Dong, the rural female tyrant
The living room was bathed in a soft, yellowish light; the teacups on the table were filled with a pale brownish hue of tea.
After the sound of blowing one's nose, there was the soft thud of small pieces of paper hitting the trash can, followed by crumpled pieces of paper hitting the trash can at irregular intervals.
The woman sitting on the sofa had swollen eyes, her double eyelids thick and heavy. She held tissues to her nose, blowing her nose, her voice hoarse and nasal.
“The investigators told me that the gang was likely no longer in Lizhou but had gone to a neighboring province. They deduced that the hideout was on the border and told me that they needed more time to investigate. But how could my daughter wait?”
Her hair was no longer styled in a low bun, but simply tied up with a hair tie. Her bangs, parted in a 3/7 ratio, were also in disarray. Thin beads of sweat covered her forehead, sticking her bangs to her face. Where was the gentle and refined temperament that Cui Lin usually possessed?
Qi Ya patted and stroked her back, comforting her, "Don't be afraid. Didn't Wen Dai just say that she recently met a little boy who escaped from human traffickers? That boy was only ten years old and had been missing for more than half a year. If the person who kidnapped Weiwei is the same person who kidnapped that little boy, then it means that Weiwei is very likely still in Lizhou."
Cui Lin threw the crumpled tissue into the trash can. She took the tissue Wen Dai handed her and wiped her tears, shaking her head and saying, "No...no...boys and girls are different. That little boy was just being used as a tool to beg for money. It's fine if he begs for money. At worst, he'll be sold to a family without sons to be their son. Usually, his life won't be too bad."
“But girls are different, and besides… my Weiwei is already fourteen years old. Who knows what kind of beastly things they might do? I’m so scared, so scared… I’m afraid my daughter’s life will be ruined.”
Unable to find a way to comfort her, Qi Ya turned to Wen Dai for help, her eyes glancing at Cui Lin twice.
With her hands clasped together and resting on her lap, Wen Dai stopped fiddling with her fingers and turned her head to look at the woman in front of her, who was weeping uncontrollably.
"Actually, the differences can't be said to be entirely like that. Some young boys are just as dangerous. Boys with delicate features are the same as girls, especially boys with delicate features. They are also at risk of sexual abuse. The little boy I met was very delicate, but what he experienced can be described as 'not bad'."
“Let’s not think about things too badly right now. Let’s just assume that some extreme cases are impossible, okay? Don’t always bring up the worst possible outcome. If you find Weiwei but your health has collapsed, she will be very sad.”
Wen Dai raised her hand to tidy Cui Lin's messy hair, then met her eyes beneath her swollen eyelids.
Their clasped hands separated, and Wen Dai reached out to grasp hers, her warm palm enveloping her icy fingers, her peach blossom eyes filled with determination.
"I will do everything I can to find her location and will also provide the information to the investigators."
...
The light shines on the photograph, refracting and creating shimmering highlights. The photo shows a smiling girl, her youthful face, still in the throes of adolescence, composed of delicate features. She stands in the sunlight, her radiance vividly embodied.
But now, she has been deprived of the sun.
Clutching the photo in her hand, Wen Dai walked for who knows how many miles before standing blankly on the cement road in the fields.
She glanced left and right, and the first thing she saw was rice paddies, with a dense, green forest in the distance.
Several cows walked in groups along the roadside, and every now and then farmers on tricycles would ride towards the village ahead.
The immortal's words didn't reach my heart, but rang directly in my ears: "Give up on that idea. You're someone who's completely clueless about directions, yet you insist on taking on burdens that have nothing to do with you, carrying responsibilities that aren't yours to search for everywhere. I feel tired for you even if you're not tired."
"Why don't you just tell me her location directly to save me the trouble?" Holding her phone, which still had about 50% battery left, Wen Dai relied on the map navigation software on her phone to determine which way was north, south, east, or west. She lifted her legs, which seemed about to give way and kneel down, and walked forward.
The spirits behind her didn't give up trying to persuade her: "We've already told you that heavenly secrets are not to be revealed. This matter has nothing to do with you. What good will it do you to get involved? Just for that little bit of money you'll get from divination? It's not worth it."
