Pretend to die

The yellow sand rolls on the face, as if a layer of skin has been rubbed off, and it hurts from scratching.

There was the whistling of the wind, and the soft sobbing of the little girl, Su Zheng opened his eyes blankly, the sky and the earth were dim, and the sand was like a ghost, rushing towards him, trying to get into his eyes.

The sound of the camel bell seemed to be lingering in the ears, and the sound seemed to be a thread, tying every dejected felon in the prison car.

"It's going to be dark." Su Zheng said vaguely with his mouth closed.

The woman beside her nodded indistinctly, like a thin piece of yellow paper, almost broken, holding a little daughter in her arms, with two dry tears hanging on her face, breathing weakly.

That is his daughter.

Su Zheng never thought that one day he would have a daughter, and even if he did, it would be a beautifully dressed girl like a little princess.As for the child in the woman's arms, due to perennial hunger and malnutrition, his face was as yellow as copper. These days, he was blown in the wind and sand.

The heavy shackles swayed with the bumps of the prison car, and the thin hands and legs were pulled and dangled, and the whole person was like a broken plastic bag.

It's not just him, there are 180 prison cars here, with a total of [-] repeat offenders, all of them are like this.

They eat dry food once every three days and drink water every two days.

The desert is like hell. During the day, people’s skin is scorched to bone, and at night, people’s cheeks are frosted. Along the way, only 180 of the 80 people are left.

They ate human flesh, the corpses of those dead prisoners.

Because the escorting prison officers were unwilling to waste dry food, Su Zheng's daughter also ate the corpse. She was very happy and licked the human bones like a wild wolf, because it had been too long since she had eaten meat.Su Zheng wanted to give her the human flesh in his hand, but he felt that he couldn't give it to her. He felt sorry for him. The sand in the desert, which he originally imagined right and wrong, would disperse as soon as he blew it.

Everything here is so cruel.

The wind is getting colder.

The night is coming.

Su Zheng held the woman and daughter into his arms, the three skinny bodies were pressed against each other, bones were separated by skin and bones, and the only warmth was transmitted to each other.The others in the van started to move too, like a group of worms in a jar.No matter whether they are strangers or not, no matter whether the person in front of them is a murderer or not, they must hug each other for warmth, because no one can survive alone in the desert at night.

"...Father," came a muffled voice in his arms, the voice was as soft as a mosquito's moan: "Have you arrived yet?"

"Soon," Su Zheng said weakly, "Tomorrow will arrive."

He said this sentence countless times, from the time he entered the desert to this moment, he said it 32 times.His daughter didn't cry and question what he was asking, which was a lie, but just like every day before, with hope, she took it seriously.

The wind died down gradually during the night.

The silvery moon seemed to be attached to the sky, huge and bright, as if one could grasp it with one's hand, the cold air it exuded was daunting, Su Zheng raised his head blankly, his heart had lost the strength of resentment.

The sound of the camel bell became clear, and after the yellow sand disappeared, all senses became clear.

He seemed to hear voices from far, far away, human voices, the sound of fire beating in the air, the sound of water droplets, his neck was already stiff, and he could only roll his eyes, which was disappointing, no matter how much he looked at Far away, no matter how hard you look, there are still endless, silver-like sand dunes in the distance.

Su Zheng closed his eyes again, hoping to die soon.

The next day, his hope was fulfilled, someone died, but not him, but his wife, the mother of his daughter.This skinny woman leaned on his shoulder, her body was as stiff as a piece of plaster, her face was as usual, without any more pain.

The prison officers opened the prison van, dragged her down, pulled her by the wrist, and dragged two long lines in the sand.

Su Zheng saw that her wrist was bruised and purple, with countless teeth marks on it, and he immediately understood, a burst of sadness welled up in his heart, but his eyes were as dry as a dry well.

The prisoners around him were commotioning.

They knew that there would be meat to eat soon—a little bit of human skin was considered meat, any meat was considered meat.

The daughter was pressed against Su Zheng's chest, her voice was still as weak as yesterday, even weaker than yesterday, and she asked, "Father, where are they taking mother..."

Su Zheng was silent for a while, I don't know how long it was, he had already forgotten the concept of time in the desert, and finally, as usual, he had no choice but to deceive his daughter: "They let their mother go, because they found out that she is a good person .”

"……Um."

