Next to them, Li Panpan seemed to be finished as well; the man beneath her stilled his movements. Bolstered by a strength that emerged from their desperate situation, the two women lunged toward Gu Yingxi while the man was momentarily stunned. The man cursed, shoving Gu Yingxi aside, and rubbed his hands together. Unexpectedly, the two enraged women turned on him, slapping him and clawing at him with their nails. This unpredictable frenzy startled the man, leaving him frozen for a second, his scalp instantly burning hot.

The two girls fully employed classic feminine fighting tactics, kicking him in his vulnerable lower parts and yanking his hair. The man tried to endure it at first, but as he was about to roar in pain, Ning Yunhuan, without hesitation, dragged the nearby Gu Yingxi over and jammed her hand into the man’s mouth!

"Mmm..." Not only did the man let out a muffled groan, but Gu Yingxi also cried out in pain. Yet, perhaps due to her status, Ning Yunhuan thought she detected a strange tremor of excitement in her voice.

"That hurts~" Gu Yingxi gasped softly. Ning Yunhuan, terrified she would pull her hand away, gave a cold, menacing laugh. "Gu Yingxi, it’s pitch black here. If you dare to cause trouble again, do you believe I won't lock you up with this man?" Gu Yingxi had just witnessed the fate awaiting anyone locked up with this man. How could she dare disobey now? Her body could not be sullied by this person. Moreover, Brother Lan Jiu no longer spared her a glance. If this man touched her now, where would she find the face to see Brother Lan Jiu again?

The thought drove Gu Yingxi to suppress her revulsion and shove her hand further into the man’s mouth. The man bit down hard, nearly making her cry out. Remembering Ning Yunhuan’s warning, she stuffed her other hand into her mouth to block it as well. Enduring the pain, she finally wept, "We went to the same school; why are you doing this to me? What have I done to deserve such treatment?"

At this moment, Gu Yingxi genuinely didn't understand. She believed she had never offended Ning Yunhuan, yet the latter targeted her at every turn. The more Gu Yingxi pondered it, the sadder she became. Tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls as she asked, "I even gave up Brother Lan Jiu to you; I never fought you for him. Why can't we just be friends? Junior Sister Ning, I truly want to be friends with you."

"..." Ning Yunhuan felt no pleasure upon hearing this declaration; instead, waves of nausea washed over her. She poured all her strength into restraining the man beneath her, biting down hard, afraid to let go for fear the man would break free. If he did, Ning Yunhuan felt she could slap Gu Yingxi to death for saying those words!

"I never had a father growing up, and the person I love doesn't love me. If I were you, I would cherish him dearly..." Gu Yingxi rambled on, and the pressure on her hands slackened slightly, allowing her hand to slip out of the man's gaping, air-gasping mouth.

Fortunately, the man’s throat was tightly constricted, preventing any further outcry; otherwise, Gu Yingxi’s actions could have truly ruined things.

Li Panpan and Ning Yunhuan pressed down hard on the man again for a moment, then wiped the sweat from their brows and collapsed onto the floor. Gu Yingxi, beside them, continued her mournful complaints, seemingly different from her usual self due to the extreme panic of being kidnapped. Listening to her rambling monologue, Ning Yunhuan discerned the hidden resentment and anger beneath her soft, kind exterior—perhaps this was her true self.

"You are quite pitiful too." Li Panpan rested for a while, catching her breath, before swallowing hard. A flicker of sympathy arose in her heart for the constantly weeping Gu Yingxi, and she moved to wipe away her tears. Ning Yunhuan, already impatient, interjected, "Are we done yet? If she wants to cry, let her cry until she’s satisfied. We don't know when someone will show up here."

A sudden impulse seized Ning Yunhuan: to knock Gu Yingxi out and lock her up here. After all, Gu Yingxi was the protagonist; she possessed immortality. At worst, she would just gain a few more men for her harem. Thinking this, Ning Yunhuan began searching the bodies of the men for keys. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and she saw that the first man she’d strangled was now blue-faced, his tongue lolling out, his eyes wide and bloodshot. A pang of fear struck her.

This man was clearly dead. Although Ning Yunhuan had lived for many years, this was truly her first time killing someone. She could only close her eyes, unwilling to look, and shook the keys she’d found on the corpses at Li Panpan.