"Even if you do find them, so what? Do you think you can escape alive? Look in the mirror and see your face. You're exactly the kind of person human traffickers like, you know that?"
A warm breeze brushed against her cheeks, and strands of her ponytail occasionally swayed forward, brushing against Wen Dai's face.
Her eyes were already half-closed under the bright white sun high in the sky.
“I’ve always felt that as long as I want to do something, as long as I do something, then it’s related to me. What kind of things I encounter is the ending of something for me. If that ending becomes the ending of my life, then it’s just one of many endings achieved in a game. I don’t regret the path I decided to take.”
"I don't regret my decision, nor do I regret leaving."
The immortals who were beside her suddenly fell silent, followed by a long silence and then a sigh.
"The secrets of heaven cannot be revealed, and we cannot provide you with information, but we will do our best to help you avoid and protect you from the dangers you may encounter in the future. You are a child we have watched grow up, and we will not be indifferent to you or ignore you."
The voice was somewhat heavy as it entered Wen Dai's body, and she silently replied with a thank you.
Passing by a group of oxen gathered together, seemingly doing something, Wen Dai, feeling dizzy from walking, stopped.
She put one hand on her hip, turned her face to face the cow beside her, and stared at its large, round eyes for a moment.
As if her reason was taking a break, she sighed and began to communicate with the cow: "Your eyes are so clear. It seems your owner is a good person. Would it be convenient for you to take me home?"
Even without the help of the immortals, her innate sensitivity remained.
Unfortunately, none of the cows paid any attention to her.
"What a cold-hearted cow." Muttering a complaint, Wen Dai, having rested enough, continued walking forward with her head down. The bag on her back bounced up and hit her back. She shrugged her aching shoulders as a way of moving around.
Reaching the "end" of the road, Wen Dai faced a long slope with an angle of about sixty degrees. She took a deep breath, grabbed the shoulder straps of her backpack with both hands, and started rushing uphill—without any impulse.
As she ran faster, her feet began to slip and slide, and she almost scraped her knees.
She finally made it to the top of the slope, and subconsciously looked up at the towering trees planted by the roadside. She moved her legs to stand in the shade of the trees, and then turned her gaze to a row of bamboo trees by the roadside.
She lowered her eyelids and pondered for a moment, then took a few more steps forward and stood in front of the bamboo.
She crouched down and picked up three leaves from the fallen leaves. After defining their yin and yang sides, Wen Dai found an open space, threw the three leaves in her hand, and picked them up after they landed, noting their yin and yang sides. She repeated this process six times.
She returned to the tree, picked up a thin, broken twig, and arranged the six lines of divination she had memorized in her mind on the soil from bottom to top.
“The Tun hexagram…” Wen Dai frowned slightly and found the Worldly Line and the Corresponding Line. The Worldly Line is the second line, and the Corresponding Line is the fifth line.
She unconsciously bit her lower lip, muttering, "The Worldly Stem is strong, so I'm fine, and my current position is fine too... Line 62: Stuck and hesitant, riding a horse in a line. Not a bandit, but a marriage. The woman remains chaste and does not marry until ten years later. Line 95: ... Stuck in its fat, small, chastity brings good fortune; large, chastity brings misfortune. Oh my god."
Wen Dai used the broken tree branch in her hand and threw it away. She slapped her forehead with her palm, lifted her eyelids, and looked ahead.
There is a small village at the bottom of the slope, on both sides. She has already climbed the slope and is certain that she is on the right track, so she must continue to move forward. However, the hexagram indicates misfortune... According to the divination, she must seek help from someone who is extremely familiar with this place.
On both sides were earthen slopes covered with fuzzy, unidentified grass, and on the slopes grew trees of unknown species, all that could be seen was a lush green expanse.
Looking ahead, there was a ring of villages just a few kilometers away in the dense forest. The villages were at the same level as her or even higher, indicating that she would have to climb another mountain to reach the other side. The small houses in the distance became blurry, enlarged dots as her pupils dilated.
Her destination is most likely that side; if she wants to get there without asking for help, she'll probably have to ruin both her legs.
But who could she turn to for help? Looking around, all that surrounded Wen Dai was the blue sky, yellow earth, and green trees.
The divination indicated that external assistance was unavailable, and besides, Chen Sizhe was currently busy with work and did not have the money to spend on this person who charged 8,000 yuan per hour for consultations.
