Chapter 15

Ally's POV
John bent down and bowed to me, "Thank you, for always taking care of Amy."
"That's what I'm supposed to do as a doctor."
Amy pouted, her face making a somewhat unsatisfied expression at John's actions.
I stared at Amy's face, "Is your injury better?"
"It's much better after the treatment."
Amy prepared two cups made of bamboo for us, this cup was very big, the size of my four fists.
"Amy, do me a favor. Take that carrot juice out of mine. Give Miss Amy and Mr. Tyler a taste."
Amy countered John. "Carrot juice is not a good thing to drink."
Amy moved with some hesitation, but she did as she was told, and Amy poured a large glass of carrot juice for Tyler and me.
I took a sip and the sweet taste melted in my mouth. "Did you make this carrot juice yourself?"
"As good as it gets, Miss Amy." John looked very proud of his skills.
Tyler lifted his glass and took a big sip of carrot juice. "The flavor is really great!" Tyler complimented.
I drank John's carrot juice, then paused for a moment to ask Amy, "Maybe I'm offending you a little by asking you a question, but that would go a long way toward helping us solve the problem."
I wasn't really sure Amy would help me, and I was careful not to remind Amy of the painful memories that had filled her life.
To my surprise, Amy didn't reject my question. "I think I will try to help you, and I will tell you everything I know." Amy said to me firmly.
I looked at her gratefully.
"If you feel any discomfort during this process, we will stop immediately." Tyler added.
"Please tell us everything you encountered at the Wind Pack border in the first place." I took out my paper and pen, ready to record the details of what Amy said.
Amy lowered her head, a look of reminiscence on her face.
"Early that morning, I was going to the border to pick a medicine."
"Why did you want to go to the border to pick the medicine?"
"Because as we all know, this plant is very picky about the growing conditions. They like wet conditions, but they must have sunlight in the morning. And, only in the Wind Pack border forest is the soil in which this plant grows."
I nodded, then quickly jotted these words down in my notebook.
"Do you always pick medicine at the border? Or do you only go occasionally?"
"I've only been going in the last month."
"Why?"
Amy looked down and pondered for about two minutes, then told me.
"About a month or so ago, a group of merchants suddenly appeared in the Wind Pack and they were buying this medicine at exorbitant prices. So there are a lot of people who will travel to the border woods in search of this herb."
I wanted to make some money so I could get enough to buy a cart for John, who had been carrying vegetables by hand, so if he had a cart, he would be able to use it to transport them to the town fair to sell them."
At this point, Amy looked away, embarrassed. She explained, "Since our parents died, John is the only source of income in the family. We are living on a shoestring."
Understanding Amy's feelings at the moment, I said, "I don't mind what you're saying."
She smiled at me in a relaxed way. "Thanks."
Tyler listened quietly on the side and suddenly spoke up and asked, " May I ask if the people who usually go to the border to collect medicine are the same age as you?"
Amy's eyes widened as she replied to Tyler, "Yes, usually mothers who don't have a job and bring their children."
"Or young people with free time." Amy added.
I pondered, could this be a connection to the slave trade organization?
Tyler rubbed his chin and speculated in a low voice, "It's possible that these kidnappers are deliberately putting out news of high prices for herbs to attract young people or women to the border."
I suddenly understood, and I excitedly continued with what Tyler said, "That's why Amy met the kidnappers in the border woods!"
Amy's face was filled with fear as she covered her mouth and let out a surprised sound.
"Oh my God!" Amy continued to Tyler, "If what you're saying is true about your guess, this is just awful!
"I remember the kidnapper who kidnapped Amy that day had a black tattoo on his body." I said to Tyler. "Maybe it's a special mark that belongs to them in order to distinguish them from ordinary people."
Tyler nodded as he said to me, "I once pretended to be a kidnapper and infiltrated that slave trade organization. Those guys had black tattoos on their backs."
Tyler added, "They took a lot of young girls and had to send them to the top of the various packs."
My conversation with Tyler made the atmosphere between the conversations a little stiff.
I looked carefully at all the notes in my notebook, my thoughts bouncing wildly between the words. We were talking about the slave trade when John dropped what he was doing and then sat down next to Amy. He stopped the usual smile on his face and his expression became serious.
