A well-built, rugged middle aged man stood by the driver side door of the van. His brown leather jacket was worn, as were his dark brown pants and black shoes. He pointed a short double barrel shotgun at the three of them the moment he saw them coming. Alex Pearson raised his arms, as did the two young women.

“Don’t say anything.” Alex Pearson whispered to the young women behind him, then walked forward: “We’re here for pig delivery!”

The rugged middle aged man frowned, then uttered: “The holy tower contains the beasts from the river!”

“The heavenly general suppresses the earth tiger!” Alex Pearson responded.

“How many pigs did you request?”

“Seven, eight including me.”

“What’s the feed of today?”

“Mugwort and potato leaves.”

The rugged middle aged man’s eyes scanned through the bodies of all three of his potential passengers, then pulled open the side door of the van: “Alright, jump in. There was a fucking Blood Rainbow earlier from your direction. We better hurry.”

The inside of the van smelled of sweat, fart, vomit and stale soup. But probably thanks to the sense-numbing fog they had to endure earlier, none of the passengers was terribly disturbed. They sat in the back of the van. A thick metal plate with only a small window sat between the driver’s seat and the passengers’ seats.

“Where are you going?” The rugged middle aged man asked, his voice was slightly muffled by the metal plate.

“Sheng’s Butcher Shop, Shavings Department.” Alex Pearson answered.

The driver groaned: “You haven’t handled it yourselves?”

“No. That’s why we paid extra.” Alex Pearson frowned.

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“Prices have gone up, you know that right?”

“Yes.”

“A few of our people got injured. One died.”

“I’m really sorry to hear that. But we have an arrangement with the Big Sister. The others wouldn’t be coming, no refunds needed.”

The driver grunted again, then stopped talking. Eve Kim looked out the side window, then the back window. They were driving away from Poison City, yes, but not directly away. The dirt road was leading them on a path that went along the border while gradually pulling further from it. Concerned, she rang her bell.

“No need for that here now.” Alex Pearson coughed: “Shoot.”

“Where are we going?”

“To finalize our departure.”

The entire ride took around forty minutes. They drove past a small valley, through a small wilted grassy area and by a lake, before finally arriving. “Sheng’s Butcher Shop” was obviously not an actual butcher shop. Instead, it was a humble looking temple with stone and concrete walls, with guards patrolling the surrounding areas. Two armed guards in light yellow tactical uniforms and had strips of brown cloth wrapped around their heads were standing by the front gate, who upon seeing the van both signaled them to stop.

“What pigs?” One guard came by the driver's side window and asked.

“Poison City raised, one boar, two sows.” The driver responded: “Need to go to the Shaving’s Department.”

The names made Eve Kim and Tanya Su squirm. Tanya Su held onto her roommate’s arms closer, who grabbed her hand and comforted her with a low voice.

“Brands and tickets?” The guard asked.

“Here.” Alex Pearson pulled out the paperwork he hid in his pocket, also stuck a few paper bills inside and pushed it through the small window on the metal plate. The driver handed the paperwork to the guard.

“Alright. Go in and park on the right.” The guard took a quick look and handed the paperwork back, with the paper bills still in place.

Alex Pearson shook his head, took the paper bills from the paperwork, added two more bills to the pile. As he and the two young women got out of the van, he handed it to the driver: “For your troubles.”

The driver licked his lips, hesitated for a minute before taking the bill with the second smallest number: “I just need a smoke. Been working for three days straight without much sleep. And - I’ve got debt to pay, not the money kind.”

Alex Pearson nodded and gestured the young women to follow him.

The entire temple looked much more fortified than any temple they would see in Poison City. If Eve Kim or Tanya Su were to call it, it looked more like a small bastion or fortress than a simple temple. There were watch posts in several corners, armed guards patrolling on the walls, and the walls themselves were thick and reinforced with steel.

The “Shavings Department” was a small sanctum below ground. On its ceiling stood nine wooden poles. Eight thinner, shorter ones of roughly a grown man’s height were evenly distributed into a circle, while one thicker, taller one stood at the center. Thick white ropes with talismans on them connected each of the outer poles to the one in the center. Between the outer poles were metal chains with bells on them.

A long table sat at the center of the sanctum, in the middle of which was a small stone altar with two bronze incense burners on both sides. Two peachwood swords were placed at both ends of the table.

“You’re here for shaving?” Two men were sitting in a corner in the sanctum, one older, roughly thirty to forty years of age, while one was barely in his twenties. Both of them were in taoist robes.

“Yes.” Alex Pearson handed his paperwork to the older man.

“... have you showered or bathed?” The older man handed the paperwork back after a careful look.

“No, sir.” Alex Pearson shook his head.

“Go take a bath.” The older man gestured to the younger, who pulled out three wooden coins and handed to three of them: “We don’t have a line, so take your time and - try to relax. It helps.”