"Tell me in detail," the city lord said casually.

The servant was extremely quick-witted and soon organized his thoughts.

"They arrived at a place ten miles outside the city around noon and stopped. The group consisted of nearly a thousand people, including men, women, and children. They had a few horses and oxen, and the carts were carrying a lot of supplies."

The city lord seemed intrigued, sat up straight, and looked at the servant, "Do you know where they came from?"

The servant lowered his head, not daring to look him in the eye. "I haven't found out yet, but they have sent more than a dozen people into the city to gather information. They are all carrying swords and knives, so they must know martial arts. One of them looks like a woman, but she is covered with a veil, so I can't see her face clearly."

"That's interesting."

Just then, a subordinate came down from outside to report, "Reporting to the city lord, more than a dozen strangers have entered the city through the shops."

The city lord waved his hand and said, "Send down the order to keep a close eye on their movements. Have Ah Da investigate their strength first. If possible, try to recruit them, but do not act rashly."

"Yes!" The subordinate accepted the order and left.

How many refugees did you take in today?

The servant on the ground beamed with delight and said respectfully, "There are about five hundred people."

The city lord gently patted the dragon head on his chair. "A little too little."

After saying this, he stood up, went to the window, pushed open both windows, and looked towards the city gate leading out of the city.

"Pass the word down, tell Ah Da and the others to be prepared. If those people enter the city tomorrow, close the city gates and don't let a single one escape."

"yes!"

Looking at Lin Yinan and the others standing at the crossroads, he licked his bloodied lips and said, "Send the children and beautiful women into the palace."

"The city lord is wise!" The servant flattered the city lord and then left.

Lin Yinan, Yun Mo, and the others walked along the street into the city center, where there was a side street that was second only to the main street.

The noise from the side streets on both sides was incessant.

Yun Mo chose to go to the right first, saying, "Let's go take a look over here."

As everyone turned in, they saw a sign with a large "gambling" character on it; it was a gambling den.

Lin Yinan peered through the curtain and saw that the inside was filled with smoke and fumes.

Just as they reached the entrance of the gambling den, a gambler rushed out from inside, and everyone quickly moved aside.

"Don't run! Stop right there!"

Five men wielding gleaming broadswords chased after them.

"Damn it, he tried to run away after losing the bet!"

"Don't kill me! I'll pay you back! I'll go back and get it for you right away!" the gambler shouted as he ran.

One of the men was more skilled in martial arts; he kicked the gambler in the back.

The gambler screamed "Ah!" and collapsed to the ground.

"Then let's go to the underworld to repay it!"

The thug grinned maliciously and plunged a knife into the gambler's back.

The other four men caught up and, brandishing their knives, slashed at the fallen gambler. Blood splattered all five men's faces and bodies, but they paid no heed and continued to hack wildly with their knives.

The gambler quickly fell silent.

"Drag them to the meat market," the leading man ordered the two others.

The two men dragged the corpse off the ground. The gambler's hands, feet, and head were almost severed, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground.

Seeing Lin Yinan and the others standing there in a daze, the man wiped the blood off his face, making him look even more ferocious.

He walked over, grinning, and beckoned them, “Distinguished guests, come in and play a few rounds. Our newest game is betting on food. If you win, you get food; if you lose, well, like that guy just now, you pay with your life.”

Lin Yinan frowned. What kind of weird place is this?

Yun Mo said calmly, "No, we're new here, let's get familiar with the environment first."

The man wasn't angry at being rejected; instead, he bowed to them and said, "Alright, we welcome you whenever you come, distinguished guests."

After saying this, he led the two men with knives back to the gambling den.

Lin Yinan and the others continued walking forward. The side street was not long. After walking only twenty or thirty steps, they stopped under a huge plaque that read "Chunfenglou".

A gust of wind blew in, and everyone could smell the aroma of wine and meat wafting from inside.

Lin Yinan felt nauseous from the smell and took two steps back, landing behind the group to avoid the direct blast of fragrance.

"Gentlemen, come in and have some fun!"

A woman's coquettish laughter came from above everyone's heads.

Looking up, I saw two women dressed in flamboyant attire standing upstairs.

"Sir, come on! The best wine and food are all ready."

Lin Yinan glanced at her padded jacket. The women upstairs were actually wearing thin gauze. Judging from their expressions, they showed no reluctance whatsoever, but rather were very eager.

Yun Mo led everyone a few more steps forward, and upon entering, all the shops were closed and the houses in the alleys were also quiet, and it was unknown whether anyone lived there.

The group turned around and returned the way they came.

As Lin Yinan passed by the gambling den again, she saw the bloodstains from earlier flowing down the cracks in the ground into the drain under the eaves.

The narrow drain was filled with a brown liquid, and she discovered that the foul smell was coming from there.

“Look at the drainage ditch under the eaves,” Lin Yinan said softly.

Yun Wu, who was knowledgeable in medicine and poisons, immediately recognized what was inside.

"It's full of human blood."

Everyone gasped. Just how many people would it take to gather into this force? It seemed like it hadn't been built up in just a day or two.

As she walked to the middle of the main street and the side street, Lin Yinan suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She quickly looked around, but found nothing.

Yun Mo noticed her unusual behavior and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I felt like someone was spying on us just now."

Yun Qi said in a low voice, "I felt it too."

Cross the main street and walk to the other end of the side street, where it's even noisier.

Not long after walking, a large open-air market came into view, divided into numerous small areas by fences, each containing people with their hands and feet bound.

Su Yunzhi had a good memory and recognized many of the people among them as refugees who had followed them all the way here.

He said gently, "Many of these are refugees following behind us."

"Yes, were they arrested?" The villagers who came with them were even more uneasy.

Most of them looked blank and didn't respond to the people coming and going or the sounds of bargaining.

Those who refused to submit were severely whipped by human traffickers.

Those who resisted and cried out loudly were dragged aside by several people and strangled on the spot, their blood splattering everywhere.

The environment here is even worse, with an unpleasant smell and a stench that permeates the air; people are treated like livestock.

Lin Yinan and her group were terrified and were about to leave when the traffickers came up enthusiastically and introduced, "Whatever our esteemed guests would like to choose, we have it all, all freshly arrived today."

Lin Yinan felt a tightness in her heart, as if sensing her emotions, the little thing in her belly was kicking and punching.

She didn't want to stay here for another second. A perfectly normal person had become a novelty, subject to arbitrary insults and beatings.

"Let's go!" Su Yunzhi said first, suppressing the soreness in her chest.

Seeing that they were about to leave, another human trafficker quickly stepped forward and bowed, adopting an extremely humble posture.

"Please wait a moment, distinguished guests. Tell us your requests and we will do our best to accommodate them."

Lin Yinan was stunned. The voice sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.