Chapter 21: The Jar Man

Looking at the two men trembling as they begged for mercy, Zhang Zhiwei did not ask any further questions. He recalled his conversation with the gang of human traffickers.

He had been furious earlier, so he hadn't wasted words and had dealt with them immediately. However, from their fragmented pleas, he had heard one of them mention that they belonged to the Cao Gang.

The Cao Gang...

Zhang Zhiwei pondered for a moment. He had some impression of the Cao Gang, though not because their reputation had reached the Dragon and Tiger Mountain, but because he had known of them before he was transported to this world.

Many people are unaware of the Cao Gang, but its other name is universally known: the Qing Gang, also known as the Qing Bang or the Anqing Bang. Originally, it was a secret society-style guild for salt and grain transport workers during the Qing Dynasty, founded with the primary purpose of protecting their own interests and struggling against officialdom. Established between 1727 and 1729, its members all worked in the grain transport trade, hence they were called the Grain Boat Gang. They were widespread north and south of the Yangtze River.

Legend has it that their origins trace back to the Luo Sect, a folk religion from the Ming Dynasty. Initially distributed in regions like North Zhili and Shandong, they later spread along the Grand Canal to the rest of the country. During the Republican era, the Cao Gang expanded rapidly, wielding unprecedented power. Famous figures in later history, such as Huang Jinrong, Du Yuesheng, and Zhang Xiaolin, were all members.

Such criminal organizations become more bloated and corrupt as they grow more powerful. While there might be a few righteous individuals among them, the vast majority are villains who have committed every crime imaginable. They controlled the darkest industries during the turbulent Republican era—colluding with warlords and politicians, extorting protection money, running casinos and brothels, trafficking drugs, kidnapping for ransom, and engaging in human trafficking.

This current operation fell under human trafficking; they sold those they could, and those they couldn't... were they subjected to "caisheng zhege" (the cruel practice of mutilating children into performers to beg)?

Zhang Zhiwei thought for a moment, then looked at the two men shivering in fear and said in a deep voice, "Keep driving."

With that, he slammed the locomotive door shut and returned to the coal carriage. He looked at the children huddled in the corner. They appeared to have been drugged, as they remained dull and listless, showing no reaction even after the violent fight that had just taken place.

As Zhang Zhiwei was about to check on them, a sharp, piercing sound of a bell suddenly rang out.

Catching a glimpse in his peripheral vision, he noticed the bell, a ritual tool belonging to the gang leader he had just struck down with coal, had rolled into the corner due to the train's vibrations. The harsh sound was caused by the rolling bell.

"What is this?"

Zhang Zhiwei reached out, projecting his Qi from his palm to draw the bell toward him through the air. The bronze bell was small, about the size of a fist, and covered in a hideous, grotesque face of a child, giving off a chilling aura.

"Although I don't know its specific function, it is clearly an extremely sinister ritual tool."

He called it sinister because he could see a dark, malevolent energy swirling within the bronze bell. This energy formed a twisted, struggling, blurred face that seemed to want to break free but was bound by the bell.

"This is..."

Just as he was about to examine it more closely, he felt a prickling sensation on his back. Something was staring at him, filled with malice.

"Oh, woo-ah!"

Abruptly, a shrill, eerie sound echoed. Zhang Zhiwei turned his head.

He saw the black jar, which had been standing in the corner covered in bizarre yellow talismans, rolling into the center of the floor. A human head slowly emerged from the jar. It wore a black skullcap, its round face painted like white lacquer with bright red cheeks, tiny mouth, and large, staring eyes—utterly devoid of any humanity. It looked exactly like a paper effigy used for burials, a truly unsettling sight.

"Oh-ho, hee-hee-hee..."

The head protruding from the jar gave Zhang Zhiwei a sinister smile. The eerie laughter filled him with a sense of disgust—not fear, simply pure revulsion. The laughter carried a contradictory sense of extreme malice mixed with a hint of innocence.

Zhang Zhiwei loathed such contradictory things. He decided on the spot to "deliver" it—by physical means.

"Hee-hee-hee!"

As the head laughed, it extended arms and legs from the jar, much like a turtle. Strangely, there were no holes in the jar for limbs to pass through. Yet, as it stretched, the surface of the jar rippled like water, and the limbs emerged from thin air.

Once the limbs were out, the jar-creature reached into the jar's mouth and pulled out a sheet of white paper. Holding the paper in one hand, it used the other like scissors to cut it into the shape of a large saber. It then blew on the paper blade, which rapidly hardened and grew rigid, its edge glinting with cold light, indistinguishable from a real weapon.

"Hee-hee-hee..."

The jar-creature glanced at the gang leader's corpse, let out an insidious laugh, and slashed the paper saber toward Zhang Zhiwei's head. The blow was heavy and powerful, no different from a real strike.

"Whoosh..."

The air whistled as the blade swung, bringing a gust of wind and a foul, putrid stench of rotting corpses emanating from the jar.

Zhang Zhiwei flicked his finger, sending a bolt of electricity flying out, which slammed into the jar-creature's paper blade. Upon impact, the paper saber shattered into fragments, turning to dust. The lightning, its momentum undiminished, struck the jar with a loud boom, tearing a large hole in its side.

The jar cracked, and strands of foul, black blood dripped from the fissure. The jar-creature rolled on the ground in agony, letting out high-pitched, piercing shrieks.

"Like a turtle, has the jar merged with its flesh?"

Zhang Zhiwei flicked his finger again, sending another bolt of electricity aimed directly at the creature's brow. Sensing danger, the creature pulled its limbs and head back into the jar, like a turtle, dodging the strike.

The jar-creature seemed to possess some intelligence. Having suffered a loss in its first encounter with Zhang Zhiwei, it lost its nerve. Not daring to show itself again, it controlled the jar to spin like a wheel, attempting to flee in the direction of the third-class carriage.

"Running toward where there are more people?! I want to see exactly what you are."

Zhang Zhiwei leaped forward, landing in front of the jar-creature. Protected by his Golden Light, he wasn't worried about being bitten. He reached directly into the jar, gripped the creature's neck, and ripped its head out.

"Heh-heh-heh..."

With its throat crushed, the creature struggled, but it was useless. Zhang Zhiwei held it by the neck and slammed it to the ground.

"Bang!"

The back of the creature's head hit the floor. It saw stars, its eyes bulging out, and a piece of its tongue lolled out as it let out a rattling hiss.

Zhang Zhiwei pinned it down with one hand, while with the other, he tore off the yellow talismans from the jar. He then shaped his fingers into a sword, molding his Qi into a blade of golden light. He raised his hand and sliced down from the mouth of the jar, intent on seeing exactly what was inside.