Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 11 People Come and Go
Soon the basement became quiet and plunged into complete darkness, with the entrances and exits blocked from the outside.

In the darkness, Chen Xuan heard some children sighing with relief.

Then he realized that perhaps the torturous day for these children was finally over. The entrances and exits were blocked, and no one would come at night. The next night would be less frightening.

During the day, they might even feel pressured to breathe, fearing that they would upset people outside and be beaten.

Still no one spoke, and the only sounds in the darkness were breathing and the rustle of light movement.

Not long after, something happened that made Chen Xuan depressed. The sounds of urination and excretion were heard one after another, making the basement, which was already dark, damp and smelly, extremely eye-catching. Literally, it was an eye-catching sound!

To be honest, he really couldn't stand it and his throat felt nauseous, but there was nothing he could do. He had to endure it even though he couldn't stand it. There was no way to escape from such an environment.

He was even lucky because it was a 'single room' and he didn't have to squeeze with other people, thus avoiding the already small space being mixed with feces and urine.

Chen Xuan observed during the day and guessed that since he was new, there was no dirt in the cage and the weeds were relatively clean, much better than the other kids.

But this is only temporary. I don't know how long I'll be locked up here. It's impossible for Chen Xuan not to defecate, right? He can only do it in the cage...

Chen Xuan was a little overwhelmed when he thought of this. Even criminals didn't suffer like this.

Even so, Chen Xuan did not have any negative thoughts. He was not that fragile. To be self-deprecating, compared with the hardships of life, what did this matter?
The other kids were probably used to it, and no one complained at all.

I forced myself to endure the churning in my stomach and finally ate something. If I vomit it out, wouldn’t it be a waste?
"I have to do something to distract myself, otherwise I'll be so nauseous I'll throw up."

He didn't even dare to take a deep breath. This thought came to Chen Xuan's mind, but the more he thought about it, the stronger the unpleasant smell in the air seemed to be...

Cursing the old man in his heart, Chen Xuan touched the peach pit he brought in his arms and thought of a way to divert his attention.

It’s not a big deal to carry the peach pit with you, just in case you lose it. Although it’s useless, it’s the only thing you brought into this world, so it’s a thought.

So he decided to make a necklace out of the peach pits and wear it around his neck to prevent it from being lost. Since it wasn't a precious thing, he didn't have to worry about it being snatched away by others if they saw it.

Just do it when you think of it. Although the conditions are limited, you have plenty of time, so just use it to kill time.

The tattered linen clothes on his body were currently the best material for making a necklace. Chen Xuan groped in the dark and pulled out the hemp rope bit by bit. It took him a lot of time to get some, and the hemp rope was unexpectedly strong.

Next, she continued to fumble and tie all the twine together into a knot, and then tied knots alternately in pairs, and got a small 'net bag' that was just big enough to put the peach pit in. Then she tied another knot, and used her fingers to twist the remaining twine into two small ropes, and finally hung the peach pit necklace around her neck.

After pulling it, I found it was quite strong, so the possibility of losing it was greatly reduced.

Just such a small thing took Chen Xuan several hours. There was no other way, he couldn't see anything, so he could only complete it bit by bit by touch.

Not to mention, with his attention diverted to this matter, he actually ignored the harsh air environment. He didn't even feel that uncomfortable afterwards. It can only be said that people's ability to adapt is truly terrifying...

Probably because the day of fear and worry was over, many children relaxed and fell into a deep sleep. From the darkness came the sounds of snoring, teeth grinding, and smacking lips, perhaps they were dreaming about delicious food.

However, Chen Xuan was not sleepy at all. It was not because of his habit as a night owl that he could not sleep and had difficulty falling asleep.

However, this also made him discover a side of the children that was different from their daytime self. Some were crying quietly, some were sobbing in pain, some seemed to be eating secretly, and some were whispering something that he couldn't hear clearly...

In short, it would be impossible for anyone to come down and teach them a lesson at night, but a few children were a little more indulgent.

But this has nothing to do with Chen Xuan. After what happened during the day, he would not speak loudly to others. If it caused bad consequences, it would only hurt himself and others.

The children in the cages on both sides were already asleep. Chen Xuan remembered that another one was stuffed into Erdan's cage, but it was too dark for him to see clearly.

It was really hard to endure. After an unknown amount of time, Chen Xuan felt the urge to defecate. He didn't know if it was because of an upset stomach or a physiological reaction after not having defecation for more than a day. The cage was only so big, so he had to relieve himself inside. At first, Chen Xuan tried his best to hold it in, but could he really endure such a thing?

He had no choice but to grope around and dig up the weeds in the corner of the small cage. It was comfortable afterwards, but wiping it was a pain. He could only use the weeds to deal with it...

In his heart, he didn't know how many times he had greeted the old man's eighteen generations.

There is nothing to complain about, and complaining is useless. When you are unable to resist, it is best to learn to be patient.

The "neighbors" on both sides should also know what Chen Xuan did, but they didn't react at all. They also ate, drank, defecated and urinated in their own cages.

Covering the excrement with weeds, Chen Xuan moved to the other side, trying to get away from the dark, damp, and somewhat cold environment where he was curled up. Uncontrollably, scenes of his past life flashed through his mind. Only after losing them did he realize how precious those things he had complained about countless times were...

He didn't know how he fell asleep until he was woken by a scolding.

At daybreak, the entrance and exit were opened, and someone came down from outside. It was the guy who whipped people yesterday.

He roughly pulled the children out of the cage one by one, blindfolded them as they reacted with fear, and went to the bottom of the entrance and lifted them up, where there were people waiting above.

One after another, he didn't stop until he had sent out forty or fifty children, and finally he left.

It was not Chen Xuan's turn, but the cages on both sides of him were empty. Erdan, who had spoken to him, and the child who was sent to him yesterday and whom he did not see clearly, as well as several others on the other side, were all sent away.

I don’t know where they went or whether they will come back.

Dozens of children left, but the rest did not react at all. They had long been accustomed to such experiences every morning, and they didn't know when it would be their turn.

The atmosphere is still depressing. No one knows what the fate of each child will be, and no one knows how long it will last.

Time passes very slowly in such an environment, it is a silent torture and torment.

In the evening, Chen Xuan, who had been hungry all day, received a portion of food like the other remaining children. Just like yesterday, even the person distributing the food was the same.

Before dark, more children were sent back, but there were fewer of them. However, several children on both sides of Chen Xuan, whom he did not even know, never came back.

Where did they go? What was their fate, good or bad? No one knew, and no one cared.

The next few days went on like this, with children being sent away and others being sent in, and there were always about a hundred children in the basement.

There is no time to get to know each other, no time to say goodbye. In this small space, every child is just a brief passer-by in each other's life.

Chen Xuan was horrified to find that he had strangely adapted to this kind of life without knowing when, or perhaps he had simply become numb to it. His biggest emotional fluctuation was whether his fate would change when he woke up the next day!
He found that some children had been taken out and sent back several times, but he was not among them, as if he had been deliberately left out.

Chen Xuan had left seven marks on the wooden cage with his fingernails. He had been here for seven days, and his excrement and weeds could hardly cover up one corner of the cage.

On the evening of the seventh day, a new "neighbor" came into the cage on Chen Xuan's left.

'Again' is because Chen Xuan has become accustomed to the coming and going of neighbors in recent days.

When this new neighbor came, the cage was casually cleaned and covered with new dry weeds. He lived in a "single room" like Chen Xuan.

Only after the person who brought her here left did she dare to bury her head in her knees and cry quietly...

(End of this chapter)