After changing the diaper, the comfortable infant girl fell back to sleep. The young beggar held her, relieved, and seemed to smile. The girl next to him was hard to believe his gentle look at that moment.
The beggar turned his head, and just as his eyes met the girl's, she quickly looked away.
"Now that the baby's settled, does it mean the bad guy will come for me next?" The girl considered how the beggar would deal with her in her mind.
She didn't understand much about these things but had a vague feeling that something very bad was about to happen. So, she covered her private parts with her hands more tightly…
But then, a bundle was thrown in front of her, followed by a voice without any emotion.
"Put these on."
When the girl looked up, the beggar had approached her again. It was strange; holding the infant, he didn't seem too bad, even somewhat gentle, but why so fierce and cruel towards her?
Facing the dagger, the girl didn't dare to think much. She opened the bundle. Inside was a set of clothes, from a headpiece to shoes. Looking closely… it seemed to be… a lace maid dress.
"Why this? What do you plan to do to me?" The girl asked warily.
The beggar replied with just one word to her question.
"Interest."
…
Without a doubt, today was a disaster for the girl. She had to defer under to the threat of a dagger. The cold of winter left her no choice. After all, having clothes was better than continuing to be naked under the bad guy's gaze, right?
"Turn… turn around!" she demanded.
Of course, the beggar didn't obey. He just stood there, holding the dagger, waiting for her to move. The girl, seeing that her scolding was useless, started to cry and dressed herself from the pile of clothes, covering herself up as she went.
The beggar watched until she had put on all the clothes from the bundle, including the short lace skirt, black stockings, headpiece, and shoes the same color as her hair.
Just when she felt disgusted by these clothes, the door closed again, leaving no sight of the beggar and the infant.
In the dim room, the girl was suddenly left alone, feeling scared. She rushed to the door and pulled hard, only to find it was locked from the outside. She was locked in the room.
…
In the dim, narrow corridor, the old wooden floor creaked with each step.
The beggar, holding the infant and a key, walked step by step. Soon, people started walking through the hallway. The beggar stepped aside to let the men and women pass. Each woman was dressed too hot, speaking in a seductive tone. The men didn't wait for the doors to open before their hands started to roam over the women's chests and legs.
Once the doors closed, sexual moans from the women and heavy breathing from the men echoed through the thin doors along the corridor.
The further the beggar walked, the more intense these sounds became, filled with obscenity. Smoke rings from the men's cigarettes hung at the top of the corridor, casting a foggy haze over the small passageway.
The beggar looked down, and pulled up the infant's blanket to cover her nose a bit for protection. He walked out of the brothel's corridor.
...
The messy music and clinking of beer, along with the loud talking and shouting, made up the scene of the Pink Lady's night.
This place was bigger, the women hotter, and the crimes like robbery and murder plotted in dark corners were even more frequent than in other places.
And all was for one reason – because this was the Pink Lady, a place where sin was concentrated and law and morality were abandoned.
The little beggar bent over and weaved through the crowd, slipping past women shaking hips and men spouting dirty words, unnoticed like a bug. Despite the heat and the wild dance of bodies under the red lights and the influence of alcohol, the beggar's eyes remained cold as ice, his gaze fixed on his target.
On the stage, a dancer stripped and swayed seductively, drawing the ravenous gaze of the audience. Suddenly, a man was nudged onto the stage. He appeared shy, blushing at the sight of the naked woman in front of him.
"Go on! Go fuck her!"
"Man, forget about the old lady at home! Do it, do it!"
The woman tiptoed, her hands like snakes wrapping around the man's neck, circling him. Her thighs, sleek and tempting, brushed against him, kindling his desire.
And then, under the dancer's temptation and the feverish atmosphere, the man surrendered. He elevated the dancer up, pressing her against a pole, and with no foreplay, they engaged in the act before the crowd.
Beneath the stage, the crowd roared, appreciating the shameless display above.
Glancing at the stage briefly, the little beggar then focused on the baby in his arms. A dark voice in his mind sneered.
"Kid, do you think in fifteen years… maybe twelve, she'll be like that dancer?"
He glanced at his right arm where a blood eye glinted red, mocking him. After a moment of silence, the beggar looked up and spotted his target.
Fox sat in a shadowy corner, sipping wine, fixated on the stage, his pleasure undiminished by the familiarity of the scene because of the diversity of attendants.
The beggar didn't approach for payment. He knew he wasn't about to deal with a kind soul - in fact, there were none kind to be found here.
To ask for payment was to risk ending up discarded in a cold dumpster, where a feast, his corpse, for rats and roaches would be ready.
His survival hinged on his patience. The little beggar cradled the baby and edged toward the bar. He grabbed a just-emptied soda glass, dumped out the ice, and then filled it from a hot water urn. After letting the water cool, he carefully offered it to the baby.
She sucked onto the warm liquid eagerly, thirsty and hungry. The water wouldn't ease her hunger entirely, but it took some relief.
The baby girl paused her drinking, excess water tracing down her cheeks. The beggar set the glass aside and gently wiped her face with his rough fingers.
She opened her green eyes wide, grasping his finger wrapped in chains, with a grunt, as if she'd never let go.
Just then, the eye on the dagger opened, its demonic gaze falling on the baby girl's green eyes, but her own eyes remained bright and clear, seeming not aware of anything except the boy.
The devil sword scoffed.
"Kids don't know fear. She's no different from a piggy, just eating and sleeping. There are plenty of stray dogs on the streets. If she can't be sold, just toss her to them. Let's see if she can stay this calm when they bite her."
But the beggar's expression didn't change. He stretched out his finger, grabbed the glass, and drank the rest of the water.
It was at this moment that the best chance he had been waiting for finally arrived.