Chapter 125
Upon hearing Gu Xi's words, the woman suddenly fell silent, stopping her from eating the pancake.
It was a silence born of great change and the suffering of others; a despair and helplessness born of the inability to face societal judgment, a reluctance to let others know who one is.
Gu Xi took a deep breath, not pressing her further, and instead asked, "You think more people will come after us? How many?"
She didn't ignore what the woman had said earlier: that someone would be chasing after them.
“I don’t know,” the woman began. “I don’t know how many people there are, but these people, these people…” Her breathing became rapid, perhaps from sheer hatred. Her body trembled slightly as she gritted her teeth and said, “They are a bunch of beasts, utterly depraved and committing countless evil deeds… They trafficked women and children, they were in cahoots… I was on my way home when I was knocked unconscious and dragged into the woods…”
Seeing her curl up in fear, Gu Xi felt a pang of pity and went over to hug her.
The warmth eased the woman's fear slightly, but she became anxious again, grabbing her hand and saying, "I escaped when they weren't looking. I... I need to go report it to the police. There are five other people there, all trafficked like me. I heard they're going to be transferred tomorrow and sold to more remote places... I'm from Changpo Brigade, my name is Fang Suihua..."
Fang Suihua's home is in Xiachangpo Brigade, Yaoshan County. Gu Xi had never heard of this county, so he guessed it was quite far from Huanshan County.
A few days ago, she went to the county town to visit relatives and sell some herbs she picked from the mountains. On her way home, she was knocked unconscious and abducted.
She didn't know where she had been sent; she had been locked in a dark, sunless cellar for the past two days.
There were five other women in the cellar who had been trafficked like her; some were from the city, and some, like her, were from the countryside.
These women had been abducted for longer than her. Those people didn't feed them much, only giving them a bowl of water and a small piece of dry food each day. They were so hungry that they were dizzy, but they didn't die. They were all very weak and didn't have the strength to run.
Fang Suihua was abducted for a shorter period of time and was not as weak as the others.
She was a shrewd woman who was very careful about her safety when she was out and about. She had a small knife hidden in her trousers for peeling fruit. After waking up from her coma, she had been trying to find a way to escape.
With the women's cover, she did manage to escape, but she didn't expect that the men were too alert and quickly discovered her escape and gave chase...
“Those people are very vigilant. If they find that these three haven’t returned, they will definitely come looking for us. Let’s hurry up and leave,” Fang Suihua said anxiously. “I don’t know where we are. Please take me to the police station. I need to report a crime and rescue them…”
She didn't know what would happen to the people in the cellar after she escaped. Given their ruthlessness, they certainly wouldn't let her get away with it. She worried that if she arrived too late, something bad might happen to them.
These women were very weak and had no strength to run. They could only place their hopes on Fang Suihua, hoping that she could find someone to rescue them.
Gu Xi took a deep breath, reached out and hugged her, and said gently, "Don't worry, let's stay here and wait for them to come."
Fang Suihua: "..."
To appease Fang Suihua and put her mind at ease, Gu Xi deliberately walked towards the three men from before, picked them up one by one, and hid them behind a dense thicket of bushes.
Fang Suihua: "..."
After hiding the three people, Gu Xi easily pulled down a branch from a nearby tree, about the thickness of an adult's wrist. She then broke off the leaves and branches, turning it into a one-meter-long stick, which she then weighed in her hand.
Now we have weapons too.
She picked up the wooden stick, turned to Fang Suihua, and said, "Don't worry, I have plenty of strength!"
Fang Suihua stared at her blankly, unable to react for a moment.
Gu Xi walked back, squatted down next to her, and said, "Are you full? I still have some candy, you can have it all. If you're full, we'll get to work."
Fang Suihua: "..."
Fang Suihua blankly finished all the egg pancakes that Gu Xi had given her.
After she finished eating, a military water bottle was handed to her, and she filled it with more than half a bottle of water before finally putting a piece of candy in her mouth.
Although I'm not full yet, I at least have some energy.
Then Gu Xi told her to wait where she was. She went back, carried the bicycle she had hidden over, attached the wooden stick to it, and said to Fang Suihua, "Do you still recognize the way we came? Take me there."
Fang Suihua looked blank. "I don't quite remember. I was in a hurry to run away..."
