"The Lu Family Old Ancestor, who went by the nickname 'Capitalist Lu'..."
"Capitalist Lu?"
Mo Hua was startled.
Qinglan nodded, "It means that he is greedy and selfish, extracting from mining cultivators ruthlessly as if he's peeling off their skin."
Qinglan sighed, "This is what my parents told me... when they were still alive..."
"At that time, I was young and took it as nothing more than a story, not understanding the heartache behind it..."
"It is said that several hundred years ago, the Lu Family was just an ordinary clan, owning a few mines, neither too powerful nor too weak, holding a position in South Yue City. But there were several other families more influential than the Lu Family, so the Lu Family wasn't much..."
"Until the Lu Family Old Ancestor came into power."
"After he came into power, he collaborated with several other mining families to formulate the Spirit Pact, advancing and retreating together, collectively suppressing the compensation of the mining cultivators."
"It used to be one five-part Spirit Stone per day..."
"The Lu Family established rules and nitpicked flaws, leading to the mining cultivators receiving fewer and fewer Spirit Stones, gradually depressing it to three parts, one part, and eventually only one Spirit Stone per day..."
"The mining cultivators' lives became even harder..."
"But the Lu Family earned more Spirit Stones."
"Having earned Spirit Stones, they then wanted to indulge in pleasure."
"South Yue City was desolate with few places for entertainment, so the Lu Family Old Ancestor thought of building his own..."
"Thus Jinhua Street came into being."
"Capitalist Lu, also known as the Lu Family Old Ancestor, dabbled in eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, so the gambling dens and brothels in Jinhua Street had everything one could wish for."
"This is how they squandered the Spirit Stones earned through the life-risking work of the mining cultivators in the gambling dens and brothels..."
The thought of her parents working hard to their deaths from starvation brought Qinglan to tears, her fingers turning white from clenching them so tightly.
Mo Hua also frowned deeply as he listened.
Qinglan composed herself, eyes red, and continued:
"Opening Jinhua Street, getting food and drinks, setting up gambling dens were easy..."
"But to open a brothel, they lacked girls."
"The women of the families would never do such a thing; they wouldn't sell themselves in brothels, at least not openly."
"So the Lu Family set their sights on the mining cultivators."
"They mistreated the mining cultivators, didn't fix the Formations, didn't cleanse the Filthy Qi, and the Spiritual Artifacts for mining were also old and worn, all for the sake of causing injuries to the mining cultivators, or even their deaths."
"Injuries need to be treated, and the dead need to be buried, all requiring Spirit Stones."
"Without Spirit Stones, they could only borrow."
"The Lu Family then lent money at high interest rates, making the mining cultivators incur heavy debts of Spirit Stones."
"When the mining cultivators couldn't repay their debts, they had no choice but to use their children to offset the debt, selling them to the Lu Family."
"Boys would be made servants or attendants."
"Girls were thrown into brothels, dressed up, and sent to... entertain clients..."
Qinglan found it difficult to continue, as tears welled up in her eyes again.
Mo Hua felt a touch of heartache as well.
He had not anticipated that the bustling prosperity of Jinhua Street was built on the suffering of the mining cultivators.
The women of the brothels look joyous and smiling, yet beneath their façades flow tears of blood.
The harder the mining cultivators' lives, the more extravagant Jinhua Street became.
Mo Hua asked again, "Do the other families do these things too?"
Qinglan nodded and then shook her head, "At first, the Lu Family and a few other families did it together..."
"But the other families weren't as ruthless as the Lu Family, not as extreme in their methods, and gradually, they were either absorbed or had to sell their mines to the Lu Family and move to other cities..."
"Gradually, the Lu Family became the sole power in South Yue City..."
Mo Hua frowned and said, "Such actions by the Lu Family, they must have violated the Taoist Laws, hasn't the Taoist Court ever intervened?"
Qinglan nodded, "They did, but to no avail."
"The previous Court Leader, who hated evil as if it was his enemy, simply couldn't compete with the Lu Family."
"The Lu Family bribed the right people, and had him transferred away."
"The successors at first made a show of action, but after frequenting the Lu Family brothels for several days and receiving a few chests of Spirit Stones, they ended up in collusion with the Lu Family."
Mo Hua understood.
This Court Leader must be the current Court Leader Qian.
In league with the Lu Family.
Mo Hua remembered something else and asked, "Has the Lu Family Old Ancestor passed away?"