New Novel - Read Here
Over the next few days, everything settled into a strange, unsettling calm.
Every morning, the dark-skinned woman arrived punctually with a bowl of rice and a bottle of water. No more, no less, just enough to keep Xia Zhiyao alive.
She couldn't figure out what Master Ba was planning.
Keeping her locked up alone and feeding her properly... was he trying to fatten her up before selling her for a better price?
Mr. Shen had clearly shown not the slightest interest in her.
Every day, she paced back and forth inside the tiny room, straining her ears to catch every sound from outside.
Gunshots, screams, and curses echoed through the compound day after day, constantly reminding her what kind of place this was.
On the morning of the fifth day, the door was suddenly kicked open with brutal force.
Bang!
Two guards with fierce, thick-featured faces stormed into the room.
"Get out!"
One of the guards grabbed Xia Zhiyao by the arm.
"Where are you taking me?" Xia Zhiyao struggled in terror.
"Something good," the guard sneered as he dragged her outside, giving her no chance to resist.
As they walked down the corridor, she overheard the two guards chatting in a mixture of the local dialect and Chinese.
"Master Ba waited for several days, but there hasn't been even a trace of that big shot surnamed Shen."
"I think Master Ba guessed wrong. That guy never had his eye on this girl."
"Exactly. Such a waste of a private room. Master Ba said to let her join the fun today and open her eyes."
"This little beauty is pretty good-looking. If Mr. Shen doesn't want her, I wonder if we could..." He let out a lewd chuckle.
Xia Zhiyao's heart sank.
Dragged along the entire way, she was taken to the muddy courtyard she had once glimpsed through the window.
The horrifying scene unfolded before her once again.
A man was buried firmly in the ground with only his head left exposed. His face was a mangled, bloodied mess.
More than a dozen captives, just like Xia Zhiyao, stood in a line. Some wore expressions of numb resignation, while others trembled in sheer terror.
A guard stood before them, gripping a thick wooden club as he barked out orders, spittle flying from his mouth.
"Listen up, all of you! Today's activity is called golf!" the guard barked. "One swing per person. If you don't have the guts to swing, or if you miss the target, you'll get a taste of this club yourselves!"
He shoved the wooden club into the hands of the first man in line.
The man's entire body shook like a leaf in the wind. Squeezing his eyes shut, he swung blindly.
Thud!
A dull impact rang out, followed by a muffled groan of agony from the head protruding from the ground.
A ripple of unease swept through the line.
"Next!"
The line crept forward at a painfully slow pace.
Every swing was followed by another heavy Thud! and another anguished scream.
One of the girls became so terrified that she collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably and refusing to move.
Without a word, the guard beside her kicked her to the ground before bringing his club down on her again and again like a relentless rainstorm.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Her cries soon turned into desperate pleas for mercy.
In the end, only weak, broken moans remained.
Xia Zhiyao felt all the strength drain from her body.
Golf.
They were using a living person's head as the golf ball.
"Your turn!"
A heavy wooden club was forced into Xia Zhiyao's hands.
She was pushed toward the pit where the man was buried.
His blood-soaked face lay at her feet. His swollen eyelids were sealed shut, his lips were split open, and each ragged breath sounded weaker than the last.
He was still alive.
They wanted me to use this club... to strike the head of a living person?
Xia Zhiyao couldn't do it.
Her entire body trembled uncontrollably.
"What are you waiting for? Hit him!" the guard behind her shouted impatiently.
She remained frozen in place.
"Damn it! You don't appreciate kindness when it's shown to you!"
The guard cursed and raised his club, swinging it toward her back with a sharp Whoosh!
"Ah!"
Xia Zhiyao squeezed her eyes shut in despair.
Just then, hurried footsteps approached from the distance.
A guard came rushing into the courtyard, nearly stumbling over himself in panic.
"Master Ba! Master Ba! Mr. Shen is here! His car has already arrived at the entrance of the main building!"
Everyone in the courtyard froze.
Master Ba, who had been watching the game from the sidelines, immediately changed expression.
Just as he turned to leave, his gaze landed on Xia Zhiyao, who was still standing there in a daze with the wooden club clutched in her hands.
"You!" he shouted. "Take her away! Clean her up! Now!"
He kicked the guard who had been about to strike Xia Zhiyao squarely in the backside.
"What are you standing around for?" Master Ba roared. "Can't you understand plain language? Take her to the shower room! Tell her what she's supposed to do, then bring her to the main building immediately!"
Before Xia Zhiyao could process what was happening, the club was snatched from her hands.
Two guards grabbed her by the arms and half-dragged, half-carried her away from that living hell.
When they reached the crude shower room, they shoved her inside.
Freezing water poured over her head, making her shudder violently.
"Hurry up and wash!"
An elderly woman with a stern, dark expression walked in. Without saying a word, she began scrubbing Xia Zhiyao's body.
Afterward, she was changed into a clean white dress.
She was then escorted back to the same stilt house as before.
Master Ba stepped outside, stuffed a cleaning rag into her hands, and lowered his voice as he gave his instructions.
"Mr. Shen is inside. The moment you go in, kneel beside him and wipe his shoes clean."
Xia Zhiyao's eyes widened, and her lips began to tremble.
"Whatever Mr. Shen tells you to do, you do it. Even if he tells you to strip naked and crawl across the floor, you'd better crawl in a way that pleases him."
He leaned closer, his voice turning even colder.
"If you want to stay alive, do exactly as you're told."
Master Ba's expression grew vicious.
"If you make Mr. Shen even the slightest bit unhappy, I'll throw you back into the courtyard and let those men line up to run a train on you."
He stared at her with an icy glare.
"Do you understand?"