Thirteenth District. In a narrow alley.

“Run! Why don’t you keep running!”

A group of rough-looking men surrounded a busty woman cloaked in a coarse, brown robe and wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a veil.

The mysterious woman tipped her weimao up slightly, catching sight of a couple of men crouching at the edges of the roof, staring down at her with sneers.

Even if she climbs, she knew she couldn’t escape, at least not without a fight.

“Bahaha, Miss, mind taking off that veil of yours and let us brothers broaden our horizons?”

Strutting over was a hooded, slender man with a sly, ugly demeanor and a dagger skillfully being played around in his hand.

This seemed to be the leader of the gang of men.

The snickering hooded man stopped in front of the woman, using his dagger to brush away the veil of her weimao, enough to reveal her well-proportioned masked face.

There were still lots of mystery to peel away. Yet, just a glimpse was enough for the man’s face to morph into one dripping with lust.

“So mysterious? Is miss an escapee from somewhere? Don’t worry, as long as you satisfy us brothers, we will make sure to keep you nice and safe. Bahaha…”

Letting the veil fall back over her face, he commanded with a wave of his hand. "Bring her back."

Two lackeys arrived behind the woman at the leader's signal. The men locked her arms from each side, attempting to shove her forward.

However, she stood firm, refusing to budge. One of them, frustrated, kicked the back of her legs and pressed a dagger against her throat.

"Go. Stop playing tricks!" he growled.

The leader, who was already heading out of the alley, looked back and snickered, a sinister smile spreading across his face.

"Now, now, don’t treat the lady so rough. We don’t want to break her now, do we? Of course, if she is disobedient... it isn’t the first time we explored the mysteries of the dead."

The woman shot a glance at him, who grinned back, licking his dagger slowly as if savoring every moment of her defiance.

In the end, it wasn’t known what went through her mind, but the woman reluctantly complied, allowing herself to be shoved forward by the men holding her arms.

Out the alley and up the street. They brought her along as if parading their successful hunt to everyone else.

She could feel the eyes of other disciples peeking out from behind faded curtains and broken windows of their shabby sandstone shacks.

Yet, no one stepped out to help. Some even jeered from their homes.

"Would you look at that! The Hunter Gang has dug up a new haul! Is it another leftover from the fish you ate?" one called out, laughing.

"How much for this one?" another shouted, his voice filled with cruel amusement. “I’ll take her for a tael of gold!”

“Two!” “I’ll add on a couple taels of silver!”

The leader casually waved off the bids. “Cheapskates! Scram to Hei Hua Lou if you don’t got anything better to offer! This one isn’t for sale! This one grandpa here got plans for!”

“Che! Isn’t it just being sold off in the end? You hunters are always looking to make profits…”

It didn’t take a smart brain to know the fate of the woman, yet she still kept her head high as if she was ready to face her fate.

Soon, the gang led the woman to a less shabby two-story sandstone building. Two scrawny men in tattered clothes stood guard at the entrance.

When the leader approached, they bowed with faces full of flattery, “Welcome back boss!”

The leader patted their shoulders, "Keep up the good work, and you'll get the chance to taste fine beauties soon."

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The guards straightened up at his words, their eyes sneaking over to the captured woman.

The leader motioned for his men to bring her inside.

Shoving open the rusty iron door, they escorted her into the decrepit, unhygienic lounge. The stench of mildew and rot was overpowering.

The small lounge quickly filled with the horny lackeys, crowding in and jostling for space. The woman was shoved into the center, surrounded by the pack of wolves.

Seeing the idiots overstaying, the leader frowned, clearly displeased with the chaos.

He pointed to his two most-trusted lackeys. "You and you, stay."

Then, he waved away the rest. "The rest of you, go out and keep guard. After we are done, you can all have a turn based on your performance this month."

Many lackeys panted in excitement, eyes gleaming with lust and greed. "Yes, boss!" they chorused, before scurrying out of the room.

Some threw reluctant, longing glances back at the woman as they left.

With the rest of the group gone, the leader turned his attention to the woman, his ugly smile predatory. "Now, where were we?" he mused, coming closer step by step.

The two remaining lackeys flanked her and locked her arms, their grins mirroring their leader's.

Raising his hand, the leader grabbed the weimao and tossed it aside, clucking his tongue in mock sympathy at the masked beauty, "Tsk, tsk."

The two lackeys finally got a chance to feast their eyes on her beauty.

