Simple was completely focused, while the other side was clearly anxious, unprepared, and even desperate.
"Sis, do you think we'll starve to death here?"
Simple, with his keen hearing and the quiet surroundings, he could only vaguely make out what was being said, followed by an even weaker voice.
"Sigh, if we don't starve to death here, we'll starve to death somewhere else anyway, so what's the difference?"
The first voice took a long time to speak.
"It's been so long, I wonder if our parents have looked for us?"
The older sister scoffed.
"You really dare to think like that. What happened that day? Aren't you going to give up yet?"
Sigh, still looking?
They were paid.
If it weren't for being captured and brought here along the way, we would already be having children in the mountains right now. Didn't you hear? That family has five brothers, so they could only afford to buy one wife..."
Another half-day of silence followed, then a few more rustling sounds, and breathing became disordered, though all were rather weak.
"How many days has it been?"
"...I don't know. Sometimes it feels like something has passed by, but it doesn't sound like a human voice, more like..."
"A ghost? There's a ghost?"
"...No, I think I heard a wild boar grunting once. Do you think we're up in the mountains?"
"Then what's the point of bringing us back? Just to leave us here to fend for ourselves?"
Were you also sold by your families?
"My sister tricked me into coming here. She said my dad was waiting for me, so I came, and then..."
"I drank a glass of water that my sister-in-law gave me at home, and when I woke up I was here,"
"I was on my way to the countryside in Northeast China, but at the train station an old lady grabbed me and insisted that I was her daughter. I noticed she seemed unwell, so I helped her rest for a bit, and that's how I fell asleep."
"I just came out to buy something..."
"I was a child who said he couldn't find his mother and cried while holding my hand,"
"Don't even think about it. I've tried everything. It's all dead around here. There's no way out."
"Waaah, what am I going to do? I still want to go home!"
"Go home? I don't even know how many days I've been away. Even if I could go back, what would people think?"
If you don't uphold the virtues of a woman, and are violated and defiled, how can you still enter your own home?
Even if your parents let you go back, will your sisters-in-law agree?
What will happen to my siblings then? Will they just leave me without help?
"Heh, anyway, I can't go back, and I don't want to go back. I might as well just die here."
"Waaah..."
They spoke words of despair, but overwhelmed with grief, they couldn't help but burst into tears.
After listening to the corner of the wall for a while, in a fragmented manner, I managed to understand it all.
These people were all robbed or sold, and for some unknown reason, they were all placed here. Then, for several days in a row, no one came, as if they had been forgotten.
Sometimes, the fear of the unknown is boundless.
Just like when you're blindfolded, your hearing will be heightened to its highest level of alertness and become exceptionally sensitive.
In addition, there's the self-inflicted fear and imagination that makes one's mind quite lively.
She stood up gently, stretching her legs which had gone numb from squatting. Her mind raced, wondering if this was just a coincidence, and if so, what should she do?
This wasn't the Liujiatun she knew. She was just a guest who had only been there for a few days. The only family she was familiar with was Cheng Zhuo's. If she had to say who she completely trusted, it would be Cheng Chao. But in the end, Cheng Chao was just someone on loan.
However, even if it's just saving someone, it should be considered a meritorious deed, let alone digging deeper.
Looking at the sky and seeing that it was still quiet around her, she simply noted down the location first.
She sometimes gets lost on flat ground, but amazingly, she doesn't get lost on mountains; her sense of direction and intuition are incredible.
She silently withdrew from the area, found the way she came, and ran downhill. After all, several lives were at stake there. She didn't consider herself a good person, but with so many lives at stake, she still had basic respect and awe for him.
She emerged from the wormwood bushes. The child probably hadn't gotten out of school yet, and it was the hottest time of the afternoon. There wasn't a soul in sight on the road, which made things convenient for her.
Walking back along the same route she had taken that morning, she encountered two villagers from the other village at the intersection. They were clean-cut and looked very scholarly. She took a closer look and guessed they were probably educated youth sent to the countryside.
Unexpectedly, the next moment, she felt a gust of wind, mixed with a clean soapy smell. Jian Dan quickly dodged to the side, looked up and met the two people. She grinned. What a coincidence!
Seeing that their first attack had failed, the two men exchanged a glance and decided to attack from both sides together. The man on the left, who was wearing glasses, was holding a handkerchief.
It's quite obvious; this is the tool used in the crime.
Seeing that it was just a simple young girl, the two men probably wanted to finish the fight quickly and rushed over without thinking much. They also wanted to intimidate her with their physical advantage. But Jian Dan wasn't afraid at all. The two ordinary people with no fighting skills easily captured her.
A moment later, both men were lying on the ground groaning in pain; one had his hands hanging limply, and the other clearly had a dislocated arm.
The bespectacled man had a broken left leg. He supported himself with his hands on the ground, dragging his injured leg backward. His eyes, behind his glasses, were filled with fear as he looked at Jian Dan. Was this a human being? Or was this a demon?
They had already committed such a heinous act, which was cruel enough, but none of them were as decisive as this delicate and soft-spoken girl. With one kick, "crack," his leg broke. She didn't show any fear on her face, and her expression didn't even change. She was incredibly calm.
Under the watchful, almost predatory gaze of the simpleton, the bespectacled man reluctantly pulled out their belts and simply bound their hands and feet together in a complicated knot, much like a kindergarten activity in later generations, where adjacent hands and feet were connected.
"Yes, that looks much better."
"Anyone who tries to run away again, don't blame me for breaking their other limbs too, and they won't be able to recover!"
Anyone who wants to try, I can grant their wish.
Why run? They knew they weren't that in sync. Besides, after being here for so long, everyone knew the military region was just ahead. They were the same; they looked at her small size and assumed she was weak and helpless, thinking they could easily take her down. Who would have thought they'd be the ones to fall first?
"Grandma, you are so generous! Whatever you want, we have money, we'll give it all to you. Please let us go!"
"Yes, yes, we were just joking with you, really, really. We'll give you all the money. I also have some family heirlooms, all of them for you."
"Grandma, little darling, please, just let us go! Just treat us like trash, so we don't get in your way!"
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