Chapter 122 I lashed the whip hard across his body...
As dawn broke, in the dim light, we were horrified to discover that there were more than a dozen people like us, tied up and thrown outside. They were all travelers or refugees fleeing the disaster.
This little oasis was full of people doing this kind of business. The men and women who caught fish were overjoyed, while those who didn't were frowning and muttering in front of their tents. The men scolded the women for not knowing how to "attract customers," and the women scolded the men for being too slow. "So what if you don't know how to attract customers? Look at so-and-so, he just uses a stick and beats people into his tent with one blow."
Amidst a chorus of curses, a group of burly men with tattoos on their arms appeared, exuding a powerful aura and clearly not to be trifled with—what would be called thugs in modern society. Some of the men from the small oasis immediately swarmed forward, bowing and scraping to the leader, fawning, "Brother's here! You must have had a long journey!"
"This batch of goods is quite good, please take a look."
"This way, please, brother."
The burly men, pipes dangling from their lips, strolled over to us, the group of bound "zongzi" (rice dumplings), and gestured with their mouths, "This, this, and this."
The selected "zongzi" were roughly dragged out and herded onto a cart in front of them, staggering along.
When they reached the three of us, the burly man in the lead glanced at us sideways and pointed at Imera and Eve, saying, "These two." He didn't even look at me.
Imera panicked, "Please take my sister with you, we're all together."
The burly man in the lead ignored her completely, turned around and walked to the other side. Imera refused to leave and struggled desperately, "No, I can't leave my sister here."
A burly man kicked her impatiently, yelling, "Are you going to get out of here or not?!"
Imera doubled over in pain, yet still tried to argue, her eyes meeting mine. I shook my head—don't do anything foolish, it will only cause unnecessary suffering.
Imera had no choice but to leave with the group. Eve was the most beautiful woman among them, and all the thugs' eyes were on her. She was extremely uneasy and anxious, and couldn't care less about me.
Fifteen minutes later, apart from me, an elderly man, two old women, and a few men and women who looked sickly, all the other "zongzi" were taken away.
The man who had tied me up stepped forward with a fawning smile, pointed at me, and said to a burly man, "Brother, she's still young."
"Young? She's at least twenty, average-looking, can't she be sold off in a short time? I have to feed her every day, what a loss!"
The burly man cursed as he mounted his horse, spurred it on, cracked his whip, and immediately caught up with the men and horses leading the way.
The man reluctantly returned to his tent, kicking me hard. I cried out in pain, and the man was about to kick me again when the woman quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't hurt him. Another group of traffickers will be coming this afternoon."
The man then left dejectedly.
As evening fell, I leaned weakly against the tent, starving and terrified after a long day, my throat parched. The heartless couple hadn't even offered me a drop of water.
While I was thinking about how to escape, I was also wondering where Imera and the others were, and if I could escape, would it be possible to catch up with them?
But now it seems unlikely that I can escape. The small oasis is full of their people, and the neighbors will help them keep an eye on me.
As the sun began to set, campfires appeared all around the small oasis, like scattered stars on the barren wasteland.
"Any good stuff?" a rough male voice asked.
"Yes, yes." The heartless man who had tied me up greeted me with a beaming smile, "Oh, I've been waiting for you."
"I've brought you a guest today. He wants to pick a female slave to serve him."
The unscrupulous man suddenly choked, "Yes, we do have some, but the quality isn't very high."
"What do you mean?!" The burly man's voice rose, seemingly displeased.
The heartless man smiled obsequiously, "It's like this, you've always only chosen male slaves, so I haven't left you many good female slaves..."
"Get out of my way, I'll take a look first."
Yes, yes, yes.
Two men landed in front of me. In the dim firelight, I recognized one of them, and I froze, as did he.
With a pale face, thin cheeks, sunken, fierce eyes, and disheveled hair like a bird's nest, it was Haiya.
"Brother, look, she's the only one left today. She's a bit older. The brother you brought is younger, so I'm afraid he might not be interested."
The burly guy frowned and stared at me, but Haiya suddenly spoke up: "Her it's fine, that's good."
This was the first time I had ever heard Haiya speak. Since our reunion, his voice had been hoarse and unpleasant, like a cello out of tune.
The burly man smiled upon hearing this, looking as if his mission was accomplished. "Alright, you can keep an eye on things as you see fit."
The rugged guy appears to be a middleman, while Haiya is the client, with the rugged guy profiting from the price difference.
With my hands bound, I was pushed towards Haiya. Haiya pulled on my rope, like leading a dog or a horse, dragging me forward as I stumbled. My legs had been numb from sitting on the ground all day, and I couldn't walk properly.
Hya arrived on a camel, threw me on first, and then rode on himself.
Throughout the journey, I didn't ask him where Deira and Beatrice had gone, nor did I inquire about his mistress, Dailin; I remained silent the entire time.
Some things are better left unasked; even if you ask, he won't answer.
The camel traveled a long way until it stopped at a dilapidated little post station. A young woman dressed in old clothes and wearing a tattered shawl came out to greet me, and looked at me with surprise.
"Master, what is this?"
"I bought it to serve you." Haya impatiently jumped off the camel.
My hands were tied, making it difficult to get down. It was this young woman who helped me, and I was able to jump down with difficulty.
