Searching for Treasures in the Clouds

Chapter 361 Survive

"This thing on the ground isn't human, it's a ghost, or even some other monster. I see that it has a human shape but no human features. It has the general outline of a person, but it doesn't have skin, hair, or facial features like us. The whole thing looks like a mannequin made of a pile of minced flesh," Shanren said solemnly.

"Isn't Sister Yu in danger? Shanren, quickly play a video and see how she is." Shan urged.

"Wait a minute," Shanxin suddenly spoke up, "Shanren, if this is a monster or a ghost, is the Xiaoru who came back really Xiaoru?"

"Brother, what you're saying is a bit alarming." Shan Shi's lips twitched backward, as if he had something difficult to say.

Reminded by the believer, everyone also considered a terrible possibility. Fortunately, the next moment, Shanren denied this terrible consequence, "It's true. A person's appearance can be replicated, but the energy and magnetic field she carries cannot be replicated. The sister-in-law who came back is the real sister-in-law, you can rest assured about that."

"Then hurry up and download a video," Situ Ningzhai urged, "Let's see if that ghost has harmed anyone."

"Okay, grandma."

Shanren continued playing the video, then returned to his seat.

The next video didn't connect to the previous one; instead, it showed Yu Ru eating. She was in a room, having dinner with Sister Shan and Liu Bujing.

The three of them ate their meal together in silence. After a moment, Yu Ru suddenly looked at Liu Bujing and asked, "Liu Bujing, how old are you?"

Liu Bujing, whose name was called, raised her head, looked at Yu Ru for a moment, and replied, "Twenty-seven years old."

"Twenty-seven years old? Is that your full age?" Yu Ru asked again.

Liu Bujing shook her head. "No, it will be her first birthday in two months."

"Oh, that's fine." Yu Ru nodded, shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice down her throat, and then asked, "How many people are in your family?"

"There are two of us, just me and my mom."

What does your mother do for a living?

"She is a middle school Chinese teacher."

Is it a permanent position?

"some."

"Where's your dad?"

“My father was a policeman who died in the line of duty when I was fifteen years old.”

"Oh."

How tall are you? Your net height.

"Boss, my height is 1.78 meters."

"I saw videos of you playing the piano online. What's your piano skill level? Is it concert level? Is it at a teacher's level?"

Liu Bujing blinked and said somewhat shyly, "Performance level... I probably haven't reached that. Um... I used to work part-time as a piano teacher when I was in college, teaching students for a few months."

"Oh."

Yu Ru questioned Liu Bujing about his family, studies, and work in such detail, as if she were checking his census records. Then she asked, "Liu Bujing, have you ever been in a relationship? Do you have a girlfriend? If so, how many? If not, why not?"

Liu Bujing shook his head, looking somewhat awkward and not daring to look at Yu Ru again. His eyes were vacant as he stared at the rice in his bowl, one hand gripping the chopsticks tightly. He replied, "No, I don't have any. I didn't have the energy to think about these things when I was in school. After graduating from university, I entered the entertainment industry. I was only out for two months when I was taken over by that company, and I've been under their control ever since. I'm constantly being monitored, and I see no hope in life, so I haven't dated. I feel that I can't date like this; it's too irresponsible to the woman."

"Did those people beat you constantly while they were controlling you? Did they rape or molest you?"

"They kept hitting me, but not raping me. They did molest me. They were planning to do that to me these past few days, and they even sent me their plan. Luckily you came, otherwise I would have been saved." As she said this, Liu Bujing looked up at Yu Ru and gave her a sincere smile. "Boss, thank you."

"You're welcome. What's that plan you're talking about? Let me see it."

"Okay." Liu Bujing picked up the phone that was placed aside, opened the plan he had mentioned, and then handed the phone to Yu Ru.

Yu Ru took the phone and immediately began to examine it. It turned out that the so-called plan was simply a compilation of conversations between several people. She read very quickly; even skimming through the text, she could memorize everything she read. In just a few minutes, she had finished reading all several hundred lines of information in the plan.

