That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

She smiled, her fingers casually fiddling with the tassels of the sword.

The usually arrogant young woman's words carried a hint of loneliness, and for a moment everyone fell silent.

Only Jiang Jingming lowered his eyes, concealing his thoughts.

There was actually someone in the world who cared about his whereabouts.

Unfortunately, times have changed, and now is not the right time to reveal one's identity.

Thinking of this, Jiang Jingming pulled himself out of his thoughts and pointed to the charred remains of Master Fu on the other side.

"Judging from his symptoms, he has lost all reason and is going berserk. He has probably been poisoned by some kind of drug."

"poison?"

The person in charge, who had been silent all along, frowned upon hearing this and fell into thought.

"Although I've never heard of any poison with this effect, it's not impossible. So, at what time was he poisoned?"

"At least he wasn't poisoned when Miss Xie beat him up."

Otherwise, they would have fought back long ago, Jiang Jingming shrugged.

"..."

Xie Yunqi thought for a moment, then suddenly clapped his hands.

"He drank the wine here and ate the meat! The poison must have been put in the wine and meat!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the shopkeeper's face turned deathly pale, and he frantically waved his hands.

"It wasn't me! Sirs, I've been in business for many years, and Master Fu is a major customer! Why would I want to harm him!"

"It wasn't said it was definitely you, so doesn't that mean you're a suspect?"

Xie Yunqi glared at him, then casually pointed to the waiter on the other side.

"He's also a suspect because he's in charge of serving the food."

Miss Xie pointed with her small hand, as if the King of Hell were calling out a sign.

"what??"

The waiter's expression instantly mirrored the manager's.

"My lord, my lord!"

Just as suspicion was about to fall on him, the shopkeeper suddenly thought of something and his eyes widened.

"You just asked me if I've seen any suspicious-looking people recently, and yes, I have!"

"Who?"

Jiang Jingming continued the conversation.

“Three days ago, in the middle of the night, I was about to close the door when I saw a dirty beggar huddled at the door with injuries on his body. I asked him where he came from, but he didn’t say anything. I felt sorry for him, so I asked him to help prepare the food in the kitchen.”

As the shopkeeper reflected, his expression grew increasingly resolute.

"He's not a beggar! He's a refugee who fled from outside the city!"

Why are you so sure?

"He's most likely a bandit!"

This time, it was the waiter who spoke, lowering his voice and acting mysteriously.

"I heard him talking in his sleep, shouting things like 'Boss, help!' and 'Murder!'"

"Knowing he was a bandit, you still dared to keep him alive?"

Jiang Jingming patted the wound medicine stains off his clothes and stood up.

"This...this..."

The shopkeeper scratched his head, but ultimately answered honestly.

"That kid looked like he was scared out of his wits. I figured as long as I gave him some food, I could save on wages."

"Wow, you're so heartless!"

Xie Yunqi frowned and stabbed him hard with the scabbard.

"Yes Yes Yes!"

The shopkeeper clutched his stomach and begged for mercy repeatedly.

Is he here?

Jiang Jingming leaned against a pillar, speaking to the shopkeeper, but his eyes were fixed on A Qing.

If that fellow really was a bandit who had escaped, then he would most likely be able to identify Ah Qing.

But given Aqing's personality, would she really leave behind a fish that might be detrimental to her?

Jiang Jingming really didn't believe this possibility.

Aqing stood in the shadow of the candlelight and nodded slightly.

That's good.

Jiang Jingming felt relieved.

"Yes, yes! He usually sleeps in the kitchen."

The shopkeeper nodded hurriedly and then gave instructions to the waiter.

"Go and call him over. Tell him that the magistrates of the Divine Capital Guard have arrived! They're investigating their leader's case!"

......

The person brought before the crowd certainly didn't look like a bandit.

He was thin, with a sallow complexion and a hunched head, but judging from his face alone, he was still considered young.

"These two are the officers of the Divine Capital Guard. You don't need to hide anything, just say what you think."

The shopkeeper patted him on the shoulder as encouragement.

Upon hearing his words, the bandit raised his head, a hint of suppressed joy in his eyes.

"Although you and your brothers deserved to be beheaded..."

Xie Yunqi took a step closer, raised her hand and made a threatening gesture as if to slit her throat. After noticing the fear in the bandit's eyes, she clapped her hands in satisfaction.

