Chapter 8

Thud—thud—thud—

Gan Tian woke up in the midst of a regular creaking of cart wheels pressing on the ground, her eyes opening; at first it was pitch black. After gradually adapting, she realized the cramped space she was in was not completely dark, with many small light-transmitting holes and gaps around.

But they were too small, like distant, dim stars in the night sky, completely unable to illuminate the earth.

Thus the space she was in remained dark.

She let out a small sigh, Gan Tian felt a little worried... She didn't know where she was now. Before falling asleep last time, she had wanted to think carefully about her situation and what to do next, but because she was curled up in the cramped space and the cart was too bumpy, feeling dizzy and suffocated, she drifted off in a daze.

While she was reconsidering the things she had thought about before falling asleep, the cart stopped. Outside came a voice shouting, as if this group had arrived at their lodging place.

Sure enough, not long after, the cart moved again, apparently having been led to the backyard or similar place.

At this moment, an imbalance brought discomfort—with a "thud", the sound of the box being moved and landing on the ground.

"All right, Xiao Hu, you and Shitou go move the other boxes over." As he spoke, the space above Gan Tian was opened, and the air became fresh.

Gan Tian, curled up in the box, closed her eyes, and after a while adapted to the suddenly changed external environment.

The scar-faced man in front of her tugged at the corner of his mouth, seemingly trying to put on a better expression, but it only looked more ferocious. He himself realized this, so he quickly returned to his usual expression and warned Gan Tian: "Little girl, behave yourself, don't cause trouble! Causing trouble means you won't survive... When we reach the destination, I'll let you go."

Saying that is basically cheating even small kids out of their due; if you're going to release people, why capture them in the first place?

A few days ago, Gan Tian had just left the city not long before being blocked; she had thought it was a robbery for money, but she hadn't expected this gang to be so depraved, actually seeking both wealth and beauty—a twelve-year-old little girl, just a child! A standard sixth-grade elementary school girl, full of childishness; how could a normal person have such thoughts!

Later she realized it might not be what she thought; these people didn't lay a finger on her, but instead stuffed her into a large box, together with several other large boxes containing people, loading them onto the cart... as if their trade were ordinary merchant business.

It felt like a human trafficking operation.

Because she understood there was no immediate danger, Gan Tian did not immediately call for help from home.

She had run away from home, after all! How could she be so timid? If she were really rescued over this matter and sent back home, who knows—going out might become even harder in the future!

Of course, freedom is precious, but life is worth more... This is also because she was certain there would be no danger for the time being.

"Open the boxes a bit to let air in; if anyone gets sick or injured, the loss would be great!" The scar-faced man called to his accomplices, urging them to act quickly.

Every time they found a place to rest, they would let Gan Tian and the others out for fresh air—not just ventilation, but also to attend to eating, drinking, and relieving themselves. To avoid exposing their crimes, the previous few times they had camped in the wilderness; staying at an inn like today was the first time.

Moreover, the place where they opened the boxes was by no means concealed; Gan Tian suspected this was one of their strongholds.

It might even be a black shop!

The scar-faced man and his group are a band of kidnappers, but unlike ordinary kidnappers, they deal in "big business." They don't want children under five or women over twenty; they seek "merchandise" whose quality can be judged but whose value won't be diminished.

Boys and girls aged twelve or thirteen with good looks are their favorite targets.

High-quality "merchandise" of this age, sold through their channels, often fetches astonishing prices!

Of course, this business isn't easy either. First, one needs discernment to pick out truly promising "merchandise." Second, the ability to escape and disguise must be strong! After all, good looks and fine bearing, if talent is also required, such boys and girls couldn't be ordinary folk's children.

These days are considered a peaceful and prosperous era, but ordinary families' children can barely manage to eat their fill—how could they be raised to look fine?

According to their standards for selecting "merchandise," those they pick are at least from well-off families.

If such children come to harm, it will surely alert the authorities; if the operation is large enough, even the City God and local land spirits might notice. Therefore, they must flee and commit crimes, trying to avoid the attention of officials and the City God.

Finally, they also need a stable "sales channel."

The scar-faced man gave Gan Tian special "favorable treatment." Although she, like the other children, had been abducted and was under strict guard, from the first day he never laid a hand on her, nor allowed anyone else to. The other children were all searched, and any valuables they had became these people's "spoils."

Gan Tian, however, was different; even her little money‑holding cat‑shaped pouch was not taken.

This certainly wasn't because Gan Tian was some chosen one; it was simply because they considered her "rare goods worth keeping."

