One Hundred and Twenty-Nine: Anzi

"I'm sorry, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have brought you and your brother to the camp. I was wrong. Please, I beg you, spare me! Please, for all the care I gave you, for the food I bought you, the clothes I provided—please, have mercy! I don’t want to die! I beg you!" The trafficker moved the corpse leaning against him aside, dropped to his knees, and bowed his head repeatedly before Nie Zheng, Zhang Xuan, and Yang Zaixing.

Nie Zheng glanced back at Zhang Xuan and Yang Zaixing. Zhang Xuan waved his hand dismissively. “Do whatever you want. Kill him if you want, or let him go—it’s up to you.”

“No, I will never spare him. How could I face Anzi’s spirit in heaven if I let him go? When I held her lifeless body, I swore I would never forgive anyone in that village, especially not the one who brought us there. I had planned to spend my whole life searching for you, but unexpectedly, I escaped that hell only two days ago and met you—like this. Uncle Wen, perhaps we are truly fated,” Nie Zheng said, emphasizing the last word with heavy weight.

Only then did Zhang Xuan realize that this trafficker was the man called “Uncle Wen.”

“You said ‘Anzi’ is dead? The little girl who always stayed behind you?” Uncle Wen recalled the ‘Anzi’ Nie Zheng mentioned—a clever little girl with bright, clear eyes who often followed Nie Zheng and Nie Rong closely. The three shared a deep bond. “Could she have been killed by that perverted supervisor?”

Nie Zheng wiped away tears at the corner of his eyes. “Yes. One night, that pervert took her away. The next day, when I saw her again, she looked like she had been cleaned up and was wearing different clothes, but she was curled up, trembling all over. Whenever anyone approached, she kept pleading, ‘No, don’t come near.’ Whatever horror she endured terrified her deeply. By noon, when we returned to the cell after work, she had slammed her head against the wall and was already lifeless. Why? Weren’t you the one who cared for her most? Why, knowing how terrifying this village was, did you still send her in? Why?” Nie Zheng shouted at Uncle Wen.

The trafficker called Uncle Wen recalled hesitating over whether to send Anzi to the camp. She clung to Nie Zheng, crying and biting him when he tried to separate them. Just before reaching the camp, he forcibly parted them, and Anzi bit him hard. Still, he ended up sending Anzi into the camp. When he left, Anzi hid behind Nie Zheng.

“Kid, do you think I wanted to send Anzi inside? I tried every way to take her out, but she insisted on sticking to you. She bit me hard several times. If she wanted to follow you to death, then I had no choice but to let her go with you!” Uncle Wen saw that Nie Zheng would never forgive him and decided to give up resisting.

“Was it me who harmed her?” Nie Zheng thought back. Uncle Wen tried repeatedly to separate him and Anzi, but either he or Anzi would bite him, and eventually, he stopped interfering. “Was it all my fault?”

“Yes, it was your fault. If you had kept your distance from Anzi, I would have taken her away long ago, and she wouldn’t have gone to that camp. If you had cut off contact earlier, she wouldn’t have clung to you. Without you, she wouldn’t have walked into that hell you speak of. So it’s all your fault,” Uncle Wen stood and coaxed him. “Do you know what that pervert did to Anzi? If you knew, you’d never forgive yourself for the rest of your life.”

Yang Zaixing wanted to intervene but was stopped by Zhang Xuan. Zhang Xuan originally intended to watch quietly, but when Uncle Wen mentioned Anzi being taken by the pervert, he couldn’t hold back and slapped Uncle Wen hard, sending him flying.

Nie Zheng wiped his tears, seemingly not hearing what Uncle Wen tried to say afterward. He stepped forward slowly and stood before Uncle Wen. “Uncle Wen, maybe Anzi’s death was my fault after all. Thank you for awakening me—I’ve misunderstood you all along. Sorry!” Nie Zheng smiled bitterly, the smile stained by tears, making his face appear chilling from any angle.

“It’s alright. The misunderstanding is cleared up,” Uncle Wen said, pleased at Nie Zheng’s sudden realization. But then, looking at Nie Zheng’s expression, he froze in place.

“Uncle Wen, I really thank you—for taking care of me and my brother all this time, for introducing me to Anzi, for leading me into that hell. Without you, I would never have known how terrifying this world truly is.” Nie Zheng bowed deeply to Uncle Wen, his words cold and detached.

“Brother Xuan, give me a knife. I want to settle things with Uncle Wen,” Zhang Xuan handed a small knife to Nie Zheng and gave Yang Zaixing a look, signaling him to move behind Uncle Wen.

Nie Zheng took the knife and approached Uncle Wen, with Yang Zaixing silently stepping behind.

“Kid, what are you trying to do? Don’t be foolish! Killing means paying with your own life!” Uncle Wen panicked completely, forgetting that the one holding the knife was just a child, desperately shouting.

“Uncle Wen, I will repay you well—not just for me and my brother, but for Anzi and all the other poor children sent to this hell. I’ll give you all their vengeance at once, hoping you won’t be a trafficker in your next life. It’ll be quick.” Nie Zheng’s voice was like that of a little demon as he plunged the knife repeatedly into Uncle Wen’s chest, letting the blood splash onto his face and clothes.

At that moment, a startled scream rang out nearby, piercing the tense air.