Horse Bandit Officer (9)
"My name is Black Dog, and I have a good price to negotiate with." Black Dog was chewing soybeans, and his words were still clear.
Hearing this, Ai Ye lowered the fire a little, fearing that he would notice that something was wrong with her.
Then she tugged at the hemp ropes that bound Xiao Lin and Mu You, raised her head, and asked, "How did you bid?"
Black Dog turned around with a smile, glanced at Ai Ye's back, and stuffed another soybean into his mouth: "Looks like he's in his prime. Five taels of clear goods, two taels of muddy goods."
"Five taels?" Ai Ye exclaimed in mock surprise, "That's a really good price!"
"That's right, you didn't even ask before coming here. Selling me the black dog will definitely not be a loss!"
"Okay! Okay! Sell! I'll sell!" Ai Ye took off the hemp rope wrapped around his hand and handed it directly to Hei Gou. "They're both clearing out their stock. Ten taels! Not a cent less!"
Hei Gou snatched the fire starter from Ai Ye's hand, moved closer, and looked at the two people's faces carefully.
After the fire starter slipped out of her hand, Ai Ye was also filled with fear. She trembled her hands in the dark where no one was paying attention. She didn't feel relieved until her palms pressed tightly against the hilt of the knife at her waist.
Mu You stood in front of Xiao Lin and was the first to have his eyes stung by the flame of the fire starter.
As soon as he dodged, the black dog smacked its lips, and then, with the dim light, Mu You saw a scene that he would never forget in his life - the black dog's black tongue licked the two silver-coated front teeth, making Mu You so disgusted that he wanted to vomit out the residue in his stomach.
After him came Xiao Lin, but he did not examine Xiao Lin as carefully as he did Mu You. Instead, he casually shone the candlelight on him, and then returned to Mu You's face.
"This is a top-quality one, big in size and easy to raise." Black Dog said so, and took the opportunity to pinch Mu You's butt, which scared him.
This time Xiao Lin really couldn't laugh anymore, and Mu You was even more so. If his mouth wasn't blocked, he would have wanted to spit on the black dog's ugly face right away.
Without the candlelight, Ai Ye was left with only darkness before her eyes. Fear crept into her heart. To prevent any leaks, she had no choice but to urge: "Do you want them? If not, I'll take them away!"
"Of course!"
Hei Gou immediately poured out twenty taels from his purse, weighed it in his hand a few times, and handed it over with his arm bent.
Ai Ye was really blind and couldn't see where Hei Gou's hand was, so he simply took out his purse, pried open the opening, and signaled him to put the money into the bag.
With a sidelong glance, the black dog let out a laugh from between his teeth and obediently threw the silver in.
Seeing that the task was about to be completed, Ai Ye hurriedly snatched the tinder back from Hei Gou's hand, and pretended to hold the fingertips of Xiao Lin and Mu You respectively, saying earnestly: "The family is really short of money. If it weren't for the urgent need for life-saving money, I wouldn't have resorted to such a desperate measure. You two must not bear a grudge against me..."
She spoke vividly, and Xiao Lin and Mu You also made a few "hmm" and "ah" sounds in response, which finally fooled the black dog.
Before leaving, Ai Ye firmly grabbed Xiao Lin and Mu You's hands, as if giving them a final warning - be careful.
Looking at Ai Ye's receding back, Xiao Lin and the others' journey to overcome difficulties has just begun.
Before the two could react, Black Dog quickly called together his accomplices and put hoods on them without saying a word.
Then Xiao Lin felt her body fall down, and someone grabbed her by the waist and carried her on his shoulders. No matter how she struggled, she could not escape from the strong man's arms.
She was extremely frightened, tears welling up in her eyes, and she could only pray silently that the two of them would be safe.
It was unknown how long it had been, but Xiao Lin was almost vomiting from the shaking. It took a lot of effort for the blood to return to her head.
The burly man threw her and Mu You to the ground without mercy, and the wooden board hit her tailbone so hard that it hurt.
"These two newcomers, the older one is called Shi Niang and the younger one is called Shiyi Niang. You should explain the rules of this place to them!" This was the last words of the black dog that Xiao Lin heard.
