Chapter 104 A woman needs five or six lovers to be considered good.

"Food?" Jiang Wanqiu's heart skipped a beat. She tilted her head, her slender, fair fingers unconsciously tapping her chin. Her pensive look was incredibly cute.

After thinking for a long time, she shook her head: "I really can't think of anything I like to eat right now."

Seeing her serious and troubled expression, Gu Feiyan suddenly burst out laughing.

His smile left Jiang Wanqiu somewhat bewildered, and she looked at him with confusion.

Gu Feiyan's smile deepened. He looked at her and slowly said, "It seems you really weren't scared."

He explained, "When I first saw how listless you looked when you opened the door, I thought you were pretending to be okay so as not to worry us. That's why I couldn't help but say a few more words to test you."

Jiang Wanqiu scratched her head sheepishly, "I'm really fine, thank you for going to so much trouble."

Seeing her like this, Gu Feiyan stood up and then got down to business: "Since that's the case, then that's perfect. Come with me."

Jiang Wanqiu was taken aback and subconsciously asked, "Where are we going?"

Gu Feiyan's smile faded slightly: "The human trafficker who abducted you has been caught by the military region. We'd like to take you there to identify him."

What?

Jiang Wanqiu was extremely surprised.

"You guys move so fast?"

Gu Feiyan smiled gently again: "Speaking of which, we really have to thank them for letting themselves slip."

He explained casually, as if recounting some interesting anecdote: "You know Battalion Commander Zhao, he's decisive and efficient. The moment you were abducted, he blocked all the roads leading out of the mountains. Those traffickers originally wanted to escape in the chaos, but when they saw the People's Liberation Army soldiers with guns on the main roads, checking everyone one by one, they got scared."

Gu Feiyan's expression softened with suppressed laughter as she said this: "They were panicking and didn't know where to go, turning around and heading straight for the mountain paths. Wasn't that just blatantly telling everyone 'I'm the bad guy'? Who else would the soldiers arrest if not them?"

However, if these people really dared to walk right under the soldiers' guns, the military region might not be able to spot them.

When they arrived at the place where the human traffickers were being held, Jiang Wanqiu recognized the woman at a glance through the iron bars of the window.

Jiang Wanqiu merely glanced at her before looking away and nodded to Gu Feiyan: "No mistake, it's her."

Gu Feiyan nodded, then said to Jiang Wanqiu, "This case is too heinous and involves too many people. The division commander's idea is that after the preliminary investigation, it will probably be transferred to Beijing."

Gu Feiyan turned her head and whispered to the soldier beside her, "Keep a close eye on them, don't let them do anything reckless, especially don't feed them millet rice. They have to make sure they get to Beijing alive."

The soldier immediately snapped to attention: "Yes, sir!"

"Yellow rice?" Jiang Wanqiu's beautiful willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly as she asked curiously, "What's the significance of that?"

Gu Feiyan's gaze darkened, as if she were recalling some unpleasant memories.

He led Jiang Wanqiu outside, his tone hesitant, as if afraid of scaring her if he said it: "I only heard about it when I first came here. The villages down below used to catch human traffickers themselves, and that's how they did it."

He paused for a moment: "That yellow rice, sticky and mushy, steamed piping hot, was scooped directly from the pot and rolled in cold water. The outside cooled down, but the inside was still scalding hot. They forced the traffickers to swallow it whole. They didn't feel anything at the time, but by the time they realized it, their stomachs had been scalded to a crisp."

He looked at Jiang Wanqiu's wide-eyed eyes and continued, "The person just watched helplessly as their internal organs were burned, writhing on the ground in pain, clutching their chest, wishing they could rip out their heart, liver, spleen, and lungs to air them out. That kind of excruciating pain was more agonizing than being cut into pieces a thousand times. By the time our people arrived, the person had already died. When the forensic doctor opened them up, their entire stomach was cooked."

Jiang Wanqiu couldn't help but shudder upon hearing this.

Just then, a clear yet fiery voice rang out.

"Hey, can you please stop following me around like that! Do you think I'm going to get lost?!"

Le Yunyun rushed over in a flurry, followed by a helpless-looking young guard.

She spotted Jiang Wanqiu immediately, rushed forward, grabbed her hand, and exclaimed indignantly, "Sister Wanqiu! What about Xiao Cui, who lied to me? Have you caught her yet? That heartless wretch should be dragged out and shot! No, even shooting her would be too lenient!"

Heaven knows how badly her father scolded her because of that Xiao Cui. Not only was she scolded, but a large portion of her allowance was also cut off. Now, just thinking about it makes her so angry that she can't sleep.

As soon as she finished speaking, a soldier in charge next to her saluted her. She was the commander's daughter, and no one dared to neglect her: "Reporting to Comrade Le, that girl named Xiao Cui was rescued from another villager's home. She is currently seriously injured and receiving treatment at the health center."

"What?" Yue Yunyun exclaimed in surprise.

Jiang Wanqiu's heart skipped a beat, and she took the opportunity to ask softly, "Officer Gu, what about the other sisters? Are they all alright?"

Gu Feiyan's expression was somewhat grave: "We contacted their families immediately. Those who lived nearby have already been taken back, and for those who lived further away, the military sent vehicles and personnel to escort them. Only Xiao Cui remains unclaimed."

"Then... what about that pregnant sister-in-law?" Jiang Wanqiu asked specifically.

