Chapter 253: Inquiring About the Situation (Please Subscribe)

"So why did you want to take your own life?"

After quickly finishing Wei Ming's business, Du En asked about this matter with concern.

Lan Dieqiao did not even have time to savor the thoughts sent by her lover; her attention was instinctively drawn away, and she spoke of the situation she was currently facing.

"Oh? The manager outside the city here is so fond of women?"

"Mm, I don't know the specific situation either, but I only know that every year, the virgins with excellent looks who are assigned here are quickly taken away, followed by other virgins with decent looks, and as of late, the hunting range has expanded to include married women like us."

It should have only reached the stage of single female cultivators; it had not yet reached the stage of snatching married women.

Du En secretly made his own corrections regarding her situation.

But regardless, this matter was clearly very strange.

Only in a place like Lin'an City, where the attrition rate of personnel is very low, could this appear calm and persist for a long time, to the point that even Meng Changqing in the upper echelons is unaware of these things.

The reason he thought this was because, according to Lan Dieqiao's account, the number of people filled in here every year is estimated to be only a few dozen to nearly a hundred, which is very, very few compared to the Nanmo and Chiwu regions.

And now, the situation here where men outnumber women, reaching a ratio of nine to one, is clearly a gradual change that has occurred over many years.

"Where do they go?"

Du En asked again.

Lan Dieqiao shook her head: "I don't know; it's just that after they are taken away, they are rarely seen again."

"Rarely, which means there are still some?"

"Mm, not long after I first arrived here, I encountered some, and later I saw similar situations one after another. Generally speaking, it was during those few days of adapting in the city that some people developed feelings for each other, but they were picked out after being assigned here, and then those women would quickly change their hearts and come back themselves to sever their romantic ties."

Aside from having her heart set on someone, Lan Dieqiao was also very afraid of this point. She could not understand why, and even felt that they might have been struck by some evil art, which is why her reaction was so intense when it was her turn.

Listening to this answer, Du En pondered and confirmed a few more details, feeling that it did not seem like an evil art. As such, he found it difficult to judge what was actually going on for the moment.

Could it really just be building a harem?

But if the scale of the outer city's enclosed garden here is basically the same as that of the Qingya Garden, it simply could not support that many female cultivators and women!

It seems I will have to go and see for myself...

Du En thought this to himself, remaining calm.

And after Lan Dieqiao calmed down, she also began to gradually process what had happened.

Brother Wei is still thinking of me, hee hee!

Wait? How did he dare to think that? Did he set his eyes on some vixen?

No, no, now is not the time to worry about this.

Who exactly is this person before me? And, is my predicament gone?

Du En watched the changes in her expression and guessed the changes in her thoughts, only saying: "Wei Ming is my former subordinate. He is doing fine now, at the late stage of Qi Refining, working in the Outer City Affairs Office. As for your current situation..."

Before he could finish his sentence, an uninvited guest entered.

It was Ding Hong, who had left earlier but found things increasingly suspicious, and had come to look for Lan Dieqiao to prevent her from committing suicide.

"You..."

Seeing the lone man and woman here, she was stunned on the spot and was about to start cursing.

Immediately after, she felt herself lose control of her body, the world spinning, and she plunged headlong into the cold pool. She shivered uncontrollably, attempting to stir up her magic power to resist, only to find it was like mud entering the sea, unable to stir up even a ripple.

Sinking to the bottom of the water, deep and freezing, unable to break free, it was just like being submerged in a pig cage—a punishment for her forcing others into prostitution.

Her soul was terrified!

Then, she was dragged back by Du En, who felt enough was enough. He no longer restrained her with spiritual energy and tossed her onto the ground. Like a drowned rat, she shivered and trembled, immediately prostrating herself.

"Th-this, my lord, spare this lowly one, spare this lowly one..."

"Since you've come looking, tell me about the whereabouts of the women here."

Du En asked calmly.

Lan Dieqiao, on the side, had not yet reacted and was stunned once again.

She dared to be stunned, but Ding Hong did not. She immediately spilled everything she knew like beans pouring from a container.

That feeling of losing control of her body and nearly drowning just now was truly too terrifying—far more terrifying than the displays of power by the Foundation Establishment managers in the garden!

"You don't actually know the details, you've just seen more living women than Lan Dieqiao has?"

"Yes, yes! That is a massive blessing! One or two of them, after not seeing them for just a year or two, all became spirited. They looked at me with their noses in the air, full of disdain, as if I were a sow rolling in the mud!"

"Oh? Since that's the case, why did you still dare to force her? Aren't you afraid she'll come to settle the score with you later?"

"Th-this, little sister Qiao'er is quite broad-minded. With actual benefits, she shouldn't resent me. Besides, the manager has indeed been urging us urgently lately, haha..."

So it turns out I'm being bullied for being kind?

Lan Dieqiao came to her senses at this moment, and her anger flared up.

And Du En continued to calmly and sharply point out the doubt: "Then why didn't you climb up there yourself?"

"Th-this lowly one is old and faded..."

"Taking a first-grade pill is not a problem for you."

"Th-this lowly one is a stone woman..."

"Perhaps they happen to like that type now, so that is not a fundamental problem either."

"Haha, my lord, you are joking."

"I am not joking."

Du En looked down at her calmly, the meaning in his gaze very clear.

If you don't tell the truth obediently, continue soaking in the pig cage until you die.

Ding Hong immediately wore a mournful face and said with a cry: "My lord should know, we supervisors are just bottom-feeders driven out of the city. Having worked in the city before, I still long for the scent of that place. And so, my nose is sharp, and I actually smelled *that* on those women. It concerns the city, so this lowly one is afraid!"

It wasn't just fear of that; she was actually afraid of Du En.

If this were some villain, even if she were let go now, if he went into the city to cause trouble and created a mess, once an investigation was launched and they traced it back to her, she wouldn't have enough lives to pay for it!

That's right, Ding Hong was now very suspicious that the person before her, who made no effort to hide being an outsider and possessed great strength far surpassing those third-rate Foundation Establishment stewards, was from the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate across the river!

"I am not from the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate, here."

"A, a wandering traveler?"

There is such a position?

Upon seeing the identity token, both women here appeared extremely bewildered, having never heard of such an occupation before.

However, Ding Hong had worked in the city after all and could be considered relatively knowledgeable, so she was able to judge in general that this token was not fake.

She immediately let out a heavy sigh of relief!

"Scared, you scared me to death..."

"Now you can explain things clearly."

"Yes, yes, this humble one will start from the beginning, start from the beginning."

As expected of an old stone woman who claimed to be aging and fading, once she started from the beginning, she began from fifty years ago.

(End of this chapter)