Chapter 144

Ning Jinli waved her hand, "No, it's just that my Internal Strength is being drained too much."

Due to the upgrades and changes of the Spacetime Portal, plus she can now open new Time-Space Gates herself, each time she opens a new channel she consumes a lot of Internal Strength.

She already opened one near Xiu Mei's Thatched Hut earlier today, and now opening another makes her feel as if half her body has been drained.

"Come, follow me." Ning Jinli caught her breath, took Xiu Mei's hand, and walked toward the wall.

Xiu Mei looked bewildered, "That's a wall, how do we walk through it?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Ning Jinli grabbed her and rushed straight to the wall.

Xiu Mei didn't have time to react, frightened she tightly shut her eyes.

But just as her eyes closed, she heard Ning Jinli say they had arrived, and she didn't feel herself hitting the wall.

She slowly opened her eyes, her expression instantly going blank.

Just a moment ago she was clearly in the Death Prison, but now…… how did the surroundings turn into a mountain cave?

"Xiu Mei sister, this place is Yaowang Gu." Ning Jinli took her hand and walked out of the cave mouth.

The brilliant sunlight made Xiu Mei squint; waves of dizziness and the unfamiliar surroundings made her feel utterly unreal.

"Your husband is receiving treatment here," Ning Jinli said, "you should stay with him for now and not worry about anything."

Afterwards Ning Jinli planned to have the people of Yaowang Gu take Xiu Mei to settle down.

"Miss Ning..." Xiu Mei said, full of surprise, cautiously asking, "You said you're not an Immortal, yet you could instantly take me out of the prison—how did you do that? Isn't that Immortal magic?"

"Well," Ning Jinli scratched her head, "just think of it as a special ability I have, unrelated to Immortal arts."

Xiu Mei pondered briefly, then said, "Miss Ning, could you also rescue the other commoners locked in the prison?"

Just after she finished speaking, Xiu Mei shook her head again, "No, no, they're not like me; I've already lost my family and home. If you also bring them out, the officials won't spare their families..."

Ning Jinli's mind raced, instantly thinking of a good way to avoid this problem, and she told Xiu Mei she already had an idea that could make the County Office willingly release the people.

Soon, Ning Jinli again passed through the Spacetime Portal and returned to the County Office prison.

But before that, she first shifted the channel from the Time-Space Gate at the Yaowang Gu cave to a factory warehouse, went back to the modern era once to fetch some tools.

On the other side.

In the slave-trade shop, several burly thugs lay on the ground, unable to muster the strength to crawl up.

The Fat Boss Lady hid behind the counter, terrified.

She could hardly believe that her gang of strong thugs couldn't even harm a single hair of this young man, and instead were beaten helplessly.

Xiao Qidi walked to the counter, tapped the tabletop, and said, "Come out."

The Fat Boss Lady slowly poked her head out, squeezing out a smile uglier than crying, "I… I really don't have any four- or five-year-old children here; I… I also don't know where to buy them. Why don't… you go ask elsewhere?"

Xiao Qidi said gloomily, "You say this place is the only slave trader in the area, yet you can't find anything here—where should I ask?"

"How… would I know!" the Fat Boss Lady stammered, taking out some silver from the counter with a sobbing voice, "Consider me unlucky today; isn't it enough that I pay you compensation? Please, just leave quickly."

Just a moment ago the Fat Boss Lady had been thinking of keeping this person here to serve her, but now she wishes to send this plague god away as fast as possible.

Xiao Qidi didn't even glance at the silver she offered, and slapped his hand onto the counter.

Bang!

The sturdy wooden counter split apart and collapsed with a crash.

The Fat Boss Lady was completely stunned.

Xiao Qidi stared at her, his voice low and warning, "If you don't tell me, I don't mind tearing down your shop."

Seeing the Fat Boss Lady still dazed, Xiao Qidi stepped forward toward the front hall where shelves displayed some fine ornaments.

"I'll talk, I'll talk!" the Fat Boss Lady came to her senses, thumped to her knees and begged, "I've said it all, please, just spare me, don't use force."

"Wouldn't it have been better if you'd done this earlier?" Xiao Qidi said, pulling a chair over and sitting down in front of the Fat Boss Lady.

The Fat Boss Lady's expression was complex; after hesitating a moment, she gathered her courage and whispered, "The human traffickers… should… have children."

Xiao Qidi asked, "Then, where can we find the human traffickers?"

The Fat Boss Lady gritted her teeth, as if making a great decision, "I can tell you some inside information, but you… must absolutely not tell anyone else; this is what I heard here."

