Liu Ronghua entered the car and glanced at Chang Jingqiu. “You can just transfer the money directly to my account if you’ve prepared them all. Why do you insist on a meeting?”

“I need to look at you for assurance when you receive the money. I’ll feel more secure that way,” Chang Jingqiu replied lightly and drove away.

“Where are we going?” Liu Ronghua asked simply.

“You’ll know when we arrive,” Chang Jingqiu answered calmly.

Liu Ronghua did not give it much thought and sat on the passenger seat with ease. However, the route Chang Jingqiu was driving on got stranger as time went by. Liu Ronghua frowned and started feeling uneasy for some inexplicable reason.

“Where are you taking me?” Liu Ronghua held onto the door firmly and asked nervously.

Chang Jingqiu took a peek at her and answered, “Relax, we’re just going somewhere quiet to solve this issue. It would be too noisy to discuss such matters in a restaurant or somewhere similar.”

“Why didn’t you think that it was noisy previously?” Liu Ronghua asked immediately.

Chang Jingqiu peeked at her but remained silent.

Something fishy was going on. Liu Ronghua held onto the inner door handle and yelled, “I’m leaving. Stop the car now!”

“We’re on a highway now. How am I supposed to stop the car? Just wait for a while longer, we’re arriving soon. Are you worried that I’ll bring harm to you?” Chang Jingqiu replied and stared at her coldly.

She remained doubtful despite receiving assurance from Chang Jingqiu, but come to think of it again, what could a young lady like Chang Jingqiu possibly do to her?

Liu Ronghua would be more worried if the other party was a woman who involved herself in society and had wide social connections, but Chang Jingqiu was raised in the lap of luxury. She was acquainted with several precious ladies and gentlemen from notable families within the social circle, but most of them only indulged themselves in extravagant pleasures and entertainments. There was no way she could associate herself with anyone with abilities such as Qi Chenglin, so Liu Ronghua figured that there was no way she could bring any harm to her.

Thus, the initial anxiety was now replaced with calmness as Liu Ronghua stared at the view outside the window without giving it further thoughts.

In the end, Chang Jingqiu stopped her car at the foot of a mountain. This mountain was reputed in B City due to its potential for mountain hikers, but at the same time, it was not very famous.

Tourists from the outlands would not visit this mountain for hiking purposes. The hikers were mostly from B City and they would only visit if they were in the mood to exercise.

The weather then was pleasant and thus, a few hikers were visiting the mountain for a hike. However, Chang Jingqiu parked her car behind the mountain as a safety precaution since the area was quite deserted.

Liu Ronghua frowned. “Why did you drive to this sort of place? Give me the money and let’s head back quickly.”

“Don’t you feel safer this way? I brought the cheque with me, so there’s no need for you to worry.” Chang Jingqiu smiled.

Liu Ronghua felt that something was definitely wrong. Chang Jingqiu was blackmailed, so logically speaking, she should be unwilling to hand over the money, but why did she even had the mood to smile?

On the other hand, Chang Jingqiu opened her handbag leisurely and one of her hands reached in to search for the cheque. Liu Ronghua forced the anxiety down, and her gaze which was fixed on Chang Jingqiu’s handbag, was so avaricious and impatient that she did not notice a stranger walking toward them outside the car.

Liu Ronghua had her back facing the car door while her gaze remained on Chang Jingqiu’s hand movements. Then, the car door behind Liu Ronghua opened all of a sudden, giving her quite a shock.

The car which Chang Jingqiu owned was a luxury vehicle and there would be an automatic lock installed in it. It was impossible to open the car door from the outside unless the driver unlocked it from the inside.

Liu Ronghua wanted to turn around amidst the surprise, but her attempt was stopped when a thick cloth bag enveloped her head. It surprised her and she screamed at the top of her lungs amidst the anxiety.

There was a sharp pain on the back of her cervical spine before she could utter a sound. Then, darkness overtook her and her consciousness faded away.

Chang Jingqiu remained calm and watched everything that happened before her eyes without any signs of anxiety. A man with great physical strength dragged the fainted Liu Ronghua out of the car and stuffed her into a small and shabby van which was parked not far away. It was as if he was simply transferring a corpse.

Then, a tall and handsome, but ruthless, man exited the van and entered Chang Jingqiu’s car.

“I thank Boss Chen for his help in this matter,” Chang Jingqiu took out a cheque of one million Yuan from her handbag and passed it to the man beside her. “Please convey my gratitude to Boss Chen. I’ll be greatly honored if I can treat Boss Chen a meal personally to express my appreciation.”

