She's waiting for me there.

A month later, I finally learned about Sister Taozi's whereabouts from the adults' casual chat.

She was engaged to a very fierce man from the neighboring village, but Sister Taozi didn't want to be married, so she ran away the night before the wedding.

Perhaps it was God's trick on the poor man, because a few days later, he was found by that family and taken back to the village.

When I heard the news about Sister Taozi, I took two steamed buns and ran to the neighboring village while my family was not paying attention.

Fortunately, the distance was not too far, and I found the house based on my memory, but the door was closed and I couldn't see what was going on inside at all.

After walking around outside for several times, I finally found a broken hole. Although I didn't know where the yard led to, I was always worried about Sister Taozi's safety, so I still crawled in carefully.

After getting in, I saw a scene that I will never forget in my life.

It is midsummer now, and this is an extremely stuffy woodshed. There is some excrement on the ground, and a foul stench is overwhelming. Countless maggots and flies are wandering around in the house, and countless cockroaches are crawling all over the walls.

And in the middle of a pile of weeds, there lay a woman.

When I saw her face, I covered my mouth hard to stop myself from making any sound.

After a while, I shook her arm, suppressing my tears: "Sister Taozi, wake up, what's wrong with you?"

Sister Taozi seemed to be frightened. Her eyes widened in fear and she kept repeating: "Don't touch me, please, don't..."

She tried hard to step back, but it seemed to me that her hands and feet were kicking around weakly, and she looked thinner.

"Sister Taozi, what's wrong with you? I'm Qingning, don't be afraid." I cried like a tearful person, hugged her tightly, and kept whispering in her ear.

After a while, Sister Taozi calmed down and finally recognized me.

She raised her hand with great effort, wiped the tears from my face, and said weakly, "Xiao Qingning, why are you here? Get out of here quickly, it's too dangerous."

My tears kept flowing out. This is Sister Taozi. She has fallen into the abyss, but she still thinks about others.

I also remembered the night when I was standing in the snow, Sister Taozi held my little face and looked at me tenderly.

"Little Qing Ning, no matter what time, your heart must be full of hope, okay?"

But why do you look like a walking corpse now? Where is the light in your eyes? Did it slowly disappear with disappointment?

I took out the two steamed buns from my arms and handed them to her mouth.

Sister Taozi's lifeless eyes gradually focused. She bit the steamed bun hard, looking like she hadn't eaten for several days.

She choked several times and I patted her back and said with a sob, "Eat slowly."

Soon, Sister Taozi finished eating the two steamed buns, and she seemed to have regained some strength.

"Don't come here again. If they find out, they'll beat you to death. Do you hear me?"

I wiped the tears from my face and said, "Sister Taozi, let's run together. Everything will be fine if we leave here."

At that moment, a hint of intelligence appeared in Sister Taozi's dull eyes, but then disappeared immediately.

She shook her head and smiled bitterly: "You can't run away. They have too many helpers at home. Forget it."

At this moment, there were footsteps at the door, followed by the sound of the door opening.

Sister Taozi looked at the door in horror, and she pushed me forcefully behind the weeds.

At this moment, the door opened and a heavy voice was heard: "Bitch, you still have the strength to sit up, are you trying to escape again?"

Sister Taozi said in a trembling voice: "No, I didn't want to run away."

"Fuck you, you dare to talk back? I was too lenient with you."

"No, don't do it again, please, I will die." Sister Taozi begged.

When I heard Sister Taozi's voice, my heart felt like it was about to explode. I really wanted to rush out to save her, but I was only 7 years old. If I ran out like this, Sister Taozi and I might both be beaten to death.

I lay down behind the weeds, opened a gap, and with the faint light coming in from the door, I could see the devil's face clearly.

A face that makes me sick just by looking at it, with a hideous look, is a nightmare that I can never get rid of no matter how many years have passed.

Sister Taozi kept trembling, with her hands covering her chest, shaking her head and begging, moving her body to the side, as if she wanted to escape, but she didn't dare to disobey the demon in front of her.

The rest was obstructed by weeds and could not be seen clearly.

Sister Taozi wailed in pain. She tilted her head slightly, our eyes met, and she waved at me hard, her eyes full of pain and pleading.

I still don't understand what she meant. Was she begging me to leave because she didn't want me to see her miserable appearance, or was she begging the devil to stop?

Finally, I crawled out through the dog hole and ran home like crazy.

Sister Taozi’s last look has been lingering in my mind. She must have been hurt, and it must have been really painful.

For a long time afterwards, I would run over with two steamed buns from time to time. Every time I saw Sister Taozi, I felt that she had changed a lot.

I can't describe the feeling, it's like a person's soul is being slowly devoured by a demon, until the demon has eaten up all of her soul, leaving only a dried-up shell.

The last time I saw Sister Taozi, she was in much better spirits and talked to me a lot.

"Little Qing Ning, you must leave this place. The world outside will be very exciting. Don't come back once you leave."

"Little Qingning, you're going to school soon. You must study hard. That's your only way out, okay?"

"Little Qingning, listen to me and don't come here again. Promise me, okay?"

"Little lime..."

That day, Sister Taozi seemed to be the same as before, whispering in my ear, with gentle eyes and a beautiful smile on her lips.

It was a few days later when I saw her again, but this time it was not in the woodshed, but in a dry well.

There were many villagers watching the fun around, pointing and talking at the dry well. It seemed that no one sympathized with Sister Taozi's experience. Instead, they were saying that this woman dared to run away.

I really want to tell them that Sister Taozi didn’t want to escape, she just - couldn’t live anymore.

The sky was covered with dark clouds and raindrops as big as soybeans fell down. The group of people dispersed in disappointment.

I approached the dry well and looked up at the sky. I didn't roar, cry, or shed tears.

He just murmured, "Sister Taozi, it's raining, come out quickly, it will be very cold down there, you..."

I really want to tell her that now that you are gone, the only remaining light in my life has also disappeared. What should I do in the future?

But I couldn't say the rest of the words no matter what.

Sister Taozi, I miss you.

That year, I was 8 years old.

(PS: In order to thank the readers for their gifts at this stage, I will update it tomorrow. Thank you again for your rewards.)