After that, the other girl who seemed to be more sensible walked towards Mike and asked, “Just say it! What is it that you want to know?”


  Mike saw that the two girls’ behavior seemed to have returned to normal.

  So he said, “Don’t you often get disturbed by bandits here? Why do you still do this kind of business here?”


  One of the girls laughed at hearing this.

  In reply, she said, “Yes, we do get harassed by the bandits, but they only come here to spend money!

  “Although these bandits are quite rude, they are all generous!

  “We really hope to receive such guests often!”


  When Mike heard this, he could not help but feel surprised.

  Then he asked, “Is this really Condon Village?”


  The two women looked at each other, before smiling at Mike and replied, “Of course it is!”


  Once Mike sorted out his thoughts, he continued to question one of them.

  “Why have you become like this?”


  When the two girls heard Mike’s words, their expressions turned ugly.

  Seeing that the two girls in front of him were no longer willing to speak, he took out a string of jewels from his backpack and handed it to the two girls.

  The two girls stared at the jewelry in Mike’s hand before finally smiling and giving their answer.

  “It’s because there are no more men in our village, so we can only use this method to survive!

  “Do you think this is really what we want to do?”


  When Mike heard this, he continued to ask.

  “Then, why do you have to commit such an insult to yourself?”


  One of the girls replied, “If we don’t do this, how else are we going to live? Can our chastity be used as food? Don’t be ridiculous, okay?”


  When Mike heard this, he continued to ask.

  “What about the others? What about the other girls who were captured by the bandits? How did they end up like that?”


  One of the girls explained to Mike.

  “It’s because those are the girls who are usually not obedient. Some of the leaders of the bandits like to torture these kinds of virtuous women!

  “Once they are taken away by the leaders of the bandits, their lives will not be as good as ours in this village!”


  When Mike heard this, he realized that these people were not unaware of the terror of the bandits.

  Hence, Mike proceeded to keep on questioning them.

  “Have you never had any thoughts of resisting?”


  “Resisting? Stop joking, alright? Can you not have such unrealistic dreams?”


  When Mike heard this, he curiously asked, “Unrealistic dreams? Why do you say that?”


  The two girls laughed coldly.

  “We’ve had people who resisted before, but what was the end result? Weren’t they still captured by those bandits and tortured to death?

  “If it wasn’t for the fact that we were forced by our life circumstances, did you really think that we would be willing to do such a lowly business?”


  When Mike heard this, he seemed to understand the situation of the women in Condon Village.

  Then, Mike continued to ask.

  “Where is your village chief?”


  In answer to Mike’s question, they quickly pointed in a direction.

  After thanking the girl briefly, Mike walked in the direction that the girl had pointed out.

  “Sis, why do you think this person asked us so many questions? Could it be that he was really sent by the heavens to save us?”


  “Forget it. Look at how weak he is. How could he possibly save us? I think he might not even be able to save himself!”


  “But this person is quite rich. He was really generous!”


  “Don’t tell me you have developed an infatuation with this person?”


  The two girls continued their discussion as they gazed at Mike and Lilian who were gradually walking towards the distant village chief’s house in Condon Village.

  …


  When Mike knocked on the door, he did not receive the response that he expected for a long time.

  “What’s going on? Is no one at home?”


  Mike asked in puzzlement.

  As Mike and Lilian stood there in puzzlement, the door to the building was finally opened.

  Then, Mike and Lilian saw a white-haired old woman.

  Looking at the old woman, Mike could tell that it was obvious that even though she was very old, the marks left by the years on her face could not mar her once young and beautiful face.

  By now, Mike already had an answer in his heart.

  Therefore, Mike smiled casually and asked, “You must be the Chief of Condon Village, right?”


  Even after seeing Mike and listening to him speak, the old woman did not pay much attention to him.

  Instead, she said coldly, “Who are you?”


  Mike could see that the old woman seemed to have some hostility toward him, so he continued to speak.

  “We are tourists from the north, traveling all the way to the south. We are very curious about everything in Condon Village, so we wanted to ask about the situation here!”


  “I was wondering if you were the chief of Condon Village?”


  After hearing Mike’s question, the old woman finally changed her attitude towards Mike slightly.

  She then decided to say, “Call me Ensi. I am the village chief of this village!”


  After hearing the old woman’s answer, Mike immediately opened his mouth and continued to ask.

  “Hello, Village Chief Ensi, may I ask what exactly happened here?”


  Ensi caught a glimpse of the endless stream of people walking behind Mike and Lilian.

  She quickly told them, “It’s not convenient to talk outside. I think you two should follow me in first!”


  Mike and Lilian looked at each other, then nodded and followed the old woman into the house.

  When the two of them entered the house, the old woman sighed slightly.

  Seeing this, Mike hurriedly questioned.

  “Village chief Ensi, did you think of something bad?”


  Ensi did not answer. She just stared at Mike silently for a long time.

  “Village Chief Ensi? Village Chief Ensi?”


  After Mike tried to get her attention for some time, Ensi finally came back to her senses.

  Then, she opened her mouth and said to Mike.

  “After the Lieluo Army broke through the southern part of the Empire, countless people who were left in the southern part of the Empire went even further south.

  “When they passed by our Condon village, they took away most of the men here!”


  “The men? Why would they do that?”


  Lilian said with some confusion.