The Quagmire of Desire: From Gambling Addict and Village Flower to Movie Queen

With a click, the door to the woodshed was pushed open.

Dog Egg stood at the doorway carrying two bowls of murky water, which emitted a strange smell.

He squeezed into the woodshed and threw the bowl on the ground.

"I drank it."

Sun Xiaoyan looked up at him, her eyes bloodshot.

Liu Meiling leaned against the wall without moving, and asked in a hoarse voice, "What is this?"

"Good stuff." Gou Dan chuckled, squatted down, and brought the bowl to Liu Meiling's lips. "Drinking this will give you energy, and we have plenty of activities tonight."

Liu Meiling turned her head away.

Dog Egg's face darkened. He grabbed her hair with one hand and shoved the bowl to her lips with the other: "Drink! Don't fucking make me do it!"

Liu Meiling was pulled back and her head tilted back. The rim of the bowl hit her front teeth, and the murky water flowed down her chin and into her throat.

She choked a little, but still managed to pour more than half the water into the bowl.

Gou Dan let go of her and turned to look at Sun Xiaoyan.

Sun Xiaoyan huddled in the corner, trembling.

"Stop dawdling." Gou Dan picked up another bowl, squatted down in front of her, and said, "You drink too, so you won't be weak later."

Sun Xiaoyan shook her head.

Without saying a word, Gou Dan grabbed her cheek and pinched her with his fingers, almost crushing her teeth, and shoved the rim of the bowl to her mouth.

Sun Xiaoyan choked and tears streamed down her face. Water went down her throat, and a medicinal taste rose from her throat.

She coughed for quite a while.

After drinking two bowls of water, Gou Dan stood up satisfied and clapped his hands: "Alright, there'll be a show to watch soon."

After he finished speaking, he walked out and locked the door again.

Sun Xiaoyan lay on the haystack, feeling her stomach churning.

Not long after, a warm current rose from my stomach, like I had drunk two ounces of liquor, and my whole body began to feel weak.

"Meiling..." she called out.

Liu Meiling leaned against the wall, her face flushed, her breathing became heavy, and her eyes welled up with tears.

The door opened again.

Gou Dan walked in and, without saying a word, grabbed Liu Meiling's arm and dragged her outside.

Liu Meiling was dragged out, staggering, while Sun Xiaoyan was pulled up by another man. Her legs were weak and she could not stand steadily.

All the lights in the yard were on.

Sun Xiaoyan was dragged to the center of the courtyard, where the ground was muddy and people were all around her.

The men formed a circle, some sitting on benches smoking, some squatting on the ground, and some leaning against the wall, all watching them.

The woman stood at the kitchen door, holding a cleaver, her face expressionless.

Erniu stood at the front of the courtyard, grinning and clapping his hands: "Folks, the show is starting!"

A cacophony of laughter.

Some people whistled, and some people banged on the table.

Sun Xiaoyan stood there, her whole body burning up from the inside out.

The medicine's effects surged through her limbs like flames, burning her until she couldn't control her body.

She tried to stand up straight, but her legs were so weak they were trembling.

She tried to clench her fist, but her fingers wouldn't work.

Liu Meiling stood next to her, in a similar condition, swaying slightly, her hair disheveled on her face, her eyes half-open and half-closed.

Erniu dragged another person out of the house.

It was the same bride from the daytime, her mouth still stuffed with red cloth, her hands still bound, being pushed forward by Erniu.

The bride's dress was torn to shreds, revealing her white underwear underneath. There were several red marks on her legs, and she was trembling as she stepped on the muddy ground.

"Three of you jump together!" Erniu shouted, raising his hand. "The best jumper gets five yuan!"

The villagers smiled again.

Someone shouted, "Take it off! What's the point of watching someone dance dressed up!"

"Exactly, dancing naked is what makes a show!"

Sun Xiaoyan's mind was buzzing.

The effects of the medicine surged up in waves, and her body began to writhe uncontrollably.

It wasn't her idea to jump.

She simply couldn't control herself.

The medication was forcing her.

The feeling was strange. I was terrified and wanted to crouch down and curl up, but my body bounced up like a shrimp that had been scalded by hot water. My waist started to sway and my hips started to twist.

His fingers began to tremble in rhythm.

The arm rises up on its own and swings above the head.

She gritted her teeth, trying to suppress the urge, but she couldn't.

It's getting hotter.

It's even itchier now.

Liu Meiling had already jumped up.

Her movements were larger than Sun Xiaoyan's; her waist twisted like a snake, her head swung back and forth, and her hair drew arcs in the air.

The villagers' clamor grew louder.

"well!"

"That sexy girl's dancing is so energetic!"

"Take off your clothes! Take off your clothes!"

Sun Xiaoyan saw her hand reach towards her collar.

She didn't want to.

She wanted to stop.

But the medicine was like an invisible hand pushing her arm, pushing her to unbutton her clothes.

One button at a time, the buttons were undone, and the coarse cloth jacket slipped off the shoulders, revealing the white skin of the shoulders.

A cool breeze blew, and she shivered, goosebumps rising on her arms.

The jacket fell off and landed on the ground.

She stood shirtless under the light, her breasts swaying and dazzlingly white.

The villagers' laughter grew even louder.

Some clapped, some whistled, and some shouted, "Take off your pants! Take off your pants!"

Liu Meiling also took her clothes off.

She was much faster than Sun Xiaoyan; she quickly ripped off her top and started writhing naked under the lights.

She was hit in the chest by a peanut.

Liu Meiling shuddered, looked down, and saw a peanut rolling onto the ground.

Another peanut came flying at her, hitting her chest and bouncing to the ground.

