Chen Yuezhi touched her face. "Da Niu, I have something to tell you. You must remain calm."
Jiang Xiao's heart skipped a beat. "Mother, you mean Xiao Bao wasn't found?"
Chen Yuezhi nodded. "Indeed, he wasn't found. Those beasts from the Zhang family threw Xiao Bao in the woods and left."
Jiang Xiao felt as if she'd been struck by lightning, tears unable to fall.
Chen Yuezhi quickly squeezed her hand. "Listen to me. Fortunately, that old beast didn't bury Xiao Bao, otherwise, Xiao Bao would truly be dead."
"Da Niu, Xiao Bao is not dead, he is alive!"
Jiang Xiao's lips trembled for a long time before she managed to utter two extremely difficult words in a hoarse voice, "Alive?"
"Yes, Xiao Bao is still alive!"
Chen Yuezhi hugged her tightly. "Da Niu, Xiao Bao is alive, he's not dead. He just hit his head and stopped breathing. That old beast from the Zhang family found him unlucky and abandoned him in the woods, intending for wild beasts to eat him. But shortly after he left, Xiao Bao woke up and was rescued by someone passing by."
"Xiao Bao is blessed with great fortune, he is still alive, and he is waiting for you to bring him home somewhere."
This news was too shocking for Jiang Xiao. It took her a while to process it. Excitedly, she pulled Chen Yuezhi and confirmed repeatedly, "Mother, is Xiao Bao really alive? Really?"
Chen Yuezhi nodded incessantly. "It's true, he's alive. Mother dares to guarantee with her life that he's alive!"
Jiang Xiao cried out in excitement, "My child, my Xiao Bao, he's alive, he's alive!"
Chen Yuezhi cried with her.
Su Shi and Zhang Qiaoxiu, hearing the commotion from outside, also began to cry.
But they weren't crying out of happiness, but out of sadness.
Because Da Lang and the others didn't know that Xiao Bao was alive. They had already asked their husbands, and the answer they received was that Xiao Bao had been abandoned in the mountains by the Zhang family, and not even his bones could be found.
Therefore, they believed that the news of Xiao Bao being alive was something Chen Yuezhi had deliberately fabricated to give Jiang Xiao the will to live.
Their intention was to make Jiang Xiao feel hopeful.
So, they had both decided that in the future, when mentioning Xiao Bao in front of Jiang Xiao, they would try to be as cheerful as possible, to let Jiang Xiao feel hope.
Jiang Wan later learned of this and found it both amusing and touching.
After leaving the Cheng residence, Jiang Wan did not return to the village with her family but went to an inn.
Jiang Wan did not explain who was staying at the inn, only saying it was a friend whose identity could not be revealed.
Because of the old immortal, Jiang Pan and Chen Yuezhi gave Jiang Wan the greatest freedom. Since Jiang Wan didn't say anything, they didn't ask further.
Gu Chenzhou was in good spirits. Since he couldn't move, he simply lay back, ate when he should, slept when he should, and didn't trouble Yuan Bao.
When Jiang Wan arrived, Gu Chenzhou was having Yuan Bao turn the pages of a storybook for him.
Yuan Bao, seeing Jiang Wan arrive, very consciously got up and gave her his seat.
Jiang Wan took the storybook from his hand, habitually took off her shoes, and lay down beside Gu Chenzhou, then remained still.
Gu Chenzhou looked down and saw that the girl had fallen asleep instantly!
Sensing the faint dark circles under her eyes, he lay quietly and signaled to Yuan Bao.
Yuan Bao quickly went out, closed the door, and shut it.
Once the door was closed, Gu Chenzhou simply closed his eyes as well, accompanying Jiang Wan in catching up on sleep.
They slept soundly until sunset.
Jiang Wan stretched contentedly, feeling her energy replenished, and smiled at Gu Chenzhou. "It seems you've been quite well-behaved these past few days."
Gu Chenzhou pouted. "No reward."
Jiang Wan chuckled mischievously. "How about I reward you with a soft bone pill?"
Gu Chenzhou gave her a glare.
Jiang Wan chuckled again. "Just kidding, little brother. There are less than ten days left until the month is up. Just hold on a little longer, and when the time comes, you'll be free."
Gu Chenzhou didn't want to talk to her.
This girl was sly.
Jiang Wan, however, felt a bit reluctant to part.
Such a good source of energy. Once he left, they might never meet again.
Her path to leveling up would be incredibly long and difficult.
What a pity.
But she would never try to keep him.
After leaving the inn, Jiang Wan went to the back door of the Xu residence.
Using her abilities, she summoned the rats and obtained many secrets of the Xu family from them.
However, it wasn't enough.
With just this information, the Xu family couldn't be brought down.
So, Jiang Wan had the rats go back to collect more evidence of the Xu family's crimes and then returned to the small mountain village, entering the back mountain.
She summoned the eagles and instructed them to keep a close watch on the Xu family's every move, especially Old Master Xu. They had to keep a dead eye on him!
Additionally, she planned to target the Xu family's businesses.
She didn't have much time left. The Third Master Xu's side had already erupted, and by tomorrow, Old Master Xu would receive the news.
Therefore, she had to tie up Old Master Xu, preventing him from dealing with Third Master Xu's affairs.
So, Jiang Wan wrote a note to Chen Yuezhi and had a small rider deliver it back, while she herself remained in the city.
Based on the clues found by the small rider, Jiang Wan inspected the Xu family's properties one by one.
Three brothels, ten pleasure boats, two casinos, one dock, two pawnshops, and one hidden operation for loan sharking.
It had to be said, the Xu family had truly dabbled in every gray industry.
She wondered how much ill-gotten money they had earned.
Jiang Wan decided to target the brothels first tonight.
These three brothels occupied the prosperous areas in the east, south, and north of Yaoxian, and their businesses were quite good. Combined with the ten pleasure boats, the Xu family had captured about eighty percent of Yaoxian's entertainment and flesh trade.
Jiang Wan watched the women coming and going in the brothels for a while, a slight smile playing on her lips, before turning and disappearing into the darkness.
At the same time, in the kitchens of the three brothels, several rats, taking advantage of the cooks' inattention, climbed onto the water vats and quickly spat something into them.
The cooks heard a few light sounds from the water vats, turned to look, but saw nothing. Then, they took water ladles, scooped water, and poured it into the pots.
Half an hour later, during the busiest time for the brothels, sudden exclamations erupted from all three establishments.
A short while later, a foul odor wafted out of the brothels, overpowering the pungent scent of makeup.
Many girls and customers covered their noses and ran out, but as they ran, they also looked embarrassed, clutching their stomachs, wanting to find a place to relieve the cramping in their bowels.
But there was no time for them to find a place. Waves of embarrassing sounds emanated from them along with the stench, scaring passersby into dodging...
The scene was chaotic, yet somewhat comical.
Many pedestrians with a higher tolerance for such things stood by the roadside, covering their noses and watching the spectacle. Seeing the disheveled state of the prostitutes and patrons, covered in their own bodily fluids, they couldn't help but laugh out loud.