Chapter 5 Chapter 4 Lime Pool

As if in an instant, everyone disappeared, and I was the only one standing outside the door of the hotel.A sense of aloneness surrounds me and leaves me cold.After standing still for a long time, I returned to the house.The little bed was messy, leaving traces of the girl's struggle and resistance, and it also made me deeply understand the girl's fear and pain.This atrocity happened right in front of my eyes, but I was powerless to stop it. I sat on the edge of the bed slumped, with a sluggish expression and numb movements, like a walking dead, and it seemed that I had just woken up from a nightmare.

There were footsteps in the corridor outside the house again, hurried and messy.Before I recovered from my daze, two men had rushed to the door of the hut.I didn't close the door when I returned to the room, so the two of them broke in directly and asked in a rough voice, "Are you that detective named Feng?" "It's me. What's wrong?" I stood up vigilantly and asked back.Those two men had big arms and round waists, and they were dressed in bunts, and they could tell at a glance that the visitor was not good. The visitor didn't answer, but approached me with a sneer.When I was about to ask again, the man walking in front suddenly raised his arm and punched me in the abdomen.I was completely unprepared, this time I was hit hard, my internal organs were immediately overwhelmed, and I almost lost my breath.I curled up in pain and bent into a big shrimp.

The two men rushed forward and took advantage of the situation to push me to the ground.I wanted to shout, but my chest was heavy, and I could only make faint muffled hums.Those two were very agile. They twisted my arms behind my back, took out the hemp rope that I carried with me, and tied me up tightly.I managed to catch my breath just now, and I struggled to ask, "You... what are you going to do?" The visitor remained silent.The person who hit me earlier grabbed a bunch of rags and stuffed it in my mouth without thinking; the other person reached out and grabbed it behind, and untied a huge linen bag from his waist.I watched helplessly as the other party propped the bag open and pulled it over my head, so that I was put in the sack, with only half of my calf exposed.And those two people held the sack, one after the other lifted me up and walked out the door.Their actions were extremely rude. When I went out, my head probably hit the door frame, and the pain made my eyes stare.But those two didn't care at all, they just carried me forward.

Now I have a rag stuffed in my mouth, a rope tied around my body, and a sack over my head. I can neither speak nor move, and even my vision is blocked.I can only judge my surroundings by hearing.I vaguely felt that the two of them carried me and bent a few times, and there seemed to be whispers of discussion outside the sack.I was overjoyed and thought to myself: Someone has already seen me, as long as I tell the shopkeeper, the shopkeeper will not allow me to be plundered like this. But my good wishes were quickly shattered.I heard one of the two men yelling: "Boy, just charge this kid's store money to Mr. Ling's account!" Then a guy responded: "Okay, you two go slowly."

My heart suddenly sank.It is now confirmed that these two murderers were sent by Ling Mufeng.And they kidnapped me in broad daylight, and the guys in the store didn't care about it!Could it be that Ling Mufeng is really so hands-on and unscrupulous in Feng'an Town?I thought of the old policeman's warning before leaving, and my back felt a little chilly. Where are these two taking me?What will it do to me?I have no answer for this.There is only helplessness and loneliness in my heart. While hesitating, he suddenly felt a cool breeze rushing into the sack, as if he was outside.Immediately, those two people pressed me, including me and the sack, on a table.When the table moved slowly, I realized that I was in a rickshaw.It seems that one person is pulling the cart in front, and another person is sitting next to me and holding the sack to prevent me from struggling.The car gradually accelerated, first walking in the town for a while.Then the bumpy feeling of the car body became stronger and stronger, while the surrounding voices gradually became colder.Although I couldn't see it, I knew it in my mind: I'm afraid it's out of town and going to the surrounding mountains.

After another half an hour, the rickshaw finally stopped.I was also carried out of the car by those two people.Immediately, the sack on top of my head was also torn off, my eyes lit up, and I could finally see things around me. As I expected, this place is indeed a desolate mountain depression.Weeds grew all around me, and a pile of rubble lay beneath me.Then I raised my eyes to widen my sight, but saw a huge hole in the mountain not far away, which should be the trace left by artificial mining.I remembered what the guy at the hotel said: There are many mines in the mountains to the south that belong to the Ling family.It seems that here and here is one of them.

