Ten kilometers outside Mong La, in a Wa village, San Pang lay in a second-story room of a wooden building, his eyes vacant and his expression despairing. Two young men were also in the room, their bodies covered in wounds, huddled in a corner, their lives uncertain.
In the adjacent room, three young girls were barely clothed, their bodies bruised and battered, clearly having endured severe humiliation.
In the water prison on the first floor, two men in their thirties had their hands bound by ropes. Their entire bodies, except for their heads, were submerged in the murky, foul-smelling water. Swarms of flies and mosquitoes circled overhead, landing and taking off. The two could only constantly shake their heads to briefly alleviate the biting.
“Get up, time to eat. Stop playing dead.”
The door was roughly pushed open, and two burly men entered San Pang’s room carrying three portions of food. The three men immediately stood up as if electrocuted. Otherwise, they would not receive this meal and would be severely beaten.
Half a bowl of rice, a cornmeal bun, and a few slices of potato were their lunch. The only difference was that San Pang’s bowl had more potato slices and two buns.
“Er Dan, have some potatoes.”
After the two guards left, San Pang took his bowl and walked over to the two young men. These two were lured here by San Pang’s phone calls and were also from Xinqiao village. One was named Ba Renfeng, nicknamed Er Dan, and the other was Ba Jiangang. They were from the same village.
Er Dan ignored him. If not for his injuries and utter lack of strength, he would have strangled San Pang long ago.
“Er Dan, I’m sorry. I had no choice but to trick you guys into coming here. You’ve experienced it yourself, it’s hard to even die in this place.”
San Pang’s face was full of guilt. Through trickery, over twenty people from Xinqiao had been lured into this hellish den, and he himself was the culprit.
Ba Jiangang, standing nearby, reached out with his chopsticks and picked up a few potato slices from San Pang’s bowl. “Er Dan, don’t blame San Pang. We can only blame our own greed and obsession with getting rich for being tricked. We’re no better. The three girls next door were also tricked by us. They have it even worse than us, enduring beatings and the abuse of those beasts every day.”
Er Dan then picked up two potato slices. “Brother San Pang, do you think we can ever go back?”
“I don’t know. If we can go back, I will definitely compensate you.”
San Pang didn’t know how to comfort his two companions. Because he could get five thousand yuan from his family every month, the guards here didn’t beat him much, and his life was slightly better than theirs.
Ba Jiangang sighed. “How can we go back? This place is not governed by the Myanmar government, and even the embassy can’t influence it. The only way is for us to find a way to escape ourselves, but given the current situation, it’s almost impossible.”
Er Dan ate with tears streaming down his face. “How can people here be so wicked? If I can go back, I’d rather beg for food in my hometown than come here again. Brother San Pang, why don’t they beat you?”
“My family is sending them money every month. Otherwise, they would have sold me long ago.”
“Is your family very rich? I remember your parents are also from the countryside.”
“I have shares in Yang Jian’s Li Jian Company. Besides the year-end dividends, I also receive a monthly salary of five thousand yuan. This money is sent here, so they’ve kept me here and treat me like an ATM.”
“With such good conditions, why did you come here? Before I came, I heard that Yang Jian had surrendered. I don’t know how many years he’ll be sentenced. If he got out earlier, maybe he could have redeemed you.”
This was the first time San Pang had heard news of Yang Jian, and his spirits suddenly lifted. “You’re saying Brother Jian surrendered?”
“He surrendered. Everyone in the Xinhe District knows. What are you happy about? His accomplice was sentenced to life imprisonment, and he won’t be out for at least ten to eight years. Don’t expect him to redeem you.”
Hearing Er Dan say this, San Pang’s spirits sank again. He had dreamt countless times of Yang Jian coming with a huge sum of money to redeem him, but reality shattered this dream.
The three talked tearfully, merely to encourage each other to survive, living one day at a time. Going home was a distant, unattainable luxury.
Suddenly, the roar of cars echoed from outside the wooden building, very noisy. Inside the wooden building, panicked running could be heard.
The commotion was significant, but the windows of their room were sealed, so they couldn’t see what was happening outside. They only knew that many vehicles and people had arrived below.
“Listen up! We are from the Special Operations Battalion of the 51st Brigade of the Allied Army. This place is surrounded. Everyone lay down your weapons, put your hands on your heads, and come out, or you will be killed without mercy.”
Outside the wooden building, over a hundred soldiers, armed with assault rifles, had surrounded it. A commander with a pistol was shouting through a loudspeaker.
Yang Fan and Yang Jian, holding Su Zheng Nan in their Cayenne, had finally revealed the location of this human trafficking den after severe interrogation. Su Zheng Nan personally led the way, cooperating with the special operations battalion to surround the place.
A Bao, Zhang Hui, and Qin Feiyang had also arrived in another van.
With the army surrounding them, the guards in the wooden building dared not resist. Although they also had assault rifles, their numbers were too small. Resistance would mean certain death, and they also didn’t dare to oppose the army. One by one, they could only come out with their hands on their heads.
“Team One, go in and search. Team Two, detain all of them.”
At the commander’s order, two teams moved out swiftly. One team escorted the guards to a truck behind.
The other team rushed into the wooden building and soon brought out several men and women in tattered clothes. At the forefront was the bewildered and helpless San Pang.
Yang Jian pulled open the car door, jumped out, and rushed forward in a flash.
“San Pang.”
Seeing the emaciated San Pang, Yang Jian ignored his stench and hugged him tightly.
San Pang hadn’t reacted yet. They were being escorted out by armed soldiers and thought they were going to be sold. Suddenly hearing a familiar dialect, he thought he was dreaming.
“San Pang, what’s wrong? I’m Yang Jian, do you still recognize me?”
There was no imagined excitement. Yang Jian thought San Pang had been beaten senseless and held his shoulders, asking loudly.
San Pang finally came to his senses, looking at him incredulously. “Brother Jian, is it really you?”
“It’s me. I’m here to take you home. San Pang, you’ve suffered. I’m late.”
“Brother Jian.”
San Pang suddenly burst into tears. The scene he had longed for had finally appeared. Yang Jian had actually come to this wicked place to save him.
All the humiliation, frustration, unwillingness, and pain were unleashed at this moment.
When they heard San Pang call out “Brother Jian,” Er Dan and Ba Jiangang behind him were also moved to tears. They were finally saved. Since Yang Jian had come to save San Pang, they could also go back with him.
Although they had never met Yang Jian, Yang Jian’s loyalty was well-known in Xinqiao. He wouldn’t stand by and watch his fellow villagers suffer without helping.