Chapter 96: These bastards deserve to die, every last one of them!

At the entrance to the black market, two men stood idly chatting.

Lin Xiaodou walked over, fished a coin from her pocket, and handed it over.

“My family has an elder who’s fallen ill. I need to buy something nourishing for them.”

The man who had once sold her meat-and-bone scraps had told her that entering the black market as a seller required a fee, while buyers only needed to pay a small entrance charge.

Seeing how familiar she seemed, the two men assumed she was a regular.

They asked nothing more, simply waved her through.

Inside, she had to pass down a narrow alley.

It took nearly ten minutes before she reached a more open area.

There were quite a few people there, though most were coming and going in a hurry.

Even the trades were made swiftly, with not a moment wasted.

By then, Lin Xiaodou was dressed as a young man.

Her purpose in coming to the black market was to find that criminal gang.

According to Han Guoqiang, they were conducting flesh trade within the market.

These people were usually careful, and generally chose their customers themselves.

Lin Xiaodou wandered about the black market on purpose for half an hour, then sat in a corner with a dejected look.

Ten minutes later, a sly-eyed man approached her.

“Little comrade, what are you looking to buy?”

Lin Xiaodou shook her head and sighed. “What I want, you can’t provide.”

The man’s beady eyes darted around.

“You look pretty young. Not married yet, are you?”

“No,” Lin Xiaodou said. “My family doesn’t have much money. I can’t afford a wife.”

The man chuckled. “Then I’m guessing you’ve never tasted a woman, have you?”

Lin Xiaodou scratched the back of her head, pretending to be shy.

“Uh... no...”

At once, the man perked up, leaning in with a smile.

“I’ve got a little business here. It won’t let you marry a wife, but it’ll sure give you a good time. Want in?”

Lin Xiaodou’s eyes lit up, then she hesitated.

“That doesn’t seem quite proper...”

“What’s improper about it? I’ve got several pretty women over there, and they’re willing to do it too.

Just three coins, and you can have an hour. Guaranteed satisfaction.”

Lin Xiaodou thought it over, then finally nodded.

“All right.”

The sly-eyed man rubbed his hands together.

“Good. Come with me. I’ll take you there.”

The two of them left through the back gate of the black market and wound through several turns before reaching another alley entrance.

There were guards there too, who thoroughly questioned Lin Xiaodou.

As they were leaving, the man even deliberately threatened her.

“I’ve memorized your face. If you dare tell anyone about this, you’ll regret it!”

Lin Xiaodou pretended to blanch in fear.

“I... I understand.”

Then the sly-eyed man led her deeper into the alley.

Only when they reached the very end did he knock on a courtyard gate.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Er Gouzi with another customer!”

The door was opened by a burly man holding a club. He snorted the moment he saw them.

“Brother Meng, have a cigarette.”

Er Gouzi smiled as he took a cigarette from his pocket, bowing and bending as he handed it over.

The burly man, known as Brother Meng, took it and laughed. “Not bad. You know your place.”

Er Gouzi kept his back bent as he smiled. “Brother Meng, I’ve brought the person here. About the money...”

Brother Meng fumbled in his trouser pocket, pulled out two small bills, and tossed them to the ground.

“Get lost!”

“Yes, yes, of course!”

Er Gouzi picked up the money from the ground and left while still grinning.

Every time he introduced a customer, no matter how long the customer stayed, he earned a commission.

One coin might not sound like much, but it was no trifle either.

In the countryside, it could buy fourteen eggs, enough to eat for several days.

Er Gouzi departed cheerfully, while Lin Xiaodou was taken into the courtyard.

Besides the burly man guarding the entrance, there were three or five others in the main room, gathered around a brazier for warmth.

Seeing her come in, one of the men approached and asked, “Kid, how much money do you have on you?”

Lin Xiaodou answered honestly, “I only brought five coins. That’s all my savings.”

The man showed no surprise. He held out his palm.

“Hand it over first. Five coins buys you two hours. Consider yourself lucky.”

After paying, Lin Xiaodou was led to a storage room behind the main hall.

The man moving her shifted a bowl sitting on a cupboard, and the wall changed almost at once.

A flight of steps appeared there, leading down into a cellar.

Understanding flashed through Lin Xiaodou’s eyes.

No wonder this gang dared to act so brazenly. They were hidden deep enough.

When she descended into the cellar, she found it unexpectedly spacious.

Directly facing the stairs was a large room where four or five burly men were sitting around a table playing cards.

After learning that Lin Xiaodou had paid five coins, one of them led her to choose a woman.

Further inside, there were around ten small rooms, each containing a woman.

The so-called selection consisted of looking through iron bars at the women inside; once one was chosen, the lock would be opened and the customer allowed in.

Lin Xiaodou looked into the first room.

On a messy bed, a woman wearing ankle chains was curled up in a corner, motionless.

Only when the burly man impatiently banged on the iron door and issued a harsh threat did the woman reluctantly stand.

She lifted her swollen, bruised face and looked toward Lin Xiaodou.

Her eyes were hollow and numb, without the faintest trace of color.

Lin Xiaodou’s heart suddenly ached.

What a pair of utterly despairing eyes.

She could not imagine how much torment and suffering the woman had endured in that dark, windowless room.

She looked into the other rooms as well, and the situation was more or less the same.

So... these women were all here against their will.

If that was the case, then she had nothing left to hesitate over.

These heartless scum, she would wipe them all out.

Lin Xiaodou chose the first room.

She said she didn’t want the woman locked by ankle chains, since that would make things inconvenient.

The burly man leading her selection understood at once and smiled knowingly, then took a key from a clay jar on the cupboard.

Lin Xiaodou glanced over casually and memorized the hiding place.

After the man opened the first room and unlocked the woman’s ankle chains, he was just about to turn and give some instructions when a sudden pain struck the back of his head, and he collapsed soundlessly to the ground.

The woman, who had been trembling a moment ago, stared in shock, her eyes wide.

Lin Xiaodou made a shushing motion and said softly, “Stay in here and wait. I’ll lock the door. No matter what you hear, don’t come out.”

Without waiting for the woman’s reply, Lin Xiaodou dragged the unconscious man outside.

After locking the door, she lifted the burly man and hurled him into the main room.

Thud.

The card game inside was abruptly interrupted.

Seeing their brother knocked unconscious, the burly men flew into a rage.

“Damn it, you dare come onto our turf and cause trouble? You’re asking for death!”

“Brothers, grab your weapons and finish him!”

Soon, a crowd of burly men surged forward, iron rods in hand.

Whether it had been beating Chen Guang, or later thrashing Chu Ling and Han Guoqiang, Lin Xiaodou had never used her full strength.

After all, she possessed divine might, enough to kill an ox with one punch.

She had held back before, not wanting to cause a death and draw suspicion.

But today, she wouldn’t.

These scum all deserved to die.

Next chapter, the abuse of the original male and female leads begins. Dear readers, please give a five-star review. Sending kisses~