CH 1

The Kingdom Of Cambodia, formerly known as Khmer, is located on the Indo-China Peninsula, bordering Thailand in the west and northwest, Laos in the northeast, Vietnam in the east and southeast, and facing the Gulf of Siam in the south. There you can find the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, and the capital Phnom Penh.

It is one of the least developed countries in the world.

July. 

On the third day that Ruan Nianchu arrived in Cambodia, the weather was fine and the outdoor temperature was as high as 36 degrees Celsius. The rainy season is scorching hot.

She is here to teach.

Their target are several teenagers left behind In a small village on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

Like most villages in Cambodia, it is poor here, and most young and middle-aged people choose to go out to work, leaving only the elderly and children. The educational conditions are also poor and there is only one teacher with a junior high school education in the whole village. Therefore, the arrival of the missionary group is undoubtedly a timely help, and the villagers are very happy.

There are more than 30 students in the rural primary school, ranging from six years old to fifteen years old. They all crowded into one class regardless of grade. Ruan Nianchu is in charge of teaching English, and occasionally, she also teaches the students to sing. She has a gentle personality, and the children like it whenever they see this beautiful and kind Chinese teacher.

The English class is not long and ends in a short while.

Ruan Nianchu finished assigning homework to the students, walked out of the classroom and went directly to the playground.

It is said to be a playground, but it is actually just an empty muddy field with broken walls on all sides, dry and cracked by the sun. Someone greeted her from afar, waving and calling her name.

Ruan Nianchu glanced at them. There were about four or five people in the group, including men and women with different skin tones. All of them, just like her, were volunteer students of the HELLP BRIDGE team coming from all around the world.

Ruan Nianchu smiled at the few people, walked over, and asked casually in English, "What are you talking about so happily?"

One young man took out his mobile phone while talking. There was a new WeChat message from Ruan's mother reminding her that she had to review the IELTS exam questions every night.

At this time, an African boy said in English, "We plan to camp outside tonight, catch and grill river fish and shrimp. Ruan, we have free time anyway, let's go together."

I don't know if it's God's will or not, but the village is located in the delta between the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap Lake. The water quality is good, and the plump fishes and shrimps are visible to the naked eye.

Ruan Nianchu thought about the WeChat message just now, compared the two, smiled, and agreed without hesitation, "Okay."

In fact, since childhood, her academic performance was just average.

In terms of intelligence, she is only average; in terms of diligence, she is not that involved. Her only advantage is her beautiful face and good vocal cords. The high school teacher used to worry about her, saying that she was too lazy, and it would be difficult to even get accepted into college. She suggested that Ruan's father and mother send Ruan Nianchu to study vocal music and take the route of Arts and Sports students to go to college.

Ruan's father and Ruan's mother were so worried that they were pulling their hair, grabbing at the life-saving straw. Naturally, they would not let it go.

Later, Ruan Nianchu became an art student at a top-notch college. Although the major is not very well divided, she is still happy. She had not expected much of her life since she was a child, and it was already a surprise to have this result.

She is an easy person to satisfy.

The family planned for her to graduate from university and go abroad for further studies. This entered Ruan Nianchu's left ear and went out her right ear. Her parents couldn't do anything about it so they enrolled her in an IELTS class during the summer vacation. However, Ruan Nianchu did not want to go so she simply joined HELLP BRIDGE to teach in Cambodia.

She felt that in life, it is always good to do something meaningful.

She is not a high achiever student. Letting her go abroad to dedicate love is much more reliable than letting her go abroad to study.

*

The students of this primary school are all day students. As soon as school is over in the afternoon, the small and dilapidated campus is empty and deserted.

The group of students who came to teach had some free time so they went  to grab a fishing net and a grill and ran out chatting and laughing all the way. Ruan Nianchu and the black girl who lived in the same room walked last, carrying some barbecue seasonings and bamboo skewers in their hands.

The  roommate’s name  is Lila. She clapped her hands and said cheerfully, "You know Ruan, I've never grilled fish by the river with my friends, this should be fun!"

When Ruan Nianchu saw her like this, she became playful, so she narrowed her eyes slightly and lowered her voice to frighten her: "Hello. Phnom Penh has civil strife, and here is the famous Mekong River Basin. Are you not afraid of encountering any danger?"

