Chapter 2390: Human Traffickers
When Ling Han and the others arrived, the battle was already drawing to a conclusion. One side only had three people remaining, while the other side was still strong in numbers. They had already gained an absolute advantage, so exterminating their opponents wouldn’t take much longer.
“This is the business of the Black Wind Faction! If you know what’s good for you, then p.i.s.s off!” a person from the more numerous side roared at Ling Han and the others. He wore a murderous expression.
The situation seemed extremely clear. A group of mountain bandits was currently robbing another group, and Ling Han and the others had coincidentally come across their skirmish.
However, was this truly a coincidence?
During their journey, they had been hunted by far too many people. Even though they had all been beaten off, it was exactly because of this that they were even more cautious. Perhaps they had realized the futility of attacking them head-on, so they were trying out other tactics now?
However, Ling Han was unafraid. He smiled, and said, “What kind of business is this? Why don’t we get rich together?”
The members of the Black Wind Faction all faltered upon hearing this. Were these people provoking them on purpose? Or were they truly this stupid?
One of the bandits saw Hu Niu and the others, and he couldn’t help but gulp in l.u.s.t. “These three women are fairly fine. Go and test them out!”
Three bandits instantly leaped forward, swinging their broadswords at Ling Han, the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire, and the others.
The Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire was extremely p.i.s.sed off. What in the world had he done? Why were these people randomly attacking him? Did he look like a pushover?
He immediately charged forward.
Peng, peng, peng!
With a single punch from him, the three bandits were all sent flying, drawing a wonderful arc in the air before heavily thudding on the ground.
Because these people were evil and merciless bandits, he hadn’t held back at all. He had unleashed a fatal attack.
They were only measly Genesis Tier cultivators, and they hadn’t even advanced to the Severing Mundane Tier, yet they had actually dared to provoke him?
His quick and brutal attack instantly terrified the remaining bandits. They screamed in fear as they fled in disarray.
...
The three remaining survivors of the other group all breathed a sigh of relief. They then hurriedly thanked Ling Han and the others.
“We still have urgent matters to attend to, so we’ll take our leave first. When we get to Red Fruit City, we’ll make sure to thank you properly,” one person said.
Ling Han initially hadn’t planned to play the part of a hero. He hadn’t planned to ask for any thank-you gift, either. However, the words of this person displeased him greatly.
This was far too perfunctory, no?
This person hadn’t given his name, nor had he given any specific location. That being the case, how would Ling Han and the others find them at Red Fruit City?
He swept his gaze over them. These people were most likely merchants, and they had a total of 10 carriages of goods. When his gaze lingered over one of these carriages, tense expressions spread across the faces of the three people.
“We’re also tired after walking for so long, so we’ll borrow one of your carriages to rest,” Ling Han said with a smile. As he said this, he walked toward that carriage.
“Good sir!” the three people exclaimed as they obstructed his path. “Come, please use this carriage. It’s the largest and the most s.p.a.cious, and its interior is also the most extravagant.”
“p.i.s.s off!” the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire said with a humph. With a flick of his hand, the three people instantly collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain.
Ling Han laughed, and he praised the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire by saying, “You’re becoming better and better in your role as my underling.”
“p.i.s.s off!” the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire said with a ticked-off expression.
When they arrived before that carriage, Ling Han reached over to open the carriage door, only to see two rows of women sitting inside. They were huddled together, and they all wore expressions of fear and terror.
Looking closely, he could see that all of the women were bound by ropes.
Ling Han instantly came to a realization. The bandits had indeed been genuine bandits. However, these merchants weren’t some kind of upstanding citizens, either. They were involved in human trafficking, so it was no wonder that they had been so anxious and tried to prevent him from entering this carriage.
One of the three people suddenly unleashed a bellow as he lunged forward and swung his broadsword at Hu Niu. He knew they had been exposed, so he planned to take one of the women as a hostage. That way, he could use her to threaten Ling Han.
Upon seeing this, the two other people also woke from their daze. They hurriedly raised their swords and charged forward.