After understanding this environment, I began to twist my body and make a "woo-woo" sound in my mouth, wanting to communicate with the other party.But those two people just acted as if I didn't exist. One of them looked up at the sky and muttered, "When will it rain?" Another person said: "What are you worrying about? Just send him to the pool, and we can do business!" rain?pond?I can't understand what the two of them are discussing.Looking around, the sky is really covered with thick clouds, and it looks like mountain rain is coming. The person from before greeted: "Okay, let's do it." The two of them worked together to lift me up again, and stopped after walking a few steps.Then they started shaking their arms, making my body swing back and forth.I immediately realized: this is going to throw me out!I was extremely anxious, but I had no strength to resist.

The two chanted while swinging: "One, two, three!" When they yelled three, they let go at the same time.My body flew out obliquely, and then fell into the air again.I didn't know where I would fall, so I could only close my eyes instinctively.Fortunately, the fall was not too deep, and in just a short moment, I fell to the ground with a "poof".This time the body was very soft, compared to just lying in the weeds and gravel, it was much more comfortable.I hurriedly opened my eyes and looked around, only to find that I was in a square pit, about one meter deep, filled with grayish white mud, half dry and not wet, emitting a pungent smell. Choking smell.The smell was very familiar, and I realized after a while: This is actually a pool full of lime!

The two men stood by the pool and clapped their hands, posing leisurely as if they were done.I tried my best to turn over and looked up at those two people, terrified in my heart.Thinking about their previous conversations, is it because they want to abandon me in this pond full of lime? It turns out my guess was right!The two men stared at me for a while, convinced that I could not escape, and then they left together.I lay on my back in the lime pond alone, and what I could see above my head were dark clouds, and what I could hear was the stern mountain wind. Such a desolate and miserable situation made me want to cry without tears.

I don't know how long I lay there.I suddenly recalled those two men.From the moment they appeared, they never spoke a word to me except for the initial question: "Are you that detective surnamed Feng?"I know that such an attitude represents a kind of extreme contempt.What are they going to do to me?There is no need to let me know about this matter, and there is no need to discuss it with me.They just do it, and I just take it.I have no room for resistance or bargaining, not even a chance to beg for mercy.My fate is completely in the hands of the other party, and they don't care what I think.

