After thinking about it, the two looked at each other. He Tiantian made a small figure with her fingers, placed it in her palm, and then made a walking gesture.
Shen Yizhou nodded in agreement, not expecting that the two of them had reached an even deeper level of understanding.
He Tiantian finished her beef noodles in no time. She couldn't wait to go to the village to take a look. After Shen Yizhou finished eating, he paid the bill.
As the two left the restaurant and were about to slip into the village, Shen Yizhou pulled He Tiantian to a convenience store, where he bought two small flashlights.
He Tiantian tucked her hair into her down jacket and put on the hood.
The two quietly arrived at the village entrance. The entire village was pitch black, and if they didn't know that people lived here, they would have thought it was an abandoned village.
Shen Yizhou held He Tiantian's hand, and the two turned on their flashlights and walked step by step into the village.
As soon as they entered a path, crows in the trees cackled and flew away, startling He Tiantian so much that she clung to Shen Yizhou's arm.
Shen Yizhou gripped her hand tightly.
The two continued walking and arrived at the same dilapidated hut from before. It was deserted and seemed incredibly eerie.
Just as Shen Yizhou was about to step in, a woman's exclamation and a man's panting came from afar.
He Tiantian pulled Shen Yizhou and ran ahead. The woman lying on the ground was already somewhat unconscious, and an old man was lying on top of her.
The old man tried his best to move his body, but he was somewhat weak and soon collapsed onto the woman.
He Tiantian couldn't stand it anymore. She kicked the old man away and then dragged Shen Yizhou away.
The old man cried out in pain and fell to the ground, shouting, "Who is it?"
The two ran to the very center of the village, where a small four-story house stood.
Shen Yizhou led the way, pushing open the large red wooden door. In the center was a portrait of the old woman. He Tiantian was a little scared. She grabbed Shen Yizhou's arm and buried her head in his clothes.
Shen Yizhou led her to the second floor, where there were only two rooms, and they were quite dilapidated.
The first room contained only a mahogany chair and a dilapidated television set, and the floor was covered in dust.
The second room contained a large bed and a wooden chair, on which lay a pile of tattered cloths, and the bedsheets were all worn out.
Shen Yizhou glanced at her with disdain and then took He Tiantian to the third floor.
There was only one room upstairs. Shen Yizhou went up and pushed the door, only to find that it was locked. He Tiantian walked to the window and looked inside. There was a dark shape inside, but she couldn't see it clearly.
Looking down, she saw a key on the windowsill. She patted Shen Yizhou's arm. "Could this be the key?"
Shen Yizhou picked up the key and tried it; it actually opened the wooden door.
A foul stench hit her face. He Tiantian shone her light on the dark mass and saw a little girl lying on the bed.
She lay on the bed with her eyes vacant and her legs spread apart. She wasn't wearing pants, and her hands and feet were bound with chains.
She was like a broken rag doll, neither crying nor making a fuss.
He Tiantian stepped forward and untied the chains binding her, but the girl on the bed did not react at all. Shen Yizhou reached out and checked her breath.
"She has already died."
He Tiantian stared at the little girl in disbelief. Her eyes were open. She trembled as she reached her hand towards the girl's nose, and sure enough, there was no breath...
So she was locked in that room until she died.
An old man's voice came from downstairs, "Who's up there! Get out here right now!"
The sound of an old man going up the stairs came from behind the door. Shen Yizhou pulled He Tiantian out of the room and gently closed the door behind him.
The two went up to the fourth floor rooftop. Not far away, a villager ran back with a flashlight. Was this old man going to tip off the old man?
Shen Yizhou observed the terrain. The backyard was a forest, and there was a wooden ladder behind it.
She pushed He Tiantian up the wooden ladder, saying, "Go down and wait for me. Remember to be careful."
He Tiantian didn't have time to lose. She hurriedly and carefully climbed down the wooden ladder. When she was almost on the ground, the old man saw her from the window on the third floor.
"Hey! You little girl! Where did you come from? You dare to cause trouble in the village!"
The old man grabbed the wooden ladder and pushed it backward, trying to make He Tiantian fall off. She quickly reached the ground, and he looked up at Shen Yizhou above.
He gestured for He Tiantian to run, and He Tiantian hesitated for a moment before running into the woods. Shen Yizhou followed the water pipe on the side and ran into the woods from the other side.
When the old man reached the first floor, he was so exhausted that he almost collapsed on the ground. After all, the elderly can't outrun the young.
The village chief, who arrived later, slapped him across the face, yelling, "You beast! Are you that thirsty?! You didn't even know people from the village had come!"
After the village chief finished speaking, she ran up to the third floor and found that the door she had locked was open and the girl's anklet on the bed had been untied. Anger rose in her heart.
He rushed downstairs, grabbed the old man by the collar, and demanded, "Did you see what those two people looked like?!"
"Village chief, it's so dark, I can't see anything at all."
Upon hearing the old man's reply, the village chief snorted coldly and waved his hand at the young people around him. The young people immediately grabbed the old man.
They dragged the old man to the village entrance, where people around him held torches for light, and one of them hung a rope from a tree.
A loop of rope fell down, and the other two quickly hung the old man inside it.
The old man painfully tugged at the rope around his neck, his eyes rolled back, his legs kicked wildly, and after a few convulsions, he fell silent.
All the villagers scattered in panic.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
