The androgynous figure of Dongfang Aoshi, currently pinning a woman beneath him, turned his head, his gaze sharp, fierce, and directed their way. Ning Yunhuan’s heart jolted. The hand she had braced against the ground instinctively recoiled slightly, then wiped mud across her face without a second thought.

“Huanhuan, what are you doing?” Li Panpan started, bewildered by the action, only to see Ning Yunhuan’s dark, muddy hands reaching for her face too. She instinctively wanted to flinch away, but meeting Ning Yunhuan’s eyes, she held herself still, though her expression turned exceedingly unpleasant.

No woman would appreciate Ning Yunhuan’s current filthy and disheveled state. Although Li Panpan was inherently gentle and kind, she hailed from a prominent family and had grown up accustomed to meticulous standards. She felt profoundly unsuited to the current situation, sensing large, red bumps rapidly rising on her skin from merely touching the dirt.

Gu Yingxi, standing nearby, watched the two women, both utterly wretched and soiled, with a look of faint disgust. She sniffed but remained silent. Over by the wall, Dongfang Aoshi had already struck the woman beneath him unconscious. While he likely derived some ineffable, perverse pleasure from the act of tormenting women, he clearly couldn't tolerate the smell for long. Thus, after administering enough blows to leave the woman barely breathing, he quickly had her dragged away, ordered guards to stand watch, and turned to enter the house directly.

When he reappeared, he had changed his clothes. He held a whip in one hand and a glass of white wine in the other. It was evident he had bathed; water droplets continuously streamed from his waist-length hair, soaking the silk dressing gown until it clung tightly to his frame, projecting an unusual, potent allure.

“Still haven’t had enough hiding, little mice?” Dongfang Aoshi let out a sinister chuckle, slowly uncoiling the whip wrapped around his wrist, pointing it directly toward where Ning Yunhuan and the others were concealed. Ning Yunhuan’s heart sank, and Li Panpan gripped her wrist tightly.

All of them had witnessed clearly how Dongfang Aoshi had abused the previous woman; it was impossible not to be afraid. Li Panpan was already betrothed to Qin Yi. If she were violated here by this man, even though the Li family held a slightly higher status than the Qin family, Qin Yi would likely never allow her into his home again.

This world was forever unjust to women. A man could have multiple partners and stray, yet afterward, he’d merely be called charming and let off the hook. But if Li Panpan faced such a situation, even if Qin Yi wasn't entirely blameless, he would certainly never forgive her.

It was the perfect illustration of the adage: only the magistrate is allowed to set fires, while the common folk aren't even permitted to light lamps.

“Still not coming out?” Dongfang Aoshi sneered twice, a slight upward curve on his lips. “Fetch me a large bucket of manure and douse this area. I’d like to see how long these little mice can keep hiding!”

Ning Yunhuan mentally cursed him several times. This Dongfang Ao Tian indeed possessed the malicious nature she remembered. Only someone shameless enough would devise such a vile tactic. Muttering dark imprecations, she vented her frustration by viciously pinching Gu Yingxi.

Gu Yingxi couldn't help letting out a sharp shriek from the pain, her face paling, tears welling in her eyes. She bit her lip, her almond-shaped eyes filled with accusation, but she managed to remain silent.

While the other two women were so slovenly and filthy, Gu Yingxi alone remained spotlessly clean. Now, with tears glistening like rain on flowers, although Gu Yingxi wasn't conventionally beautiful, she possessed an air of delicate helplessness. This current appearance—crying while daring to be angry but unwilling to speak—drew intense notice.

Beauty, like a flower, fades in the company of many others. When a multitude of beauties were present, especially when Ning Yunhuan and Li Panpan were both far more attractive than Gu Yingxi, Gu Yingxi would have been utterly unremarkable. But now, with Ning Yunhuan and the other woman serving as mere foils, the plain Gu Yingxi became strikingly conspicuous in contrast. Not only did Dongfang Aoshi’s gaze shift to her, but the eyes of the black-clad men followed suit.

One couldn't tell without comparison; looking at them now, Gu Yingxi seemed even more captivating than the reckless, beautiful woman who had just been dragged away.

As all eyes settled on Gu Yingxi, Ning Yunhuan felt Dongfang Aoshi’s look linger on her for only a brief moment before it moved away. After a pause, he chuckled sinisterly twice more:

“Whose woman is Lan Jiu’s?”

Hearing this, Ning Yunhuan was genuinely surprised. She had initially assumed her kidnapping was due to Gu Yingxi, especially since Dongfang Aoshi was one of Gu Yingxi’s men from her past life. She hadn't expected that, based on his question, he seemed to be targeting her. It appeared Gu Yingxi hadn't implicated her, but rather, Gu Yingxi seemed to have been dragged down by association with her.

