Chapter 2: 2.第2章 节操碎一地，捡吗？【2】

“Mom, I heard human meat tastes just like chicken!” A crisp voice rang out; through the haze, it sounded like a little girl!

Human meat tastes like chicken? What did that mean? Zhu Jie thought weakly, but her ears were filled with one heavy swallowing sound after another. What were they doing?

“Really? Chicken is delicious!” a middle-aged woman with a raspy, duck-like voice said. No matter how poor her tone was, it couldn't mask her excitement; she seemed very eager to eat chicken.

“Don't talk nonsense. How could human meat taste like chicken?” an old man scolded in a low voice, yet even as he spoke, he sounded hesitant.

“It’s true! I heard Er Gouzi from the neighboring village mention it. They picked up a dead person last year and the whole family ate for an entire winter!” Faced with the old man's doubt, the little girl seemed somewhat angry, and her voice rose involuntarily.

“Is that so? I remember when I went to visit their house last year, I saw everyone's mouths were glistening with oil. I asked them if they were eating meat, but no one would admit it. Turns out they were eating human meat!” The raspy voice rang out again, sounding as if she had just had a sudden realization.

What on earth were they discussing? Zhu Jie tried forcefully to open her eyes, but after several attempts, she failed. No way... why did her whole body feel as if it were frozen solid?

“Yeah! Er Gouzi wouldn't lie to me!” the little girl immediately cried out proudly.

Without even opening her eyes, Zhu Jie could imagine the girl tilting her head up with a smug expression, acting as if she were something special.

As soon as she spoke, an old woman's voice immediately chimed in: “Mhm, he wouldn't lie to my Meizi!”

Meizi? That little girl was named Meizi?

Suddenly, a heavy sound of swallowing rang out almost right against her ear, followed by the raspy voice saying solemnly, “Should we have a taste too?”

Suddenly, a finger poked forcefully at Zhu Jie's face. Zhu Jie couldn't help but feel a sting. What was this person trying to do?

“This girl looks to be only in her teens; the meat should be very tender, right?”

The moment the words fell, Zhu Jie felt fingers poking at her face one after another, like crawling caterpillars.

Wait? What were they doing?

Zhu Jie felt her head explode with a loud *buzz*. No way... were they researching how to eat her?

She was a human! Are they kidding me? Oh god, where on earth has she ended up? Could it be... could it be that she had fallen into a tribe of cannibals?

The sounds of swallowing rose and fell continuously. The group around her was discussing heatedly—discussing how to eat this piece of meat!

This sound deeply shocked Zhu Jie, who lay there unable to move. What was she going to do? Was she just going to lie here and listen to people discuss eating her alive?

She screamed incessantly in her heart: *No! I'm not dead yet! Why are you already discussing eating me?*

“She’s not dead!”

Finally, a calm voice rang out, and Zhu Jie's heart eased slightly. Her eyelids were incredibly heavy, as if frozen by wind and snow; she exerted herself once more, but she still couldn't open her eyes.

It was a blessing she couldn't open them; otherwise, if she saw the greedy, hungry expressions of this crowd, wouldn't she just faint from terror again?

“She’s not dead?” The old woman's voice immediately rose an octave. “If she's not dead, why did you pick her up?”

The sheer displeasure in her voice was palpable. Isn't helping people a virtue? Zhu Jie truly wanted to cry; weren't these people too wicked? They wouldn't even save a living person?

What kind of people were they? It was best if she didn't wake up; if she woke up whole and intact, she would see how she could deal with these villains who wanted to eat her! Zhu Jie swore secretly in her heart, refusing to relax her entire body. She hurriedly circulated her breath to regulate her condition. Relying on others was not as good as relying on oneself; self-rescue was the priority!

What she didn't see, however, was that the Ji family members surrounding her were also struggling. Upon hearing she wasn't dead, they all crowded closer. Should they eat her, or not?

“Yi, why did you pick up such a thing? Our family can't even keep the cooking pot full anymore...” An old man's voice sighed with extreme conflict in her ear.

Eh? Wasn't this man the one whose pants had been stripped off in the snow? So his name was Yi?

Yes, the man's given name was Yi; he was the second son of the family, named Ji Yi!

And that little girl was his younger sister, Ji Mei! Surrounding them were also his parents—Old Lady Ji and Old Man Ji—and, of course, the eldest son Ji Laoda, who was just drooling in silence, and the sister-in-law with the loud, raspy voice!