“W-w-who are you?” one of the beggars stammered, pointing at him with a trembling finger.

  “I… am a father…” Zhang Ming’s hoarse voice rasped out like something dragged up from the depths of hell.

  “What…?” They had no time to be surprised before the enraged demon was already looming over them.

  “Where are the girls who lived here?” he asked, very slowly.

  The beggars stared at him in terror. Up close, the muscles stretched tight like steel cables and fists clenched white with force looked even more horrifying. Afraid to meet the fury blazing in his eyes beneath the tangled hair, they felt icy dread crawl over their skin. It was as if Death itself had reached skeletal hands toward them, its frozen breath filling the room. Trembling violently, all four dropped to their knees and pressed their foreheads to the floor. For a while, only incoherent sounds spilled from their mouths. Then one of them finally found the courage to speak.

  “W-w-we don’t know! I-I swear, sir! The house was empty for a long time, so we…”

  “How do you know the house was empty?” Zhang Ming cut in.

  “Huh?”

  The beggar felt the ground vanish beneath his feet. It was as if the monster before him might strike at any moment. Terror strangled his voice, reducing it to a weak squeak.

  “P-please, sir… have mercy… we really don’t know… I swear on my life…”

  One of the beggars cracked. With a scream, he leapt to his feet and rushed for the door, trying to dart past Zhang Ming. In the next instant, a fist like an iron hammer smashed into his stomach. The man was sent flying into the wall, where he lost consciousness, nearly coughing up his insides.

  It all happened in less than a single breath. The remaining three only had time to flinch at the sharp impact. Slowly, they turned their heads and stared in horror at their motionless companion. Tears of regret streamed down their faces. Even if they weren’t killed today, they would be crippled. For people who lived on the streets, a swift death was sometimes kinder than a slow one from sickness and hunger, but they still wanted to live.

  “Mercy, sir!” the beggars wailed in unison.

  “Where are my daughters? What did you do with them?”

  “N-nowhere! We swear! They ran away!”

  “So you meant to harm them?” Zhang Ming pressed.

  “N-n-no! Never! We wouldn’t dare! Others wanted to hurt them, but they disappeared… all of them disappeared…”

  “But you still took over the house,” Zhang Ming said, his voice falling like a verdict. “So the girls have nowhere to return to.”

  “N-no! Please! Spare us!”

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  The beggars’ screams drew the attention of the slum residents, and a crowd of onlookers quickly gathered outside the house. Soon, the voices fell silent. For a time, only sharp slaps and dull thuds could be heard. Then the door opened, and a rag-wrapped vagrant emerged, dragging two unconscious bodies by the hair. Without acknowledging the crowd, he tossed them onto the road before the house, then calmly returned inside and hauled out the remaining two the same way.

  The beggars were still breathing, but they looked more like swollen, broken pork cutlets than human beings. Only one remained conscious, shaking uncontrollably with fear. The crowd watched the bloody scene in silence, too afraid to intervene. No one recognized him as their former neighbor. His hardened body, powerful back, and arms where solid muscles rolled bore no resemblance to the scrawny, hunched drunkard they remembered.

  Clad only in torn trousers, with long, tangled hair, Zhang Ming looked terrifying even among the slum dwellers. He resembled a savage mountain bandit at his most feral. People whispered among themselves, wondering where such a brutal man had come from and why. Thugs like this usually came for money, but beggars had nothing to offer except stench.

  “I, Zhang Ming, have returned!” the man roared, and the crowd gasped.

  “Ah! What happened to him? I barely recognize him!”

  “Did he come back from war? Look at all those wounds!”

  “Fierce as a demon!”

  “He must be looking for his daughters!”

  “No one’s seen them lately…” people murmured.

  “Tell everyone,” Zhang Ming said again, sweeping the crowd with a murderous glare. “The girls’ father has returned. If anyone dared to harm them, you’d best flee this city. Otherwise, you’ll regret ever being born.”

  Looking at the four bloodied beggars at his feet, the crowd felt the full weight of his threat. Not long ago, this same man had humiliated himself begging for coins wherever he could, his hunched figure lingering near cheap taverns. Now, even wounded, he radiated menace. His familiar voice no longer whined or pleaded, it thundered, growled like a beast. Those who had once spoken ill of his daughters shrank behind others, while some edged toward nearby alleys before breaking into a run.

  “Brother Zhang!” a woman pushed forward. “I’m so glad to see you! I hope you’ve been in good health.”

  “Hello, Hong Shu,” Zhang Ming replied. “As you can see, not very good. Do you know what happened to Xue and Minzhu?”

  “They’re alive! Alive! Don’t worry!” she said quickly. “Please, come with me, I’ll tell you everything. This isn’t the best place to talk.” She snorted contemptuously at the gathered crowd.

  “Mm.” Zhang Ming nodded and followed her. The crowd parted obediently to let him pass.

  “Lucky woman,” neighbors whispered as they watched them go. “Should’ve helped his little brats before.”

  “Who knew he’d become like this? Her life won’t be bad now.”

  Leaving the bloodied beggars lying in the dust, Zhang Ming entered Hong Shu’s house without looking back. She seated him at a low table that had seen better days, set a kettle on the fire, and brought out cheap tea, precious by slum standards. She wanted to offer the powerful martial practitioner the best she had.

  “Ahem,” Zhang Ming interrupted her. “Tell me what happened to the girls.”

  “I always kept an eye on them,” Hong Shu said, sitting opposite him. “But your daughters are very independent, so they never went hungry. Everything was fine until the convoy returned. The mercenaries said you’d died in the forest. After that, people started paying attention to two little girls with a handful of coins. They broke into the house while the girls were away and turned everything upside down. Beggars wouldn’t leave them alone. Luckily, the children managed to flee before truly evil people got to them.”

  “You don’t know where they went? Where should I look?”

  “No.” She bowed deeply. “Forgive me, sir, for not protecting them better. I have two children myself. As you can see, we’re poor. My husband is sick and can’t earn much…”

  “I understand,” Zhang Ming cut her off. “Thank you.”

  “But what happened to you? Where have you been all this time?”

  “It’s a long story. If you see the girls again, tell them I’m alive, and that I will definitely return home.”

  “I will. I’ll watch over them. I won’t let anyone hurt them.”

  “Thank you,” Zhang Ming said quietly. “Don’t let them go looking for me. They don’t need to. I’ll find them myself.”