Chapter 10: Rainy Night

It currently appears to be very bad

"... ... I guess ... ..." another boy chuckled

As her body gradually became imperceptible to the cold, Lin Yilan seemed to experience a vision akin to that before death.

The three individuals gazed at the books and the money bag on the shelf, becoming increasingly perplexed

"No one would like a person from the army, and Figo is even less likely to." Dabi firmly denied, her bright eyes igniting with sparks. "He wouldn't even want a woman like Joff, so how could he possibly be interested in this skinny, ugly woman"

Pan looked at the freckles on both sides of Debbie's nose bridge and swallowed hard, wisely avoiding the argument

"Dai Bi is right, something is a bit strange." Pouring out the money pouch and glancing at the gold coins, Pan scratched his head in confusion. "Not a single coin is missing. Could it be that Figo knows her? Sean, are you sure you didn't mistake her for someone else?"

Lin Yilan crossed her arms in an attempt to retain some warmth. Finding a way out in the boundless slums is an exceptionally difficult task, especially while having to constantly evade.

Two young boys rushed in first, followed by a girl with honey-colored skin. The three of them stared wide-eyed at the woman on the bed

"Figo could never be interested in her; it must be this woman's fault!" Daisy screamed, refuting Sean's accusations. "All the female soldiers in the army are prostitutes; God knows what disgusting methods she used."

Leaning on the bed and flipping through a book, Lin Yilan read the beautiful passages word by word. It had been a long time since she had come into contact with such delightful literature. Now, as she revisits it, there is an added layer of attraction.

It seems that something pulled a few times, and the door opened

The army burned my father alive! This woman is also involved; she even tried to kill me! I must find out what they really want! Sean could not take any of it in.

After a while, he reached out his fingertip to touch her face

"How is that possible!" Sean sharply denied. "That day it was Figo who saved me; it must be because he found her attractive and wanted to keep her for himself."

Lin Yilan attempted to explain the complex facts, but was held at gunpoint.

"Only Figo has a problem! How could she be hidden here? If it weren't for Sal accidentally letting it slip, we would never have discovered that there were military personnel in the slums!" Sean was extremely agitated

Sean! Pan believes that her friend is overreacting. She's just a woman; I don't think it's that serious, or we can wait for Figo to come back and ask.

With a book in hand, time has finally become more bearable

Returning to the old house, he kicked open the cabinet and found a bottle of wine. He bit off the cork and forcefully poured half the bottle down her throat, then decisively stripped both of them of all their clothes and wrapped them in a blanket on the bed.

The rain is getting heavier

"Strip this bitch and parade her in the streets, she will definitely say that." Debbie eagerly contributed her ideas, with a childlike innocence of malice. "Burn her hair off, the teeth can be pulled out and sold for a good price, that's how the nobles deal with female prisoners, I've seen it before"

"Figo will be very angry; you should not act on your own behind his back." Pan felt that things were becoming increasingly wrong. "Currently, this woman is under his protection."

Shut up! The woman's voice is a bit hoarse

... ... Sa said ... ... unexpectedly ... ... '' a boy interjected

Before he could finish speaking, a friend rushed up and grabbed the woman's neck, startling him into quickly stepping forward to pull them apart. "Sean! This is Figo's woman, are you crazy!"

"You say she is ugly? I do not see it that way," Pan expressed his disagreement. Although her hair is a bit short, her appearance is very beautiful; she is undoubtedly a rare beauty.

Sean, you should ask Figo, do not act impulsively, after all, he—" Pan attempted to persuade.

Let me see what the woman hidden by Figo looks like

Pan! Sean's flushed face was filled with anger. I remember her; this woman is from the military. She almost used a trick to kill me back then. Figo must have imprisoned and tortured her for revenge. I want to settle the score from that time.