"However! I will still investigate what needs to be investigated thoroughly. So tell me, what do you know?"

"I...I've seen the murderer!"

The bandit gritted his teeth, uttering the words almost one by one.

"Since we've already seen the murderer, why did you get away with it?"

Jiang Jingming leaned against the pillar and asked with a smile.

This question seemed to strike a nerve with the bandit. He knelt down, trembling, and buried his head in his hands, as if he had thought of something extremely painful.

"Hey, I'm just asking, what's wrong with you?"

Xie Yunqi raised a slightly puzzled eyebrow.

The bandit, his eyes red, raised his head.

“The murderer killed everyone in our village overnight, except for me. At first, I thought it was good luck, so I escaped overnight and went to other villages to report the crime.”

He seemed dazed as he spoke, clearly having suffered a great shock.

“I spread the word all the way, notifying almost all the brothers, but in the end I found out that they were all dead.”

"..."

Jiang Jingming understood now.

Ah Qing spared his life only so that she could use him as bait.

The bandits of Yongzhou were known for their cunning, often changing their hideouts frequently. When the government tried to eliminate them, they often found nothing despite their best efforts.

So Aqing left behind a bandit and secretly followed his trail.

He thought he was sending a distress signal, but in reality, he was only bringing his brothers a deadly messenger.

That's so typical of Aqing.

"Have you seen the killer's face? What does he look like? How old is he?"

The person in charge stroked his beard, adopting the posture of a criminal investigation interrogation.

"She is a..."

The bandits wanted to say she was a woman, wearing a thin iron mask.

But suddenly I felt a chill down my spine, just like that night.

The bandit raised his eyes with trembling hands and finally saw the woman in green who had been standing in the shadows of the candlelight.

She stood there quietly for who knows how long, without emitting even the slightest extra breath.

The terrifying iron mask suddenly flashed back into the bandit's eyes. He almost screamed immediately, but no sound came out.

The impermanent chain blade was clearly already at his throat; he knelt on the ground, gagging in fear.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Lesions

His sudden and unusual reaction took everyone by surprise.

"What are you doing? Don't lose your composure in front of the adults! Tell me whatever clues you have!"

The shopkeeper, filled with trepidation, also knelt down with a thud.

His heart had already turned cold, and now he felt that the poisoning of Master Fu might also be related to the idiot he had picked up. In an instant, he felt like the sky had fallen.

"Even if it's considered as atonement for my sins, it'll be good!"

The shopkeeper, with a mournful face, tried to push him, only to find that he was so frightened that his whole body was ice-cold, almost like a living corpse.

Jiang Jingming coughed softly.

No one knows what cruel methods Ah Qing used to kill so many people in front of him, but he was clearly traumatized, which explains why Ah Qing didn't care about his identification.

"I don't know... I don't know!"

The bandits shook their heads in fear.

"Forget it."

Xie Yunqi frowned and pointed to his head.

"This guy must be scared out of his wits. I've seen a lot of people like that. They barely survived the battlefield, but they're like they've lost their souls and don't remember anything."

"Yes."

Jiang Jingming also sighed, feigning disappointment.

"Since that's the case, I'll be frank with you."

Xie Yunqi suddenly stepped forward, used his sword sheath to lift the bandit's chin, forcing him to raise his head.

The bandits were initially startled by her actions, but then, out of the corner of their eyes, they caught sight of the murderous figure in blue robes in the corner, and their hearts trembled once more.

If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred to have died with my brothers that day! I wouldn't have ended up in this desperate situation, surrounded by enemies.

“I know you took on a job a few days ago, and I know the details of that job. If I’m not mistaken, this is the reason you’ve gotten yourself into this deadly situation.”

Xie Yunqi's voice was calm and composed, sounding almost like a completely different person.

Jiang Jingming raised an eyebrow slightly, feeling that he might have misunderstood this old friend.

She wasn't the carefree rich girl she seemed to be.

Her reason for coming here was definitely not as simple as "going out to gain experience in the Divine Capital Guard".

"If you still have something to hide from me, then I will let you know that the murderer may not be the most terrifying being in the world."

Xie Yunqi applied a little pressure with his fingers, and the bandit's face turned red. The scabbard was pressing painfully against his throat, giving him no chance to nod or shake his head.

"Answer me, who entrusted this business to you?"