Instead of obsessing over this issue repeatedly, it was better to ask her directly.
Because in this house, Jiang Xun held higher authority.
"Clang—!"
The coarse ceramic bowl slammed onto the rammed earth floor, shattering instantly.
Muddy soup and several pieces of chicken splashed out, spreading into an ugly grease stain in the dust.
Jiang Wanxing shuddered violently, as if struck by a whip, her face instantly turning as pale as paper.
Jiang Xun stood up, looking down at her. There was no anger in his eyes, but his gaze was suffocating nonetheless.
"Well?" he spoke, his voice not loud, but every word carried weight.
"Do you think that after drinking that bowl of chicken soup last night, I didn't notice anything unusual?"
"Are you still naive enough to think that the current one is clean?"
Jiang Wanxing looked up, her lips trembling. Tears instantly filled her eyes, yet she still forced herself to shake her head, her voice quivering:
"N-No... Brother, I didn't poison it..."
"I never said it was poison," Jiang Xun interrupted her, taking a step forward.
Jiang Wanxing froze from the chill in his words, her excuses stuck in her throat.
Jiang Xun had no patience for roundabout games of probing.
Instead of wasting effort on suspicion, it was better to pull the fuse out and see clearly.
He struck suddenly, moving with extreme speed.
The physical enhancement from the first level of Qi Refining made his movements far exceed those of an ordinary person.
Jiang Wanxing didn't even see it clearly; she only felt a tightening around her neck as a cold hand gripped her slender throat.
The strength was perfectly controlled—not enough to suffocate her, but enough to make her feel the pressure of death and the terror of being unable to break free.
"Speak."
Jiang Xun stared into her pupils, which were dilated with fear, clearly reflecting his own cold face. "What was added to the soup last night? Who gave it to you? Why?"
Large tears finally rolled down, sliding over the back of Jiang Xun's hand—warm at first, then quickly turning cold.
With her throat gripped, Jiang Wanxing found it hard to breathe, her cheeks flushing red.
Yet she only wept, biting her lower lip hard, refusing to utter a single word.
Jiang Xun's eyes darkened slightly.
This girl's silence was more chilling than a direct confession.
His fingers tightened slightly, his voice dropping lower and becoming heavier. "You won't talk? Fine. I'll take you to the Chunxiang Courtyard on South Street right now."
"The madam should quite like someone like you—appearing obedient but having such a stubborn spirit."
The words "Chunxiang Courtyard" were like a red-hot branding iron, searing Jiang Wanxing's heart.
She trembled violently, the shell of silence she had been maintaining instantly shattering.
Fear completely overwhelmed her. She let out a sob, no longer weeping silently but wailing in a breakdown.
"No... No! Brother! Don't sell me! I'll talk! I'll talk..."
Jiang Xun loosened his grip slightly but didn't let go completely, merely watching her with cold eyes.
Sobbing, Jiang Wanxing began to confess in a fragmented and incoherent manner:
"Yesterday morning, I went to the river to do laundry. I heard Auntie Liu's husband say... say that you owed 'Lord Tiger' a lot of money, and with the compounding interest, you could never pay it back."
"He said if it wasn't paid by sunset, they would cut off your hand. And he said... said you planned... planned to sell me to a brothel to settle the debt."
As she spoke, her body shook even more violently.
"I was scared... I'm so afraid of going to a place like that." Her voice dropped, carrying a chilling hollowness.
"I thought if I had to go to such a place, it would be better to just die and be done with it..."
Jiang Xun's heart slowly sank.
"So, you were going to take me down with you?"
"No, I was just too scared. I was afraid of walking the path to the Yellow Springs alone."
Jiang Wanxing raised her tearful eyes, her gaze a mix of despair, dependency, and a twisted obsession as she stared straight at Jiang Xun.
"Brother, I thought that if we could go together, I wouldn't be afraid. You said you would always stay by my side. I didn't want to go alone."
After saying this, Jiang Wanxing burst into loud sobs.
Her original plan was to wait for Jiang Xun to die, then lie down beside him and take the remaining poison herself.
However, the medicine was too crude and weak, only taking effect by midnight, which provided the opportunity for Jiang Xun's Transmigration.
After hearing all this, Jiang Xun fell silent.