The man accepted the cheque and simply glanced at it before keeping it. “Brother Chen said Miss Chang is a sensible woman who won’t let Brother Chen suffer losses, so there’s no need to show any appreciation in this matter. Consider this a business transaction and that we had a pleasant collaboration.”

Chang Jingqiu nodded and remained silent. To be honest, she had no desire to associate herself further with the likes of Boss Chen.

Liu Ronghua thought all of Chang Jingqiu’s network connections only consisted of those who were born with a silver spoon, but she had completely forgotten about the fact that Chang Jingqiu was a reporter too. It was fortunate that Chang Jingqiu chose to work in this profession which allowed her to be acquainted with people from various professions.

Boss Chen was one of them. He seemed to be engaged in legitimate businesses but in fact, some of the money he earned came from disingenuous trades. Organ trading in the black market and some human trafficking organizations had some inextricable connections with him. Even though he did not participate in those illegal trades himself, he provided those organizations with distribution channels and some other conveniences for easier trades.

These were only some of the information she had in hand, but there was still a lot that remains unknown about Boss Chen and some of it was probably illegal too.

Thus, Boss Chen was one of those individuals whom she could not provoke at all. She would not associate herself further with Boss Chen unless absolutely necessary. This issue with Liu Ronghua was an exception because there was no guarantee that Liu Ronghua would stop blackmailing her again once all the money had been spent in the future.

Liu Ronghua was well known for not keeping promises. Even though she gave Chang Jingqiu assurance that she would stop threatening Chang Jingqiu after receiving five million Yuan, how could Chang Jingqiu believe such verbal agreement when there was no black and white?

The way Liu Ronghua treated Ruan Danchen raised Chang Jingqiu’s vigilance. She would rather believe a gilt could climb trees than to trust Liu Ronghua’s promises. Thus, she wanted Liu Ronghua gone in order to eliminate any potential trouble in the future.

Liu Ronghua’s presence felt like a sharp blade hovering over Chang Jingqiu’s head, on the verge of falling.

Thus, Chang Jingqiu wanted Liu Ronghua gone. In all honesty, her initial intention was twisted and sinister. She wanted Liu Ronghua dead because only a dead man could bring secrets to the grave and stay silent forever.

However, she could not do it. She had to contact Boss Chen despite the reluctance and fear, so that Liu Ronghua could leave forever and never come back again.

She had no idea where to send Liu Ronghua to so Boss Chen would be the decision-maker in this situation. Since Boss Chen had connections with human trafficking organizations, so naturally he would know where would be the best location to send her to.

Liu Ronghua demanded for five million Yuan initially, but the payment to send her off was one million Yuan only. Since Chang Jingqiu could save four million Yuan, why would she give extra money to Liu Ronghua for no reason?

The man returned to his small and shabby van after accepting the money without attempting to continue the conversation.

Then, Chang Jingqiu drove away after the van disappeared from her sight through the rearview mirror.

…

…

Liu Ronghua noticed that she was in a van after regaining consciousness. Judging from the darkness outside, the van was rushing to its destination throughout the night.

“Mm—” Liu Ronghua tried to speak but her mouth was covered by duct tape. Her arms were tied behind her back and her legs were tethered directly under the car seat, so she was immobile.

She struggled with all her might, looking bewildered.

A man who was sitting opposite her and dozing off initially opened his eyes upon hearing the movements. He peeked at Liu Ronghua nonchalantly before speaking to another man in the passenger seat. “She’s awake.”

The man in the passenger seat turned his head around and glanced at Liu Ronghua indifferently. There was no attempt in engaging conversation or letting her go.

“Mm! Mm Mm!” Liu Ronghua tried to yell but the sound produced was not loud since her mouth was taped shut. She tried to lean forward with all her might but all she could feel was pain in her wrists and ankles due to the ropes that bound them. She had achieved nothing despite the struggle.

Where were they taking her? What were they planning to do with her? Liu Ronghua had so many questions in her mind but she could not ask them with her mouth sealed shut.

Liu Ronghua stared at the man sitting opposite her, trying to get him to untie her or at least remove the tape on her mouth. However, the man closed his eyes and ignored her, covering himself with a jacket before continuing his slumber.

Her heart raced at an incredible speed as anxiety started to consume her. She did not dare to fall asleep either. Obviously, these men were not kind individuals, so what exactly were they planning to do with her?

Liu Ronghua recalled that she was sitting in Chang Jingqiu’s car when her head was enveloped by a cloth bag all of a sudden. Then, she understood everything. This was Chang Jingqiu’s doing!

