Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 515: Selling the Head
After about an hour, Ding Xiu and his companions finally covered the nearly thirty miles between the outer tower and the Weining Camp moat. Along the way, even though Ding Xiu and his companions wore Ming military uniforms, they were still stopped and checked at several key checkpoints. This was no surprise, considering they were carrying three captives dressed in barbarian clothing.

There were no signs of alarm near Weining Camp, and the east and west gates were open. After another brief interrogation, Ding Xiu led his troops into the city through the east gate. Unexpectedly, they had barely entered the gate, and before they had taken a few steps, another man dressed in Ming army attire approached them.

"Sir, please stay!" The man's face was full of smiles.

"Haven't we just checked? What else do you want to ask?" Ding Xiu was a little impatient.

"Not an inspection, not an inspection." The visitor waved his hands repeatedly and stated his purpose directly: "I want to do business with you, brother."

"Doing business? What business?" Ding Xiu was still asking, but Yan Nian had already guessed what this person was going to say.

"Brother, are you taking your brothers out of town to hunt wild boars?" the visitor asked first.

"So what?" Ding Xiu asked back.

"I want to buy two heads. I wonder if this gentleman would be so kind as to give them to me?" Just as Yan Nian expected, the man who came was a head dealer.

"I won't sell it." Ding Xiu directly refused and continued to move forward.

"Don't be so decisive," the head trafficker quickly followed Ding Xiu's footsteps. "Don't you want to hear my offer?"

"Hmph." Ding Xiu rolled his eyes at the man. "No matter how much you offer, can you really beat the imperial reward?"

"Oh! That's not certain," the head dealer said with a smile. "There are so many people here, could you spare me a moment to talk?"

"You know there are so many people around, yet you still dare to stop me on the road?" Ding Xiu turned his head away.

"While this matter isn't something you can bring to light, we're not afraid of the higher-ups finding out. The main thing is to negotiate the price. Besides, displaying a few human heads on the street in broad daylight is quite creepy." Seeing Ding Xiu still walking, the head dealer simply held out his right hand and waved it in front of Ding Xiu. "How about we find a place to discuss the exact amount in private?"

Seeing the head traffickers directly use the imperial reward as the reserve price, Cui Laoliu's eyes suddenly lit up, and Ding Xiu's steps also hesitated slightly. "Fifty taels?"

"Fifty taels is the base price," the head dealer said, his smile widening as if he had anticipated the situation. "Brothers, please come this way. Let's sit down and chat."

"Then..." Before Ding Xiu could express his opinion, Ding Baiying gave up. "This is a human head, not a pig's head. Are you still going to sell it for a price?"

"Brother," the head dealer glanced at her, then looked at Ding Xiu provocatively. "It seems like your little brothers are not very obedient?"

"She's always like this." Ding Xiu curled his lips.

"Haha, I'm not interfering in your business by blaming you, brother. You really should teach a lesson to a troublemaker like this. How can you lead the team well if you're such a talkative guy who always interrupts?" The head dealer saw that Ding Baiying had neither a beard nor the weathered edges of a middle-aged man, so he subconsciously thought that he was a young man who had just joined the army.

"Uh," Ding Xiu smiled. Li Xian and Yan Nian also twitched their lips while trying not to laugh.

"Hey!" Ding Baiying frowned, but the words of explanation and rebuttal were only on the tip of her tongue before she swallowed them.

There's no need to bother with such people.

"I object!" Ding Baiying turned to look at Ding Xiu. "These are human lives, military achievements, earned with our lives. How can you sell them to others?"

The head dealer had no interest in paying attention to Ding Baiying and continued to talk to Ding Xiu, the head of the business. "A contribution is only real if it can be converted into silver and put into your pocket. The imperial court's reward will take at least a year or two to come. I can give you cash directly. It's even more than the imperial court can give you. And it's not necessary to sell it, we just want to talk first. What are you hesitating about?"

"Yes, Captain Ding," Cui Laoliu finally couldn't help but speak. "It won't hurt to say a few words."

"What do you say, Old Yan?" Ding Xiu stopped and looked at Yan Nian.

"I think as long as the price is right, there's no harm in talking about it. It's all up to you." Yan Nian had heard of this kind of thing a long time ago, but this was the first time he personally participated in this kind of business.

