For some reason, many of them had veils covering their faces which inadvertently helped Winnie and Greta’s cause.
That way, their foreign faces wouldn’t stick out as much from within the group.
As Manchernius’ topography was largely made up of low mountains and rolling hills, a proper road could barely be seen. All the roads available were largely formed from well-traveled tracks.
After a bumpy forty-minute journey, their vehicle finally arrived at an expansive plain.
There, Winnie and the others were ordered by the innkeeper to alight.
Upon exiting the vehicle, they were surrounded by nothing but trees. The innkeeper subsequently led them around a bend before their destination came into view.
Instead of the luxurious mansion they were expecting, a massive base greeted their eyes.
Security was tight with armed men guarding the entrance. When Winnie and the others entered, everyone’s bodies—including that of the innkeeper—were searched.
Winnie, who wasn’t naive, naturally didn’t carry a gun with her.
Nonetheless, the weapon she brought was in the form of the necklace she was wearing. On top of that, she had an ornamental hairpin stuck in her hair.
The hairpin—brought from Chanaea—was custom-made. When pulled out, it would turn into a sharp weapon capable of piercing through any threats that she faced.
Once the ladies were determined to be unarmed, they were ordered to form a line.
Subsequently, their veils were all removed to reveal their faces.
On Winnie’s left was Greta; on her right were two meek-looking girls who looked very young still.
Both of them—already crying while inside the vehicle earlier—were now trembling in fear.
After walking past to inspect all of them, the guard stopped abruptly in his tracks.
Scrutinizing Winnie and the others, he instructed the innkeeper, “Mr. Horton prefers fair-skinned women. Thus, I’ll choose two to be sent to him. As for the rest, you can take them to the backyard as usual.”
“All right, all right,” the innkeeper responded obsequiously. “I know what to do.”
While bending forward and nodding his head, the innkeeper snuck a glance at Winnie.
She’s the fairest and most beautiful among them all. If she’s sent to Mr. Horton, the plan would go up in smoke.
Meanwhile, Winnie too, knitted her brows, especially when the guard stopped in front of her.
Fortunately, he didn’t choose her. After sweeping his gaze across her face, he turned his attention away.
The reason was that Winnie had purposely used her makeup to make herself look uglier.
In the end, the guard chose the two girls beside her. “You and you. Follow me!”
After sighing in relief at the close call, the innkeeper added to the guard, “Good choice. Those two are virgins who have just been sold over. With their porcelain white skin and beautiful features, I’m sure Mr. Horton would be a very satisfied man.”
“Mmm-hmm,” the guard grunted in response before leading the two girls away at gunpoint.
Meanwhile, Winnie furrowed her brows tightly as she watched the girls being taken away.
At that moment, she resented the innkeeper along with everyone there. The only emotion she felt was the urge to burn down the filthy place.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t in a position to act upon her desires. As her rational mind cast away the rage and hatred in her eyes, she quickly caught up with the innkeeper with Greta following closely behind her.
The innkeeper whispered, “I’ll be taking you to the backyard. That’s where all the men sleep at night. If you go further back, you’ll find the women’s and children’s quarters. However, I have no idea in which room the people you’re looking for are held. You’ll have to find them yourself. Now that it’s dark, you should use the opportunity to fall behind and slip away.”
Winnie simply grunted in acknowledgment.
While they were passing through the yard that had a banana plantation, she suddenly rushed to the side and began vomiting.
Greta, who was behind her, knowingly rushed up to her side to pat her on the back.
As for the rest of the women, no one dared to look their way. Only one or two with wandering eyes threw them a glance before retracting their gazes.
As for the innkeeper, he pretended to bark at them. “Stop dilly-dallying and hurry up!”
As Winnie continued her charade, Greta gave him a cursory response. “Got it. We’ll be right there.”
Once the group was far ahead, the two of them quietly disappeared to the side.
As darkness had already fallen, the lamps on the ground only illuminated the small area they were placed in, while the moon glowed with a silvery hue from the night sky.
Nevertheless, the light was just enough to help Winnie and Greta navigate their way around and not too much to expose them to their enemies.
Pointing at a man-made hill diagonally opposite them, Greta suggested, “Do you see the wooden door? That’s where the women and children live.”
Winnie nodded firmly before following Greta from behind as both of them began creeping around.
Soon, they managed to slip in and found a secluded corner to hide.
