"I see."
Shen Luolun and Lan Yan nodded.
One thing had led to another, with quite a few twists and turns.
"Then you really have done every evil under the sun."
"Sure enough, a woman's heart is the most vicious of all."
Shen Luolun nudged Yinyue's shoulder with his foot.
"You-!"
Yinyue glared at him furiously.
"What are you glaring at? A prisoner has no right to talk back. Oh, still not giving in, are you? How about I call you something else, you little bitch?"
What?!
Yinyue's eyes widened.
A bitch?
He actually called her a bitch?
That was even more insulting than calling her a sow!
"I'll bite you to death!"
Yinyue was so furious that she stopped talking about killing him and lunged at his calf with her mouth open.
Shen Luolun hurriedly jumped back, narrowly avoiding her bite.
"Stop it, both of you."
Lan Yan couldn't stand watching anymore.
Once again, she stepped between them and took one side in the fight.
"Both of you, be quiet."
"It's bad enough that she's acting up. Why are you joining in?"
Yinyue immediately felt wronged. That bastard had provoked her first, so how could Lan Yan call her out for acting up first?
"This is reasonable prisoner discipline. Ever heard of a compliance test?" a certain someone argued.
"You're still talking?"
Lan Yan punched him in the chest twice in exasperation.
Did he think her eyes were just for show?
Was that a compliance test? He was clearly humiliating her on purpose.
The kindhearted, straightforward young lady Lan couldn't bear to see him humiliate a woman like that, even if she was a criminal.
After all, girls help girls.
Couldn't he at least find a little dark room and do it out of her sight? Honestly.
Shen Luolun cried out in pain and finally settled down, leaving Yinyue alone.
"Su Qing has finished. Now it's your turn," Lan Yan said to Yinyue.
"Me?" Yinyue froze.
"Who else? Prisoners don't get to skip interrogation."
"What exactly was this medicinal herb deal you discussed with Manager Su Qing? If it was just ordinary herbs, the manager wouldn't have needed to risk the lives of everyone on a ship, and you wouldn't have needed to promise Su Qing the manager's position in exchange for his service."
Yinyue's gaze darted away.
"What? You don't want to talk?" Lan Yan asked again.
"I..." Yinyue lowered her head.
"Hmph!"
Seeing this, Shen Luolun started rubbing his hands together again.
"I'll have to handle this!"
"I'll make her talk."
Lan Yan: →_→
"What are you planning now? Better to die than be humiliated. Stop thinking about humiliating women all the time. Watching too much of it gives me heartburn."
"Hey, hey, what do you take me for? How could I possibly disrespect women? Everyone online knows I respect women more than anyone."
Shen Luolun spoke with a righteous expression.
"Ever since I was little, I've helped little girls cross the street, given lollipops to old grannies, and often provided financial support to impoverished women, helping them escape their suffering."
"I've done so many good deeds. Who dares say I disrespect women?!"
Lan Yan sneered and waved her fair little fist.
"Are you kidding me?"
Who did good deeds the wrong way around? Especially that part about supporting impoverished women-the more she heard, the more suspicious it sounded.
Millelith: Oh, there's a new version now.
She couldn't help growing suspicious.
"You get all fired up as soon as you see her. Could it be you're lusting after her body?"
Yinyue jerked her head up, her eyes full of panic.
"Huh?" Shen Luolun was startled.
"No, what are you thinking? How could I possibly be interested in a tall, big-breasted woman like her?"
"She's already old. She couldn't electrocute anyone."
Lan Yan delivered a chop to the back of his head.
"No saying weird things!"
"Ow..."
Shen Luolun clutched the bump on his head, looking aggrieved.
How many times had she hit him by now?
Did every girl bestie turn into a violent woman when she grew up?
Wow, that was terrifying.
They were better as lolis: delicate, soft, and easy to push over (push over as in a wrestling game, don't get the wrong idea), easy to fool-cough, no, easy to talk to. They wouldn't just hit people whenever they felt like it. Even if you called them mommy, they wouldn't call you a pervert, but would seriously consider how to be a good mommy.
