Chapter 253 Fangfei Tower
Mu Xi was brought back to her senses by the howls and strange cries of the wolves, but seeing Cao Pan'er being humiliated, she grabbed her from behind and wanted to retaliate.
Imagine if Cao Pan'er hadn't switched identities with her, she might not be dead now, but the one suffering this humiliation. Thinking of this, she felt grateful to Cao Pan'er, but also more heartbroken.
Cao Pan'er managed to remain calm, but pretended to be pale and tried to negotiate: "Sir, my... my father and his family have money, they really do... as long as you promise not to harm us and are willing to let us go, my father will definitely use a lot of money to redeem us afterwards."
"Hmph, enough nonsense. You were the one who distributed the valuables just now, weren't you?" The bandit leader said with disdain and disbelief. "Since you've come to this point, just wait to be sold off. Once we send you to the capital, there will be plenty of people who can afford to pay you."
Upon hearing the bandits mention the "capital," Mu Xi's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that they were actually going to be sold to Mo Yang?
At this moment, the black-masked bandits who had previously scattered in pursuit returned one after another.
One of the men pushed a woman he had grabbed off his horse and reported to the bandit leader, "Boss, those people scattered. We didn't catch many of them, but we managed to catch this little vixen."
"Hahaha... It's alright, today's harvest is already the most bountiful." The leader of the bandits laughed loudly.
The returning bandit glanced behind the mask, his small, darting eyes immediately shrank back: "Oh my, these young ladies inside are really pretty... like they come from wealthy families..."
A gruff voice behind the bandit leader spat, "Pah, Fifth Brother, don't even think about it. We might get some silver, but none of these little wenches will get us a share, so forget about it."
The sleazy bandit wasn't bothered at all: "Hehe, if I can't get any meat, can't I at least think about it?"
"What are you thinking? It's like drooling over meat that's not even in your mouth. Those are all noble lords who care about the capital. I heard that Mo Yang has been defended and breached three times. Those who don't lack money are now short of people. Bah... If it were me, I would definitely only want money, not people." The rough voice was quite disdainful.
Listening to the conversation of these bandits, Mu Xi finally confirmed that they were likely to be sold to Mo Yang, and her heart was filled with mixed feelings.
Just then, two more groups of bandits who had been chasing the refugees returned.
They swept over the dozens of women who had been arrested and the mountain of valuables, and laughed wildly.
When the last of the bandits gathered, more of them leered at the women with their shifty, lewd eyes, and chatted amongst themselves.
"You're saying that if you hand these young women over to that General Huang, he'll have connections? How can he be so powerful, able to travel from Xiangnan all the way to Moyang?"
"Stop asking questions, who cares? Let's just collect our money."
"Tsk tsk, these young women are quite pretty. They'll probably fetch a high price in Moyang, right?"
"Hey, this young lady can definitely fetch a price, and these maids are pretty good, but it's hard to say about the emaciated ones among the refugees..."
"Tsk tsk, the meat is right in front of my mouth, but I can only look at it and not eat it. How am I going to sleep tonight..."
"Consider these young girls as a 'head tax' they've paid."
"This 'head tax' is a bit pricey, but what can we do when we're brothers..."
...
Amidst the discussions of the bandits, the last group of black-masked men, having failed in their pursuit, returned.
Afterwards, Mu Xi and dozens of other women were put into four or five carriages and escorted back to the bandits' lair.
Mu Xi and the others did not know what mountain it was or what place it was. In the end, the dozens of people were stuffed into a damp and cold cave.
Without water or food, the women were filled with terror and despair. Their bodies trembled, and they huddled together in twos and threes, crying and sobbing as they endured the night.
After that, Mu Xi and the others were unable to escape and could only be manipulated by others.
They were first blindfolded and sent to a military camp, and then escorted to Moyang by government soldiers disguised as镖队 (escort teams).
Along the way, the women were thankful that they hadn't been "touched," but they were still treated like animals.
They are given only one meal a day, which is a coarse flour bun or a rough flour pancake. Everyone shares a bucket for water, and the only requirement is to keep them alive.
If a woman on the road falls ill and cannot bear it, she is left to fend for herself. If she dies, no one cares and her body is simply thrown to the side of the road, left to rot in the wilderness.
Mu Xi initially fell ill due to the discomfort of the two days before she arrived. Fortunately, Cao Pan'er, Tao'er, and Zhe Lan were by her side and took care of her as best they could. She managed to stay alive and miraculously recovered just before they reached Mo Yang. However, she was completely emaciated and unrecognizable.
Several days later, the somber walls of Moyang City finally came into view.
Mu Xi and the others were sold in batches to brothels of all sizes in Moyang City.
Because of her illness along the way, Mu Xi was thin and pale, barely recognizable as a human. When the brothel madam picked and chose her, no one doubted her identity.
Cao Pan'er and Tao'er, on the other hand, suffered a lot along the way, but their appearances remained almost untouched, and they were frequently spotted by the madam.
Finally, after haggling with the madam of "Fangfei Tower," which was said to be the newest and largest brothel in Moyang City, they bought both Cao Pan'er and Tao'er.
Cao Pan'er immediately "revealed" that she was originally a rich young lady and asked the madam surnamed Liu to also buy her personal maid Mu Xi.
Tao'er followed suit, pretending to be the daughter of another wealthy family, and asked the madam surnamed Liu to buy Zhelan, the maid she had grown up with since childhood.
Of course, this was all planned in advance. Before entering Moyang City, they had already heard that Moyang City had been occupied by Gao Quan's rebel army a month ago. Now, any wealthy households in the city that had any connection with the Yu Wang Mu clan had been wiped out after three repetitions.
After the wealthy households were purged, Mu Xi and her group of women were transported here, and none of them were spared; they were all to be sold into brothels and theaters.
Given Mu Xi's current sickly appearance and Zhe Lan's ordinary looks, if she cannot be bought by a large brothel, she will only end up in a low-class entertainment venue, and her fate will be even more precarious.
The madam surnamed Liu, adorned with gold and silver and possessing an extraordinary talent for business, did not make things difficult for Cao Pan'er under her pleading. After some haggling, the deal was successfully made, and she bought Mu Xi and Zhe Lan.
Finally, Mu Xi and her group of four women were taken back to Gui Street, the most bustling street in Moyang, to a magnificent four-story brothel called Fangfei Tower.
Throughout her journey, Mu Xi had somewhat accepted the fact that she had been sold, but she always thought that if she had been sold to a wealthy family as a slave, she might have had a chance to escape. But now she was being sold into a brothel, forced to sell herself to save her life?
Ultimately, I couldn't accept it.
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