It was a rainy night when a couple came to our house seeking shelter. My mom, Helen, warmly welcomed them. That night, my brother Jack led a group of men from the village into the couple’s room. The next day, a large cauldron was set up in our yard. I silently added firewood under the cauldron. Our yard was bustling with activity, everyone’s face beaming with smiles as if it were a holiday celebration. Jack emerged from the warehouse, adjusting his pants with a lewd grin. “Tom, you’re up next.” “Alright!” A tall, skinny man eagerly stood up and entered the barn. I watched them coldly, cursing them silently in my mind. Noticing my gaze, Jack’s expression darkened. He walked over and kicked me to the ground. “What the hell are you looking at? Keep the fire going, you little bitch. I’ll sell you off one of these days.” I lay on the ground, expressionless, brushing off the dirt before sitting up again. Seemingly satisfied with my reaction, Jack sneered and went off to drink with his buddies. Soon after, the tall skinny man came out, a satisfied smile on his face. My mom, Helen, handed me a bowl of food with a cold expression. “Go feed that whore. If she dies, the men in the village will have nothing to play with.” I nodded, not daring to say anything, and limped towards the woman’s room. As I pushed aside the curtain and entered, a nauseating stench hit me. The woman lay naked on the floor, covered in filth, her eyes filled with despair. She was truly beautiful, yet now reduced to such a pitiful state. My heart ached as I slowly approached her. “Sister, please eat something.” Seeing a young girl enter, a glimmer of hope flashed in the woman’s eyes. She struggled to sit up and knelt before me, sobbing uncontrollably. “Little girl, please, I beg you to let me go. I’m pregnant.” My heart clenched painfully. “I’m sorry, I can’t,” I said with a bitter smile, pointing at my injured leg. “If I let you go, they’ll kill me.” “Then do you know where my husband is?” she asked desperately. “Do you smell the barbecue outside?” I tilted my head, unable to look at her. “There’s a large cauldron in our yard right now.” The woman’s face turned even paler. She let out a heart-wrenching scream, pushing away the food I offered, and frantically tugged at the rope around her neck. “You monsters! You’ll all rot in hell! I’ll haunt you even after I’m dead!” I froze in fear. Hearing the woman’s screams, my mom and Jack rushed in. Seeing the wailing woman, Helen slapped her hard across the face. “Shut up, you whore! You should be grateful my son and the others even look at you. You don’t look like a decent woman anyway, so stop pretending!” The woman collapsed on the floor, her body shaking violently. Helen pinched her harshly. “Cry again, and I’ll cut out your tongue.” Jack laughed lecherously, patting Helen’s shoulder. “No need for that, Mom. I’ll shut her up myself.” He began to unzip his pants. Helen chuckled and kicked me. “Get out, don’t interrupt your brother.” I glanced at the poor woman, who was also looking at me. Her bloodshot, desperate eyes pierced my heart. But I couldn’t even save myself, let alone her. I could only lower my head and walk out. Outside, the special “barbecue party” was in full swing. Men, women, old and young, everyone held a bowl of meat soup, their faces beaming with joy. The village had held countless such parties, and I had become numb to them. I never ate the meat from that cauldron. In fact, I wasn’t even allowed to. As I sat lost in thought, a dry, bony hand landed on my shoulder. I jumped in fright. Turning around, I saw Old Pete, a lecherous old man with yellow teeth, eyeing me greedily. I let out a small cry and backed away. “Uncle Pete, what’s the matter?” Pete wiped his drool, grinning. “Oh my, Lucy, you’re getting prettier by the day. Let Uncle Pete check if you’re developing properly.” I retreated in horror, bumping into someone behind me. It was my mom, her face dark with anger. “Mom, I…” Before I could finish, she slapped me hard across the face. “Pete, what are you doing?” “Helen, I really like this girl. Why don’t you sell her to me?” “Pete, it’s not that I won’t sell her. She’s still too young. Wait until she’s a bit older, then you can have her.” The old man’s face darkened. He muttered under his breath, “What do you mean ‘wait’? It’s just that the price isn’t right, isn’t it?” He cast one last longing look at me before shuffling away. “You little slut, seducing men at such a young age. I’ll sell you off sooner or later,” Helen hissed, pinching my arm hard before going off to entertain other guests. I didn’t dare make a sound. I turned back to see men still going in and out of the woman’s room.
