Chi Pheo returns to Vu Dai village after spending years in prison, transformed into a fierce and intimidating figure with a shaved head and tattooed body. He immediately begins drinking heavily and goes to the estate of Ba Kien, shouting abuse and demanding to confront the family. When Ba Kien is absent, his arrogant son Ly Cuong appears and violently clashes with Chi Pheo, who then rolls on the ground and inflicts bloody wounds on himself to stage a public nuisance and lay blame on them.
A large crowd gathers to watch the spectacle, but Ba Kien soon arrives and expertly diffuses the situation. Recognizing the potential danger of a desperate man with nothing to lose, Ba Kien adopts a calm and welcoming approach, inviting Chi Pheo inside to share a drink and smoothing over the conflict. This sudden kindness disarms Chi, causing his aggressive anger to fade into a mix of confusion and self-importance as he realizes the powerful village leader has yielded to him.
Reflecting on past troublemakers like Nam Tho and Binh Chuc, Ba Kien realizes the wisdom in handling ruthless and reckless individuals through manipulation rather than brute force. He understands that absolute oppression creates dangerous enemies, whereas a clever leader knows how to compromise and employ desperate men to consolidate power. By pacifying Chi Pheo, Ba Kien turns a potential threat into a useful instrument for his own dominance among the rival factions of the village.
Manipulating The Rogue
Ba Kien cleverly exploits Chi Pheo by turning him into a personal enforcer through flattery, gifts, and the promise of land. Rather than opposing the reckless man, Ba Kien sends him to collect a debt from a rival, which Chi Pheo accomplishes easily. This success elevates Chi Pheo's standing and deepens his reliance on alcohol and violence, completely erasing his sense of time and turning him into a feared outcast of the village.
While wandering drunk through the moonlight, Chi Pheo encounters Tu Lang, the local exorcist, and the two men share a night of heavy drinking together. After leaving, Chi Pheo heads toward the riverbank to swim and cool his itching skin. There, he discovers Thi No, a notorious outcast woman, sleeping half-naked in the moonlight. Intoxicated and overwhelmed by desire, Chi Pheo approaches her and pins her down, leading to a struggle as she protests and demands that he let her go.
A Taste Of Kindness
Chi Pheo falls violently ill after a night of heavy drinking, vomiting intensely while Thi No gently cares for him and brings him a hot bowl of onion porridge the next morning. Deeply moved by this rare act of human warmth and care, Chi Pheo experiences a profound emotional awakening. Reflecting on his lonely, miserable existence, he yearns to abandon his life of violence and finally desires to become a respectable, honest man who can live peacefully among ordinary villagers.
Encouraged by this transformation, Chi Pheo proposes that Thi No move in with him, and the two happily spend several days together as companions. However, when Thi No tells her elderly aunt about the relationship, the furious woman vehemently scolds her for planning to marry a notorious outcast and a beggar. Humiliated and provoked by her aunt's insults, Thi No turns her anger against Chi Pheo, angrily rejecting him and storming off after a bitter argument.
Heartbroken and enraged by the sudden loss of his newfound happiness, Chi Pheo drinks heavily again and goes directly to Ba Kien's estate with a knife. Confronting the powerful village leader, Chi Pheo angrily demands to be made an honest man, shouting that he can no longer bear his scarred face and ruined life. When Ba Kien mocks and dismisses him, Chi Pheo furiously attacks and kills him before turning the knife on himself, ending his tragic life in a pool of blood.
The Abandoned Brick Kiln
Thi No returns home after the tragic events, reflecting on her brief relationship with Chi Pheo and wondering about her uncertain future. As she sits alone with her thoughts, a sudden vision of an old, abandoned brick kiln flashes through her mind, standing isolated far away from any houses or paths where people pass by. The narrative concludes with this haunting image, dated February 1941 by Nam Cao.