Wen Dai propped herself up. The prolonged physical and mental exertion made her feel dizzy as she stood there, and purple and green phantoms flickered before her eyes.
She stumbled two steps back, retreated to the tree trunk, and simply leaned against it with her back, rubbing her feet on the ground, muttering, "Earth God, are you there? Please help me, please help me."
The faint whispers were drowned out by the creaking sound, and Wen Dai looked up in surprise.
You can't see the steep slope below unless you stand on the edge. Gradually, a rusty tricycle came up. The old lady riding the tricycle was wearing a dark ochre close-fitting sweater, with one leg of her black pants hanging out. Her cloth shoes were a little muddy, and she kept pushing off the ground.
Following slowly behind the tricycle were several cows that ignored Wen Dai.
The old woman, who had come up with a creaking sound, braked her tricycle and stopped it sideways in front of a towering tree. Her hair, tied in a low ponytail, twisted slightly as she turned her face toward Wen Dai. Her face, as smooth as the yellow earth, reflected the oily sheen in the sunlight.
She frowned, squinted at Wen Dai, and asked in a thick local accent, "Where are you going?"
Wen Dai was still in a state of astonishment.
The old woman in front of her held the handlebars with both hands. When she stopped to speak to Wen Dai, her left hand fell and hung in the air, while her foot, which was touching the ground, was still stretched out. This casual and unrestrained feeling made Wen Dai feel as if she was seeing a rural version of a CEO. No, this old woman should be a chairman of the board.
In short, the sense of redemption was truly indescribable.
She quickly stood up straight, took two quick steps, and stopped in front of the old woman. With a troubled expression, she lowered her chin, turned her face to the other side, and sighed, "This is a long story, difficult to explain in a few words. Actually, I came here..."
Before the prepared lines for the melodramatic play could even be recited, one of the lead actors quit.
The older woman let go of the handlebars with both hands, leaned over and made a fashionable stop gesture, then called out in broken English, "Stop!"
It even has a more domineering feel to it... Wen Dai feels like she might not be awake yet.
The cows following the tricycle were very well-behaved and intelligent, and even understood foreign languages.
The cow, which had been wandering around the car, turned its head back from the roadside grass and stayed obediently among the herd.
"It's a long story, so let's not go into it. Why are you standing here in the sun chatting like an idiot? This girl looks so smart and neat, why is she so dazed?" The old woman gripped the handlebars again with her right hand.
She gestured with her chin toward the back of the tricycle and raised her voice generously: "Come on in, come sit in our house! You can chat all you want, and I'll help you with anything I can."
The warmth and familiarity provided by the local dialect made Wen Dai admire the heavens once again. First, she consulted the oracle and discovered that she needed a benefactor who was willing to accept her. Who would have thought that she would be greeted by the villagers of this area so soon? It was truly a series of interconnected events.
She raised her hand and patted her chest, bowed her forehead to the elderly woman in front of her, and said gratefully, "Thank you, Auntie."
She then went around to the back of the tricycle, glanced at the latches on both sides, examined them, opened them, and then climbed onto the tricycle.
Perhaps sensing that there was another person on the tricycle, the old woman raised her voice and asked, "Is it done yet?"
Wen Dai answered "yes" as she fastened the tether back on.
It was truly a case of "after the darkest hour comes the dawn." Sitting on the tricycle, Wen Dai looked at the cows following behind, exchanging wide, interspecies glances, when they were suddenly interrupted by a celestial being speaking up:
"Stay at her house for one night and set off tomorrow. Go to bed early tonight and get up early tomorrow. You need to get there before dawn. When you explain to her what you're going to do, tell her the truth. You can make up some details if you want, but don't hide the fact that you're looking for a child who has been abducted by human traffickers. As for why you need to get there before dawn, she and her husband will explain it to you after you tell them the truth."
"Huh?" Wen Dai was momentarily confused when the elusive immortal suddenly reminded her like this.
She glanced sideways at the middle-aged woman riding her tricycle, which was making a creaking sound. The woman, who looked to be around fifty, was quite composed, chin held high and forehead slightly trembling as she hummed a folk song, the tune blending with the melody produced by the tricycle.
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