Chapter 7 Questions whether some things are more important than life itself! ...
After an unknown amount of time, footsteps and the clanging of a lock being opened came from outside the door again.
The door was pushed open, and the guard's hoarse voice rang out: "You, and that half-dead one, come out! Brother Dao will move you to another place!"
The beam of the flashlight swept across and landed on Chu Yanxi and Lu Zhe. Chu Yanxi slowly stood up, moved her wrists which were numb from being tied up for so long, and her expression was calm. When Lu Zhe saw Chu Yanxi stand up, he also slowly stood up and walked out of the musty mud-brick house with her.
The guard seemed to have received special instructions from Lao Dao; although his attitude remained rude, he did not lay a hand on the guard again.
Just as they were about to step out the door, the girl in the corner, who had been silently burying her head in her arms, suddenly flashed a desperate light in her eyes. As if grasping at a last straw, she lunged forward, clinging tightly to Chu Yanxi's leg, her voice hoarse as she pleaded, "Sister! Sister! Take me with you! Please, take me with you! Don't leave me here! Please!"
Her movements were too fast, too sudden, carrying a sense of desperate resolve on the verge of collapse. Chu Yanxi's body froze instantly; she could clearly feel the girl's violent trembling and the strength with which she was gripping her legs.
The guard cursed and stepped forward to pull him away.
Chu Yanxi spoke first, his voice dry: "Let go."
The girl seemed not to hear, hugging him even tighter, tears and snot smearing on Chu Yanxi's trouser legs, pleading incoherently, "Take me away, I don't want to be sold as a wife! I can work, I won't run away, don't leave me..."
Suppressing the surging emotions in her heart, Chu Yanxi whispered again, "Let go!" She was barely able to save herself at the moment, and it was already the best she could do to save Lu Zhe's life. How could she possibly take a strange girl with her?
Her rejection was like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the last spark of light in the girl's eyes. The girl's arm slipped limply to the ground, and she slumped down, letting out a suppressed, animalistic whimper.
Lu Zhe, standing to the side, felt a burning desire within him. He wanted to say more, but knew he had to refuse at this moment. Enduring the sharp pain in the back of his head, he carefully observed the girl by the light from outside the door, trying to memorize her appearance and features.
The girl noticed his gaze, raised her tear-filled face, as if grasping at a sliver of hope, and murmured repeatedly, "My name is Wei Yanli, my name is Wei Yanli..."
"Damn it! You unruly bastard!" The guard, already impatient, shoved the girl away roughly.
The girl's frail body slammed against the cold earthen wall with a dull thud and a cry of pain. Immediately afterward, the guard slapped her hard across the face!
"Smack!"
The crisp sound was particularly jarring in the darkness.
Even though it was the girl named Wei Yanli who was hit, Lu Zhe unconsciously tilted his head to the side as if he were the one who was hit, and he could even feel the burning pain on his cheek.
"If you utter another word of nonsense, I'll kill you right now!" The guard kicked Wei Yanli viciously.
Chu Yanxi reached out and forcefully pulled Lu Zhe: "Let's go!"
Lu Zhe glanced one last time at the girl in the corner, who had once again fallen into despair and dared not even utter a sound of crying. A tremendous sense of powerlessness and grief welled up in his heart. But there was nothing he could do. He could only grit his teeth and stagger out of the suffocating mud-brick house.
The air in the courtyard was still stale, but better than the strong musty smell inside the house. The night sky was pitch black, with only a dim yellow light coming through the main house window. The guard led them to another, slightly smaller, mud-brick house on the east side of the courtyard. Pushing open the door, they found it was equally simple, but clearly much better than the previous windowless room.
There was a small window in the wall, fitted with wooden lattice and covered with paper. Dry grass covered the floor, and a makeshift bed made of planks and bricks sat on top, covered with a thin, faded mattress. In the corner was a worn-out wooden bucket, seemingly a chamber pot. Although still dilapidated, at least basic living facilities were present, and it was relatively clean.
"Brother Dao said you can sleep here for now. Behave yourselves and don't cause any trouble!" The guard said gruffly, then threw in a rough earthenware kettle and two coarse, hard-looking cornbread buns. "Here's your food and drink, now's the end of the world!"
The door closed again, but this time, the space was no longer completely dark; a few faint starlight shone through the small window, making it barely possible to see.
Lu Zhe only truly breathed a sigh of relief after the footsteps outside the door faded into the distance. He struggled to sit up against the wall, the injury to the back of his head still throbbing. He looked at the kettle and steamed buns on the ground, his throat dry and tight.
Chu Yanxi walked over, picked up the kettle, shook it, and then sniffed it to confirm that it was just ordinary well water before handing it to Lu Zhe: "Drink some water first, drink slowly."
Her movements were natural, with a habitual caution. Lu Zhe took the kettle and greedily drank several large gulps. The icy water slid down his throat, temporarily suppressing the burning sensation.