Maybe in the eyes of the other party, I am just an ant.When you are going to destroy an ant, why bother to experience its emotion?Its sorrow, its anger, its fear, what have all this to do with you? Such contempt left me deeply humiliated.For the first time in my life, I felt so small and humble.what can i doIn front of such a powerful opponent, I am simply vulnerable! I made a promise to my lover, but am I really capable of fulfilling that promise? When I think of my lover, a flame suddenly ignites in my heart.I know I can't give up.What will she do if I give up?Do you want her to sink in pain forever? No, I will never allow it!I must fight on! And I haven't lost everything yet, at least I'm still alive!Although this place is remote, it is a mining area after all.Just be patient and someone will come.Then I will be free again.There may be a lot of pain in the middle: hunger, cold, loneliness... But what are these pains compared with my lover?It is absolutely impossible for the other party to want me to succumb based on this! This self-motivation made my blood boil again, and I even felt that my whole body was burning hot.I didn't notice it at first, but the burning feeling got stronger and stronger.I forced myself to calm down for a while, and then I realized: the scorching heat didn't come from my blood, but from the lime beneath me! The lime has soaked through my clothes and is giving off more and more heat as it makes contact with my body.After realizing this, I began to appreciate that the lime in the pool wasn't too soggy.You know, the more the lime meets the water, the more it burns.And the lime will become softer after soaking in water.If there was a little more water in this pool, my whole body would be plunged into the scorching lime, and my life would be in danger! As I was thinking about it, suddenly a drop of water hit my cheek.I realized something, and quickly raised my eyes to look at the sky, only to see thousands of raindrops finally penetrated the clouds and were continuously falling from the sky. My heart sank, and only then did I understand why the two of them discussed the issue of "raining" earlier.This weather change is obviously something in their plan.They are so vicious, they seem to put me to death! I was kidnapped at the hotel and taken here all the way.This incident was not only seen by the shop assistants, but also many passers-by along the way.Why is Ling Mufeng so rampant, daring to take someone's life in full view?No matter how dark this small town is, it is still under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China. Could it be that there is no kingly law? Thinking about it further, I suddenly understood the mystery, and couldn't help laughing secretly: Yes, it is the most important part of Ling Mufeng's plan that it will not rain this day! The surname Ling sent someone to throw me into this lime pond, and this act itself was not fatal.But after the rainwater drenched the lime pool, the damp and slaked lime was enough to burn me to death.At that time, if there is a police investigation, Ling Mufeng can attribute my death to natural disasters—that is, he only wanted to teach me a lesson, but who knew that it was going to rain?In this way, even if he was punished, the punishment would be limited, as long as he spent a few dollars and let those two men stand up, Ling Mufeng would be able to get over the matter. After thinking through this layer, I really felt the fear of extinction.Although the lime under my body was getting hotter and hotter, my body was shivering in the cold rain.I twisted and struggled with all my strength, trying to break free from the shackles of the rope.But all this was in vain, my hands and feet were tightly bound and could not be loosened at all. I do it the other way around: start rolling in lime.The damp lime took the opportunity to stain my whole body, and my innocent head and neck were not spared this time, and I had to bear the burning pain.After a while, I rolled to the edge of the lime pond, and my body touched the mud beside the pond, and I seemed to have a little sense of security.But the pool was one meter deep, and I was tied up like a rice dumpling, so I couldn't jump out of the pool no matter what. I took a short breath, then adjusted my body angle, and turned into a posture facing the pool wall.I tried my best to raise my jaw, pressed my mouth against the mud on the pool wall, and rubbed back and forth.Soil dust rustled down, bringing with it a stench of decay.And the rag stuffed in my mouth slowly loosened in the process.I don't know how long it took, but the lower half of my face was numb anyway, and the rag finally came loose from my mouth.I couldn't wait to shake my neck twice, shake off the cloth ball completely, and then raised my voice and shouted: "Help~Help!" My shout echoed in the empty valley, and if anyone was nearby, they would have heard it.But I yelled for a long time, but I still didn't get any response.When I got tired of shouting, I stopped and started to recall what I saw before I was thrown into the lime pit.At that time, I saw a huge mine pit on the mountain, but there was no worker around the pit, and weeds were overgrown around the pit.I began to realize that this mine may have been abandoned long ago.In this case, there will be no people around at all, so what's the use of shouting out my throat? My heart is decadent again.I lay down in the lime pool, motionless for a long time, as if dead.Is this the end?My life and my mission, and my promise. I thought of my lover, I thought of that girl.Scene after scene emerged in my mind.I began to regret: maybe I really underestimated the enemy.I just want to fulfill that promise, but if I can't even protect myself, isn't everything empty talk? The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the limestone under my body had obviously softened a lot.My body is sinking deeper and deeper, and my skin is getting hotter and hotter.Just when I was getting more and more desperate, a voice suddenly came: "Look, here it is." It was a man's voice, which sounded strange.I suddenly followed the sound and saw a young man standing by the lime pond.He was wearing a police uniform and was eyeing me with a sneer and gloating expression. "Help! Help!" I seemed to be grasping the straw of life-saving, and yelled in a hurry.Amid my shouts, another figure wandered to the edge of the lime pond.This person was also wearing a police uniform, and was about the same age as the previous one, except that he was slightly fatter. The later fat cop gave me a squinting look, then asked his companion, "Is he going to die?" "No one cares about him, of course he will die—" the thinner one muttered impatiently, "Don't talk about these useless things, hurry up and work." After finishing speaking, he jumped off the pool.The fat policeman frowned