The daughter nodded in her arms, as if she accepted the statement, but she was shaking violently, and after a while, a few tears fell on Su Zheng's paper-thin prison clothes.

After a while, she would see her mother's body being boiled into a stench and distributed to all the prisoners.

She was so hungry that she shouldn't have eaten...

The sun is getting hotter and hotter, and a distorted picture is scorched on the sand. Just as everyone is waiting for the human broth to hang their lives, the prison car suddenly stops, and the flags are waved on the top of the camel carts of the elders in the front. The loud voice was blown into the ears along the wind and sand, and he said:

The quicksand cave has arrived——!

The prisoners were like bubbles that burst out of the boiler after the boiling water boiled, and they poked their heads one after another, trying to stick their heads out of the wooden fence of the prison car.

It's here, it's here.

Don't die.

Very good!

The convoy continued to move forward, and for about a quarter of an hour, the towering wooden walls of the Quicksand Cave stood in front of our eyes.

This is the most fertile mine in the Daxi Kingdom. The Jiongshi produced every year can be used by the dynasty to produce 50 meteor cannons. If it weren't for the extravagance and lust of the dynasty and the excessive enjoyment, this mine can dominate the entire Tianchi land .

The prisoners were tied with iron chains, like a string of chicken hearts, and moved little by little towards the door. The daughter walked in front of Su Zheng, who was just above the waist, and was shaky, walking tremblingly. Su Zhenggang wanted to help her, The whip seemed to have eyes, and it hit the daughter's back all at once.

The little girl fell to the ground all of a sudden.

A vicious voice came from not far away, and the inspector with a full face shouted: "Hurry up, Lao Tzu!"

Su Zheng hurriedly picked up the little girl, but was almost stepped on by the prisoner behind him again. Blood oozes from the little girl's back, with her mouth open, like a dying fish, gasping for breath, her eyes widened. , like a huge fright.

"It's okay, it's okay, dad is here."

Su Zheng hugged her very hard, and he didn't have much strength himself, but if he let go, the little girl might be beaten to death by the inspectors immediately.

How could this be?

How did it come to this point?

He walked into the sky-high gate in despair, and the scene inside made him speechless even more.

The entire quicksand cave, just like its name, was almost hollowed out, a large area was sunken, and there were holes everywhere, like a hornet's nest, felons and slaves burrowed in and out like worker bees, and the sand surface was like flowing water, which was poured into the ground carefully. , Sooner or later, people will be suffocated underground.

The sound of whips, the beating of torches, and screams were all mixed together. Suddenly, there was a burnt smell in the air.

Su Zheng followed the smell and saw a skinny slave tied to a wooden frame and burned on fire. The inspectors around him raised their voices and proudly warned the newcomers:

"See, this is the fate of running away. Since you are here, don't even think about getting out. The Jade Emperor will not be able to save you when he comes!... Well done, I will reward you with a bite of food. die for me."

Su was holding the child, not daring to stop for a moment.They were taken collectively into a thatched hut, which was like a refugee camp, and there were people lying everywhere moaning from illness. They were driven into a line and waited to be picked up by the inspectors of each district.

The daughter was on the verge of death, and no appraiser would pick out such a coolie. Su Zheng thought with horror, would these officers and soldiers throw her here?Will she starve to death or die from an infected wound?

One step, two steps...

Su Zheng hoped that the people in front would walk slowly, but everyone seemed to be impatient, and the speed of the team was getting faster and faster. The daughter in his arms grabbed his lapel nervously and asked in a low voice:

"Father, will Yin'er be separated from Daddy?"

"..."

Su Zheng didn't want to lie to her again, but how could he tell the truth?Su Zheng hugged her tightly, and the worst scenario appeared in his mind - instead of being a slave here in the dark, at worst, he would die, and it would be over once and for all.

Coming.

There were only three people left in front of him. An inspector noticed him and the child in his arms. The inspector put his whip on his hand and walked restlessly on the ground with his feet.

There are two people left.

The inspector stopped pacing, and overtook him. Su Zheng was a little nervous, but he was not afraid. He had died many times, and he even developed a casual attitude towards the death itself.But the little daughter in his arms has never experienced this. She has suffered since she was born. She has never enjoyed the beautiful scenery of mountains and rivers, and the delicacies. She lived like an ant, and now she is going to die like an ant.

Su Zheng was nervous when he saw her expression when she died.