Capítulo 5: Chapter 5, Human Trafficker_1
"Daohua, what are you looking at? It's time to go into the inn."
Yan Wentao saw Daohua constantly turning her head to look back and pulled on her hand. At the same time, he moved closer to her side, carefully protecting her to prevent the people around from bumping into her.
Daohua was quite attractive, even now dressed as a boy in coarse hemp clothes, she still stood out a great deal, quite eye-catching. After getting off the carriage, many people were looking their way.
Old Lady Yan also looked over: "Don't look around."
In the midst of their tugging, Daohua quickly withdrew her gaze, suppressed the unrest in her heart, and dared not turn back for another look.
She wasn't a real child. Through the corner of the curtain that had been lifted, the swollen purple-red delicate cheek that was revealed had instantly made her aware that something was amiss.
But she didn't dare to investigate the truth.
No other reason, but that stood next to the carriage were two burly men in the prime of their lives.
Soon, Daohua was pulled by Old Lady Yan into the inn, while Uncle Sun and Sun's wife, who had gone to park the carriage, also returned.
Old Lady Yan called for two guest rooms, one for her, Daohua, and Sun's wife, and the other for Uncle Sun and Yan Wentao to stay in.
"We've traveled a whole day; let's all go back to our rooms to rest," she said.
Old Lady Yan pulled Daohua along toward the room, and during this time, Daohua could hardly resist and turned her head back to look outside the inn once more.
Regrettably, the curtain of the carriage was now fully lowered, and from the outside, nothing seemed amiss.
However, the two strong men were still standing beside it.
Daohua glanced at the bulging areas around the men's waists, her eyes flickering uncertainly.
After returning to the room, Daohua became somewhat distracted. When the meal was served, she only ate a few bites hastily.
Seeing this, Old Lady Yan thought her granddaughter was exhausted from the journey and urged her to go to bed and rest.
At night, Daohua tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, the swollen purple-red youthful cheek would reappear in her mind.
Were they human traffickers?
Or some dirty secret of a wealthy family?
No matter what it was, it seemed like it was not something she could deal with, nor did she have the ability to do so.
The two burly men who might have concealed weapons around their waists obviously were ruthless. On her side, her grandmother, Uncle Sun, and Sun's wife were all old, and her third brother was just a 13-year-old boy—they had no power to confront them.
One careless move, and they might endanger themselves in the process.
"Why haven't you slept yet? Are you tired?" Old Lady Yan noticed her granddaughter was still awake, suppressing her drowsiness, and gently patted her back.
Looking at the old lady's tranquil face, Daohua's heart gradually calmed down. Her brain went blank, her eyelids grew heavier, and slowly she fell asleep.
The next morning, Old Lady Yan woke Daohua up early.
"There are more and more refugees on the roads; it's better for us to get to Linyi County earlier."
Old Lady Yan worried about the safety of the road and, after thinking it over, decided to quicken the pace of their journey.
After breakfast and checking out of the inn, Old Lady Yan led her grandchildren away from the inn.
When leaving, Daohua paid attention to the carriage in the inn and found that the suspicious carriage from yesterday was gone. Her feelings were mixed; she didn't know whether to be relieved (no need to worry about whether to save or not), or to worry about the people in the carriage.
Along the way, Daohua and the others saw more and more refugees.
And from time to time, they also witnessed some refugees robbing travelers.
For safety's sake, Old Lady Yan spent some silver to join a convoy from the Escort Bureau, and they hit the road together.
Due to the frequent robberies on the road, their travel speed was inevitably delayed. By the evening, the Escort Bureau couldn't make it to the designated inn and could only find a dilapidated temple to rest in.
As soon as they entered the dilapidated temple, Daohua's face changed instantly.
That carriage!
The carriage was tied up in the courtyard of the temple, and the two burly men squatted next to it, having lit a fire, now roasting a piece of meat whose identity was uncertain.
"Wuu wuu wuu~"
As everyone passed by the carriage, they heard sounds coming from inside and looked over.
At that moment, a woman laughed as she crawled out of the carriage: "The child at home is throwing a tantrum."
Hearing this, the people from the Escort Bureau said nothing and went straight into the temple.
Old Lady Yan's face grew stern; she tightly grasped Daohua and Yan Wentao and quickly followed the Escort Bureau people.
"Big Brother, there's something wrong with that carriage; there are at least a dozen children inside," a young man from the Escort Bureau whispered to the chief.
