Chapter 243 Interrogation
Pan Yun smiled and said, "Feed the insects. Don't you know that there are many insects in this forest because there are too many corpses? According to my observation, there are centipedes, horseflies, ticks, and poisonous ants. You have fed them well in the past few years. They are familiar with your scent. I want to try and see if they prefer to eat the flesh and blood of corpses, or clean steamed buns... and the flesh and blood of living people?"

Song Bei's muscles trembled involuntarily, and his lips turned pale. "Pan Sanzhu, I have no grudge against you, why are you so vicious to me?"

Pan Yun crushed the steamed bun in his hand expressionlessly and said, "Who said we have no grievances or hatreds? You killed my compatriots and looted my brothers and sisters. Such a huge national hatred is here, and you turned a blind eye to it."

Song Bei sneered, "Seven or eight out of ten pirates in your country are from the Ming Dynasty. You don't hate those big forces, but resent us small forces. It shows that you are bullying the weak and afraid of the strong."

Pan Yun: "That's our country's internal affairs. What does it have to do with you, an outsider?"

Pan Yun looked down at him and warned him quietly, "Mind your own business. Don't interfere in other people's affairs. Don't even think about taking advantage of others' misfortunes, breaking into their homes to steal things, or even occupying their homes. Be careful or you'll be doomed."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

A chill came over me.

Including Song Bei, all the stripped Japanese had only a small piece of cloth underwear on their bodies. When the cold wind blew, they felt the chill going through their bones.

Song Bei hurriedly called her over, his expression changed several times before returning to a gentle tone, and he said, "Please give me a set of clothes to keep warm, Mr. Sanzhu."

Pan Jun looked back at him and laughed after a moment, "I forgot, you seem to be very afraid of catching a cold. Yes, if you accidentally catch a cold, you will die."

In the Ming Dynasty, although medicine had developed, the mortality rate from colds was still high, especially in Japan.

With Japan's medical technology, if its citizens catch a cold, they are basically waiting to die.

Pan Yun found a bundle from his carriage and threw it beside him.

But his whole body was tied up, and apart from being able to straighten his upper body slightly, he could not move at all, especially his hands were tied behind his back, so he tried hard to reach it but failed.

Pan Yun squatted beside the bundle and said, "Song Beijun, let's have a chat. I'll ask you questions and you'll answer them. If I think your answers are sincere and you're telling the truth, I'll give you a piece of clothing. How about that?"

Song Bei looked at her, "Mr. Sanzhu doesn't look like someone from the Ming Dynasty at all."

Pan Yun nodded, "I know that most of the people in the Ming Dynasty are kind and tolerant. Even if they hate you pirates, they can't help but feel sympathy when they see you in trouble. It's a pity that I didn't inherit their good qualities. In terms of cruelty, I am like you."

"No, you are shameless," Song Beiping narrated calmly, "I thought that although there were some conflicts between us regarding family and country, there was some friendship between you and me personally."

"When you were in trouble when you entered the city, I reminded you. When we met again at Ping'an Inn, I took care of you. No matter how I treated others, I was good to you and I sincerely wanted to cooperate with you."

"You used the money you stole from my family to hire me to deliver weapons to you, and then you used the weapons to kill my relatives and rob my property. Do you think that since you paid, I should be grateful to you?"

Song Bei choked.

Zhu Zixun, who was standing by, heard this and fell to the ground with a feeling of despair, relaxed his limbs and looked up at the sky.

Pan Yun's words made him doubt himself. Was he really wrong? And so wrong?
Pan Yun opened the bundle, picked out an inner garment and said, "I'll give you ten breaths to think about it. If you agree, then continue. If you don't agree, I'll leave. I'm very busy."

She smiled gently and said, "It's just a gust of cold wind. You may not catch a cold. Why don't you take a gamble, Song Beijun?"

She looked up at the clouds in the sky, shook her head and said, "The north wind was strong all night. I calculated with my fingers that there will be a strong wind tonight, and it will be a north wind~~"

Then she began to count, "Ten, nine..."

Song Bei clenched his fists nervously. If it was anyone else, he might just pretend to be nice and then make up some lies to deceive him. But this was a Taoist priest, and one who seemed to be accomplished in cultivation and magic.

She was able to recognize him as a Japanese at first sight. He didn't think there was anything wrong with his disguise. That was a matter of metaphysics.

So he didn't dare to gamble. He clearly felt that once he agreed, he would have no way back. He couldn't lie or even back out easily.

"Six, three..."

Song Bei's eyes widened and he asked, "Where are Five and Four?"

Pan Jun looked at him with a half-smile, continued counting, and even quickened his pace, "Two, one..."

"I promise you," Song Bei's words almost overlapped with Pan Yun's "one".

Pan Yun snorted and said, "What a pity that you snatched it away. I just suddenly remembered that you Gray Guards were only acupunctured and tied up, not mute. If you don't tell them, it will be the same if you ask them."

