The Long Āgama Sūtra 7.87

7.87

「時，商主還語諸商人言：『吾向前行，見有一人，道如此事：君等車上若有穀草，可盡捐棄，彼自豐有，不須重車。』時，商主言：『汝等穀草慎勿捐棄，須得新者然後當棄，所以者何？新陳相接，然後當得度此曠野。』時，彼商人重車而行，如是一日不見水草，二日、三日至于七日，又亦不見。但見前人為鬼所食，骸骨狼藉。

“The merchant leader said to his company of merchants, ‘Ahead of us, there’s a man … [He said,] “Gentlemen, if you have grain and grass on your carts, you can discard all of it. That place has plenty, so you don’t need to burden your carts with it.”

“The merchant leader said, ‘Take care not to discard your grain and grass. We’ll discard them when we find fresh supplies. Why is that? Once we replace them with fresh supplies, we’ll be able to cross this wasteland.’

“Those merchants proceeded with heavy carts. Thus, they didn’t see water or grass on the first day, nor did they see any on the second day … the third day … the seventh day. All they saw of the people who had been eaten by the demon were their scattered bones.