143. Slaughter in the Dark of Night

Just as Uncle Tong and Uncle Yang were approaching the two wooden cabins where the human traffickers were resting, the door of one of the cabins suddenly swung open. A man, curled up and clutching his crotch, hurried out in a half-run. Upon emerging, he caught sight of the figures of Uncle Tong and Uncle Yang. He squinted, realizing they were strangers, and noticed the blades held in their hands. Glancing toward the main gate, he sensed it had been opened by someone else. "Who are you?" he shouted. He then turned back toward the cabin and yelled, "Brothers, wake up! Something is wrong! Outsiders have broken into our camp!" He also shouted to the neighboring cabin, "Intruders in the camp! Everyone, wake up!"

"Ranting, always ranting—what is there to rant about? Make sure you see clearly before you start shouting! I was just dreaming about a woman, her clothes were all off, and now that you've called out, all I see is the dark wooden ceiling!" A man emerged from the cabin, scratching his hair and grabbing the shouter by the ear. However, as he pulled on the ear, he caught sight of Uncle Tong and Uncle Yang. Squinting, he demanded, "How did you get in? I don't recognize you! And what are you doing here so late at night?" He then leaned over to the man he was holding and whispered, "I recall that for the past two nights, there were guards at the front gate, weren't there?"

The first man nodded; he remembered it that way too, a precaution to ensure no one would be left locked out if their sadistic supervisor returned in the middle of the night.

"How did these two get in?" The question flashed through both their minds. As they watched Uncle Tong and Uncle Yang move closer and saw the blades in their hands, panic set in. They scrambled to shout toward the cabin doors, "Trouble! Someone has broken in with knives! Zhang San and Li Si at the gate have likely been murdered! Brothers, grab your weapons! Kill these two and avenge Zhang San and Li Si!" A group of traffickers emerged from the cabins wearing various states of dress, shivering as the cold night wind hit them.

The first thing someone said upon stepping out was, "What are you yelling about? Where is anyone? You lot must be sick, wandering around sleepwalking instead of sleeping in the middle of the night!"

The two who had been shouting pointed toward Uncle Tong and Uncle Yang. The group from the cabin finally saw them. Furthermore, another trafficker cried out, "Look! Isn't someone closing the front gate of our camp?" The others looked toward the gate and saw two figures pulling it shut.

Just as the group's attention was fixed on the gate, Uncle Tong flung the blade in his hand at the trafficker standing at the front. The knife flew like an arrow, embedding itself directly into the man’s eye. "Agh!" A blood-curdling howl echoed throughout the camp. Zhang Xuan, Yang Zaixing, Yuwen Chengdu, and Yang Hu all turned their heads toward the cabins simultaneously. The child who had spoken with Zhang Xuan earlier stood at the entrance of his cell, looking toward the source of the screams, while the other children in the cells were jolted awake, rubbing their eyes. The Nie brothers, leaning against the railings in the shadows of the camp, also heard the commotion. "Brother, do you recognize that voice?" Nie Rong looked toward the source and nodded. For the past year, he had heard that man’s laughter constantly; he would never forget the one who had inflicted such cruel tortures upon him!

The other traffickers stared at the man with the knife lodged in his eye, gasping in horror. They stood frozen, unable to process the situation, staring blankly at the man’s agonizing wails.

Uncle Yang seized the opportunity. He lunged forward, charging directly at the traffickers. Without a word, he drove his blade into the chest of the nearest man. That man, still in shock, never saw the move coming—it was fast, precise, and ruthless. The others instinctively retreated toward the cabin doors.

Just then, a few more figures sauntered out from another cabin. "What are you doing? Not sleeping in the middle of the night, making such a racket..." Before he could finish, he saw the scene of someone driving a blade into his comrade's chest. Trembling with terror, he stammered, "Who are you? Why are you killing people here?"

No one answered him. Behind Uncle Yang, Uncle Tong also surged forward, yanking his blade from the eye of the fallen trafficker, letting the blood splatter onto his own clothes. Without a word, he plunged the knife into another trafficker. Uncle Yang also pulled his blade from the chest of his victim and charged at another. In the confined space, the two men were like ferocious tigers entering a pen of lambs. Each strike took a life; if anyone resisted, they were subdued and stabbed repeatedly. These "lambs" were powerless before the two tigers, left only to be slaughtered.

The rest of the traffickers watching this scene—men who had only ever known how to whip and beat children themselves—had never seen such a sight. Someone screamed, "Run!" and the group, disregarding their lack of clothing and some even running barefoot, scattered in all directions.

Uncle Tong and Uncle Yang quickly cleared the traffickers at the cabin doors. Uncle Tong then set off to chase those fleeing, while Uncle Yang stepped into the cabins to check for any stragglers hiding inside.