Di Ming

Chapter 53 Killing

Human traffickers.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yin's mind became clear, and his killing intent surged like iron.

Detectives are required to have good eyesight and hearing. Zhu Yin's hearing is over ten decibels, which is better than the average person.

Since the distance was only four or five meters, I could hear it very clearly.

These two human traffickers were targeting not only themselves and Ning Caiwei, but also others.

There were seven targets in this large inn alone, mostly children and women.

Outside the inn, they had a small group waiting to meet them. There was a black boat on the dock.

Zhu Yin didn't leave; instead, he put out his cigarette and waited for the two to leave first.

He was nine years old, and hiding behind a large water vat, he was completely undetectable.

The two discussed for a while before deciding to make their move at 11:45 AM, and set sail from Jining that very night.

After the two men came down from the attic, Zhu Yin crouched down and came out, watching their backs as he memorized their room numbers.

No rush. It's only just past the hour of the 7th of the month, plenty of time.

Zhu Yin moved to another spot, lit a cigarette again, and took a few satisfying puffs.

In the Ming Dynasty, tobacco was already being grown in Fujian and other places, and it was called "danbagu". It's just that there was no cigarette as we know it today.

Detective Zhu was a cautious man, and he didn't crush the cigarette butt until he had finished smoking the cigarette at his own leisure.

He had just walked back to the door of Bingchen's room and was about to enter when he heard Ning Caiwei's clear and cheerful voice inside:

"I'm speechless! He's like a thief! He stole my cigarettes while I was taking a shower! My lungs are still developing at nine years old, how can I smoke? He's not learning anything good! Damn it..."

"You treat my kindness like dirt, like I'm invisible..."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yin was taken aback and stopped in his tracks.

When Ning Caiwei was CEO, she was elegant, composed, and poised, never showing her emotions. She was approachable yet difficult to offend.

Intelligence indicates that during her middle school years, she was a polite, sensible, and very elegant young lady, already possessing leadership qualities.

Even after she became much more lively and mischievous after returning to childhood, she has always remained gentle and elegant, like a kind and understanding young lady.

But why does he look a little fierce this time?
Galo couldn't understand her long passages of Chinese, so he could only ask in Jurchen:

"Princess, what did you say? Did I do something wrong? Is Princess angry?"

Ning Caiwei switched to Jurchen and said, "Galuo Eyun (sister), you did nothing wrong. It was just that an annoying mouse made me angry."

Galo immediately showed a hint of fear and said:

"Oh dear, Princess, you can't hit the mouse! Mother Xingrui (the Mouse Fairy) will be angry!"

Ning Caiwei rolled her eyes in annoyance.

What the hell is this Rat Fairy?!

Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly saw Zhu Yin walk in, and immediately showed a gentle smile, gracefully tossing her hair behind her ear.

"You went out to cool off? You're only nine years old. Be careful around strangers."

She had just finished taking a bath, her face was fair and rosy, and her hair was loose as she pretended to wave a round fan.

Zhu Yin nodded, then casually sat down on the drum-shaped stool in the middle of the guest room and poured himself some tea.

Upon seeing this, Galo immediately went out and closed the door.

Ning Qingchen suddenly giggled on the bed, seemingly very happy, though it was unclear why.

Ning Caiwei glared at the baby, then turned to Zhu Yin with a smile and said:

"You're all sweaty, go take a shower, wash up, and go to bed. We're all in the developmental stage, we need to go to sleep early."

"This whole bucket of water is only clean since only Qingchen and I have used it. If you think the water is dirty, just call a waiter and we'll change it..."

She didn't mention the cigarettes, pretending not to know anything about them. Zhu Yin didn't mention them either, pretending it hadn't happened.

Zhu Yin snapped open his folding fan, blowing away the smoke from his clothes, and said slowly and deliberately:
“We’re not talking about taking a bath or going to bed right now; we’re talking about killing someone and punishing the perpetrator.”

"What did you say? Punish the murderer for the crime?" The little girl stopped holding her fan, her expression one of shock. "Someone is trying to kidnap us?"

She was always incredibly clever and immediately guessed that she and Zhu Yin had attracted the attention of bad people.

Both of them were children, had no enemies, and had not lost any money, so they must have been targeted by human traffickers.

Zhu Yin recounted what he had heard earlier. Ning Caiwei looked solemn, and Ning Qingchen also sat up, staring blankly at Zhu Yin.

The meaning is clearly: What should we do?

Ning Caiwei felt her throat was a little dry, took the teacup from Zhu Yin's hand, took a sip, and asked, "Is the shopkeeper an accomplice?"

Zhu Yin shook his head: "No. These people are habitual human traffickers. They have their own methods to take their trafficked victims out of the inn and onto the boat to leave."

"The shopkeepers are definitely not accomplices, but whether they have protectors in the patrol office and the canal soldiers is unknown, but they probably do."

“If we call the police now, even if the patrol officers and dock guards come, they might still protect them.”

"In that case, we will not only be unable to punish them, but we will also expose ourselves and become their enemies."

Ning Caiwei's face was frosty. "Was human trafficking such a serious crime in the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Yin nodded: "It was very serious, especially in the late Ming Dynasty. The human trafficking smuggling activities in the coastal provinces of the Ming Dynasty had become a large-scale slave trade industry."

"Tens of thousands of people were trafficked each year. The largest overseas buyers were Japanese daimyo, Korean yangban, Western colonists in Southeast Asia, and plantation owners."

