Zhu Yunwen hadn't expected that this man in black robes would be so afraid of death. Zhu Yunwen hadn't even intended to ask, but the man was going to tell him everything.
However, this was for the best, as it would save Zhu Yunwen a lot of trouble. So Zhu Yunwen looked at the man in black robes and asked:
"This is what you said yourself. If what you say is not true, or if I am not interested, then you should understand the consequences."
The man in black robes nodded and said:
"Understood, I will answer all your questions truthfully."
Zhu Yunwen nodded in satisfaction, then asked:
"First, who exactly are you people? Why are you trying to kidnap these beautiful young women?"
Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, the black-clad man answered without hesitation:
"Because we want to make money off them, we are an organization that specializes in taking money from pretty young women in this area."
Zhu Yunwen also said:
"How do those women make money for you? What are they doing? And how many of you are there?"
Faced with so many questions from Zhu Yunwen, the man in black robes might not have had the time to fabricate lies one by one.
Moreover, he is currently seriously injured, in excruciating pain, and his life is threatened, so given these factors, it is highly unlikely that he would fabricate a lie.
So he said:
"These women will be sold to underground brothels. There are more than ten of us, all of whom dress up as ghosts and use natural phenomena to deceive others."
Even the people who work for us don't know whether we're real ghosts or humans.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuntong recalled the men in black from before, and he seemed to firmly believe that these guys were ghosts.
He was still tied to a tree by Zhu Yunwen, who frowned and said:
"Those women, were they sold into prostitution in underground brothels?"
The man in black robes nodded and said:
"That's right. The imperial court is cracking down on brothels too strictly now, so we have no choice but to do this business in secret. Because of the strict regulations, normal women are unwilling to do this."
We had no other choice but to use this method to coerce them. And this method also maximized our profits.
We don't need to pay these women; we only need to pay the person who brings them to us a sum of money. Then they will become our permanent money-making tools.
Zhu Yunwen's face was grim. After taking a deep breath, he slowly said:
"Sure enough, the more the imperial court suppresses something, the more profitable it becomes, and the more people will use any means necessary to carry it out."
Although the imperial court's regulations had largely eliminated brothels in the provinces, resolving over 90% of the brothel problem in the Ming Dynasty, there were always a few who risked it and went even further in private.
Despite this, Zhu Yunwen did not think that he had made a mistake in issuing such an order.
It is precisely because these things ultimately lead people down all sorts of bizarre criminal paths that they must be prohibited.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen looked at the man in black robes again and continued to ask:
"Where is this so-called underground brothel you're referring to?"
The man in black robes said:
"The location is uncertain, and they are mostly regular customers. We will change the location from time to time, and at the same time leave the new address for these regular customers in order to avoid being tracked down by the authorities."
At this moment, Zhu Yunwen finally understood everything.
The reason why there are rumors in this place that ghosts and monsters are responsible for crimes, and that they specifically target young and beautiful women, is because these people who pretend to be ghosts and monsters want to use young and beautiful women to make money for them.
As a result, both ordinary people and the government believed that it was indeed the work of ghosts and monsters, and there was nothing that could be found.
Therefore, they didn't pay much attention to the case and instead simply categorized it as something strange.
It may even generate fear and apprehension, causing people to keep their distance and dare not investigate.
This ironically became a convenient way for these criminals to evade government investigation.
It can also create a certain degree of panic.
Thinking this, Zhu Yunwen said to the man in black robes:
"Now you tell me all the people who do this kind of thing, including their identities, locations, how many there are, the exact location of the underground brothel, and how many girls there are."
The man in black robes had no choice but to explain everything he knew in detail.
She told Zhu Yunwen everything.
Based on the information he provided, there are about ten core members like him in their organization.
In addition, there are also some men in black who work specifically for them.
There were more men in black, about twenty or thirty.
Their main purpose was to find young and beautiful women, then use some underhanded means to take them away, leaving behind things like paper money, candles, and other items used for the dead at the scene.
This is done to create an eerie atmosphere and a sense of panic.
Then the transaction takes place in special locations. After the transaction, these mysterious, black-robed men will take the girl away, that is, to an underground brothel.
Then they hand them over to people who are specifically in charge of managing them; these are the real behind-the-scenes bosses.
As for the mastermind behind the scenes, the men in black robes didn't know much about them either. They were only responsible for handing the girls over to them; how the business was conducted was the mastermind's business.
Based on what he had learned, Zhu Yunwen had to admit that their hierarchical relationships were very clear, and their division of labor was also very well defined.
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