Tens of seconds later, she opened her eyes again to see that there was a cliff behind her. She could still manage to see a little because of the faint moonlight. No wonder it was so breezy.
Her chances of escaping were bleak.
At this very moment, the middle-aged woman who had been abusing Jing Chu for years began walking toward her. Jing Chu could recognize her silhouette right away, despite the dim lights. This woman was the person whom she had seen most of ever since she was born.
The woman said slowly, “Jing Chu, you were destined to be a sacrificial being from the day that you were born. We were initially planning to wait until you reach the age of twenty before carrying out this ceremony proper. However, we can’t afford to wait until next year. I know you’ve been really curious about your identity and background. Since you’re already on the verge of death, I don’t mind telling you and fulfilling your wishes. Your mother was the one who handed you over to us out of her own accord. I don’t know about your father, but I heard that he had abandoned you and your mother. I’m not sure of the details. After your mother handed you to us, she took our money and disappeared without a trace. That’s how you became the appointed sacrificial being. This is the cold, hard truth. At this juncture, there’s no need for me to lie to you. Hence, this is where your life ends. You may rest in peace. Do you have any more questions?”
It was the most mellow the middle-aged woman had ever been with Jing Chu.
She did not expect that her father would abandon her mother and that her mother would give her away.
“When is my birthday…”
She was still concerned about her birthday at this point…
“Your mother once said that you were born on the 16th of December. I remember it very clearly.”
Jing Chu’s tears began to make her vision blurry. She was going to die even before she got to enjoy a blissful life.
Her life was terrible, and there was nothing left for her to live for.
Filled with fear and anxiety, her lips quivered uncontrollably and she turned as pale as a sheet.
“Are there any other questions you have?”
“No,” she answered feebly.
“Alright. The ceremony is going to begin soon.” The middle-aged woman then turned around and left.
At this very moment, Jing Chu felt an acute pain in her calf, which felt like the bite of a small animal. She could not see it clearly in the dark. Just as the animal was about to leave, she immediately stopped it by talking to it softly.
She then murmured a few words to the animal.
The rest of the people around her could not understand what she was saying at all. More than a minute later, someone lit the firewood up and began walking toward her.
She stared coldly at the man who was walking toward her, feeling as if she was waiting to be slaughtered.
When Jing Chu was lit ablaze, she could feel herself being surrounded by the flames. However, the small animal had already bit the rope and caused her to plunge backward toward the cliff.
Everyone was greatly taken aback.
They frantically rushed forward to see that Jing Chu, who had already been set on flames, was moving further and further away. She soon vanished completely. It was apparent that she had fallen from a great height.
Death was the only thing that awaited her.
Hence, the bunch of people left. They could not be bothered to look for her corpse since they had never planned to bury her anyway.
Not only were they certain that Jing Chu would definitely fall to her death, she had thought so too herself.
However, she fell straight into a river that extinguished the flames on her body, after which she lost her consciousness.
She had no idea that it was more than just an ordinary river. It was a tourist attraction.
However, visitors were not allowed to enter the spot at night unless they paid a high price to stay behind and enjoy the night view.
It had never crossed Pei Yi’s mind that he would run into Jing Chu here.
He noticed that she was covered in wounds and that her clothes had all been burnt. Fortunately, the fire that had also burnt off her hair did not scald her face. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to recognize her.
Did… An Xiaoning do this to her?
Doesn’t seem like it.
Did she end up in the hands of those people again?
How unlucky.
Fortunately, Pei Yi was the only one wandering around the lake at night. Otherwise, if others were to call the police to help Jing Chu, his identity would definitely be exposed.
Pei Yi picked her up in his arms and brought her back to his room.
He took a careful look at her and found that she was alright and that she had merely passed out.
He then left her alone. It was already difficult for him to bring her all the way to his room.
Pei Yi barely slept that night and instead stayed up to watch some movies.
He continued until Jing Chu came to.
The moment she regained her consciousness, she scanned her surroundings before turning to look at Pei Yi, who was lying on the bed. She sobered up and began to feel the excruciating pain of the burns from head to toe.
Pei Yi switched on the bedside lamps and asked, “You’ve come to. How did you fall from the cliff? Why are you so badly burnt too?”
“Those people who abducted me said that they were going to sacrifice me. I jumped off the cliff when I was set on fire.”
“They must have tied you up. How did you manage to escape?”
“There was a small animal that helped me bite the rope to break it. I can communicate with animals,” said Jing Chu, who did not mind being honest with the man who had saved her life twice.
“With animals?” Pei Yi asked in surprise.
“Yes.”
He said, “Earlier today, I checked out the lake that you had plunged into just now. You would have definitely died if you’d landed on hard ground after plunging from such a great height. Perhaps you’re not destined to die yet. They must have thought that you were dead since they didn’t try to search for your corpse. Go flee on your own. Hide yourself well and don’t let them find out that you’re still alive.”
Jing Chu got down from the couch and knelt before him. “Mr. Pei, there’s no other option for me now. If you can take me in, I’m willing to be enslaved to you for the rest of my life.”
Pei Yi sat up straight and looked at her. “Why don’t you go look for An Xiaoning instead?”
“I… I don’t want to stay in this nation anymore. I heard from Sister that you’d be leaving S Nation soon, so…”
“If I’m willing to take you in, will you really be willing to be my slave for the rest of your life?”
“Yes.”
“No regrets?”
“No regrets,” said Jing Chu, who thought that he was a good man and that nothing could be worse than the predicament she was in now.
“Will you do everything that I tell you to?”
“I’ll abide by you.”
Pei Yi nodded in satisfaction and said, “In that case, I shall take you with me. Is your name Jing Chu?”
“Yes.”
“How old are you?”
“Nineteen years old,” said Jing Chu, who had just found out her own age.
Pei Yi thought to himself, Nineteen years old… that’s really young. She must be really puerile.
After all, I’m already 32 years old, a whole 13 years older than her.
