Chapter 135
Chapter 135
As they traded filthy, lewd remarks, the group headed toward the most broken-down, dilapidated old house at the edge of the village.
When they reached the mute man’s door, Village Chief Li straightened his clothes, putting on a respectable front, then raised his hand and knocked.
Very soon, the door opened a crack from the inside.
The mute man poked his head out, his back hunched. Only after confirming that the people outside weren’t strangers with bad intentions did he open the door fully and ask in sign language, “Village Chief Li, what do you need?”
The mute man was fifty-one this year. Twenty years ago, he had been in a car accident that left one of his legs crippled, and his parents had also died in that same accident.
Because of his disability, he had never married.
As for his daughter, Zhao Fangfang, he had found her by the roadside on his way back from the city after cremating his parents in the year they died in that accident.
Village Chief Li carried a bag of fruit and wore a hypocritical smile. “Isn’t your daughter a top student at A University? We’ve got some paperwork that needs filling out, and we need her help. Call her out and have her come with us.”
As he spoke, he handed the fruit to the mute man.
The mute man waved his hands and signed, “Fangfang is part of Baiyun Village too. It’s only right for her to help the village officials with something. There’s no need for the fruit.”
“Come on, I’ve already bought it. Just take it.”
Seeing Village Chief Li insist, the mute man finally stopped refusing.
He had only just come back from working in the fields, and there was still some dirt on his hands. He awkwardly wiped them on the hem of his shirt before taking the fruit.
He turned to go inside and call for Zhao Fangfang, but the moment he looked back, he saw that she had already come out on her own.
Noticing that his daughter’s face seemed even more drawn than before, the mute man set the fruit down and asked worriedly, “Are you not feeling well?”
Zhao Fangfang forced out a small smile. “Dad, I’m fine. Didn’t the village chief say he wants me to help write up some documents? I’ll go with them first.
“Your stomach’s bad, so I’ve already set out the medicine you usually take. It’s in the small drawer next to the TV. Remember to take it every day from now on.
“And that corner of the roof that always leaks? I already patched it up and waterproofed it today…”
Zhao Fangfang went on and on, saying quite a lot. The mute man felt that something about his daughter was strange, but he couldn’t put his finger on what was wrong.
With a smile, Zhao Fangfang said goodbye to her father and followed Village Chief Li and the others out.
Watching his daughter’s back as she walked away, the mute man suddenly felt uneasy for no reason. He hurried over and stepped in front of her, gesturing anxiously with inarticulate sounds, “Come back early tonight. Dad will make dinner for you.”
Zhao Fangfang’s eyes instantly filled with tears. “Okay.”
Once they were out of the mute man’s sight, the village chief took Zhao Fangfang’s hand and stroked the back of it. The smile on his face looked kindly on the surface, but there was something greasy and obscene underneath.
“Your dad does seem to care about you.
“Come to think of it, you’re not actually his biological daughter, are you? Raising a pretty girl like you day after day, don’t tell me he’s never wanted to do anything to you.
“Tell your uncle here-did that mute bastard take your virginity a long time ago?”
Hearing the village chief’s humiliating words, Zhao Fangfang pulled her hand back and said, “My dad isn’t that kind of person.”
Village Chief Li smiled. “Whether he is or not, we’ll find out soon enough.”
Zhao Fangfang’s expression changed at once. “What do you mean? Didn’t you say you were only going to use me as an offering to the River God?”
A week ago, right after Zhao Fangfang learned that her friend had died, she immediately called the police.
After the police came to the village and finished their investigation, Village Chief Li sought her out and told her that her friend had died to fulfill a wish. She had offered herself as a sacrifice to the River God so her family could live in good health and peace from then on, and that was why she had lost her life.
If Zhao Fangfang had any wish of her own, then as long as she was willing to offer herself as a sacrifice, the River God could grant it, no matter what it was.
Over the years, her father had given up far too much to raise her. If it weren’t for having a burden like her to drag him down, he might have been able to get married and build a family of his own.
She wanted to repay her father for everything he had done. After hesitating for a while, she decided to offer up her life just like her friend had.
She had already prepared herself to give up her life, but she’d never heard that what she had to sacrifice wasn’t just her life, but her chastity too!
Hearing Zhao Fangfang’s furious questioning, Village Chief Li said without changing expression, “I was the one who pulled strings for you on the river pond’s side. I built the bridge for you, so that’s how you got the chance to become a sacrifice. That makes me half a benefactor to you.
“You’re going to die sooner or later anyway, so you might as well repay me, your benefactor, first and let the few of us have some fun.
“Surely you don’t want to die still a virgin, never having been touched by a man, do you?”
As he spoke, the village chief reached his filthy hands toward Zhao Fangfang.
Panic surged through her. She opened her mouth to cry for help, but Village Chief Li clamped a hand over it and dragged her toward the nearby cornfield.
Zhao Fangfang’s eyes widened in terror as she struggled desperately.
But she was a woman, and she was already weaker than a man.
And with two other men helping Village Chief Li, she had no ability to resist at all.
The men forced her to the ground, and a large swath of the formerly upright corn stalks snapped at once, collapsing in a wilted heap.
Pinned to the ground, Zhao Fangfang felt the hard earth and broken stalks digging painfully into her back.
The men began undoing their belts. A greasy, slippery tongue dragged across her cheek. Sick with disgust and fear, Zhao Fangfang couldn’t stop her tears from falling. She bit down hard on her own tongue, trying to kill herself.
Suddenly, she felt her body grow light.
In an instant, the scene before her changed.
Her mind went blank for a moment, and by the time she came back to herself, she was already on a patch of grass more than thirty feet away.
She looked up and saw the young girl she had noticed earlier that day at the entrance to the village chief’s house.
When she saw Xia Sheng, Zhao Fangfang was still somewhat dazed.
It wasn’t until Xia Sheng pinched her chin and forced her to stop biting her tongue that Zhao Fangfang finally came back to her senses.
“Was it you who saved me?”
She had no idea what had happened, but since Xia Sheng was standing right in front of her, it had to have been this girl who had brought her here.
Xia Sheng nodded. Zhao Fangfang still wanted to say something, but Xia Sheng raised a finger to her lips in a quiet “shh.”
Zhao Fangfang didn’t understand, but she still quieted down.
The next moment, a burst of screams came from the cornfield not far away.
“Wang Mazi, have you lost your mind? Look carefully! I’m the village chief! Let go of me!”
Zhao Fangfang turned to look toward the cornfield.
Through the screen of plants, she saw Village Chief Li pinned to the ground by Wang Mazi and the other man.