After that, the iron lock was locked and the hood on her head was taken off.
Fortunately, the room was not very bright, and after losing focus for a moment, Xiao Lin was able to see everything clearly.
It was a dilapidated earthen house with a thick layer of thatch on the roof. The thatch had turned black and gave off a musty smell.
There were no windows in the house, only an oil lamp hanging on the beam. The wick burned very low, and the flame was as small as a bean, barely illuminating the scene inside the house.
Xiao Lin glanced to the right and saw a few bundles of hay piled in the corner of the wall. A few worn straw mats were spread randomly on the hay piles. A few women were curled up on the mats. They were in tattered clothes and their faces were as pale as paper.
After a while, the hood on Mu You's head was also taken off by several kind-hearted women.
Their hands were tied tightly with hemp ropes. The knots were rough and left purple bruises on their wrists.
In addition, there was a rope wrapped around the ankle, and the other end was nailed to a wooden stake in the ground. The stake was deeply embedded in the soil, as if it had taken root.
Occasionally someone would sob softly, the sound suppressed and weak, as if squeezed out from the depths of the throat, and soon swallowed up by the silence in the room.
Suddenly, the woman who had just removed Xiao Lin's hood asked her, "Eleventh Lady? My name is Three Lady. Were you also drugged and abducted by those beasts?"
Xiao Lin, using the dim light of the fire, found Sanniang's eyes. After hesitating for a moment, he stammered, "I... I was sold here by my elder sister..."
"Sold by your elder sister? Is your elder sister so cruel?" Another woman came forward to chat with her, and brought her a broken bowl filled with some water. "Don't be afraid, I'm Liu Niang. Have some water first."
Xiao Lin took the porcelain bowl handed to him by Liu Niang, with mixed feelings in his heart.
The two women in front of her had scars all over their faces, but they still smiled at her, as if they were afraid to scare her.
The bitterness in her throat made her speechless, so she had to hold up the porcelain bowl and drink the clear water inside.
After drinking some water to moisten his throat, Xiao Lin put down the bowl and accidentally caught a glimpse of a lifeless woman leaning against the door.
She blinked, trying to see more clearly - perhaps the light was too dim, she always felt that the woman was a pregnant woman.
But the next moment, Sanniang followed her gaze and gave her the answer: "We call her Ba Niang. Because she was beautiful, she was first defiled by these thieves. She was gone for a day and a night, and when she came back, she looked like a dead person..."
Liu Niang's tone was also filled with sorrow as she added in a low voice, "Later, she wanted to commit suicide, but was discovered by thieves and chained. Three months later, because of her beauty, she was chosen by a buyer. But she had a miserable life. She was sent to a man's house to see a doctor, who said she was pregnant. The buyer was furious and sent her back. Now she looks like this..."
Just by listening to it, Xiao Lin's heart couldn't help but tighten.
Liu Niang continued to talk as she lamented, "Banniang is the most miserable among us. She doesn't even know who the father of the child in her belly is, and she can't abort the baby. It seems that she will give birth in a few days. Sigh..."
"Then...what about her child? What will happen after it's born?"
"What else can I do? Even if I give birth, the baby will be taken away, and I don't know where it will be sold to in the end."
Yes, in this little house, every woman has a price tag, and every ounce of flesh that falls from their bodies is a bargaining chip for Zheng Ju and his gang to make a profit.
Mu You knelt beside him, feeling uneasy as he listened.
Without time to grieve, Xiao Lin hurriedly wiped away the tears from his eyes, and spoke with a powerful voice: "My name is not Eleventh Lady, my name is Xiao Lin, and his name is Mu You. We are here on the orders of the county magistrate to rescue you from the devil's lair."
As soon as she said this, there was silence all around.
Sanniang and Liuniang looked at each other, with no joy in their eyes.
Xiao Lin was puzzled and stood up. "What's wrong with you? We are here to rescue you, why are you so listless?"
"It's useless." Sanniang's eyebrows dropped, her face filled with helplessness. "If we could escape, we would have already done so. We can't even break free from these chains around our ankles, so how can we escape?"