So lolis were the best (*^▽^*).
Officer: Turn up the voltage for me!
Fairy, charge me up! (Joy)
Huh? How did Zenless Zone Zero get involved too?
Shen Luolun shook his head and cleared away the stray thoughts.
"I was just excited at the sight of prey. I really don't have any other thoughts, so don't misunderstand."
He was telling the truth.
He only wanted to torment and toy with villains, venting some of the darker desires in his heart (not lust).
As it happened, Yinyue was just such a villain, a tiger brought low, perfectly matching his requirements.
If he didn't take the chance to bully her, who else would he bully?
"Excited at the sight of prey? I can't shake the feeling you have dangerous ideas. No!"
The girl crossed her arms in an X, forbidding Shen Luolun from getting involved.
"Tch~ Fine, interrogate her yourself." Shen Luolun curled his lip.
Lan Yan looked at Yinyue.
"I've placed a restriction on you, and I already told you to cooperate. If you don't want to do this the dignified way, I'll help you be 'dignified.'"
"I don't want to use force, but that doesn't mean I won't. Understand?"
Hearing Lan Yan's words, Yinyue couldn't help wavering.
She knew Lan Yan wasn't a bad person but a good girl. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so patient with her or left her some measure of human dignity. It was just...
At the thought of what would happen if the secret got out, Yinyue's heart tightened.
"Just some precious, rare medicinal herbs," she answered, keeping her voice as calm as she could.
"Rare medicinal herbs?" Lan Yan raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. Someone needed that batch of herbs, so we looked for ways to gather them. That's why we targeted the Yunchuan Pharmacy."
"Why? What did the Yunchuan Pharmacy ever do to you?" Su Qing asked angrily.
Yinyue glanced at him and said slowly:
"Because the Yunchuan Pharmacy's manager was famously greedy and couldn't resist money! He even penny-pinched on his employees' wages and failed to pay them properly. He went so far as to say he'd rather feed his money to dogs than pay for his workers' insurance. Only someone like that would risk working with the Treasure Hoarders."
Su Qing's face flushed red. He wanted to say something, but couldn't get the words out.
Yinyue continued:
"As it turned out, I was right. He accepted the commission without much hesitation."
"But his greed didn't mean he'd let his guard down. I knew he was wary of us all along and didn't want any ties to us. After all, the Treasure Hoarders really don't have a good reputation in outsiders' eyes. If anyone found out, not only would his reputation be ruined, he might even end up in prison."
"So he wanted to eliminate every possible risk, such as you, Su Qing, and those sailors."
"I believe that before the ship set sail, he not only kept the truth from you, but also promised you plenty of benefits so you'd work without worrying, right?"
"Only hardworking beasts of burden like you would believe a miserly boss had suddenly seen the light."
"If he'd been working with someone other than me, you might really have died without a burial place."
Su Qing's face darkened, and he instinctively clenched his fists.
"He wanted me to kill you all to keep you quiet, claiming that way no one would know about the deal and it would benefit both sides."
"Heh, of course I didn't believe his nonsense. I only had to think about it for a moment to see exactly what he was after."
"He just wanted to kill with a borrowed knife, and even pin the blame on us, while earning himself a pitiable 'good name.'"
"I refused to give him what he wanted. Instead, I spared your lives, and you became our leverage over him."
Yinyue seemed to remember something and chuckled.
"Oh, right. Did you think you escaped because you were lucky? Heh, I let you go on purpose. I wanted you to see him and give him a scare, knock some of that self-assurance out of him, and lay the groundwork for our next meeting."
"Otherwise, with your half-baked skills, I could have killed you with a single lash. You think you could have escaped?"
Su Qing: ...
He was truly speechless. Those two sneaky bastards had schemed against him back and forth. Had he become a toy in their hands? Was there no justice left?!
(I broke up with my girlfriend yesterday and wasn't feeling well, so I didn't update. I'll make up for it today. Sigh.)