Humans and animals
"Ziyuan!" Jiang Jin turned around and caught Ziyuan glaring at Zhou Cong.
"Ah Jin, what's wrong?" Zi Yuan silently shifted her gaze to the man who had calmed down a bit. "I suddenly thought of another idea."
"Don't change the subject!" Jiang Jin stepped forward and grabbed Zi Yuan's wrist. "You're getting more and more outrageous!"
"How could I dare? I'm still young, and I need A-Jin to teach me more." Zi Yuan shook Jiang Jin's arm, and then heard Zhou Xiao whisper from the side: "Just now you were threatening me like a tiger, but now you're acting like a fox. You really are a magician."
"Ahem!" Wei Shu coughed lightly, stopping Zhou Cong from continuing.
"I should have sewed your mouth shut!" Zi Yuan pulled out a silver needle and lunged at Zhou Cong, but Jiang Jin grabbed her firmly. "Zi Yuan, you really should rein in your temper!"
Jiang Jin's face instantly turned cold. "I don't care what method you use to make him tell the truth, but you shouldn't have threatened Zhou Cong with silver needles. Does Zhou Cong have any danger to your life or mine?"
"Ah Jin, I..." Zi Yuan subconsciously put away the silver needles, trying to coax Jiang Jin into it, but Jiang Jin clearly saw through her intentions.
"Ziyuan, what I'm teaching you is for self-defense, not for threatening others at will." Jiang Jin glanced at the dishes on the table and reached out to put them into the food box.
"Ah Jin, I was wrong, I won't do it again next time!" Zi Yuan quickly apologized when she saw that Jiang Jin seemed really angry. Zhou Cong also didn't expect things to develop like this and quickly explained to Jiang Jin.
"Madam, it was my words that offended Lady Ziyuan, which provoked her to threaten me. Being assertive when out in public is the only way to avoid being bullied!" Zhou Cong, seeing the fear in Ziyuan's eyes, felt a pang of sympathy.
“Ziyuan, have you forgotten how Ruoli died?” Jiang Jin touched Ziyuan’s forehead. “You two are similar in personality, but she was more arrogant because her kung fu was better than yours.”
"Ah Jin, I don't want to hear it." Zi Yuan took a few steps back in fear and covered her ears.
"Ziyuan, remember not to follow in Ruoli's footsteps. Zhou didn't hold it against you because he's not a bloodthirsty person, and besides, you didn't really hurt him. But if you encounter a truly bad person one day, do you think he'll let you off the hook?" Jiang Jin said patiently, looking at the now-grown Ziyuan.
Jiang Jin knew that Zi Yuan had always been well protected by everyone, which made her a bit arrogant and unruly. "It's okay for you to be a little spoiled and playful, but you must keep a low profile when you're out and about and not provoke anyone or cause trouble."
"I understand." Although Zi Yuan was reluctant, she knew she had gone too far, so she agreed to Jiang Jin's request.
"Do you have anything to say?" Zi Yuan kicked the man tied to the wooden stake.
"No!" The man smiled sinisterly at the group before him. "You're no different from me, all lackeys, just with different masters!"
Although the man's voice was muffled, the others could still make out what he was saying: "Lackey, if working for the ruler of a country makes you a lackey, then you are not even as good as an animal. You prey on the people and deceive the governor. You should go to the 180th level of hell."
Jiang Jin pointed at the man angrily and cursed, "A beast who jumps around in the dark doesn't deserve to be called a master. He's nothing but disgusting."
"You shrew..." The man's words were cut off by Zi Yuan, who said, "His voice is a bit unpleasant, so I'll just muffle it."
Ziyuan fumbled at her waist and pulled out a small bamboo tube, inserting it into the man's throat. "Do you have salt water? Have someone pour the salt water down the bamboo tube, and then have someone bring over a large vat and put him in it."
Zhou Cong looked at Zi Yuan's strange-looking things and then asked Wei Shu for his opinion, "Let's do it according to Zi Yuan's idea."
"Do you know about the terracotta figurine torture?" Zi Yuan reached out and touched the man's hair. "As the name suggests, it involves burying a person in a terracotta figurine. But a living person can't be roasted in a furnace, so I'll put you in a vat to roast you, but I won't let you die. It'll just be a living hell."
"Waaaaah!" The man forcefully lifted his severed tendons, looking at Zi Yuan with terror in his eyes.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing and won't let you go to the underworld so easily." Zi Yuan sat back down in her chair. The Imperial Guards moved quickly and soon brought her what she wanted.
"Smear the clay on him, and I'll make you a human-shaped ceramic figure!" Zi Yuan smiled brightly, but her eyes remained cold.
The man was placed in the vat, the wood beneath him burning continuously, and the clay inside slowly hardening. His agonizing screams continued. Ziyuan timed the moment and had the fire extinguished.
"Stop howling. You're only in pain now, but your flesh isn't injured yet. If you don't confess, I can steam you in a vat and then knock off the hard clay. I'll do this repeatedly. If you still don't confess, I have even more methods to make sure you don't leave empty-handed."
Zi Yuan kicked the man holding the vat and raised his hands. "I confess! You're from the Madman's Underworld!"
"Thank you for the compliment!" Zi Yuan turned around proudly and took Jiang Jin's arm. Wei Shu gave Zhou Cong a wink, and he immediately arranged for someone to come in and tidy up.