Chu Yanxi handed him another steamed bun. The bun was hard and rough, and it scratched his throat, but in a state of extreme hunger, it was still a precious source of energy.
Lu Zhe silently gnawed on the food, finding it tasteless.
After eating, their strength returned somewhat. The two looked at the only bed in the room, and the atmosphere became a little awkward.
“You should sleep on the bed,” Lu Zhe said almost instinctively, his voice still a little hoarse. “I… I’ll just sleep on the floor.” His gentlemanly manners and good upbringing led him to make this choice.
Chu Yanxi glanced at him: "The bed isn't big, but we can squeeze in and sleep."
Her tone was devoid of any ambiguity or hesitation. In this precarious environment, pointless modesty and restraint are both a luxury and a danger.
Lu Zhe paused for a moment, then nodded without insisting.
The two lay fully clothed on the simple wooden bed, back to back. The bed was hard, and the mattress was so thin it was almost imperceptible; they could feel the faint warmth and taut muscles emanating from each other's bodies. It was an extremely strange yet intimate scene, but at this moment, it was filled only with the heavy pressure of survival and lingering fear.
In the cramped space, their breathing could be clearly heard.
After a long silence, Lu Zhe finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked in a very low voice the heavy question that had been weighing on his mind: "What... what will happen to those three girls?"
His voice was filled with undisguised sadness and guilt. They were temporarily safe, but the three girls who had also been abducted were left in that mud-brick house, their fates uncertain.
Chu Yanxi, who was sleeping on the inside, opened her eyes and looked at the mottled wall: "I survived."
Lu Zhe looked at the small window with wooden latticework: "But..."
Chu Yanxi interrupted him: "Living is the most important thing." As a negotiation expert, she had the concept of "life first" deeply ingrained in her mind.
Impulsive, reckless, and rash actions will only lead to one outcome—everyone will die together.
Chu Yanxi's purpose in negotiating with Lao Dao was to first secure her and Lu Zhe's survival, gain Lao Dao's initial trust, and then, when the time was right, dismantle their human trafficking gang.
Only if she survives can she save more people, including the three abducted girls. One of them is named Yang Juan, another is named Xiao Ju, and the third is named Wei Yanli.
Lu Zhe knew that Chu Yanxi was telling the truth and that it was the most rational choice under the current circumstances, but he was extremely saddened. The terrified and helpless eyes of the three girls and the suppressed groans of the girl with the broken leg kept flashing through his mind.
“Their future…” Lu Zhe’s voice was heavy with uncontrollable sorrow. “Even if they are saved in the future, their lives will be ruined after going through all this.”
"Only by living can we have a future." After battling wits with Brother Dao for so long, Chu Yanxi was exhausted and sleepy. Although she didn't want to talk, she could hear the inner turmoil in Lu Zhe's voice, so she explained earnestly.
Based on her previous experience dealing with Lu Zhe, she knew that he was a man with a strong sense of morality and overflowing compassion. In handling divorce cases, regardless of who was right or wrong, he would unconditionally side with the woman. He had an almost obsessive sympathy for women's suffering; whenever a woman spoke of her unhappiness in her marriage, he would stand by her side and fight for her maximum rights.
“As long as they don’t actively seek death, their lives are not in immediate danger. Traffickers sell them to make money, and buyers buy them to continue their family line or as laborers. They won’t easily take their lives before achieving their goals.”
Hearing Chu Yanxi's words, Lu Zhe felt a deep pain welling up from the bottom of his heart: "What about their innocence? What about their dignity? Aren't these things important in their future lives? Some things are more important than life itself!"
Some wounds are etched into the soul, indelible for a lifetime.
This is his deepest feeling as a lawyer, after handling countless marriage and family cases, especially those involving women who have suffered great trauma.
Chu Yanxi's back stiffened, and he didn't speak immediately.
This is also what puzzled her—why did her negotiations with Zhang Ya fail? Was it worth it for Zhang Ya to be willing to give her life for that scumbag? Even if Wang Peng didn't love her, she still had her daughter and a long life ahead of her, so why choose such a decisive way to say goodbye as self-destruction?
In Zhang Ya's heart, is loyalty to marriage more important than life itself?
In the cramped space, only the heavy, suppressed breathing of the two remained. Outside the window, a few distant barks of dogs echoed, making the night seem eerily silent.
After a long, long time, Chu Yanxi spoke very slowly, in an almost inaudible voice:
"Apart from life and death, nothing else matters."
These words, spoken as softly as a sigh, sent a shiver down Lu Zhe's spine.
Only by surviving can one have the opportunity to make the words "innocence" and "dignity" meaningful.
Lu Zhe opened his mouth, as if to say something, but in the end he couldn't say anything.
Chu Yanxi stared with her eyes open at the mottled mold spots on the wall, faintly visible in the dim light. The image of Zhang Ya's calm and resolute expression in her eyes at the last moment of her life still lingered in her mind.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com