Hu Niu giggled before unleas.h.i.+ng a deafening bellow.
Boom!
The weapons and clothes of the three people all exploded into smithereens. Their skin also cracked apart, causing blood to pour down their bodies. They started to stumble around, and it was as if they were drunk.
Ling Han sent the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire over to free the bound women. Meanwhile, he jumped off the carriage with a smile, and said, “You people are far too unprofessional when it comes to human trafficking. At the very least, you need to prepare a Spatial G.o.d Tool!”
The three people grumbled in their minds. If they could’ve afforded Spatial G.o.d Tools, they naturally wouldn’t have taken such a big risk and gone to so much trouble. However, they were only at the Genesis Tier, and they weren’t familiar with the Regulations of s.p.a.ce, either. Thus, they couldn’t make their own Spatial G.o.d Tools.
“Two birds of a feather.” Ling Han resolutely lashed out.
Pa!
The three people exploded into clouds of blood.
However, even though they had saved these people, they were now a burden on their group. After all, could they just abandon these frail women here?
Neither Ling Han nor the others could find it in their heart to be so cruel. Thus, they had no option but to take these women home. Fortunately, the human traffickers had been low in cultivation level, so they didn’t have the ability to kidnap people from too far away. As such, they managed to take them all home after just two days.
Apart from one person.
It was a small girl who was only seven or eight years old. She was wearing a green dress, and she was truly as adorable as could be. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been targeted by the human traffickers, either. However, the problem was that she was actually mute.
This complicated things greatly. The other kidnapped women hadn’t known where this young girl had come from, either. Ling Han and the others asked around in the surrounding villages, yet they couldn’t find anyone who had lost a young daughter.
After a while, they indeed found someone who claimed to have lost a daughter. However, Ling Han and the others discovered that this person harbored evil intentions, and was simply coveting the girl’s beauty.
In the end, Ling Han and the others had no option but to take her along with them.
This young girl couldn’t speak, so she was naturally quiet. However, her eyes were extremely lively, and at times, it even looked as if she possessed intelligence that could see through the mortal world. Ling Han and the others were quite astonished by this. Just what had this young girl experienced to possess such an expression?
She was extremely peculiar, and she was always gazing into the distance. She wouldn’t respond to any question, either.
Ling Han and the others all clicked their tongues in wonder. This young girl was truly as pure as a pond of water. Just how had she been raised to be so bright and pretty?
This made Ling Han want to take her as a disciple. However, the young girl didn’t respond to anyone, so he naturally couldn’t take her in as a disciple even if he wanted to.
They continued on their trip. Because they had already arrived in the Seven Majestic Heaven, it only took them 14 more days to arrive before the treasure chamber.
Of course, they had encountered several more enemies these past few days. The final few hadn’t challenged them head-on, and they had instead laid traps or attempted to a.s.sa.s.sinate them. It was as if they had finally realized that they couldn’t defeat Ling Han head-on.
However, none of this could trouble Ling Han. His physique had almost reached the Celestial King Tier, so as long as he wasn’t attacked by a Celestial King, only hacking him with a Celestial Tool could deal any damage.
Right now, apart from the ancestor of the Kong Clan, he hadn’t come across another Ascending Origin Tier elite who possessed a Celestial Tool. In this sense, the ancestor of the Kong Clan was even more impressive than those disciples of the Heavenly Venerates.
This was a lifeless and desolate mountain. There was nothing unique about it at all.
However, none of them realized that after arriving here, the young girl—Ling Han and the others called her Qing Qing1 because she refused to change out of her green dress—appeared as if she had regained her soul.
The ancestor of the Kong Clan fiddled left and right. After a long while, a pa.s.sageway suddenly materialized at the foot of the desolate mountain.
Ling Han didn’t tell the ancestor of the Kong Clan to lead the way. Instead, he grabbed him in his hand. That way, he could toss him forward to block any potential dangers that they encountered.
Shortly after entering, the entrance behind them automatically resealed itself. The desolate mountain returned to its original form.