A horse-drawn carriage swayed and bounced along a flat, wide road.
The driver was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man, the kind you wouldn't notice in a crowd.
Inside the carriage, a woman of about the same age held two children, humming a lullaby.
Fuzai's eyes were closed. The lullaby was making her a little drowsy, and the carefree little one simply fell asleep.
When she woke up again, the carriage had stopped.
The large hand that had been on her neck was gone. Fuzai opened her eyes and found her hands tied behind her back.
The other girl in the carriage was in the same situation, but she was still unconscious.
Fuzai blinked, peering outside through the carriage curtain as it fluttered in the wind.
There were many people outside, seemingly waiting in a line. She also saw a tall city wall.
'Are the traffickers planning to sell us inside the city?'
Fuzai muttered to herself. She wiggled her hands, but the rope was tied too tightly for her to break free.
