EFB Chapter 16 is very talkative!
Chapter 16 is very talkative!
The city of Rongcheng gets its name from the various shapes and sizes of the banyan trees that grow within it.
Upon arriving in the old town, a faded GG sign peeks out from under the eaves, and the rotating lights at the entrance of the hair salon flash by from time to time.
Have you ever been to a hair salon?
"Why would a zombie like me get a haircut?"
I'm talking about unlicensed hair salons.
He frowned and glanced at Gu Xixia.
"What kind of nonsense is this? Why would I go to a place like this?"
Aren't you curious?
"Don't you know how high the risk of HIV and genital warts spreading here?"
"You're a zombie, you're afraid of this?"
"I'm not afraid of that."
"But I find them dirty, or rather, I find most of them dirty."
Upon hearing this, Gu Xixia turned to look at Hu Xiaoyu, a hint of doubt appearing in her eyes.
"Why the majority?"
Hu Xiaoyu stopped the car by stepping on the brakes and waited for the elderly man in front of him to cross the road before starting again.
"Just as you can't idolize a profession because of a person, you can't condemn everyone because of a profession."
"Throughout history, there has never been a shortage of people who have embarked on this path due to various unavoidable reasons."
"The crackdown on pornography and illegal publications is also to better prevent such things from happening."
The car stopped, and Hu Xiaoyu went to the convenience store to buy a flashlight and a Chocliz cigarette, which he then handed to Gu Xixia.
A sweet taste bursts in your mouth, and a sexy, magnetic voice fills the car.
"I want to eat taro paste crisps next time."
Hu Xiaoyu ignored her. "I just bought you one on a whim, and you're being picky?"
"Do you have pity for those prostitutes?"
"There were prostitutes in ancient times, but basically none in modern times."
Gu Xixia glanced at him and said in a slightly cold tone.
"It seems you not only browsed the place, but also had in-depth conversations with the people there."
Hu Xiaoyu pursed his lips awkwardly when a junior spoke to him in a disdainful tone.
"There's nothing we can do about it. The main thing is that nobody cares how many men a prostitute in a brothel has been with."
"If you target a respectable woman, she'll be on guard as soon as you get close. If you mess things up and expose your identity, then you'll be in big trouble."
"Oh, so you know a lot about the workings of brothels?"
"I guess so."
While waiting at the traffic light, Hu Xiaoyu pondered for a while.
"Unlike in modern times, in ancient times, seven out of ten women in brothels were sold into them for various reasons."
"In fact, most of the courtesans were 'sold' into the establishment."
Gu Xixia noticed that he deliberately emphasized the word "被" (bei), and her eyes moved slightly.
"A setup?"
"Well, the saying 'beautiful women bring disaster' is multifaceted; the idea that a beautiful woman can come from a humble cottage is just a legend."
"If family members can't protect you, or you can't find a suitable support, being beautiful can also be the beginning of disaster."
"The more cunning ones use direct coercion and bribery, while the less cunning ones resort to all sorts of underhanded tactics."
"In a sense, prostitutes are ruthless because they have been hurt first and have come to realize their situation, so they naturally become ruthless."
"If human trafficking is legalized, some forms of persecution will become widespread."
Gu Xixia took the last bite of ice cream.
"You should publish a book."
"I'm too lazy to write. Besides, I can brag, but writing a book requires specifics and a structured approach, which I can't do."
"In that case, will you secretly give them money afterward?"
"Of course they will, but they must be given in a proper manner. Gold or silver ingots are definitely not acceptable; the madam will search them and take them away."
I felt a little uncomfortable, but also a little helpless. After all, he's lived for so long, it's normal for him to have stories to tell.
If there were no story, I would have been hugged and kissed by him long ago.
What format do you usually use?
"They could slip gold flakes the size of their little finger joints into the lining of their clothes."
"It's not big, and it has many places to hide."
"Where do you usually hide?"
Hu Xiaoyu frowned and glanced at Gu Xixia.
"..."
"A girl shouldn't be so curious."
Gu Xixia pursed her lips. Although he didn't say it directly, she guessed that the position must be very bad.
"Can't you take your clothes off for a check?"
"Normally, brothel owners wouldn't do this. The girls under their care are already engaged in low-class work, and most of their customers aren't good people."
"If we don't leave the girls with something to look forward to, not many of them will be able to make it through."
During their conversation, the two arrived at an old house.
The electronic lock at the entrance and the dense surveillance cameras all around seem out of place with the old house's appearance.
After swiping his fingerprint, he led Gu Xixia inside. Looking at the antique-style environment, a hint of surprise appeared in Gu Xixia's narrow eyes.
"So beautiful?"
"Someone comes to clean every month, and the security cameras on the walls are connected to the security company."
"There are a total of four lines. If someone illegally enters, or if one of the lines suddenly malfunctions, the security company will receive a notification."
The tall, slender figure followed Hu Xiaoyu deeper inside, passing through the central hall to the backyard. She pushed open the door, which bore the marks of time, and looked at the deep red wooden table in front of her.
"Are they all antique furniture?"
"How could that be? I already sold my antique furniture back in the Republic of China era. What I have now are all replicas, but they're not cheap either."
Entering the side room on the left, Hu Xiaoyu rolled up his sleeves and began moving the furniture to the corner.
Under Gu Xixia's curious gaze, Hu Xiaoyu carefully lifted the floor tile, revealing the yellow soil underneath.
After groping around for a while, he found two handrails and then lifted out the yellow soil below.
Then, a two-square-meter silver metal tile appeared in front of us from beneath the loess.
The metal floor was very smooth, with nothing to grip.
"Move over there a bit."
Obediently, Hu Xiaoyu went to stand to the side, took off her shoes, squatted down on the metal ground, and placed her palms on it.
Black veins emerged from his hands, and Hu Xiaoyu's dark eyes glowed with an unsettling, empty red light.
Then, to Gu Xixia's astonishment, his hands, as if magnets, lifted up the fifty-centimeter-thick metal floor tiles below.
"Is this your method of maintaining secrecy?"
"Hmm, it's a custom-made weak magnetic alloy, with some very complex blood sealed in the middle, just enough for me to provoke it to pick up the floor tile."
How complicated is it?
"The kind of thing that gives me a headache just thinking about the ingredients."
"Then I won't ask."
"I won't tell you even if you ask."
As the floor tiles were removed from the ground, a deep, dark tunnel was revealed underneath. It was very dry and had no musty smell.
"What if someone discovers this brick and tries to steal it?"
Hu Xiaoyu smiled proudly at this.
"If he can pick it up quietly without using explosives or other large tools, then give it to him."
Hu Xiaoyu jumped down first and stood above the passageway, while Gu Xixia, holding a flashlight, frowned slightly.
"Why didn't you install a ladder... you made me jump down..."
"Are you coming down or not? If not, stay up there. Stop talking so much!"
Amid Gu Xiaoyu's complaints, Gu Xixia suppressed her joy, adjusted her direction, and jumped down.