TDU Chapter 382
TL Note: Warning, from this chapter onward, Lawyer Zhang’s backstory will contain distressing content, including but not limited to physical violence, confinement, sexual assault, and suicidal thoughts. Reader discretion is advised.
Translate Checked by Molly Z
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Chapter 382 Bride Price
I swallowed lightly. I hadn’t eaten anything for nearly a whole day, not even drunk water.
But could I really drink this cup of milk?
I lifted it and sniffed carefully, there was no strange odor. Cautiously, I took a tiny sip.
The moment it touched my mouth, I immediately spat it out. It was bitter, and was probably spoiled. Thankfully, I hadn’t swallowed it.
If I had drunk it, I’d likely have diarrhea in the middle of the night. I could endure a poor environment, but a poor toilet? That I really couldn’t tolerate.
I tossed the milk out the window, then grabbed my phone and sent Xiao Sun a WeChat message: “Can you come pick me up a bit earlier tomorrow? I’ll wait at the location I shared with you earlier. Call me when you arrive.”
“No problem, jie,” Xiao Sun replied instantly. “I should be there around seven.”
“Make sure to stay safe.”
“Don’t worry, jie. Go to bed early, I’ll bring you breakfast.”
His message put me at ease. As the night breeze slowly drifted through the window, sleep quickly came over me.
…
In a daze, I heard voices chatting in my room.
But for some reason, I couldn’t open my eyes.
A woman said, "You henpecked fool, how much ya put in there? Don’t go poisonin’ her now! Killin’s against the law, ya know."
A man replied, "Relax, it’ll lay out a couple pigs, but it ain’t deadly for folks."
Woman: "That so? Well I’ll be... you ol’ henpecked fool actually came up with somethin’ like this. In a bit, get Chengcai to help ya haul her off. We done already took their money—shoot, a hundred thousand ain’t no small sum."
Man: "Quit yer squabblin’ now, whoever wants it done can be the one to haul her. Just give ’im a call, why don’t ya."
A chill ran through me. Something was wrong.
I could hear what they were saying, but I couldn’t open my eyes.
It was as if I had fallen into a pitch-black pit, all the light slowly drifting away from me.
What’s happening to me?
When I could finally open my eyes, I felt utterly weak.
My head was spinning, and everything before me was a blur. I vaguely sensed that I was in a very small room, the floor covered entirely with dry straw.
It took a few seconds for me to realize that I was truly somewhere completely unfamiliar. I hurriedly reached for my phone only to find it was gone.
I was lying barefoot on the straw, it was extremely uncomfortable.
I furrowed my brow slowly… what was going on?
I could never have imagined my own parents acting so absurdly.
They had locked me up?
How ridiculous.
“Hey!” I pounded on the old wooden door. “What are you doing?! If you have something to say, open the door and talk! This is illegal! Do you hear me?”
To my surprise, there was only silence outside, as if no one were there at all.
Wait… did they go hold the wedding?
Then… where exactly am I right now?
I had never seen this room before, was it built in the years I’d been away?
Or…
Putting together the half-dream, half-awake words I had overheard, an even more terrifying thought circled in my mind—
Had I been sold?
Absurd. Completely absurd!
Those were my own parents!
I came back this time without a car or money—what possible sense did locking me up make?
I hurried to calm myself and began searching for anything in the room I could use. The good news was that no one seemed to be watching nearby, giving me a chance to escape. The bad news was that the room appeared to contain nothing but dry straw.
The mudbrick room was plainly aged within, with a small window resting high upon one of the walls. Even if I could climb up, I probably couldn’t fit through such a tiny window.
So I could only focus my gaze back on the wooden door before me.
As long as I could break through this wooden door, I should still be able to escape.
I stepped back a few paces, took a running start, and slammed my full weight against the door, but the next moment, I heard the clanging of iron chains.
I instantly realized that the door was secured with a very tight lock. Even if I managed to smash the door, I couldn’t break the chains.
So banging on the door was definitely a bad idea.
The best course now was to conserve my strength. I could only wait for them to open the door themselves, then figure out a way to escape.
If I wasted too much energy trying to break the door, I’d exhaust myself and draw unnecessary attention.
With that thought, I slowly sat down in a corner, trying to calm myself.
No matter what happened, a person could only rely on themselves. Calmness was the key.
But I did not think that a day would pass in waiting.
Within the stifling heat, my lips cracked with thirst, having taken neither a drop nor a bite, my body nearing collapse from dehydration.
The priority now was to preserve my fluids and stamina, or I won’t have the means to run.
They truly were beyond reason.
Even if they were my family, I would make sure they went to prison.
It wasn’t until night fell and the light in the room dimmed that the iron chains outside the door finally rattled.
My heart immediately leapt into my throat. To be honest, I was a little afraid.
For humans, the scariest thing is always the unknown.
But I quickly calmed myself. Whoever opened the door had guts, illegal detention or depriving someone of their freedom can be punished by up to three years in prison, criminal detention, or parole.
They ended up securing their own time behind bars.
The lock rattled, and the wooden door in front of me was suddenly flung open with force. A tall man appeared in the doorway.
Unfortunately, his build resembled neither the old man nor Chengcai, it was someone unknown.
{Click}!
A beam of flashlight suddenly shone on my face, and I hurriedly shut my eyes.
“Awake, huh?”
The light was too strong for me to make out his face.
“You…” I wanted to say something, but fear held me back.
After a long pause, the man began, “Don’t remember laozi? Want me to spell it out who I am?"
His voice was rough and unpleasant, as if he had swallowed sand.
“N–No need to introduce yourself,” I swallowed hard and said. "I suggest you cease your actions immediately. I suspect you’ve detained me for over twenty-four hours, which amounts to the crime of {false imprisonment}. Everything you say from now on will be recorded and used as evidence against you."
I was such a fool, so terrified I scarcely knew what I was saying.
“Huh?”
The man paused, then slowly stepped forward.
I was crouched on the floor, feeling vulnerable, so I immediately stood up.
As long as I could find an opening, I could make a break past him.
What I least expected was that the man would hurl a kick directly at my stomach.
I had never been beaten like this in my life. My stomach felt as if it were churning violently, and I couldn’t straighten my back at all.
He shoved me to the ground and kicked me repeatedly. My mouth kept spewing sour bile, and I felt my consciousness slipping away.
“Bad woman! Bad woman!” He shouted as he continued to kick me. "Laozi done gave yer ma a hundred thousand! She took the bride price! And you talk to laozi like that?!"
“Wha…?”
Even though my whole body ached, his words sent a chill down me.
“Bride price?”
He paused, then slowly raised the flashlight to his face.
The light shone from below, revealing his horrifying features—a fifty-year-old face, covered in acne.
He was the village butcher, surnamed Ma. I had known of him since I was a child.
He was wealthy, but ugly, short-tempered, and spent his days either drinking or playing cards. For years, no one dared approach him.
But… why?
Why had my family… accepted his bride price?
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
