CHAPTER 36: 36

The human traffickers didn’t know Lan Tian had regained consciousness and were speaking in low voices.

"This time we should be able to sell for a big price. I heard from those people that there’s a wealthy family in Shangjing wanting to buy a child bride. This time we found a good one. They said money is not an issue, and they quoted this amount, haha." The sly-looking man gestured a number, thinking about the money that would be enough to buy a new house, and the simple-looking man also laughed.

This voice was unfamiliar; it must have been another human trafficker who had drugged her. Lan Tian gritted her teeth fiercely, good, I’ll remember both of you. Daring to kidnap me, not knowing the word ’death’, just watch; once I escape and tell Uncle Fei, he’ll beat them until they cry for their mothers, not even recognizing their own mothers.

Lan Tian furrowed her brows; the matters of this world were vastly different from her past life. In her previous life, she didn’t have this encounter because she stayed at home, not accompanying Grandma Sun to the market, so there was no trafficker to catch her.

Could it be that she had to follow the trajectory of her previous life? That way there would be no accidents?

The thought of having to fight with Bai Lianhua over men in the future made Lan Tian shudder. Forget it; she’d rather be without a man for life than live such a treacherous and thrilling life.

"Shangjing is so far away, if she’s sold that far, her family will definitely not be able to find her. What about the others sold there? Did they say how much they were quoted?" Thinking about the unsatisfactory prices from the previous few times, the simple-looking man inquired about the price this time. The money came down layer by layer and ended up not being much in their hands.

Lan Tian would never forget this voice. It was this simple-looking man who asked her, which led to her being drugged. According to the traffickers, there were several others; so many children disappeared from the market at once, yet these traffickers were not discovered, how careless the parents must be.

Listening to bits and pieces, Lan Tian realized these people were kidnappers, specializing in child trafficking, and even across provinces. Listen, there were also children sold to Shangjing, not knowing which unlucky child it was, she never even considered it could be herself.

"To tell the truth, I haven’t seen such a spirited girl around here, raised like a young lady from a wealthy family, not at all like our rural folk, treasured indeed. No wonder that family watched her closely; we almost didn’t have a chance. Lucky for me, I spotted her as soon as I arrived."

The simple-looking man chuckled along, "That’s right, Rat, you’re the more impressive one."

"Someone’s coming, stop talking, hurry and get her up, let’s go quickly. Madman, hurry and drive the cart."

There was another person outside.

This thought flashed through Lan Tian’s mind when suddenly she was thrown onto the hard planks, which made her head see stars and left her dizzy as she felt two people sit on top of her.

"Sitting up properly now, go." Madman saw that the two were seated and whipped the ox, which slowly moved the cart forward.

Lan Tian waited a moment; the two outside did not notice she was awake. She gently arched her body and felt there were several bags around her, probably containing the other drugged children.

Lan Tian was forcing herself to stay conscious, and the fall had made her head spin. The effects of the sedatives were kicking in, her vision darkening intermittently, probably an aftereffect of inhaling sedatives. Her head swayed and she lost consciousness.

In a daze, she heard crying and howling in her ears, the incessant noise annoying her to no end. Lan Tian tossed and turned, the incessant buzzing irritating her. In an outburst of rage, she sat up abruptly and yelled, "Enough with the noise! Who are you crying for? Can’t you let someone sleep?"

The room suddenly went quiet, and upon opening her eyes, Lan Tian saw several snotty-nosed kids across from her. Only then did she realize that she seemed to have been kidnapped by traffickers. She carefully surveyed the room’s surroundings.

It was a strange room, cluttered with dry grass and tree branches, the walls pockmarked and dilapidated, emitting a moldy smell due to long disuse. The door was shut and the outside was not visible.

The room had only one bed, on which a few children about four or five years old sat—three boys and one girl, making five children including Lan Tian.

The children were crying sadly, and upon seeing Lan Tian abruptly sit up, everyone looked at her. After a brief silence, they continued crying.

The children cried out for their fathers and mothers, but no one came in to check, implying no one was guarding outside.

Lan Tian guessed this place must be remote, far from any village, so no matter how much they cried, it wouldn’t reach the village, allowing the traffickers to hide them here without worrying about being found.

Lan Tian got off the bed, went to the door, and tried to pull it, but it wouldn’t budge. Peering through the crack, she saw the outside door was padlocked. Lan Tian then checked the window; only the frame remained, with the bottom half nailed shut with wooden planks and impossible to open. Lan Tian shook it—it was nailed firm.

Only the top half was open, knowing that without a ladder, these children certainly couldn’t climb out, the traffickers couldn’t be bothered to nail it shut.

Through the gaps in the window, she saw that it was all forest outside, with no signs of habitation nearby. The place was so secluded that it was no wonder they weren’t afraid of the children crying out—no one would come even if they cried their throats raw. After making a full round, and finding no hope of escape, Lan Tian sat back down on the bed.

Children went missing in the market, causing widespread panic.

While Mo Junhua and others were searching for Lan Tian, they encountered other parents who had lost children. Everyone talked and realized that it was not just one family that lost a child. Some said they were kidnapped, while others speculated they fell into a pond nearby.

In the end, no one could convince the others, and each went looking for their own child, having described their children’s appearances to one another in case someone saw them and could bring them back. The adults headed towards the places where accidents could have happened.

After several rounds through the market and finding nothing, not even a trace, despair set in as the market closed.

Zhao Li was constantly blaming herself, feeling guilty for not watching her child. Taohua, knowing that Lan Tian was missing, stayed obediently by her father all afternoon, not going anywhere.

The villagers who came together continued to help look until that moment, not even stopping for a drink of water.

With Lan Tian gone, Grandma Sun and Zhao Li were distraught and not at all themselves. Wang Guiyu gave money to Mo Junhua, telling him to go to the bun shop to buy some steamed buns and bread to sustain everyone.