"Who said we can't escape?" Mu You suddenly appeared with a voice like that. Then he knelt down and moved to Xiao Lin's side. He tilted his neck and shook his head. The Nachuan box hidden in his eardrop fell to the ground with a clang. "Look!"
The sound of the box falling to the ground attracted the other women around. The women who had dead looks on their faces just now, seeing that Xiao Lin and Mu You brought them hope, immediately rushed forward.
It was their stumbling movements that made the considerable noise that aroused the suspicion of the guards outside the door.
After a few sharp clashes of chains, a burly man pushed open the door and yelled, "What are you making so much noise for! If you keep making more noise, everyone will get a slap in the face!"
In an instant, the hut returned to its original silence, and the victimized women all lowered their eyes, not daring to look him in the eye.
When they quieted down, the guard spat inside and closed the door.
When the door was sealed, Xiao Lin accidentally saw that the guard glanced at Ba Niang who was slumped at the door, his eyes full of greed.
It's really disgusting.
After that, Liu Niang became more excited and moved closer to Xiao Lin and Mu You. "Hey, what are you going to do? Just with this little box?"
Mu You interrupted, "This is called a Nachuan Box. There are a lot of things inside. When you don't need them, just stuff them into your earlobes. If you're careful, you can avoid their searches."
Sanniang also stepped forward and asked, "So, the county magistrate will lead his troops to wipe out this den of thieves?"
Xiao Lin nodded.
"Great! We can finally get out!"
Sanniang and Liuniang were overjoyed, and they waved their arms to invite the other women to come together to share this wonderful news.
However, in addition to rescuing the women, they also need to find the abducted children.
Xiao Lin then grabbed Sanniang's sleeve and asked, "By the way, Sanniang, where are the children being held?"
I thought Sanniang had been living in seclusion here all year round and didn't know where her child was.
Who would have thought that as soon as Xiao Lin finished speaking, she immediately answered, "It's on the side! Right next to our house. When I was captured, there happened to be a child next to me. I vaguely heard the child's voice disappear when the door of the next door closed."
"That's great!" Mu You's mind became more and more excited. He completely ignored the shackles of the iron chain under his feet and tried to stand up, but he tripped and fell. "Why don't we get going now! Rescue everyone together!"
"No," Sanniang politely declined. "They patrol more strictly at night. We should wait until daybreak."
"When it's daybreak, it'll be daybreak. When it's daybreak, we can contact County Magistrate Tong and escort you out!"
"good!"
Everything at the moment seems to be full of joy. Xiao Lin and Mu You are also full of joy. Now everything is ready, only dawn is missing.
However, a voice coming from the corner of the wall was like a command arrow, shattering the illusion woven by everyone.
"Forget it! I don't want to go out with you!"
What? She doesn't want to go out? Is she crazy?
Hearing the sound and looking in the direction, Xiao Lin saw only a skinny woman, lying in tattered clothes in a dark corner, her face pale.
Her words froze the air at that moment. Both Xiao Lin and Sanniang were silent.
As the sound of iron chains rang out, the woman's face gradually became immersed in the light.
She was barefoot and her steps were unsteady, as if her legs were injured. "Go out? Do you really think your life will be better if you go out? You're still as lowly as ever, still in the dust and mud."
"Wu Niang, what nonsense are you talking about?" San Niang stood up and stopped her.
But Wu Niang didn't seem to be giving up. "Each of us has been captured for at least half a year, maybe three to five years at most. Do you really think people outside think we're still alive? That we're still chaste? Well, even if we were lucky enough not to be insulted by the thieves during these days, will people outside believe us? Will they still talk about marriage with us like before?"
"If we go out, we'll just be despised by our neighbors. In the end, won't we have to lower our status and marry a chicken butcher and cattle butcher, and live a life of poverty? What's the difference between this and being bought here?"
Mu You couldn't bear it any longer, so he stopped trying to lower his voice and retorted in his rough, unforced voice, "You've been so self-deprecating, and you've only ended up with such a tragic end. But have you ever thought that after you get out, you'll have a wonderful life, where you can experience everything in the world and no longer be trapped in this dark world?"
