“Good morning, you’re quite punctual today.”
“Yes, today is another day of hard work.”
“How many strokes are you planning for today?”
“At least a thousand, I can’t do less than yesterday.”
“Well, I’ll give it my best shot today and try to catch up with you.”
“Haha, catching up or not, the more work we do, the more we earn. I’m doing this for the mouths to feed at home, you know?”
“Who isn’t? We earn less than we spend!”
Bai Lixin and the others followed behind, listening to the casual conversation of the men walking ahead.
As they chatted, they entered the blue iron house.
At the entrance of the iron house, two men stood on either side, and every time someone entered, they exchanged greetings with these two men.
From a distance, Bai Lixin noticed that these two men were from the village committee.
Their eyes were like scanning devices, checking each person who entered, seemingly verifying their identities.
The four walked to a blind spot behind a pile of corn stalks. Sun Ning looked towards the two men and said, “It seems we won’t be able to get in.”
Bai Lixin pointed to the back of the iron house, saying, “Let’s go around to the back and have a look.”
One by one, the men from the village entered the iron house. When everyone was inside, the two men guarding the entrance finally followed, closing and locking the door from the inside.
Seeing this, Bai Lixin and the others emerged from behind the corn stalks. After exchanging glances, they cautiously approached the back of the iron house.
When they were about three or four meters away from the iron house, they heard several horrifying screams from inside.
Sun Ning hurried a few steps and quickly found a gap in the iron house’s wall.
Bai Lixin also found some small holes on the wall that allowed them to see inside. Through these openings, they finally saw what was happening inside.
Li Cancan put her eye to the hole, but when she saw what was going on inside, she quickly covered her mouth.
Inside the vast building, there were partitions made of rudimentary wood, and in each partition, there was a pig.
In front of each pig stood a man, and each man held a thick black leather whip in their hand, which they relentlessly lashed onto the pigs.
With each whip, the pigs emitted a sharp, agonizing scream.
“Oooh~”
“Aaah~”
“Aaah~”
The horrifying screams they had heard earlier were coming from these pigs.
T/L-I had many gruesome guesses but the last thing I expected was that they were whipping pigs(ﾉﾟ0ﾟ)ﾉ~
Bai Lixin looked at the men who were fervently wielding the whips. The men they had just seen entering the house were now whipping the pigs. So when the villagers mentioned “a thousand strokes” earlier, did it mean a thousand lashes?
As the men whipped the pigs repeatedly, sweat began to bead on their foreheads. The men, who had seemed kind on the way here, were becoming more aggressive with each strike, their expressions growing fiercer.
With each lash, deep welts were left on the white pigs’ bodies.
Some men began to curse while whipping.
“Die, you fat pigs.”
“Why won’t you die, you stubborn creatures?!”
“If you die, we’ll have pork to eat. I’ll whip you greedy gluttons to death!”
“Die, you lazy good-for-nothings!”
“Die!”
As they cursed and lashed the pigs, some of the men’s eyes even turned red.
Li Cancan’s eyes went wide as she watched the pigs being relentlessly beaten while screaming in pain.
The screaming pigs, which had previously been covered in crisscrossing wounds, were gradually healing under the relentless whipping of the men.
Each time the men lashed, the wounds on the white pigs’ bodies would heal a bit.
Seeing the wounds starting to heal, the men intensified their blows, some even deliberately targeting the wounds that were bleeding, repeatedly whipping those areas.
“You wretched things!”
“Don’t heal anymore! Don’t you dare heal anymore!”
“I don’t believe my whipping speed is slower than your healing speed!”
“Why are you still screaming?! Stop that noise!”
While the wounds on the white pigs could heal, they undoubtedly felt the pain. With every strike of the whip, the white pigs emitted agonizing cries.
Some lay on the ground, and others leaned against the corners, but no matter where they went within the narrow space, they couldn’t escape the whip’s strikes.
The whips fell upon them like a storm, but within moments, their skin would be clean again, as if nothing had happened.
After watching for a few more minutes, it was Li Cancan who couldn’t take it anymore and stepped away.
Subsequently, Sun Ning left as well with a frown.
Beast Eared Dijia stayed with Bai Lixin for a while longer, then they both left.
On the way back, Li Cancan’s face turned unpleasant. “God Xin, those pigs… could they be transformed people? To put it more horrifyingly, could they be players?”
Sun Ning pondered, “I have a theory. Listen and tell me if it makes sense. When I first entered the village, I saw that the men here were very chauvinistic, while the women appeared gentle. Also, children frequently went missing, so I initially thought this village was involved in child trafficking.”
“But these past few days, something seems off. Our lodging is fine, but I noticed male players slowly integrating into the village’s life.”
“Gentle Village, or a hero’s tomb.”
“Is it possible that the men have a problem, but the women have an even bigger issue?”
“Even if a submissive woman is treated like that by a man and can’t resist, she wouldn’t like it at the bottom of her heart. But these women seem to accept everything with eagerness. Isn’t their way of looking at men strange? It’s like they see men not as individuals but as products.”
