Eight days later.
Mirror Lake Meng Manor.
"Young Master, Jadesun Palace sent us a copy of the dossier after they closed the case." Qian Fang carried twelve thick dossiers over. "I've brought all of them here."
"Uncle Qian, tend to your matters. Just leave the dossier here." Meng Chuan nodded.
"Alright." Qian Fang placed the thick dossiers there and left.
Meng Chuan picked up the dossier on top and started to read it. It was a brief description of the entire development.
The eight-year-old Ironborn wanted to save his sister, so he begged Zhou Qian. Zhou Qian was stopped by his father, Zhou He, and was unable to rescue her in person. Thus, he sent Ironborn to beg his eldest senior brother, Meng Chuan. Meng Chuan, who had a good relationship with Zhou Qian, interfered in this matter. Yan Jin, on the other hand, had intervened out of anger…
…
After Zhou He learned of the matter, he brought his son to Meng Manor to seek forgiveness. Meng Dajiang was furious, but Meng Chuan pleaded on behalf of his junior brother, thus sparing him…
…
In these few sentences, it describes how close my relationship with Zhou Qian is. It's as if it was because of him that I went to save Red Rain. I even pleaded for mercy on his behalf so that Father would spare them. Meng Chuan chuckled softly. Zhou He is really smart. He tried his best to hook up with my Meng family, probably because he's afraid that the Bai family would seek revenge.
He could completely understand.
An ordinary family clan would be terrified when pitted against a Godfiend family like the Bai family. Therefore, they thought up ways to guide the narrative, such as using the siblings' statement, such as Zhou He's answers when interrogated by the Jadesun Palace… There was no need to lie. As long as the main points changed slightly, outsiders would believe Meng Chuan's relationship with Zhou Qian to be extraordinary.
The Bai family would also be fearful, because the person most furious about the situation was Fairy Meng! The Bai family was unwilling to anger the Meng family.
No one wished to really fight a Godfiend who only had six or seven years of life left.
When they found out that Meng Chuan and Zhou Qian had a close relationship, the Bai family no longer bothered dealing with the Zhou family anymore. Dealing with the Zhou family was not beneficial. It was just to vent their anger. Instead, they might anger Meng Chuan and the Meng family.
Hence, the Zhou family managed to escape disaster.
The Zhou family's Zhou He does have some tricks up his sleeve. It's just that he's a little sad. Meng Chuan could tell that the Zhou family was facing a dangerous situation. Taking a step forward led to a precipitous cliff, and a step backward a bottomless abyss! The Zhou family couldn't afford to offend any of the parties involved—the Bai family, the Meng family, and the Black Wolf Gang… If they were not careful, they would fall to their deaths.
According to the dossier, investigations on the Black Wolf Gang in Idle Stone Garden revealed five people related to the Skydemon Sect. Three were captured alive, one went missing, and the last committed suicide. According to the three's separate interrogations, the Black Wolf Gang is innocent.
Meng Chuan didn't find it odd.
There was no need for the Black Wolf Gang to collude with the Skydemon Sect. They would definitely die if they were found out.
After all the Black Wolf Gang higher-ups were captured, their cultivation was probed. None of them cultivated any demonic arts. After investigations, the Black Wolf Gang was determined to be innocent.
As the Black Wolf Gang had violated the Imperial Court's laws, Gang Leader Liu Chang was sentenced to serve at Qinyang Pass in a suicide squad for three years. The deputy gang leader, Cong You, was sentenced to ten years of hard labor…
As Meng Chuan read, he shook his head gently. The Black Wolf Gang has nothing to do with the Skydemon Sect, but this thorough investigation discovered several things. The leaders naturally can't escape.
The Black Wolf Gang was quite unlucky.
There were many hooligans among the lackeys in the gang. Even if the gang strictly abided by the rules, the hooligans under them could still commit all kinds of violations.
This time, they had angered the Meng family and Jadesun Palace. Meng Chuan and Yan Jin were seriously injured and were nearly killed by the Skydemon Sect expert. Therefore, the Black Wolf Gang naturally had to take the blame, but the punishment wasn't too severe.