"Speaking of the slave trade, I once heard someone talk about it. Those people would capture beautiful women, lock them up and temper them. Finally, they give them away as gifts." John said, and looked at Amy worriedly.
"I'm not sure if what I've heard is true. But it's true that a lot of young women disappeared from Wind Pack during that time."
"That may be true." Tyler whispered. "Because I know that the top brass of the various packs have received a number of beautiful young slaves."
John paused for a moment and continued, "They did disappear because they went to the border forest to collect medicine. But it is strange that the guardians have not pursued these disappearances. It's as if these disappearances never happened."
Tyler's brow had long been deeply furrowed, and his face looked very angry. I couldn't help but feel that these cases had been premeditated and orchestrated long ago.
I could even guess that there was a high probability that the senior leadership of Wind Pack and the slave trade organization were they were interconnected.
I reassured Amy, "You don't have to be too scared. The slave trade wouldn't dare to kidnap women on the streets of Wind Pack. So you won't be in too much serious danger as long as you don't go to the Frontier Forest."
Amy looked at me trustingly and she nodded to me.
I noticed that the clock on the wall read ten forty and Tyler and I looked at each other. I guess I should go home.
Still reassured by Amy, I stood in the doorway and asked her, "Amy, do you have any plans for the future?"
Amy smiled at me and said, "John and I have saved up some money to be able to start some small business on the street."
I was happy for her from the bottom of my heart, and I smiled and said, "That sounds just great!"
"Yes. I'm also planning to go to the market next Monday to buy some flower seeds. I love those bright, beautiful flowers!" Amy's face was full of hope and anticipation for the future.
Amy said to me, "When the weather is warmer, I will personally give you the flowers I planted."
I said goodbye to Amy and John. Before the clock struck midnight, we returned to the house.
Tyler handed me a soda and I took it and drank it all down in one gulp.
"Another one, please!" I handed the empty glass of water back to Tyler and he took it with surprise. "Lady, you should watch your image."
I waved my hand indifferently, "Come on, I'm not a good girl. My toes are going to stiffen off!"
Tyler shook his head helplessly as he handed me the soda. "Thank you, Tyler. don't you want one?"
Tyler turned me down and started to undress himself.
I stopped him in my tracks. "Tyler! What are you trying to do? I'm already very tired today!" I wrapped myself in my robe, the thin material of which I was afraid could be easily torn by Tyler.
Tyler undressed so fast that he was down to a pair of underwear before I could finish my sentence.
"What? I'm just going to take a shower, Ally," Tyler replied to me, surprised.
But he quickly understood why I had said that to him and he looked at me with a bad smile. "But I don't mind doing it the way you want."
I covered my head with the blanket to show that I didn't want to pay attention to Tyler's bad-hearted look. I wrapped the covers a little tighter and pretended I was going to sleep. He chuckled softly and left my sight.
I had traveled a long way today and was very tired mentally and physically. My eyelids were getting heavier and heavier, and my consciousness was floating like a feather in the night.
I had a dream in which I was walking in a mist. The branches of the trees blocked all my vision, and there was delicate moss under my feet. They formed a huge, silent maze. The dim light made it impossible for me to move forward smoothly. I scrambled through the dense woods in search of an exit.
My consciousness grew fuzzy, and I desperately wanted to break through the darkness.
A firm voice appeared in my ears, I could not see his face. But I could vaguely sense that he was smiling at me. I clumsily took his hand.
As if by instinct, I followed him for no reason at all. At that moment I realized that this might be the partner for me.
He and I finally emerged from the woods and we were bathed in sunlight. He tried to leave me, and I tugged his hand hard. Because I had a premonition that if I let go of his hand, I would never see him again. I might lose him, forever.
I begged him, "Please, please tell me your name!"
In the dream, his back was to the sun, the touch of his face hidden in the darkness of the shadows. I couldn't make out his expression, I could only feel that his scent was very familiar.
He bent down and left a soft kiss on my lips. He remained silent, not saying a word to me.
A strong feeling of loss filled my whole body, and I felt that nothing in this world belonged to me anymore.
"Please don't leave me!" I wanted to tell him not to leave me, but no sound could come out of my throat. Until his figure disappeared from my view, it was as if I had been deliberately forgotten in this world.