Chapter 10: A Lesson in Cruelty
1032 Words
That night, Bai Li slept on and off.
Sometimes she was awakened by the sound of her own heartbeat. Other times, she was startled awake by the howling of coyotes from the forest.
After waking so many times, she even began to experience an illusion.
She felt as if she were still lying in her own bed back home. If she simply turned over, she would be able to reach her phone charging beside her.
But after searching around blindly for a long time, all she touched was damp, cold soil that smelled of decay.
There was no point in feeling discouraged.
Bai Li closed her eyes and repeated to herself again and again:
You are a strong person. You can definitely leave this place.
Right now, the only thing you need to do is sleep.
Someone who lacked sleep couldn’t think clearly.
And they couldn’t escape.
With that thought, she finally forced herself into sleep.
Perhaps because the party had lasted until early morning, everyone in the circus woke up late the next day.
When Bai Li got out of bed, she felt a dull ache in her lower abdomen.
Her entire body froze.
She silently prayed over and over.
Please don’t be my period.
Please don’t be my period.
But reality always contradicted her wishes.
It had really come.
Bai Li’s expression remained blank.
She wasn’t embarrassed.
She was just annoyed.
But since it had already happened, there was no way she could stand upside down and make it flow back.
She used some gauze from the first-aid kit as a temporary solution, put on her clothes, and walked out of the tent.
Enduring the pain in her abdomen, Bai Li originally planned to find Eric and discuss their escape.
However, he didn’t appear for the entire morning.
Eric was always like this—appearing and disappearing without warning.
Bai Li had no choice but to put the matter aside for now and wait until he decided to show himself.
There were two performances at the circus that night, but neither had anything to do with her.
She, little John, and the other children were not qualified to perform on stage.
Their job was to steal from the audience below.
They stole everything.
Wallets.
Opera glasses.
Pocket watches.
Rings.
Thimbles.
Necklaces.
Coats.
Hats.
Whatever they could take, they had to steal.
Even food.
The only rule was that they could not get caught.
Before every performance, the old woman would gather them together and make them practice warming up their hands.
“Warming their hands” was what they called it.
And during this practice session, Eric still did not appear.
Unable to hold back, Bai Li asked John:
“Where’s Eric?”
“He’s injured,” John replied absentmindedly. “The manager gave him a month off.”
He curled his lips.
“Even if he wasn’t injured, he wouldn’t stay with people like us anyway. We spend a whole month learning something, but he can master it just by watching once. The old woman even gave him special permission not to attend lessons with us.”
The other children immediately started making disgusted noises when they heard Eric’s name.
No wonder Eric, despite being the most talented person in the circus, was isolated and hated by everyone around him.
Giving special treatment to an outstanding student didn’t encourage others to become outstanding.
Most of the time, it only caused everyone else to unite against him.
Bai Li wanted to ask more questions, but John suddenly grabbed her sleeve.
The old woman had arrived.
She was a sharp-eyed middle-aged woman with streaks of gray at her temples. Her hair was tied into a small round bun on top of her head. She wore a gray long dress, with a padded bustle underneath that exaggerated the curve of her lower back.
In her hand, she carried a long cane made of rattan.
Her authority was so intimidating that as she walked over, the whistling, conversations, humming—even breathing—seemed to disappear.
“Take out your tools.”
The old woman scanned the group and spoke calmly.
“Let me see whether your skills have improved.”
After saying that, she began inspecting their stealing techniques one by one.
Bai Li’s heart immediately sank.
Even though she had never stolen anything before, she knew this skill was no different from magic.
It required countless hours of practice to deceive someone’s eyes.
There was no way she could master it overnight.
And sure enough, when it was her turn, her attempt at picking a wallet was full of obvious flaws.
Bai Li swallowed nervously and was just about to explain herself when the old woman had already raised her cane.
“Put out your hand.”
“Sorry, ma’am…”
Before she could finish speaking, the old woman grabbed her hand and pulled it forward.
Crack!
The cane struck her palm heavily.
Almost instantly, a swollen red mark appeared across her skin.
She was originally supposed to receive five strikes.
But because she had tried to talk back, five more were added.
After ten strikes, even if Bai Li wanted to curse, the pain made it impossible.
Cold sweat covered her back.
Her palm burned as if it had been scalded by boiling water. It was swollen, bright red, and seemed close to bleeding.
The old woman put away her cane and threw her a small jar of ointment.
Then she ordered Bai Li to stay inside her tent.
No dinner.
No wandering around.
And no coming out at night to “embarrass herself.”
Bai Li accepted the ointment, swallowed her anger, and forced herself to say:
“Thank you.”
Then she turned and walked back toward her tent.
The moment she returned, she immediately dug the first-aid kit out from beneath the pile of dirty clothes.
She swallowed a painkiller and disinfected the injury with iodine.
She had no anti-inflammatory medicine.
And she didn’t dare use the ointment given by the old woman.
So all she could do was lie on the bed, stare blankly at the tent ceiling, and wait for the medicine to take effect.
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