Xiao Qidi nodded, "Go ahead, I'm listening."

The Fat Boss Lady struggled to get up, leaned close to Xiao Qidi's ear, and said cautiously, "Around here there is a human trafficker gang, but they don't do local business; they only capture people here and sell them elsewhere. I… think you're not looking to buy a child, are you? You must be looking for a specific child, right?"

Xiao Qidi nodded again.

"Sigh..." the Fat Boss Lady sighed, "If the child you're seeking has fallen into their hands, I advise you to just give up. Not finding the child would already be considered lucky; if you end up in their hands, you yourself will be dragged in as well."

Xiao Qidi let out a faint cold smile, "You didn't see my skills just now?"

"Oh, what good is being good at fighting?" the Fat Boss Lady shook her head repeatedly, "No matter how strong you are, you'd still dare to go against the authorities?"

Xiao Qidi's eyes flashed, "What do you mean—are the officials themselves running the human trafficking?!"

The Fat Boss Lady lowered her voice even more, "No, that's not it; the officials don't directly participate. Around here, people often can't pay taxes and have to give up their wives and children as payment; the constables then hand those women and children over to that gang of traffickers to sell. Moreover, outsiders who don't know the situation often come here, and the constables extort their wealth under various pretexts; if they're lucky they lose money but avoid disaster, if they're unlucky they not only lose their money but also get seized by the constables and handed over to the traffickers just the same."

Hearing this, Xiao Qidi's face darkened like ink.

The hand resting on the chair's armrest unconsciously clenched.

With a crack, the armrest was crushed into powder.

"My sandalwood chair..." the Fat Boss Lady wanted to cry but had no tears, heartbroken as she kept patting her chest.

Xiao Qidi slowly exhaled a turbid breath, "Tell me, how do we find the human traffickers?"

"I've already told you the inside story, yet you… you're still not giving up?" the Fat Boss Lady said with a worried, grim face, "Besides, I don't even know how to find them myself..."

Xiao Qidi threw a knife‑like glare at her.

A surge of killing intent and oppressive presence frightened the Fat Boss Lady so much she nearly wet herself.

"Calm… calm down," the Fat Boss Lady stammered, "I can't find them, but… I can make them come to me."

Xiao Qidi continued to apply pressure with his gaze.

The Fat Boss Lady fidgeted, "Sometimes… I… I occasionally have people selling themselves who can't find a buyer, so I… I can only hand them over to the traffickers… as long as I hang something outside my shop, their underlings will come."

"I see," Xiao Qidi squinted, "then why don't you go hang him quickly?"

Fat Boss Lady looked troubled all over her face, "But the people I have right now all have good conditions, it's not hard to find buyers. If I hand them over to Human Traffickers, that would be such a waste. If the buyers come and I can't deliver, I'm finished."

Xiao Qidi's expression was cold, his thin lips moving slightly, "Isn't there already a ready one right in front of you?"

"Huh? Where?" Fat Boss Lady turned her head and looked around.

Xiao Qidi pointed at himself, "I am."

Fat Boss Lady was stunned for a moment, then sneered, "With your looks and build, the other side might not even believe I can't find a buyer for you…"

Xiao Qidi said calmly, "Then it'll have to rely on you to help me gain their trust."

Fat Boss Lady had no recourse and could only agree.

She then quickly tidied the shop, took an inconspicuous little pendant from a cabinet, propped it with a bamboo pole and hung it beneath the doorway sign.

By now it was already late, and before long the sun set.

Just as lanterns were being hung on the street, a skinny man with a deer‑head, mouse‑eyes appearance entered the shop.

Fat Boss Lady beamed and greeted, "Ah, you finally came."

The other party offered no pleasantries and asked directly where the person was.

"It's him," Fat Boss Lady said, pointing at Xiao Qidi standing aside.

Sure enough, just as she had said at the start, the skinny man immediately showed a doubtful expression, scrutinizing Xiao Qidi as he said, "Such fine stock, can't find a buyer? That's impossible!"

Fat Boss Lady also forced herself to act, showing a look of sorrowful regret, covering her chest and sighing, "Alas, it's not that we can't find a buyer. After this kid signed a servitude contract with me, a customer immediately took interest, wanted to buy him as a household servant. But after bringing him back, in less than half a day he came back bruised and battered, demanding a refund and even compensation!"

"Hm? What's going on?" the skinny man asked, his face full of surprise.

Fat Boss Lady raised her hand and poked Xiao Qidi's forehead, "This kid's brain is missing a string! He's a fool—already sold himself into slavery, yet doesn't obey his master! The master wants to punish him, huh? And he dares to fight back!"