The next day, the woman was dead. She had stabbed her neck with a small wooden stick, her death gruesome and terrifying. Even more horrifying was the eerie smile on her lips. The yard was once again crowded with people. The men sighed repeatedly, lamenting the loss of their plaything. Helen’s face was grim. She had planned to make money off this woman. “That bitch,” she cursed softly, turning to the men beside her. “You know the drill. Throw her in the big pit.” Jack frowned. “What a waste.” “No, don’t throw her away!” Just as the men were about to lift the woman’s body, a voice rang out from our doorway. Everyone turned to look. It was Crazy Joe, the village idiot. He danced around, singing off-key. “You’ll die, you’ll all die! The whole village will die!” Everyone looked at him with disgust. “You idiot, what nonsense are you spouting? Want me to beat you up?” Jack rolled up his sleeves, ready to hit Crazy Joe, but was stopped by an old man. Jack was about to curse when he realized it was Mayor Thompson. He immediately fell silent. “How many bodies are in that pit now?” the mayor asked. The villagers looked at each other, shaking their heads. “Can’t remember, but it must be dozens.” Mayor Thompson closed his eyes, thinking for a moment, then let out a sigh of relief. “It’s okay, this is the 99th body. We’re still one short.” He slowly opened his eyes. “It’s fine, throw her in the pit. But from today on, we can’t do this anymore.” The villagers murmured among themselves. Although they weren’t happy about it, they had to agree due to the mayor’s authority. “No, don’t throw her! If you do, everyone will go to heaven!” Crazy Joe fell to his knees in front of the mayor, wailing. The mayor frowned and kicked him away. “You beast, I’ll eat you one day.” With that, he walked away, hands behind his back. I sat silently, suddenly realizing something. But I didn’t speak up, just watched as the woman’s body was carried away. Late that night, I snuck out of the house to find Crazy Joe. He usually slept in the abandoned cemetery, any hole in the ground was his home. “Brother Joe, wake up,” I whispered. Crazy Joe opened his eyes groggily. Seeing me, he suddenly smiled and clapped his hands. “Lucy, good person! Lucy, good person!” I quickly covered his mouth, looking around warily. “Brother Joe, do you know something? What’s going to happen to the village?” Crazy Joe suddenly became very excited. He stood up, gesticulating wildly. “They’re coming back! They’ll all come back! Everyone will hug together and go to heaven!” I listened, confused, but a chill ran down my spine. The mayor had specifically checked the number of bodies in the pit today, only allowing them to throw in the body when he knew it was the 99th. This meant that once there were 100 bodies, something would happen. And now, there were exactly 100 bodies in the pit. They didn’t know that the woman had been pregnant. With the fetus, it made exactly 100. As I was lost in thought, Crazy Joe seemed to hear something. He suddenly stood up. “Hehe, my mom is calling me. Everyone hugging together, how nice.” I froze, staring at him blankly. Then, with empty eyes, he started walking towards the back mountain. I knew that’s where the pit was located. The silver moonlight spilled onto the ground, casting an eerie glow over everything. After a moment’s hesitation, I gritted my teeth and followed him. Even from hundreds of meters away, an unbearable stench assaulted my nostrils. Fighting back nausea and fear, I slowly approached the pit. One glance was enough to nearly break my mind. The village had been doing this for decades, claiming countless victims. Dozens of bodies lay haphazardly in the pit, dismembered limbs everywhere. Rain and decomposition had caused the bodies to fuse together, forming a mountain of corpses covered in a sickly green fluid. I stumbled backward, accidentally bumping into something. I turned around to see the woman who had died yesterday. Her head was tilted at an unnatural angle, a sinister smile on her face. Blood still oozed from her mangled neck. She put her hand on my shoulder and spoke in a chilling voice: “Why didn’t you save me?” I let out a scream and ran as fast as I could.
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