Flowing, wavy black hair swept to one side. A tall nose. Silky smooth, healthy wheat skin.

One couldn’t help but comment, "What a beauty," while the other took the chance to ask, "Boss, are you really going to share her with the rest?"

Running a finger down her mask, the boss sneered, his eyes gleaming with greed and lust.

"Such a fine specimen… Of course, it’s for us three to enjoy. As for the rest..."

He tapped his finger on the woman's mask. "We can take this off later and put it on one of those women locked in our storage."

The two lackeys immediately praised the boss for his ingenuity.

"Brilliant idea, boss!" "Boss is a genius!"

“Bah! You two scrubs,” the leader snickered, enjoying the adulation.

It took no genius to know what these two loyal flatterers want.

“Okay, let’s not waste time and get comfortable...”

The leader unsheathed his dagger, raising it to her neck. Licking his lips, he let the blade slowly trail down the middle of the woman's brown robe…

The low-quality robe was roughly sliced apart, parting to unveil the flashy emerald fishnet outfit the woman wore over her busty, wheat-skinned body that made the two lackeys whistle appreciatively.

The leader’s eyes raked over her with undisguised desire. “As expected, my eyes weren’t wrong. It’s rare to find such a fine specimen out here roaming around.”

He rubbed those soft lips before growling with twisted excitement, “Press her down.”

At his command, his lackeys pressed the woman down, but to their surprise, she stood stiffly in place like a tree, resisting their efforts.

Impatiently, they kicked the back of her legs, only to grumble when they saw it failed to make them bend, “What?! Why is she so strong?”

Hearing this, the leader sneered and choked the beauty’s neck, lifting his other hand where a fire lit up at his fingertips.

“Woman, you better be obedient. Don’t think your two-legged strength will stop us. I don’t know where you escaped from, but this is my territory, and you can’t escape. Even if you do, our gang has a big shot backing us, and we can issue an order to hunt you down no matter where you go.”

Facing his threat, the woman did not show an ounce of fear. Her expression was still deadly calm.

The leader’s grip tightened, his patience wearing thin.

He leaned in, close enough that she could feel his breath on her ears during his barely audible whisper.

“If I turn you in, how much trouble do you think it will bring to your owner? Now, we don’t want any trouble, do we? So, it’s in your best interest to obey my orders.”

The woman’s eyes fluttered slightly, staring at the small ball of fire radiating heat against her face.

After a moment of silence, she let her legs buckle, letting herself get forced down to her knees.

Seeing his words had an effect, a twisted grin spread across the leader’s face. He snuffed out the fire and patted the woman’s cheeks, his voice dripping with condescension. "Very good."

His finger then slid up, hooking under the woman’s mask, and with a single motion, he flung it off.

The woman’s beautiful face was finally fully revealed, stunning the three men into silence.

The leader quickly recovered. His face burned with lust, but he forced himself to endure, glaring at his two lackeys.

"Wake up, you two!" he growled. "It’s not the first time you’ve seen a woman. Why are you acting like idiots?"

The lackeys quickly snapped out of their stupor, stammering apologies. "Sorry, boss," one mumbled.

"It won't happen again," the other added hastily.

“It better not!” The leader glared at the two unreliable men, "Keep your focus and hold her in place tightly. If she struggles and messes up my fun..."

He let the threat hang in the air, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

“Y-Yes boss!” The lackeys nodded vigorously, clamping down harder on her arms.

With their affirmation, the leader’s hand reached down to unbuckle the knot keeping his pants in place, cackling evilly.

Seeing this, the two lackeys panted in excitement, their eyes never leaving the beauty’s exposed face.

Suddenly, one of the lackeys tilted his head and said, "Huh? Why does her face seem a bit familiar?"

"Hah?” The other lackey looked at him as if he was an idiot, “Still need to ask? Didn’t you hear the boss? He said she escaped from one of those places. You’ve probably caught a glimpse of her when you visited."

"Oh..." the lackey said, nodding but still looking puzzled.

Seeing his lackey still wearing a face lost in thought, the leader’s sly eyes flashed with some ruthlessness, but he quickly buried it and plastered on a warped smile to reassure his prey.

"What are you worrying so much about? With me here, what problem can there be? Even if there is, at most, I will send her to the noble son, and he can solve everything! So, for now, forget about everything else and..."

The leader's fingers held the beauty’s chin and forcibly parted her lips, his face twisting into a very ugly grin when he stared at her all too familiar face, "Just have fun."