The person who had just been stepped on rubbed his chest, took a few deep breaths, pounded his chest a few times, and finally coughed. After these actions, he seemed to have recovered and began to confess.
"My name is San'er, and these are Daya and Afeng. The three of us escaped from the brothel," San'er sobbed as she recounted their tragic past.
Ye Moxun looked at the three people crying miserably, his expression unmoved. There are plenty of pitiful people in this world. Which refugee is not miserable? Which refugee does not have a story?
These three were all young girls. The oldest was San'er, who was sixteen years old. Daya and Afeng were both fifteen years old. However, all three of them were skin and bones, their hair was so messy that it was tangled and covered in clumps of dirt that it was unbearable to look at.
His clothes were so tattered they were beyond repair, and his face was so dirty and black, whether intentionally painted black or simply because he hadn't washed it in a long time, that it was impossible to tell what he originally looked like.
After listening to San'er's story, Song Tantan took a deep breath. "You said you were all sold to brothels by your parents, ran away from the brothels, were caught and taken back, and then escaped again?"
The three women nodded while crying, indicating that they were not lying.
“You guys are quite capable, managing to escape again and again. I just don’t understand. The world is in such a mess, how can these brothels still stay open? Why can’t those rich old men resist going to find girls? What kind of people are they?” Song Tantan really couldn’t understand what these people were thinking.
“We’re not lying to you. Look at my arms, legs, my whole body is covered in injuries. I was the best-looking one, but I was forced to work as a prostitute just a few days after being sold there. Daya and Afeng were too ugly, so the customers didn’t want them and they couldn’t get any clients. They were beaten every day.”
"I... I couldn't stand being abused by the customers, so I stabbed one to death. That's why I was locked up with those two, starving and beating them. The madam wanted to have people take turns raping me, so we fought our way out."
The three of them were determined to die together, escaping from the woodshed and setting the brothel on fire to get away. They were ruthless people.
They are quite formidable. Song Tantan liked their ruthlessness, but it wouldn't be beautiful to use that ruthlessness against her. These three had escaped from the brothel four months ago, and it was truly remarkable that they had survived until now.
"The owner of the brothel has been sending people to hunt us down because we set the brothel on fire. We were really forced into this situation, so we resorted to killing and robbing. Please, young heroes, have mercy and spare our lives." The three men kowtowed repeatedly to Song Tantan and his companion.
"How many people did you kill in total, and how much grain did you steal?" Song Tantan's eyes were unreadable, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
"...Besides the guest I stabbed to death that day, I robbed thirteen times on the road and killed two people. It wasn't because I wanted to steal their grain that I killed them. It was because they saw that we had stolen the grain and wanted to steal it from us. We couldn't stand it, so we used some tricks to kill them."
They did injure many people, but they generally didn't kill anyone. Everyone was a poor person, and it wasn't easy for them to live. If they hadn't been driven to the brink, why would those three girls have done such a thing as murder and robbery?
They've only managed to survive this long thanks to a bit of cunning and a bit of ruthlessness. They've almost been killed several times, but they're smart enough to target people who have little ability to fight back, because they're afraid they can't win.
Like today, without understanding the situation, I acted rashly and was kicked down and unable to move. It was really careless and reckless.
Song Tantan, who was originally hard-hearted, softened when she saw the centipede-like scars on the three people's bodies. Four months have passed and the whip marks on the three people's bodies have not yet healed. Just how serious were the injuries to be so terrifying?
“When San’er was robbing someone’s grain, he was slashed on the arm. He didn’t get timely treatment, and the wound is still inflamed and festering. I broke one of my legs when I was running away and fell off the wall. Now I walk with a limp.” After saying this, A-Feng stood up and took a few steps to prove that she was telling the truth.
"Although Daya isn't missing any limbs, she's not very bright and a bit simple-minded. But I guess she's lucky in her foolishness." Ah Feng lowered her head dejectedly.
Playing the victim still works on Song Tantan. She couldn't bring herself to punish the three of them anymore. She ripped open the third child's left sleeve. His arm was fine on that side, so it must be his right arm. As soon as she ripped open the sleeve, she saw a long, festering gash about one centimeter long.
If this arm isn't treated soon, it'll really be ruined. Pulling up Ah Feng's pants leg, they found that her ankle bones were deformed. This child is now a cripple, beyond saving. At most, they can treat the injury.
“Ah Xun, although these three have done a lot of bad things, they are really pitiful. Moreover, they are disabled but determined and resilient. I think they can still be saved.” Song Tantan said, gesturing wildly and shaking his head.
Ye Moxun rubbed his temples and said helplessly, "Speak like a human being. If you want to save me, then save me. Do you think I would disagree?"
"Ah Xun, you're so kind," Song Tantan said, tossing San'er toward him. "Quick, treat this man's arm. It's terrifying. It's full of pus. His arm is going to be ruined."
Then, pointing to Ah Feng's legs, he said, "And her legs, get her some medicine to apply, prescribe some wound medicine, otherwise her legs will atrophy even more if this is delayed any longer."
"Find a spacious, shady spot; this place is too cluttered." Ye Moxun said, turning and leaving without even glancing at the three people.
Song Tantan followed along eagerly, then turned back to the three of them after a few steps, saying, "Hurry up! Are you just standing here like an idiot incubating eggs? Do you still want your arms and legs? If you do, be smart and come with us."
The three of them naturally wanted to heal their injuries, but the turn of events was so sudden that they could hardly believe that the two young heroes would let them go like this, not only not killing them, but also helping them heal their injuries.
Just now, Ah Feng said that Da Ya was a simpleton, but now Da Ya was the fastest. She blinked and hopped after Song Tan Tan. San'er and Ah Feng exchanged a glance and quickly followed.
Song Zhuiyan raised an eyebrow when she saw them bring over three refugees. "I heard it was quite a commotion over there. What's going on?"
Song Tantan told her the gist of the matter, "...That's how it is. We brought them here to treat their injuries."
"Are you sure these three are okay? If you are, then let's treat them." Song Zhuiyan's tone was indifferent, as if she had nothing to say. Qiu Ping, who was on the mat next to her, was still fast asleep. The noise hadn't woken her up. The heat of the day had left her drenched in sweat, and her clothes that she had just changed were soaked.
San'er was just about to roll up her sleeves and let Ye Moxun treat her injuries when the latter frowned and said with a look of disgust, "The smell is too strong. Go wash it in the water first before you come over." Who could stand that stench?
Song Tantan also found the smell unpleasant and pointed in the direction of the stream, "Go wash up there, there's a stream over there."
"We have no clothes to change into, these clothes are too tattered." San'er bit her lip, looking troubled. The clothes she was wearing were so worn that they would tear at any moment, and there was no way to take them off and put them back on.
Daya and Afeng were in the same situation; their clothes didn't look like clothes at all, but rather like rags hanging on their bodies. It was only because their bodies were so dark and dirty that they didn't feel like they were barely clothed.
"I have some clothes here, take them and wear them for now." Song Tantan took three sets of clothes out of the carriage and threw them to them.
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