Chapter 29: Spark it aflame (2)
Wo Na didn’t say anything else. She took out a quilt for Chi Xin and said: “You are lucky, there is a message from Ji You. It says you shouldn’t be given to the leader tonight…”
There was a trace of fear in her eyes: “Although I don’t know how you got protection from that man, it will help you for now.”
The survival mechanism of the Longteng Base had not been explained in the movie and Chi Xin asked as she grabbed the blanket: “Are all the new girls sent to the leader upon arrival? What kind of person is he? And who is Ji You to hold so much power here?”
Wo Na’s expression became solemn: “It’s not in your best interest for you to know too much.”
Chi Xin smiled and added a hint of lightness in her tone: “I’m here now anyway, what’s the difference between learning about it today or tomorrow?”
This sentence made Wo Na pause and look at Chi Xin rather oddly, somewhat surprised and confused.
“What’s wrong?” Chi Xin asked.
“You’re not quite what I thought…” Wo Na stopped and her voice hardened again, “Actually, this is no secret. The leader of this base is called Song Liangping. I don’t know who he was, what he did before, or even how, but all the girls who come to the base must be given to him to enjoy first, before being sent as presents for the men who have contributed to the base.”
This was similar to Chi Xin’s guess and she nodded in a daze.
Chi Xin opened the window and let the cold wind from the top of the mountain enter the room. In order to prevent these girls from escaping, the men of the base had purposely built their houses on a cliff.
In the front, there was the base and in the back, a precipice. There was really no way to escape.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and close the window!” Wo Na urged, “There is no fire at night, we will freeze to death!”
Chi Xin didn’t oblige and turned around instead.
“Wo Na, do you believe in fate?”
The woman was startled: “Fate?”
“Do you believe that this is how the world should be? Do you believe your life can only be this?”
Chi Xin took off her scarf and her hat. The cold light of the moon and the darkness of the sky reflected in her eyes as her long black hair cascaded around her.
Wo Na stared at Chi Xin in a daze and a faint flame in her heart she had long forgotten about suddenly came to life.
But she immediately put it off.
“Impossible.” Her face was cold, “I advise you not to act rashly so as to not lose your life or hurt others.”
As she wanted to continue to persuade Chi Xin, the door was opened violently by a man. Wo Na was taken aback but turned her head to look at the new threat.
Li Cheng, who had been frightened by Chi Xin before, walked in. His gaze swept across Wo Na before falling on Chi Xin, and a trace of obsession and greed flashed in his eyes.
“Little girl, you are called Chi Xin, right?” Li Cheng said, “Our boss is asking for you.”
Chi Xin raised her eyebrows. Was Ji You supposed to protect her for the night? It seemed that he was not as powerful as Wo Na thought.
Chi Xin didn’t answer but Wo Na rushed: “Why is he asking for her?” She asked anxiously, “Ji You clearly said…”
When he heard the second half of her words, Li Cheng suddenly felt happy.
“Are you actually willing to teach her?” His lecherous eyes swept over Wo Na’s breast, “What are you going to teach her? How to hide a knife and stab a man’s head?”
A hint of shame and indignation flashed across Wo Na’s face but she stood firmly in front of Chi Xin.
“Brother Cheng…”
“Enough.” Li Cheng interrupted her, his patience clearly running out, “The boss wants her and will get her. If he’s not happy, he will send someone to get you later.”
Chi Xin watched the exchange silently. When Wo Na had stood in front of her to deal with Li Cheng, she had not been surprised.
Wo Na’s waist had already been hit and already knew she wouldn’t be able to walk tomorrow. She was already bracing herself for the upcoming abuse and her expression changed; she closed her eyes in despair and a cry interrupted her familiar beating.
“Ah—”
The sharp pain she was waiting for didn’t come and she opened her eyes in astonishment. The man who was about to show off his power was now clutching his waist and fell to the ground embarrassedly, his face distorted with pain.
“Who! Who attacked me?!”
Li Cheng roared and his voice echoed in the endless cliff. He had no idea this pain was a gift from Chi Xin, whom he had left inside the room as he grabbed his waist and got up, running out of the hut in a limp.