B5SB -Chapter 36 Awakening

When Gu Yihan regained consciousness, it was already the next morning. Her head felt fuzzy. She tried to lift her hands to rub her temples, only to realize that both of her hands were bound.

She struggled to open her eyes and take in her surroundings. The walls around her were rough, uneven stone, and the faint light from outside barely reached the dim interior. Was she in a cave?

Her hands and feet were tied, and she had been tossed carelessly into this natural cave. Lying on the ground, she didn’t dare make a sound.

When she heard movement, she quickly shut her eyes and pretended to be unconscious.

She felt the approach of two sets of footsteps stopping in front of her.

One of the men, with a roguish air, said, “This little girl is so tender… Since the boss isn’t here, shall we have some fun first?”

Gu Yihan’s body stiffened. A chill ran from head to toe. Her hands, tied behind her back, trembled violently, and cold sweat soaked her back.

Another man kicked the speaking man with his foot. “Are you crazy? The boss wants this woman alive—she’s valuable!”

From the tone, Gu Yihan could tell that the man speaking from behind was older.

“Hmph, after all that effort to tie up this woman, we can’t even enjoy her. Besides, the boss isn’t here. If you don’t tell and I don’t tell, no one will know anyway!”

The roguish man was persistent. Looking at her, he thought, Her skin… so white, shining, delicate, and smooth. Must feel incredible to touch.

The older man, worried the younger one couldn’t control his lust, pushed him away. “Go check if the kids in the other part of the cave have woken up.”

“How could they? I gave them plenty of drugs. They’ll be out for two full days and nights,” he said, moving in the other direction.

After a while, the roguish man returned. “I’ve never failed when I give drugs.”

Lying on the ground, Gu Yihan carefully half-opened her eyes. From above, if one wasn’t looking closely, she still appeared unconscious.

She saw a young man, around twenty, leaning against the cave wall. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to another man. “Wanna smoke?”

The other man had his back to her, his face unclear. He waved his hand.

The young man looked at him with contempt. “What are you pretending? Brother Liang, this is Chinese tobacco—bought on the black market for a piece of three. I wouldn’t even give it away.”

“Don’t know how many kids the boss will bring this time. I heard he grabbed a few rich kids. Moving them is such a hassle.”

Brother Liang spoke then: “We’ll be regrouping tonight.”

“Finally leaving this hellhole. I’ve been cooped up here too long, haven’t had any fun,” the young man said, his face full of lewd intent.

Gu Yihan sensed his gaze sweeping toward her. Terrified, she immediately shut her eyes. His look was like a venomous snake, probing her.

The young man, annoyed, stomped over to her and kicked her several times. “Damn it, useless piece of meat.”

Gu Yihan bit her lip hard to keep herself from crying out in pain.

Brother Liang grabbed his arm. “Gangzi, that’s enough. If you hurt her, we can’t sell her for a good price.”

Gangzi shook off Brother Liang’s grip. “Bah! You act all righteous, like you don’t play with women yourself.”

“Do as you please. I’m going down the mountain to vent.” He turned to leave.

Brother Liang stopped him. “The boss said, no one leaves the mountain until they’re back. You’ll expose us.”

Gangzi, fuming, pointed at Brother Liang. “You know I only care about women, yet you go and bring a beautiful one right in front of me!”

“If you can’t go out for fun, fine, then let me have this woman,” Gangzi said, his eyes leering at Gu Yihan on the ground.

Gu Yihan’s heart tightened at his words.

Brother Liang suddenly grabbed his pointing finger and twisted it hard.

“Ah! Brother Liang, let go, let go!” Gangzi tried with his other hand to pry Brother Liang off.

“This woman is going to be sold at a high price across the sea, not for you to touch,” Brother Liang said, tossing Gangzi a long distance away.

Gangzi clutched his injured hand, furious. “I’m going to piss,” he muttered, and stormed out of the cave.

Cursing all the way, he said, “What the hell? You think if you stop me from finding women, I won’t?!”

He walked for a long time before leaving the dense forest. Seeing a large tree, he kicked it in frustration. “Who in their right mind comes into these mountains?”

Brother Liang looked at his watch. Gangzi had been gone for so long and hadn’t returned, clearly ignoring his warning.

“Damn fool. He’ll die for women sooner or later.”

He angrily went to another cave, where five kids lay unconscious.

Hearing Brother Liang leave, Gu Yihan carefully opened her eyes and, using her awareness, located a small knife in her space.

With her hands tied behind her back, she cautiously reversed the knife and began sawing at the ropes binding her.

Time dragged on. She was almost in tears—why was this old knife so dull? The rope wouldn’t cut!

Just as her grip began to fail, the ropes finally gave way.

She joyfully tried to cut the restraints on her feet, but hearing footsteps, she quickly lay back in her original position.

Brother Liang entered, looking at her unconscious form. Finding no sign of awakening, he found a clean spot, sat down, and closed his eyes, pretending to nap.

Gu Yihan secretly peeked at him, catching a glimpse of his face in the faint light from outside the cave. She quickly shut her eyes again, knowing these traffickers were desperate criminals—extremely cautious.

Time slowly passed. Relying on intuition, Gu Yihan guessed it should be around lunchtime, her own stomach protesting.

Brother Liang had walked back and forth between the two caves several times, but she hadn’t yet managed to cut the restraints on her feet.

Each time he returned quickly, her mental defenses were about to collapse. She had never felt time move so slowly.

“Gurgle… gurgle…” What’s that? Gu Yihan panicked, thinking it was her stomach. She slowed her breathing.

“Gurgle… gurgle…” That was the trafficker’s stomach.

Gu Yihan’s heart lifted. She waited patiently.

Soon, Brother Liang stood and paced. “Damn, Gangzi is useless. Didn’t eat last night, too.”

The two should have taken turns for meals today, but that fool went out.

Finally, Brother Liang left the cave as well.