Chapter 188: Bamboozling

"It's still lively here!"

In Anzhou City, the seat of the Xichuan Zongfu, Shen Yu returned quickly after handling matters outside that valley. However, he did not go straight back to the yamen, but instead walked around on the main street.

The days of rushing about had left him quite exhausted; strolling casually along the street could be considered one of his few moments of relaxation.

Besides, Xichuan would be under his governance in the future, so he had to understand the local customs, practices, and so on; he couldn't just remain completely in the dark.

At this moment, Anzhou City was no different from when he had first arrived; the streets were bustling with people, and the changes in the upper echelons had not caused much fluctuation in the lives of ordinary people.

Having taken down the former Governor He Yuan and a large group of officials, not only had this place not been affected in the slightest, it even seemed to look a bit more prosperous.

"Help! Let me go, let me go!" Just at this moment, a series of urgent cries for help suddenly reached his ears.

This cry for help was very faint—not that the sound was quiet, but that it was very far away, likely in a remote street far off.

If not for Shen Yu's extremely sensitive perception, he would not have been able to sense this cry for help, as the distance was simply too great.

This was still with his Super Perception not fully expanded; otherwise, he would be able to see every single movement in the entire Anzhou City clearly.

Moreover, his Super Perception could not be used casually; otherwise, if every movement fell into his perception, just the annoyance alone would be enough to drive him crazy.

Fortunately, it was still daytime; if it were at night, in the middle of the night with the entire Anzhou City's population of millions, who knows how many infatuated men and women would be doing "that" on a bed.

And under his Super Perception, all of this could be sensed by him—just thinking about it was stimulating!

With a flash of his figure, he arrived directly at the place where the cries for help were coming from, and immediately Shen Yu saw three burly men dragging a young girl away, while also having kicked down a couple who had come to block them.

"Let me go! Aren't you afraid of the government!"

"Yo, the government? Do you think things are still the way they used to be?"

"Little girl, we gave your family some face before for the sake of your uncle, but now your backer has fallen, do you know that?"

"The new Governor has thrown your uncle into prison. Have you heard of Lord Shen Yu? Not a single corrupt official who fell into his hands has ever lived."

"Your uncle is a dead man; who is going to care if you live or die? Still going to report us to the authorities? If you have the ability, go ahead and report us, and see who will stand up for a relative of a criminal official like you!"

"Get moving!" Grabbing the girl's clothes, they dragged her away roughly, and no matter how desperately the girl struggled, she could not break free at all.

"Be gentle, don't hurt this pretty little face. If this face gets hurt, the price will be greatly discounted!"

"Wait!" The elderly couple who had been kicked down over there scrambled to get up and blocked the path in front of the men.

"Kind sirs, I beg you, please let her go. She is still young. I will pay back the money you are owed, I will definitely pay it back!"

"Let her go? You say let her go and I just do it? I've already negotiated the price with Cuiyu Pavilion—two hundred taels of silver. Are you going to pay me?"

"Kind sir, we really don't have any silver. Haven't you already looted everything these past two days?"

"No money? If you have no money, then you're talking nonsense to me!"

With a fierce kick, he knocked the old man down again, and the burly man said viciously, "Old thing, you even dare to block me? I think you're looking for death!"

"Dad! Dad! Let me go, you human scum!"

"Look at you, little girl, why are you so unappreciative? We are doing this for your own good."

"Your uncle has fallen, and you have no idea how many people are kicking you while you're down. By now, your family must be so broke you don't have a single cent left, right? Look at your father and mother; they are old and still sick—how miserable!"

"At this rate, your whole family will have to go begging. You must have seen how miserable those beggars are; I'm afraid your parents won't live for more than a few days!"

"When that time comes, you'll be left wandering the streets yourself. You should know the outcome—the best result is being sold into a dark brothel, living day after day in total darkness."

"That life is worse than death!"

Seeing the girl in his hands stop struggling, the burly man said with a hint of temptation, "Cuiyu Pavilion is different. That is one of the top Brothels in Anzhou City; it's much better than falling into those dark brothels."

"Once you go there, not only will you have fine clothes and food, but you can earn money just by lying down. Most importantly, the people who frequent that place are all high-ranking officials and nobles."

