Miss Azhu wanders the streets and alleys of Conch City, and spends her life in the most obscene places of filth and filth, but she still has something in her feminine nature.

She heard the sound of brisk footsteps coming towards the other door opposite the one she had entered, and the thought that the small room was about to take on a striking contrast, she felt a deep sense of shame pressing down on her heart, and she could not help but shrink into a ball, as if she could hardly meet the man she had asked to meet.

What is countered by these more innocent feelings is self-esteem. She is a wretched creature with thieves and villains, a little * who has fallen into the dust, and even such a depraved person has a self-esteem, unwilling to reveal a trace of feminine emotion, which she sees as weakness, but only this emotion connects her to human nature, and since her childhood, lawless life has erased many traces of human nature.

She raised her eyes, just enough to see a slender, pretty girl appear in front of her, then turned her gaze to the ground, shook her head in a pretended nonchalant manner, and spoke: "It's not easy to see you, miss. If I start a fire and leave, one day you will regret it, and not for no reason. ”

"I'm so sorry if anyone is rude to you," Jin Xiu replied, "don't think like that, tell me why you want to see me." I'm the one you're looking for. ”

The other party's considerate tone, soft voice, and generous attitude, without the slightest tone of arrogance or disgust, completely exceeded Miss Azhu's expectations, and she cried out with a wow.

"Oh, Miss!" She said emotionally, "If there were more people like you, there would be fewer people like me — yes — yes like this." ”

"You may be seated," said Jin Xiu earnestly, "if you lack anything, or if there is any misfortune, I will help you sincerely, as long as I can do it—truly." Have a seat. ”

"Let me stand, miss," said Aju, crying, "don't be so polite when you talk to me, you don't know me very well, is the door closed?" ”

"It's closed," Jin Xiu said, taking a few steps back, as if it would be easier for someone else to answer if she needed to call for help. "What's going on?"

"Because," said Miss Aju, "I will put my life, and the lives of others, into your hands." I was the girl who dragged little Yongchang back to the old camel's house, the night he came out of that house. ”

"You?" Jin Xiu said.

"It's me, miss." The girl replied, "I am the shameless thing you have heard of, fooling around with thieves, I have not had a good day since I can remember the moment I walked through the streets of Conch City, I have not heard a good word, I will live as they tell me, they will say whatever they say, miss, just stay away from me, I will not care." I'm a little younger than you can see with your eyes, and I've long since stopped taking it seriously. I walked on the crowded sidewalks, and even the poorest women went straight back. ”

"It's horrible." Jin Xiu said, and involuntarily retreated from the strange visitor.

"Miss," cried the girl, "you have had relatives who have cared for you since you were a child, and you have never been cold or hungry, nor have you ever drunk and made trouble, and—there are worse things than these, which I have been accustomed to since I was in the cradle. I can use this word, since the small alley and gutter are my cradle, they will also be my spiritual bed in the future. ”

"I sympathize with you." Jin Xiu was speechless, "Your words have broken my heart." ”

"May God bless your kindness." The girl replied, "If you knew what I sometimes do, you would sympathize with me, really." I've slipped out, and if those people had known I was here, and told you what I had overheard, they would have killed me. Do you recognize a man named Lao Meng? ”

"I don't know." Jin Xiu said.

"He knows you," replied the girl, "and I know that you live here, and I found you only when he mentioned it." ”

"I've never heard of that name." Jin Xiu said.

"That must have been told to him by our men," the girl continued, "I had thought of it before. Some time ago, not long after the night that Jin Xiu was brought to your house because of that robbery, I suspected this man, and I secretly overheard a conversation between him and the camels. Based on what I heard, I found out that Lao Meng is the man I asked you about."

"Yes," said Jin Xiu, "I understand. ”

"Old Meng," the girl continued, "I happened to see Jin Xiu with our two boys, and that was the day we lost him for the first time, and he recognized at once, that he was waiting for the child, but I could not make out what was going on. He negotiated a deal with the camel, once Yongchang was brought back, the camel could get a sum of money, and if he was trained to be a thief, he could get more money in the future, that old Meng Kesi had his own purpose and needed to do so. ”

"For what purpose?" Jin Xiu asked.

"I was eavesdropping, hoping to get things straight, but he saw my shadow on the wall," said the girl, "and there are not many people who can escape in time and not be discovered by them." But I dodged, and I saw him again last night. ”

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you, Mademoiselle. He came again last night. They went upstairs as usual, and I wrapped myself tightly so that the shadow would not expose me, and went to the door to eavesdrop. I heard Lao Meng say at the beginning: 'And just like that, the few pieces of evidence that could confirm the child's identity fell to the bottom of the river, and the old witch who got it from his mother was rotting in the coffin. They laughed and said he had done a good job. Lao Meng, as soon as he mentioned that child, became very savage, saying that he had now got the money of that little ghost's wife, but he would rather use other methods to get the money. Because, if you can send him to every prison in Conch City to soak in it, wait for the camel to make a fortune on Yongchang, and then easily make him commit a certain capital crime, hang him on the gallows, and stab the Haikou that his father boasted of in his will. ”

"What the hell is going on?" The more Jin Xiu listened, the more confused he became.