"The largest domestic buyers were brothel owners, mine owners, textile owners, bureaucratic landlords, temple owners, southwestern chieftains, Jurchens, and Mongols."

"To put it simply, besides black slaves, the people who were most frequently trafficked in this era were probably the people of the Ming Dynasty."

"The difference is that black slaves were sold by white colonists of a different race. Ming slaves, on the other hand, were sold by their own people, which is considered selling one's own compatriots."

"In the collection of 'Three Words and Two Slaps,' there are dozens of stories that mention human trafficking."

"This group of human traffickers colluded with the Heiwado Domain, and the buyers were Japanese pirates. The practice of Japanese daimyo buying Ming Dynasty people as slaves has been going on for many years. The women were made into concubines and military women; you can imagine what their fate was."

"Male slaves, well, young and good-looking ones are used as male prostitutes. Japan's male sex culture is very prosperous, and there are even books that study how to play with them... It's very convenient. Ordinary male slaves are used as livestock, doing hard labor."

Ning Caiwei couldn't help but say, "This is really terrible. Selling them to Japan would be an even greater sin." Zhu Yin said coldly, "Don't alarm our godfather about this. His identity is sensitive, and it's not appropriate for him to get involved."

Ning Caiwei understood. She and Zhu Yin had a very good understanding.

“If you’re really confident, then… go ahead and kill them,” Ning Caiwei said. “With Lan Cha and the other two, killing the traitors and eliminating the villains is no problem, but what happens after that?”

"What about the body? A death will definitely alert the inspectors and the canal soldiers. Won't they investigate?"

Zhu Yin sneered, "Don't worry about that. I'll take care of it. Just have Galo stay with you and keep an eye on your sister."

Ning Caiwei said, "Okay. I trust you to handle the murder; you'll definitely do it cleanly. But I still want their money."

“Isn’t their black ship at the dock? After killing them, we went to the ship, took their money, and took the ship too.”

"We must eradicate evil completely, right?"

Zhu Yin nodded. "Yes."

Then he went to the other rooms and called out Rancha, Meh, and Niman.

Because of the hot weather, many guests were chatting and relaxing on the veranda instead of going inside to rest.

The two human traffickers who had infiltrated the inn chatted aimlessly with the other guests, making them appear like normal businessmen to anyone who didn't know better.

It wasn't until late at night, when the guests gradually returned to their rooms and the lights were turned off, that the two human traffickers finally went back to their own rooms.

But as soon as they entered their room, before they could even close the door, Lancha and the other two, who had been hiding nearby, rushed in.

Although the two were seasoned veterans, they were merely cunning; their actual martial arts skills were quite ordinary.

Before he even had a chance to call for help, his neck was grabbed.

Immediately afterwards, a small figure darted in.

The door was closed again.

Under the light, it was revealed to be a boy who was not yet ten years old, his face filled with a murderous intent that was incongruous with his age.

When the two human traffickers saw Zhu Yin, they were terrified, as if they had seen a ghost.

Tonight, they have seven targets. This little boy is one of them.

He was intended to be sold to Japan as a male prostitute.

But unexpectedly, before they could even make a move, the little boy discovered them.

At this moment, their mouths were gagged, and they could not make a sound.

Zhu Yin calmly took out two sets of paper and pens and placed them in front of the two men.

"You two should be literate. Write separately, consider it a test. My questions are on the blank paper. If you answer incorrectly... you'll be in deep trouble..."

The two men looked at the little boy and couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.

He looked no older than ten, not at all like a child. They had never seen such a wolf-like, sinister expression before.

Is this really a child?

Thinking of this, both of them regretted it deeply.

……

Half an hour later, Zhu Yin looked at the two blank sheets of paper covered with writing and finally smiled with satisfaction.

The information extracted through interrogation is all listed above. The gains exceeded his expectations.

They also found anything useful on the two of them.

Zhu Yin said coldly, "Very good, that matches up. I'll give you a quick death."

He said to Lancha, "Lancha, crush them, but don't let any blood flow."

"Yes, sir." Lancha stretched out his hands, grabbed the two men's necks, and squeezed them hard.

With a "crack," the throats of the two human traffickers were crushed, and their eyes bulged out as they died instantly.

The two men were guilty of heinous crimes, and Zhu Yin was certainly unwilling to let them die so easily.

But this is an inn, and killing must be done cleanly and efficiently.

Soon, the murder clues left in the room were also cleaned up.

Then, taking advantage of the darkness and dim lighting, Lancha and the others "supported" the two corpses and followed Zhu Yin away.

They quickly went up to the attic where the fire hydrant tank had been placed.

This place is rather remote. Aside from refilling the water tanks, the shopkeepers rarely come here.

Zhu Yin didn't speak, but silently pointed to the innermost fire water tank.

Lancha carried the two corpses and gently placed them into the water tank, then put the lid on and turned on the water gun and water cannon.

Then, the traces left behind were also erased by Zhu Yin.

Despite the sweltering heat of midsummer, the corpse wouldn't stink for at least a day in a large water vat filled with water.

By now, he would have been long gone.

It might not even be discovered in two days.

After killing the man, Lancha and the others went their separate ways. Zhu Yin also returned to his room in Bingchen as if nothing had happened.

Ning Caiwei was already waiting in the room.

"How is it?" she asked softly.

Zhu Yin nodded, made a neck-slitting motion, and handed her two sheets of white paper.

Before Ning Caiwei could even look, there was a sudden "knock knock" on the door.

In the middle of the night, someone was knocking on the door!

The two were startled and looked towards the door...

(End of this chapter)