The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty

During Chongzhen’s Reign (A.D. 1628-1644), land annexation reached unmitigated extremes, and the country faced domestic issues and foreign invasions, coinciding with the catastrophic Little Ice Age. After many years of horrid disasters in succession one after another, the Ming court continued to impose inhumane policies resulting in widespread starvation and leading to the rise of multiple rebellions against the court.
Liang the bandit, and his companion are commissioned for a job from an unsavoury merchant and must escort four girls to a wealthy lord in the city of Luoyang. They must pass through Huazhou, Wenxiang, and Shanzhou, and finally reach their destination of Luoyang.
Liang initially believes that the girls he is escorting will be sold to the wealthy lord as adopted daughters to begin a new life. However, one of the four girls named “Sui” reveals the hidden secret of their journey to Luoyang.
The lord is a swine demon who has practised devouring young ladies for over a thousand years. Every year on his birthday, he dispatches human traffickers to abduct girls from Shaanxi in celebration of his special day. Sui’s sister was among the many who had fallen victim to the demon’s appetite.
Sui is hopeful that Liang will end the escort and join her in assassinating the swine demon to avenge her sister and those who have perished in recent years. Although Liang wants to believe Sui, there are too many inconsistencies in her story. Throughout
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