"It's alright," Gu Xi said. "You guys ran all the way this way, you should have left some traces. Let's follow the original route and see if we can rescue them first."
Fang Suihua had no idea what to do and chose to listen to her.
She was terrified of the human trafficking gangs, but when she heard that she was going to rescue people, she immediately agreed.
Gu Xi, holding the bicycle, set off with Fang Suihua.
It was getting late, and the sky was getting darker. Fang Suihua was walking unsteadily. Gu Xi took out a flashlight from her bag and gave it to Fang Suihua to hold.
"Isn't this a bad idea?" Fang Suihua said worriedly, "What if we attract them here..."
Gu Xi calmly replied, "It's alright, I'll wait for them to come." This would save them the trouble of going looking for them, which would be a waste of time.
If I don't go home this late, my family will probably worry. I just want to finish this as soon as possible and go home.
Fang Suihua glanced at her, thinking about how easily she had lifted two big men and carried the bicycle over, and felt like she was dreaming.
If it weren't for the current campaign to destroy the Four Olds, she would have thought she had been saved by a kind fairy passing by.
In the dim light of the flashlight, the young and beautiful girl holding onto her bicycle was stunningly beautiful and had such great strength. She felt incredibly safe, like an all-powerful fairy in a play, someone she would never meet in her entire life.
The two walked slowly, mainly because Fang Suihua had almost exhausted her strength while running away.
Gu Xi let her sit on the bicycle to rest, while she held the bicycle and continued forward.
I learned from Fang Suihua that the place she escaped from was very remote. The house was a dilapidated mud-brick house, and you couldn't tell anything about it from the outside. It was located at the foot of the mountain, far from the nearby villages. A one-eyed old man lived in it and seemed very lonely...
Gu Xi thought to herself, "A reclusive old man far from the village, few people would pay attention to him, no wonder he can be used to hide people."
She also grew up in the countryside. There are some eccentric elderly people living alone in the village. They usually live in remote areas and the villagers don't pay special attention to them.
When no one is watching, it's naturally easier to do bad things.
Fang Suihua didn't know how long she had been on the run. She felt she had run quite far, and in order to survive, she didn't dare to stop. But in the end, she was still caught up with.
The men who caught up with her were furious. They not only hit her, but also tried to... If Gu Xi hadn't arrived in time, she probably would have already...
By the light of the flashlight, Gu Xi noticed that Fang Suihua's face was red and swollen, with handprints on it that had turned bluish-purple. She felt a little annoyed; she should have punched those three men a few more times.
Suddenly, Gu Xi stopped.
Fang Suihua, having suffered this misfortune, was extremely wary of everything around her. As soon as she stopped, she fell silent in fright and immediately turned off her flashlight.
Once the flashlight was turned off, the surroundings became very dark, with only the autumn night wind blowing.
Gu Xi heard the faint sound of dry grass being trampled in the distance, which was masked by the wind passing through the woods.
However, her hearing is very good; she can always hear sounds from far away.
After her rebirth, she discovered that her strength, hearing, and sense of smell had been enhanced, making her extraordinary. Of course, she wouldn't usually listen to anything intentionally, but this was where it came in handy.
Gu Xi knocked the bicycle to the ground, signaling Fang Suihua to hide.
Then she picked up the stick and began to wait patiently for the other party to come over.
Gu Xi squatted on the tree, listening to the sounds ahead, trying to estimate how many people were there, whether they were friend or foe. It wouldn't be good if they were just ordinary villagers and she accidentally hurt one.
However, after dark, the villagers probably wouldn't wander outside, let alone specifically run into these woods.
They must be the human trafficking gangs looking for people.
Soon after, the beam of a flashlight swept over.
This made things much easier for Gu Xi. She peeked over and saw that there were actually six people. They were walking around looking for someone, cursing and swearing. They were angry that the people who hadn't been watching over her had let the kidnapped woman escape and caused them so much trouble. They were also cursing the people who had gone after her, wondering if they had taken the opportunity to have fun outside.
Gu Xi was furious upon hearing this; these words alone were enough to make her unable to bear it.
She jumped down from the tree, grabbed a stick, and charged at the people, raising the stick to start hitting them.
"who?!"
"It's a woman... watch out, she has a stick!"
