Chapter 254: Action Tracking (Please Subscribe)

Fifty years ago, Lin'an City already had this current situation.

Young women allocated here annually to fill the gap would be quickly selected, sent into the compound, and then, through a specific turnover process that she herself did not actually know, sent into the city.

Through those women who returned—either having severed their ties of affection or having returned to their old haunts to show off or seek revenge—it could be confirmed that they were actually fine and not dead; it was just that the vast majority were greedy for the environment inside the city and did not want to return outside the city anymore.

This had continued for years on end; originally it only targeted beautiful virgins, but a few years ago, it suddenly began to expand its scope, and until recently, it even included non-virgins, with the whole process being rushed and hurried, increasingly highlighting the anomaly.

"That is all I know, my lord."

"Hmm, get up."

Du En felt satisfied only then.

Judging by the details in terms of timing, this was generally a repeat of the drama from Chiwu City.

Something had long been plotted and prepared, and it began to intensify and change due to the incident at Nanmo.

However, there were still some differences; for instance, the recent sudden expansion of the hunting range, with a trend of wanting to catch everyone in one net, this point seemed quite strange.

"My breakthrough and departure are today, and there were no obvious signs before this, so it cannot be because of me, but if the change at Nanmo is taken as the catalyst for intensification, then the connection to me would be very deep, especially since my previous actions in Chiwu will only further strengthen this preconception."

This point seemed quite strange, and it would still require actual investigation to make further judgments.

Having learned the basic intelligence, Du En had no intention of lingering; he just told the two women not to make any noise, to carefully get through tonight or the next few days, and then he moved quickly.

In their eyes, it was as if he had suddenly vanished after finishing his words.

The very abrupt kind!

They looked at each other, both suspecting they had seen a ghost.

If it weren't for the fact that one of them was soaked through and shivering from the cold, they might have really thought so for a moment.

"Hey, Sister Qiao'er..."

"I'm not familiar with you!"

"Haha, don't be so angry; I was forced by circumstances in the past and had no choice but to submit to the thieves..."

"Heh, you old hag."

You stinking girl... I'll endure it!

Under the night, the old woman shook her clothes dry and began to coax the other person in a low and servile manner, saying all sorts of nice things.

Unfortunately, there was no progress, which made her feel worried.

If Lan Dieqiao really took off later and still held a grudge in her heart, even if she could dodge this storm, she would definitely not have a good end!

As for Lan Dieqiao, she was actually very worried now, too, and had no mood to pay attention to this chattering long-tongued woman.

Because Wei Ming was already at the late stage of Qi Refining and had even managed to get into the Outer City Affairs Office, could it be that by asking that traveling lord to convey those words, he was thinking of drawing a line with her so he could start his own harem?

At the thought of this, she felt aggrieved and depressed, unable to help but use her left hand to turn the silver bracelet on her right wrist.

It was mainly that the environment influenced people; the middle and upper management of the outer city here in Lin'an City liked to open harems, so it inevitably made her have such misgivings.

Therefore, when the two women returned to the pigsty, both appeared aggrieved and depressed; one kept speaking in a low voice, while the other's expression was gloomy and sorrowful.

To onlookers, it looked like Ding Hong was working hard to persuade Lan Dieqiao.

Thus, the few male cultivators who were watching the pigs at night in the pigsty could not help but look at each other, then sighed secretly one after another.

Good grass is going to be trampled again!

What a sin!

Working in the same place, and with days that were not too bitter or tiring, these people naturally could not help but think about having something happen with the young and beautiful Lan Dieqiao, but there had been no progress.

And now, the matter had already spread among the bottom layer, appearing clear at a glance.

Especially Lan Dieqiao's little habit at this moment.

Whenever she encountered something worrying, she would turn her bracelet like this; it could not be hidden from them, who were observing with intent.

However, although they sighed in their hearts, facing the two of them at this moment, they still subconsciously kept their distance to avoid getting into trouble and being affected themselves.

In this way, it was a stroke of luck that it covered up their anomalies.

The night remained quiet, and the crescent moon remained silent.

On the other side, Du En moved quietly and had already arrived at the outer city's side compound, which was the steward's living quarters located in the crevice between the city wall and the shanty area.

Qingbing Compound.

The situation here was not normal either; there were only a mere three Foundation Establishment stewards in the compound, though there were quite a lot of beauties living in the various pavilions and buildings.

He could hear the voices of those women in his ears, and from the content, he could determine that they were all the wives and concubines of these three stewards, but it seemed they did not have much intimacy with each other, hence the frequent murmurs of resentment and sorrow.

So, was this just a case of those below following the example of those above, pandering to their superiors?

While lost in thought, Du En arrived at the place where the three stewards were currently gathered.

In an ordinary small building, the three stewards were discussing important matters, just like yesterday and the day before, with only one topic.

"Why is the higher-up urging us so urgently this time? In such a short time, where are we supposed to find so many suitable women?"

"Exactly. The situation outside the city is like that; personnel losses are low, so the annual replenishment is also low, and the young women were long ago plucked clean. With this accumulation over time, where is there any left now!"

"A headache! A real headache!"

The three stewards were very anxious.

Because even if they expanded the hunting range, the base number of female cultivators left outside the city was only so many, and it was very difficult to gather enough suitable ones; they were truly at their wits' end!

"I really don't understand, why did it suddenly become like this!"

"Shh! Watch your words!"

"Sigh! Although it is very unreasonable, we can only find a way to get it done."

"That's what is said, but there are just not many people left!"

"There are more than three thousand beauties in the city, yet they are still not satisfied. Tsk, these higher-ups are really..."

"Hmm, you say, the City Lord..."

"Shut up!"

"If you want to die, don't drag us down with you!"

"……Fine, the way things are now, it seems we can only use our wives and concubines to settle the debt."

"Sigh~"

"It can only be so, but we must delay as long as we can; after all, if we finish this job too quickly, who knows if they will intensify their demands, and what will we do then?"

"Makes sense!"

"Ahem, you two, if there's really no other way, I know of a secret pill that can reverse yang into yin……"

The words stopped there, and the room suddenly fell into silence; the atmosphere became incomparably strange, as if some taboo topic had been uncovered.

The other two wanted to speak out in rebuttal, but thinking of the increasingly harsh demands from above and the current situation of the personnel outside the city, as they looked at each other, they couldn't help but think, perhaps, they should make plans early?

This time there are the wives and concubines of the three of us to settle the debt, next time we can try our best to round up single female cultivators, and the time after that we can exhaust all efforts to break up and send over those who look decent enough, but no matter what, it won't exceed five times!

Once the native female cultivators are all gone, it seems, this is the only way?

(End of this chapter)