Ji Xia emerged from the slaughterhouse, a heavy gloom settling over him.
He had just heard Lilang's words—apparently, in a distant land, many humans were raised like livestock, only to be slaughtered and used as food.
"Humanity possesses remarkable intelligence, but why is it that their innate gifts are lacking, and their status so lowly?"
A deep sense of confusion filled Ji Xia's heart.
Upon further reflection, however, he could find no answers. The many ancient texts collected by Tai Cang offered no explanation, which only added to his frustration.
He glanced back at the slaughterhouse, recalling the disemboweled humans inside. His gloom deepened.
A sinister gleam flashed in his eyes as he turned and walked towards Zhongjing Street.
When he had arrived, he had taken his time, leisurely walking for an hour. On the way back, he had rushed, only stopping briefly to buy some pastries. In less than fifteen minutes, he had reached Yānxiāng Mansion.
He pulled out a key and unlocked the door. The wooden puppet Ji Lin was sitting by the small pond next to the rockery. Upon seeing Ji Xia, Ji Lin immediately stood up and bowed.
Ji Xia nodded in response, his expression still dark. He sat down next to the rockery, lost in thought.
Ji Lin observed Ji Xia for a while. Seeing that Ji Xia was uninterested in him, he sat down beside him, propping his wooden head on his wooden arm, mimicking a contemplative posture.
After a while, there was a knock at the door. Ji Lin quickly jumped up and went to open it.
The door opened to reveal Lilang, a creature with the head of a donkey and the body of a man, accompanied by three burly donkey-headed men. They were holding chains, binding a middle-aged, disheveled human man, who was led into the courtyard.
Behind them were two children, a boy and a girl, both around eleven or twelve years old. They had timid expressions, glancing cautiously at Ji Xia, who was sitting by the rockery.
"My lord!" Lilang called out. "I've brought the goods."
Lilang released the chains and kicked one of the burly men by his side. He smiled at Ji Xia and said, "They've all been cleaned and dressed properly."
Ji Xia straightened his back and looked at the emotionless human man. He turned to Lilang and asked, "What about the remaining payment?"
Lilang, who didn't resemble a Ninth Heaven martial artist but more of a savvy merchant, rubbed his hands together and said, "About five hundred more..." Slap!
Ji Xia threw a bag of money at him. "Here's six hundred Spirit Crystals. Take them and leave."
Lilang quickly bent down, picked up the bag, and bowed deeply. "Thank you, my lord. If you ever need more goods, just send someone to find me. I'll make sure you're satisfied."
Ji Xia thought for a moment, then patted his shoulder, a strange smile crossing his face. "Thank you for your hard work."
Lilang, flustered, stammered, "Not at all, not at all."
And then he left the Yānxiāng Mansion.
"Master, why are you being so polite to that man? You just threw the money bag on the ground. Six hundred Spirit Crystals is nothing..." One of the donkey-headed men beside Lilang suddenly spoke, his tone urgent and clearly irritated.
"Shut up!" Lilang barked, and then, after looking around, continued, "Do you have the brains of a tree? That young man is at least at the third stage of divine power, and he lives on Zhongjing Street. His status is definitely not simple. Maybe he's the young master of some noble family!"
"You think I picked up six hundred Spirit Crystals? No, I was picking up the lord's favor!"
He shook the bag containing the Spirit Crystals. "Seven hundred Spirit Crystals isn't a lot, but what if I can win him over and earn seven hundred every two or three days?"
The three donkey-headed men nodded in understanding.
Lilang laughed. "I've never been highly regarded in my family. The only reason I'm in charge of this small slaughterhouse is thanks to my elders. If my income increases..." He imagined all the benefits and smiled more brightly.
Suddenly, Lilang felt a dull pain in his shoulder. He rubbed it, thinking, "That boy's strength is incredible. Just a light pat on my shoulder and I could barely handle it."
The four donkey-headed men gradually walked away.
Inside Yānxiāng Mansion, the middle-aged man, still shackled, closed his eyes and remained silent, lost in thought.
The two children, however, gradually relaxed as they saw that Ji Xia was no different from them.
The boy stood protectively in front of the girl.
Ji Xia looked at the two children and gently asked, "Where are you from, and how did you end up in the hands of those monsters?"
The little girl, who looked very cute, with delicate features, was about to answer, but the boy quickly glared at her. She shrank back and fell silent.
"Your brother saved you, or you'd have been eaten by those monsters. Don't be afraid of me."
Ji Xia smiled and, with a flick of his hand, several exquisite pastries appeared. He handed them to the two children.
"Answer me honestly, and these pastries are yours."
The children, clearly starving, watched the pastries with longing. The girl's stomach even growled.
Hearing the sound of the girl's stomach, the boy gritted his teeth and said, "Uncle, are you really going to keep your word?"
Ji Xia's face stiffened. "What uncle? Call me brother! I always keep my word."
The boy gave Ji Xia a strange look, then said, "I only know... we're from Quán Hé Kingdom."
"Quán Hé Kingdom? Where is that?"
The boy shook his head.
"How far is it from here?"
The boy shook his head again. "We were playing with Sister Suyao when those monsters came to catch her and their people. They saw us and brought us here too..."
Hearing the boy's disjointed words and seeing the children's eyes glued to the pastries in his hands, Ji Xia helplessly handed them over.
The two children eagerly grabbed the pastries and began to devour them.
"Quán Hé Kingdom is over two thousand miles away from Dà Fú. The people there are a mix of humans and rabbit-eared people. These children must have been unlucky, caught up in the monsters' hunt for the rabbit-eared people, and accidentally brought here."
Ji Xia heard a deep voice and immediately stood up.
He looked at the middle-aged man who had finally spoken.
"I sensed what you did at the slaughterhouse, and I also sensed what you did to Lilang."
The middle-aged man opened his eyes, looking directly at Ji Xia with a sharp gleam, completely unlike a prisoner.
A smile appeared at the corner of Ji Xia's mouth.
The little girl looked at the middle-aged man, then at Ji Xia, and timidly grabbed Ji Xia's sleeve.
"Brother, can you save Sister Suyao? I saw her still tied up when they brought me out..."
"Call me brother," Ji Xia said helplessly.
In the merchant market, Lilang and his three donkey-headed men arrived at the slaughterhouse and found that the two people who usually greeted customers were missing.
Lilang frowned, let out a sharp whistle, and kicked open the door. He stormed into the slaughterhouse, cursing, "Trying to slack off while I'm gone?"
Suddenly, his face froze. Inside the slaughterhouse, countless donkey-headed executioners were lying sprawled on the ground.
Their bodies were mangled, seemingly torn apart by force, with bite marks all over, as though they had been gnawed on.
Lilang, a Ninth Heaven expert, and his three subordinates, who were also strong, immediately raised their guards.
One by one, the soon-to-be-slaughtered goods emerged from their cages, each of them staring at Lilang with deep hatred.
Lilang instinctively wanted to flee, but the door behind them slammed shut.
He turned stiffly, and saw nine strong figures, each one a Ninth Heaven expert, standing behind him, coldly watching him.
"These people need to cleanse their intestines. They haven't had a full meal in days, so they're surely weak. I still have a chance to survive!"
Lilang was about to unleash his spiritual energy to break through, but his shoulder suddenly ached, followed by excruciating pain that seemed to come from the snow-capped mountains.
He slowly collapsed, and the once-captive goods swarmed toward him, surrounding his body.
Bite. Bite. Bite...
As Lilang died, he suddenly remembered the strange smile on the young master's face when he patted his shoulder.