Chapter 7 — The Flight of No Return

That man also desired a city bride, and Phoenix willingly stepped forward to arrange it. He had told the villager, "Just give me five thousand yuan, and I will bring you back a wife."

Five thousand yuan in exchange for a human being. The eager friend readily agreed. Once that first transaction was successfully completed, Phoenix grew bolder and far more adept at his grim trade. The price he demanded steadily escalated, climbing step by step from the initial five thousand yuan all the way up to thirty thousand yuan for a woman like the ones traded today. With a severe shortage of women in the remote village and exorbitant bride prices demanded elsewhere, the villagers were desperate to spend less to secure wives. Conveniently, they were also able to provide a protective shield of silence for Phoenix. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement built on voluntary participation—one side wanted a woman, the other wanted money, with neither coercing the other. Yet, if true responsibility were assigned, Phoenix was unquestionably the mastermind, the true ringleader of the human trafficking network. Following the paper trail of money through Phoenix's bank accounts, the police inevitably discovered that at regular intervals, he received substantial sums of money from unknown sources. These deposits matched the villagers' testimonies with absolute precision. The evidence of his criminal actions and motives was ironclad and indisputable.

Following my discharge from the hospital, I returned home with my parents. Stepping through the threshold once again, an overwhelming sensation washed over me, as though I had truly been granted a second life.

Six months after the horrifying ordeal, the court convened for the trial. I attended as an observer, and Uncle Liu was present as well. He shared several intricate details of the case with me, including the full extent of Phoenix's depravity. I furrowed my brow, my breathing growing heavy. From a few thousand to tens of thousands of yuan... For such a meager sum of money, he had utterly destroyed so many lives and shattered so many families. Phoenix was far more monstrous than I could have ever imagined.

Because the evidence was crystal clear, the truth undeniable, and numerous victims stepped forward to testify, the verdict was delivered swiftly. Phoenix, as the principal mastermind who engaged in the abduction and trafficking of human beings for financial gain—directly or indirectly causing multiple deaths—exhibited a cruelty so profound and consequences so severe that it ignited universal outrage. He was sentenced to death, to be executed immediately. The other complicit villagers were handed sentences ranging from life imprisonment to lengthy terms behind bars.

Upon hearing the verdict, Phoenix collapsed bonelessly into his chair. His face was haggard, ashen, devoid of the aggressive arrogance and boundless energy he had once possessed, as if every ounce of vitality had been violently drained from his body. Ultimately, he was dragged away by the bailiffs. Watching him reduced to this pathetic state, a long-held fury finally released from my chest. The demon had ultimately reaped the punishment he so richly deserved.

Upon leaving the courthouse, my mother gently linked her arm through mine. "Shu, my child, are you alright?" she asked with tender concern. Having testified in court earlier, I had been forced to relive the harrowing details of Phoenix's crimes repeatedly, and my mother feared I would break under the strain.

I shook my head, just as I was about to speak, a voice called out my name.

"Nhan Shu?"

I turned in a daze. Not far away stood a young woman, accompanied by her parents. I stared at her. "Are you Zeng Hui?"

She nodded. "It is me."

On the evening the police had rescued us down the mountain, I had caught a glimpse of her from afar. Back then, her back had been hunched, her body so emaciated it scarcely resembled human form. Both of her legs had been brutally broken and twisted into grotesque shapes, requiring officers to carry her away. Her hair was dry and brittle, her appearance utterly ruined; she bore no resemblance to a woman of only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, stripped entirely of youth and vitality.

Today, a faint scar still lingered across her forehead, but her complexion was remarkably healthy, her face rosy, and she appeared to have gained a little weight. Her spirit was vastly improved, her eyes bright and clear. I looked down toward her feet. "Are your legs fully healed?" I asked, joy evident in my voice.

She smiled and nodded. "After returning home, I underwent surgery to mend the shattered bones. They are as good as healed now."

My voice grew slightly hoarse. "It must have hurt terribly."

"It didn't hurt," she replied with a soft smile. "No matter how excruciating the pain was, it could never compare to the day my legs were broken."

A sharp ache pierced my heart, mirrored by the sorrow etched across my parents' faces.

"That night down the mountain, I heard the police mention that a young girl had risked her life to guide them up the slopes." She looked directly at me. "It was only today in court that I realized you were that girl."

She bowed deeply. "Thank you."

Her parents bowed right along with her. I waved my hands frantically in refusal. At that exact moment, I heard that familiar, raspy voice echo once more within my mind: *Thank you. You saved me, and in doing so, you saved yourself.*

Then, the voice slowly faded into silence. I knew she would not appear again.

I watched as Zeng Hui's family walked away together. Though her legs were still undergoing rehabilitation and her gait was unsteady, supported gently by her parents on either side, I knew one thing with absolute certainty: every single step she took into the future would lead her toward a brighter, better life.