The compet.i.tion commenced in a small town near the French coast. Many of the world"s top jewellery designers were there, most of whom Xin Qing"s idols back in school. She swooned like a fan girl ever since her arrival at the hotel, asking for autographs and selfies everywhere. In the end, she was nearly chased out by the hotel staff who thought who took her for some civilian who somehow snuck into the room.
That near misfortune did not bother Xin Qing at all . Her heart leaped in joy like a sparrow. It was like she stood on a tall peak and ready to perform a beautiful nosedive.
That night, Dianne suggested an outing. Many people flocked to the small town because of the compet.i.tion. At night, the bars along the streets were crowded. Dianne brought Xin Qing to a seaside bar, which had a remarkable feature. The entire building itself had been carved out from rocks, right down to its furniture. It was as if the whole place had been crafted by Mother Nature herself.
At the exact same time, in the small alley opposite the two women, a foul and vile event played out amidst the dark veil of the night.
A plump foreign man strangled a Chinese girl while pressing her up against the wall. The girl looked to be only slightly older than ten. Her naked torso was filled with scratches and wounds. Her eyes bulged, though there no signs of life existed in them. The skin on her face was covered with patches, holding a strange kind of purplish green tint.
The man"s body shook a few times and he released his grip. The girl fell limply to the ground, not moving at all. The man released a string of curses. Seeing the girl"s unmoving form, he raised his leg and stomped on her.
"F*ck you, b*tch. Stop playing dead and get the h.e.l.l up. Can"t believe that was your first time. That doesn"t feel too bad at all." The man"s voice dissipated when five or six foreign men dressed in black suits suddenly appeared in the dark alley. Two of the arriving men hurried over to check on the girl on the ground.
"Dead."
"F*ck!" cursed a middle-aged man, seeming to be the leader of the group. He picked up a trash bin near the corner of the wall and bashed the fat man"s head with it. "Do you know how hard it is to find a Chinese doll? I can"t believe you f*ck*ng killed her."
The fat man probably figured out that he messed with the wrong people, so he begged for mercy. But his pleas fell on deaf ears. The middle-aged man gave his henchmen a look. One of them pulled out a gun, fitted something on the muzzle, and pointed it at the fat man. A soft noise whooshed out, sounding like something shot into a ball of cotton. The fat man lay unmovingly on the ground with a b.l.o.o.d.y hole in his forehead.
"Boss, what now? The party starts in an hour. Without a Chinese doll, how are we supposed to explain ourselves when the time comes?"
The man known as "boss" kicked the corpse on the ground viciously. "M*therf*ck*r! At least you clowns would have clean deaths. But what about me?"
"Boss, why don"t we go look for another one?" "There"s some kind of contest tomorrow, and this town seems to be rather crowded. Who knows if there"s a Chinese doll among the horde."
The "boss" pondered for a moment. "Well, we"ve got no other choice. Let"s split up. If we can"t find one in time, none of us will be able to walk away alive."
The enticing quality of the moonlight unchanged the unseen danger lurking amidst it.
Xin Qing realized she and Dianne had got separated along the way. They merely crossed a street, but Dianne was now nowhere to be seen. Xin Qing spent a long time going around the area in search for Dianne, though all her efforts were in vain. She was too worried about Dianne to return to the hotel, so she wondered if she should call the cops. Before she could do that, two men appeared before her. She stepped back warily, yet before she could make a sound, she felt a sharp pain sting the back of her head. She knew nothing after that.
"Man, where did you find the Chinese doll this time? So much prettier than the last one. Look at that skin, and that pretty face. Tsk, tsk. Too bad she"s no longer a virgin. Otherwise, we could"ve sold her for a good price!"
"Well, since she"s no longer a virgin, why not play with her for a bit before we deliver her."
"No, you moron. People will notice."
Xin Qing tried her best to open her eyes. When she did, she realized that she had been locked in a cage. A few men stood outside the cage, staring at her with l.u.s.tful looks. When she moved, a jingling sound of a bell sounded. She glanced down and shrieked.
She was dressed in black leather, with a choker fitted on her neck. She could tell that both her hands and feet were shackled by some kind of long chain. Although the chain did not restrict her movements, she still felt its presence.
"You... What are you planning to do to me?" She forced herself to calm down. She hoped Dianne already noticed her disappearance.
One of the men walked over. He reached into the cage, grabbed a handful of her hair, and stroked her face. "Beautiful Chinese doll, today is your lucky day. You"ve been spared from having to serve those attending the naked party tonight."
Xin Qing"s panic intensified the moment she heard the words "naked party". "You can"t imprison me like this. I"m here for the compet.i.tion."
"I don"t give a sh*t what you"re here for," said the man as he pinched her face. "Don"t worry. With that pretty face of yours, I"m sure someone would want to buy you later."
Xin Qing struggled and tried to lean herself towards the back of the cage. "How could you sell people just like that?"
"Haha. You do have a choice though." The man waved his hand. A moment later, more men removed a red cloth meant to cover something next to her cage. Xin Qing could not believe what she saw. Concealed beneath the red cloth were more cages, all of which held about a dozen naked women. Those women seemed unfrightened. Their faces were abnormally flushed, and their lower bodies undulated non-stop. Xin Qing even noticed the dripping wetness between the legs of several women.
"See that?" The man asked, pointing at the women. "You"ll suffer the same fate as them if you n.o.body buys you later."