"Is that the woman who ran away? Catch her, she's just causing me a lot of trouble!"
When Gu Xi jumped out, the flashlight shone directly at her. When the six people opposite her realized that she was a woman, they didn't take her seriously and thought that dealing with her would be a piece of cake.
It was this underestimation of their opponent that made them realize something was wrong when they were hit by a stick and their companion was swept away.
Gu Xi acted quickly, taking care of them in a few moves, probably to prevent them from escaping.
Although she still had some energy, she knew she wouldn't be able to catch up if the other party escaped, so she decided to finish the fight quickly.
After knocking everyone to the ground, Gu Xi carefully controlled her strength, knocking them unconscious one by one. Then she called Fang Suihua over, stripped them naked, tore them into strips, and tied them up, so that even if they woke up, they wouldn't be able to escape.
Their mouths should be gagged so they can't call for help.
Fang Suihua stared blankly as she helped undress the men, watching her easily knock them down and tie them up. All she felt was admiration for her.
At the age of twenty, she suddenly encountered a major change. Just when she was in despair, heaven took pity on her and sent down a powerful heroine to save her. The heroine easily dealt with those beasts, which made her feel an indescribable joy, as well as gratitude and admiration, and an unspeakable trust and dependence.
After dealing with these people, Gu Xi picked up the still-on flashlight from the ground and shone it on the men.
Upon seeing this, she was stunned.
She saw a familiar face. She had seen this person a few times before at Uncle Qiu's place. Each time, he looked at her with a gaze that made her uncomfortable, a look that she remembered.
For a moment, Gu Xi thought about many things, and even suspected that Uncle Qiu might also be a member of the human trafficking gang.
If so...
Gu Xi took a deep breath and said to Fang Suihua, "Let's call the police first and get someone to rescue them. The two of us can't do it alone."
It wasn't that she couldn't beat them, but Gu Xi wasn't familiar with this place or the surrounding roads, and was afraid she would get lost.
If this continues, she might not even find her way by dawn, and she's already very tired and worried that she won't have the strength to keep going.
In situations like this, don't try to be a hero; let the professionals handle it.
There's a criminal gang here, possibly forming a complete industrial chain. Who knows what might be involved? She can't handle it all by herself, and she's afraid of accidentally alerting them.
Fang Suihua trusted her completely and had no objections to anything she said.
“Come with me first,” Gu Xi said to her. “I’ll take you away. Don’t worry, I’ll take you to the police station.”
Fang Suihua responded and gave her a forced smile.
Then Gu Xi found a place to hide the group of thugs who had been tied up, and after confirming that no one could find them even if they came looking for them, she took Fang Suihua and turned back along the way.
It took them some time to get back to the main road.
Gu Xi let Fang Suihua sit on the back of the bicycle, and then she rode the bicycle, taking her to the town.
After walking for a short while, I saw a flashlight beam shining from ahead, and someone was riding a bicycle towards us.
Gu Xi didn't pay any attention, assuming it was someone returning late, until the flashlight beam swept across her face and a surprised voice rang out from the other end: "Is that you, sister-in-law?"
Gu Xi blinked; the voice sounded familiar, and she quickly remembered who it was.
She quickly replied, "Is this Xiao Zhou?"
The man who arrived was wearing a military uniform and looked very young. He was Xiao Zhou, Shen Mingzheng's orderly, who often helped her deliver things, and the two were quite familiar with each other.
Gu Xi asked in surprise, "Xiao Zhou, what are you doing here?"
When Xiao Zhou parked the car and saw that Gu Xi was alright, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Sister-in-law, you went to the county town today and haven't come back yet. The regimental commander was very worried about you and has already gone to the county town to look for you. I'm helping to look for you from behind, in case you get lost."
I heard that it was her first time going to the county town, and there was a possibility that she might get lost and end up in another village.
Gu Xi hurriedly said, "I'm not lost, I just have something to do... Xiao Zhou, go call the police right away."
"ah?"
After Xiao Zhou heard what she had said and saw Fang Suihua behind her, he knew the situation was serious and immediately went to make arrangements without saying a word.
As for Gu Xi, she decided not to leave yet and wait for Shen Mingzheng to return by the roadside.
I heard that Shen Mingzheng drove a military vehicle to the county town. He's been there for an hour and should be back soon.
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