“What did you say?” The bandit leader lunged forward, his hand shooting out to grab Jiang Pengji’s collar and demand an explanation.
With a graceful pivot and a step aside, she effortlessly evaded his reach.
“I don’t like people getting handsy with me.”
Seeing his hands grasp only empty air, the bandit leader’s expression flickered with astonishment.
He suppressed his boiling rage, his lips peeling back to reveal a mouthful of yellowed teeth.
Set against his bushy beard, his face looked as fierce and savage as a blue-faced night demon.
“Who are you?
What do you know?”
“Who I am doesn’t matter.
You wouldn’t recognize me anyway.
All you need to know is that I know more than you do.”
The bandit leader’s eyes glinted with a cold, murderous intent.
One hand tightened around the hilt of the sword at his waist.
“I know that your sweetheart was defiled and killed, which drove you to murder in a blind rage.
For that crime, you were branded with the tattoo punishment and exiled to Zisang.
But you escaped halfway, fled to Hejian Commandery, and became a bandit.
Am I right?”
The bandits, serving as the background scenery, stood completely dumbfounded.
The other noble ladies, captivated by her actions, momentarily forgot they were in mortal danger.
What…
is this rhythm?
System: “…”
Damn it, how does she know all this?
How did she know all this without the System’s help?
As a Super System capable of cross-plane live-streaming, its functions naturally extended far beyond what it had revealed.
It had planned to drip-feed its capabilities to her over time.
If Jiang Pengji wanted to access this information, she would have to obediently live-stream, rather than constantly choking it with her remarks or threatening to go on strike.
It was like a carrot dangled before a donkey, keeping it running forward.
Jiang Pengji could use wealth to buy information from it—anything with a low enough security clearance could be purchased, including the Bandit Leader’s past.
But…
it was currently broke.
Even if it wanted to help Jiang Pengji, it was powerless to do so.
So, the question remained: How was this woman so certain the Bandit Leader had such a tragic sweetheart?
The Bandit Leader glared at Jiang Pengji with a cold, fierce gaze, then suddenly threw his head back and roared with laughter.
“What kind of nonsense is—”
“Your mother,” Jiang Pengji interrupted, completely unfazed.
“It’s been a long time since you’ve gone back to see her, hasn’t it?
You call yourself a filial son, yet you’ve fled into exile, even turning to banditry, all while never once returning to visit her…
Is this your idea of filial piety?”
The Bandit Leader froze, his laughter locking into a grotesque, half-finished grin.
Finally, he gritted his teeth, his face contorting with murderous rage.
“Oh?
So you’ve finally decided to kill me?” Jiang Pengji’s voice was a cold caress.
“You’re like a cat that’s stepped on its tail—what else can you do besides scratch a few times?
To commit such atrocities against a woman…
have you even thought of your poor, sweet sweetheart?
She died with a heart full of joy, waiting to marry you.”
The room fell silent, the atmosphere so stifling that no one dared to breathe.
Everyone stole glances at the Bandit Leader’s face, their curiosity getting the better of them.
One daring bandit tried to sneakily take advantage of a noblewoman, but the Bandit Leader’s long blade flashed out with a shink, nearly slicing his nose off.
Ignoring the terrified low-ranking bandit, he glared coldly at Jiang Pengji.
“Speak.
Which bastard did this?”
Jiang Pengji’s lips curled into a chilling smile, her posture as arrogant as an empress on her throne.
“Is this how you treat someone you’ve asked for help?”
“You’re my prisoner!
Damn it all!
If you don’t speak, do you think I won’t have my brothers take turns on you stinking women one by one?!” The Bandit Leader, provoked by Jiang Pengji’s taunts, lost all patience.
His explosive temper was on the verge of boiling over.
“Heh…”
Jiang Pengji showed no sign of being threatened.
Despite her bound hands, her relaxed demeanor made it seem as if she were the bandit in control of everything.
