escape
Time seemed to stand still at that moment. Li Guorong swallowed hard, pushed open the door, and quietly unlatched the door. She ran wildly along the route she had come from. Thanks to her talent, she would never forget a path she had walked once, and she could distinguish east from west as long as she stood still.
With her feet on the muddy ground, she saw that the houses on both sides were too close together in the courtyard. Inside the houses, almost every dog was barking. Li Guorong hid behind the trees and only dared to go outside when the barking stopped. She ran out of the village and into the mountain road. The sound of breaking branches under her feet every now and then startled her, and the calls of unknown birds made her look back frequently.
The village below suddenly seemed to come alive, with dogs barking and people shouting. Torches could be seen burning on the distant mountains. Li Guorong was startled. Had they been discovered? Were the whole village accomplices? She swallowed hard. They had donkey carts, and if they followed the main road, they would definitely be discovered. Her gaze went up; the only way was through the mountain path. She had lived in the mountains since she was a child, and there was probably only a sliver of hope there.
Li Guorong hugged her shoulders. Her red sweater had probably been stolen by human traffickers, and now she was wearing a homespun cloth outfit. It was a bit cold in the mountains. The higher she went, the more dead branches there were, and the temperature on the mountain was much colder than at the bottom.
Li Guorong gritted his teeth and persevered. He was about to reach the top of the mountain. According to the usual pattern, once he crossed the mountain, he would reach another village. There was very little cover-up between villages.
"Waaaaah~~Nwnnw~"
The sound was like the wailing of a female ghost. Li Guorong's hair stood on end. "God help me, I haven't done anything wrong. If you're going to kill someone, kill the villagers."
Following the stone wall, there was a cave, from which came a foul stench—the smell of fermenting feces mixed with rotting flesh. Li Guorong peeked inside and his face turned deathly pale.
Inside, a woman's legs were broken, and a chain as thick as a hand was tightly fastened around her neck, the other end of which was deeply embedded in the ceiling. Her hair spread out around her like ivy, covering her naked upper body.
"Ah!" Li Guorong was so frightened that he sat down on the ground.
The woman had a pair of extremely bright eyes, like stars in the sky, shining with an indomitable light. "Ah~~ Ah~~~" She opened her mouth, and Li Guorong realized that she had no tongue. The woman was pointing at something on the ground. She kept pointing at the ground.
Li Guorong stepped forward. If she hadn't run away, would she have ended up like this? There was a landline phone number on the ground. In this era, the main means of communication is letters. Only in emergencies are telephones and telegrams used. Unlike the future where everyone has a mobile phone, sometimes it's hard to believe that the world will become the information age in just 30 years.
"You mean I should call this number to rescue you?"
The woman nodded. Li Guorong couldn't bear to look at the woman in front of him anymore. Her fingers were also missing, and you could vaguely tell that she used to be a beauty. Her legs had atrophied, and an unknown liquid was flowing from her lower body.
Li Guorong took a few deep breaths, the stench of the air burning her like a match. Tears welled in her eyes, not for herself, but for her own. "Wait for me, you must wait for me!"
She started walking, crossed the hill, and headed towards another village.
Two hours later, several dogs barked a few times at the entrance of the woman's cave. Several men revealed lewd expressions, and one of the men said, "We have more important business to attend to. This woman is mine. Ten yuan a time."
The men looked disgusted. "They charge money even for something like that."
The man with the crooked mouth grinned, "You haven't had any yet."
Wu Jun shouted from behind, "Stop chatting! We won't be able to catch that damn woman in a minute. She can run pretty fast. I'll break her legs when I catch her. Brother Wang, why don't you take your wife back with you?"
Wang Er spat, "It's all because of that teacher's home visit. I saw her and didn't report her. So annoying."
Several men rushed towards the direction where Li Guorong had disappeared.
This village was clearly richer than the village where she was trafficked; several families lived in tiled houses. It seemed to be closer to the town. She saw a national highway here, but Li Guorong didn't dare to go forward. He had finally managed to escape, and thinking of the woman's miserable state, his blood ran cold.
Seeing an oxcart with several women sitting on it, her eyes lit up. She reached into her pocket, only to find it empty. Her face froze. All her nice clothes, shoes, and even socks had been taken. She touched her underwear, where she found a small pocket she had sewn herself containing 300 yuan and a few coins.
Li Guorong pretended to be very familiar with the situation, sat on the oxcart, and when the old man reached out his hand, she, who had just been observing, took out 50 cents and put it in the old man's hand.
An older woman nearby asked, "Who are you?"
Li Guorong replied, "I am Rongrong from the Lin family in Xia Village."
The aunt was still wondering why Lin Laoda hadn't told them about his wedding, so they could "go to town to buy something."
Li Guorong replied, "Buy some fabric. It's summer, so we need to make something cool and comfortable."
Hearing the women nod repeatedly, they realized they really needed to cool off. The women started chatting about everyday matters, and Li Guorong listened to the noise around him with his head down, feeling a moment of relaxation.