She felt a pang of regret; she hadn't expected the torture and murder plan for Liu Bujing described in the document to be so disgusting and outrageous. She couldn't even imagine such a method. What disgusted her most was that they planned to have dozens of people rape Liu Bujing together, force him to perform oral sex, and even have his two pets rape him as well.

Why do these people only have that one thing on their minds? Yu Ru really couldn't understand it.

Of all forms of abuse, the one she hated and found most disgusting was sexual assault. Even cutting a person into pieces was better than that. In her view, even if a person was cut into pieces, their body was still their own, and their sovereignty remained. But if they were sexually assaulted, it meant that someone else's tissues would be inside their body. This brutal invasion meant that their body had, for a time, not completely belonged to them—an extremely inhuman act. However, although this was the most humiliating, there was still a glimmer of hope. Compared to losing her virginity, life was paramount; as long as she was alive, there was hope.

Yu Ru returned the phone to Liu Bujing, stopped eating, and began staring at the two pets eating heartily at her feet. The two pets were a Border Collie and a large orange cat, both belonging to Liu Bujing, who had been imprisoned here with him.

Seeing that there was still a lot of food in Yu Ru's bowl, Sister Shan asked softly, "Madam, why aren't you eating? Are you tired of it? Should I have someone go and buy a new one?"

Liu Bujing stopped eating and carefully observed Yu Ru's expression, waiting for her reply.

Yu Ru paused for a moment, then replied, "It's okay. What I just saw was so disgusting that I couldn't eat. I've recovered now, so let's continue eating."

"Okay." Sister Shan nodded.

The three ate their meal in silence. After a while, Yu Ru spoke up: "Liu Bujing, I have urgent matters to attend to during this period, and I also have things to do at home. I don't have time to take care of you, so you can only stay here for the time being. Don't even think about taking a taxi out on your own. As things stand, it's safest for you to stay here."

Liu Bujing nodded. "Okay, thank you, boss."

“When I have some free time in a while, I’ll arrange for someone to send you to my house. You can work as a gardener here for now, which is a good fit since you studied horticulture in college. Once this matter is completely over, you can leave if you want, or continue working as a gardener here if you like. However, my family doesn’t support idlers. All staff members must be truly skilled, and you can only become a full-time employee if you pass the required training. Before becoming a full-time employee, there will be no salary, only room and board provided. I will arrange for you to live in a secluded courtyard, and you can also bring your mother to live with you. Your pets can also live with you.”

Although there was no salary, it was a very good and reassuring arrangement. However, Liu Bujing showed a look of fear on his face. He looked at Yu Ru and asked in a low voice, "Boss, why are you helping me like this? I have nothing to repay you for helping me."

Yu Ru took a bite of rice, swallowed it, and replied, "I'm helping you and arranging a way out for you so that you can live. I want to prove to those bastards that evil will not prevail over good. I want to prove that the justice and purity they want to destroy will live on, and that they will die in an extremely painful way."

"You don't need to be afraid of me. I'm not interested in you. Only ugly people would try to take advantage of others. I won't offer you up like an object in exchange," Yu Ru said expressionlessly. "Only incompetent people with malicious hearts would offer people up like objects in exchange."

She utterly despises those who treat people as gifts. The person being given away as a gift is valuable; at least someone wants them. The person giving the gift is truly incompetent, utterly useless, unable to offer anything of value, and yet relies on someone of value to give it away. If they weren't part of a clique, what kind of person would they be? Those with genuine talent never need to ask others for favors; they are the ones being asked.

Liu Bujing's lips twitched slightly, and suddenly, tears welled up in his eyes, quickly overflowing and streaming down his cheeks.

"Thank you, thank you, I understand..." Liu Bujing wiped away her tears haphazardly with both hands, thanking him repeatedly.

Hearing the noise, the Border Collie and the orange tabby cat who were eating nearby looked up. Seeing Liu Bujing like this, they stopped eating and immediately ran to his side, barking and meowing.