Chapter 13 – Host, You Must Ascend to the Heavens (Part 1)
As the saying goes, nothing beats dumplings in taste, and nothing beats a sister-in-law in fun. It’s no surprise those folks had their eyes on the Fourth-in-command’s woman.
With the Fourth-in-command away, they figured it was the perfect time to sneak around with his wife, hehehe… She didn’t believe such things wouldn’t happen.
Thus, Jiang Pengji boldly probed around, and sure enough, she noticed some subtle changes in a few people’s expressions. She took note of all their traits, thus collecting “evidence.” From her observations, the Fourth-in-command had quite an explosive personality; it wasn’t out of the question that he had a habit of being violent towards women.
Men, especially those in places like this, can often be complicated paradoxes.
They might covet others’ women, yet are fiercely protective of their own.
How could a brainless, possessive bandit stand to know that his comrades have played with his woman?
Given this man’s temperament, the likelihood of a blow-up is quite high.
To sum it up, impulse is the devil. If you step outside without your brain, you’d better remember to control your temper.
“Alright, I’m done. You can rest easy now, go to hell and meet your bandit brothers for a family reunion.”
System: “…You’re really so kind, willing to waste time so he can die in peace…”
Jiang Pengji: “Wrong, I’m wasting time just to make him understand how he stupidly bit the dust.”
System: “…”
For crying out loud, it’d be better to die unseeing!
System: “Host, have you considered finding a domineering Emperor with enlightened attributes for a pure love story to save your worldview?”
Utilizing every piece of available information, whether through deliberate inducement or desperate deceit, her goal was crystal clear.
Jiang Pengji’s every move since waking up had been to plot this extermination plan against the bandits.
This host, although they’ve only been cooperating for a short half-day, had already given the system a bit of concern.
“Keep yapping and I’ll show you what it looks like when I take down an Emperor.”
Jiang Pengji furrowed her brow impatiently, with an uncontrollable, nagging sparrow squawking in her head, it was truly irritating.
The system immediately fell silent as a chicken.
At this moment, the only silent audience member, Stowaway Non-Money, sent a comment.
Stowaway Non-Money: “Host, isn’t this a bit too easy to mess up?”
If you really think about it, many of Jiang Pengji’s statements were illogical and couldn’t withstand scrutiny. If she accidentally messed up, her end would be, hehehe… But… thinking of this live-stream murderer, his hands on the keyboard were trembling.
Host V: “Such reasoning is bold speculation, carefully validating. Rather than saying I deduced it, it’s more accurate to say those fools provided it voluntarily. As for whether I’ll mess it up? It’s all about the thrill; otherwise, if it were 100% correct, it’d be too boring.”
Every time felt like walking on a tightrope at a high altitude, and that feeling of misstepping and crashing down from heaven to hell was intoxicating.
Host V: “To fool your opponent, you first have to deceive yourself, making them believe every word you say is as solid as gold. Because while you observe them, they’re also watching you. If you’re careless, you’ll get countered.”
Jiang Pengji once encountered a buddy who enjoyed this type of malevolent little reasoning game. That was her only time she slipped up before getting countered in return. Afterward, she learned from her mistakes and seriously reflected until she identified the root of her failure.
System: “…”
Felt like she’d accidentally chosen a host with a psychological twist and tendency.
Oh dear, is she really cut out for palace struggles?
Stowaway Non-Money: “…”
Caught off guard, felt like he was being schooled by a veteran criminal right in the face.
In the end, with blood still hanging in the air, Jiang Pengji stepped out of the bloody room. Next… she had even more important things to do.
“You, you… Liu Xi, what exactly do you want to do?”
A group of Noble Girls were nervously fidgeting in the back hall. Wei Jingxian and Shangguan Wan were the closest of friends, comforting each other, anxiously waiting.
Outside, besides the howling wind, there was nothing else; not even the bandits’ footsteps or their lewd, corrupt comments.
Yet, they didn’t dare to step outside, enduring their drowsiness, desperate to avoid any other actions.
Until Liu Lanting approached them like a savior, declaring that they were safe, they finally sighed in relief.
However, before the ladies could burst into tears of joy, Liu Lanting suggested they move to a different location to wait.
“This place is a bit cramped; let’s go somewhere bigger. After being on edge all day, it’s time to rest properly.”
System: “…I have a bad feeling about this… I feel all tingly; you’re not that kind-hearted…”
Jiang Pengji lowered her head slightly, leading the way.
Under the night sky, she slightly curled her lips, silently giving the system thumbs up for its judgment, “Not bad, quite quick on the uptake.”
When the system realized Jiang Pengji was leading everyone to the room where the chaos just happened, it would need to come up with a new shade of black.
Although the Noble Girls found it odd, considering Liu Lanting had saved them, and his appearance was horrifyingly stained with blood, no one dared to voice their dissent. With unease, they followed along.
Yet, soon, they would regret their actions.
Before they even entered the dim room, the overwhelming stench of blood had already turned the ladies’ faces pale.
When they accidentally stepped on a severed limb of a bandit, slipping and falling, it only amplified their screams, some even unable to hold back tears.
With a creak, Jiang Pengji closed the door, lighting one oil lamp after another, allowing them to clearly see the room’s appearance.
And thus… the screams became even louder.
Tsk, if someone were to approach this bandit stronghold and hear such horrific screams, they’d probably think a group of female ghosts were gathered here.
Her gaze landed on Wei Jingxian and Shangguan Wan. Seeing their faces pale yet still composed, she chose not to intervene.
Once the shrieking subsided, Jiang Pengji nonchalantly fiddled with her dagger, coldly watching the group of Noble Girls.
“What I want to do, you should know very well…” Neatly fixing her disheveled collar, she used the remaining cloth from her cloak to gather her hair behind her head, simply tying it up, “We’re all smart people; some things don’t need to be said so directly.”
Jiang Pengji had seen Liu Lanting’s memories; this era was much harsher towards women than men, and she felt it was not cost-effective to restore her female form.
On top of that, there were deeper reasons for Liu Lanting cross-dressing. At this moment, being exposed would only bring her troubles.
To be thorough, she thought she needed to seize this opportune moment to discuss things with them.
“Are you threatening us?” One of the Noble Girls paled, almost in disbelief.
“Yup.” Jiang Pengji shamelessly admitted, smiling, “Not a threat; should it be flirting instead?”
The faces of the girls were almost unwatchable.
The system couldn’t help but facepalm; the one-sided situation was too brutal.
Heavens, Jiang Pengji, you have the ability to bully little girls here, why not go and fight in the palace struggles instead!
