Chapter 26: The Wealthy Old Man’s Confession

The wealthy old man of Tianjin seemed to be sharing secrets, known only to a few, including the authorities. He hoped the two would not repeat what he had said, as it might cause panic among the people.

The authorities had posted a reward for this incident, but only publicly stated it was for ‘capturing and killing a suspected monster that stole poultry.’ They did not mention that the suspected monster had already caused many human disappearances.

It was only when a martial artist took the reward to investigate and two of them went missing that the authorities added the information that ‘two people were missing.’ They dared not mention the earlier incidents.

The authorities even spent a lot of money to hire several of Tianjin’s more capable martial artists to help resolve the matter.

Those three martial artists also disappeared and never returned.

The only thing known was that they had last investigated some mountain and planned to search for the missing there, but they themselves became the missing.

With up to five martial artists and several Tianjin citizens missing, the matter was becoming impossible to conceal.

The authorities were discussing whether to make the information public and recruit more people for a large-scale siege of the mountain.

When the wealthy old man of Tianjin said this, he added some more information. He understood the authorities’ dilemma: once the information was public, others would know there might be a great demon near Tianjin.

Martial artists might flee, and citizens might flee as well. In the end, perhaps the vast city of Tianjin would have no one left living there.

The wealthy old man of Tianjin took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, then continued.

After the authorities made the information public, a second possibility could arise: not only would people not leave, but they might unite for the reward, forming a large team of dozens or even hundreds to besiege the great demon in the mountain.

Which of these two possibilities would it be? The authorities couldn’t decide.

The young girl appeared in Tianjin at this critical moment. She could simply explain her background, she came from Liaodong and had no time to commit crimes.

She probably wasn’t the great monster causing trouble in Tianjin.

Perhaps she was some other demon or even a fleeing criminal. There were many possibilities.

The wealthy old man still wanted to take a gamble and ask for her help. As long as she could deal with the great demon, it didn’t matter what her background was.

After listening, the Caravan Leader still asked a question he already knew the answer to.

‘Why did you come to us to eliminate the monster, and not the authorities?’

Hearing the wealthy old man’s answer, the Caravan Leader couldn’t empathize but could understand.

Feeling his rather calm heart, the Caravan Leader wondered if he was a bit cold-blooded. They were all human, yet he couldn’t feel more resonance with the wealthy old man.

After the story, everyone looked at the young girl. The decision was hers.

She naturally nodded.

Before leaving, the wealthy old man brought out something that would frighten most people: a gold ingot.

He held out a five-tael gold ingot with both hands, saying it was a deposit. Whether the matter succeeded or failed, the gold ingot was for the young girl. After success, there would be a heavy reward.

The Caravan Leader dared not take it and gestured to the young girl. She took it without hesitation and put it into her money pouch.

She knew this was currency, but she didn’t know what a five-tael gold ingot meant.

The young girl understood the simplest way to interact with people. When someone gave something, she should take it.

If she didn’t, it would lead to all sorts of roundabout trouble, and she would end up taking it anyway.

So she had appeared very polite just now.

After taking the gold ingot, the wealthy old man finally handed over a green crescent-shaped jade pendant, saying it was a token.

The young girl took it and put it into her storage ring. Seeing the object suddenly disappear, the wealthy old man was startled for a moment, but he was well-traveled and quickly returned to normal.

After watching the young girl leave, the wealthy old man wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.

After buying books, the young girl and the Caravan Leader left the city and went to an outside campsite. After putting away the books, the young girl was about to set off when the Caravan Leader stopped her.

‘You’re going into the mountains to slay the demon now? It’s almost dark! The night is too dangerous. What if you encounter some monster?’

The young girl still decided to go, as if she had some consideration.

The Caravan Leader then remembered what he had just said: night was when one easily encountered monsters, especially on a demon mountain where many had disappeared. But wasn’t their goal precisely to slay the demon? They should seize the moment when it was easier to encounter the monster.

The Caravan Leader couldn’t convince the young girl and had to follow. He was cautious and had the accompanying merchant investigate in the city.

The Caravan Leader and the young girl rode slowly toward the demon mountain. By the time they neared it, it was already dark.

The merchant the Caravan Leader had sent caught up on horseback and reported the information he had gathered. Then he apologized, turned his horse, and rode back to Tianjin, not daring to linger in this place.

The Caravan Leader relayed the information to the young girl. It was mostly the same as what the wealthy old man of Tianjin had said.

The reward amount had increased, which vaguely made people guess that the reward was off. Ordinary reward tasks were only a few copper or silver coins, but this reward was as high as several dozen silver coins, far too high.

The wealthy old man probably hadn’t lied; his commission to the young girl was genuine.

The Caravan Leader and the young girl traveled at night with torches, entering the mountain. After finishing the information gathered in the city, the two had already walked some distance from the foot of the mountain.

The horses were tied at the foot of the mountain and not brought in. The two walked all the way, and the young girl had already taken out an axe from her storage ring.

Under the moonlight, the axe seemed to glow, whether it was really emitting light or just reflecting the moonlight. The cold gleam made the Caravan Leader’s scalp tingle.

He didn’t know why the young girl used an axe as a weapon. After that axe chopped down, the scene was unforgettable for the Caravan Leader. He wondered if he could see it again.

As they continued forward, animal calls came from the wilds from time to time, making one’s skin crawl.

The Caravan Leader was getting scared and started thinking wildly. If something happened to the young girl, what would he do? Why had he followed? He had no combat ability at all; coming along was just adding trouble. He might as well go back. Negative emotions almost filled his mind.

Until the young girl’s golden eyes flashed before his eyes and he met her gaze. The Caravan Leader suddenly snapped awake and realized he had almost fallen behind; there were already several zhang between them.

He quickly caught up and stood beside the young girl, wiping the cold sweat from his palms and face.

They continued deeper, their target being the dilapidated temple on the mountain.

It was said that there used to be a small temple on this demon mountain, a very long time ago, many years. After the only monk in the temple died, the temple fell into disuse, and gradually no one went there anymore.

Why were the two going to that temple? Because it was a reference point, a landmark. When the authorities previously hired martial artists to investigate, they traced the matter to the demon mountain and naturally went deep into the mountain. But in the vast mountain, without a target, how could they search? The abandoned small temple was the most prominent place on the demon mountain. The wealthy old man believed that the missing martial artists would have investigated this temple. Whether they disappeared on the way to the temple or inside it, the temple was likely the key. Thus it became the goal of the young girl and the Caravan Leader on this trip.

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