Li Cancan looked puzzled. “And then?”
“Then, my theory is this: these women probably change husbands every so often. The previous husband who’s become useless turns into a pig, kept inside that iron house,” Sun Ning gestured towards the blue iron house, “so these pigs are the former husbands of these women.”
“Why do I have this theory? Because I noticed these women seem to intentionally or unintentionally seduce male players like us. At first, I didn’t pay much attention, but yesterday, when we sent that player with the small braid down the mountain, do you know what that Sister Song did?”
Bai Lixin was curious. “What did she do?”
Sun Ning continued, “She actually cradled his leg and used her mouth to clean the blood from his wound. Her fingers deliberately brushed over his leg, clearly trying to seduce him.”
“I warned him at the time, but he seemed to really like it. Not only did he not listen, but he also scolded me, so I couldn’t be bothered anymore.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
Cleaning a wound with the mouth…
Li Cancan: “So, if I understand correctly, all the men are now here whipping pigs, and in that one household, there are only that player and Sister Song, right? If Sister Song is intentionally seducing him, that player might succumb, right?”
The group exchanged glances, and Sun Ning hesitated. “Should we check on him? Although there might not be much effect. If he wants to succumb, it’ll be impossible to pull him back. Moreover, we can’t watch him 24/7.”
Bai Lixin said, “Let’s take a look.”
On their way to find Small Braid, Bai Lixin briefly recounted what he had heard in front of Pan Pan’s door last night.
Li Cancan and Sun Ning were shocked and found it hard to believe. As each piece of the puzzle gradually unfolded, they began to realize that the truth seemed to be entirely different from their initial judgments.
When Bai they arrived at Small Braid’s home, Pan Pan’s door next door was tightly closed, but surprisingly, the courtyard to Small Braid’s house was open.
Li Cancan was about to knock on the door but was stopped by Sun Ning.
At Li Cancan’s puzzled expression, Sun Ning made a “shushing” motion.
The next moment, Sun Ning gently pushed the courtyard door open and entered silently.
Sister Song was not in the courtyard.
The spacious courtyard was empty, and Sister Song was not inside the main house either.
The group stood in the courtyard, and after only two seconds, faint, soft sobbing sounds gradually reached their ears.
They followed the sound and found that it was coming from Small Braid’s room.
They walked slowly to the window.
It was daytime, but the curtains in Small Braid’s room were still drawn. Bai Lixin found a gap and looked inside. He saw Sister Song sitting on the bed, looking sorrowful, her head resting on Small Braid’s shoulder as she cried in distress.
Small Braid’s body seemed somewhat stifd, and his expression was flustered as he tried to comfort the woman with words, but he seemed unsure of where to place his hands and feet.
“I’m in pain, Xiao Zhao, do you know?” Sister Song covered her chest. “If time could flow backward, I wouldn’t have married here or suffered so much.”
“I always thought all men were the same until you came. I realized there are men like you in the world—gentle, kind, and sincere. Most importantly, you care for women.” Sister Song looked at Small Braid with misty eyes. “Xiao Zhao, if I had been born a few years later, or if you had been born a few years earlier, maybe I wouldn’t have been so hasty.”
The woman wiped away her tears with her sleeve. “Sigh, it’s all fate.”
After she finished speaking, another tear the size of a bean rolled down from her eye.
When this woman cried, it was beautiful. It wasn’t the hysterical and unruly type of crying; her tears didn’t fall in a continuous stream. Instead, bean-sized tear droplets fell one by one from her eyes.
“Sister Song, please don’t cry, I feel distressed.” Small Braid, who was watching her, turned redder in the face. He gazed fixedly at the woman’s delicate and beautiful face, his expression becoming increasingly infatuated.
Small Braid raised his hand, and with his index finger, he gently wiped away the teardrops with the back of his hand.
Perhaps he was losing his mind, but when he saw the tears on the back of his hand, Small Braid had an inexplicable desire to lick them.
“Xiao Zhao,” Sister Song suddenly grabbed Small Braid’s hand. “Can you be my little brother? I’m the only child in my family, and I’ve always wanted a little brother. If I had a gentle and considerate little brother like you, I would wake up from dreams with a smile.”
Small Braid was stunned, and his expression became unnatural for a moment. After a few seconds, he asked, “Am I really that good?”
Sister Song said, “Of course, Xiao Zhao, you’re the best. Besides, once you become my little brother, my man, your brother-in-law, won’t be so suspicious anymore. Is that okay, dear little brother?”
Small Braid’s expression became somewhat gloomy. “Why do you keep mentioning that man? What’s so good about him?”
“Don’t say that,” Sister Song said angrily, furrowing her brow. “He’s your brother-in-law. Even if he’s not good, he’s still my man. You can’t speak ill of him like that.”
Small Braid was somewhat puzzled. “Why are you defending him like this? Is it worth it?”
