Chapter 26

  The road was quiet as if in a nightmare. As soon as she got on the car, before she could think about what was happening, two big hands covered her eyes. Immediately, a large piece of black cloth tied her eyes tightly like a bandage. The world suddenly became dark and terrifying, she couldn't think of anything else. The car drove with a loud whooshing sound, her heart stopped beating as if it had fallen into an endless abyss.

  It wasn't until she was dragged out of the car, pushed to a place, and had her bound eyes and hands untied, and the cloth stuffed in her mouth removed that she vaguely understood what was happening. "Bandits abducting young people" - she had heard of it, the Nationalist Party often used this sinister tactic to capture young people. Many people never returned after being taken away like this.

  "Die! The time for sacrifice has come!" She thought, as she was pushed into a 'gate'.

  At this time, she could have opened her eyes to see where she had arrived, but she didn't open them.

  She didn't want to see this den of sin, as if she would surely die, she closed her eyes and waited for the final moment.

  "You're so young, how did you end up in a place like this?"

  "Why bother going to court?"

  "Why don't you open your eyes? This isn't a place for old monks to cultivate themselves, what's the point of closing them here?"

  Many women's gentle inquiries and greetings made her have to open her eyes.

  The dampness, darkness, crowding and musty smell made her immediately understand that this was a prison cell, not some sort of magical cave or execution ground. Someone gave up their seat to her, so she sat down on the edge of the kang, surrounded by many female prisoners.

  "Why are you in trouble?" Several women almost simultaneously asked curiously.

  "I don't know." Dao Jing rubbed his sore arms, looking at the many unfamiliar faces and said, "I finished teaching my class and was walking halfway when suddenly someone lifted me into a car. They covered my eyes, stuffed my mouth, and sent me to this place."

  "Ah, you must be a political prisoner! Why did they also bring you to this place? What's your story?" A disheveled and thin woman with a smoky face, dark eye circles, and furrowed eyebrows.

  The hall was quiet and urgent, and he hastily asked them: "What cases are you all in this room?"

  A fat woman with gold teeth, afraid that the thin woman would take precedence, hastily counted on her fingers and said: "What case do you want to ask about? This is a comprehensive one! 'Flower' case, gambling case, smoking case, robbery case, plus kidnapping, private escape, white-faced addict!" When she said the last sentence, the fat woman gave a cold laugh at the thin woman, revealing her mouth full of gold teeth.

  The thin woman seemed to have been insulted, her face slightly red, and immediately retaliated against the fat woman: "You don't know! There are also those brothel women here, prostitutes and pimps - a whole set of stinky girls! This kind of person, Yang Mei's big boil on her face still thinks she has a lot of dignity!"

  The fat woman was on fire, and with one mouthful of spittle, she splattered the thin woman's face. The room erupted in a cacophony of wails and curses, almost lifting off the stench and darkness that filled it. The female guard rushed over, shouting insults, before the room gradually quieted down. Dao Jing felt a wave of disgust wash over her. What kind of people were these? She wished she could be placed with the political prisoners instead - even being executed would be better than this. One by one, she looked at the women packed into the room: some country-dressed women hung their heads in despair; but others, dressed in dirty and tattered silk, seemed utterly carefree - some hummed little ditties; some swallowed opium pills; some lay on the wooden platform, blowing smoke rings and rolling their eyes.

  "Ah, these people seem familiar?" Dao Jing stood in the corner of the wall, deep in thought. Suddenly, her father's concubine, her mother's fierce face, the small tune, the slapping mahjong tiles... Many forgotten scenes and characters from the past floated clearly in her mind at this moment. She spat out saliva in disgust, not wanting to think about these things anymore. Looking around and finding no place on the kang, she squatted in the corner, hugging her head and pretending to sleep.

  The ground was cold and damp. She had been squatting for a long time and could only sit down. She couldn't sleep all night, thinking repeatedly about why the Kuomintang had brought her here? How did they know about her? If it was because of the flyers, because of ***'s friend, then why didn't they lock her up with the other political prisoners? She remembered that there were still a few leftover flyers in the pocket of the clothes in the trunk, and at the bottom of the trunk, there was also the secret publication that Dai Yu had given her. Would they find them if they searched? "For this reason alone, the Kuomintang might execute me?" Thinking about this, she felt both hot and cold, staring wide-eyed with no sleepiness, until it was almost dawn before she dozed off a little.

