Unwinding

Regarding this matter, Xi Cui could only silently comfort herself: it was normal for bandits to break into houses, plunder, and indulge in debauchery.

Obviously, this wasn't the first time these men had come here. After finding their partners, everyone went their separate ways.

Even Lu Shen was led upstairs by a woman. Only Xi Cui was left, unable to sit comfortably or stand at ease.

The only silver lining was that even though Lu Shen was a criminal, he wasn't immune to the vices of men. At this moment, he was upstairs enjoying himself, so he had no time to nitpick with her.

Seeing her left out, someone resembling a madam pushed a woman over to her.

The brothel girls here were very much like the girls in modern-day front massage parlors; their looks were average, and they were only dressed somewhat revealingly.

A woman in her twenties in ancient times was already considered somewhat aged. With short sleeves, a short skirt, and high cheekbones, she looked quite cold and asked bluntly, "Aren't you coming?"

Xi Cui replied reservedly, "I'll just drink tea."

The two-story small building had very poor soundproofing.

But the people here seemed to be completely used to it, each tending to their own business. If not for the background noise from upstairs, it would look exactly like an ordinary household.

The woman giggled. "I see that Brother is also a man of means, yet you sit here drinking tea in vain. Could it be that you are useless—all bark and no bite?"

Xi Cui felt embarrassed.

Hearing this, the madam spat. "Your dog mouth can't spit out any good words! The gentleman is just shy. Why don't you hurry up and serve him, make him comfortable quickly? If you talk any more, I'll tear your mouth apart!"

The woman then came over to pull her.

Xi Cui had no choice but to say, "I'm not in the mood today, find someone else."

Seeing that she truly did not want to go upstairs, the madam grumbled a few words and ignored her.

Lu Shen had already paid for everything; if this person didn't go up, it would only be more relaxing for them.

Xi Cui sat downstairs and waited for a while.

She didn't know what those guys were doing upstairs either. She had waited for so long; no matter how wild they were, they should have finished by now, yet she waited and waited without seeing a single soul.

While she was waiting, two more men walked in from the door. They didn't rush upstairs either, but sat with legs splayed, drinking a cup of tea.

The two of them seemed to be regulars as well; the madam served them very respectfully.

Having nothing to do, Xi Cui pricked up her ears to listen to their conversation.

"I wanted to come too, but how could I find the time? This newly appointed Magistrate Wei is said to have been dispatched from the capital. Who knows what kind of obsession he has, but he insists on making things difficult for those people on the mountain."

"Now he's running around borrowing troops, tossing and turning. If a fight really breaks out, we brothers won't be able to escape; we can only grit our teeth and bear it."

"How could he not make a fuss? Magistrate Wei's son has been captured by them."

Xi Cui carefully sized them up. Hearing the meaning in their words, they seemed to be bailiffs from the magistrate's office.

The "Magistrate Wei" in their mouths must refer to Wei Dan Sheng's father, Wei Zong Lin.

It seemed the news that Wei Zong Lin wanted to wipe out the bandits was indeed true. However, if this was the case, she didn't have much time left.

Wei Dan Sheng was only a supporting male lead, so the book wouldn't spend much time describing how his father rescued him from the bandits' lair. Since he could follow the female lead Wu Huai Fei everywhere later, it meant Wei Zong Lin would indeed succeed in destroying Lu Shen's gang.

As one of the bandits, Xi Cui vaguely felt a sense of crisis.

She had no grand ambitions and didn't want to fight to the death with others. She only wanted to win over Wei Dan Sheng and quickly return home. None of these matters had anything to do with her.

There were plenty of tea and snacks here. The tea tray was filled with wafer biscuits, pulled candy, peanuts, and melon seeds for everyone to eat.

Xi Cui grabbed a handful and stuffed them into her pocket, planning to give them to Wei Dan Sheng later to try and win him over.

After the two bailiffs went upstairs, she waited a bit longer. Seeing her sitting there like a fierce guardian deity, the madam called her over to play Ma Diao.

Xi Cui didn't know how to play, but the madam didn't mind, patiently teaching her the rules.

Ma Diao was essentially the ancient version of Mahjong.

On Biao Er Mountain, there was no entertainment. The grown men were so bored all day that they wrestled to compare scores. No wonder Lu Shen often led them down the mountain to unwind and find some pleasure.