Baizhi stood nervously by the window. Outside, everything was glittering lights and opulence, but to her, this place was no different from h*ll.
Especially when she saw a girl being stripped in public—she couldn’t help but let out a gasp.
Both Qi Yuan and Xiao Yunting turned to look outside and naturally saw the scene as well.
Brothels, after all, dealt in the business of flesh. No matter how high-end the place appeared on the surface, it was only a polished facade. Xiao Yunting knew that perfectly well.
But to see a place like Yihong Courtyard degrading people this way—it was the first time for him.
Watching a seventy- or eighty-year-old man publicly paw at a teenage girl and tear her clothes off, Xiao Yunting’s face twisted in disgust. In his hand was a teacup, which he instantly hurled.
Empowered by his inner strength, the teacup struck the old man’s temple with a clang.
The old man, who had been aggressively grinding against the girl, collapsed on the spot from the blow.
The girl was suddenly released and scrambled, sobbing and shaking, to grab her clothes and huddled beneath the table, trembling in fear.
The old man’s fall dampened the mood of the leering crowd.
Someone jeered, “That old b*stard must’ve gotten too excited and dropped dead!”
“Putting on a show like that at his age? I should’ve taken his place!”
The banter didn’t stop. The brothel’s bouncers quietly pushed through the crowd. At first, they assumed the man had suffered a fatal thrill—something all too common in such establishments.
But the moment they saw the blood streaming from the old man’s head, they realized something was off. One of them shouted, “Who did this?!”
With a bang, Qi Yuan shut the window and smirked mockingly. “Well, now that it’s already in chaos, Your Highness, why not just wreck this place?”
Liujin, who’d been itching to cause trouble, immediately volunteered. “Let me! D*mn it, this godforsaken place—I’ll smash it to pieces!”
Qi Yuan shook her head and smiled. “No need for you to wreck the place. I need you for something more important.”
“Something important?”
Liujin glanced at Xiao Yunting, who gave him a calm nod. Then Liujin turned to Qi Yuan. “Speak, Miss Qi.”
“Take Baizhi somewhere safe,” Qi Yuan flexed her wrist. “Once I’m done, I’ll thank you properly.”
…
Liujin hesitated.
What was with this Miss Qi?
Fighting and burning things should be men’s work, right? But she was going off to kill and set fires herself, leaving him to babysit a girl?
Wasn’t that overkill?
But Xiao Yunting was already staring at him, the look on his face clearly saying what are you waiting for?
Liujin sighed and agreed.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yunting pulled down a decorative sash. He tossed a lamp onto it. The lamp oil caught instantly—the fire blazed up in a flash.
Playtime was over. As the flames surged, Liujin grabbed Baizhi’s wrist and dashed downstairs, fleeing the building at full speed.
Downstairs, the crowd had already begun to argue over the old man’s injury.
The madam grabbed the girl by the hair, dragging her out from under the table with a twisted face. “Was it you? Was it you, you little b*tch?!”
In this business, the biggest taboo was disrupting the customers. The madam never treated the girls like people.
Today’s disaster, whether the girl caused it or not, needed a scapegoat. Otherwise, who’d still come to Yihong Courtyard?
The girl was terrified out of her wits, staggering as she was yanked forward, kneeling and trembling so much she couldn’t even speak.
The madam, disgusted by her cowardice, slapped her twice and raised her hand for more when someone suddenly shouted, “Fire! Fire!!”
Fire?!
The madam looked up to see smoke billowing and flames soaring from the second floor. She turned pale and shouted, “What are you standing around for?! Put it out!”
But the fire was already out of control.
Very quickly, the flames spread, engulfing Yihong Courtyard in a suffocating cloud of smoke.
Pleasure-seekers now thought only of survival. Men and women, half-dressed, stampeded for the exits. Panic reigned.
The beaten girl stumbled along with the crowd. But in the chaos, someone shoved her hard—she was about to fall to the ground and was consumed by despair…
Then, out of nowhere, a hand reached out and pulled her up, steadying her and dragging her out of the burning building.
A gust of wind scattered the smoke. The girl finally stood firm and heard a warm voice beside her: “Do you still have strength left?”
She looked up quickly and saw a girl just a few years older than herself, watching her with genuine concern.
For some reason, tears welled in her eyes. She bit her lip and nodded hard.
Qi Yuan patted her head and gently said, “Good. What’s your name?”
“Qingtao!” The girl’s voice trembled with fear. “My name is Qingtao.”
“Alright.” Qi Yuan withdrew her hand and gave her a faint smile. “Qingtao, you’re safe now. This place—will never exist again.”
She comforted Qingtao a bit. Seeing that she had nowhere else to go, she told her to stay put and promised to come back, then slipped past the inferno consuming the main building and headed toward the separate courtyard buildings in the rear.
The fire had already drawn attention back there.
Hong Xiao was brushing her hair and storming out angrily. “Useless! Absolutely useless! I told you over and over to be careful with fire—were you all deaf?!”
But yelling now was pointless. Swallowing her fury, she began issuing orders. “Calm the VIPs in the courtyards! Don’t startle them! If they want to leave, serve them well and escort them out!”
Just as she spoke, a flying dart whistled through the air and struck the neck of one of the bodyguards beside her—blood sprayed all over her face.