The chief of the Escort Bureau glanced back at the carriage in the courtyard, "When traveling outside, don't meddle in others' affairs."
Hearing the conversation, Daohua looked up at the two men.
Old Madam Yan also felt something was amiss, so she found a spot close to the people from the Escort Bureau to sit down and whispered to her grandchildren to stay put and not to run around.
Night fell, and several more groups of people arrived at the dilapidated temple.
During this time, many realized something was off with the carriage in the courtyard, yet not a single person stepped forward.
Daohua buried her head in Old Madam Yan's arms, carefully observing the expression of every person in the temple.
Indifference, accustomed, ignoring, numbness...
Do these people have no conscience at all?
Not necessarily.
They knew that the three people in the courtyard might be human traffickers, but for these travelers who had been drifting all year round, making it home safely was their greatest wish; as for the injustices on the road...
They could hardly ensure their own safety, so how could they afford to care about the lives of others?
Seeing Daohua staring at the courtyard, Old Madam Yan suddenly covered her eyes.
She knew her granddaughter had always been more intelligent than others since childhood, yet sometimes being too intelligent might not be a good thing.
"Go to sleep; we still have to get going tomorrow," Old Madam Yan said in a low voice to Daohua.
Daohua nodded at her words, closed her eyes in time, but she couldn't fall asleep no matter what.
Human traffickers...
The knowledge from her previous life made it impossible for her to turn a blind eye.
Yet, she was powerless to save those kidnapped children.
All night, Daohua's mind was in a daze.
As dawn broke, amidst her powerlessness, amidst the indifference of others, the two sturdy men propped up the carriage and left.
Old Madam Yan sighed silently, took out the dry food, and ordered her grandchildren to eat, but she didn't take a single bite.
Just as the Escort Bureau was finishing its preparations to depart, sudden clamor came from outside the temple.
"It's bad! Those refugees have gone mad with hunger. They rob anyone they see."
The head of the Escort Bureau's face changed, and he immediately said aloud, "Quick, let's leave this place at once." If the refugees surrounded them in the temple, not only would their goods not be spared, but they might not even survive until the next day.
Old Madam Yan also looked terrified, tightly pulling her grandchildren and urgently instructing her nephew to fetch the carriage.
Uncle Bo might have been nearly sixty years old, but he was remarkably agile. He moved faster than the younger men of the Escort Bureau, fetched the carriage, and as soon as Old Madam Yan and the others got in, they immediately drove the carriage out of the temple.
After a hasty gallop, having traveled more than ten miles from the temple and no refugees in sight on the road, Uncle Bo finally slowed down.
"Slow down, let's wait for the people from the Escort Bureau."
Old Madam Yan, worried about the safety of traveling alone, decided to stick with the Escort Bureau's party.
Inside the carriage, Daohua's heart was still pounding.
People really do become crazed with hunger.
As they rushed out of the temple, she had seen the ground outside covered in bright red.
Having grown up in a peaceful society, she had never witnessed such a thing, and even thinking about it now made her scalp tingle.
Feeling the carriage growing stuffy, Daohua quickly lifted a corner of the curtain, hoping the scenery outside would wash away the bloody images in her mind.
The carriage swayed and moved slowly, allowing Daohua's emotions to gradually settle.
Suddenly, a carriage stopped by the side of the road made Daohua's body tremble.
"Daohua, what's wrong?" Old Madam Yan asked anxiously.
She had been careless. She hadn't expected the drought in the north to be so severe, encountering so many refugees along the way. If only she had known, she would have taken the water route with her third son and his family. Daohua must have been scared by what had just happened.
Daohua quickly let down the curtain, feigning composure, "I'm fine."
Old Madam Yan pulled her into her embrace, saying nothing, just patting her back.
Daohua leaned in obediently against the old lady, but after a while, she suddenly sat up straight, lifted the curtain again, and looked back.
The movement of lifting the curtain, putting it down; lifting it again and putting it down repeated several times.
Daohua took a deep breath and turned to Old Madam Yan, "Grandmother, I need to get out for a bit."
Old Madam Yan looked reluctant, but she also understood that people have emergencies, and it wouldn't be good to restrain her granddaughter, "Grandmother will go with you."
Daohua immediately shook her head, "No need, it's fine if just Third Brother comes with me."
Old Madam Yan thought for a moment, then looked at Yan Wentao, "Take good care of your sister, and be back quickly!"
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