Before long, the sheep and big blue donkeys in the hold all turned into living people.
There were men and women, but most were young children.
Nan Zhi hadn't expected that Ma San was actually a human trafficker!
Recalling how Ma San called these people "meat sheep" and boasted about selling them at the Ghost Market, she had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
—So that was what he meant when he said a meat sheep was worth a hundred gold.
She jumped into the hold and saw the pear seller looking like he had just escaped death, tearfully recounting his ordeal.
It turned out that back at the Shouzhou docks, Ma San's public performance was actually a front to scout for "merchandise."
Once he picked a target, Ma San would have his pet hedgehog urinate on their shoes.
In the dead of night, the victim would be struck by a glamour, wandering out of their home in a daze to follow Ma San, who would then transform them into a sheep or a big blue donkey.
After the pear seller had given Ma San a beating that day, he had taken his earnings and stayed the night in Shouzhou, planning to head home the next morning.
But in the middle of the night, a large hedgehog crawled into his room. Before he knew it, he was walking out the door in a stupor.
By the time he woke up, he had become a sleek big blue donkey.
To suddenly turn from a man into a beast naturally filled him with terror.
He tried to call for help, but every time he opened his mouth, only a strange braying came out, making everyone avoid him.
If he brayed too loudly, Ma San would whip him mercilessly until his skin was flayed open.
"Really."
Nan Zhi listened to the pear seller's story and couldn't help but pat his shoulder.
"You should find a temple to pray at when you have the chance. I'm no fortune teller, but I can tell you've offended the Grand Duke this year. You're having a real run of bad luck."
She questioned the others, and their stories were much the same; they had all been kidnapped by Ma San using beast-craft sorcery.
Perhaps because she had saved them, a few were no longer afraid of her appearance and spoke up boldly.
"That evil Taoist is still on the boat. If he finds out, he'll make us suffer.
Benefactor, I think we should run while we can!"
This immediately drew a chorus of agreement.
"Yes, yes! We're on a boat; we can flee under the cover of night and report this to the authorities. We'll get the masters from the Demon Suppression Division to come and subdue this monster!"
"That's right. The boat isn't moving at night. We can sneak off and find the officials. By the time that demon wakes up tomorrow morning, he won't be able to catch us."
"No, it won't work. So many people leaving at once will make too much noise. Besides, with all these young children, we won't be able to move fast enough."
Nan Zhi shook her head and lowered her voice.
"Moreover, if we alert Ma San and he escapes, more people will surely fall victim to him in the future.
The only way to settle this once and for all is to kill Ma San.
If you trust me, hide here in the hold and stay quiet. Once I've slain that thief tonight, I'll inform the captain tomorrow morning. We'll take you all to Bianjing, and we can figure things out from there. What do you say?"
If so many people tried to get off the boat in the dark, something was bound to go wrong.
Not to mention they hadn't eaten a single grain of rice for days. With empty stomachs, they'd struggle to walk, let alone run.
This was the middle of nowhere, with no towns or villages in sight. If they ran off the boat and encountered mountain spirits or wild beasts, they'd just be throwing their lives away.
It was better to solve the problem at its source.
Slaughter Ma San.
The group looked at each other, hesitation written on their faces. They clearly didn't quite believe her.
"If you don't trust me, surely you trust the Demon Suppression Division! I am Nan Zhi, a fourth-class arrest officer and demon suppressor under the Northwest Circuit's Demon Suppression Monastery. I was on my way to Kaifeng Prefecture to handle a case when I stumbled upon this human trafficking business."
Seeing their doubt, Nan Zhi had no choice but to pull out her Demon Suppression Division token to show them.
"Your vitality is heavily depleted right now, so you're in no condition to travel. Just wait until I've killed that villain Ma San; it won't be too late to leave then."
When they saw the word "Demon Suppression" on the token, they quickly agreed and promised to stay hidden and silent.
Having secured their cooperation, Nan Zhi left some fruit and snacks from her bag before climbing back out of the hold and loosely replacing the wooden boards.
As soon as she returned to the deck, she saw Ma San standing by her door, peeking into her room.
He must have grown impatient.
"Hahaha! Good sister, why are you coming from outside? I was just thinking of inviting you to see the wonders of those meat sheep."
Ma San was startled to see her coming from the deck, but he quickly put on a friendly act, reaching out to drape an arm over her shoulder.
"Since you're here, why don't we go take a look together?"
Nan Zhi was so disgusted by him that there was no way she'd let him touch her.
She calmly stepped back, glanced around, and pointed toward a more open area of the deck.
"What's the fun in looking at a bunch of noisy sheep and donkeys? To be honest, brother, I have a treasure of my own that I'm planning to sell at the Ghost Market.
I didn't mention it during the day because there were too many eyes and ears around, and I didn't want the news to leak.
Now that it's just the two of us, and since you've been so generous, I can't be stingy. I'll show you the treasure I've prepared."
"Truly?"
Greed flashed in Ma San's eyes, though it was quickly replaced by a look of calculation. He furrowed his brows, his large, bulging eyes fixed on her suspiciously.
"What kind of treasure could you have? You're not just teasing me, are you?"
"It's a treasure, all right. A wild mountain tiger ate some spirit herbs and gave birth to a white tiger. I eventually killed it, took its demon core, and skinned it."
Nan Zhi waved her hand dismissively.
"The most remarkable thing is that the white tiger's skin is pure white without a single stray hair. Under the moonlight, it looks like satin made of water.
It's just too cramped here to spread it out. Why don't we move to the deck so you can get a better look?"
Ma San grew even more wary.
He didn't know why her attitude had suddenly shifted, but his desire for the white tiger skin won out. A murderous glint flickered in his eyes.
The Heavens are indifferent; they treat all things as straw dogs.
It's your own fault for flaunting your wealth when you have no sect or background to protect you.
If you're killed for your treasure, don't blame him for being ruthless!
You can save your complaints for Yama in the Underworld.
With that thought, Ma San followed Nan Zhi with a jovial smile.
The two of them stepped onto the deck one after the other. Nan Zhi counted in her head:
"One, two, three... eight!"
On the count of eight, a sudden blast of wind lunged toward her back, aimed straight for her vitals!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Nan Zhi was ready. She dodged to the side just in time. Hearing the sound of something cutting through the air, she saw countless spikes fine as cow hair flying toward her. She summoned a water shield with one hand to block them, while the other formed a hand seal as she chanted a mantra, lashing out with a length of withered vine!
"I didn't expect you to have some tricks up your sleeve!"
Ma San was caught off guard and hit by the vine. A red, swollen welt immediately appeared on his face.
"Feast your eyes on my treasure!"
With a grand wave of his hand, his green Taoist robe flew off, wrapping around a gourd that began to hover above his head. A stream of foul-smelling green liquid erupted from it, surging straight toward Nan Zhi's face—
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Rate on N.U.
