Oil Peach was somewhat puzzled. "What is it? Why don’t you just give it to me now?"
"Not now, the time is not right yet."
You Xue Tao reminded Li Banfeng, "It’s unreliable to entrust a passerby with an item. People who frequently travel between places might have some credibility, but others may not be trustworthy. If it’s not something urgent, it’s safer to send it through the post office. If you must use a passerby, I’ll go talk to Middleman tomorrow and ask him to find someone familiar. But if he really can’t find anyone..."
"Then it’s worth taking a gamble."
Li Banfeng turned to leave.
You Xue Tao reached out and grabbed him.
"Where are you going?"
"To spend the night on the mountain."
"The mountain isn’t safe either. I’ve heard that Patrol Officers have started searching the mountains."
"I’ll figure something out myself. I can’t involve you in this."
Li Banfeng left, and You Xue Tao stood at the door for a long time.
Coughing came from upstairs again, and You Xue Tao headed to the second floor.
The girl sitting in the corner snorted. "If you’ve taken a liking to him, just go with him."
You Xue Tao nodded. "Okay, I’ll go with him."
"You have no conscience!" the girl cried. "He’s obviously no good! What do you see in him?"
You Xue Tao smiled and stroked the girl’s cheek. "He is a good man, a truly good man."
The next day, You Xue Tao went to visit Middleman at the entrance of the village. Middleman quoted a price of 120,000 to find someone familiar for You Xue Tao, ensuring the item would be delivered.
You Xue Tao frowned. "Why the price hike? The most it ever was before is 100,000!"
Middleman smiled. "Blue Poplar Village isn’t peaceful. With less money, no one is willing to go."
You Xue Tao had never been to Greenwater Bay and had no idea what Blue Poplar Village was like. However, since Li Banfeng had confirmed the place, she didn’t ask any more questions.
They arranged to meet the next morning to exchange the item for money.
Middleman cautioned her, "Peach, we have a relationship, so I’m stating this clearly: Patrol Officers are inspecting closely these days. I dare not carry anything irregular. Don’t get me into trouble."
Oil Peach agreed.
At two o’clock in the night, Oil Peach went to the pond on the western slope of Hemp Bamboo Mountain. Under a piece of bluestone, she found the package Li Banfeng had left behind. The package was palm-sized and very light.
Oil Peach was holding the package and ready to go down the mountain when she suddenly heard a noise nearby.
She peered into the bamboo forest and saw several points of light.
The lights were special: Patrol Officers’ exclusive gas lanterns.
A gas lantern is an oil-gas lamp with a fist-sized gas bottle attached to a tube. Turning the valve on the tube releases gas. Once ignited, it’s much brighter than ordinary lanterns.
In Puluo State, fuel solidifies quickly and cannot be stored in large quantities. Equipment that can convert solidified fat into a small amount of gas is extremely expensive. In the vicinity of Hemp Bamboo Mountain, only Patrol Officers could afford to use gas lanterns.
Oil Peach wanted to escape, but she saw the lights flickering. The Patrol Officers had spotted her and were signaling her with their lights not to move.
With no other option, You Xue Tao swiftly stripped off her clothes, stuffed the package inside them, and dived into the water.
Soon, Patrol Officer Wu Jinming and his men approached.
Seeing Oil Peach curled up in the water, several Patrol Officers were itching to dive in for a closer look.
Unfortunately, the spot where Oil Peach was hiding was obscured by the shadow of a large bluestone, and the anxious Patrol Officers couldn’t see anything.
Frowning, Wu Jinming said, "You Xue Tao, what are you doing here?"
Oil Peach’s brows also furrowed. "Officer Wu, can’t you see what I’m doing? Bathing. Why don’t you come down and join me?"
Normally, Wu Jinming would banter with You Xue Tao, but today he was not in the mood. "I’ve told you before, I’ve never made things difficult for you. Why must you cause trouble for me?"
"Officer Wu, you bring a group of subordinates to watch me bathe, and in the end, you say I’m causing you trouble? Are we not going to be reasonable here?"
While speaking, Oil Peach kept her gaze fixed on Wu Jinming, her tone neither servile nor overbearing, conveying a mix of resentment, grievance, helplessness, and sorrow.
Lust Cultivation required assessing the cultivation level, maintaining the right measure, and employing guile.
Wu Jinming didn’t speak, but his subordinates lowered their heads.
They felt sympathy for Oil Peach.
They felt guilty.
They didn’t want to stay there a moment longer.
Wu Jinming didn’t question Oil Peach further and led the Patrol Officers down the mountain. Along the way, no one suspected Oil Peach; instead, they complained incessantly to Wu Jinming.
"Head Wu, why bother? Miss You didn’t commit a crime. Why are we troubling her?"
"True that. Patrolling the mountains at midnight is awful enough, and here we are, a bunch of guys, bullying a girl."
"We see each other all the time, and we still have to work here. We can’t just offend everyone for the Lu Family’s petty affairs!"
"After this, I’ll feel so embarrassed to face Miss You!"
"I couldn’t even bring myself to look into the water just now!"
These Patrol Officers felt such compassion for Oil Peach that it led to strong self-reproach.
Wu Jinming didn’t say anything.