CMWKSD -Chapter 103 Ruthless Methods

Before anyone could react, they saw Jiu Yue directly crouch down in front of that woman.

The woman’s pupils shrank, her gaze instantly turning vicious. Her five fingers curled into claws as she raised her hand and lunged straight for Jiu Yue’s throat.

Ji Yiqing was startled badly and immediately grabbed a stool, intending to smash it down on her.

Yet Jiu Yue’s expression did not change in the slightest.

She casually lifted her hand and caught the woman’s wrist. With a swift twist, there was a sharp crack—the woman’s hand snapped at an extremely unnatural angle.

That sound was like a signal.

Jiu Yue moved so fast that no one could see her clearly.

Several rapid crack, crack, crack sounds followed—arms and legs, all twisted and broken by Jiu Yue.

With that, the entire courtyard fell silent.

General Shen prided himself on decades spent on the battlefield, yet he had never seen interrogation methods as clean and decisive as Jiu Yue’s.

Even among the assassins he knew, none possessed such skill.

Jiu Yue…

Just who exactly was she?

The only sound left in the courtyard was the woman’s shrill, miserable screams.

Finally, Jiu Yue, her eyes utterly devoid of emotion, drove a silver needle into the top of the woman’s head.

As the needle sank in inch by inch, the woman rolled her eyes, reduced to nothing but wails and piercing cries:

“Let me die! Let me die!”

Jiu Yue clapped her hands and stood up. “Go ahead and ask. Keep it short. Don’t talk nonsense—if you’re not annoyed, I am. You’re wasting my time.”

Shen Zongsheng had originally been bursting with questions, but upon hearing Jiu Yue’s words, he forcefully cut them down by more than half.

Who would have thought Jiu Yue would do all this… just because she felt it was a waste of time?

Jiu Yue walked back and sat beside General Shen.

Shen Zongnian, who had previously been somewhat arrogant, now found his attitude toward Jiu Yue unconsciously becoming much more respectful.

General Shen looked at his son’s spineless appearance and couldn’t help finding it amusing. He laughed and scolded, “You brat.”

Taking advantage of the pause while Shen Zongsheng questioned the woman, General Shen split his attention and spoke with Jiu Yue.

Someone like Jiu Yue—if she were on their side, she would be of tremendous benefit to Great Qi.

But if she were a spy sent by another country, then…

Yet when he recalled how Jiu Yue had resolved the gu poison for him as soon as she arrived, then helped Fifth Son detoxify and even uncover the mastermind behind it, General Shen instinctively wanted to trust her.

Ji Yiqing quietly watched General Shen trying to probe Jiu Yue’s background. Jiu Yue answered a couple of sentences, then gave a soft scoff.

If it were something else, she could say she didn’t like using her brain.

But these kinds of questions meant to test her identity? She had been trained for this since childhood, alright?

That said, this move of hers had indeed been a bit impulsive.

Still, since Jiu Yue had done it, firstly—same old saying—although Jiu Yue didn’t really have much of a conscience, she still had at least a bit of regard for soldiers who defended the country.

Secondly, of course, the General’s residence paid well.

Thirdly, it was also a goodwill gesture. The Shen family held high positions, yet they never looked down on people like them who came from the countryside.

For that reason alone, Jiu Yue felt these people were worth dealing with.

So she pretended not to notice General Shen probing her and, in a few brief sentences, explained her background clearly.

Naturally, she didn’t say she came from the modern era—she had no desire to be captured and sliced up for research.

She only said she came from the mountains, had once fallen off a cliff while gathering herbs, and had lived deep in the mountains before.

Her origins and experiences in Ji Family Village were easy to verify, so Jiu Yue wasn’t worried. General Shen would certainly send people to investigate.

As for where she truly came from?

In the end, they would likely just classify her as someone trained by a reclusive expert.

After all, in this era, didn’t they believe that all reclusive masters were basically wild people?

Living deep in the mountains and forests.

With Jiu Yue’s abilities, it was impossible that she’d never had any reputation at all.

The fact that she had none could only mean she hadn’t entered the world before.

As for suspicions of her being a spy, she believed General Shen and the others would eventually give her a satisfactory answer.

Jiu Yue had deliberately revealed her hand this time. After all, even she herself didn’t know what the future held.

Better to expose herself early in front of General Shen and his people—once exposed, there would be people to cover for her.

Before, there was the Ji family. Now add the Shen family—wasn’t that even better?

Jiu Yue was very satisfied with this outcome.

The woman was still wailing, but Shen Zongsheng had finished questioning her.

There were people above her, but everything operated on single-line contact—she only knew her assigned tasks.

She had failed before accomplishing anything and hadn’t obtained any useful information.

Moreover, these women were secretly trained. Many core secrets were things they themselves didn’t know.

Still, what Shen Zongsheng and General Shen feared had come true—there wasn’t just one such spy. Men and women alike, there were more.

Jiu Yue kindly added that the charm poison was extremely hard to obtain.

There shouldn’t be many doses. The reason it was used on Shen Zongsheng was likely because of his own abilities and family background—he had access to more valuable intelligence.

As for others, they were probably just exploited through beauty and seduction.

Shen Zongsheng nodded, while General Shen ordered the woman to be locked up.

They would report to Emperor Fengyuan and then decide how the investigation should proceed and who should handle it.

Oh, and there was also the one locked up at Jiu Yue’s home.

Thinking of his jade pendant, Shen Zongsheng’s brows filled with viciousness. Who would have thought that even in his own courtyard there was someone who ate from the inside and sold out to the outside?

General Shen’s expression was ugly.

Back when Madam Shen managed the residence, there had been some disloyal servants, but at worst they were greedy for silver—small matters.

Yet ever since Concubine Zhu took over management, spies from enemy states had infiltrated the residence.

Such a huge blunder—and Shen Zongsheng had even been poisoned.

As he was thinking about Concubine Zhu, she walked in from outside the courtyard.

The moment she saw General Shen, her eyes filled with tears. “My lord, your concubine greets you.”

In broad daylight—who knew what kind of greeting this was supposed to be.

The matter of the charm poison was considered resolved here with Jiu Yue, so she didn’t intend to waste any more time.

Now they could properly discuss her treatment fee for Shen Zongsheng’s leg.

“Fifth Young Master, this leg of yours can—” Jiu Yue had just opened her mouth.

Concubine Zhu, perhaps recalling Jiu Yue’s background and knowing that the General’s residence had brought back Shen Zongnian’s so-called lifesaving benefactor today—

That would be the woman in front of them.

Concubine Zhu opened her mouth and boldly declared, “Where did this quack come from? Probably here to scam silver, right? So many imperial physicians have already said Fifth Son’s leg is beyond saving. You’re just a little girl—how dare you boast that you can cure it…”

General Shen’s face darkened. “Zhu Shuang! Shut up.”

Shen Zongnian had been listening to Jiu Yue and was about to speak up when Concubine Zhu interrupted, but seeing his father scold her, he closed his mouth again.

Jiu Yue cast a glance at Concubine Zhu, a half-smile that wasn’t quite a smile appearing on her face. She said nothing more.

After all, this was someone else’s home.

Ji Yiqing, however, keenly sensed that Jiu Yue was unhappy. He quickly stepped to her side and gently squeezed her shoulder.

Jiu Yue lifted her eyes to look at Ji Yiqing, forcibly suppressing her anger.

Then she turned to General Shen. “This leg is indeed a bit difficult, but for me…”