"Alright, let's go back then." Jiang Jin tapped Zi Yuan's forehead and stopped looking at the Imperial Guards' interrogation.
"Zhou Cong, escort Madam and Lady Ziyuan back." Wei Shu sat down in a chair, looking at the weak man.
"Madam, Lady Yuan, this way please." Zhou Cong blocked their view. Leaving the government office, Jiang Jin saw the sunlight outside and exhaled a breath of stale air.
"Where did you learn all those methods? When we get back to the capital, I'm going to throw away all those miscellaneous books of yours." Jiang Jin recalled Zi Yuan's behavior earlier and secretly resolved to give her a good talking-to when they returned to the capital.
"It's made up. If that guy hadn't been so stubborn, I wouldn't have needed to resort to such a drastic measure. The terracotta figurine torture was just something I suddenly remembered to scare him by making terracotta figures. He hasn't eaten or drunk anything for days and I've tortured him for so long, and the torture is endless. I might as well just give him a quick death." Zi Yuan looked at Zhou Cong's shocked expression as he turned his head.
"You don't really think I want to steam him, do you? I may be a bit ruthless, but I'm not that bad yet. But maybe I'll mature in a few years and that will change!" Ziyuan had barely finished speaking when she felt a cold gaze fixed on her.
"Ah Jin, I didn't say anything!" Zi Yuan quickened her pace, pulling Zhou Cong out of Jiang Jin's sight.
"I never imagined that someone as fearless as you would be so afraid of Madam." Zhou Cong was utterly astonished by Zi Yuan's flustered state.
"Please, you haven't seen what Ah Jin looks like when she's angry. She's more terrifying than a ghost!" Zi Yuan exclaimed, still shaken.
"To be honest, I've never seen Madam like you describe." Zhou Cong looked at Zi Yuan with some disbelief.
"That's because you haven't crossed her line yet. Although you're angry, it's only superficial. Ah Jin's methods are no less ruthless than Wo Ren's, she just doesn't use them often."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Cong suddenly thought of the young master of the Wang family who was shot and killed by Jiang Jin in the forest, and how he handled the situation calmly and decisively afterward.
"Madam, do you know when you first killed someone?" Zhou Cong glanced cautiously at Jiang Jin, who was following behind the two.
"How could I possibly tell you that? Are we that close?" Zi Yuan looked at Zhou Cong's sudden familiarity with her, completely bewildered.
"Ziyuan, we've become acquainted through a series of misunderstandings, so aren't we already familiar with each other?" Zhou Cong watched as Ziyuan suddenly stopped and ran quickly to Jiang Jin's side.
"Ah Jin, he's flirting with me!" Zi Yuan, unusually, tugged at Jiang Jin's sleeve and hid behind her, cautiously watching Zhou Cong.
"No, Madam, I really didn't! I just said we became friends after a fight!" Zhou Cong was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, wishing he could swear to the heavens that he had no intention of flirting with Zi Yuan.
"Ziyuan is just being cautious." Jiang Jin knew Zhou would never do something so despicable.
"Ziyuan, it's alright. Zhou will never hurt you. If you feel uncomfortable, just stand behind me." Jiang Jin didn't force Ziyuan; she simply held her hand and comforted her.
The street was bustling with people. Ziyuan slowly raised her head and carefully examined Zhou Cong. "What did you mean by what you just said?"
"I really just wanted to get closer to you and ask about Madam's past. Honestly, I had no intention of flirting with you!" Zhou Cong now wanted to slap himself for what he had just said.
"Really?" Zi Yuan tugged at Jiang Jin's sleeve and whispered in her ear, repeating what Zhou Cong had just said.
“Really, he really didn’t mean any harm.” Jiang Jin pulled Zi Yuan, who was hiding behind him, over. “Look at Zhou Cong’s eyes.”
Zhou Cong strained his eyes to make sure Zi Yuan could see him clearly, "His eyes are wide open!" Zi Yuan, unable to discern anything, turned to Jiang Jin for help.
"What I mean is, is his gaze the same as those officials who frequent brothels?" Jiang Jin pulled Zi Yuan's hand and walked towards the governor's mansion.
"It seems somewhat different." Zi Yuan recalled that the man she saw in Pingkang Ward seemed to have slightly different eyes than Zhou Cong.
"Although you can't completely distinguish between good and bad people just by looking at their eyes, you can distinguish between people and animals."
Jiang Jin knew that her upbringing had instilled in Zi Yuan a wariness of men, and that her constant travels had turned this wariness into sharp thorns covering her entire being.
"Alright, let's go back to the manor. You've done a great job today. I heard there's a famous restaurant in Beizhou called Yunxunlou, where the food rivals that of the palace. I'll take you there tonight." Seeing that Ziyuan was still somewhat wary, Jiang Jin could only change the subject and use food to put her at ease.
"Then let's go together, Young Master Zhou!" Zi Yuan unusually invited Zhou Cong to accompany them.
"Does Lady Ziyuan intend for me to test her medicine or even poison me?"
Zhou recalled seeing many things he had never heard of before after meeting Zi Yuan. Remembering Zi Yuan's strange behavior earlier, he was about to refuse, but a sharp glare from her made him swallow his words.
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