The skinny man laughed, "If a household slave disobeys, just kill him."

Fat Boss Lady shook her head, "Can't you see this kid's build? Four or five ordinary strong men aren't his match. Moreover, if you buy a slave and spend money, killing him would just be a waste, wouldn't it?"

The skinny man kept scanning Xiao Qidi, nodded, "Hmm... his build is impressive; I've never seen anyone so tall, and he looks solid."

Fat Boss Lady pretended to be extremely aggrieved, "I've already sold him three times; each sale gets returned. Every return I not only have to refund the money but also compensate the master. How am I supposed to keep this business going?"

"Hahaha!" the skinny man laughed, "You've got a hot potato on your hands. In that case, just give it to me."

"Alright, alright, you hurry and take him away!" Fat Boss Lady said impatiently.

The skinny man said, "Old rule: after the transaction, I'll pay you."

Fat Boss Lady waved her hand, "I'm already grateful you can take such a commodity; for this one, no payment is needed."

"Fine, then I'll take him away," the skinny man said, pulling out a coil of rope and, somewhat cautiously, approaching Xiao Qidi.

Fat Boss Lady hurriedly said, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. I won't tell you any more; this kid is a fool. As long as you tell him to leave, he'll follow you, and he's perfectly obedient when not working."

"What a fool, huh? I thought you were just scolding him," the skinny man sighed slightly, then said to Xiao Qidi, "Hey, you follow me later, understand?"

Xiao Qidi kept a clueless expression the whole time, and absentmindedly nodded.

The skinny man took a step, and Xiao Qidi followed.

The two walked one after the other into the adjacent pitch‑black alley.

A carriage was parked in the alley.

Three burly men got out of the carriage and immediately asked the skinny man why he hadn't tied the person up.

The skinny man gave them an explanation, then let Xiao Qidi into the carriage.

Xiao Qidi naturally complied, but the instant he lowered his head to slip in, a burly man suddenly drew a stick and struck the back of his neck.

Bang!

Xiao Qidi fell to the ground with a thud.

Then the three swiftly bound him all over, placed a sack over his head, and together hoisted him into the carriage compartment.

When the carriage set off, Xiao Qidi quietly opened his eyes.

That stick earlier was far from enough to knock him out; he was merely cooperating on purpose.

The carriage moved, jolting for about half an hour before coming to a stop.

Along the way, the burly men in the carriage and the skinny man exchanged no words, so Xiao Qidi couldn't hear any useful information and could only continue to wait patiently for an opportunity.

Afterward, the three burly men lifted Xiao Qidi out of the carriage, bound him to a large tree trunk, and only then removed the sack from his head.

Xiao Qidi quietly opened his eyes a sliver, observing his surroundings.

What came into view was a courtyard, with several men still bound inside.

Candlelight glowed in the adjacent house, and faintly one could hear women and children's cries.

It seemed they had arrived at a Human Traffickers' hidden base.

Xiao Qidi focused his attention, pricked up his ears to discern, trying to hear Xiu Mei's daughter's voice, but the cries were all similar and he couldn't distinguish them.

However, he did hear a few Human Traffickers discussing.

"The previous batch of men have already been trained to be obedient, their tongues cut out and faces disfigured, so we can safely take them elsewhere to sell. But this newly brought one is hard to handle."

"Hmm... it's a bit tricky. He's a fool, making training difficult. If we don't train him, according to Fat Boss Lady's description, he can't become a slave at all."

"Tsk, such a waste of that kid's build; otherwise, if we deal with him, we could definitely sell him for a good price."

"Exactly, he's good‑looking. If he weren't a fool who fights, maybe just cutting his tongue would let us sell him to those who prefer handsome male slaves, fetching a higher price."

"Then what to do? Send him back again?"

The Human Traffickers were silent for a moment.

Then one of them spoke, "We've already brought him over, and Fat Boss Lady doesn't even require us to pay, so let's not waste it. Later we can sell him to a butcher shop; such a big, sturdy guy can yield a lot of meat."

Someone asked, "Do we slaughter him now? I'm afraid that fool might go berserk halfway, and we won't be able to control him."

The decision‑maker said, "If we wait, the meat won't be fresh, and the butcher shop can't pass it off as animal meat. Just break his limbs and do it now; let's get moving, we need to set out early tomorrow."

After the Human Traffickers finished their conversation, Xiao Qidi saw several burly men walk out of the house, pick up massive wooden staffs as thick as arms, and charge straight at him…