“What are you laughing at?” The Bandit Leader’s heart stirred with an indescribable unease as he saw Jiang Pengji’s smile, a prickle of apprehension creeping up his spine.
“I’m laughing because the scene was just as similar when your sweetheart was being forced.”
Jiang Pengji’s reputation as a demon had spread throughout the Seventh Legion.
Many officers had suffered at her hands, not just because of her terrifying martial prowess, but also because of her tongue.
Colossal, violent martial strength + a max-level, lethally poisonous tongue = A mobile, human-shaped killing machine.
For the troublemakers who fell into her hands, if she was in a good mood, she might leave them with a whole corpse.
If she wasn’t, she’d make them wish they were dead.
The moment these words left her lips, the Bandit Leader’s rage, which had been on the verge of exploding, was forcibly suppressed.
He shoved the noblewoman forward.
She stumbled, half-collapsing into Jiang Pengji’s arms, her pretty face flushing crimson.
The Bandit Leader threatened in a low, strained voice, “If you dare lie to me, I’ll let my men have their way with you before selling you to a brothel.”
“Lie?
Pray tell, which word of mine has been false from beginning to end?
If I were lying, would you be too afraid to even move?”
Jiang Pengji smiled contemptuously.
Her black hair cascaded over her shoulders, an image that clearly enhanced her femininity, yet she wore it with an allure that was utterly captivating—not the kind of allure that attracted men, but the kind that captivated women.
It was a vibe—a hint of mischief, not quite malicious, yet brimming with an irresistible allure that made one’s heart ache.
Even Wei Jingxian, who had initially tried to ignore her, quietly turned around.
Her gaze held a trace of hidden concern, as well as…
bewilderment and suspicion.
“I’ve done everything you asked me to do…
So tell me, which bastards harmed Xinniang?!”
The Bandit Leader ran his fingers through his hair, his expression one of utter anguish.
Anyone else would have been moved to tears, but Jiang Pengji only sneered.
“Scum,” she spat.
“She’s only been dead for a few years, and you’ve already forgotten her name?
You’re calling her Xinniang?”
The Bandit Leader froze.
This time, his eyes truly turned bloodshot.
Yes, his beloved was not named Xinniang at all.
His previous display had been half-truth, half-bluff.
He had been hoping Jiang Pengji actually knew something, yet he had also been secretly hoping she was just bluffing, which was why he had intentionally baited her.
“Fine…” The Bandit Leader wiped his face with both hands and took a long, deep breath.
“If you tell me which bastards harmed Monniang, I guarantee you’ll walk out of here safe and sound.
No one will dare touch a single hair on your head!”
“No.
Your offer is too low,” Jiang Pengji replied, completely unmoved.
“How could just me be worth such crucial information?”
“Then what do you want?” the Bandit Leader pressed, his gaze sweeping over all the noblewomen in the room.
Suddenly, the realization dawned on him.
He sneered and spat on the ground.
“…Greedy bitch.
You actually want all the beauties…”
“Whether I agree or not is up to you,” Jiang Pengji said, her expression as defiant as a dead pig that fears no boiling water.
Her gaze swept across the bandits’ faces, a contemptuous snort escaping her lips.
“If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to reject my offer.
Go ahead, try and see if I’ll be forced into submission and tell you a single word.”
In an instant, everyone was struck by an indescribable feeling.
It was as if a young maiden had been harassed, and the resulting humiliation and distress were bubbling up from within.
Wait, no.
Who was the one doing the soliciting here?
Who was really getting the short end of the stick?
For a moment, the bandits stood there, completely bewildered.
“Great Leader…” Though a few had been swayed by Jiang Pengji, the rest of the bandits remained fiercely professional.
They had kidnapped so many noblewomen from the Hejian aristocracy.
Would those families ever let them off the hook?
They figured King Yama himself was probably already dispatching the Black and White Impermanence to collect their souls.
If they didn’t live wildly and indulge themselves before they died, wouldn’t their lives have been a complete waste?