The moment the woman saw Lu Renjie, her eyes flashed with hatred, and she cursed, “Lu Renjie, you’ll die a terrible death!”

Lu Renjie smiled slightly: “Miss Gui, you should worry about your father first.”

“Your father is quite cunning, running a tavern yet hiding a beauty like you for so long. Today you’re lucky. After you submit to this Young Master, you’ll be like a phoenix soaring to a branch! A complete transformation!”

“If you don’t comply, that’s fine too. Look at all these men in this room, they are all here to serve you. Would you say this Young Master treats you well?”

Hearing Lu Renjie mention her father, Miss Gui’s eyes flashed with panic, but her expression quickly became resolute again. She spat directly in Lu Renjie’s face.

Lu Renjie’s expression darkened slightly, though he hadn’t yet become angry.

He lightly touched the spittle with his fingertip, then extended his tongue to lick it, before bursting into wild laughter: “Good! Good! Gentlemen, did you see that?”

The salt merchants, also drunk and in a state of excitement, didn’t find Lu Renjie’s perverted behavior repulsive. Instead, they shouted: “Young Master, this woman is flirting with you!”

“Hahahahahaha!”

“Everyone else, leave! Don’t disturb our pleasure.” Lu Renjie waved his hand, dismissing the maidservants and other servants.

Now only the salt merchants remained in the hall.

Everyone stared at Miss Gui in the center with strange expressions.

The hall was terrifyingly quiet. Miss Gui’s frightened eyes darted between the men.

Xie Xian also held his wine cup, his brows tightly furrowed.

He could see the woman’s desperation.

She was clearly a respectable woman being coerced!

What to do? Go along with Lu Renjie? That’s impossible! If he did that, there would be no moral bottom line.

Could he just watch as the woman was violated by the others? That wasn’t acceptable either!

Du Lingfeng thought he understood Xie Xian. From the moment the woman entered, he’d been watching Xie Xian, fearing he might do something to displease Lu Renjie.

Seeing his furrowed brows, Du Lingfeng grabbed his arm and whispered, “Brother Xie, endure for a moment and all will be calm…”

By now, Miss Gui’s fear had reached its peak, and she couldn’t even muster the courage to curse anymore.

She turned and tried to run toward the main door, though it was already closed…

As she took her first step, Lu Renjie extended his leg and tripped her, sending her sprawling to the ground.

Everyone laughed loudly again.

Then Lu Renjie grabbed her hair, forcibly pulling Miss Gui up from the floor. Once she was standing, he delivered a vicious slap to her face.

The slap was so brutal that it drew blood from her mouth and nose, making her see stars.

“Slut! You’re the first to dare spit on this Young Master! Today I’ll teach you how to be a woman!” Lu Renjie’s face still wore a smile as he pointed at Tao Zhong: “You go first. Each person gets one incense stick’s time. Whoever successfully tames her will be richly rewarded!”

Tao Zhong looked at Miss Gui, his eyes revealing greedy desire, though he said, “Young Master, whoever goes first loses out.”

“The woman will be more obedient when she’s exhausted. I think one incense stick is too short. Give me half an hour.”

Lu Renjie laughed heartily: “You bastard, half an hour per person? With seven of us, we’d be going until dawn!”

“Alright! You make a good point. No need to take turns. All of you go at once! This Young Master wants to see what methods you all have!”

After speaking, Lu Renjie slowly backed up to the main seat.

Tao Zhong rushed impatiently to Miss Gui’s side.

Miss Gui was beautiful, but her demeanor wasn’t as gentle as ordinary women; rather, she had a certain heroic charm.

Although she was terrified and panicked, her face still showed a stubborn expression.

Seeing Tao Zhong approach, Miss Gui stepped backward, but lost her balance and fell sitting on the ground.

The others also slowly stood up, surrounding Miss Gui.

A group of drunkards with lewd expressions gathered around Miss Gui: “Little lady, will you undress yourself, or shall we help you?”

“Stay away… stay away from me!” Miss Gui clutched her collar, trying to sound fierce but clearly terrified as she kept backing away.