He looked at the girl before him, sobbing breathlessly and so frail she looked like she might break, yet a chill inexplicably ran down his spine.
Just because of some rumors, she was willing to kill the brother she depended on?
It seemed his sister's personality was quite sinister!
Jiang Xun slowly released his hand from her neck.
Jiang Wanxing slumped to the ground, clutching her neck and coughing violently.
Tears still hung on her face, but she didn't dare cry loudly anymore, only letting out small, animal-like whimpers.
Jiang Xun squatted in front of her, looking directly into her reddened eyes.
He offered no comfort, only speaking clearly and slowly in a matter-of-fact tone:
"Jiang Wanxing, listen to me clearly."
"My father picked you up from the mountains. From that day on, you have been a member of the Jiang family, you are my... sister."
He paused briefly, skipping over a more direct term. "As long as I don't want to throw you away, you must stay by my side. You can't go anywhere, and you can't get rid of me."
"So, don't spend all day worrying that I'll sell you. I have no such intention."
Jiang Xun believed only this kind of forceful attitude could dispel her fear.
Jiang Wanxing stared at him blankly, her tears forgotten. She didn't seem to have fully processed his words, but that phrase "can't get rid of me" strangely struck a hidden longing deep within her, one she might not have even realized herself.
An abnormal flush slowly rose to her pale cheeks, and her fingers curled up unconsciously.
But she soon remembered something and asked timidly, with deep confusion, "Then... then what about last night, Brother..."
Jiang Xun's heart skipped a beat.
This was the most critical question. If he had no such intention, why did he enter someone else's room at midnight to tie them up?
Maintaining a straight face, he brushed it off with a flat tone, even adding a touch of well-timed annoyance:
"Who knows? Perhaps that drugged chicken soup of yours muddled my head! Even now, I still feel a bit dazed thinking about it!"
Having said that, he no longer looked at Jiang Wanxing's reaction and quickly stood up. As if to hide his slight awkwardness, he walked straight out of the house.
That was close!
According to Jiang Wanxing's account, if he had chosen the other two options last night, he might not have woken up this morning.
Just as he pushed open the creaking, broken wooden door and before he could see the courtyard clearly, a tall, sturdy figure blocked the doorway, nearly colliding with him.
The newcomer was a middle-aged man in his early thirties with dark, rough skin. He wore a decent grey cloth jacket, and his eyes held the shrewdness of a long-time manager, along with a hint of condescension.
It was Zhao Peng, the son of Village Chief Zhao Laosuan.
Zhao Peng glanced at the mess inside the room and at Jiang Wanxing, who was looking over timidly with red eyes. He couldn't help but frown, but he didn't ask further. Instead, he turned to Jiang Xun and spoke in a businesslike manner:
"Jiang Xun, I was just looking for you. The tribute list for each household this month has been issued."
He pulled out a ledger and waved it in front of Jiang Xun's eyes; it listed the names and populations of every household.
"Before the end of the month, your family needs to hand over ten stalks of chixin grass, and the quality must be at least medium.
Same old rules: if you can't submit them or if they're underweight,"
Zhao Peng paused, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Xun with pointed meaning, "it will be deducted from your money and grain, or... penal labor."
chixin grass?
Relevant information immediately jumped into Jiang Xun's memory.
A low-level Spiritual Plant that grew in the damp, shaded areas of the nearby mountains, it was a supplementary ingredient for refining several types of basic Medicinal Pills.
It wasn't easy to collect, often accompanied by poisonous insects, and required certain identification skills; otherwise, if one picked a similar poisonous weed, they wouldn't even know how they died.
After delivering the message, Zhao Peng didn't stay. He turned to leave, but after a couple of steps, he looked back and glanced at Jiang Xun, adding with a faint smile:
"By the way, I heard you owe Lord Tiger some silver? Weigh your options carefully and decide which to prioritize. At the end of the month, the Immortal Master is coming in person to collect the grass. There can be no delays."
Zhao Peng then let out a couple of cold laughs.
"I'll be waiting for your sister at the Chunxiang Courtyard."
With that, he finally strode away.
Jiang Xun clenched his fists, his eyes burning with rage. "Bastard!"
Not just because he was eyeing his sister, but also because this Zhao Peng was the culprit who had set him up.