Perhaps it was because Su Jing's attitude was sincere enough and his tone was pure and spotless.
After much deliberation, Aqiu finally agreed to go back to the village with them.
The other two girls found it hard to understand and tried to persuade him earnestly for a long time, but when they found out that Aqiu was determined, they stomped their feet and said, "It's up to you!"
Before the bus back to the village arrived, the players learned her story from Aqiu.
Aqiu was only seven years old when he left Gangan Village.
My father said that my eldest brother was going to get married and there were so many mouths to feed at home, so he arranged for Aqiu to be married off in advance and sent to another family as a child bride.
There were also two other girls who were pushed out for marriage exchange. They were about the same age as Aqiu.
Their lives have just begun, but they have already glimpsed the miserable rest of their lives from the life stories of their female elders.
Aqiu was extremely scared at the time. She cried and made a fuss at home, desperately refusing the marriage exchange.
Her father was annoyed, so he hung her up with a hemp rope, tied her up at the village entrance, beat her severely, and then threw her directly to the home of the person he was going to marry.
The situation of the marriage partner's family was slightly better than Aqiu's. Although they were hungry and cold, they had their mother and a young sister who had just married in.
Mom and sister changed Aqiu's clothes, secretly took out the hidden food, and urged Aqiu to eat quickly so as not to be discovered by others.
Another sister who wanted to exchange marriage with Aqiu brought some clean water to help Aqiu treat the wound.
Aqiu had never seen his mother. For the first time in his life, he received love from a female elder. Warm tears fell down his cheeks.
She threw herself into her sister's arms, choking with sobs as she said that she didn't want to be married off, didn't want to stay in Gangan Village, and didn't want to face a tragic fate.
However, the kind mother and gentle sister both showed helpless and sad expressions.
Women in the village have no status and cannot make decisions.
They were unwilling to exchange their young daughters for marriage, but were silenced by their husbands' words, "If we don't exchange her, how will we live?"
Aqiu and the exchanged girl were extremely sad. They hugged each other for warmth and huddled in a corner crying quietly.
I cried for a long time and heard my sister sigh in my ear.
The elder sister gently stroked their hair for a long time before whispering in her ear, "Sister, don't be afraid, I will protect you."
"I was too young at the time and thought my sister was just comforting me." Aqiu's memory has been buried for too long. When she recalls it now, she feels that her life has finally had light at that moment.
"The day before the official marriage, my sister found me and two other girls. She gave us a handful of money and told us to secretly go to the village entrance to wait for the bus."
"I thought she was lying to me. There were so many people at the village entrance, and there were all kinds of traps. If the woman could escape, the others would have already escaped."
"I asked my sister, 'If I run away, what will you do? They won't let you go.'"
Ah Qiu paused for a few seconds, suppressing his immense pain as he relayed his sister's words, "She told me she was born in Gan Gan Village, and that being alive was no different from being dead. Before she died, she was able to light a path for us, so her death wasn't in vain."
"She..." Lu Shufan started, but didn't dare to ask any further.
Ah Qiu was reluctant to recall the tragic past, but forced herself to continue. "My sister lied to me. The money she gave us was only enough to buy an adult ticket. She had originally saved it up to leave Gan Gan Village on her own."
"She was able to live, but she gave us this opportunity."
"The driver is a good man. We only took up one seat, so he didn't charge us any extra fares."
"Before I left, a big fire started at the entrance of the village, but it was quickly put out. There were no trees in the village, so the fire wouldn't last long. My father and future husband realized I had run away and told the whole village to come out and catch me."
"We ran as hard as we could, but it was too slow. I was so scared, I thought they would catch up with us."
"But before they could catch up, they were stopped by a bigger fire."
"Why?" The one who follows me wins asked subconsciously.
He was familiar with the terrain of Gangan Village. There were no flammable materials within a radius of hundreds of meters, so where did the fire come from?
Aqiu looked at them deeply, his eyes were extremely complicated.
"Some elderly aunts and grandmothers in the village knew we were leaving, so..."
"They used the embers of the fire at the village entrance to set themselves on fire."
"The mothers and sisters, their bodies on fire, held hands in the fire, stood in front of the men, and cleared a path for us."
"We escaped."
The air was extremely quiet.
No one expected to hear such a tragic story.
What were those "they" who had been trapped in Gan Gan Village for their entire lives thinking when they set themselves on fire?
When they saw Aqiu and the others leave safely, did they feel a little relieved at the end of their lives?
"We are the ones being protected by everyone, so I have to stay away from Gangan Village. I must do my best to survive with my head held high." Ah Qiu raised the corners of his lips and smiled bitterly, "I know you look down on me..."
"I'm not looking down on you." Su Qi corrected her thoughts, "You, you guys, they are all very good girls."
Aqiu looked at Su Jian with some surprise.
