05 Rebel

"Human trafficking, indeed!"

Fang Zhixing's heart chilled, he knew the famine was spreading and everyone was having a hard time.

He just hadn't expected that the situation had deteriorated to the point where everyone had to sell their sons and daughters.

At that moment, Fang Zhixing noticed that several boatmen were unloading sacks from a large ship, likely containing grains.

Two of the boatmen were working while quietly chatting to each other.

"Hmm~"

Fang Zhixing quickly gave Xigou a look.

Xigou instantly understood.

He was no ordinary dog, as he could understand human speech.

Thus, Xigou trotted nearby, first lying down and pretending to roll a few times, amusing himself.

The boatmen kept working and chatting, paying no mind to a dog.

The trade did not last long, completing in less than half an hour.

Fifty-seven girls were sold, the youngest being only five or six years old and the oldest around fifteen or sixteen years old.

The young girls of Funiu Village were almost entirely taken in one fell swoop.

"Dad, don't sell me, don't sell me!"

In the silence, a girl suddenly burst into tears.

Fang Zhixing glanced over and recognized her as Uncle Bai's daughter, Yaya. Speaking of which, Uncle Bai had no sons, only this one daughter.

Uncle Bai squatted on the ground, head down, silent, never once looking up at his daughter.

"Take her away, take her away."

Shopkeeper Qian waved his hand impatiently, and instantly, a sturdy man went over, rudely dragged Yaya away without bothering to speak a word.

Then, a boatman tossed half a sack of rice in front of Uncle Bai.

Yaya, being pretty, had sold for forty kilograms of rice.

Uncle Bai silently picked up the sack of rice and turned to go home, the echoes of Yaya's repeated cries of "Dad" ringing in his ears.

"Mom!"

"Grandpa!"

"Grandma!"

Suddenly, the other sold girls also began shouting, each one sobbing loudly as if it was their last cry in life.

However...

All fifty-seven girls boarded the ship and entered the cabin, their cries abruptly ceasing.

"Village chief Zhao, you did well on this matter."

Shopkeeper Qian smiled, praising him verbally while gesturing towards a boatman with a nod.

The boatman immediately carried over half a sack of rice, placing it at the old village chief's feet.

"This is the agreed payment, fifty kilograms of rice," Shopkeeper Qian said with a smile.

"Very good, very good, thank you, Shopkeeper Qian," the old village chief nodded and bowed, his face blooming like a chrysanthemum.

Shopkeeper Qian said no more and boarded the ship.

The large ship soon departed, gradually disappearing under the starry night sky.

Before long, smoke rose from every household in Funiu Village.

Fang Zhixing and Xigou returned to the shore, retrieved their broken basket, went to the sandy area, then lit a fire and started barbecuing.

"How did it go, did you overhear anything?" Fang Zhixing asked.

Xigou sorted his thoughts and slowly said, "Those two boatmen were blabbing about nothing important, mainly about women—they had visited a brothel last night, slept with women, and were discussing how fair and lovely the prostitutes were."

Fang Zhixing glanced at Xigou and saw him looking wistful, and disdainfully said, "Too bad, you'll never go to a brothel in this lifetime."

Thrown back to reality, Xigou retorted, "Screw you, forget it if you don't want to listen."

Fang Zhixing pointed at the barbecue and coldly said, "Forget it if you don't want to eat."

Xigou immediately backed down, repeatedly saying, "Okay, okay, I, Zhang Changji, won't stoop to your level."

Then he continued, "They mentioned that this Shopkeeper Qian is traveling southward, trafficking many boys and girls along the way. Once he reaches Qinghe County, he can sell them off and make more than ten times the profit."

Fang Zhixing bared his teeth and said, "Truly heartless, no commerce without deceit."

Xigou deeply agreed, continuing, "They also mentioned that there was an uprising in Pu State, a fierce man named 'Wang Tianbu' rebelled, killed the governor of Pu State, and proclaimed himself 'Great General Wang Tianbu, Equalizer of the Heavens, and Supreme Commander of All Valiant Heroes,' with a very commanding presence."

Fang Zhixing frowned, "Qinghe County is in Dan State, I don't know how far it is from Pu State."

Xigou sighed, "It would be nice to have a map."

The man and the dog enjoyed their dinner, filling their stomachs completely.

After eating, Fang Zhixing extinguished the fire and carried the broken basket back to the village.

As soon as he reached the entrance of the village, he immediately smelled the fragrance of rice soup in the air, hitting his nose.

Fang Zhixing and Xigou exchanged glances and shook their heads silently.

"Yo, isn't that Daniu?"

Suddenly, a person jumped out from the corner of the road, startling both the man and the dog.

Fang Zhixing looked closely—it was the village's loafing rascal "Ergou," skinny as a rail, with ribs showing.

This fellow was poor and lazy, in his forties and still unmarried, living alone.

"Uncle Ergou, why aren't you home sleeping so late?" Fang Zhixing called out.

Ergou patted his belly, "I haven't eaten yet; I'm going to borrow some rice from your Uncle Song."

Fang Zhixing sneered inwardly, would Uncle Song, who sold two granddaughters for rice, lend you any?

"Go ahead and borrow it then." He stepped forward and continued walking.

Ergou suddenly reached out to block him, staring at Xigou on the ground, drooling, "I tell you Daniu, in times like these when people can't even feed themselves, why keep a dog? How about we kill the dog and have a dog meat feast?"

"Woof woof!"

Xigou's excited barking, to Fang Zhixing's ears, was like a sentence of ancestral national essence.

Ergou wants to eat a dog... Fang Zhixing chuckled, finding it amusing, and seeing Xigou's frantic appearance, he joked, "This dog is still too young; let him grow a bit and we'll definitely cook him."

"Don't wait for him to grow, why not do it today?"

Ergou swallowed and suddenly reached to grab Xigou.

"You..." Fang Zhixing and Xigou had not expected that this Ergou was so crass, unable to understand human speech, lose they?

Xigou quickly slid backwards.

Fang Zhixing raised both hands and pushed Ergou forcefully.

Ergou staggered, swayed, and fell to the ground, landing on his buttocks.

"You dare hit me!" Ergou suddenly became angry, got up, and swung his fist to punch.

Ergou was about five feet and nine inches tall—taller than Fang Zhixing by a head—fearless in causing trouble whether to the heavens or the earth.

Fang Zhixing reflexively kicked, landing his foot right in Ergou's belly, sending him flying into a wall, from where he bounced back and collapsed on the ground.

Fang Zhixing, having eaten his fill, was inevitably stronger, with a young man's quicker reflexes.

"Ouch, ouch..."

Ergou lay on the ground groaning.

"Pah, serves you right!"

Fang Zhixing spit, then strode away.

Xigou hee-hee snickered, sauntered over to Ergou's head, lifted his hind leg, and sprayed a stream of urine.

Back home, both man and dog fell asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow.

A dreamless night.

The next morning, Fang Zhixing was suddenly awakened by a commotion, he turned his ear to listen, someone was shouting loudly.

"Ergou is dead!"

Fang Zhixing's eyes widened involuntarily, and he shivered.

"Dead?!"

Xigou also got up, looked at Fang Zhixing, and asked, "You didn't go too far last night, did you?"

Fang Zhixing unsure of his own kick's power, quickly got out of bed and ran outside.

Getting to the spot, he saw the villagers had all come, gathered in several layers inside and out.

Fang Zhixing squeezed in, looked down, and his pupils immediately shrank sharply.

Ergou was still lying there, his body lying in a pool of blood.

His head had been smashed open, beside it a bloody stone.

And, his legs had been chopped off!

Strangely, the legs were not at the scene...