2 AN UNKNOWN FAMILY

Jin Zhilan struggled to open her eyes. But she couldn't. She sensed herself inside some moving vehicle.

She could hear the men murmuring around her.

"Was she awake?"

"No"

"She is a young girl, not bad to look at."

"Don't do anything to the girl. We need to deliver her unharmed."

"If she is awake, just scare her with the knife"

Her mind seemed paralyzed as silent tears streamed down her cheeks.

---

In her half-awake half-asleep state, Jin Zhilan felt the vehicle came to a halt.

"Girl, Wake up!", she could hear someone shouting at her. Someone grasped her shoulder and shook her.

Jin Zhilan felt so weak and exhausted that even after putting in a lot of effort, she couldn't open her eye lids. She felt numb all over. She felt as though a decade had passed in a few hours. She didn't know how much time had elapsed after she fainted.

In her semi-sleep state, Jin Zhilan remembered someone treating her injuries. She also had a vague memory of her tormentors shifting her to another car. Now, the people around her were not the thugs who kidnapped her. Memories came flooding back from a few hours before and she remembered the dreadful things that happened. She remembered what her mother had done to protect her. She started trembling too hard.

As she was shifting through memories in her weakened and dizzy state, she felt someone carrying her like a load of laundry out of the car. She groaned, but didn't open her eyes.

After a few seconds, she felt herself in the air and soon she was slammed into the floor.

She soon laid sprawled on the floor and whined in pain.

An eerie silence all around her. She could hear her own breathing sound. But all of a sudden, the silence was broken by the sound of something hitting again and again.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

It was the sound of knocking on the floor.

Jin Zhilan tried to open her eyes. But her eyes were assaulted by a strong light of searing brilliance. She squeezed her eyelids shut against the painfully bright light which blinded her. She tried to open her eyelids again, but this time slightly. After spending a long time in the darkness of the night, all she could see was some vague shadows. After a few seconds, her hazy vision finally cleared, causing her to rapidly blink, until her eyes could focus. She looked around the room.

It was a brightly lit up extravagant living room.

Where is she now?

Her throat was dry and she was feeling dizzy. But still, she dragged herself into a sitting position.

She was still covered in dirt from head to toe. But her injury in the forehead was already treated and bandaged.

Jin Zhilan surveyed the room in search of the source of the thumping sound.

Her eyes stopped on the wrinkled face of an old man. His face set in stern lines, bore an expression of weariness. He was sitting on a sofa along with an old lady. There are three other people on their sides.

Jin Zhilan found herself sitting right infront of them on the floor. Everyone around her was glaring daggers in her direction.

The old man kept slamming his cane on the floor, making loud thuds. It was the sound she heard earlier. There was a cruel excitement in his eyes. The old lady sitting along with him, had a vicious expression on her face.

To the right of the old man, stood a middle aged man whose face was stern and stoic.

He had a murderous look in his eyes. The young man standing next to him in straight posture, was glaring down at her in disdain.

To the left of the old lady, stood a middle aged woman with her arms crossed over her chest. She was frowning. Her face contorted with hatred and disgust.

Who were these people?

In a flash, she remembered something--the conversation between thugs. They conversed about someone assigned them with the task of killing her mother.

Taking a deep breath, she asked them, "Are you the people responsible for my mother's death?"

No one answered her question. But from the expression of the people before her, it was clear that they didn't have any good feelings towards her. Viciousness and fierce hatred was clearly visible on their face.

Without any doubt, they were the people responsible for her ordeal.

But why… Why did they kill her poor mother? Her mother never harmed anyone. She never hurt a single soul on this earth.

Anger stirred, along with hurt feelings. Her expression turned extremely chilly.

With bloodshot eyes, she screamed at them "Monsters! Why did you kill my innocent mother? Do you think I'll spare you? I won't spare any of you."