The scar-faced man believed Gan Tian could become the biggest score in his human‑trafficking business, so he showed her unprecedented patience. As for searching her and taking belongings, that could wait until the time of sale, when accidents are less likely. If he pressed her too hard now, this young girl of her age, inexperienced in the world, might go to extremes—seeking death or fighting desperately—what then?

He didn't give such consideration to others because their value wasn't enough; even if discounted, their loss could be seen as an inevitable cost of this trade. It's impossible to let such losses make one hesitant—but Gan Tian, this is an exception.

Facing goods worth thousands of taels versus a few hundred taels of silver, this attitude would certainly be different.

This time, too, the same preferential treatment: Gan Tian's box was always the first to be set down, and her box was always the first to be opened each time.

Sometimes even on the road, Gan Tian's box would be opened once to let her get some air. If it weren't inconvenient to control the food and drink of Gan Tian and these people to prevent sudden "urgent needs," the scar‑faced man would certainly also give her something to eat and drink.

At this moment, each box was brought down—seven or eight of them—and all were opened.

Including Gan Tian, they were all boys and girls aged over ten and under fifteen. Along the way they never managed to meet privately... under the kidnappers' surveillance, naturally there was no chance to talk.

"All right, let them get some air—Shitou, you and Yuniang keep watch for now; later someone will relieve you. If they need to go to the toilet, have one person escort them, and give them water if they want." The scar‑faced man said this, then glared at the seven or eight kids: "Don't ask for food; after you finish eating, I'll bring it to you."

After saying those few words, the scar‑faced man took a few people and left first, presumably to eat. Only one man and one woman remained to guard them; both were young, the man called Shitou, a lanky teenager; the woman, also in her early twenties, named Yuniang, had some martial skill and was considered strong among the gang.

The teenagers abducted into the boxes initially reacted strongly, wanting to live or die, but by now they had calmed a bit—some had resigned themselves, some were dazed... and others were lying in wait, preparing to escape.

At this point no one shouted; no one naively thought making a disturbance would be of any use.

At first the gang still put a sedative in their food; the drug wasn't strong, so they could even remain conscious. But they felt completely limp, heads heavy, and if they tried to speak, the sound couldn't penetrate the wooden box. If they could have made a noise then, perhaps it might have attracted attention.

But later they stopped using the sedative... and the clever ones among them immediately understood why.

In the wilderness there was no one around to bother, so they didn't need to guard against disturbances. But now... it seems they're not afraid of the kids making trouble.

Only occasionally did one or two soft whimpers of a little girl arise.

Everyone silently went to the toilet; boys were taken by Shitou, girls by Yuniang—thus such a gang must have a woman, otherwise the members would often inevitably lay hands on the "merchandise." Once this behavior starts, it becomes a habit that cannot be changed.

But this is bad, as it would greatly lower the merchandise's value and also risk the accomplices being lust‑blinded...

Around that time, someone brought food to Shitou and Yuniang—the first time in these days they didn't have to eat dry rations. Even if it wasn't a delicacy, it was enough to whet their appetites.

And the Xiao Hu who brought the meal didn't just give food to the two of them; there was also an extra portion for Gan Tian.

"This is what Da You Ge told me to bring over first." Although everyone would have food later, this was still blatant favoritism.

Upon hearing Xiao Hu's words, Shitou didn't rush to eat either; instead he lent a hand, untying the ropes binding Gan Tian's hands and feet.

Yuniang, who had just wiped her chopsticks and was about to eat, stopped then and gave a cold laugh: "Is it really a valuable thing, or are you truly treating it like a treasure?"

This remark could be taken as a double entendre—on the surface it shows dissatisfaction with Da You Ge letting the "merchandise" be treated like them, but in the end it just leaves Shitou standing there feeling a bit awkward.

Xiao Hu, however, seemed not to notice any of that, and earnestly replied: "It's definitely valuable—Da You Ge said it could sell for over a thousand taels of silver! My hometown is in the mountains, where we make a living cutting bamboo; a good machete is what we use best. Later, after a disaster, some people became sword‑for‑hire to survive; others hire swordsmen to buy their lives, and a life can go for dozens or even hundreds of taels. Swordsmen who can't kill their target often get killed themselves, and that's also for that bit of silver. A thousand taels of silver would be enough for the best swordsman to sell his life several times over!"

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Thanks to the little angels who cast overlord votes or poured nutrient solution for me between 2020-04-12 08:12:17 and 2020-04-13 08:43:24~

Thanks to the little angels who cast landmines: luoxueshi51 of them;

Thanks to the little angel of irrigation nutrient solution: Phoenix Flower opened another bottle;

Thank you very much for everyone's support, I will continue to work hard!