"I’ve heard about this. My cousin-in-law’s second brother-in-law’s daughter-in-law family lives in Yushu County city. I heard that the flower-picking thief is extremely cruel and none of the girls he molested survives. They all died horribly, drained of blood. No one knows what that guy is made of, flesh or iron!"
Cai Wei was convinced that it was made of flesh. She had once seen someone use that thing to kill two people. However, that beast wasn’t around. Otherwise, she would seriously suspect him.
"I also heard that he only prefers virgins. Once, he sneaked into a family’s house, ignoring the beautiful new daughter-in-law and went after the freckled girl of the house instead."
Someone else chimed in, stroking his beard with a deep expression, "In my opinion, this flower-picking thief is not an ordinary man, he is either a psychopath or engaged in the cultivation of some dark kungfu."
"What kind of dark kungfu requires something like that?"
"Fool, haven’t you heard of a dark Taoist technique called ’harvesting yin to replenish yang’? It aims at achieving immortality through sex..."
The listener is drawn to the meaning behind the words.
Perhaps, the man who spoke did so casually. Yet, Cai Wei’s heart could no longer remain calm, like a lake disturbed by a thrown stone...
The flower-picking thief appeared in Qingyun Town. If he was cultivating the dark arts as the man suggested to achieve immortality, she couldn’t do nothing. She needed to return to Qingyun Town, find and eliminate the flower-picking thief before he mastered any dark arts and became unmanageable.
After a while, the stir-fried noodles arrived with rich colors and a strong aroma. Shreds of meat, chilli peppers, and cabbage were mixed in, served with hot and spicy tripe and crispy peanuts, it was truly a rare delicacy!
While Cai Wei savored her meal and sweet fruit wine, she continued to listen to the gossip. Before she knew it, they had switched topics to the second concubine of the county’s prefect, Lady Yan.
"Ha, you guys don’t know this. Back in the day, Yan Ruyu was an absolute stunner. I heard the Prefect of Bianzhou Prefecture had once slept with her and it left him bedridden for half a year. Everyone in Bianzhou Prefecture knows this story, everyone but our county’s prefect who dotes on Lady Yan like a treasure!"
"How can you be sure our prefect doesn’t know? Perhaps he’s always known but chose to ignore it. I heard he was a mere county magistrate back in the day and only got his current position because Lady Yan slept with his superiors!"
"The prefect is truly foolish. He disregards his lawful wife, who is a wonderful woman, and treasures this old shoe worn by many men. I also heard that Lady Yan manages the central distributions in the mansion!"
"What use is a good wife if she can’t bear sons? Lady Yan on the other hand has given birth to two sons and a daughter, ensuring the family line continues. It’s no wonder the prefect adores her."
"Having many descendants, huh!"
A drunk customer scoffed, "What descendants? Yan Ruyu used to work in a brothel and had at least a thousand guests. If she was to truly have descendants, she could have given birth to an army by now. Didn’t you hear? The brothel owners were afraid of the girls getting pregnant and disturbing their business, so they would give the girls contraceptives. For someone who got many customers like Yan Ruyu, they wouldn’t allow the slightest chance of her getting pregnant."