Upon hearing "Lan Jiu's woman," Gu Yingxi’s face instantly lit up with yearning. She was, after all, the cleanest and most put-together of the three women. Seeing her expression, Dongfang Aoshi immediately grinned menacingly and snapped his whip through the air, producing a sharp, cracking sound that echoed loudly. Gu Yingxi flinched, her face paling slightly, and she shrunk back, her voice turning soft and tender:

“You—you mustn't do this. If that woman just now did something wrong, you still shouldn't have treated her like that…” Gu Yingxi paused, taking a slight step back, subconsciously attempting to seek refuge near Ning Yunhuan. But upon seeing the revulsion in Ning Yunhuan's eyes, she lifted her chin as if deeply insulted. She then recalled the situation between Ning Yunhuan and Brother Lan Jiu and felt a surge of resentment.

She had never interacted with Ning Yunhuan before and was unaware that she was such a fierce and venomous woman. How could such a person deserve Brother Lan Jiu? She had always felt unworthy of him, but compared to someone like Ning Yunhuan, she was undoubtedly far superior; at least Ning Yunhuan, who had grown up spoiled, could never possess the gentle and considerate nature she did.

Furthermore, given Ning Yunhuan's poor temperament, her relationship with Brother Lan Jiu must only bring him torment!

Dongfang Aoshi's question about who was Lan Jiu's woman had stirred something within her heart, awakening a desire for fair competition with Ning Yunhuan. Since Ning Yunhuan clearly didn't cherish Brother Lan Jiu, it ought to be someone who genuinely loved him!

It was precisely because of these thoughts that Gu Yingxi felt a surge of indignation when she met Ning Yunhuan’s gaze. Although she was terrified of Dongfang Aoshi and didn't want to be near Ning Yunhuan, disdainful of associating with her, fear compelled her to yank Li Panpan close to stand beside her.

Li Panpan stumbled slightly, about to speak, but seeing Gu Yingxi’s pitiful state alongside Ning Yunhuan’s earlier stoicism, her inherent sympathy for Gu Yingxi kicked in. Her 'Saint Mary' complex flared up, and she quietly remained next to Gu Yingxi, squeezing her hand without uttering a word.

Ning Yunhuan laughed softly. She owed Li Panpan a favor for lending her a phone previously. Although the current predicament was her fault, she had been trying to help Li Panpan, even thinking of her when smearing mud on her face. As long as her own safety was assured, she was willing to repay that kindness. However, Ning Yunhuan was no saint; she couldn't risk her own life to aid others as Li Panpan might.

If they managed to escape this time, she would find a way to settle the debt later. But with Dongfang Aoshi clearly being a merciless villain, she had done all she could. She didn't know how to save herself, much less be in a position to look after Li Panpan.

“Good, you have spirit! Indeed worthy of being Lan Jiu’s woman!” Seeing Gu Yingxi’s silent confirmation, Dongfang Aoshi was instantly overjoyed. His whip struck out like a venomous serpent, hitting Li Panpan with a sharp scream. After she collapsed to the ground, twitching in pain, he turned his attention to Gu Yingxi, who had been trying desperately to shrink backward. His whip began lashing out at her body as if driven mad.

“Ah! Ah! Ah…” Gu Yingxi shrieked. Watching the previous woman being whipped had already seemed agonizing; now that the blows landed on her own flesh, Gu Yingxi understood the true extent of the pain. She tried to dodge, but it was impossible. After several strikes, she felt her entire body going numb.

Seeing Gu Yingxi fall to the ground like a limp rag, Dongfang Aoshi finally let out a cruel laugh and retracted the whip. He pointed at Li Panpan, still writhing on the ground. “Loyalty—I like that!”

As he spoke, he fiercely stomped down on Li Panpan’s face. Without hesitation, he bent down and ripped open her clothes with a loud shhhk!

Li Panpan screamed twice, tears streaming down her face, instinctively glancing toward Ning Yunhuan, but her lips moved soundlessly, her eyes wide with sheer terror. Surprisingly, Dongfang Aoshi only slapped Li Panpan’s face, turning her head sharply to the side, before turning toward Gu Yingxi.

Li Panpan knew exactly what he intended. Seeing the man drag Gu Yingxi by her hair like a dead dog over to a nearby beach chair, he tore open his own robe slightly without even taking his pants off, brutally plunging inside.

Gu Yingxi let out a muffled groan. The humiliation and resentment bubbling up made tears flow uncontrollably as her limbs thrashed uselessly. “No! It hurts, it hurts, get away from me…”

“Whores are always so dramatic! You cry out ‘no,’ yet you bite down so fiercely. Relax a little. Don't you want me to stay? So this is the kind of desperately thirsty slut Lan Jiu finds!” Dongfang Aoshi gritted out, his expression contorting slightly. This body was proving exceedingly tight, and precisely because Gu Yingxi’s acceptance was so difficult, it provided him with a rare, sharp pleasure. Coupled with the temptation of her soul-destroying physical form, he decided he wouldn't make her eat feces or drink urine this time.