Lila was horrified, "...No way."

She burst out laughing instantly, "You're so timid. I'm just kidding you."

"......" Lila was furious and raised her hand to hit her. Ruan Nianchu dodged to the side, pulled a leaf and threw it at her roommate's head. The two of them ran to the river laughing. The sun was setting in the distance and the red sun was shining in the sky, and the water of the Mekong River was rippling with light.

The missionaries are all young college students, and they got to know each other in a few days. Everyone has a clear division of labor and are very busy. The boys are responsible for setting up tents and catching fish, while the girls are responsible for roasting the meat. Before you know it, the sun has completely set over the mountain.

Around eight o'clock in the evening, the night was as thick as ink and the stars hung in the sky.

All the grilled fish and shrimps were already eaten, and the group of people had nothing to do after eating and drinking so they simply sat in the tent and chatted about celebrity gossip. Ruan Nianchu was not interested in this topic and had enough to eat so she took a walk along the river with Lila. Talking all the way, only after returning to her senses did she realize that they were already hundreds of meters away from the camping site.

The two were ready to go back.

At this moment, Lila suddenly covered her stomach and said with a cold breath, "... Oh, my stomach hurts."

Ruan Nianchu was speechless, "Who told you to be reincarnated like a starving ghost, you can eat things before they are cooked." While talking, she looked around and pointed to a big tree, "You go there to solve it. I'll wait for you here, just call me if you have anything.”

"Okay." Lila nodded and ran over in a hurry.

She was bored and stood in place while listening to the song. Suddenly, she noticed a ray of light from the narrow and dark river in the distance, flickering through the dense water and grass.

Ruan Nianchu just thought it was a local fisherman, and didn't think much about it.

Until the ship got closer, and finally moored by the river. There were faint voices, talking in Cambodian Khmer. She couldn’t understand.

She saw two shadows jumping off the boat, holding tools and digging something in the mud by the riverbank with quick movements. Ruan Nianchu frowned suspiciously.

Not a fisherman?

While thinking, she squatted down and hid behind the waist-high grass.

After a while, the two shadows finished their work, threw down the shovel in their hands, bent down and took out a large metal box from the pit. Judging from the posture of the two, the box should be very heavy.

They loaded the boxes onto the boat.

A short and fat middle-aged man came out of the cabin, wearing a jacket. He looked half bald with a fat head and big ears. He squinted his eyes with a cigarette in his mouth, and said in Khmer, "Open it and inspect the goods first."

The two men nodded their heads and pried the lid of the metal box on the ground with a screwdriver. The fat man stepped forward to check.

From far away, Ruan Nianchu couldn't see what was in the box but she vaguely realized something. It was too late to want to leave. Then there were footsteps behind her. Her heart tightened and before she could react, someone grabbed her neck from behind.

A few minutes later, Lila returned but there was no sign of Ruan Nianchu.

"..." She was confused, looking around and shouting: "Nianchu? Ruan Nianchu? Don’t joke with me! Where are you?" Her voice scattered in the wind but the Mekong River was calm and dark in the distance.

No one responded.

*

I have been kidnapped. This was the first thought that came to Ruan Nianchu's mind after she sobered up.

And it turned out to be true.

She opened her eyes and found herself thrown on the floor of a dimly lit room. The air was damp and salty and the room had a rotten, musty smell. She tried to move, but both her wrists were tied behind her back, as were her legs.

In a few seconds, Ruan Nianchu's brain was still unable to react. She wanted to scream, but couldn't make a sound. Only then did she realize that her mouth was also gagged.

Her lips trembled and fear struck in an instant, engulfing her limbs and bones.

Outside the door, there was the sound of someone talking. I don’t know what they’re talking about. Ruan Nianchu took a deep breath and let it out, forced herself to calm down, rolled her eyes and looked around - the wooden house is very common in Cambodia, a table, a few chairs, shabby and broken  furniture, and a kerosene lamp hanging overhead. The  moths flutter on the lampshade, casting a huge shadow, strange and frightening.

There is a faint sound of water. This place should not be far from the river bank...

With a "bang!" the door was violently pushed open from the outside.

"..." Ruan Nianchu was startled and instinctively moved back, her back against the wooden wall, her clear eyes looked frightened and vigilant.