"Think about it, if you serve someone well there, maybe some high-ranking official or noble will take a fancy to you, and you'll rise to wealth and status. When that time comes, you'll have to thank me!"

"Look at your parents again; they are old, don't you want to be filial to them and let them live a good life?"

"Do you really want to watch them wander the streets? Die on the streets from cold and hunger? A person cannot be too selfish; you have to think for them!"

Each sentence struck the girl's heart like a heavy hammer. She looked at her parents' graying hair, and after struggling for a long time, she finally nodded.

"I... I will go."

"That's more like it. What bad intentions could we possibly have? We just want to give you a hand!"

"Xiao Si, you can't go! That's a Brothel; if you go, your whole life will be ruined!"

"Old thing, shut your mouth!"

"Dad, Mom, your daughter is unfilial!" Taking a deep breath, the girl said slowly, "I can go, but I want half of the money from the sale to settle my parents!"

"Little girl, it seems you still don't see the situation clearly. Remember, it's not me begging you now—it's you begging me."

"Do you believe that if I wanted to, selling you to the lowest-class dark brothel would be worth even more? Behave and come with me, otherwise, I will do exactly what I say!"

"Wait!" Having watched for a long time, Shen Yu finally walked out slowly from the corner. He had finally witnessed a glimpse of this "forcing good women into prostitution."

Who would have thought that these fierce-looking burly men would actually play psychological warfare? It's truly hard to get by these days without some intelligence.

"Kid, who are you?" Looking at the suddenly appearing Shen Yu, the few burly men glanced at each other, but did not make a move.

When living on the streets, having a sharp eye is the most important thing. Just looking at the clothes on the person in front of them, they knew he wasn't some mud-legged peasant.

If things went wrong, he might be a young master from some family, and they couldn't afford to offend him.

"Who I am is not important. What's important is, do you know you are forcing good women into prostitution? I've heard that the new Governor cannot tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes. If he finds out, I'm afraid..."

"Don't talk nonsense. Who is forcing good women into prostitution? Didn't you hear her agree to it herself? Is this forcing? This is mutual consent!"

"Besides, they owed us silver before, and now that they can't pay it back, they have to sell themselves to pay the debt. Doing this is reasonable and fair!"

"Then how much money do they owe you? I'll pay it for them!"

"You'll pay?" Looking Shen Yu up and down, the burly man didn't say much more, but reached out his hand. "Two hundred taels. Bring the money, and we'll leave immediately!"

"Two hundred taels?" Before Shen Yu could speak, the elderly couple over there shouted in a panic, "We only borrowed two taels of silver! In five days, how did it become two hundred taels?"

"Didn't you say at the time that the loan was for three months with one percent interest per month? How did it become two hundred taels in just five days?"

"Five days, and two taels of silver became two hundred taels? Hah!" With a cold snort, Shen Yu looked at them with unkind eyes. "You aren't afraid of bursting from greed!"

"Kid, how the interest is set is our business. We are people from the Xinghai Gang!"

"Xinghai Gang?" Raising his eyebrows slightly, Shen Yu asked indifferently, "A mere gang dares to play like this?"

"Kid, you actually don't know about our Xinghai Gang?" Looking Shen Yu up and down once more, the burly man suddenly laughed, the tension from just a moment ago gone from his face.

"Seeing you dressed like a human, I thought you were some noble young master, so I gave you some face and didn't lay a hand on you."

"But looking at it now, you don't even know the Xinghai Gang; you must be some nouveau riche from the countryside!"

"What kind of thing are you? Do you know whose place Anzhou City is?"

"I know, how could I not know whose place this is!" Looking around, Shen Yu said indifferently, "Isn't it said that the new Governor is Shen Yu, and isn't Anzhou City his place?"

"You, kid, I think you're looking for death!"

Glaring fiercely at Shen Yu, the big man said coldly, "That's right, Anzhou City is indeed the Governor's world, but it is also our Xinghai Gang's world!"

"During the day, this place belongs to the government and is managed by the government. At night, it is our Xinghai Gang's world, and it is managed by our Xinghai Gang!"