The man who had claimed to be his "father" in the market just now was not as tough as him. Hearing Jiang Mian call his name, he immediately began to plead for mercy.
"Female Bodhisattva, please spare our lives! We were blind and offended you. We didn't mean it. Please forgive me!"
"It's, it's all this kid. He saw that your money - bag around your waist was heavy and must contain a lot of silver. That's why he accidentally took your money - bag. The money - bag is here. We, we'll return it to you!"
The others were itching so badly that they almost wanted to bang their heads against the wall to end it all. Hearing this, they didn't care about anything anymore. Immediately, they also pleaded for mercy one after another. Even the child who had cursed Jiang Mian just now was crying with snot and tears, begging her to spare them.
— In just such a short time, he felt that his hands were almost numb!
If it went on like this, he would lose his life!
Jiang Mian watched coldly as everyone rolled on the ground, pleading for mercy. After a moment, she said, "You all are really flexible. For the sake of survival, you're willing to grovel in front of me, this so - called 'poisonous woman'. However, I'm quite worried. If I spare you today, will you immediately try to kill me?"
She looked at Mo Zhizhang beside her and asked with a smile, "Second brother, what do you think we should do?"
Mo Zhizhang's eyes sparkled with an unprecedented light. He smiled cheerfully, "When cutting the grass, one must remove the roots. Naturally, it's better to kill them all."
Kill them all —
This was not Jiang Mian's intention.
She said, "It would be quite troublesome if so many people suddenly died in the city. It would attract the attention of the government. Forget it."
She squatted down and said to the child, "You've been poisoned by a special poison I developed. I'm the only one in the world with the antidote. To prevent you from harming me after I spare you, I can give each of you an antidote pill. However, this antidote will only work for three days. After three days, if you don't take another antidote pill, you'll bleed from your seven orifices and die suddenly."
She threw a porcelain bottle forward. Everyone rushed forward like crazy to grab the bottle. They even fought with each other for the antidote pills in the bottle. Seeing someone trying to swallow all the pills, Jiang Mian said,
"Ah, right. You can only take one antidote pill. Otherwise, the antidote will turn into poison, and the person who takes it will die immediately."
The person who had snatched all the pills was so scared that he quickly stopped and distributed the pills in his hand to the others.
After everyone got the pills, they immediately swallowed them. After the child finished eating, he even smacked his lips.
How...
How did this pill seem to have a fragrance of licorice and mint?
It tasted a bit like the candied pills from the sweet - preserve shop in the east of the city!
However, after taking the pills, the unbearable itching on everyone's bodies stopped. Their red, swollen, purple, and pimply hands that seemed to be useless no longer showed signs of getting worse. Only then did everyone fully believe Jiang Mian's words.
However, she had specifically given them a three - day antidote. I'm afraid...
The child knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Jiang Mian. "Thank you, Fairy Sister, for sparing our lives. We're extremely grateful! I, Wang Suier, hereby swear to be loyal to Fairy Sister from now on. Whenever Fairy Sister has something to ask of us, we'll surely go through fire and water for you without hesitation!"
Seeing this, the others also kowtowed to Jiang Mian one after another to show their loyalty.
Jiang Mian nodded in satisfaction. She sat down on the only chair in the back, looking leisurely and somewhat like a master.
Mo Zhizhang glanced down at her but didn't say a word or interfere with any of her decisions.
"I do have some things I'd like you to do for me," Jiang Mian said.
Hearing this, Wang Suier and the others showed joy on their faces.
They weren't afraid of her having demands. They were just afraid that she had no desires at all! Only in this way could they survive!
Jiang Mian tapped her knee with her finger, propped up her chin, and asked, "Are you all thieves?"
Since they were under her control, everyone didn't hesitate and readily admitted their identities.
They were indeed thieves in Guangdu County. On weekdays, they disguised themselves as ordinary people and wandered around the streets, stealing. They especially targeted the outsiders who had just come to Guangdu County. These people were completely defenseless and were the easiest targets, the so - called "fat sheep" in their eyes.
"Do you have an organization? How many people are there in the organization, and who do you take orders from?" Jiang Mian asked curiously. But because of the yellow talisman, everyone couldn't see her face or expression clearly. They only felt that her identity was mysterious and she was not to be trifled with.
Qi Zhong — the man who had pretended to be Wang Suier's father — answered truthfully, "We do have an organization. We're scattered in different areas of the city, targeting different groups of people. We all take orders from the second son of Master Zhong. He's a playboy and a bully in the city. He's idle all day long and only makes money through these means."
Such a person reminded Jiang Mian of Zhao Hu in Dongli Town.
However, Zhao Hu had been subdued by Xiao Jingcheng. Xiao Jingcheng had relied on his martial strength to suppress him, and they had also gone through hardships together. Zhao Hu was truly convinced by Xiao Jingcheng. But as for this bully in Guangdu County, Jiang Mian had neither the ability nor the intention to subdue such a person.
"So, does that mean you're responsible for this area?" Jiang Mian asked.
Everyone nodded.
Jiang Mian smiled. "That's enough. As long as you do things for me well in these three days, I'll give you all the antidotes."
Noticing that Qi Zhong wanted to speak, Jiang Mian said, "Don't worry. I'm not asking you to betray the second son of Master Zhong, nor am I going to hand you over to the authorities. I only need you to..."
She composed herself. "Spread some words in the city. Whether it's in the form of a ballad or a doggerel, it's up to you."
Naturally, the few people said a lot of nice things to Jiang Mian, like "We'll surely be able to do it" and "Please rest assured, Fairy Sister."
"Let me tell you a story first. You should know that the world is now divided into two. The Southern Sheng and the Northern Sheng are at odds," Jiang Mian said. Everyone nodded, and she continued, "But actually, most of the common people don't know that the current emperor of the Southern Sheng — that is, the deposed emperor of the Great Sheng, Xiao Tianye."
Jiang Mian directly mentioned the name of the Southern Sheng emperor.
"He's a scoundrel who abandoned his wife and children."
She told the story like a storyteller. She first talked about how Xiao Jingcheng had been assassinated during his southern inspection, then mentioned that it was Xiao Yixuan who had assassinated Xiao Jingcheng. She also talked about how the Prince Mu had noticed something was wrong when he brought the body of the fake crown prince back to the capital and then led his troops to rebel. The deposed emperor had fled south, leaving behind his legitimate wife and taking his favorite concubine with him.
This story left everyone stunned.
Jiang Mian said, "This Prince Xuan who murdered the crown prince is exactly the son of the noble consort and is now the crown prince of the Southern Sheng, Xiao Yixuan."
"Maybe it's the will of heaven. The real crown prince actually didn't die. Moreover, not only did he not die, but he also saved thousands of people in Dongli Town when there was a flood in Cangzhou."
"But do you know that it was this Crown Prince Xuan of the Southern Sheng who secretly blew up the Jinning Canal, which caused floods in various places downstream of the Xijiang River. And the reason he did this was just to..."
Her voice turned cold. "Drown the crown prince, Xiao Jingcheng."