"Then lead the way." Ding Xiu directly skipped the step of asking Li Xian and Ding Baiying.

"Hey! I don't agree, you didn't hear me?" Ding Baiying got angry and stood in front of Ding Xiu.

"Master Ding, you don't have to follow me." If it were anyone else, Ding Xiu would have pushed or kicked them, but for Ding Baiying, he still respected her. "Don't worry, I'll save your share for you." In the end, Ding Xiu simply walked around her and passed by her.

The head dealer was a bit surprised, and he looked at Ding Baiying a few more times. He didn't understand why the team leader could call his soldiers "Master" and be so polite. However, the head dealer didn't hesitate for long. He quickly figured it out through his imagination: the two men had the same surname, so they might be from the same clan, and the younger man might be of a higher generation. It must be said that the more he looked at this annoying guy, the more he looked like a worthless piece of trash.

"Brothers, follow me." The head trafficker withdrew his gaze and led the way with a smile.

Ding Xiu followed without looking back. Cui Laoliu, obsessed with money, followed even closer than Ding Xiu. Yan Nian gave Ding Baiying an apologetic smile, but didn't falter. Only Li Xian kept looking back every three steps, as if struggling.

As for the other three people, they were high-quality commodities favored by the head trafficker. Or rather, it was precisely because of their presence that the head trafficker stopped Ding Xiu directly at the city gate.

Ding Baiying stood there, frowning as she watched the group's receding backs, seemingly having no intention of following them. But just as they were about to disappear around the corner, Ding Baiying took a long stride and ran after them. She had to see how this shady business deal was negotiated!

The head traffickers brought Ding Xiu and his group to a blacksmith shop near the northern wall of Weining Camp. Their arrival didn't attract much attention. The middle-aged craftsman who was forging dark armor plates and his apprentices glanced at them briefly before lowering their heads and continuing to work.

"Is this your home?" Ding Xiu asked the head dealer.

"This is my home." The head dealer invited everyone to the room farthest from the blacksmith's shop. But the noise didn't get any quieter.

"How can you openly run this kind of business at home?" Ding Xiu sat down at the trafficker's instruction, while the others continued standing. "Aren't you afraid we'll tell everyone about this and file a complaint against you?"

"Well," the head dealer waved his hand, nonchalantly. "Thank you for your concern, brother. Didn't I just tell you that these things are very clear and not a big deal? What general in his youth didn't buy a few heads to show off? Besides, I'm just a broker, making a profit from the difference." The head dealer sat down across from Ding Xiu and introduced himself: "My last name is Tong, and my given name is Deng. What's your name, sir?"

"Ding Xiu."

The head dealer was stunned, and his smile widened. "So you're Ding Xiu! I've heard a lot about you."

"Have you heard of me?" Ding Xiu narrowed his eyes slightly.

"If people in our profession didn't know who was the best at getting heads, there'd be no point in getting in." Tong Deng changed his tune. He not only addressed Ding Xiu with a respectful title, but also used a humble one for himself. "I've long heard of Brother Ding's heroic feat of achieving the third level, and I've always wanted to meet him. It's a shame I've only ever admired him. Today, I'm lucky enough to see him, and he's truly extraordinary!"

"No need for politeness," Ding Xiu said, though he felt deeply moved. "Brother Tong, let's get down to business. My brothers and I brought back ten heads this time, nine of which are worth discussing."

"Ten heads! Just five of you?" Tong Deng's eyes widened in surprise. "Where did you get them?"

"My brothers and I went to raid a camp outside the Great Wall," Ding Xiu said, raising his head proudly. "We massacred a small settlement that was poorly defended and killed all the men there."

"Hiss!" Tong Deng took a breath and couldn't help but praise: "You have guts!" With this matter in mind, Tong Deng looked at Ding Baiying with a much smoother look.

"Let's get straight to the point. How much are you prepared to pay, Brother Tong?" Ding Xiu subconsciously glanced at Ding Baiying. He noticed she was looking at him with disdain. He rolled his eyes in response, a look that seemed to say, "What's your business? If you don't agree, just leave."