"Huanhuan, she really is pitiful..." Li Panpan cast an unwilling glance at the tear-streaked Gu Yingxi. She wasn't foolish and could see Ning Yunhuan's extreme impatience with her. Though she didn't know what conflict had erupted between the two, seeing Gu Yingxi crying so pitifully made her too uneasy to simply ignore her.

"There are plenty of pitiful people in this world. If you keep indulging her melodrama, we might be the pitiful ones soon," Ning Yunhuan coldly retorted. Li Panpan paused, then understood their precarious situation. Suppressing the pity in her heart, she grabbed Gu Yingxi, saying, "Let’s get out of here first and talk. Stop crying."

"You... you are such a good person." Gu Yingxi sniffled, nodding with red, swollen eyes.

Ning Yunhuan ignored her, simply instructing the other two to drag the three corpses into a corner. After a brief discussion, they stripped the coats off the dead men and put them on before locking the door and leaving.

Outside the room, Ning Yunhuan realized they were on a small island. After running for a while along a deserted, secluded path, the sound of the tide beating against the shore finally became faintly audible. The sea breeze carried a fishy scent. The weather here was different from the cold of the Huaxia Imperial Capital; it felt faintly hot.

Whether from tension or the exertion of running, all of them were sweating. Not far away, rows of small villas were brightly lit. Ning Yunhuan had no idea whose stronghold this was and dared not wander aimlessly. Realizing that being on an island meant they couldn't escape without outside help, despair began to creep in.

"What now?" Gu Yingxi was completely dazed. This was the first time in her life she had experienced anything like this, and she was on the verge of collapse. Because Ning Yunhuan appeared the calmest, Gu Yingxi instinctively looked to her as their anchor, despite knowing Ning Yunhuan disliked her.

"How should I know?" Ning Yunhuan replied coldly. Considering Gu Yingxi’s recent behavior, she felt uneasy. "You know what kind of place this is. Don't cause any more trouble, or don't blame me for being impolite."

Gu Yingxi felt wronged. She hadn't done anything, yet she was being scolded by Ning Yunhuan. But due to her weak nature, she simply bowed her head, full of anguish, and began to cry again under Ning Yunhuan's harsh words.

The only sounds surrounding them were the ‘swooshing’ of the sea wind through the trees and Gu Yingxi’s sobs. Just as Ning Yunhuan was about to scold her again, she heard loud laughter approaching from a distance. Without thinking, she pulled Li Panpan and started running in the opposite direction from the villas. Gu Yingxi, knowing better than to cry now, quickly followed. She had wanted to call for Ning Yunhuan to wait, but recalling the previous warning, she forced back her tears and hurried after them.

They ran for an unknown length of time, darting around like headless flies. When they regained their senses, they found themselves hidden in a garden filled with flowering plants.

Unsure if anyone was outside, and given the darkness, Ning Yunhuan decided they should hide inside first. She took off her coat, covered her head and face, and pulled Li Panpan inside. Gu Yingxi copied her action and squeezed in after them. Just as they settled in, the previously pitch-black garden suddenly echoed with voices, and lights flickered on.

"Bring me a woman," a tall man ordered those following him after entering the garden. His voice carried a slightly effeminate tone. The people behind him agreed immediately and quickly turned to leave.

The man tugged at his tie, likely feeling hot, and promptly went inside. Soon, the lights inside the house came on. Ning Yunhuan let out a sigh of relief, but upon seeing Gu Yingxi clinging tightly to her side, she glared at her with unconcealed disgust.

About five minutes later, the man emerged, having removed his outer jacket to reveal only a black dress shirt. He carried a glass of red wine. Someone had already set up a beach chair for him nearby, and he sat down. Outside, several men in black roughly grabbed a woman, threw her down in front of him like a captured chicken, bowed respectfully, and withdrew.

The garden lights illuminated the surroundings. Hiding among the foliage, Ning Yunhuan saw the man’s true appearance, and her heart began to beat much faster. As the man raised his wine glass, his eyes swept toward their hiding spot.

He was a man whose appearance leaned towards a feminine beauty, somewhat soft and androgynous. His long hair, reaching his waist, was tied back with a fastener, lending a certain allure to his dark locks. When he smiled, his face was exquisitely handsome—a man of captivating, wicked charm. However, his narrow, long eyes were like a viper's, leaking a cold, dim light when he looked at someone.