The villagers were laughing hysterically.

"Keep smashing! Keep smashing!"

"Let's see who can hit the target accurately!"

The bride also stood under the lights, her body hunched over, tears streaming down her face from the red cloth.

She didn't dance.

She stood motionless, trembling like a leaf, her two bound hands clenched together, her knuckles white.

Erniu walked over and slapped her on the back of the head: "Jump!"

The bride was knocked forward and stumbled, but after standing up, she remained motionless.

Erniu raised his hand again to strike.

The bride suddenly turned around and faced Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling.

Her eyes peeked out from under the red cloth; they were red and wet.

Her mouth was gagged, so she couldn't speak, but her mouth was moving, making very soft sounds.

Sun Xiaoyan's body was moving, but she could hear it.

It was almost inaudible amidst the commotion, but she still heard it.

"...Help me..."

Sun Xiaoyan's heart sank, and her consciousness cleared slightly.

"I am Chen Xiaodie, a college student from D University... I was abducted..."

The bride's voice was very soft and dry, as if it were being squeezed out of her throat.

"Please... save me..."

Before she could finish speaking, Erniu kicked her in the waist.

The bride was kicked to the ground, clutching her waist, her face flushed red, and tears streamed down her face even more profusely.

"Don't listen to her nonsense." Erniu said coldly, pointing at Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling, "Just dance honestly and stop thinking nonsense."

Sun Xiaoyan's mind was still buzzing.

The drug took effect again, and my body started to twist uncontrollably again.

Her pants had slipped down at some point, exposing her bare buttocks, which looked stark white under the light.

She closed her eyes and stopped looking at anything.

The music stopped at some point.

When she opened her eyes, she was already standing in the middle of the courtyard, completely naked, her body chilled by the wind.

The effects of the medicine were slowly wearing off, and consciousness was gradually returning.

She looked around.

The people in the courtyard dispersed, leaving behind peanut shells, melon seed shells, and a few crumpled five-yuan bills scattered on the ground.

Liu Meiling sat next to her, naked, hugging her knees, staring at the ground, seemingly looking at something.

The bride was dragged back by Erniu, and it's unknown which room she was taken to.

Sun Xiaoyan's gaze swept across the corner of the courtyard.

A middle-aged woman squatted at the kitchen door, head down, chopping vegetables.

She was wearing a patched-up jacket, her hair was tied up haphazardly, her face was covered in deep wrinkles, and she had heavy dark circles under her eyes.

She was holding a child in her arms, a little over a year old, who was crying.

The woman didn't try to coax her; she just continued chopping vegetables, the knife striking the wooden board with even, dull sounds.

When the child started crying loudly, she stopped, patted the child's back twice, and then returned her hand to the kitchen knife.

The sound of a kitchen knife and a child's hoarse cries alternated, like someone slowly keeping time.

Sun Xiaoyan looked at her.

Watching her chop vegetables, her movements were neither fast nor slow, one stroke at a time.

The child's cries grew louder and louder, but the woman still didn't try to comfort him; she just kept chopping vegetables and patting his back—as if she hadn't heard him at all.

Liu Meiling saw it too.

Liu Meiling lowered her voice: "Did you see that?"

Sun Xiaoyan nodded.

"That woman," Liu Meiling said very softly, "looks like she was also abducted."

Sun Xiaoyan did not speak.

She stared at the woman.

The woman looked up and glanced in their direction.

The two looked at each other for a second.

The woman lowered her head and continued the repetitive motion of chopping vegetables and patting her back.

She saw the child in the woman's arms, who was about a year old, thin and small, and whose cries were hoarse.

Sun Xiaoyan suddenly remembered the women she saw in the village when she was a child. They were just like that, holding their children, working hard without saying a word.

Were they also trafficked?

Do they all want to escape?

Why didn't they escape?

She didn't know the answer.

All she saw was the woman's hand patting the child's back continuously.

Until someone came over, grabbed their arms, and dragged them back to the woodshed.

Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling collapsed on the haystack.

Through the crack in the door, they saw that the courtyard had become lively again.

Several men dragged a woman in red out of the west room; she was the bride.

They dragged her toward the house next door.

The bride struggled and kicked desperately. The red cloth in her mouth had already been torn off, and she cried out, "Help! Help—"

The sound carried very far in the night.

Everyone in the courtyard was watching.

Some people were laughing, some were smoking, and some were playing mahjong.

No one stood up.

Erniu stood at the doorway, laughing and scolding, "Behave yourselves, these two will be my bridesmaids another day!"

Sun Xiaoyan felt cold all over.

She heard the bride crying coming from the other room.

The crying was intermittent, sometimes loud, sometimes soft, and sometimes silent.

Then came the crying.

Later, the crying stopped.

Sun Xiaoyan lay sprawled on the haystack, her eyes fixed on the dark ceiling of the woodshed, unable to see anything.

"That woman," Liu Meiling suddenly spoke, "why didn't she escape when she could?"

Sun Xiaoyan shook her head: "Perhaps... the child is trapped."

In the darkness, neither of them spoke.

Sun Xiaoyan was thinking about that woman, and about the child in her arms.

Thinking of her hands as she chopped vegetables, and her hands as she patted the child.

Thinking about the way she looked at me.

What's in that glance?

It wasn't a cry for help.

It wasn't out of sympathy.

Yes--

Sun Xiaoyan couldn't say what it was.

"I won't be trapped," Liu Meiling suddenly said in a very soft voice.

Sun Xiaoyan did not respond.

Only the sound of breathing and the clatter of cards being played in the distant courtyard could be heard in the woodshed.