Overwhelmed by her emotions, Xin Qing sprang to her feet and yelled. "You animals! Let me go! Let me go!"
The man raised his hand to strike her, but the others held him back before his blow connected. "Don"t hit her. What if you ruin her pretty face? It"s about time anyway. Take her to the underground auction!"
Something was thrown over the cage Xin Qing was in, covering it. Xin Qing no longer saw her surroundings. Other than cry, she had no idea what to do.
"How did it end up like this? I"m just here for the compet.i.tion!" she thought. Xin Qing covered her chest with her hands and glanced at the metal chain on her wrists. She raised the chain and made two loops around her neck. She came to a decision.
"Ying Qingcang, if I die here today... Will you shed tears for me?"
n.o.body knew hidden beneath this pretty little town was the largest s.e.x trafficking ring in Europe. To quote the words of an unknown source, "Underneath a beautiful rose, rotting corpses and spilled blood often lay. How else could that little flower be so pretty?"
Xin Qing heard the surrounding din, which grew louder by the second. There were vague sounds of sharp feminine screams interspersed with lewd comments of men. A blinding light flashed before her eyes, and she could not help but close them. Even then, she felt eyes on her.
"Let me present to you the Chinese doll for tonight. Check out her skin, her curves, and her face. I a.s.sure you, this is top quality product." A man lashed with a whip. Xin Qing shouted instinctively and evaded the blow. Soon, the man laughed as he whipped the cage repeatedly. Scared out of her wits, Xin Qing crawled backwards. All of a sudden, it was as if the emotions of the surrounding people skyrocketed.
"F*ck. Look at her a.s.s. I"m getting hard just by looking at it!"
"Come on, let"s get the show started."
Still in tears, Xin Qing studied her surroundings surrept.i.tiously. Then she went completely still in shock. She rubbed her eyes forcefully.
"Ying... Ying Qingcang... Why is he here?"
Obviously, Ying Qingcang saw her. Like her, he looked as if he could not believe his own eyes at first. After that, he stood up in rage. Xin Qing waved at him anxiously. Soundlessly, she mouthed the words, "Save me!"
However, Xin Qing saw a woman holding Ying Qingcang back. The woman glanced at her.
Molly! That woman was Molly.
The woman said something to Ying Qingcang, forcing Ying Qingcang to sit back down. He did not look towards Xin Qing again after that. The hope in Xin Qing"s eyes dissipated. He would not try to save her. That realization itself hurt far more than the knowledge of her auction.
The cage opened, and Xin Qing was dragged out. The man with the whip reached out and tore her leather clothing apart. Xin Qing shouted and covered her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She did not look at Ying Qingcang. She clenched her teeth together and tightened the chain she wrapped around her own neck. She was prepared to strangle herself to death.
"Wait! I want this woman. I"ll pay you double, whatever the price you"re offering!"
Xin Qing raised her head abruptly. A man, who as gentle and graceful as jade, stood nearby. His mouth, which usually held a smile, pursed into a thin line. That alone was a clear indication of the man"s fury.
Xin Qing"s mouth opened. "Will... William..." William gave her a rea.s.suring nod before tossing a cheque onto the stage. After that, he grabbed a blanket and came on stage. He wrapped the blanket around her body, picked her up and carried her off the stage.
The man with the whip glanced at the cheque and said nothing. He laughed and then signaled to raise the next cage.
William carried Xin Qing into his car. She did not see Ah Che chasing after them.
"Go away! Don"t touch me!"
"Ah! Ying Qingcang..."
"Xin Qing! Xin Qing, wake up. Wake up!"
Her eyes opened. Xin Qing saw the look of concern in William"s eyes. She glanced around and realized she was back in her hotel room.
"I..."
"You"re okay now! I brought you back." William handed her a gla.s.s of water. "Have a drink first."
"Argh!" Xin Qing threw herself at William. Sobs ripped through her chest as she wept.
William patted her back gently. "It"s okay. It"s alright now!" he coaxed in a voice sounding like a nocturne in midnight.
"Tha... Thank you." Xin Qing cried for a long time, and purged all the fear and trauma she experienced tonight out of her system. "How did you find me?"
William handed her a hand towel. "Your friends were asking around for you at the hotel, saying that you had gone missing. They called the police and the police told me about that underground trafficking ring."
"Did the cops get them?" Xin Qing was instantly reminded of those other women locked in cages. "Were the others saved?"
William shook his head. "Have you forgotten? I got you out with cash."
"Why?" Xin Qing glared at him. "Aren"t the police aware of this?"
"You don"t understand," William said with a sigh. "Some things are best left unknown. Ignorance is bliss."
Xin Qing slowly calmed down, though she still trembled all over. So this was the truth. No wonder those people had the guts to openly kidnap people and then sell them off. It was not the case at all that n.o.body knew what was going on. Instead, those who knew about it were probably in on the whole thing.
"I"m tired. I want to sleep." Xin Qing lay down and buried herself under the blanket.
William stood up to leave, but found her hand tugging at his sleeve.
"Can you leave after I fall asleep?"
"Okay! Go to sleep. I won"t leave."
Xin Qing fell into a hazy sleep, but was soon startled awake by a loud bang on the door. William noticed the tautness in her body, so he patted her hand.
"Don"t be scared. I"ll go get the door."
"No!" Xin Qing grabbed him, unwilling to let go.
Ying Qingcang"s voice echoed from outside the door. "Xin Qing, are you in there? Open the door!"