This group of women wore short skirts, with bells tied to their ankles, probably to prevent them from escaping.
Besides this, Zhao Ya also noticed that many of these women bore scars. Although they were mostly shallow and some were covered by sleeves, none could escape Zhao Ya’s sharp eyes.
At this moment, the brothel shopkeeper approached with a smile plastered on his face, saying, "Dear sir, are you satisfied with this batch?"
"Satisfied, very satisfied indeed," Zhao Ya replied coldly.
"Hahaha, I knew you’d be satisfied because these women are top-notch. If the boss hadn’t come with you, I wouldn’t have been willing to let them out. Right, Boss?"
This brothel shopkeeper even tried to take credit with Liu Qi.
Liu Qi nearly went mad with rage.
This idiot really has no insight!
At this point, he simply gave up pretending and turned around, falling to his knees in front of Zhao Ya with a thud.
"Lord, Young Hero Zhao, this matter arose from my failure to discipline my subordinates. I had no knowledge of these deeds; it was all this man’s unilateral actions. Please investigate thoroughly!"
Upon hearing this, the brothel shopkeeper was dumbfounded.
He originally thought that Boss Liu Qi had brought these people for pleasure today, but now it seemed entirely different.
"Boss, these people aren’t...."
"Shut up!"
Liu Qi leapt up from the ground and slapped the shopkeeper over a dozen times.
Not stopping until his face was swollen like a bun and his nose and mouth were bleeding profusely.
Then, panting, Liu Qi pointed to the group of thugs, "You... hurry up and send these girls back home without causing trouble, do you hear me?"
The thugs understood what was happening, hurriedly nodded in agreement, and prepared to take the women away.
Just then, a cold voice interrupted.
"Wait a moment."
As the words were spoken, Zhao Ya stood up, completely ignoring Liu Qi’s pleading gaze, and walked straight to one of the women.
"How did you end up in such a place?"
The woman remained silent.
Zhao Ya sighed. He asked her because she bore the most scars.
Even though most were hidden by sleeves, many were still exposed.
"Don’t worry, I’m not a bad person. This man here is the prefect of the Capital Prefecture, and he’s here to investigate Changping Square," Zhao Ya explained.
The woman looked up at Shang Jingchuan, who was sitting upright in the distance, then looked at Zhao Ya before tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.
She then knelt down on the ground, "Please, my lord, seek justice for me!"
Her action triggered a chain reaction, and the other women knelt down, crying out their grievances.
Liu Qi’s vision blackened, almost fainting.
Because he knew he was finished.
The crimes he committed were enough to warrant execution multiple times over.
Sure enough.
When the women tearfully recounted their experiences, the room sprang to life like a boiling pot.
Because Liu Qi’s methods were truly despicable.
Most of these women were from respectable families in villages around the Capital City, forcibly turned into prostitutes by his various means.
If anyone resisted, they were beaten. The more temperamental ones were beaten to death.
Shang Jingchuan was so enraged that his face turned green, pointing at Liu Qi.
"You heartless, shameless scoundrel, arrest them all. We’ll interrogate them properly later."
The accompanying government officials and constables rushed in to seize Liu Qi and the thugs.
Of course, Liu Qi would not surrender easily.
He knew that if tied up, the only outcome for him was grim death.
So he roared.
"Fight back! If you’re caught, none of you will live!"
Upon hearing this, the thugs panicked.
With their offenses, each would be sentenced to death, so they immediately tried to flee.
Just then, a flash of a blade.
The leading thug had a blood line appear around his throat, quickly widening until his head flew off.
The head landed right in Liu Qi’s arms, making him scream and almost collapse.
Meanwhile, all the surrounding thugs froze, a blood mark appearing on their throats.
Blood splattered everywhere, staining the entire first-floor hall.
Dead bodies fell one after another, leaving only Liu Qi quivering in place.
Zhao Ya walked up to him, looking down at him.
"Spare... spare me," Liu Qi gasped, but could only articulate those two words.
Zhao Ya smiled, saying nothing, and lightly flicked Liu Qi’s forehead.
Bam!
Liu Qi’s forehead exploded, brain matter splattered afar.
The body fell to the ground.
Zhao Ya dusted his hands, calmly stating, "For someone like him, there’s no need for due process. It’s more straightforward to kill directly, don’t you agree, Sea Lord Sheng?"
Outside, silence prevailed for a moment, then a woman’s voice emerged.
"So Young Hero Zhao knew I was here all along."
With that, Sheng Lianhua elegantly walked in, followed by a few capable subordinates she had meticulously trained.
Upon entering, they silently dispersed, subtly guarding Sheng Lianhua.
With this layer of protection, Sheng Lianhua finally felt a bit reassured, glanced at the corpses on the floor, and then remarked with a charming smile.