…
These Godfiend family clans can turn their backs at a moment's notice. Even after serving as a loyal dog for so many years, they still threw me under the carriage. Thankfully, I have strength at the Impervious realm. I was only sentenced to join a suicide squad in Qinyang Pass. Liu Chang had been escorted to Qinyang Pass. Qinyang Pass was only ninety kilometers from Eastcalm Prefecture City, and nearly all mortal soldiers from the city came here.
Liu Chang even felt a little relieved. Thankfully, I killed Ah Quan. No one knows that I had long suspected something was wrong with Idle Stone Garden. I managed to escape death.
On the way to Qinyang Pass, he was still feeling rather lucky.
I'll return in three years. Liu Chang turned to glance at Eastcalm Prefecture City. The soldiers escorting him were rather polite. The Black Wolf Gang's leader was an expert at the Impervious realm after all.
…
Sitting in the training grounds, Meng Chuan flipped through the dossiers about the Bai family.
If the Black Wolf Gang was innocent, then the Bai family was even more innocent. However, the Bai Family couldn't be completely forgiven since some of their territory had been a lair of the Skydemon Sect. They were punished severely by Jadesun Palace. The upper echelons of the Black Wolf Gang, as well as the Bai family members in the Black Wolf Gang, were all given sentences. They were also fined 500,000 taels of silver, making the Bai family feel the pinch.
And them. Meng Chuan then flipped through other dossiers. Many people were recorded in the dossiers. It recorded the information of the women in Idle Stone Garden.
So it's all true. These women already signed indenture contracts. They still have to return to the Black Wolf Gang and receive their training. In the future, they will still have to go to the brothels and whorehouses. Meng Chuan shook his head. The Black Wolf Gang wasn't dismantled. The Bai family arranged for people to take control of the Black Wolf Gang and continue to manage matters. The law protected the indenture contacts the women had signed.
Meng Chuan's expression changed as he read. Most of those who were forcefully abducted ended up selling themselves to the gang?
Most of those who were abducted by the gang had reasons just like Red Rain—her father owed a huge amount of debt! She was taken to cover the debt. Now, she was released…
But if the debt was not repaid, what could they do?
If they couldn't repay their debts, they would only owe more money due to the interest. They would ultimately be forced to "voluntarily sell themselves." For Red Rain's case, the Black Wolf Gang felt fear towards it. They took the initiative to tear the promissory note and write it off. Only then did their family temporarily escape this calamity. However, Red Rain's father was a gambling addict. If a gambler continued gambling, he would eventually end up harming his children.
Sometimes, there's no way to save them. As Meng Chuan read the dossier, he seemed to see one woman after another walking towards Idle Stone Garden.
How could this be? He felt extremely aggrieved watching this. There was no way to save them, as though they were trapped in a quagmire.
Bam!
Meng Chuan threw the dossier away and walked out.
"Ah Chuan, have you eaten lunch?" Liu Qiyue shouted when she saw his back.
"I'm going out for a walk."
Heading out even at noon. Liu Qiyue mumbled before returning to the hall. She ate with Liu Yebai and Meng Dajiang. Meng Dajiang smiled. "It's good to let him go out to relax."
…
Meng Chuan was indeed aggrieved. Zhou He's cleverness and cunning earned a smile.
He did not sympathize with the Black Wolf Gang's gang leader, Liu Chang. However, the women, especially those who had been abducted and rescued, had no choice but to head towards the quagmire again.
How did this world turn out like this? Meng Chuan murmured. Suddenly, he saw a restaurant in front of him. At noon, quite a few guests were sitting inside.
"Here, try it. Doesn't it smell good?" A couple was carrying a child. His father passed the torn white steamed bun to his child, who took a big bite and nodded. "It smells good."
The couple looked at their son and smiled happily. Both of them were dirty, and their fingers coarse. They clearly did hard labor, but their smiles were very radiant.
At this moment, Meng Chuan was stunned by the couple's smiles as they looked at their child.
"Come have a drink." There were four bare-chested men beside the couple. Their skin was glistening with sweat. They held large bowls of alcohol as they chatted loudly; they had completely forgotten about the hardships of their labor.
"Let's finish eating quickly. We'll go look for your father after we're done eating." An old man was with a girl as he drank some noodle soup. The girl nodded her head, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. "Yes, let's find Dad."
Laughter, chatting voices, and hope in their eyes…
Meng Chuan felt his heart lighten significantly after seeing this.