At this point, only Xie Xian and Du Lingfeng remained motionless in their seats.

Xie Xian trembled slightly, his fists clenched as he stared at the helpless Miss Gui in the center.

At the same time, his heart underwent a tremendous test.

If he intervened forcefully, not only might Master’s mission fail, but whether he could leave Haiyuan City alive would be questionable.

If he didn’t intervene, would he just watch as these men violated this woman?

Seeing him struggling, Du Lingfeng inwardly groaned.

It’s over… I didn’t expect the Young Master to play so perversely today. I should have prevented him from coming.

Four men now rushed forward together, frantically tearing at Miss Gui’s clothing.

The plain cloth garments were of poor quality and soon torn to shreds, scattered on the floor.

Large areas of snow-white skin were exposed to everyone, as Miss Gui instinctively covered her vital areas, letting out desperate, hoarse screams while her limbs flailed constantly.

“Brother Xie!”

Just as Xie Xian was about to rise, Du Lingfeng quickly held him down, whispering urgently: “Endure for a moment and all will be calm. Young Master Lu is watching us!”

Lu Renjie watched with great interest as the four beasts “besieged” Miss Gui, then suddenly turned his gaze toward Xie Xian and Du Lingfeng.

“Why aren’t you two joining in? What are you waiting for?”

Xie Xian didn’t respond, his attention still fixed on Miss Gui.

The hall echoed with Miss Gui’s screams and pleas.

But the four men paid no heed, groping her all over. Miss Gui had become a tearful mess, her voice growing so hoarse she could hardly make a sound.

Besides struggling, she had no other option, but the physical strength difference between men and women made her struggles futile.

The combination of alcohol and their earlier debauchery had stripped these men of any moral pretense.

Any trace of decency they might have possessed was completely gone.

The more fiercely Miss Gui struggled, the more excited they became!

Finally, three men pinned the tattered Miss Gui down. Two held her legs, one held her arms.

Tao Zhong positioned himself between them, ready to advance.

“Damn it!”

Xie Xian’s restraint finally snapped.

At this moment, he was also affected by alcohol, but unlike the others’ lust, he felt only uncontrollable anger.

He hurled his wine cup directly at Tao Zhong’s head!

Crack! The cup shattered against his forehead!

This blow… he had used all his strength!

In an instant, everyone froze, slowly turning to look at Xie Xian, except for Tao Zhong who lay on the ground, blood streaming from his forehead as he wailed.

“Xie Xian… what do you mean by this!”

Lu Renjie’s expression turned vicious as he suddenly stood up, staring directly at Xie Xian.

Du Lingfeng felt utterly miserable but hurried to smooth things over: “Young Master… he’s drunk, too drunk, his tolerance is poor!”

The anger that had surged with the shattering cup had partly dissipated, and Xie Xian regained some composure. He held out his hand to stop Du Lingfeng from speaking and pointed at Tao Zhong and the others: “Young Master! I’m not drunk. They’re the drunk ones!”

“Behaving lewdly while intoxicated and violating women are serious crimes under the Great Jing Code. If today’s events spread, it could be detrimental to you, Young Master!”

Lu Renjie’s expression grew increasingly unpleasant, and he said darkly: “Do you not understand my Lu family’s position in Haiyuan City? The Great Jing Code? You dare pressure me with the Great Jing Code?”

Xie Xian replied calmly: “It’s not that I’m using the Great Jing Code to pressure Young Master, but we work for you and are often away from home.”

“If someone speaks carelessly and rumors spread, that would be unfortunate!”

Lu Renjie thoughtfully gazed at Xie Xian.

Suddenly, he walked from the dais to stand before Xie Xian, clapping and laughing:

“Well said! Very well said. I’m pleased that you consider my interests.”

“Violating women is indeed a serious crime! We must be cautious about this!”

“Since that’s the case… why don’t we all take turns? That way, we’ll all be accomplices, and no one will worry about loose lips.”

“Xie Xian, you’re quite bold. It’s been a long time since anyone dared to be so unruly before me! This Young Master admires you. You shall have the first taste!”