It was already past midnight, and Haiya collapsed into the thick hay and fell asleep. The young woman fed me some water and then lay down beside Haiya. My hands had been bound the whole time, and my feet had been tied after we entered the inn, so I couldn't move at all.
But I actually fell asleep and slept soundly until dawn.
I was awakened by the sound of Haiya beating a woman. The rough leather whip cracked loudly as the young woman cried out pitifully, running all over the room. But the inn was too small, and no matter how fast she ran, Haiya quickly caught up with her. She scrambled up to the attic, and Haiya roared angrily, "Get down here, you bastard! That's where I make my money!"
She was trembling and crying, refusing to come down.
Haiya got angry and finally caught up with her. He grabbed her by the neck and squeezed her until she was unconscious. Then he kicked her downstairs. With a thud, she fell down the stairs and landed right on the thick pile of straw where Haiya had slept the night before. She didn't get a black eye or a bruise, but she fell into a semi-conscious state.
"Tch!" Haiya spat at her before slowly descending the attic. Seeing me staring at them with wide eyes, he became displeased, walked over, and slapped me twice more. "Damn it, what are you looking at? Do you think you're still the Elf King's woman, daring to look at me like that?!"
“You’re nothing more than a female slave I bought.” He kicked me hard again, and I cried out in pain. He was about to kick me again when someone called him, “Is the boss here?” Only then did he reluctantly go out.
After a while, he returned to the house, grabbed my collar, and said fiercely, "Listen up, you have to help me the same way you helped the Eastern Territory and the Elf King, or I'll take your life!"
I didn't say anything, nor did I look at him; I pretended not to hear.
He continued cursing, "Damn it, my pass expired again? I have to pay to buy it again. These bastards are always trying to squeeze money out of me." He then threw a green pass to the ground. "If it weren't for safety in this damn desert, I wouldn't use this."
That's when I realized that the reason he was able to bring me safely to the inn last night was because of this green tag. This green tag was probably equivalent to paying a toll in advance, so the bandits wouldn't bother him when they saw it.
He grabbed my neck tightly again. "Aren't you the legendary superpowered woman? You used your powers to push Bernot back to the East to fight for the throne, and then you made a cripple the Elf King. Now you have to help me, help me take the throne of the West from Midian."
"You have to help me, you have to help me!" His face grew increasingly ferocious, and his grip tightened, making me cough.
The young woman, who was half-conscious from the fall, woke up and rushed over to stop him, saying, "Boss, boss, you're about to strangle her to death."
My cough worsened, and I couldn't breathe. Only then did he reluctantly let go of my hand. As if he hadn't had enough, he started punching and kicking the young woman again.
This time, he beat the young woman so badly she couldn't stand up straight. The young woman knelt on the ground, wailing and begging for mercy, her face covered in snot and tears, before he finally let her go.
I watched from the corner, motionless. It wasn't surprising that Haiya did these things; he had always been bloodthirsty, and kicking, yelling, and beating were common occurrences for him.
Time passed slowly, and before I knew it, I had been here for ten days. During these ten days, Haiya had been pressuring me every day to use my powers to help him seize the throne, but I ignored him. He didn't dare to get serious with me either; if I died, he would truly have no hope left.
So I didn't tell him that my superpowers rarely appear anymore, because if I did, he would definitely kill me.
But his frequent acts of domestic violence are really annoying, even though he hasn't actually hurt me. His daily pursuit of young women and his physical abuse are also truly detestable.
On the eleventh day, I finally couldn't resist anymore. I tied him up, and he was drunk and unconscious in the middle of the night. The rope was thick and long, and I fixed both ends of the rope to two stone tables in the inn. Yes, to save money, the tables in the inn were all roughly made of cheap stone.
After tying the knot, Hya, feeling unwell, groggily woke up and yelled, "Damn it, what does this mean?!"
“Tie you up!” I said coldly.
"Let me go!" he roared, "or I'll kill you!!"
"Then it depends on who takes whose life."
After saying that, I picked up the whip he used to wield and lashed it hard at him. He let out a shrill scream. With a snap, I lashed him again, and he screamed again. I lashed him again, and the louder he screamed, the harder I lashed him. Finally, his voice grew weaker and weaker, and he fainted.
"Bring me a basin of cold water," I said to the young woman.
During the day, I told the young woman that I was going to teach Haiya a lesson. She didn't believe me, but when I actually lashed out with the whip, she realized it was true. However, she dared not resist, much less "stand up" for Haiya, even though Haiya was her master.
“If I strike you with this whip, you can forget about ever reconciling with him again,” I said coldly to the hesitant young woman. “He’ll think you’re in cahoots with me, and when he wakes up, he’ll just beat you to death.”
The young woman immediately fetched a basin of cold water and handed it to me.
I poured cold water all over Haiya, and Haiya slowly woke up. I started whipping her again, one lash after another. This time, Haiya couldn't even scream. She could only groan and gasp for breath, as if she was about to die.
"If he really dies, will we be hanged?" the young woman asked me with great anxiety.
I scoffed, "He's a fugitive anyway, who would send us to the gallows for him?"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Please also support my novels "Cinderella Wants a Thrilling Novel Script," "All the World's Male Gods Are in Love with Me," and "Love of Ice and Fire." Thank you!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