Sister Song replied, “It’s not a matter of worthiness, but because he’s my man. If I don’t defend my own man, who will? If you were my man, I would defend you in the same way.”
Small Braid was stunned.
Once the words were out, Sister Song seemed to realize she misspoke and panicked. “That’s not what I meant. I was just giving an example.”
Small Braid stared at Sister Song’s face, then looked at her hand. Suddenly, his body recalled the strange sensation of the woman’s fingers on his leg from yesterday.
He discreetly gulped and said, “Sister, um, could you help me clean my wound again? It’s a bit itchy, maybe it’s infected.”
Sister Song quickly got up, saying with concern, “Is it hurting again? It must be from the injuries you sustained last night.”
She hastily took out bandages and antiseptic powder from a drawer. As she lowered her head to tend to Small Braid’s wounds, Small Braid stared at the woman’s slender neck and inexplicably reached out to touch it.
The woman froze for a moment, but said nothing and continued to tend to the wounds quietly.
An ambiguous atmosphere lingered around them.
Seeing this, Sun Ning frowned, pointed to the door, and the group silently left the courtyard.
“It might be impossible to persuade him,” Sun Ning leaned against the wall, her back slightly arched. “Men in love tend to think with their lower halves. Even if we tell him this woman is a man-eating demon, he won’t believe us.”
After saying that, she paused suddenly, looked at Bai Lixin and then at Beast Ear with some embarrassment, and said with a dry smile, “Uh, not you two, haha, haha.”
Beast Eared Dijia said, “It’s okay, I haven’t escaped the law of thinking with my lower half either. I really want to have a cub with Xin Xin, but he’s not willing.”
Sun Ning: “…”
Li Cancan: “…”
‘So, should we go?’
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘Or maybe I should take him back to the mountains?
I can’t afford to keep this person.’
“Ahem,” Sun Ning looked at Small Braid’s house and then at Pan Pan’s house. “Since we’re here, should we visit Pan Pan’s house?”
Li Cancan: “I’ll knock.”
Before knocking on the door, Li Cancan listened through the courtyard door. Vaguely, it seemed like she heard a child singing inside. She knocked on the door while asking, “Is anyone there?”
The singing inside suddenly stopped, followed by the sound of small, rapid footsteps.
The sound was fragmented and very different from Pan Pan’s mother opening the door. It sounded like a child’s footsteps. It was probably Pan Pan’s footsteps.
Originally, they thought Pan Pan might not open the door for them, but unexpectedly, Pan Pan opened the door and stood behind the threshold, looking up at these strangers she had met a few times already. “It’s you guys again.”
Li Cancan looked inside and then back at Pan Pan. “Where’s your mommy, Pan Pan?”
“She’s gone out. She won’t be back until almost evening,” Pan Pan’s pitch-black pupils stared at Li Cancan. There was neither the crying of their first meeting nor the caution and wariness of their second encounter. She answered questions openly.
Pan Pan’s gaze moved away from Li Cancan and Sun Ning, landing on Bai Lixin and Beast Eared Dijia behind them. “Are you here to find my mom too? Do you want to play seesaw and sticking tree bark games with mommy?”
The four of them instantly exchanged glances, all with dark expressions.
Li Cancan quickly bent down and gazed into Pan Pan’s eyes. She spoke softly, “Who taught you all this, Pan Pan?”
Pan Pan tilted her head innocently. Her actions seemed very naïve, but her eyes were indifferent. The combination of such incongruent actions and her expression made her appear eerie. “The uncles in the village told me. They said they really like playing games with my mom. They said my mommy is the best at playing games in the whole village. They even told Pan Pan to learn from mommy. They said that when Pan Pan grows up, Pan Pan should also play games with my mom.”
The four of them suddenly frowned, and an unidentifiable anger surged to their foreheads.
Turn them into pigs. Let all these scumbags turn into pigs; it would be no loss!
Afraid of scaring the little girl in front of them, Li Cancan took a deep breath and struggled to maintain her composure. “If Mommy doesn’t come back at noon, what will you have for lunch, Pan Pan?”
Pan Pan turned and pointed to the kitchen. “Mommy left food and snacks for Pan Pan at noon, so I can eat.”
“Then do you know where your Mommy went?”
Pan Pan shook her head. “I don’t know. Mommy doesn’t like to be at home, so she’s usually not at home during the day.”
“Uncles, aunties, do you want to come in and sit down? I can pour you some water.”
After a moment of hesitation, everyone entered Pan Pan’s home. While walking through the yard, Li Cancan couldn’t help but give a piece of advice, “Pan Pan, there are many bad people outside. If someone knocks on the door when Mommy’s not home, don’t open it. It could be dangerous, okay?”
Pan Pan looked up at Li Cancan with her pitch-black eyes and replied in a childish tone, “Thank you, Auntie, but Pan Pan won’t meet bad people.”
Bai Lixin: “Is it because this village is very safe?”
“No,” Pan Pan blinked, “Because Pan Pan is Pan Pan, so there’s no danger.”
Everyone: “…”
