125. Encounters on the Road

Zhang Xuan originally intended to signal Yang Zaixing, but given the darkness, he decided against it. He pulled Yang Zaixing and Nie Zheng close to his side and gestured for silence. He then crouched and moved slowly toward a small mound of earth ahead, taking care not to make a sound. Once there, he pressed his body against the mound to observe their surroundings.

"Did you find anything?" Yang Zaixing whispered.

"I thought I heard something earlier. It might have been a hallucination, but we should be careful. We can't gamble with our lives. Let's scan the area first." Zhang Xuan said, scanning the surroundings. Yang Zaixing and Nie Zheng followed suit.

After they had been lying there for a while and felt that it was safe, they prepared to stand up. Just then, Nie Zheng noticed a flicker of firelight on a path he had been considering. "Brother Zaixing, Brother Xuan, look over there. There's firelight. The stronghold we are looking for must be in that direction."

"Nie Zheng, will they pass through here if they come from that way?" Yang Zaixing asked, watching the firelight as it approached their position.

"I'm not sure, perhaps," Nie Zheng replied, uncertain. He had only taken this route once before.

"Let's move a bit further away first. Let's see the route they take so we don't run into them and end up dead," Zhang Xuan said. He led Yang Zaixing and Nie Zheng as they crawled away. Thanks to this decision, the torchbearers passed exactly where the three had been hiding moments before. Perhaps they thought it was a good spot, or perhaps it was a common resting place for them; they sat down to rest.

The group was now within the sight of the trio. There were five of them, all appearing somewhat weak and frail. However, one should never be deceived by their appearance; when it came to slapping children or whipping them with thin wooden sticks, they were experts.

From their position, Zhang Xuan could barely hear what the men were saying. He tugged at Yang Zaixing’s hand. "Big brother, let's sneak over and take a look. There are only five of them. Let's seize the opportunity." He made a throat-slitting gesture. Yang Zaixing, harboring a deep hatred for human traffickers, nodded coldly without a word.

After speaking with Yang Zaixing, Zhang Xuan glanced at Nie Zheng and saw him with his head bowed, trembling uncontrollably, as if he had seen something that terrified him. Zhang Xuan gently stroked Nie Zheng’s head. "Little Nie Zheng, stay here for now. No matter what you see, do not make a sound. Remember, not a single sound. If someone else approaches you, run away immediately. Do you understand? Since you're with me, this is your first mission. Execute it carefully. Do you hear me?"

Nie Zheng nodded. "I won't make a sound." He then covered his mouth with his hands. Zhang Xuan took off his own leg and arm wraps and gave them to Nie Zheng for safekeeping, telling him to throw them toward any point of disturbance if an emergency arose.

Zhang Xuan and Yang Zaixing slowly crept forward, taking deep breaths to calm their nerves. Despite having mentally rehearsed the plan, they couldn't help but feel tense in the actual execution. Because the distance was short, they soon reached the vicinity of the five men and could clearly hear their conversation.

"I must say, the 'goods' you brought today are not bad at all! Did you mistreat them on the way?" The others burst into laughter.

"They aren't bad, just too noisy. After they realized something was wrong this afternoon, they cried and made a scene. What do you mean 'mistreat'? I'm not that pervert. They're too young; I couldn't bring myself to do it. But thinking about them falling into the hands of that pervert, I do feel it's a pity." The man being teased shuddered involuntarily at the thought of the pervert—a man he had never met but had heard many stories about.

"Don't talk about him. He has a powerful uncle who is the supervisor of this camp. We can't touch him, so leave him be. Let's just do our own work. Though we might be called 'scum' by others, compared to that pervert, I think we're practically saints." The man stood up. "I'm going to relieve myself. Keep talking." He walked toward the direction where Zhang Xuan and Yang Zaixing were lying.

Zhang Xuan and Yang Zaixing weren't sure whether to move or stay put. Moving risked being discovered; staying could lead to a direct collision. As they hesitated, the man reached their vicinity and plucked a few soft leaves. The four men left behind shouted, "Going to take a dump? Get further away! We plan to sit here for a while longer." The man walked off into the distance with the leaves, never noticing Zhang Xuan and Yang Zaixing, who were camouflaged by the night.

Watching the man head off to relieve himself, Zhang Xuan pulled a small knife from his back. He took a breath and crept toward the man's position. Yang Zaixing saw this, but remained where he was to avoid any complications. It was a silent understanding between them, though he did harbor a sliver of doubt about whether "Little Xuan" could truly bring himself to strike.