A chill went down Ning Yunhuan’s spine, yet she also felt a sense of relief. This was truly an acquaintance from a past life. Because of Gu Yingxi, she had suffered greatly at this man’s hands. This man, Dongfang Aoshi, was the most powerful gangster boss in Gu Yingxi’s harem, the current head of the Dragon Alliance. How was it that she had been captured here, even though he hadn't yet met and become involved with Gu Yingxi?

Ning Yunhuan was relieved because he was an old acquaintance; she hadn't died by his hand in her previous life. This time, she was captured alongside Gu Yingxi, the destined woman for this man. Ning Yunhuan almost believed that as long as Gu Yingxi was present, if events followed the previous timeline, she should escape unharmed.

But precisely because Gu Yingxi was here, the protagonist’s destructive power was too immense. Anyone who opposed her either died or was maimed. This man’s temperament was fiercely arrogant and wicked. Ning Yunhuan truly feared that if any accident occurred, even if she couldn't die, she might suffer some terrible, undeserved fate.

At this moment, Ning Yunhuan firmly believed she was implicated because of Gu Yingxi. Anything involving the protagonist, this harbinger of disaster, was bound to lead to trouble. She couldn't help but glare fiercely at Gu Yingxi.

The man over there had already torn open the woman’s clothing and allowed the snake-like woman to cling to his body. As their clothes fell away, Dongfang Aoshi pulled out a whip from somewhere and lashed out at the woman just as she was completely undressed and clinging seductively to him!

Crack! The sound of the whip slicing through the air rang out. A red-purple, bloody welt instantly appeared on the woman’s snow-white body. Not only did the woman’s face turn pale, but Gu Yingxi and the other women flinched.

Dongfang Aoshi followed up with several more lashes until the woman was curled into a ball. Then, he used the whip to flip the lid off a nearby bucket. A foul stench wafted out, clear enough for Ning Yunhuan and the others to smell. Dongfang Aoshi smirked and drove the woman toward it:

"Drink what's in the bucket!"

The woman shook her head desperately. Dongfang Aoshi grabbed her hair and shoved her head into the bucket.

"Ugh!" The woman finally couldn't hold back, retching violently amidst the vile, greenish-brown excrement covering her face. Dongfang Aoshi then unbuckled his trousers, urinated on her while ordering, "Drink it!"

At this point, Ning Yunhuan’s face had turned ashen. In her past life, she knew Dongfang Aoshi had a habit of sexually abusing women, seemingly linked to his childhood experiences. He harbored intense resentment towards women. Gu Yingxi had suffered greatly when she was first with him; Ning Yunhuan didn't know about the eating or drinking, but she certainly knew whips had been used often. It was only later, when the protagonist's true feelings healed the shadow in Dongfang Aoshi's heart, that he began to normalize.

But hearing about it was one thing; witnessing such a disgusting scene in reality was something Ning Yunhuan simply could not bear.

Beside her, Gu Yingxi gagged twice, then let out a loud retch, about to vomit. Fortunately, the woman being whipped was howling in agony and covered in filth, while Dongfang Aoshi was visibly agitated, his arousal apparent. He shoved the woman onto the ground and roughly forced himself inside her.

The woman's body was unprepared after such brutal torture, and she begged ceaselessly, but Dongfang Aoshi kept pinching and hitting her intermittently.

"Stop throwing up!" Ning Yunhuan warned, staring pointedly at the constantly vomiting Gu Yingxi. She had only gagged a couple of times, but now she was truly vomiting, and the smell made Ning Yunhuan’s stomach churn. Li Panpan’s face was pale green; she seemed on the verge of vomiting as well.

"Ugh, ugh, I can’t help it, he, he’s such a pervert, I have to save that girl..." Gu Yingxi sputtered while trying to push through the foliage to leave. Li Panpan’s face showed distress, but she remained silent, subconsciously glancing at Ning Yunhuan first.

"If you want to die, go ahead, but don't drag us down with you!" Ning Yunhuan ignored the risk of being discovered, hating Gu Yingxi enough to want to devour her alive. She lowered her voice to warn, "I’m warning you, stop vomiting, or do you believe I’ll make you swallow what you just threw up!"

This threat caused Gu Yingxi to vomit even more violently. Even Li Panpan swallowed hard, her face turning green, nearly vomiting herself.