"Wake up, girl, wake up." Li Guorong's heart pounded. She opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by a lively atmosphere. The air was filled with the aroma of sugar and oil, and the noisy shouts of vendors brought her back to reality for a moment.
She climbed off the bus, bought a fried cake from a fried cake stall, and asked, "Where do I catch the bus?"
The stall owner enthusiastically pointed out the directions, "Just walk 100 meters along the main road, then turn left and walk another 50 meters, and you'll arrive."
Li Guorong walked quickly in that direction. When he saw the bus, he felt relieved. He then saw the man from yesterday getting off the bus, and several men were squatting around the bus.
Li Guorong's face turned pale. She hid behind the wall, pretended to have taken the wrong turn, and slowly left. She ran to the main street. She had overheard people chatting on the oxcart and learned that the only way to get to the city was by bus. The bus only stopped at this one stop in the town. She tugged at her clothes and decided to change her clothes and disguise herself.
Li Guorong entered the state-owned store and bought an indigo blue top and black pants, looking like a girl living in a small town. Now that the state-owned store's profits were starting to decline, Li Guorong paid quickly. Taking advantage of the fact that there weren't many people around, she asked, "Sister, I want to take a bus to the city, but the bus has left, and I'll miss the last one. Is there any way to get there?"
The sales clerk asked, "What's the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?"
Li Guorong wiped her eyes, pretending to be sad, which made her look even more haggard given what she had been through in the past few days. "My father is dying, and I need to go to the city hospital to see him one last time. I was thinking that you, sister, are knowledgeable and experienced, could you help me?"
The saleswoman also looked sad and said, "I know the clothing factory is going to the city today. Go find Liu Da Nao and tell him that Second Sister introduced you. You just need some travel expenses."
Li Guorong's eyes lit up, and she took out the candy she had just bought from her pocket. "Thank you, Second Sister."
Several trucks were parked in front of the clothing factory. Li Guorong looked around but didn't see the group of villagers. She went up to them and asked, "Is Liu Da Nao here?"
A driver pointed to the side and said that Liu Da Naotou was just as his name suggested. He was fat and had big ears. His big head was on a body that was as fat as a tire, and he looked exactly like a Michelin tire advertisement. His small eyes were full of shrewdness.
Li Guorong was startled. This person didn't look like a good person. Then she thought of the elderly couple on the bus. The woman was kind and the man was old, but they were still tricked into going to the mountains. You can't judge a book by its cover. She put on a smile and said, "Brother Liu, hello. My second sister introduced me here. She said it would allow me to go to the city."
Liu Da Nao made a gesture of twisting money, and Li Guorong took out 20 yuan from his pocket, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, brother."
Liu Da Nao Nao then waved his hand in satisfaction, "Get in the car, let's go."
The drivers got into their cars and drove off into the city with a rumble, and Li Guorong felt a sense of relief.
Liu Da Nao asked, "You're not from around here, are you?"
Li Guorong's face was slightly pale. "I came to visit relatives, but I didn't expect my father to be injured at the factory and suddenly pass away. That's why I rushed to see my father one last time."
Liu Da Nao chuckled twice, "Your accent sounds like a mix of northern and southern accents, not like someone from the city."
Li Guorong clutched the small knife in her arms, which she had bought at a store for self-defense. "Maybe it's because my mother is from the South."
Liu Da Nao turned his head to look at her, then turned back to drive.
Li Guorong was startled. Had he figured something out? A regular employee shouldn't have any connection with the kidnappers in the village, right? The shadows of the trees outside flashed by. Li Guorong didn't dare to reveal everything like before. Now she could only pray that this driver was really a good person.
During the long journey, Li Guorong was terrified at the slightest sound. Finally, when he could vaguely see a taller building, the car suddenly stopped.
Li Guorong said with a smile, "Brother Liu, this is still quite a distance from the city."
Liu Da Nao's eyes flashed with a fierce light. "This 20 yuan fare has already done more than enough to get you here. If you want to go back, you can go back right away."
The greasy smell filled Li Guorong's nostrils, and her stomach was cramping. This Liu Da Nao definitely knew something. She opened the car door and jumped out.
A convoy of trucks billowed dust beside her. Li Guorong hid to the side and sprinted towards the city. The wind howled in her ears. Most of the fried cakes she had eaten that morning had been digested. She clutched her stomach, exhausted. Her ears twitched slightly; she heard the sound of motorcycles behind her.
Li Guorong's eyes flashed, and he stretched out his hands and waved. The motorcycle was getting closer and closer. Li Guorong stopped moving and turned to run.
There were two people in the car, and the one sitting in the back was Wu Jun, the man who bought her.
Li Guorong ran incredibly fast, her lungs pounding like an old bellows. The two men followed her like cats chasing mice, emitting strange howls. All of Li Guorong's strength was drained away; she couldn't outrun a car. But thinking of the woman in the cave, covered in a foul stench, she couldn't give up.
Li Guorong leaped into the roadside woods, and the two men on the motorcycle changed their expressions.
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