The sound of voices drew closer, as if several children were conversing

"I am not a spy," the woman finally spoke, her clear eyes filled with sorrow and helplessness. "He just happened to save me; there is no other reason. In a couple of days, when my injuries heal, I will leave. I don't even know him at all"

Pan was stunned, and Dai Bi had not yet understood what had happened. As soon as she came to her senses, she immediately began to scream

The weather was terrible. After lunch, it began to rain lightly outside, with the sound of droplets incessantly hitting the tin roof. Lin Yilan felt a bit dizzy from reading in the dim light, so she pushed the book aside to take a break. Suddenly, there was a sound from outside the door

"The army's? How is that possible? She—uh, seems to—" Pan suddenly felt that the other person looked somewhat familiar

The fragmented footsteps belong to more than one person, and it is unclear from where a wild dog was kicked, letting out a mournful cry as it jumped up and fled in a disheveled manner

Pan immediately covered Debby's mouth

I think Debby's idea is quite good; once we uncover the conspiracy, Figo will have nothing to say. A trace of cruel delight appeared on Sean's face. "Who taught her to be one of the military?"

Then he took off his outer coat and wrapped it around her. She wanted to say it was unnecessary, as her body was already soaked, but she didn't even have the strength to open her mouth. The transparent rain flowed down his cheeks, the lines of his jaw a bit stiff, as he hurriedly carried her away.

Keeping Pan and Dabi silent in the room while taking Sean away by force is the only method. There is no way to convince the three children of their innocence, nor can they be given the opportunity to call for others. The people here capture solitary soldiers, and parading them naked in the streets is merely one of the less severe possibilities. Hitting Sean with a brick to knock him unconscious leaves only luck to rely on

Ignoring Pan's pleas, Sean held a gun in one hand while using the other to tear at the woman's clothing, ripping off two buttons in one swift motion. Just as he was about to continue, the woman suddenly produced a fork in her hand. Caught off guard, Sean felt a sharp pain in his arm, which went numb instantly. By the time he regained his senses, she had seized the gun and was pressing it against his side.

"Figo actually has a soft spot for soldiers? He knows very well that you are all cold-blooded executioners." Sean did not believe a word, becoming increasingly convinced of his deduction, and questioned with a cold smile. "What happened to your hands and feet? Try hitting me again? What did Figo do to you that you couldn't escape, so you resorted to using your body to confuse him?"

"What do you understand? Men like women with large breasts like Qiao Fu, which is why her business is so good, as Sa said." The well-developed girl proudly puffed out her chest. "In the future, I will be more beautiful than Qiao Fu."

The three children alarmed many as they searched for her whereabouts, and it was imperative to escape quickly. The dark night served both as a shield and as an obstacle to their journey. The debris and rubble scattered everywhere caused her to stumble several times, and in many places, there was simply no path, making the likelihood of successfully getting out of here extremely low

A figure darker than the night drew closer, rain creating a thin mist on the waterproof jacket, as he walked past puddles of various sizes. The man stopped in front of her, his shadowy eyes fixed on her.

"What is your relationship with Figo?" Sean glared at her fiercely, growing more terrifying by the moment, even drawing his gun. "Did you use your beauty to seduce him into revealing everything, and then privately inform the military to have us all killed? Speak! Otherwise, I will kill you!"

After a while, a boy jumped up. "Sean, look, there really is a woman, and she's a beauty!"

The girl beside carefully scrutinized the disheveled woman who had been dragged to the ground. "Pan, I remember her; we stole her purse to buy medicine for Sean, and later you said you gave it to Figo." Her gaze shifted to the low cabinet by the bedside. "Look."

Tightly held in the arms of a strange man, Lin Yilan found herself bare and exposed, devoid of strength to feel anger or resist. The strong liquor in her stomach had turned into a ball of fire, burning her mind into a haze, as if flames were spreading before her eyes. The world spun incessantly, and an endless black hole consumed her remaining consciousness

Hiding under a half-collapsed wall from the rain, she has completely lost the strength to move. Once dawn breaks, her whereabouts will be fully exposed, and by then...

Is there really a woman? A girl's voice.

The autumn in Xiwa is very cold, and the hand holding the gun has become numb with cold. She gently breathes on her fingers, placing them over her heart to warm them, hoping that in the end she will still have the strength to pull the trigger. Such a humiliating way to die does not resemble that of a soldier, but who would care except for Grandma Maya? Perhaps her tombstone will be inscribed with the words 'the incompetent and unfortunate Major Lin, who was powerless throughout his life'

She did not know whether she had caused that man a great deal of trouble

The voice of a stranger suddenly tightened the atmosphere, leaving nowhere to hide in the empty room. Glancing around, Lin Yilan pulled a fragment from the empty bowl by the bedside and shrank into the bedding