"It is a complete truth, miss, though it is from my day," replied the girl, "and he scolded him vigorously, which sounds normal to me, and you have certainly not heard of it, and he said that he would take the child's life on the one hand, and on the other hand he would not have to risk the gallows, so that he could quench his hatred." But because he couldn't do it, he had to keep an eye on every turning point in Yongchang's life, as long as he took advantage of the child's life experience and experience, and there was still a chance to clean him up. 'To put it simply, camel,' he said, 'you have never set such a trap as I laid for my little brother Yongchang.' ”’

"His brother!" Jin Xiu screamed.

"That's what he said," said Azhu, looking around worriedly, and from the moment she began to speak, the shadow of the fat man appeared and disappeared in front of her eyes, causing her to keep looking around. "And so. When he mentioned you and another lady, he said, It's just that God has the heart to get along with him, and Yongchang fell into your hands. He laughed and said that it was a bit of fun, and that you were willing to go out thousands of oceans in order to find out who your two-legged pug was, as long as you had it. ”

"Didn't you mean," Jin Xiu's face turned pale, "is that true?" ”

"He gritted his teeth and was furious, and could not have been more serious," replied the girl, shaking her head, "and he never jokes with hatred." I know many people who do even worse things, but I'd rather listen to them talk about it ten or eight times than listen to that old Meng talk about it once. It's getting late, and I have to rush home to don't let people suspect that I've come out for this. I need to go back right now. ”

"But what can I do?" Jin Xiu said, "You're gone, how can I take measures based on this news?" Come back, come back, why do you want to go back there when you portray your companion so horrible? I can call a gentleman next door at once, and if you tell him the news again, you'll be able to go somewhere safe in less than half an hour. ”

"Why do you want to go back?" "I must go back," said the girl, because—how can I say such a thing to a pure lady like you? - One of the men I have spoken of to you, the most lawless of them all, with whom I cannot do without - yes, even if I can get out of the life I am living now, I will not be able to do without him. ”

"You have protected this lovely child," said Jin Xiu, "in order to tell me what you have heard, that you have come here at such a great risk, and your attitude has touched me, and I believe that what you say is true." Your remorse and shame are palpable, and it all convinces me that you can be a new man. "The tears of the enthusiastic golden embroidered girl continued to flow down her cheeks." I am also a woman, don't turn a deaf ear to my pleas. I was the first – I'm sure I was the first to show sympathy to you. Listen to me, let me save you, and you can do something good. ”

"Miss," cried the girl, kneeling down on her knees, "Miss, you are the first person to bless me with such words, and if I had heard them a few years ago, I might have been able to escape from a life of sin and misery. But now it's too late, it's too late. ”

"It's never too late to repent and atone for your sins." Jin Xiu said.

"It's too late," said the girl, crying in anguish, "I can't leave him behind now." I don't want to send him to death. ”

"How could that be?" Jin Xiu asked.

"He is not saved," cried the girl, "if I tell the people what I have said to you, and let them all be arrested, he will surely die." He was the boldest of all, and so cruel. ”

"For the sake of such a person," Jin Xiu cried, "how can you give up all hope for the future, and give up the chance of being rescued that is imminent?" You're going crazy. ”

"I don't understand what is going on," replied the girl, "but I know that this is all it is, not just me, but hundreds of other miserable people who have fallen like me. I have to go back. I don't know if it's God punishing me for my sins, but I'm going to go back to Him even if I've been suffering and abused, and I'm sure I'm going to go back even if I know I'm going to die at His hands in the end. ”

"What should I do?" Jin Xiu said, "I shouldn't have let you leave me like this. ”

"You should, miss, I know you will let me go," replied the girl, standing up, "for you will not let me go, for I believe in your good intentions, and I have not complied you to promise me, though I could have done so." ”

"So, what's the use of you bringing this news?" Jin Xiu said, "The secret must be investigated, you are bent on rescuing Jin Xiu, so you revealed the matter to me, how can I help him?" ”

"There must be a kind gentleman by your side who hears about it and keeps it a secret and advises you on what to do." The girl replied.

"But where shall I find you when necessary?" Jin Xiu asked, "I don't want to ask where those terrible people live, but can you walk or pass by at any fixed time and place in the future?" ”

"Can you promise me that you will keep it a secret, that you will come alone, or with the only person who knows about it, and that I will not be watched, stalked, or anything?"

"I promise you."

"Every Sunday evening, between eleven and twelve," said the girl without hesitation, "I am allowed to walk on the bridge of Conch City as long as I live." ”