and jumped off.Because the lime in the pool was already very soft, when they jumped down, most of their feet sank in. The fat policeman complained: "Damn, what kind of work is this!" The thin policeman urged: "Don't talk nonsense, hurry up." The two of them lifted me up together and threw me to the bank of the pool.I finally broke free from the sea of ​​suffering, and I was so grateful.When those two people just climbed up to the edge of the pool, I was immediately moved and said, "Thank you, thank you for saving me!" The two looked at me indifferently, but there was no kindness on their faces.After a while, the skinny policeman narrowed his eyes and asked, "Are you Feng Yuanchi?" "Yes, it's me." I was taken aback for a moment: Why did these two people come prepared? The skinny policeman kicked me with his toes and said coldly, "You have been accused of abducting a woman from a good family. We are ordered to take you back to investigate." "Who is it? Is it the one surnamed Ling?" I retorted angrily, "False accusation, this is pure false accusation!" "The surname is Ling? You have a fucking tone!" The fat policeman also kicked me.His kick was much harder than his partner's. This kick hit my ribs, and the pain made me gasp. "Why do you hit people casually?" I grinned and asked.Because I realized that most of these two policemen were also facing Ling Mufeng, my speaking momentum has weakened a lot. "You a hooligan who kidnaps women, what happened to me?" The fat policeman was still unsatisfied, eager to kick again.The thin man next to him held him back: "Okay, let's talk about it when we go back to the institute—it's raining, and the clothes are all soaked!" After listening to the persuasion, the fat policeman squatted down and unfastened the ropes on my legs and feet, then pushed me and said, "Stand up for me, and open the way!" I was eager to leave this dangerous place, so I stood up very actively.Although he is now charged with unwarranted charges, he can always make it clear, right?Follow these two policemen, and you won't lose your life the last time. So the thin policeman led the way, and the fat policeman guarded me behind me. The three of us left this desolate mining area.After walking outside the mountain for more than half an hour, I finally returned to the town.I had heard before that there was a branch of the county police station in the town, but I didn't know where it was.Today can be regarded as acquainted.The station is not far from the train station, but the girl and I walked in another direction after getting off the train yesterday, so we never saw it. After entering the sub-station, two police officers took me directly to a closed hut.Knowing that such huts are generally used for interrogating prisoners, I felt a little bit of unease: I am obviously a victim of an accident, but these policemen want to treat me like a criminal! The two policemen each changed into clean clothes, then moved a chair and sat down.I was wet and lime-stained, cold in places and unbearably hot in others.That taste is really indescribable.Those two men paid no heed to my wretched situation, and proceeded with their "interrogation." The skinny policeman crossed his arms and asked me, "Feng Yuanchi, tell me the truth, how did you lure Chu Yun to Nanjing?" I immediately replied, "I didn't abduct anyone. When I met that girl outside Nanjing, she had lost her memory!" The fat policeman sneered "Hey": "Let me just say, he won't be honest!" "Come on, let's hang up overnight first." The skinny policeman clapped his hands.Of the two, he seemed to be the one making up his mind. The fat policeman stood up and walked to the middle of the cabin.There was a ring hanging from the beam of the hut, and a long rope hung from the ring through the ring, just hanging in the center of the room. The fat policeman picked up the rope, waved at me and said, "Come here!" I had a premonition that the situation was not good, so I refused to move. I just stood there vigilantly and asked, "What are you doing?" The fat policeman cursed rudely: "Damn, if you tell me to come here, just come here, why are you talking so much nonsense?!" As he spoke, he stepped up to my side and pulled my arm hard.The skinny policeman got up now and helped his companion push me.I couldn't carry it on my own and was quickly pushed and dragged under the rings.The fat policeman pulled the dangling end of the rope around the rope that bound my wrist, and then tied a knot again.My wrists were already tied behind my back, but now there is an extra rope wrapped around it, as if to lead me from behind. The two policemen let me go, and four hands held the other end of the rope at the same time.Then they worked together to pull the rope down.This force passed through the suspension ring to my wrist, and I only felt my arms tighten, and my whole body was involuntarily lifted up. I quickly lost my center of gravity, and I could only touch the ground with my toes, turning my body crookedly.This state made me very insecure, and I shouted in a panic: "What are you doing? Let me down!" But instead of letting me go, those two people pulled the end of the rope and tied it to the window lattice of the hut.Then the skinny policeman walked up to me again, and said in a strange way: "Brother, we are already being merciful. If you hang it higher, so that your feet can't reach the ground, your hands will be useless after one night." !" I believe he is not trying to scare me.Now the weight of my whole body is almost being strangled by the rope on my wrist, and there are bursts of pain in my mouth.If it weren't for the two feet that could barely share some of it, how could those hands alone be able to bear it? "It's getting late, we brothers should go out for a drink." The fat policeman stood by the window and greeted his companion.The skinny policeman nodded, turned around and left the hut with the fat man.They locked the door behind their backs, and walked away on their own. "Don't go! Let me down!" I yelled twice angrily, but I knew that such yelling would not have any effect. The sky outside the window is gradually dimming, and I have been tossed about for a whole day.During this day, I have suffered a lot both mentally and physically.Now he is half-hanged here again, with an empty stomach, thirsty and hungry.I tried my best to support it for a while, and my mind began to gradually become blurred.But I have a hard time falling asleep.Because as long as my body is slightly relaxed, my wrist will be tightly suspended, and the pain is unbearable. At this time, I have to force myself and continue to stand on tiptoe.I was suffering like this in a half-dream and half-awake state, and every second seemed like years.In the end, I couldn't bear the extreme exhaustion, and finally closed my eyes.I can't tell whether I fell asleep or passed out.