Seeing Ye Yun take an interest in the Meteorite Copper, Gu Dahai let a trace of smugness flash in his eyes. Boss Chen, don't blame me. If anyone's to blame, it's your bad luck. You even wanted to kill us to silence us and keep this under wraps. Did you really think people like us could own a treasure like this? Keeping something like that would only bring disaster. All I've done is bring it on a little sooner.
Suppressing his excitement, Gu Dahai said, "Young Master, as far as I know, Boss Chen got the Meteorite Copper from an out-of-town merchant by chance. The merchant had originally meant to give it to the lord of Heyang City. Unfortunately, he wanted to keep it secret and didn't tell anyone. In the end, Boss Chen happened to take notice of him. I only found out because I happened to pass by at the time."
Ye Yun nodded. "In that case, lead the way. Let's get this done while we still have some time. I have to check out the haunted house tomorrow."
Half an hour later, Ye Yun followed Gu Dahai to a run-down neighborhood. The houses here were low and shabby, and hardly anyone walked the streets. The occasional passerby hurried along, dressed in rags, their eyes dull and lifeless, their faces numb. Ye Yun even saw several people brazenly shove open a roadside door, rush inside, and steal the owner's money. The owner didn't resist at all, only watched them with a numb expression. When Ye Yun had Gu Dahai break those thieves' legs and return the money, the owner didn't even look at him. He simply shut the door, leaving Ye Yun rather awkwardly at a loss.
The squalor and chaos here stood in stark contrast to the bustling main streets of Heyang City. Calling it a living hell would not have been an exaggeration.
Seeing Ye Yun's awkward expression, Gu Dahai said quietly, "Young Master, don't waste your effort. It's always been like this here. Everyone who lives here is a vagrant who came from elsewhere without a household registration. The government doesn't even have them on its rolls. And don't be fooled by how numb and helpless they look. Given the chance, they'll rush up and take a vicious bite out of you. Every year, who knows how many people wander into this part of Heyang City and disappear for good? The ones behind it are these seemingly wretched vagrants."
Ye Yun studied the closed, dilapidated wooden door. He tossed the dozen or so copper coins and small piece of silver in his hand to Gu Dahai, then turned and left, signaling for him to continue leading the way to Boss Chen's den.
Boss Chen's den sat at the end of the street. According to Gu Dahai, it was a large mansion with three courtyards. For some reason, it had been abandoned and eventually became Boss Chen's hideout. Boss Chen usually stayed there to cultivate, only leaving in person when it was time to deliver goods. The rest of the time, his subordinates handled everything.
Boss Chen truly lived up to his reputation as a famous gang leader in Heyang City. More than a hundred meters from the mansion, ill-tempered thugs were already patrolling the area. At the entrance, four burly men stood guard with gleaming steel sabers, flanked by a pair of imposing stone lions. Their security was on an entirely different level from Gu Dahai's.
When they were still more than a hundred meters from the mansion, Gu Dahai suddenly stopped, turned to Ye Yun, and whispered, "Young Master, Boss Chen's den is heavily guarded, and there are a lot of men inside. I know a hidden route. Should we sneak in that way?"
"Sure. I don't want any trouble either. Fighting and killing are the most boring things." Ye Yun thought it over, then agreed to Gu Dahai's suggestion.
Gu Dahai hadn't been lying. He really did know a hidden route. He led Ye Yun past countless hidden sentries and patrol points, and they made it into the mansion without a hitch. But the place was large, with plenty of rooms, and Gu Dahai didn't know where Boss Chen was. Only Boss Chen knew where the Meteorite Copper was stored.
Gu Dahai didn't know, and neither did Ye Yun. But Ye Yun knew one thing: the more important a place was, the more heavily guarded it would be. He only had to search the most heavily guarded areas.
Ye Yun was a Jade Purity eighth-stage expert, and Gu Dahai could also be considered a martial arts master. Leaping across rooftops and landing without a sound were well within their abilities. With Ye Yun helping him, slipping past the sentries was child's play.
After getting past the last sentry, Ye Yun and Gu Dahai silently entered the heavily guarded building. The moment Ye Yun saw what was inside, a surging fury rose within him.
The room wasn't Boss Chen's bedroom, as Ye Yun had imagined. It was a huge prison. The spacious room had been divided by wooden bars into a series of cells resembling cages, and the people locked inside were naked women. Some were grown, around thirty years old, while others were only eight or nine. Worst of all, some of the women were in a terrible state below the waist. There was no need to guess what they had been through.
"Boss Gu, what's going on here?" Ye Yun clenched his fists. The words seemed to grind out from between his teeth, brimming with murderous intent.
Hearing Ye Yun's killing tone, Boss Gu couldn't help trembling. Only then did he quietly explain, "These women were probably tricked, bought by force, or kidnapped by Boss Chen's men. A few are sold to wealthy families, but most are sold to brothels. It's Boss Chen's biggest source of income."
"Are all the gangs in Heyang City doing this?"
Gu Dahai hesitated before answering, "No. Boss Chen is the only one running a large-scale human trafficking operation. The others don't have connections as powerful as his. At most, they lend people money and take their children as repayment. And even that's rare, since it can easily get someone killed. The government takes household-registered citizens very seriously. Anyone caught doing this would be severely punished, so it's not worth the risk."
Hearing Gu Dahai's answer, Ye Yun visibly relaxed. But when he looked at the women filling the room, the killing intent in his eyes surged. He forced himself to hold it back, took a deep breath to calm his anger, and said to the women watching him with numb eyes, "I'm here to rescue you. Stay here and wait a little longer. Once I've dealt with the scum outside, I'll come back and take you away."
Then Ye Yun turned to Gu Dahai and said, "Gu Dahai, find them some clothes and help them get dressed. Then stay here and protect them. Today, I'm going to slaughter my way through this place."
Seeing that Ye Yun was on the verge of exploding, Gu Dahai didn't say a word. He nodded and climbed out the window. Ye Yun followed close behind, but he didn't climb out. He flew.
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