Chapter 188: Selling Plunder

"Third Uncle Liu, why did you deceive me?"

The Ghost Bride’s tone was ice-cold.

"I didn’t... no, it wasn’t me..."

Liu Liangxin’s voice trembled. Riddled with guilt, his Heart and Spirit were on the verge of collapse.

"Then who was it?"

"It was... it was..."

Liu Liangxin was terrified, but he still didn’t dare tell the truth. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, "I... I was just paid to do a job. The one who killed you was Master Qian of Renyi Manor! It had nothing to do with me."

The shock had sobered him up.

As his Blood Qi circulated, the effects of the soporific began to fade as well.

Liu Liangxin regained some clarity and reason.

"It’s fake! It’s all fake!"

Liu Liangxin shook his head forcefully and muttered, "It’s all a dream. Yes, just a nightmare! I’m clearly in Jingzhou City. No matter how powerful the Ghost Bride is, she wouldn’t dare enter the city!"

The Ghost Bride was, of course, Mo Tang in disguise.

In truth, the plan was full of holes. If Liu Liangxin were to calm down, he would easily spot the flaws.

Lu Bai had devised this plan, partly to take advantage of the soporific’s effects.

And partly because he had a firm grasp of Liu Liangxin’s psychology.

Those with a clear conscience have nothing to fear.

Liu Liangxin had done evil. Plagued by guilt, he was bound to be terrified and expose his weaknesses the moment a Ghost Soul came looking for him.

However, Liu Liangxin had knocked around the Jianghu for years. Without a real threat, he couldn’t be completely intimidated.

Just then, the door was suddenly smashed open by an immense force!

Liu Liangxin jumped, subconsciously looking back.

But the doorway was empty.

While he was still stunned and suspicious, a pair of large, ice-cold hands suddenly seized his throat. The immense force was nearly enough to make him pass out from suffocation!

The power in those hands was immense.

They gripped his throat tightly, lifting him off the ground.

The palms were so damp and bone-chillingly cold that goosebumps erupted all over his skin.

"Captain Liu, you caused the death of my daughter Chuchu and dozens of people from Bai Family Village. I want you to pay with your life!"

Another voice spoke from in front of him, hoarse and low, filled with venomous resentment.

But in Liu Liangxin’s line of sight, there was no one to be seen.

"A ghost... A Ghost Soul demanding my life!"

The thought instantly flashed through Liu Liangxin’s mind.

’This isn’t a dream!’

He could feel the sensation of suffocating with terrifying clarity!

"Hkk... hkk... I’ll talk..."

Liu Liangxin completely broke down. He used the last of his strength to force out two words.

The large hands suddenly released him.

THUD.

Liu Liangxin collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath, his face a mask of terror.

That brief moment felt like a trip to the Ghost Gate and back.

If he hadn’t given in, he felt that the very next moment, those hands would have crushed his throat.

"Younger... Younger Brother Bai, it was the master of Renyi Manor who came to me out of the blue. He asked me to help find a girl with a pure-yin birth chart."

Liu Liangxin said, "The Fujiao Gang has always had business dealings with Renyi Manor. I couldn’t well refuse, so I... I..."

"What kind of business?"

Lu Bai asked, his voice low.

To make it more realistic, he had deliberately kept his hands on a block of ice for a long time before entering.

"It’s..."

Liu Liangxin hesitated.

"Speak!"

Mo Tang suddenly spoke, her voice frigid.

Liu Liangxin shuddered in fear and quickly said, "It’s... human trafficking."

Lu Bai and Mo Tang both frowned slightly.

Human trafficking, the selling of people, was a capital offense in the Wu Dynasty.

Moreover, both the buyer and the seller were equally culpable and would be sentenced to death!

Liu Liangxin hurriedly added, "But... but they’re not people from the Wu Dynasty. They’re mainly refugees fleeing from the Shi and Mo Countries. Anyone crossing the Jingshui River has to pass through Fujiao Gang territory. We use the gang’s cargo ships to trick... to bring them over, and then we sell them to Renyi Manor."

