Pristine Darkness

Chapter 92

We go back to that fatal night when Luo Lang was involved in the massacre of Jian Yi (Jian Yao's father) and his parents and see the beginnings of our 'Butterfly Killer'. Could we call him a misguided young man? Do you think that he would have led a 'normal' life if not for this life-changing event? Hmmm . . .

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Translator: shl

Editor/ Proofreader: Anks

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At first, Luo Lang only listened to those stories as harmless anecdotes. However, after that, they become more and more outrageous, and both the speaker and the audience became more riled up.

"That Jian Yi ah, he looks down on us who are part of the jianghu. He thinks we're all garbage! He has no clue that we also believe in loyalty and self-sacrifice, what the hell!"

"All crows are black, when has a police officer ever been any good? Whoever you are, if you commit a crime and make use of your connections, you'll be let out eventually! If you have no money then it's no use. Haha! No money!"

"Hey, you think Jian Yi will take a bribe?" "Of course!"

"That Jian Yi looks so pure and clean-cut; I heard that there was a female criminal who wanted to get together with him, so despicable! Who knows how many secret women he's got!"

"How chilling! Scum!"

"Of course, these days, the people who are famous are not those with greater ability, or who are working sincerely on behalf of us common people. It's those who are smart enough to have strategic ways of doing things who are vicious and merciless!"

"That's right! Yes! Yes!"

......

To the degree that the gangs suffered at the hands of Jian Yi and the police, their descriptions would correspondingly contain elements of slander and self-abasement. At that time, Luo Lang was still young, so how would he know? After hearing all they said, his only reaction was that this Jian Yi was really just angling for fame, a reprehensible person, just like Yue Buqun in 'The Wandering Swordsman'*, an out and out hypocrite and villain!

*T/N 笑傲江湖 (xiao ao jiang hu) - a novel by Jin Young (Louis Cha) serialised in the Hong Kong Ming Pao newspaper in the late 1960s, which gave rise to many film and television adaptations. Yue Buqun is the head of the Mount Hua Sect who is secretly conspiring against the novel's protagonist, Linghu Chong. 

Thus, after they had finished speaking, Luo Lang banged his glass of beer on the table and said, "F**k, police scum!"

Thereafter, someone said, "Brothers, do you dare to teach this person a lesson?"

At first, everyone was rather taken aback. Then, one by one, their drunk faces flushed with blind emotion. "Go! Go! Go"

They were fortified by alcohol, and their numbers were many. They had already lost control to the raging fire within them; whether something was right or wrong was no longer important to them, they just needed an outlet. In truth, what they were venting was actually their dissatisfaction with themselves.

That day, a gang member had seen Jian Yi's police car travel to his parents' residence. This was excellent; it was as if the heavens had destined Jian Yi to meet with this calamity. If he had returned to the police compound, they would not have had the guts to go there, and nothing would have transpired. The next day, after sobering up, the heady rush of bravado would have dissipated.

When they arrived outside Jian Yi's parents' residence, they could hear the television running, as well as the sound of quiet and gentle dialogue. In the silent night, and compared to the chilly state that they were in, it felt like they were in two totally different worlds. A strange emotion, a combination of desolation and courage, infused the gang leader's heart. He raised his knife and charged in with a fiercely determined look on his face . . . Emotions are contagious. Before, they had only talked about 'teaching Jian Yi a lesson', but had no idea just what kind of 'lesson' they wanted to teach him. Thus, when they rushed into Jian Yi's home, when one person was overtaken by murderous rage, the others followed suit. In that split second, they faced not a solitary police officer and a pair of physically weak* elderly persons, but it was as if they were fighting with another gang, beating up the members and slashing them down, slash slash slash, go go go! After a period of time, they discovered they had hacked everyone to death.