the empress livestream
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Alone in the back? You sure have guts! Haha! I respect that… Please,” he said, gesturing toward the door. Even though he could be barbaric, compared to his underlings, he almost seemed like a scholarly gentleman.
He and Jiang Pengji sized each other up.
The bandit boss took a good look at Jiang Pengji and then glanced at the girls who were hiding behind her. There was something off about Pengji. All the captured nobility were girls; why, then, did she act like a gentleman?
“Lanting…” Wei Jingxian’s heart raced as she realized Pengji was about to talk to the boss bandit alone.
It was a dangerous move for Jiang Pengji. Although the girls’ reputation had been tarnished from the moment they were kidnapped, they had yet to be harmed in any way. But entering a room alone with the leader of the bandits? That was a different story.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back.” Jiang Pengji gave Wei Jingxian a wink. Her playful demeanor piqued the others’ interests.
The room in the back of the shack was even simpler than the one in the front. Jiang Pengji sat in a chair that was obviously meant for the boss. She crossed her legs and turned to face him. Before the bandit boss could threaten that the girls would live through hellish days, Jiang Pengji took charge in bartering an agreement.
“Let’s get straight to the point. The girls are with a pack of wolves, and I want to return quickly.” Though she felt hurried, it was not evident from her posture. “I don’t trust your underlings.”
The boss stood to the side, his eyes gleaming with urgency. Mo’niang was always on his mind, for she was a burden he was not willing to put down. He had always wanted to know who had caused her death, and now that Jiang Pengji was offering him some sense of hope, he was not planning on being patient.
“The killer is actually close to you. You just haven’t noticed.”
There was a teapot by her side on the table. She stole a glance at the teacup and spotted black stains on it. Suddenly, she did not feel thirsty.
The bandit boss was no idiot. He suspected that Jiang Pengji might be trying to start internal conflict within the bandits in order to break them apart.
He might have had enough brains to lead a band of misfits, but now he was up against Jiang Pengji. There was no chance of him winning.
She was the most scathing devil on Corps Seven. No secret remained hidden after she spoke. Officers under her rule were terrified of making eye contact with her for fear of being stripped bare by her sharp gaze.
“I know you’re suspicious. You think I’m trying to make you kill each other. Tsk! I say what I have to. It’s up to you if you want to believe me.”
Jiang Pengji inwardly hmphed. This body was too weak. She could break out of the bandits’ place and save herself, but the noble girls would be killed during the confusion. A perfectionist like her could not accept that outcome.
“The killer is from the same village as you. He limps, and his back is a little crooked. While you were out hunting, he brought a few guys with him and forced themselves on Mo’niang. They even threatened her not to say anything. Mo’niang loved you deeply. She could not bear the guilt and shame, and that’s why she chose to end her life.”
Any suspicions about Jiang Pengji lying flew out the window when the boss heard her words. He truly believed her.
None of the other bandits knew that he and the limping man came from the same village. They’d give each other a nod in greeting whenever they saw each other, and they took care of each other, but they never did anything that revealed they were from the same hometown.
After Jiang Pengji revealed such a fact, how could he not believe her?
“If you still don’t believe me, you can strip off his clothes and look at his back. Mo’niang was a strong-willed one. During the rape, she put up her best fight and left some scars on his back. Ultimately, however, she was still a weak woman…”
The bandit boss turned on his heel and left the room wielding his sword. Not long afterward, Jiang Pengji heard the the noble ladies screaming. The stench of blood filled the air, and Jiang Pengji smiled before she called out, “Next!”
System: “…”
Although the System was incapable of feelings, it felt as if it were about to explode.
Leader Two was the next to enter the room. His guarded gaze met Jiang Pengji’s.
The bandit boss had grabbed one of his unremarkable underlings. With red eyes and a crazed look, he had torn at the underling’s clothes, unsettling the onlookers.
The underling had begged for his life, which only provoked the boss, so he drew his sword and cut off the underling’s head.
“Your son went missing when he was still very little…” Jiang Pengji continued, seemingly unaffected by the screams. Just smelling the spilled blood was enough for her to know that she had accomplished her first goal. “Do you want to see him?”
“Of course!”
Leader Two’s eyes brightened at the prospect of seeing his son. He was not a respectable man; he had committed all sorts of crimes and created trouble wherever he went.
When he had money, he had splurged on life’s pleasures. He had spent most of his days sleeping in brothels and fooling around with the girls there. Once he ran out of money, he would return home and get more from his parents.
Later on in his life, he had married a woman from his village who was rumored to bring bad luck. Two years later, they had a chubby son together.
Even with a child, he did not change his lifestyle and instead continued in his frivolous ways.
One day, a powerful man ordered his men to roughen him up. They delivered two swift kicks to his groin, causing him to faint from the pain. A physician was able to help him, but he had already suffered permanent damage. He would not be able to have any more children.
After learning that he could no longer have children, his mind went to his only son. He vowed that from then on, he would pay close attention to the child.
If he were to lose the child, he would not have any descendants who would pay their respects to him when he passed. Even under his careful watch, however, his son went missing when he was four years old. No matter how hard they searched, they could not find him. His wife cried until she went blind.
“Tsk! Your son was unlucky,” Jiang Pengji sighed as she shook her head. “That year had a bad drought that brought in a poor harvest… Yet you and your wife were able to raise your son so that he was healthy and chubby. Your actions attracted the wrong attention.”
Before she had even finished speaking, Leader Two’s eyes turned red. He collapsed on the floor, overwhelmed by the force of his own memories.
The drought had been terrible that year. Most people could not afford rice and had to chew on grass or bark to fill their bellies. Some people even kidnapped children to satiate their hunger.
Back then, to ensure the survival of his own family, he too had committed the unthinkable act of capturing children to feed his family.
Recalling the memory, the man kneeled before Jiang Pengji. His face was wet with tears as he begged her. “Tell me, living deity… Please tell me which ruthless bastard…. Did this to my son… He was my lifeline…”
She lowered her gaze and calmly replied, “Since you’re begging me, I can’t say no. The ones who ate your son are from the same village as you. They’re also in the same line of business as you… I’m sure you can conduct your own investigation.”
The System asked, “Aren’t you planning on making them…kill each other?”
Why not just reveal the bandits’ names? She had mentioned that the perpetrators were from the same village…but what if he really returned to the village?
“Idiot!” Jiang Pengji snickered in her mind. “I’m not a god. How would I know who’s from the same village as him?”
System: “…$%…$#$#@@@… If you had no idea, what nonsense are you saying?”