  The next afternoon, she was brought to the court. The judge had just asked her name, age, and place of origin, when a tall, thin man in a western suit emerged from the dark back of the courtroom. He walked up to the judge's ear and whispered something, and the judge nodded repeatedly. Lin Daojing looked at the tall, thin man with a familiar face, but couldn't quite remember where she had seen him before. Just as she felt a little surprised, the judge said to her: "Lin Daojing, your case has been transferred to the municipal party committee for handling. Now you can be released on bail by Mr. Hu Meng'an."

  "Who is Hu Meng'an? Who is this Hu Meng'an that he can bail me out?..." She walked out of the cold grey walls with a heavy heart and deep misgivings, only to realize when she turned back that she had spent a night in the police station's detention house.

  She hastily hailed a taxi and returned to her apartment, closing the door behind her. Just as she was about to check what had been lost, the door opened again and Hu Meng'an, who had just been released on bail, also walked in.

  "Miss Lin, I'm so sorry to hear that! I've come especially to offer my condolences." Hu Meng'an removed his exquisite grey felt hat, revealing a smiling face as he nodded and bowed towards Dao Jing.

  "Ah!......" Dao Jing jumped up like a scorpion had stung her. She suddenly jumped to the corner of the wall, staring at that 'refined' yellow face with white eye balls flashing, for a long time unable to utter a word, "He, he isn't the one who bribed Mother to get rid of her Hu Director, is he?...... It turns out, it turns out he's a special agent from the Municipal Party Committee......"

  "Haha, Miss Lin doesn't have to be afraid. It's been a long time since we last met, I came especially to visit you. Please sit down." He gestured with his hand for Dao Jing to take a seat, but Dao Jing didn't sit down. Instead, he himself sat down first, leaning forward slightly.

  Dao Jing was stunned for a moment, forcing herself to suppress the fear and disgust in her heart, slowly walking to the edge of the 'door', standing on the 'door' frame.

  "Time flies, it's been over two years since we last met." Hu Meng'an puffed on his cigarette, slowly exhaling rings of white smoke. With a gentle and elegant demeanor, he said softly, "After you left, Lin's mother was frantic; I was anxious too... Miss Lin, do you know? I have always admired you so much... From then on, I lost heart and gave up the idea of getting married..." He flicked away his cigarette butt, spat out a wad of saliva, and gazed at Dao Jing's pale face, as if waiting for her response.

  However, Dao Jing neither looked at him nor made a sound.

  After a while, Hu Meng'an saw that Dao Jing didn't seem to want to talk, so he lit another cigarette with his lighter and put it in his mouth. He found the hard wooden chair very uncomfortable, so he moved it a little further away from the wall, propped the back of the chair against the wall, and leaned back on the makeshift "sofa" with his legs stretched out.

  "You don't know, do you?" He narrowed his eyes with a hint of regret, "Your father has passed away, and your mother went to the south; as for Little Feng, I originally wanted him to stay with me in Beiping to study, but later he wanted to follow his father, so he also went to the south - they're probably all in Nanjing. Hey, Miss Lin, I heard you've already found a suitable husband, where is he now?"

  Dào Jìng was startled and had a chill run down her spine, thinking: "How did he know all this?" She shifted her body slightly and said coldly: "Yes, we're very good...…"

  "Hahaha!" A sharp, whistle-like laughter echoed through the narrow and dimly lit room. "Don't try to hide it from me, okay? You two have already broken up, right? Because of different ideologies?... Alright, Miss Lin, I'm guessing your life must be quite tough. We're old friends, don't be polite, all troubles are on me. You probably haven't heard any news about me at all? In the past two years, my situation has been going alright, income is decent too, and I'm still single...

  Dào Jìng could no longer bear it, her disgust and hatred making her enunciate each word clearly: "If you have something to say to me, just say it! Why did you catch me? Why did you bail me out again? — I don't want to hear about past events, that family and you are all irrelevant to me!"

  It was easy to hear Dao Jing's words, Hu Meng'an straightened up and put down his cigarette, holding his breath and listening with rapt attention. When he finished, he smiled silently at Dao Jing and picked up his cigarette again.

