Chapter 12: She Who Sees All (VIII)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
He was trying to say something, but his words were so incomprehensible that Jiang Pengji could not understand.
System: “…”
The System wanted to know how Jiang Pengji knew all the information to trick the bandits too.
She lifted her head and looked out the door. The night was still young.
“I’m a pretty merciful person, and since you asked, I’ll tell you so that you can die in peace.”
System: “…What brought this sudden change of heart?”
“You have a pouch tied to your belt, and inside there is a handkerchief. Based on the pouch’s needlework and age, it’s obvious that it is not for a man, which means that the owner was a young lady. You value the pouch. Sometimes you would subconsciously pinch or touch it. Even after you changed your clothes, you’d still bring the pouch and handkerchief… Since you care about it so much, the owner of this pouch must be very important to you.”
Jiang Pengji lazily lay across the main seat with one arm on an armrest.
“Your face has the markings of branded punishment, even with that beard. Seems like I’m the only one with eyesight good enough to notice that. The rest seem to be blind.”
Even when she’s faking it, she still tries to get in a few jabs, the System thought.
“That tattoo clearly shows the province that you were supposed to serve your sentence in. Yet, as a banished criminal, you’re now in Hejian County… It’s easy to deduce that you’re an escaped convict who hasn’t been home in a long time.”
If an exiled convict were to escape and then got caught, they would be beaten to death.
Taking a breath, she continued, “When you look at that pouch, your expression is pained and reluctant with a little bit of guilt. It seemed safe to conclude that the lady is no longer alive, and her death was not of natural causes. One lie and it turned out I was right.”
System: “… No… Mo’niang could have died of other causes…”
Jiang Pengji mentally rolled her eyes and replied to the System, “When something happens to someone and then later the same situation arises, they react to it strongly in the exact same way. This is a type of subconscious reaction…”
This was why the bandit boss reacted violently when one of the bandits said he wanted to have a round with the girls when they were forced into the carriages.
System: “…Who would have thought of that…”
“About being from the same hometown…” Jiang Pengji smiled, revealing a row of pearly whites. “When I mentioned Mo’niang’s death and I said that I knew who the killer was, his reaction was obvious. He was guilty. It was a reaction that showed he was afraid of being found out. Under what circumstances would someone react like that? Surely, he knew how Mo’niang died and who killed her. If he were a witness and yet didn’t tell you…”
Due to his guilty conscience, the moment his boss questioned him, the bandit with the bad limp started getting anxious. His reactions were enough for the boss to brand him as Mo’niang’s killer. Even if he were to deny it, it was too late.
When she saw the way the boss reacted to any mention of Mo’niang, Jiang Pengji had bet that he would not give the other bandit time to explain himself. That impatience had killed the other bandit, and her lie had not been exposed.
“And about how I knew that his back would have scars? He’s not a tidy dresser, and I saw the scars.”
That bandit was unlucky because he had to carry Jiang Pengji from the carriage. “His back had scars that looked like scratches, or they were left behind by sharp objects. They could have been left behind by that event… but the struggle would have had to be pretty violent.”
She had no idea how he got those scars, but they served their purpose in her trickery.
Jiang Pengji had earned her reputation as Corps Seven’s devil not only because of her combat prowess but also because of her uncanny observational skills.
No one wanted to walk around their superior and have her know immediately what they ate and drank that morning. Did they sleep alone the night before, or did they have any weird sleeping habits? Did they cheat on their partners? None of them wanted that information to be known.
Jiang Pengji was the reason why Corps Seven got their best results during appearance checks.
“As for Leader Two’s son, I saw a row of children’s shoes in front of a shack that had been hung up to dry when you brought us here. They should have been for a child of about four or five years. There was a pair with worn soles that had clearly been washed. That meant that it had been worn before, while the other pairs had clean, untouched soles.”
She was so amused that she smiled when she said, “Your second leader was as lecherous as the others, and yet he remembered to keep those shoes… Tsk tsk. Surely there was something there? So I figured he had a son.”
The child could have been kidnapped or sold or eaten by wild animals, but Jiang Pengji’s aim was internal strife, so of course she chose the most brutal option. The more Leader Two “loved” his child and the more brutal the child’s death was, the more he would not be able to control his emotions.
In Liu Lanting’s memories, there was a two-year drought. She decided to use that as the cause since it was believable for starving people to kidnap children, and it would be a good provocation.
Once she had the facts to base her trickery on, it was up to her creativity. It did not matter if her analyses were inaccurate. Her eyes and posture radiated confidence, and that was enough to make her listeners trust her words.
The reactions from her victims had made it easy for her to guess and spin her tales.
When the bandit boss had said that his beloved’s name was Xin Niang, his breathing did not change much. Jiang Pengji then deduced that he was trying to trick her, and a small test revealed the truth.
That was how skillful she was in lying and trickery.
She was so comfortable in her position that she had even yawned and stretched.
“Leader Four was the easiest. This village has traces that a woman lives here. Out of all of you, Leader Four dresses the best. Or should I say that he has someone to care for him. But with his actions and lecherous behavior, their relationship was probably almost nonexistent. And about how I know the woman had slept with the others…”
Jiang Pengji rolled her shoulders, indifferent to the explicit words that she spewed. “First, here’s a nest of bandits full of virile grown men. You have no morals, ethics, or any other worldly views. You do not have enough women here, and when you guys have an itch to scratch, what do you do? Settle it on your own or help each other out? Yet it so happens that Leader Four has a woman… The atmosphere around here feels awkward but harmonious…”
System: “…Host, I think your views are bleak and you urgently need to experience a harem fight to save your soul. How about finding an emperor for a breath of fresh air?”
Facing the System, Jiang Pengji had only two words: “Get out!”
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