Chapter 13: First Meeting Ruyi

The girl was naked, wearing only a thin shawl that looked like it was casually thrown over her and could not cover anything.

The shawl was dirty, with dark and turbid bloodstains on it, but what was more terrifying than the shawl was the girl’s body, which was covered with scars of varying sizes, including whip marks, burns, and marks that were obviously caused by pinching. The more important and private the parts, the more similar marks there were. Just by looking at the scars on her body, it was not difficult to imagine how cruelly she had been treated.

“Who are you?”

Shen Fu spoke, surprised to find that her voice was hoarse and terrible.

“I have forgotten my past name. You can call me Ruyi,” the girl replied.

“Ruyi, Shunxin Ruyi? It’s a good name.” Shen Fu laughed, accompanied by a few coughs.

A worried expression appeared on Ruyi’s face. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but my joints have been dislocated. It’s not a big problem. Ruyi, can you tell me where this place is? Who is the one who kept you and me here?”

“This…” Ruyi, in her teenage years, was not as mature and stable as the Miss Ruyi in the future. After recollecting for a moment, a look of horror crossed her face. “I… I don’t know the name of the devil. I only know that every half month, or as little as every seven days, he would capture a young girl, choke her to death after committing adultery, and then cut and eat her with a knife.”

She seemed to recall some terrifying image, and her face suddenly turned pale.

Shen Fu could understand her mood; just thinking of the scene described by Ruyi made her feel nauseous. What she didn’t understand was why Ruyi was still alive.

She had never been a person willing to speculate on others with malicious intent, and when doubts arose in her mind, she asked openly. “Girl, my question may be a bit presumptuous, but I still want to ask you: since you know how often the wicked kill, why are so many girls dead?”

“You want to ask me why I escaped, right?” Ruyi interjected, smiling awkwardly. Unfortunately, she couldn’t move her hands and feet; otherwise, she would have touched her nose in guilt. Fortunately, Ruyi was more magnanimous than Shen Fu thought. She said directly, “Because everyone else can escape, but I have no way to.”

She bit her lip as if deep in thought, but after a while, she suddenly smiled sadly. “Anyway, you and I are both under the knife. What’s the point of concealing my identity from you?” As if making a decision, Ruyi confided in Shen Fu about why she was left behind. “I am a prisoner in exile. Even if I escape and am found by the officials, I cannot escape death.”

So the villain didn’t kill her.

If an ordinary woman found an opportunity, she would inevitably try her best to escape. But Ruyi wouldn’t. She was a weak woman. Her family had been killed by bandits on the way to exile, and she was the only survivor, picked up by the wicked. When she escaped, she was unfamiliar with her surroundings and had no idea where to go. How could she dare to ask for help when she met an outsider, especially a government official?

Therefore, she was left to do the tasks that men found inconvenient, such as sewing clothes, and occasionally she could be taken out of the cave to wash clothes by the river and get some fresh air.

Yes, Ruyi was chained to the cave by an iron chain.

The corpses of the raped and killed women she mentioned were also visible to Shen Fu. They were placed on the other side of the cave, their bones piled on the ground. The flesh had already been stripped away, leaving only a few remnants. The human heads, which had not yet completely decayed, were placed there, their eyes filled with unwillingness.

No matter when she hadn’t noticed it, Shen Fu was awakened by Ruyi, and seeing these bones made her boldness waver. She felt a cold sweat trickle down her back, and a chill spread through her.

She wanted to save herself, but with all her joints dislocated, she asked Ruyi, “If I have a way to escape, would you be willing to come with me?”

Ruyi whispered, “That wicked man is fierce…”

There was an obvious heartbeat on her face.

Since her heart was moved, it was fine.

Shen Fu said, “Miss Ruyi, if you believe me, please help me fix my arm on this raised spot.”

Perhaps it was her brighter eyes or her calm expression after waking up that gave Ruyi confidence. Ruyi gritted her teeth and actually did what Shen Fu asked, whispering uneasily, “I believe in you. You are different from those women. I hope you can really save me. Otherwise, if I am found by the devil, I’m afraid I won’t be able to please him.”

Shen Fu did not forget to calm her heart: “I see that your body is weak. If you are abused by that wicked person again, I’m afraid you won’t live for long. It’s better to fight for it. After you escape, it will be harmless even if you are found by the government. If you meet a good-talking official, you can erase your identity with a little money. If you meet a stern official, you can’t spend money to redeem yourself. You are a married woman implicated in exile by your family, and they won’t kill you. The worst they can do is send you to the Jiaofang Division to be an official prostitute.”

Ruyi’s eyes lit up. “Really?!”

Shen Fu replied, “Really, Miss Ruyi, don’t worry. Since I saved you, I will definitely protect you.”

Ruyi didn’t completely believe what Shen Fu said. In her opinion, it was better to become an official prostitute than to follow this demon. She was originally a spoiled daughter. Before her family was killed, she had never even killed a chicken, let alone committed murder. When she was kidnapped by a demon, she witnessed him rape and kill a girl. She passed out from the horror and then suffered various abuses. She would have preferred death. If she hadn’t been supported by her strong desire to survive, she would have smashed her head against the wall.