"When did this start? How many people have you sold?"

Mo Tang asked.

Liu Liangxin said, "About two years ago, I think. I haven’t counted, but it must be several thousand at least."

In reality, these questions were gradually straying from the original topic.

But Liu Liangxin’s Heart and Spirit had completely collapsed, and he was no longer capable of noticing anything unusual.

"And after they’re sold to Renyi Manor? Where do these people go?"

Lu Bai pressed.

He had been to Renyi Manor. A few hundred people had died there.

There definitely weren’t several thousand.

"I don’t know."

Liu Liangxin said, "In the Fujiao Gang, I’m only responsible for transporting these refugees. I don’t know what happens after that."

Lu Bai had a faint feeling that there was more to this story.

Liu Liangxin was only responsible for transporting the refugees from the Shi and Mo Countries. He probably didn’t know the inside details.

"How much per head?"

Mo Tang asked.

Captain Liu said, "I’m not sure. Money doesn’t pass through my hands. The Gang Leader handles all the contacts."

Mo Tang asked again, "There must have been Martial Artists among the refugees, right?"

"There were."

Captain Liu said, "Some were refugees, but others were desperados from the Shi and Mo Countries—Inner Martial Artists, Innate Martial Artists, and even True Masters of the Martial Dao. They were wanted on nationwide arrest warrants in their home countries with nowhere left to hide, so they fled here.

The Gang Leader arranged for them to be sent somewhere else."

"Where?"

Mo Tang asked.

Captain Liu said, "Marquis Jingzhong’s Mansion, I think."

A chill went down Mo Tang’s spine.

Lu Bai had never heard of this Marquis Jingzhong.

Li Yue’er’s father was a Third-Grade Marquis, but he didn’t seem to be Marquis Jingzhong.

Through just a few short sentences, Mo Tang quickly uncovered a clue. That last question had been crucial.

In other words, the True Master of the Martial Dao from the Mo Country who had ambushed them that night might have come from this very Marquis Jingzhong’s Mansion!

Lu Bai was lost in thought.

’The brocade-robed young man who sought me out that day must also be connected to Marquis Jingzhong’s Mansion.’

"Have there been any mistakes in these past two years?"

Mo Tang continued to press him.

"No."

Liu Liangxin shook his head instinctively, but then seemed to recall something and added, "About two months ago, there was an accident. A cargo ship sank in the Jingshui River. A whole boatload of people died."

Lu Bai and Mo Tang both thought of the same thing at the same time.

The Water Ghosts in the Jingshui River might have been transformed from some of the people on that boat.

"What happened exactly?"

Mo Tang pressed.

"I don’t know the details. I’m not in charge of the cargo ships at the ferry crossing."

Liu Liangxin swallowed hard and said, "Younger Brother Bai, every injustice has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. This really wasn’t my fault. Master Qian asked me to find someone; how was I supposed to know he had such intentions?"

"You’re lying!"

Lu Bai’s voice was low as he said slowly, "That day, you took my daughter to Renyi Manor. After meeting with the steward, you two had a conversation. You clearly knew about the ghost marriage all along!"

"I... I..."

Liu Liangxin was so frightened his face was drained of all color. His voice trembled, and he no longer knew how to explain himself.

Mo Tang floated in front of Liu Liangxin, extended a finger, and tapped one of his acupoints.

Liu Liangxin’s vision went black, and he fainted once more.

Mo Tang descended, took off her bridal veil, and panted slightly.

Her injuries hadn’t fully healed yet, and levitating had taken a considerable toll on her.

Lu Bai took off the Mountain Demon Hat, revealing his form.

He Liangzhi also came in from outside.

Mo Tang asked, "How did it go?"

He Liangzhi nodded. "I recorded everything, word for word."

Lu Bai said, "Your Excellency, the evidence is conclusive. The Fujiao Gang’s involvement in human trafficking is a grave crime in the Wu Dynasty. We can make the arrests."

Mo Tang fell silent, pondering.