The following evening, Zhu Jiayu had Tao Yao lead the way to the place where they met with the middleman.

To avoid arousing suspicion, Lin Zhi's men followed them at a distance.

Tao Yao first rented a carriage with Zhu Jiayu, and after traveling a long distance, she led her onto a dangerous mountain road.

The road was flanked by deep mountains and dense forests. Tao Yao carried a lantern, and the dim light was enough for the two of them to make out the path under their feet, so that they would not step on thorns or traps.

Noticing that Tao Yao kept turning back and looking around, Zhu Jiayu asked with a cold smile, "Trying to run away?"

“I advise you to give up on that idea. You must understand that although I also think you are guilty beyond redemption, I am really not good at dealing with children, so I have decided to leave this tricky matter to the laws of Daye.”

Seeing that Tao Yao was looking at her, Zhu Jiayu changed her approach:

"What I mean is, no matter what happens, I will do my best to save your life until then. Of course, if you insist on dying, I will grant your wish."

"I don't need to tell you, I'm sure you've seen it too. This place is covered in dense forest. If you, a delicate child, were thrown into the forest overnight, you would probably be devoured by jackals and tigers, leaving not even a bone behind."

"They might drag your body through the forest, rubbing you raw from head to toe, not a single patch of good flesh left, and they won't stop. If you're lucky, they might bite off your head, but if you're unlucky, they might eat off your limbs first, and you'll be powerless to do anything but watch. Guess what you'll end up like: being eaten whole first, or dying of pain from losing your limbs?"

Tao Yao gripped the lantern handle even tighter, gritting her teeth, refusing to show any weakness in front of Zhu Jiayu.

In the end, she didn't know whether she was afraid of the situation Zhu Jiayu described, or afraid that Zhu Jiayu had seen through her intentions.

But… just listening to Zhu Jiayu's words, she could already imagine how terrifying she would be if she escaped into the mountains. She did have the thought of running away, but after Zhu Jiayu's words, she truly dared not entertain that thought again.

If she could still be somewhat confident in avoiding a terrible situation when facing the wickedness of the world, she could hardly remain optimistic in the face of ferocious beasts. After all, the innate difference was insurmountable—no matter how ruthless she was, she was still just a little girl. Just as Zhu Jiayu said, if she really encountered wild beasts and birds of prey, she could be torn to pieces in no time.

but……

Zhu Jiayu had no idea what kind of hell on earth they were about to face!

Tao Yao could no longer bear it: "Why do you insist on going there!"

She thought Zhu Jiayu had accidentally fallen into her and Li Sanba's trap and been lured to the mountain.

"Now that you're saved, can't you just go home peacefully? I'll accept it even if they really hand me over to the authorities! I just don't want to go to that place!"

In her opinion, even being locked up in jail was better than taking Zhu Jiayu there and then being discovered by King Hu as a traitor!

If anything goes wrong, she'll be the first to die! No, death is better than falling into the hands of Yama, the King of Hell! He's a true living Yama!

Zhu Jiayu remained silent.

At first, she just wanted to track down Miss Xiao's whereabouts. Although she knew the chances were slim, she still wanted to do something.

But seeing how things have developed to this point, and from Tao Yao's words, it's clear that they've abducted and trafficked quite a few girls.

Zhu Jiayu then felt that she should do this even more.

Ultimately, it all boils down to those four words: seeking peace of mind.

Perhaps if she did it, fewer women would be victimized and fewer parents would be heartbroken. Even if she didn't succeed, she could make other plans, so that at least in the future she wouldn't regret her inaction today.

Someone has to do it, so why can't that person be her?

Receiving no answer, Tao Yao stamped her foot: "I! Ask! You! Why! Must! Go! There!"

Zhu Jiayu snapped out of her daze and gave her a casual smile: "Perhaps it's because my conscience isn't completely dead."

Tao Yao looked at her as if she had seen a ghost.

To her, those four words were a huge joke.

She never believed that people had a conscience.

Although she was young, she had already seen too much ugliness. No one understood better than her that, many times, conscience is nothing more than a fig leaf for self-deception.

She scoffed, not taking Zhu Jiayu's words seriously, and only asked hesitantly, "You will definitely... protect me later?"

Zhu Jiayu nodded: "So now, can you tell me where we're going?"

Tao Yao pursed her lips.

Just when Zhu Jiayu thought she wouldn't answer, she finally heard her speak: "That's a... terrifying place."

"The man in charge is known in the underworld as King Yama Hu. He holds immeasurable wealth in his hands, but his hands are also stained with deep sins and blood."

“Li Sanba and I can only go there once every two weeks at most. But there are far more people than just Li Sanba and me who go there. You asked me before what would happen to the girls who were sent away.”

“They are sent here and wait to be chosen by buyers. Those who can be bought leave. If no one buys them, they are left behind and either have their legs broken, or their eyes gouged out, their tongues cut out... In short, the most inhumane treatment you can imagine can be done to them.”

“Li Sanba and I abduct young and beautiful women like you, but there are even more heinous ones who specifically target children as young as three or five and send them to King Hu.”

She paused, seemingly realizing that her words were inappropriate—ultimately, they were all doing the same heinous acts, so who was any better than the other?

However, Zhu Jiayu didn't focus on that. She thought of the young master of the Sheng'an Marquis's mansion and couldn't help but ask, "Do children also suffer the same fate as women?"

"They're all the same," Tao Yao replied softly.

After she escaped from the scholar's house, she fell into the hands of King Yama.

At that time, she was pale and thin, and her features had not yet developed. No buyer wanted her. Those who could find a way to get through Hu Yanwang were all rich and powerful, and they would not look down on her.

Just as she was about to be dragged away by Hu Yanwang's men and have her hands chopped off, she happened to meet Li Sanba, who was there to deliver someone, who complained that women were becoming increasingly wary and difficult to harm.

In order to survive, she volunteered to help Li Sanba. She was young and a girl, so she could act pitiful and weak to greatly reduce the women's wariness, making it easier for Li Sanba to take advantage of her.

That's how she managed to escape from there.

But the boy who fell into that hell on earth with her wasn't so lucky.