Three people entered the room, one of them, she recognized as the short and fat man from the fishing boat earlier. The fat man looked at her, grinned, and said something to the other two men.

Seeing this man's wretched smile, Ruan Nianchu pressed against the wall, panicked and afraid. The fat man crouched down, looked at her, and touched her face with his fat, dirty left hand.

Ruan Nianchu was disgusted, turned her head without thinking, and avoided it.

The fat man let out a loud snort, raised his eyebrows and raised his hand to slap her. However, just a second before the slap fell, a middle-aged man in his fifties stood at the door and coughed. The man had gray hair, a square face and a lion nose, and there was a scar from his eyebrow going across the left side of his face.

Seeing this, the fat man did not dare to be presumptuous anymore, he withdrew his hand, stood up, and respectfully called out with the others, "Grandpa."

The middle-aged man nodded slightly, and in the next moment, he looked at Ruan Nianchu with dissatisfaction, "What's going on?"

The fat man said resentfully, "Grandpa, this woman saw our goods."

"Didn't you say that the place is very secret and will never be discovered?"

The fat man was embarrassed, hesitatingly stammered, not knowing what to say.

Grandpa snorted coldly, bent over to sit on the chair, glanced around and frowned, "Lee is not back yet?"

As soon as the words came out, the sound of heavy and powerful footsteps came from outside.

Ruan Nianchu's body shrank into a ball. She didn't understand a word of what these Cambodians were saying. Only when she heard the footsteps did she turn her head subconsciously and looked at the door.

A pair of black boots came into view. They were somewhat worn, stained with mud and a little dark red blood.

The leg that it is attached to is extraordinarily long and wrapped in black trousers, as slender and beautiful as a white poplar. Ruan Nianchu's eyes followed, and the figure and appearance of the owner of the leg came into view little by little.

The man was very tall with a narrow and thin waist, broad shoulders and a straight back. His face is thin with a very dark complexion. His facial features are handsome and tough, the lips are thin, the nose bone is high. The most noticeable are the deep and cold eyebrows, indifferent, but with a heavy sense of oppression, very compelling.

He wore a plain black T-shirt, smoking a cigarette, and exuded a powerful aura just by standing there.

The look he gave her was smoldering. She gave a startled glance at him and noticed that his arms were long and strong, bronze in color, with a huge and terrifying greenish-gray dragon's tail extending down to his cuffs.

The actual person is not an ordinary character. Ruan Nian's heart tightened at the beginning, and she glanced away quickly. She noticed that when the man had entered the room, he glanced at her, his eyes were measured and unscrupulous.

"Grandpa."

He put out his cigarette and spoke in Khmer. But the timbre is extremely low, and the individual pronunciation is distinctive, obviously different from the other people. Very recognizable.

Grandpa asked him, "How are things going?"

He said nonchalantly, "It's settled."

Grandpa smiled and said, "You've always done a good job, I'm very relieved." With a sweep of his eyes, he said, "If everyone were half as good as you, I wouldn't have to work so hard as an old man."

Grandpa laughed and said, "You've always handled things properly, I'm very relieved." After saying that, his eyes swept away, "If everyone is half as good as you, this old man would not have to work so hard."

The fat man gritted his teeth and did not dare to refute.

Grandpa was obviously in a good mood, he patted Lee's shoulder and said, "You worked hard today. If you want anything, just tell me. If Grandpa can get it, I will give it to you."

He expressionlessly glanced at the corner, lowered his eyes and lit another cigarette, "What is that?"

"Oh, Brother Lee, it's a little girl I caught. A Chinese person, probably a tourist. Tonight, I went to get the goods that Dahn gave us, right? This damned girl is sneaking around and peeping! I'll see what I do with her later," said the fat man, grinning through his teeth. "

Lee paused for a moment when he smoked, raising his eyes, "Chinese?"

The short fat man laughed a few times, took out a leather-covered notebook from his pocket and handed it to him, "This is what I found on her. Look, isn't it a Chinese passport?"

Lee took it and squinted his eyes. For a while, he hooked his lips inexplicably, "That's right." After saying that, his eyes swept coldly towards the cold and dirty girl curled up in a ball. 

He said, "Just her."

Several people in the room were stunned, not knowing why. Grandpa frowned, "Her?"

"Yeah." Lee nodded his head, his voice cold and flat, "Just her."