"Not everyone is so steadfast that they can endure the cold and the bites of insects and ants."

Song Bei was silent. The gray-clothed guard who was tied up and thrown aside could only look at Pan Jun, trying to convey his meaning. Unfortunately, his look was too complicated for Pan Jun to understand.

She exclaimed, "Ah!" and laughed. "I suddenly thought of a fun game. I will seal their hearing now so that none of them can hear us talking. After I have asked you, I will ask them. This way, we can tell who is lying and who is telling the truth." "For those who tell the truth, I will reward them with clothes that will not be eaten by insects and ants. For those who lie, I will cut a hole in their body and put a bug in it. How about that?"

The more Pan Yun talked, the better he thought this method was. He took out the insect-attracting powder that Miao He had made earlier and said to the tree nearby, "Pan Xiaohei, how long are you going to hide up there?"

Pan Xiaohei walked out slowly from behind the leaves, jumped a few times and looked at her quietly.

Pan Yun handed the insect-attracting powder to it and said, "I have never seen a cat more afraid of death than you. Take this packet of medicine and attract some insects. Remember, they have to be poisonous insects."

Pan Xiaohei looked at the medicine bag with disdain, but he had indeed hidden during the entire battle and felt a little guilty, so he picked up the medicine bag and walked into the woods.

As soon as she left, Pan Jun looked at Song Bei with a smile, "Mr. Song Bei, can we continue?"

Song Bei said expressionlessly: "Ask."

"My question is very simple, just a small talk. For this piece of underwear, I want to know Song Beijun's real name and family background."

Song Bei paused for a moment and then said, "My name is Kikuchi Takeuchi, and my Kikuchi family is a powerful family in the Muromachi shogunate..."

Pan Yun had a blank expression on his face. He just listened. Would a real wealthy family come to become pirates?

Even if it is, they are a wealthy family in trouble, right?
The Kikuchi family is really in trouble.

Since the death of Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Japan has been in semi-chaos, with struggles occurring every time power changes.

Fifteen years ago, Ashikaga Yoshimochi died of a serious illness. After his death, the Kikuchi family participated in the political competition. In the end, the team they stood on lost and the Kikuchi family was liquidated.

At the age of twelve, Kikuchi Takehoku escaped from Kyoto and was forced to become a ronin.

He crossed the sea and came to Ming Dynasty that winter.

"I have been here for fifteen years. I regard this place as my second hometown," Song Bei said. "After all, I have been here longer than in my hometown. I didn't expect that after so many years, I still can't get the recognition of the people here."

Pan Yun: "You rob me and at the same time you want me to admit that you are my compatriot? I am a normal person."

Pan Yun was very satisfied with his answer. Although she knew that he omitted a lot of important things, it didn't matter. She still had plenty of time and many hostages, so she could interrogate him slowly.

She threw her undergarment on him.

Song Bei moved his body and found that he couldn't reach the clothes, let alone put them on, so he looked at Pan Yun, "Mr. Sanzhu, can you help me untie the rope on my hands so that I can put on my clothes?"

"Yes, but this is a different price," Pan Yun said with a smile: "In exchange for it, where do you send these horizontal swords, muskets and gunpowder you purchased?"

Song Bei paused for a moment and then said, "I sold it to other pirates. Sanzhu Jun, we rarely do plundering. If you don't believe me, ask Ah Xin. He is a man of integrity and kindness. If I were to plunder, why would he follow me?"

He said, "I only do smuggling business."

Pan Jun looked at him quietly, with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Really." Song Bei was afraid that she would not believe him, so he hurried to look at Ah Xin. "Ask Ah Xin. We have a pass, a household registration, and everything. Most of the people in the caravan are from the Ming Dynasty. We have money, so we buy the goods directly and then smuggle them to the sea to trade with others."

Although Ah Xin was sad that he was Japanese, he still nodded and said, "Yes, we sometimes robbed things, but we always robbed merchants and imperial ships at sea, and never robbed ordinary people on land."

Pan Yun smiled at Ashin and said, "You didn't lie."

Then he turned his head to look at Song Bei, poked him gently on the forehead with his sword, forced him to lie on the ground, and said with a smile: "Naughty, how can you lie to me? The injustice on you can't be washed away even if you soak in the sea for a hundred years. Who does business like you? Even smuggling is impossible."

Song Bei dared not move, his head pressed tightly against the ground, fearing that the tip of the sword would pierce his head directly.

Seeing that his forehead and neck were sweating in the cold weather, Pan Yun drew back the sword, looked at his forehead and said, "It's broken. I'll release a gadfly to suck your blood later."

Song Bei: ...

Pan Yun said: "If you don't want to answer this question, forget it, let's go to the next one..."

Song Bei was silent for a moment and then said, "Most of the things were transported back to the mainland, and some were placed on a large island."

Pan Yun laughed, "That's honest. What rank are you in charge of?"

Song Bei was silent again, and after a while he said, "Three."

(End of this chapter)