Chapter 9: The Most Despicable Human Traffickers

Chapter 9 The Scourge of Human Traffickers

Zhao An ordered a meal, partly due to hunger, but also to thin out the crowd. Though most were small, thin women posing little threat, too many eyes made him wary. If they all rushed him, he'd have no choice but to abandon his hostage and flee.

Fortunately, Zhao Tongming was the undisputed head of his household, and his mother, Li Shi, held significant sway, doting fiercely on her only son. Seeing Zhao Tongming captured, the others lost all will to resist. When told to prepare food, they scurried into the kitchen.

Once the superfluous people had left, only Li Shi and a twelve-year-old boy remained—Zhao Tongming's third son, Zhao Fukang—along with a hired laborer, Ah Wu. These were the two Zhao An intended to send after Uncle Hai and the others.

Zhao An instructed Li Shi to give them fifty taels of silver. "If you're not back by nightfall, I'll carve a piece of flesh from Zhao Tongming. If you're not back by tomorrow morning, I'll cut two."

Li Shi's eyes were red, clearly from recent tears. At the mention of cutting flesh, she stammered, her heart pounding, "Our family's donkey cart was already taken by Ah Ping and Ah Xiang. We should wait for them to return before going."

Zhao An yanked the rope in his hand, sending Zhao Tongming stumbling headfirst onto the table. "Aiya!" he cried out, a large bump instantly swelling on his forehead. Tears even rolled down his plump face.

"Find your own transportation, and don't try any tricks. Even if those two return, you still won't be able to deal with me. Or perhaps you don't want him to live anymore." Zhao An's stance remained unyielding, showing no hint of compromise.

Li Shi could only grit her teeth and tell her third grandson, "Go borrow a cart from your Uncle A'gen." Lowering her head, she suppressed her hateful expression, thinking how Zhao An had made such a public spectacle, and wondering how he would ever live in the village again.

Zhao Tongming, repeatedly beaten, felt throbbing pain in his legs, waist, neck, and forehead, too hurt to think of anything else. Seeing his third son still standing there foolishly, he exploded in anger, shouting, "Hurry up and go!"

Soon, a cart was borrowed, accompanied by Liu Huan, the head of the Liu family, and several elders from the Zhao clan. They all stood in the courtyard, their gazes curious and probing as they looked at the bound Zhao Tongming inside the house.

When Li Shi saw these men arrive, she rushed out, sobbing to the crowd, "Look at what he's done! Our Zhao family has produced such a bully and a brute. He should be dragged to the authorities and beaten to death!"

The Zhao elders had all received favors from the chancellor in the past and, mindful of Zhao An's status, had avoided him lately. Seeing him in this state now, they surmised he was sent back for stirring up trouble in the capital. At the same time, they inwardly blamed Zhao Tongming for provoking such a dangerous scoundrel.

In short, the onlookers held a poor opinion of both Zhao An and Zhao Tongming. As for the Liu family members, they were merely detached spectators, purely there for the show.

Zhao An had already assessed the village dynamics and felt little concern. He said indifferently, "I admit I'm not a good person." Without hesitation, he kicked Zhao Tongming. Listening to his screams, he smirked and added, "But I'm not a human trafficker who casually snatches and sells people. You all live in this village without a care. Look at this family—they just drag people away and sell them. You should be careful with your own daughters and children. Have any gone missing mysteriously? It might be because this family took them to sell. You should all be more cautious in the future."

If it's about slandering each other, bring it on. Who's afraid of whom?

By now, Zhao An had long shed his image of a smiling, docile pushover. His readiness to strike Zhao Tongming without hesitation sent shivers down people's spines, yet his words left a distinct impression on the onlookers.

Because Zhao An wasn't wrong. The village had its share of brave, combative young men—some had knocked out others' teeth in fights, and one hunter had even taken down a wolf—but such people didn't frighten them. Instead, families who traded in people sent chills down their spines. Even if their own parents sold people, they would instinctively keep their distance from such individuals. This time, it was only two servants who were sold, but many villagers had worked as laborers for Zhao Tongming's family. What if Zhao Tongming's family decided to drag them away and sell them too?

These villagers might lack worldly experience, but they had heard rumors about powerful landlords. Some landlords colluded with officials to seize land and villagers' children, which wasn't uncommon. If Zhao Tongming succeeded in selling people this time, he might become such a landlord, and the entire Zhao Village would suffer.

Zhao An himself had no idea his words would have such a strong effect, instantly intimidating the onlookers. His attention was soon diverted when a woman tremblingly approached with a plate of stir-fried pickled vegetables and placed it on the table.

Zhao An didn't nitpick. He pulled Zhao Tongming over and said to the woman who brought the food, "Feed him. Make him finish it all."

But neither Zhao Tongming nor the woman was willing to cooperate. Zhao An had to take matters into his own hands, gripping Zhao Tongming's jaw and personally feeding him the pickled vegetables.

After making Zhao Tongming swallow three mouthfuls, Zhao An finally let go. Zhao Tongming coughed and said, "It's too salty. I need water."

"If you won't eat it yourself, why force it on me?" Zhao An truly couldn't understand this family's logic. Had things really reached a point where they still thought he could be easily fooled?

Zhao Tongming spat out the last few bits of pickled vegetable and, with a grim expression, told the concubine who had brought the food, "Go kill a chicken for Second Master, and quickly fry some of the cured meat we have at home and bring it over."

The concubine obediently left. Zhao Tongming asked Zhao An for water, but Zhao An ignored him, leaving him to swallow dryly.

Soon, the table was set with chicken soup, stir-fried cured meat, a plate of boiled broad beans, a large bucket of rice, and a pitcher of wine. Zhao An forced Zhao Tongming to sample everything to ensure it wasn't poisoned before he started eating himself. He avoided the wine, however.

By now, the crowd gathered at Zhao Tongming's door to watch the spectacle had grown larger. Zhao An sat there quite at ease, while Zhao Tongming, pulled around like a dog, was deeply embarrassed. He could only turn his body to face away from the door, not wanting people to see his face. But his nearly 200-pound frame made it impossible for anyone to mistake him.

The afternoon passed like this until two people finally pushed through the crowd and entered. They were around seventeen or eighteen years old—none other than Zhao Fuping and Zhao Fuxiang, whom Zhao Tongming had sent to sell the servants.

They had already heard about what happened to their family upon entering the village and looked at Zhao An with eyes blazing with anger, their youthful impulsiveness making them almost rush forward to attack.

Zhao An leisurely tied the rope in his hand to the table leg, forcing Zhao Tongming, whose neck and hands were bound, to bend over awkwardly. Then Zhao An picked up a stick beside his feet and said, "Do you two really want to test my skills?"

His provocative move made Zhao Fuping, who had seen Zhao Tongming's miserable state, halt in his tracks. But Zhao Fuxiang charged forward without hesitation, swinging a laundry pole. Zhao An easily dodged by bending down and struck Zhao Fuxiang's leg with his stick. With a "thud," Zhao Fuxiang fell to the ground, then only his howls remained.

Honestly, Zhao An didn't take such inexperienced, untrained young men seriously. Leaning on the stick, he stood and said, "Someone, drag him away."

[Author's Note:]

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