Emerging from the cave and feeling the biting wind brush against their ears, the escorts of Hengyuan Merchant Guild experienced a sense of relief, as if they had narrowly escaped death.
They dismantled the prisoner carts, discarded the excess wooden planks, and converted the prisoner carts into cargo trucks, upon which they loaded the porcelain jars.
The journey was silent, broken only by the grinding sound of the wheels rolling over the ground.
...
Staying in the cave was not a long-term solution. The cook ventured out to scout and returned, telling Nan Shiying, "There's a village not far from here. Judging by the villagers' accents, we must be close to Wucheng."
Nan Shiying nodded. After all, they had only traveled for one night, and the escort was in a prisoner cart, so they couldn't have gone far.
"Sister, should we go to that village?" The cook tilted his head, rubbing his empty stomach.
"Are there any maidens in the village?"
"Yes!"
"Then we cannot go!"
The cook blinked, not understanding the connection.
"Since that village is so close to here, why didn't these people target the girls in the village?"
Wasn't this a case of neglecting the near for the far?
Therefore, Nan Shiying concluded that the village was likely the hideout of these people, or perhaps the entire village consisted of lunatics who worshipped the Spider God.
Should they go there?
Walking into a tiger's den?
Or would it be like beating the grass to scare the snake?
Nan Shiying sat on the steps of the altar, contemplating where to settle these young ladies.
...
Jijia Lane had an incident.
Last night, the Song family caught fire. A great blaze, with flames soaring into the sky. The fire raged for a full half hour before it was finally extinguished. Fortunately, there was no wind last night, so it did not spread to neighboring houses, only burning down the Song family's residence.
Not a single one of the more than ten members of the family survived.
The fire reduced most of the houses to ashes. The bodies of the Song family were carried out, covered in white cloths. The cloths revealed the shapes of the bodies and were stained with ash. Even without witnessing the gruesome state of the corpses, one could easily imagine it in their minds.
Aunt Wang's face turned ashen. She instinctively glanced at Granny Bian. Granny Bian's lips curved upwards slightly. Noticing Aunt Wang's gaze, Granny Bian turned her head. Her smiling eyes were chillingly sharp, like a malevolent spirit from hell, reaping lives. Aunt Wang's heart stopped. She felt as if she had inhaled a breath of frigid air that shot straight to the top of her head, freezing her entire body.
It was Granny Bian. It was her. She...
Aunt Wang trembled all over, filled with terror.
Granny Bian turned her head back. The smile vanished, her face becoming numb, as if everything that had just happened was merely a hallucination on Aunt Wang's part.
The yamen dispersed the crowd. After the coroner examined the bodies, the yamen carried the corpses back to the yamen.
...
Shou Yi sat on a stone, cupped the flowing stream water in the mountains, and took a drink.
Cheng Zimo squatted nearby, dipped his finger into the stream water, and felt a bone-chilling cold spread through his body from his fingertip. He abandoned the idea of drinking.
Yesterday, the two had fought in a narrow alley, and later found drag marks in a corner.
They searched for an entire afternoon and finally obtained some clues from a beggar. The beggar, having received an ounce of silver, spoke readily. He said he saw two men abduct two girls and head towards the outskirts of the city.
Cheng Zimo and Shou Yi pursued them out of the city.
The sound of rolling wheels grew closer. Shou Yi smelled a thick, cloying scent of blood. He suddenly stood up and rushed towards the source of the sound.
"Hey, hey, you..."
Seeing him suddenly sprint, Cheng Zimo called out a few times before chasing after him.
The escorts of Hengyuan Merchant Guild still felt a lingering fear and quickened their pace in escorting the sacrificial items. Six people, one at the front and one at the rear, with the remaining four stationed on both sides of the cargo truck, closely observing their surroundings.
"Stop!"
The lead escort raised his hand, and everyone stopped. In their sight, a figure was rapidly charging towards them, followed closely by another figure.
The escorts watched the two figures, their hands reaching for the long sabers at their waists.
They could only hope that these two were not coming for them.
Shou Yi stopped about a meter away from them. His gaze fell upon the porcelain jar on the cargo truck behind the group.
The scent of blood emanated from this jar.
With a "swish," the escort drew the saber at his waist, pointing its tip at Shou Yi. "We are escorts of Hengyuan Merchant Guild, ordered to escort goods into the city. Who are you from the underworld to dare intercept the escort of Hengyuan Merchant Guild!"
As Cheng Zimo steadied himself, he heard the other party announce their name. These people were escorts of Hengyuan Merchant Guild?
He pulled Shou Yi and whispered, "Aren't we looking for people? Why are you blocking the escort?"
Shou Yi's brows furrowed. His usually 평 calm and amiable face showed a rare hint of anger. He ignored Cheng Zimo and demanded, "What kind of escort is this you are undertaking? The scent of blood is overwhelming, what is inside this?"
"That's none of your business!"
What were they transporting? They were transporting their own lives. If they could not deliver this jar of sacrificial items, they would face not just death, but a fate worse than death.
Neither that group of lunatics nor the ruthless King of Hell would let them go.
"I'll only ask one question: Is it you? Did you abduct the Luan sisters?"
The escorts' hearts skipped a beat. They understood. This person was here to find someone. He didn't know which Luan sisters he was referring to, but it was likely two of the individuals in this group of sacrificial items.
"No!"
The escorts of Hengyuan Merchant Guild replied with a firm denial.
Shou Yi's expression turned completely grim. His eyes were filled with anger, like the wrathful glare of a Vajra. "If it wasn't you, you should be puzzled, not deny it!"
"Are they inside this, or their blood and flesh?"
Shou Yi felt an unbearable itch on his scalp. He threw off the wig on his head and took out a vajra hoop from his embrace, fastening it onto his wrist.
"Arhat warrior monk from Linlong Temple?"
The escorts of Hengyuan Merchant Guild's expressions grew serious.
Cheng Zimo was lost in the conversation but understood one thing: this monk believed that the goods escorted by the Hengyuan Merchant Guild were the abducted girls.
It's just that...
"Monk, are you sure? If they abducted people with the intention of killing them, why would they escort them out of the city and then transport them back? Isn't that insane?"
Shou Yi couldn't understand, but he didn't need to think about it. As long as he crippled them and opened that porcelain jar, everything would become clear.
The escorts of Hengyuan Merchant Guild were on high alert. They were not confident that they could protect the porcelain jar while apprehending this monk.
"It's not in here!"
The escort explained, "If you are looking for people, you can go to the cave a dozen miles away."
"Are the people inside?"
"They should still be there!"
"Are they safe?"
"Safe!"
"Why?"
"Because we must deliver this cargo to Wucheng on time. If you are only looking for people, then we probably don't need to fight."
"What if I insist on detaining you?"
"Then we can only fight to the death. Since it's all death anyway, we might as well die a swift death."