There Are Destined Encounters

Chapter 48: Destiny

Ma Tian glanced at Hu Xiaocao, a look of disdain in his eyes.

"Why are you so picky? This kid's hair is like straw, and she's small. She looks malnourished. You won't get much for her."

Yang Cheng shook his head. "You don't understand. Those who are good-looking have their own paths, and so do ordinary ones. Either break their legs and turn them into beggars, or sell them abroad. Isn't that perfect?"

After women and children were trafficked, they were either sold into deep mountains to become wives for old bachelors, or resold to others and smuggled abroad.

Yang Cheng and his group had extensive connections, not only domestically but also internationally. Some of their foreign methods were even more cruel and bloody.

Kidnapping for organ harvesting was considered a quick way out. There were even worse fates that made life worse than death.

Some foreign black market performances, in order to attract attention, would do anything. A famous one was "Man in a Bottle," where a person was literally stuffed into a bottle.

Besides that, there were "Animal People." The methods were extremely brutal and horrific. Since they weren't born that way, they had to endure immense suffering.

It was possible they would die from the pain due to harsh environments and lack of conditions during the process.

There were also pedophiles who would groom children from a young age.

In short, human traffickers deserved to die. This trade was terrifyingly dark.

Ma Tian nodded. "What you said makes some sense. When it gets darker, we'll transport her out."

Perhaps because they were speaking too loudly, Hu Xiaocao groggily opened her eyes and found herself in the deep mountains, surrounded by strange men.

She tried to get up, but the effects of the anesthetic had not completely worn off, and her limbs were weak and powerless.

"Who are you!"

Ma Tian looked over at the sound, meeting a pair of dark eyes. "Yang Cheng, what did you do? She woke up so quickly."

Yang Cheng chuckled. "Must have been too hasty before. The rag didn't have enough anesthetic, so she woke up. But it's no big deal."

Hearing this, Hu Xiaocao's eyes widened, and she quickly understood who these people were.

Human traffickers who kidnapped children!

"Help! There are bad people here!"

Hu Xiaocao shouted, hoping someone would find her.

However, it was already nearing evening. Smoke was rising from every household, and no one would be coming up the mountain at this time.

Moreover, their location was quite central. Coupled with Hu Xiaocao's small voice, even if an ordinary person passed by, they wouldn't be able to hear her.

"Little girl, stop shouting. No one will come to save you in these deep mountains."

Yang Cheng and the others were clearly not good people, and they were extremely impatient with the child's cries.

"Slap!"

Ma Tian slapped her across the face, his fierce expression saying, "If you shout again, I'll sew your mouth shut!"

Hu Xiaocao's head was knocked to the side, and the left side of her face immediately swelled up, indicating how strong his force was.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but due to Ma Tian's threat, she bit her lip, preventing herself from crying out loud, only daring to sob softly.

While no one would come to the deep mountains, snakes often appeared.

Ye Qin came out a little earlier than usual today. Although the sky was still somewhat bright, a faint crescent moon had already climbed up.

From a distance, it looked like it was hanging on the treetops.

This was how it was in summer. It would be around seven or eight o'clock before the sky completely darkened.

Just as he was about to cultivate, he heard a cry carried by the wind. Ye Qin straightened up, his snake tongue flicking.

"This voice sounds familiar, like that girl's? But why did she suddenly come up the mountain at this time."

Having interacted with Hu Xiaocao a bit, Ye Qin was quite familiar with her voice.

Besides that, he also smelled several unfamiliar scents.

"Something feels wrong."

Ye Qin changed direction, crawling towards the sound and the scent.

It wasn't that he liked to meddle in other people's business. It was just that the girl had accidentally stumbled upon him cultivating and mistaken him for the Mountain God.

She even offered him sacrifices and built a small temple for him at the foot of the mountain, worshipping him every day without fail, rain or shine. She was extremely devout.

This was equivalent to establishing incense offerings.

As for incense offerings, they couldn't actually be used for cultivation. In Taoist teachings, they were merely a medium for mortals to communicate with deities and for deities to enjoy offerings in the human world.

Therefore, incense offerings weren't of much use to Ye Qin. The sacrifices didn't mean much to him either, unless he was starving and ate some of the offerings, which would then have practical use.

But everything has its own destiny.

Just like how he embarked on cultivation through the Yellow Emperor's Classic of the Inner Elixir, this was destiny.

And the little girl seeing him, mistaking him for the Mountain God, and sincerely offering sacrifices, this was also the destiny between him and the little girl.

There was karma in the unseen. Regardless, Ye Qin had received the girl's offerings and felt indebted. To ignore it would likely not be good for his state of mind.

Ye Qin acted with a clear conscience. He wasn't a saint who tried to help everyone, but he wasn't so cold-blooded as to be indifferent.

Meanwhile, Hu Xiaocao was still desperately calling for help. She glared at Yang Cheng and Ma Tian, but her malnourished face made her fierce expression utterly unthreatening.

"I'm telling you! Grandpa Mountain God will protect me. If you don't let me go, Grandpa Mountain God will definitely punish you."

"The little girl isn't old, but she's quite a chatterbox. Do you really think we're afraid? Even if there were a Mountain God, he'd have to kneel and call us grandpa!"

Yang Cheng and Ma Tian just smiled dismissively at her words.

Hu Xiaocao's face turned red with anger at their insolent remarks. She cried out, "Just you wait, you bad guys! Grandpa Mountain God will definitely not stand by and do nothing."

Seeing Hu Xiaocao speak as if it were fact, Yang Cheng and Ma Tian paid no mind. They even wondered if something was wrong with her head.

"This girl was already plain-looking. If her mind is also troubled, she'll probably be even harder to sell."

"It's good if she's a fool; she'll be easier to control."

The human traffickers spoke with the most ordinary tone, yet their words were utterly wicked and conscience-stricken.

No one noticed that in the grass, a pair of beastly eyes began to gleam with a faint light.

Ye Qin watched the human traffickers with a blank expression.

Ma Tian seemed to sense something, a chill inexplicably creeping up his spine. He caught a glimpse of a blur out of the corner of his eye.

"What was that!"

The others were startled by him and followed his gaze. The cold beastly eyes flashed and disappeared, followed by a bright red forked tongue.

It quickly concealed itself in the grass, only a section of its emerald green tail visible. Judging by its size, it didn't seem particularly large.

Yang Cheng also saw the snake and couldn't help but roll his eyes. "It's just a snake, and a non-venomous one at that. Look at how scared you are."

Ma Tian scratched his head. "This snake appeared so silently. Where did it come from?"

The snake posed no threat to them, and no one paid it any mind.

They just assumed it was passing by accidentally.

Besides, in the deep mountains and old forests, snakes, insects, rats, and ants were the most common creatures.