Lu Ri-El

Jo removed the comforter from her body and saw that she was wearing a long, beige, silk night gown. She couldn't leave the house wearing this, so she held the maid uniform up and looked at it. The white apron could be removed from the emerald conservative dress. She also noticed that the apron had a name tag "Ri-el" clipped on it, who was this? Jo removed the apron, along with the name tag and then she put the dress on. She went to the bathroom and washed her face, then she exited the room.

In the hallway Butler Gu was waiting for her along with the two maids. He looked at the girl and the incomplete uniform she was wearing. Jo approached him, stopping two steps away in front of him.

"Thank you for your kindness Sir, I will be forever indebted to you and the person who saved me. There is no need to offer me a job, as I am visiting the country for business and I would now like to return". The girl said softly with a kind smile on her face. She was still unconvinced, if this was a dream or if it was reality.

"Madam, I am afraid I can't let you leave and the uniform represents your status in this household, so please follow me now" Butler Gu replied and turned away leading the way.

Jo was stunned, what was going on? What did these people want, were they saving her, or were they messing with her. Jo remained unmoved in her spot, one of the maid grabbed her arm and pushed her forward. She had to follow the man before her. The group of people walk till the end of the corridor and reached a broad curbed staircase, they descended the stairs and turned left through a narrow corridor. A few turns later, they exited the house, in the garden, through a side door.

They followed a little path through the garden, reaching a few minutes later, a secluded little hut behind some tall bushes. It was barley visible, you had to know of this place before, if you wanted to find it. While they were walking through the garden Jo was thinking to herself, are they taking her to that dark room again, are these the people who took her away from the restaurant, fear starting creeping in Jo's body, from her toes to her head. Why were they holding her captive here? What was their motive, there was no point in asking anymore, as she knew she won't get an answer.

Butler Gu reached for the solid door of the hut and opened it, signalling the girl to go in. Jo stopped moving forward and she looked at the man.

"Madam, please go in" Jo was obviously not going to go in willingly, she stared at the man for a few seconds... she wanted to remember this face, so she could haunt him, when she would turn into a ghost. Seeing that the girl didn't make a move, the maid that was still holding her arm dragged her inside forcefully. Jo didn't retaliate, she had no escape, even if she broke free from the maid's grasp, where would she run to? She didn't even knew the way.

The girl was shoved inside the hut and to her surprise it wasn't that dark room. This little hut had a bed and a little cabinet, as well as a separate little area with a toilet and a shower. The little window on the ceiling allowed some natural light to flood in the room. The next moment the door shut closed behind her and a locking sound was heard. Jo shuddered and collapsed on the floor.

From outside the door, Butler Gu pulled out the key from the lock, when he heard a loud thud. He was hesitant for a moment, but quickly refrained himself. This woman was very odd, she didn't fight at all for her freedom. He expected her to be shouting, push them and run away for her life, but to his surprise, this girl was submissive and let her self fall as prey in their claws.

It looked like she gave up on life long time ago. A heart breaking sorrow enveloped the man's soul, such a young and beautiful girl. You could notice straight away, that she was a smart young girl and from her mannerism and posture she looked like she came from a good family. Too bad her aura was so dark, well nobody could blame her, her fate was rather miserable. To his master, it didn't matter if she was a corpse or an object. He didn't held any regard for her whatsoever.

Jo laid on the ground unmoving, it wasn't a dream after all... the nightmare continued... she wanted to dissipate from this world and become one with the ground, she wanted to come back as a plant, growing in the rain and shining is the sun.

A few hours later, through a little flap in the door, a plate of food and water was delivered. Jo was deep in her sleep and she didn't even notice. Butler Gu saw through the gap, that the girl was still laying on the floor unmoving, he could faintly see her breathing though, so he breathed a sigh of relieve and turned to leave. This situation repeated a few more times... the girl didn't touch the food at all.

Two days have passed and Butler Gu, was getting concerned, if she refused to eat and drink, this girl would starve to death. He mustered his courage and dialled the number of He Mufeng. A few rings later, the call got through.

"Mr. He, sorry to disturb you, I am calling regarding Madam, she has been refusing to eat and she keeps herself on the floor not moving. It has been two days, I am afraid if she continues like this..." Before Butler Gu could continue, He Mufeng cut in.

"Butler Gu, thank you for your call, I will inform the Master!" He Mufeng terminated the call and waited for his Master, to finish his meeting.

Two hours later, Lu Ye Ze exited the meeting room with a sombre face and a pair of very deep eye circles. He had always suffered from insomnia, even the best doctors in the world, couldn't cure him and hypnosis was rendered useless. Lately though the situation has gotten worse, he hadn't slept in three days and his body was starting convulsing slightly.

He put a lot of effort earlier, in trying to control his body during the meeting, he didn't want his subordinates to know what was happening to him, as it might alert his enemies.

In the office, He Mufeng delivered him a pile of documents and a cup of ginseng soup. The man sat in his chair and looked at his laptop while sipping the soup slowly. His assistant was fiddling with his fingers, he was reluctant in informing his Master about the call of Butler Gu. Lu Ye Ze was swarmed in important documents and he didn't want to disturb him. His thoughts were stopped by a sudden voice.

"What is it?" Lu Ye Ze asked.

Indeed his Master knew him best, He Mufeng exhaled and started his report.

"Master its about that girl. She survived after being disconnected from the machines, I didn't report it earlier, as you were away attending important guests. I have asked Butler Gu, to hold her for now and we will deal with her later. He then locked her up in the cabin, at the end of the Garden. Apparently she didn't resisted at all and she had been laying on the floor unmoving since, refusing food and water."

"Is that so..." Lu Ye Ze was a bit taken aback, he didn't expected her to survive after being disconnected from the machines, supporting her life. Her body was already in such a state, that even if a feather would lay on her, she would be killed instantly. When they found her in that place, she was giving her last breath, it looked like she stayed there for over a week, without food, water or natural light, even the most trained people could not withstand such tremendous type of torture. What was more terrifying, was that she was a young girl and next to her laid a decaying body... the smell was indescribable... but she had no use for him being alive, as a matter of fact, was actually troublesome. After a short pause Lu Ye Ze said. "Let her be then!"

"Yes Master!" Replied He Mufeng.

After he uttered those words, Lu Ye Ze put the soup bawl down and he felt his stomach constricting while a faint pain travelled from his stomach up to his chest. The girls face appeared in his mind when he first saw her, she had her eyes open looking empty and peaceful, then her image laying on his bed in that silk gown, her eyes closed and her little face so beautiful and delicate. Shivers starting traveling through his spine, he straightened his back and wanted to say something, but He Mufeng was long gone. He dropped his gaze down and absorbed himself in the documents, trying to forget about her.

Back at the mansion, Butler Gu put the receiver of the phone down, with a conflicted sad face. Ling Yi a maid of the house asked.

"How shall we proceed Sir?"

"We will continue to deliver food as usual and see what will happen".

"Yes, Sir!" The maid replied and left the room.

Upstairs, in the main study, Ming Sha was dusting the desk when her cleaning bottle, got knocked over and spilled over the desk. She quickly grabbed the roll of paper and started to dry out the spilled liquid. A small notepad got a bit wet, so she dried it gently and pulled a drawer to hide it. Ming Sha lifted the documents in the drawer and put the notepad at the bottom, then she released the pile of documents, two little red booklets caught her eye. She recognised instantly what those booklets were, so she took them out and opened them both.

Two pictures were stamped with a recent date and next to them were the names Lu Ye Ze and Lu Ri-El. Ming Sha's face froze and her fingers clutched the later booklet.

"What!!! Lu... Lu Ri-El???"