She murmured, “It’s better to be an official prostitute than to be here.”

Shen Fu couldn’t help but glance at Ruyi. She obviously didn’t mean to expect Shen Fu to save her. The thought of becoming an official prostitute after being rescued seemed to ease her mentality.

Shen Fu prided herself on being inferior to Ruyi.

With Ruyi’s help, she positioned her arm where it could be reset. Shen Fu exerted strength from her waist, and the dislocated joints abruptly snapped back into place. Accompanied by severe pain, cold sweat dripped down her face, and she gritted her teeth, stifling a groan.

“How are you?” Ruyi asked.

“Nothing,” Shen Fu replied, lying on the ground, panting heavily.

She had a physique with easily dislocatable joints. When she was a child, she had walked too fast and might have thrown her arms out of place. Now that she was older, her joints were much more stable, but resetting them was easier than for ordinary people. In such a simple environment, she could reset them herself.

She tried to raise her hand. The arm that had just been reset already had some strength, but it was very sore and numb, especially in the joints, which felt particularly tight, like a rusty mechanism. She couldn’t wait to pour some oil in to lubricate it.

But in this case, having initiative was already a good sign.

The left hand did not have the convenient conditions of the right hand, but the right hand could move, allowing Shen Fu to support herself and shift a small distance.

After struggling for a quarter of an hour, she finally returned both hands to their original positions.

Ruyi looked at her with adoration in her eyes. “You… you are really amazing.”

She felt pain just watching Shen Fu, and she couldn’t help but touch her arm.

“I’m not good; it’s just that the person didn’t beat me cruelly.”

If he had broken her bones directly, Shen Fu, no matter how powerful she was, would have been left to wait for death.

“You don’t have to humble yourself. I and the women who were victimized are far inferior to you.” Ruyi was silent for a moment and sighed, not knowing who she was feeling sorry for. “The man who took the women back from captivity will never kill them the first time. If they are weaker, he just throws them in. They seem to have some strength. At most, he can unscrew their ankles and grind their teeth. In fact, they can escape. But except for you, most women caught by him cry and make trouble, or scold me as his accomplice whenever he hits them.”

“Actually, what they said was right…”

“It’s not your fault.”

A cold hand covered Shen Fu’s hand.

Ruyi raised her head and saw Shen Fu’s eyes watching her tenderly.

Even in the most desperate moment, the eyes that had never dimmed were filled with a shining light, like rising stars in the dark night sky. Ruyi heard Shen Fu say in a gentle but firm tone, “It’s not your fault that you died. I can see that you also want to save them, but it is difficult for you to protect yourself, so how can you talk about saving others?”

“Being able to survive in such an environment and remain sober, Ruyi, you are already a warrior among warriors. I admire you very much. If I have a chance, I will definitely introduce you to my friends. Let them all know what a strong and brave friend I have.”

Ruyi asked her, “You really think so?”

Shen Fu replied, “There is absolutely no falsehood.”

Ruyi looked at her, and Shen Fu felt a bit embarrassed at that moment.

She had been caught and dragged in from the outside. There were wounds on her body, especially from the neck to the face. After being soaked by the rain, she was already a little pale and swollen at this time. She looked particularly vicious, but she was not in a hurry to speak. Slowly, her gaze became steady and strong, calming Shen Fu’s heart.

Ruyi heard the sound of Shen Fu’s heart thumping and beating.

The sound was stronger than every time she heard the devil’s footsteps.

…

From Ruyi’s mouth, Shen Fu had probably guessed the identity of that person.

Hong Si Niu.

Who could have imagined that a wicked man who had been wanted for more than ten years lived peacefully not far from the place where the crime occurred?

She vaguely guessed why she could survive.

Judging from Ruyi’s description, Hong Si Niu was probably not enough to kill people now.

He didn’t kill the tied women immediately, probably to give them hope, and then he forcibly shattered that hope.

If someone chose to escape, he might be happier in his heart. Shen Fu didn’t know how far this mountain forest was from the nearby towns. After escaping from the city, she had traveled a long way with light work before reaching this place. Those women, who had no power to bind chickens, were just prey that excited Hong Si Niu, given his familiarity with the mountain forest and his proficient hunting skills.

Shen Fu resisted the pain and fumbled for a while.

Her money and sword had been taken away, and everything in her arms had also been raided.

Groping to her waist, she felt a small paper bag and breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as she clipped the paper bag out and hid it in the palm of her hand, Shen Fu heard heavy footsteps approaching. At the same time, Ruyi lowered her voice and said to her in a tone filled with horror, “He’s coming!”

Shen Fu said, “Ruyi, if he comes in later, you will tell him that I seem to be sick, that my face was flushed just now, and that I was burning badly. Now it looks like it’s going to work.”

Ruyi was puzzled but nodded slightly.

Shen Fu closed her eyes.

The sound of muddy footsteps grew louder, coming from far to near.

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