"You say that easily. Many of us have had our legs broken, our arms shattered, or even our eyes blinded by their tears. 'Taste the freshest things in the world'? How can we, a mere impoverished woman, taste the freshest things in the world?"
The lights were bright, Wu Niang's eyes were flashing, her eyes were bloodshot, and every word she said was an accusation.
The discussion among them was so low, but at this moment, it resounded through the night sky.
Mu You was choked by her and couldn't speak.
But Xiao Lin is different. After experiencing so many trivial matters and meeting all kinds of people, she has never seen a character like Wu Niang.
She stood up suddenly and faced the only candle in the shabby house.
The orange light flickered and splashed on the cheeks of the two people, one was dazzling and the other was dim.
"Others haven't shown their disdain, yet you've willingly sunk into the dust and fallen into a lowly state. A lotus emerges from the mud, unstained, yet you destroy your own flower?"
"you……"
"Even without legs, I can still do my needlework. Isn't being an embroiderer a career option? Even with my hands broken, I could still be a master storyteller, familiar with opera scripts. Even without my eyes, I could still be famous for my art through oral tradition! The world is vast, and there's room for us, as insignificant as the grains of sand. You can even eat chaff here, but you act like a rich lady out there? Don't you think that's ridiculous?"
"You said you couldn't marry into a good family after you got out. I think you had no choice but to fall into the hands of a gangster and risked your life to escape his clutches. If this unfaithful man broke the promise intentionally and unintentionally, then he is definitely not a good man. What he wants to marry is not you, but your chastity! Such a man, they will not marry him!"
Every word Xiao Lin said was full of gems, and Mu You, following behind him, was inadvertently trapped in it.
He silently counted on his fingers, wondering when the crybaby who had suffered grievances since childhood and could only hide behind him to wipe his tears had grown up to be so upright.
At this time, Xiao Lin's words awakened many women and forced Wu Niang to retreat.
Seeing Wu Niang speechless, Xiao Lin knew that he should quit while he was ahead, so he immediately turned around, grabbed Mu You's collar and lay down on the couch in the corner.
Unable to react in time, Mu You was dragged and staggered, but it was this stumble that gave Mu You the opportunity to catch a glimpse of Xiao Lin's expression - his cherry lips trembled slightly, pursed into a line, and his lower lip twitched uncontrollably.
It seems that she is still the little crybaby in his impression.
In order to prevent Sanniang and the others from noticing his mistake, Xiao Lin fell to the ground and fell asleep without looking back. He lifted the quilt and immediately covered his head with it, swallowing his grievances.
Mu You did not go forward to comfort her, but quietly chose a bed beside her and slept with his back to her.
After the farce just now, Wu Niang no longer had the courage to make another one. Even though she had not yet given a final answer, she still muttered something and went forward to blow out the only candle in the hut.
The night was unexpectedly not hot. The coolness of the valley seeped into the broken house through the crack in the door, waking up the worried Xiao Lin.
It was late at night and all the women had fallen asleep, leaving only her with her eyes open.
Her heart was in turmoil and she subconsciously turned over, just in time to run into the female version of Mu You with clear eyes, who was blinking and meeting her gaze.
Even though he looked like a woman at the moment, Xiao Lin immediately turned around and looked away.
Mu You was the same, his cheeks blushing in a rare way.
After a while, when the sound of their intertwined heartbeats was exposed in the night, Xiao Lin spoke in a hoarse voice: "You, why did you follow me..."
"Because you are important." Mu You suddenly felt bolder, perhaps because he was half asleep or something else. "You are more important to me than anyone else."
Xiao Lin was stunned for a moment and didn't know what to do.
She quickly lowered her head and stammered, changing the subject: "Then...then tell me, can we succeed?"
Mu You closed his eyes and said, "Yes, I believe in County Magistrate Tong. He will definitely lead the officers and soldiers to wipe out this den in one fell swoop."
Xiao Lin's eyelashes trembled, but he did not answer.
She always felt that this situation was not so natural.
Indeed, not only her, but also Tong Huan, who was far away in Hanlu County Government Office, was in trouble.
"Master, please stop trying to persuade us. We will definitely not go with you." The leading yamen runner frowned and spoke with determination.
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