Chang Jingqiu was unwilling to pay Liu Ronghua but she was worried about the disclosure of her true identity, so she ordered a kidnap attempt on Liu Ronghua.

Chang Jingqiu was indeed a vicious lady with a malicious mind!

Liu Ronghua really wanted to remove the tape on her mouth and explain to the kidnappers. She would provide more money than what Chang Jingqiu paid them initially, but these men were determined to ignore her.

Finally, the sun had risen after Liu Ronghua rocked in the van for the whole night. She did not get much sleep throughout the night because of her anxiousness.

Her eyelids would shut for a while when she could no longer bear the sleepiness, but would always jolt awake after some time.

The ashen-faced Liu Ronghua appeared haggard and the wrinkles on her face were more prominent. Moreover, the tape which remained on her lips made her breathless and incredibly uncomfortable.

Furthermore, she had not eaten after being kidnapped yesterday, so she was famished and felt very light-headed from hunger.

The van parked at a rest area located next to the highway after a long drive for them to switch drivers. One of the kidnappers went to the convenience store and purchased a bag of bread and ham sausages to split among the kidnappers.

The scent of cheap bread and sausages felt irresistible as hunger gnawed at Liu Ronghua. The urge to eat was so strong that she had to swallow back a pool of saliva even though the scent emitted from the sausages were from food additives.

“She hasn’t eaten for a long time. Should we give some of the food to her?” The man opposite her asked the man in the passenger seat while gulping down the food.

“No, it’ll be troublesome if she starts making noise once the tape is removed. Besides, she won’t cause trouble upon arrival when she’s hungry and weak,” the man in the passenger seat replied coldly.

“You’re really not going to give her food?” the man opposite her asked in shock.

“Since when are you so kind?” the driver asked with food in his mouth. One of his hands was holding the bread while another was on the steering wheel.

The man sitting opposite her remained silent and finished the bread and sausage quickly.

Liu Ronghua’s eyes widened in disbelief. She did not expect that these men planned to starve her throughout the journey.

Where were they taking her? How long was the journey? How long did she have to starve?

Fear tortured her guts, churning her stomach in intense cramps. She had never experienced any suffering in her life because men with different financial status complied to her in relationships, but now she was being kidnapped. Her life was in danger.

Tears started to stream down her cheeks out of fear. She missed living leisurely in her home and the gated community. How luxurious her life was when the sun shone brightly in her home.

Soon, Liu Ronghua became emaciated due to intense hunger and dehydration. Even though she was too frightened to fall asleep, her consciousness would still fade away due to her lack of energy.

The van bumped along the rutted and desolate roads while Liu Ronghua remained unconscious. Occasionally, there would be a few dilapidated houses along the unpaved roads. Judging by the broken roof tiles from those houses, it was obvious that the residents in this area lived a difficult life and that each meal would not satisfy their appetites.

The roads remained bumpy as the van traveled further into the mountain. The van drove along the rugged mountain path and finally stopped upon reaching an area close to the mountain top.

There were a few houses along the road at the mountainside, and they looked more ramshackled than the houses near the foot of the mountain. There were hardly any visitors in the area, so it was a rare sight for a modernized vehicle to appear in such a desolate place, hence the noise emitted from the van attracted the attention of children and women.

All the children appeared filthy—as if the dirt were literally smeared across their faces. Their initial black hair had turned slightly yellow as they were caked in dried mud after not being washed for a long period of time. All the boys and girls’ cheeks were flushed red as the wind blew consistently on them, but they were tainted by the dirt that appeared to be glued on them all these while.

The girls were wearing faded patched-up clothes while the shirts on the boys were ripped. The only similarity between them was the broken and dirty shoes.

However, these remained unknown to the unconscious Liu Ronghua, and naturally she did not hear an elderly woman yelling out of exhilaration, “Crippled Wang’s wife arrived?”

“Judging from the direction, I think they’re going to the Wang house. Let’s check it out.”

“Crippled Wang finally married a wife!”

The children even clapped their hands and joined in the fun at once.

“Crippled Wang’s wife! Crippled Wang’s wife!”

The women marched up the mountain as the children followed closely behind and yelled, “Crippled Wang remained single even though he’s in his late forties now. I wonder how does his wife looks like this time.”

“Never mind the looks. It’s good enough to have a wife to warm the bed and serve him. He doesn’t have a choice too even if she’s a yaksha¹.”