In a soft but stern voice, Greta reminded Winnie, “Ms. Garland, even though they’re only women and children, you shouldn’t underestimate them, let alone show them any mercy. Otherwise, a single mistake would cost you your life.”
“Don’t worry. I know what to do. However, with so many rooms here, how we are going to find them?”
Greta pointed at a spot that was brightly lit. “The place that’s crowded is probably filled with their own men. Hence, the people you’re looking for should be on the opposite. With only two rooms having their lights on, it shouldn’t be difficult.”
Winnie nodded. “Let’s go.”
As they continued to move forward with their bodies hugging the wall, Greta reiterated, “Ms. Garland, if anything untoward happens, you should ignore me and run for it.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
After making their way forward, they soon arrived at the first room that was lit.
Unexpectedly, the room door was suddenly opened from the inside. Following that, a woman walked out slowly from it.
At the sight of her, Winnie and Greta instantaneously hugged the wall and froze.
After a splash was heard, the woman returned to the room.
When it dawned upon them that the woman just came out to dump some water, the two ladies breathed a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t until they heard the noises from the room again that Greta whispered to Winnie, “Ms. Garland, did you get a good look at the woman? Is she the person you’re looking for?”
“No.” Winnie was extremely certain. “Although there’s only one room left, we cannot let our guard down, for the people I’m looking for might not even be inside.”
Maintaining the highest levels of vigilance, both of them arrived at the next room and hid underneath the window.
Not wanting Winnie to show her head, Greta pried open the window and took a peek herself.
Soon, she ducked back to the ground and reported, “This is the place, Ms. Garland. The person you’re looking for is here. However, I only saw the young lady whose leg was injured.”
Winnie broke out a frown. Why is Rachel alone? Did they lock Granny up someplace else?
However, under those circumstances, there was no time to dwell upon the question. “Let’s go in.”
Greta immediately pulled out a hairpin and began lockpicking the door.
Unfortunately, her technique left a lot to be desired, as the door remained unopened a minute later.
Winnie knitted her brows. “Do you not know how to do this?”
The anxious Greta was already covered in sweat. “This isn’t my forte compared to marksmanship.”
Letting out a gentle sigh, Winnie took the hairpin from Greta’s hands. “Let me do it.”
No sooner had she spoken than the knelt down beside Greta and pried the lock open in less than thirty seconds.
When a click was heard, Greta scratched her head awkwardly and murmured, “That’s really impressive, Ms. Garland.”
Winnie acknowledged her with a faint smile before gently pushing the door open.
Just as she stepped into the room, she saw a wooden club as thick as someone’s arm bearing down upon her face.
Caught by surprise and with Greta blocking her retreat, Winnie had no place to dodge.
However, the pain she was bracing for never transpired, for Greta’s hand had suddenly reached out from behind to shield her.
At the same time, Greta’s other hand grabbed the neck of the person wielding the club.
“Greta, stop! Granny, put down the club!”
It turned out that the person hiding behind the door in the ambush was none other than Jacinta.
When she saw that the intruder was Winnie, the shocked Jacinta took a moment to regain her senses before putting down her club.
By then, Greta too, realized they had found Winnie’s grandmother.
“Winnie!” Overwhelmed by delight, Jacinta almost forgot to keep her voice down.
“Shh!” Winnie, with her lowered voice, reminded, “Granny, not so loud.”
Nodding in acknowledgment, Jacinta swiftly locked the door and closed the curtains. After that, she led Winnie and Greta into the room.
However, instead of following them inside, Greta hid behind the curtain and kept watch.
Holding Winnie’s hand, the teary-eyed Jacinta sat her down at the table. “Winnie, why did you come here?”
Winnie tightened her grip on Jacinta’s hand in an attempt to comfort her. “Granny, I’m here to take you home. You must have suffered a lot.”
In a choking voice, Jacinta replied, “Actually, I’m largely all right but Rach’s condition isn’t good. After being shot in her leg, she only had her bullet removed today. During the entire journey here, she fell into a daze after being stricken by a fever. Despite taking some fever medication, it was of no help at all. Also, the doctor here isn’t serious about treating her.”
When Winnie glanced at Rachel, who was lying in bed, she could see how the latter’s face had reddened from the fever.
The frown on her face deepened. “I’ll take her to a proper doctor once we get out.”
“How are we going to escape?” Jacinta was brimming with concern. “Not only does the rule of law not apply here, but they’re also armed. Can we really escape?”
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