Chapter 29 - Prisoners

"Yi Feng, promise me to never take anything that man gives you! You can't become like him." The boy cried as he promised his mother. "Mother, I'll find who did this to you. I will make sure they're punished. The police would get justice..." Before the boy could speak anymore, he was stopped by his mother. "Yi Feng, don't. You can't do that. This is all that man's fault. You keep away from him and this matter. Do you understand." The woman weakly but insistently looked at him. "NO!" The boy screamed. He was not willing to let go of things that simply. "Listen to me, please," she begged. Seeing his mother like this, the boy promised his her in the end.

- End of flashback -

After that day, he had left that house. Not wanting to have any more connection to the man he had once called father. Changing his name from Su to Li and living with his maternal grandfather. His paternal grandfather had wanted to keep him. Yet, he soon understood that what happened, had left a deep scar on his only grandson. He did not want the child to be more hurt by his own son. Deciding that it had been for the better, he let old master Li take him.

Li Yi Feng's paternal grandfather had tried to contact him on several occasions, but Li Yi Feng wanted nothing to do with the Su family. He blamed them all, even knowing it had been his father's fault did not change anything. To him, they were all to blame. If they had not let his father act as he pleased, always spoiling the only son of Su family, things would never have turn out like this.

After that day, the young and cheerful boy turned distant and cold. Keeping everyone at arms lenght and not getting too attached to anyone.

Arriving, he left the car. Looking at the place long forgotten, he walked in. The little hut, that was placed in the middle of the woods did not look like much. However, Li Yi Feng had spent a lot of time in this forest and knew it as if it was the back of his hand, knew it was more to it than eyes could tell. When he had still been young and ignorant he had been taken here on several occasions. Slowly moving forward, he got into one of the smaller rooms. It was decorated colourfully with toys, seemingly only a child's playroom. Harmless. Yes, that is what it looked like to outsiders. Lifting the carpet, he opened the hidden hatchway to the basement.

Hesitating for a few seconds, he went down the stairs. Noticing the arrival of two new people, the young guard was startled. He had not been told that someone would be arriving today. Looking at the two strangers, he became suspicious. "Hold it! This is private property. How did you get in here?"

Li Yi Feng watched the unfamiliar young man as he stuttered out his questions. Not minding him Ke Ming spoke up. "We have the password, you could do a check. We don't have any time to waste and need to get down to business. Could you hurry it up."

The guard hesitated. He was told to not let anyone unfamiliar in. New to the job, he was unsure of how to proceed. "I can't let you in. Even if you know the code, this is not a place anyone could come and go." Hearing the different voices from outside, someone from the inside shouted. "Hey kid, is everything okay?" Relieved that someone was willing to help, the guard answered. "There are two strangers outside..." Laughter came from the inside. "You're still too soft, newbie. Weren't you told to shoot any trespassers?" The guard paled as he replied. "B-but they're s-saying they have the password."

Unlocking sounds could be heard from the inside and a ruff-looking middle-aged man came out. Annoyed, he looked towards the intruders, curious to find out who would disturb him at this time. When he saw who it was, he froze in shock for a moment. He quickly reacted and greeted. "Young master Su, I'm sorry for not personally welcoming you. We were unaware that you would be coming today."

Li Yi Feng looked displeased as he spoke through gritted teeth. "My surname is Li, not Su." The middle-aged man stiffened for a bit before showing them in. "Young Master, the prisoners that your people brought earlier are kept in one of the dark rooms. Shall I take you there?"

Li Yi Feng slightly nodded. He followed the older man in. Though the man did not call him young master Su anymore, he was not willing to call him young master Li either.

Walking along the pathway, it was just as he remembered. Dark, cold and damp. A mixture of smells ȧssaulted his senses. The putrid smell of blood, sweat, excrement and dirt. A flood of old memories came to the surface. Li Yi Feng clenched his fists. He would get the information he needed, and leave never to come back again.

As they came to a locked room, the man hurriedly opened the door. Inside, a man and a woman were tightly bound together. dirty and ragged, they pathetically laid there. Noticing that someone arrived, they looked up, trying to find someone in the darkness.

"You can't k-keep us like this. It's illegal! Let us go!" Nanny Ye's shrill voice could be heard. But no one answered her screams. Not being able to stand the silence any longer her husband continued to scream. "You criminals! Let us go and we would act as nothing happened. Do you think the authorities would let you go if you keep us any longer!"

The two of them had been forcefully brought back to the country and imprisoned. They had been questioned for hours without food and water. Just when they thought that these people would let them go, they had been transported to another place. This place was dark and foreboding. Though they had just come, this place terrified them. Unable to see anything, they could only listen to the screams coming from around them. Would they be tortured? Finally, when someone came in, they tried acting brave, trying to intimidate the other party into letting them go. But none of this seemed to work. No matter what they said, their jailers kept quiet.

The silence put the couple under more pressure, making them worried. Just when they were unable to bear anymore, an ice-cold voice spoke up, making them feel as if a bucket of ice water was poured over them. "Let you go? You think you'll be able to leave here alive?"