“You bet! It’ll be hectic if she’s really a yaksha! He doesn’t even have an attitude of a man thanks to his ferocious mom. His house will be turned upside down if his wife is another ferocious woman. I don’t believe that the old lady will tolerate a ferocious daughter-in-law.”

“Hey, his wife will be tortured by the old lady if she’s a naive one.”

“I wonder how old is Crippled Wang’s wife.”

“She must be young since it’s difficult to kidnap an older woman. Usually, they’ll sell their young children when facing financial difficulties.”

“Isn’t that too rewarding for Crippled Wang?”

“Not necessarily in my opinion. You know of our village’s condition. All of us are poor and Crippled Wang is the poorest among us. How much do you think he can pay? You can’t buy a young and strong wife for a cheap price.”

In actuality, these women were sold to this village too.

Some of them were sold directly by their parents to the human traffickers, and some of them were kidnapped. This village was considered the most reputed wife-purchasing village in the area.

This village was slowly closed off to the public due to poor economic status and its location. Its remote area makes transportation a huge inconvenience. Outsiders had trouble visiting and the villagers did not have any means to leave the mountain. There were not many villagers in this area and all of them lived a self-sustaining life, managing to survive based on their farms alone. Every month, they would spend a few days on the road travelling to a market by oxcarts to purchase some fabric to make clothes, which would last them for years.

It was expected that no woman was willing to marry into this village because of its terrible economic status and remote location, which does not even have any other shops or villages nearby, so the only choice left was to buy wives.

The family would start saving up money if a boy was born. If any woman in the same village was willing to be a bride, then the male would give the money he saved as the bridewealth. The only problem was that there were many intermarriages within the village and most of them were related to certain degrees.

Initially, some took the risk to allow consanguineous marriages, but the offsprings were usually born with genetic disorders in the form of mental or physical disabilities. It was impossible for them to raise a deformed child when they were faced with financial difficulties in the first place. Thus, all who were born unhealthy would be thrown into the mountain to face his inevitable fate.

None dared to allow consanguineous marriage after a few attempts, so they were left with no choice but to buy wives by paying human traffickers with their savings.

If they bought a young girl, they would treat her as a child bride who would assist in house chores too. The adult women were more troublesome as they would attempt to escape after being sold, but they would behave themselves after taking a few beatings.

The women who were chatting at the moment had the same experiences. They felt unwilling when they first came and had suffered a great deal too, but they accepted their fates after getting used to it for a long time, counting their remaining lives with each passing day. Whenever there were new women who were sold to the village, they would gloat over their misfortunes.

The crowd had reached Crippled Wang’s house after chatting for some time.

They saw two figures standing at the doorstep. One of them was a woman in her sixties. Her white hair was tied behind her and no one would dare to provoke her just by the look of her face—fierce and cruel.

The old lady was of medium height but her built was humongous. She was involved in heavy work all her life and every movement radiated power.

Beside the old lady stood a man with a crutch who appeared to be in his forties. His hair was almost the same as those children and women along the road—caked in dry mud, yellowish and oily. This sort of appearance was unsightly and intolerable.

A fragile woman whose face appeared battered and pale laid down before the duo. Obviously, she was tortured on her way to this village but one could still visualize that this lady lived a prosperous life in the city before.

This lady had smooth skin despite being middle-aged, and the outfits on her appeared exquisite too. The villagers were poor and only a few could afford televisions with limited channels, such as CCTV channels one to eight. The women in the village figured that the outfits Liu Ronghua wore was much more exquisite and expensive than those in televisions.

Mother Wang stared coldly at Liu Ronghua who remained unknowing of the current situation with intense dissatisfaction. “We spent so much money on this ill lady!”

On the other hand, Crippled Wang was quite satisfied with Liu Ronghua’s beauty. Moreover, he had never tasted a woman before despite his age and now that he finally had a wife, he had to fight the urge to experience the euphoric bliss.

“Mom, they explained just now, right? They didn’t provide her with any food in fear that she would cause trouble on the road, so she’s unconscious now. She should be fine after having some food, and she can start working for us once she regains her energy,” Crippled Wang explained before shifting his center of gravity to his unaffected leg and poked Liu Ronghua’s face with his crutch.

Mother Wang remained unhappy and spat on the unconscious Liu Ronghua. “We need to waste food on this money-wasting b*tch. How much food does she have to eat after starving for days? Judging by her delicacy, she doesn’t look like one who knows how to work too. I was told that she created trouble on her way here, so she must be unwilling to marry you and work for us, but don’t you worry, give her to me. I’ll be sure to teach her a lesson until she learns her place.”