"I can't give you a quote for now. I need to inspect the goods first." What Tong Deng wanted most were the three living people, but getting straight to the point right away would only raise the other party's psychological expectations. This was not the way to do business.

"Bring them all up here." Ding Xiu beckoned, and Cui Laoliu immediately took the bag of heads from the three captives. He looked so eager, as if he could get the silver in the next moment.

Along the way, they were the ones who carried the precious human heads. The reason why Ding Xiu dared to let the captives carry all the heads was because the captives could not benefit from the heads.

For Ming soldiers like Ding Xiu, human heads were indeed valuable, but for these captives, they were not only useless but also harmful. They could neither return to their tribes with the heads nor secretly take them to Han territory to exchange for money. They couldn't even escape, as they had no food to sustain themselves. If they didn't follow Ding Xiu's team, they would either starve to death or eat human heads to satisfy their hunger.

"Just put the head on the table." Cui Laoliu originally wanted to put the head on the ground, but then Tong Deng gently tapped the table in front of him with his fingertips. "It will be convenient for inspection."

Ding Xiu and others subconsciously followed Tong Deng's finger and looked towards the wooden table, only then did they notice the bloodstains on the wooden table that had not been wiped clean.

"Then put them all out for Brother Tong to take a good look." Ding Xiu waved at Cui Laoliu.

"Okay!" Cui Laoliu immediately responded excitedly. One by one, he took the heads out of the bag and placed them on the table.

In less than an hour, it would be noon, the time of year when the Yang energy was at its peak. The room where everyone was sitting was also exceptionally brightly lit by the bright sunlight. It was just like this in broad daylight.

But when ten heads, each bearing a different expression, almost all with eyes wide open, were placed on the table, the warmth of the sunlight inexplicably dissipated. A terrifying and eerie atmosphere, accompanied by the smell of corruption and blood, gradually filled the room.

This scene gave Ding Baiying goosebumps all over her body, and Li Xian's face was filled with obvious fear. Yan Nian's expression calmed down slightly, but his brows still furrowed. Only Ding Xiu and Cui Laoliu looked at Tong Deng across from them, with expressions of indifference mixed with complacency, and excitement mixed with greed, respectively.

Tong Deng also had a slightly different look on his face, but it was more of surprise and joy. Tong Deng had been in this business for a long time, and the number of heads he had seen could fill an entire room, but this was the first time he had seen so many heads in "good condition" on this table at the same time.

After five days of separation, without a large amount of salt or lime to seal it, the head had already begun to decompose, and one could smell a strange odor other than blood without even sniffing carefully. However, in terms of performance testing, as long as the maggots hadn't eaten away key features like the face and scalp, it was still considered "in good condition."

"Brother Tong, what do you want to say?" Ding Xiu urged.

"Tsk." In the blink of an eye, Tong Deng's surprise faded, and he raised his head with a sigh of regret. "Brother Ding, when were these heads picked?"

"About five days ago." Ding Xiu said.

"No wonder. It smells like this." Tong Deng just started to speak when he was interrupted by Yan Nian.

"It smells, but it's not that great!" Yan Nian smoothed the wrinkles between his brows and took the initiative to interrupt. "These heads are still in shape, without even a hole. Don't think you can use this to lower the price." Yan Nian is an old hand after all, and he still has some basic knowledge.

"Oh, what are you thinking?" Tong Deng cursed inwardly, but a smile spread across his face. "I'm just glad! The weather isn't that hot yet. If it's another month or two, this head wouldn't be infested with worms if left dry for five days without salting it. By then, even if it's a good head, I wouldn't dare take it."

Tong Deng even pretended to be kind and "reminded" Ding Xiu, "Brother Ding, if you want to take your brothers on a long mission to hunt wild boars next time, remember to bring enough salt or lime. Lime is best. After washing the head clean, wrap it with this lime and it will not have any smell for ten days." It was the same at their level. If the governor decided to send the head to the Ministry of War for verification, he would also have to ask the coroner to take out the contents of the head.

Ding Xiu was incredibly clever, immediately guessing the hidden meaning behind these words. But he didn't expose it. Instead, he nodded and said, "Thanks for the heads up, Brother Tong. Since it's still a good head, please make an offer."

(End of this chapter)