The soldier in charge looked even uglier. He moved his lips and then said in a low voice, "She's from the neighboring village. She ran away from home after arguing with her family, and then... Her family came yesterday, but when they saw she was heavily pregnant, they were ashamed and immediately said they didn't acknowledge her."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanqiu hurriedly asked, "Where is she now?"

The soldier pursed his lips, and after a long while, he said in a somewhat dry voice, "She jumped into the river early this morning. Right where the military region fished last time, she jumped into the ice through the hole they had drilled. Later, other villagers who were fishing pulled her out, but she was already dead."

“The family came over, squeezed out a few tears, and then took the body back.”

Jiang Wanqiu was at a loss for words.

"Dead?" Le Yunyun suddenly raised her voice, "Just like that, he died? How could that be!"

She looked at her with exasperation: "If I were her, I wouldn't be trying to kill myself! I would have just hit the child; it wasn't my fault. Besides, I would not only deal with the child, but also the murderer!"

Jiang Wanqiu nodded involuntarily as she listened: "That's absolutely right. But not everyone can be as open-minded as you."

Le Yunyun naturally understood this principle as well, and said to Jiang Wanqiu, "See? So what did I say at the beginning? Our place is beyond saving. What kind of bullshit chastity arches are these? They're all bastards who eat women alive! Our country has been ruined by these old ideas. Everyone turns pale at the mention of 'that little thing between your legs,' like they're dealing with a monstrous flood! If this trend doesn't change, even more people will jump into the ice hole in the future!"

As she spoke, she said to Jiang Wanqiu in a serious tone, "When I was abroad, which of the successful female politicians I met didn't have three or five lovers? I didn't see them hanging up a monument to their chastity, and they still became prime ministers and presidents! That's called ability!"

Finally, she raised her chin and announced to Jiang Wanqiu, "When I become successful in the future, I'm going to find three or five! No, five or six! Sister Wanqiu, if you become successful in the future, don't hang yourself on one crooked tree. Find several more. Why should those stinky men get to enjoy them!"

These shocking remarks left the young soldier standing nearby completely stunned.

"cough!"

Gu Feiyan finally couldn't help but cough lightly to the side.

His gentle, jade-like face held an expression that was hard to describe, but seeing Le Yunyun's self-righteous demeanor, he ultimately said nothing.

Jiang Wanqiu was used to it and just smiled helplessly.

She recalled her days in Shanghai, when her girlfriends, who had just returned from studying in the West, were even bolder in their words than Le Yunyun, having absorbed some Western knowledge.

What's with the saying, "Why are you crying when your husband cheats on you? He might find one woman, but you can find three."

In this day and age, these words are enough to drown a woman in spittle.

But Jiang Wanqiu felt that while the words were crude, they were not entirely unreasonable.

Why keep hurting yourself by letting other people's mistakes happen?

Just as Le Yunyun was about to express some shocking opinion, Jiang Wanqiu stopped her in time and tugged at Le Yunyun's sleeve: "Then, Staff Officer Gu, I want to go see that Xiao Cui."

Gu Feiyan nodded immediately, her expression returning to normal, and took the initiative to lead the way: "I'll take you there. The person is at the clinic up ahead."

The clinic had probably just conducted physical examinations on the trafficked women, so the whole place had been thoroughly disinfected again. The air was filled with a strong smell of Lysol, which made people's noses sting.

A doctor in a white coat saw Gu Feiyan and quickly came over. He lowered his voice and gave a brief report on the situation, saying that the girl had mostly superficial injuries and frostbite, and that she had suffered too much mental trauma, refusing to eat, drink, or speak.

As the doctor spoke, he carefully took out a small cloth bag wrapped in a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Gu Feiyan: "This was found in the lining of her underwear that she had changed out of; it was sewn very tightly."

He paused, then added, "This is inside."

Gu Feiyan opened the cloth bag, inside was a somewhat faded family photo.

In the photo, a man dressed in a sharp, high-ranking official's uniform stands dignifiedly in the middle, flanked by his gentle wife and a little girl with pigtails.

The background of the photo is the iconic city gate tower of Beijing.

"Can't you even get a single question out of her?" Gu Feiyan frowned as she looked at the photo.

The fact that this girl can wear a cadre's uniform in this place means her family must be quite wealthy or powerful.

The doctor shook his head regretfully: "I can't get any information out of her. She's very averse to men now, and she won't even let the nurses give her injections."

On the hospital bed, the girl named Xiao Cui was curled up in a ball, so thin that she was just skin and bones, her big eyes filled with terror, as if she had been scared out of her wits.

Jiang Wanqiu tiptoed to the bedside: "Xiaocui, don't be afraid, we're here to rescue you. Do you remember who your family is?"

When the girl saw Jiang Wanqiu suddenly appear, she trembled violently, shaking her head frantically, making incoherent sobs: "I don't know her! I don't know anything! Please, please let me go! I was tricked into coming here, I just want to live... I didn't do anything..."

"Don't get agitated, we won't make things difficult for you," Jiang Wanqiu reassured her as she took the photo from Gu Feiyan's hand.

The edges of the photo were worn and the paper was yellowed.

Jiang Wanqiu held the photo in her slender, fair fingers, her gaze fixed on it, and her delicate eyebrows unconsciously furrowed.

This face...this photo...why does it look so familiar?