Anger, regret, unwillingness, self-blame…
All sorts of emotions flooded her mind, pushing her spirit to the brink of collapse.
She crawled out of the hospital room, opened the window, and with despair filling her heart, felt that the world was nothing more than this, and life was meaningless.
So she took a leap, wanting to be a bird that flew freely for the last time…
When she awoke again, her parents, their faces haggard, her eldest sister, whose figure had gone out of shape, and her younger brother, who gritted his teeth and remained silent, were by her side.
She was severely injured, but fortunately, she did not die, and there was hope for recovery.
Her younger brother, choking back sobs, held her hand and said, "Second sister, why don't you come back to the village? I'll work and support you."
At that very moment, she had a sudden realization.
Seeing her family gathered around her, she experienced a happiness and satisfaction she had never felt before.
She had been so foolish, resenting her family so much, yet in the end, it was they who cared about her the most.
For too many irrelevant things, she had wasted too much of her youth!
Thus, she regained her confidence and worked hard to recover. During this time, the estrangement with her family gradually dissolved, and half a year later, she returned to campus.
This time, she was no longer affected by the distractions of the outside world. Instead, she studied diligently, and slowly began to blossom with her own light.
After graduation, she was admitted to her desired company as planned, truly entering society and starting her career.
Because she was diligent, eager to learn, and outstanding in her abilities, her work proceeded very smoothly, and her salary steadily increased.
She often remitted her salary to her family. Her parents always refused to spend it, saying they were saving it for her dowry. Her younger brother always declined too, saying he would be richer than his sister in the future. Although her sister accepted her money, she would occasionally send some local specialties from their hometown.
Life became better and better. For the first time, she felt integrated into this city.
However…
On a cloudy, stifling night, she finished her overtime work and took a taxi home.
It was already two in the morning. Besides drunkards, there were few people on the street. To save money, the place she rented was quite remote.
As the lights receded further from her, and the taxi gradually drove into the darkness, she inexplicably felt a premonition.
Stop!
She almost shouted, but the taxi driver ignored her, stepping on the accelerator and turning onto a different intersection!
This was not the way home!
She frantically pushed at the car door, but it was already locked.
The driver stopped the car in a secluded corner, coldly pulled open the door, and bound her restraints!
She pleaded incessantly, but it did not awaken the driver's pity. Instead, it angered him. She received a heavy blow to her forehead, and her consciousness plunged into darkness.
When she woke up, she was in a completely unfamiliar place. It was pitch black all around, the air was cold and damp, and her nostrils were filled with a nauseating stench of decay.
She struggled a bit and found her hands and feet were shackled.
Help! Help!
She screamed hysterically. After an unknown period, a beam of light suddenly shone from above. Squinting and enduring the pain, she looked up and saw two men climbing in with smiles.
This was a cellar.
The two men exposed their dark and yellow teeth, spoke to her in a dialect she couldn't understand, and began to loosen their belts.
She seemed to understand something, her eyes gradually filled with despair.
…
She had been trafficked to a remote mountainous region, a place where crying out to heaven yielded no response and calling out to earth found no ground.
She was tormented in the cellar for a full ten years. She gave birth to child after child, and her spirit had long since broken.
In those ten years, she tried to escape, but each time she was found and subjected to beatings.
In those ten years, she also tried to get help from the villagers, but everyone just gave her a cold glance and told her to obey.
In those ten years, she thought of her parents, her eldest sister, her younger brother, and her friends in the city countless times.
In those ten years, she also considered ending her own life countless times, but it only resulted in new wounds without changing anything.
Finally, she grew old and sick, unwanted.
Like a rusted kitchen knife, completely useless.
So she was sold again, to an old man in the same village. The old man had come to drink the full moon wine of her son.
The old man's house also had a cellar. On their "wedding night," the old man brought her a red dress, forced her to wear it, and fearing she would escape, shackled her hands and feet with iron chains.
Just as when she first arrived in this village.
She suddenly went mad and threw herself at the old man.
The old man was also a fierce character. He grabbed a sickle from the corner and ruthlessly slashed at her.
After a scream, half of her face was severed.
But she felt no pain. Instead, with all her might, she snatched the sickle and slit the old man's throat.
Seeing the old man lying in a pool of blood, she couldn't help but give a wry laugh, unsure if it was at her own tragic fate or the fact that the day of liberation had finally arrived.
She laughed, and as she laughed, she collapsed too, falling into that dark and lightless cellar, perhaps never to be discovered.
In her dying moments, she couldn't help but think of her family again.
Her family loved her so much, and she once had such a bright future.
But all of it had now turned to smoke.
She wondered how heartbroken her family must have been after her disappearance.
She wondered how they were doing now.
But all of that was irrelevant to her now. Her life had come to a close here.
…
Unlike Lu Xin.
Taohua Ying, who was being tormented by Lu Xin, trembled and convulsed, occasionally sobbing softly.
On the other side, the red-clothed vengeful spirit had a numb expression, while Lin Zitong was on the verge of tears.
Lin Zitong had witnessed the life of the red-clothed vengeful spirit and empathized with all her encounters. Therefore, upon seeing the vengeful spirit's tragic end, Lin Zitong couldn't help but feel sad and sorry for her.
She was just an ordinary girl in this world.
Why should she endure such suffering?
Lu Xin glanced sideways at Lin Zitong.
She sneered inwardly, "She's still too green. Not only did she fail to control the red-clothed vengeful spirit, but her emotions were also disturbed by the spirit's experiences!"
Lu Xin had naturally also watched the past of the red-clothed vengeful spirit. However, her heart was as hard as iron, and she felt nothing about it, which was why she could control the vengeful spirit with forceful means.
Lin Zitong's current state seemed ridiculous to Lu Xin.
Empathizing with a vengeful spirit?
The reason a red-clothed vengeful spirit is called so is because they harbor grievances and suffered immense pain in their lives.
Lin Zitong empathizing with the red-clothed vengeful spirit would only increase the difficulty of controlling the spirit!
Lu Xin's method was completely different. She did not want to empathize with Taohua Ying; instead, she made Taohua Ying constantly experience pain to achieve the goal of tormenting her into a breakdown.
In comparison, Lu Xin believed her method was more effective.
"Lin Zitong is absolutely incapable of controlling the red-clothed vengeful spirit. Now all I need to do is to put in more effort and break Taohua Ying's psychological defenses as soon as possible!"