She was taken in by the boss's wife, and when she grew up she became a hostess to repay her.
She had been used to being looked down upon for so many years, and this was the first time someone said she was a "very good girl".
Ah Qiu couldn't help but say a few more words, "Actually, I've saved some money from bartending, and I plan to enroll myself in a non-discriminatory school. There, even people from humble backgrounds can study. Once I've learned enough, I'll leave the shop and start my own business."
"Before that..." Aqiu made up his mind and mustered up the courage to say to Su Qiong, "You said I can save them. Then, I am willing to go back."
"Thank you." Su Jing thanked him solemnly.
The players breathed a sigh of relief.
"...and us." The half-closed door was pushed open, and the other two girls walked in reluctantly.
"You guys?" Lu Shufan asked with his eyes: Are you eavesdropping around the corner?
"Don't get me wrong, we're just worried about Qiu!"
"What if she gets bullied by you guys? I'll be with her, at least I can look after her."
Shi Yuntian patted his chest and said, "Sisters, I'm betting my life on this. If anyone bullies you, I'll blow his head off!"
Lu Shufan: "Stop talking! You're scaring the girl!"
Nearing evening, they took the three girls back to Gangan Village.
As soon as they got off the car, Yu Qimiao stopped the girls. Shi Yuntian, carrying a heavy blade, walked to the village entrance and started cursing, "Are you done yet? You can piss even without a mirror, right? Look at how ugly you are, and you still want a wife? You want a mountain of gold? I'm going to give you two a duel, get the hell out of here! Get down here!"
Fighting violence with violence is bloody, but effective.
After a while, the old bachelors who sang nursery rhymes scattered like birds and beasts, making way for the village.
Girls change a lot when they grow up, and the villagers no longer recognize the three girls.
They had been away from the village for so long and dressed so beautifully that they attracted many covetous glances.
Before his covetous gaze could fall on the girl, he was suppressed by the player with force.
Aqiu breathed a sigh of relief and followed Su Jing to the Sun and Moon River.
"This river is so familiar." She reached out and touched the stone tablet by the river. "When we were little, we often sang nursery rhymes by the river. Unfortunately..."
The sisters who sang nursery rhymes with her at that time are no longer with us.
"Let's go to the other side." Su Jing ordered Shunwozheying to push a small bamboo raft over for the girls to sit on.
The setting sun dyed the river pink, and they sailed straight towards the sea of flowers on the other side.
This time, there were no harsh sounds, only a quiet and gentle melody, like a mother's gentle coaxing to sleep.
When they reached the shore, Grandma Li stood there, her body no longer hunched.
"You're here after all." Grandma Li had anticipated this and said calmly to Su Qiong, "According to the system's instructions, I should have stopped you."
"You won't," Su Qiong said firmly, "You haven't hurt us so far. You probably hope that we can find the truth about this copy, right?"
"You're half right," Grandma Li said, her eyes drifting off into the distance. "It's not me who wants it, it's her who wants it."
Su Jing understood what she meant and immediately realized something.
"Could it be that she is the dungeon NPC?"
Grandma Li didn't answer. She moved aside to make way. "Go ahead. She's waiting for you there."
The girls supported each other and went ashore. As if guided by something, they rushed into the brightly lit house on the river bank one after another.
When Su Jing came to the house for the second time, he found that all the plaques had disappeared.
In the huge house, only Li Ting was left.
She maintained her childish appearance, and her eyes were extremely gentle when she saw the three girls running in.
"Long time no see. I'm really happy to see you guys growing up well."
"Sister——!" Aqiu tried hard not to cry out loud while telling the story.
The moment I saw her, I burst into tears and cried like a child.
"Don't cry. I'm so happy to see you grow up." Li Ting came to them and stroked Aqiu's hair and face like she did when she was a child.
"You've become more beautiful, and there's light in your eyes."
"very nice."
Su Jing looked at her quietly, and finally remembered why he looked at Li Ting for a second longer when they first met.
She wore bright clothes, not because her grandmother doted on her, but because she got married at a young age.
Her chest was swollen, probably from breastfeeding.
She was silent and sensible because she knew that only in this way could she live a few more years in Gangan Village and fight for the opportunity to escape.
She saved enough money, arranged a retreat, and was almost successful.
But at the last moment, he left the opportunity to his three sisters and stayed in this devilish village forever.
"Thank you for finding me and my story." Li Ting raised her head and looked at Su Qiong. "Next, I will help you realize a wish."
"Do you know my wish?"
Li Ting smiled and said, "I control this copy and I know everything."
really.
Li Ting is the dungeon NPC.
No wonder their favorability only increased by 0.5% the last time they tested Grandma Li.
"Let me tell you a new rule." Li Ting came to Su Jing and said softly, "White-named NPCs who massacre a village will be punished, but—"
"We can kill any dungeon NPC we want."
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