  "Is that what you're asking? It's simple! The Garrison Command knows you participated in *** Party activities, so they arrested you. Luckily, I heard the news and used the party department's name to temporarily bail you out... Miss Lin, don't be so childish, calm down a bit! You know, I'm very fond of young people, and I do this work to save young people who have no choice but to do it...

  He nodded his head in self-admiration, then slowly said with a refined demeanor, "Nowadays, many young people are indeed misled by *** Party and go astray. Miss Lin, I really didn't expect that you would run out of your family and get into their arms. Unbelievable! Unbelievable!" He sighed repeatedly, and to make himself more comfortable, he leaned back on the hardwood "sofa" he had made, saying slowly, "Miss Lin, don't worry, with me, everything will be fine. No matter how many serious problems you've had in the past, with me... I can help you, guarantee that you won't..."

  "I'm not a threat to the country! I don't need your help either!" Dao Jing's heart was like a buried bomb exploding, she glared with anger and shouted, "I've seen through what you're made of long ago! We have nothing good to talk about, I don't want your guarantee or your pity, do whatever you want to me!"

  Hu Meng'an's smile was reined in, and his thin face twisted to the side as if he had been slapped. But after all, this was a very experienced person, and in an instant, he regained his extremely elegant demeanor. He gazed at Lin Daojing's pale but even more beautiful face, speaking calmly: "Please don't misunderstand, Miss Lin! We are old friends and can discuss anything openly. Do you know the severity of your case? Who posted many *** party flyers on the streets of Beiping? Who sent many flyers to schools? Who wanted to join the *** party in Beiping? Whose suitcase contained *** party publications and documents? ... Many serious things you will understand yourself, no need for me to elaborate. Jiang Xiaoxian is a ruthless devil who doesn't blink when killing people; he has investigated all these circumstances. He wants to personally handle your case, so the situation is extremely urgent... Miss Lin, it's not that I'm trying to show off, but I really did use a lot of effort to bring you to the municipal party department. Now, things are both easy and difficult to handle; everything depends on your own intentions, Miss Lin. I think you're an intelligent person, and you won't stubbornly hold onto something precious like your life, will you?" He spoke so tactfully, so sincerely, yet with such a bloody and frightening tone. After finishing, he let out a long sigh, as if filled with infinite regret.

  Dào Jìng was stunned, like a clay statue. "How? Do they all know about my affairs?" The revelation of these secrets added to her pain and terror. She bit her lips hard, trying to suppress the trembling caused by excessive excitement, and suddenly thought: Where did they investigate from?...

  "Good miss, don't worry, I'm here..." Hu Meng'an quietly got up and walked to the side of Dao Jing, softly speaking while gently placing his hand on her shoulder.

  "Get out!" Dao Jing shouted in a fit of rage, jumping to the edge of the table. Panting for a moment, he stared at Hu Meng'an and shouted, "You're spreading rumors - you're slandering - you're defaming the Party! What evidence do you have?"

  Hu Meng'an didn't respond to Dao Jing's words, he glanced at her and picked up the large leather bag on the table. He slowly opened the bag, pulled out a few red and green paper slips and several publications, and flashed them in front of her eyes like a treasure, with a faint smile: "What is this? Good miss!"

  Looking at those familiar pieces of paper - the words "Chinese Communist Party" stared back at her, and Dai Yu's Northern Red Flag had also fallen into the hands of the thieves... Seeing these things, she felt a surge of heat in her heart, almost to the point of tears. For the first time in her life, she tasted the flavor of hatred. All the hatred she had previously felt towards her family, society, and everything that had humiliated her and her mother was suddenly concentrated on the person who had stolen her flyers. She stared at him, her eyes fixed intently, her face turning from pale to deep red. Anger made her forget how to deal with cunning enemies, and she naively shouted, "The flyers are mine! The ones sent to each school were also sent by me... I hate you all! Hate you! Do whatever you want!"

  Hu Meng'an's face twisted again, and he continued to laugh dryly: "Haha, Miss Lin, I really feel sorry for you. Why did a smart person become confused for a moment? Don't be stubborn! You must be very tired today, take a good rest. I'm leaving, see you another day."

  He picked up his large leather bag, put on his hat. As he was about to leave the door, he turned back and nodded with a smile at Dao Jing who was standing by the window: "Think carefully, think carefully, clever miss. Sorry for disturbing you."