brothers, grabbed their wood-chopping knives, and went to Tian Qi's house to demand justice.
"Oh, that Tian Qi wouldn't happen to be the mute slave who helped you go down the mountain to deliver intelligence, would he?" Gao Junxiao interrupted, noting that the mute slave also smelled of medicine.
"That's right. Brother Tian took my sister out for a walk to propose. His family had also suffered from bandits before, and he probably guessed why my sister, who was so outstanding, was unwilling to get married. He felt it was the fault of the world, and how could a young girl bear such a burden. Not long after the two reached an agreement, they unfortunately encountered bandits from Mangshan disguised as bandits who had entered the town."
"My sister... suffered another shock. Brother Tian Qi's tongue was cut out. He wanted to make poison to fight the bandits, but I stopped him." At that moment, Shan Hai had a plan that was even more vicious than poison. He wanted to repay kindness with kindness and blood.
Shan Hai, Tian Qi, and Xiu Xiu worked together to formulate specific rules. If their three insignificant lives could save Liu Shengqi's life, they would not only avenge the massacre of their family but also perform a meritorious deed.
Shan Hai had planned that Xiu Xiu would be going to Zhang the landlord's house for a performance. On the way, he disguised himself as a bandit who was robbing people on the road. He used some underworld tricks to kill all the thugs who were escorting her. He then dragged over a female corpse that he had prepared in advance, disfigured her face, and dressed her in Xiu Xiu's clothes to make it look like that Xiu Xiu was dead.
In this world, no one cares about the death of a prostitute, and Xiuxiu is already pregnant. If this drags on any longer, the madam will kill the child, which will jeopardize their plans.
"Excuse me, can I ask you a question? Is the child in her belly yours?" Gao Junxiao clasped his hands together, his eyes shooting out a piercing blade.
"I...don't know." Shan Hai's eyes flickered as he avoided Gao Junxiao's gaze.
Gao Junxiao narrowed his eyes and paused for a moment, then suddenly threw all the documents on the table at Shan Hai, shouting, "You're such a man! Pushing your own woman into another fire pit. You're a piece of trash!"
Even though he was hit hard, Shan Hai didn't dare to dodge. His eyes were red. "I know I was a bastard. I regret it. How could I have been so naive back then? I caused Xiu Xiu to get a sexually transmitted disease, and I also caused my master to die a miserable old age. You even had to pay for his funeral expenses."
"Later, didn't you hide your own sister, pretend Xiuxiu was your sister, and deliberately let Liu Shengqi kidnap her to be his wife? Did you treat him like a blockhead, raising someone else's son, and feeding him poison every day, making his health deteriorate day by day? As for your master, he was probably the last to know about the plan and join the revenge team," Gao Junxiao analyzed clearly.
"Yes, yes, that poison was specially developed by Brother Tian Qi. It can gradually induce internal injuries and worsen the condition. Even if Hua Tuo were alive, he wouldn't be able to detect it. Director Gao, you are truly amazing. We are really on the same wavelength." Shan Hai wiped away his tears and began to flatter him.
Damn, this brat dares to put on an act! Gao Junxiao almost threw the phone away, but then thought it wasn't worth it and took it back. Don't advise others to be kind if you haven't experienced their suffering.
It wasn't that he had any supernatural powers or could predict the future; he simply remembered that on the night of the celebration banquet, he had placed Shan Hai and reporter Xiao Li in the same guest room.
This is the most regrettable thing he's done recently. That brat drank a few bowls of wine and then started talking nonsense. He must have told Xiao Li everything. If Xiao Li knows something, then his wife must know it too.
Alright, now their plan has become his wife's writing material. With added embellishments, the whole nation will witness an earth-shattering, supernatural revenge story. We didn't see the ending last time, so hopefully his darling won't write anything too outrageous and aggravate Xiuxiu's condition. Since ancient times, chivalrous women have emerged from the world of courtesans; she's a girl worthy of respect.
In fact, he had long found Mr. Hai to be very strange. He never showed his face, and there was not even a trace of him, which meant that they were very mobile. Yet they could penetrate deep into places like docks and stations as if they were in an empty place. It was too amazing.
Most importantly, Mr. Hai's actions were almost identical to Liu Shengqi's, which was too much of a coincidence. But he never believed in coincidences, so Gao Junxiao decided to take a gamble. He would personally infiltrate Mangshan to find any clues about Mr. Hai.
Then, he found it.
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