Chapter Seventeen: Creation of Livestock

Upon hearing Shen Chang’an’s advice, Li Tiedan remained dissatisfied but chose not to quarrel with the old man. Shen Chang’an himself was indifferent to missing a meal or two of meat; with the fasting talisman he possessed, it made little difference whether he ate or not.

The old man finally gathered all his sheep and drove them away from the little mountain. Shen Chang’an suspected that if Li Tiedan and the old man traveled together, they would inevitably bicker. Seeking peace, he deliberately spent some time exploring the caves, ensuring they would lose the old man in the process.

During this exploration, Shen Chang’an discovered countless drained corpses scattered about. After some thought, he decided not to leave in haste. Instead, he gathered the bodies, buried them, and recited a sutra. Though the souls had been sucked away by the spider demon, his prayers were more for his own peace of mind than any true salvation.

Seeing Shen Chang’an bury the bodies, Li Tiedan joined in to help. He was a man of justice and kindness, after all; otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared to venture up this mountain knowing there was a monster.

Once they finished burying the bodies, Li Tiedan exclaimed, “Good heavens, this spider demon has claimed so many lives—how detestable!”

Shen Chang’an sighed. “The soul and vital energy of humans are a great nourishment for demons. Naturally, they prefer human flesh.”

Li Tiedan grunted in disapproval. “Why must they eat people? Can’t they feast on other things? Didn’t it just catch a few sheep?”

Shen Chang’an smiled faintly, about to reply, but then his expression suddenly changed.

He frantically searched among the corpses, causing Li Tiedan to grow uneasy.

“Master Daoist, what’s wrong?”

Without answering, Shen Chang’an continued searching for a long while before slapping his thigh in alarm. “This is bad!”

In all the time he spent searching, Shen Chang’an found not a single animal corpse among the bodies. The spider demon clearly only fed on humans! Some demons, once they’ve tasted human flesh, refuse all other meats, and this spider demon was evidently one of them.

If that was the case, the sheep the old man was leading were suspicious indeed.

In an instant, Shen Chang’an thought of two chilling words—“human trafficking.”

Human trafficking was a dark art that involved disguising humans as livestock and quietly abducting them for sale.

The old man was a damn human trafficker. A fire ignited in Shen Chang’an’s heart.

After some thought, he shared his suspicion with Li Tiedan.

Upon hearing this, Li Tiedan’s anger flared instantly.

“So that’s why he refused to sell me the sheep—they were all people! I’m going after him right now to throw him in jail!”

Fueled by rage, Li Tiedan was about to set off to find the old man, but Shen Chang’an stopped him.

“Wait, Captain Li, this can’t be handled recklessly.”

Li Tiedan admired Shen Chang’an greatly; if the Daoist said no, he immediately halted.

“Master Daoist, what do you suggest?”

Shen Chang’an pondered and said, “Normal sheep can survive on grass alone, but those aren’t sheep—they are humans. We can’t just let it go. The spider demon has kept them trapped here for so long; I reckon he needs to find a place to supply them with food and water.”

“Right, that makes sense,” Li Tiedan replied quickly. “The only place nearby that could provide supplies is our county town.”

Yi’an County was the largest nearby town; beyond it were a few villages, but they were out of the way. Even if the traffickers went to those villages, they would still have to pass through Yi’an on the return trip.

By that logic, the traffickers must have a base somewhere near Yi’an.

“Good. They have a base in Yi’an. Let’s wait for them to return and then capture them all at once!”

Li Tiedan rubbed his hands eagerly and laughed, “Perfect! After we catch these traffickers, I’ll be sure to tell the county magistrate and get you a reward, Daoist.”

Shen Chang’an waved his hand. “Consider this your achievement, Captain Li. Daoists seek no such rewards.”

“Well, I don’t know about that…” Li Tiedan scratched his head, but there was no hint of embarrassment on his face.

Shen Chang’an chuckled. “Alright, Captain Li, the credit is yours. Let’s not waste time—let’s follow them quickly before they get away.”

Li Tiedan nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes! That old bastard dared to act under my watch—I won’t let him off!”

The two hurried down the mountain. Though the old man had a head start, Shen Chang’an and Li Tiedan were strong and swift. The old man’s sheep kept causing trouble, and before long, the two had caught up.

When they reached the old man, the two exchanged a glance but said nothing, following closely behind him.

“Old man, we meet again,” Shen Chang’an said.

The old man lowered his head and snorted softly, “Greetings, Master Lingxiao Daoist.”

Shen Chang’an smiled faintly. “We won’t wait for you. We’ll go ahead.”

“Daoist, take care,” the old man said, still bowing but with a faint gleam of joy on his face.

The image of Shen Chang’an having struck down the spider demon still lingered in his mind. Afraid the Daoist might detect anything, the old man hoped to quietly incapacitate him and dispose of him.

Li Tiedan hurried up, still scowling. “What’s so great about a few sheep? I can buy plenty of those in town!”

The old man said nothing. He had been in this business for many years and had encountered many like Li Tiedan. The best approach was simply to ignore them; eventually, they would disperse on their own.

After some distance, Shen Chang’an and Li Tiedan pulled ahead, leaving the old man far behind.

“Phew, that cursed pest is finally gone. What kind of Daoist is that? Stronger than a marching soldier,” the old man thought, but then he considered, “If I drugged such a man and sold him, I could get at least ten taels of silver!”

Yet recalling the Daoist’s skills, the old man shrank back. “Better not provoke such a demon; life would be hard.”

He was still scheming to drug Shen Chang’an when the Daoist, not far ahead, just now had withdrawn his Zhonglong Jade Talisman.

“Damn it! Those lambs all smell like human! This guy really is a human trafficker!”