Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Lies
Jima glanced around.
Strangers, unfamiliar languages, strange streets and environments made her feel somewhat timid.
She still hated communicating with people.
Jima’s gaze shifted back and forth among several male citizens before finally settling on a female citizen. She wore a drab gray dress, thick and puffy in its make, and had a grayish-white headscarf that revealed a few strands of brown hair.
Jima opened her mouth slightly, several titles popping into her mind.
Call her beautiful? That would be too forward, this isn’t modern society. Call her aunt? She might be a young woman and find it offensive. Call her sister? She looked more like an older woman and might think I’m mocking her?
What a headache.
In the end, Jima said:
“Good day, do you happen to know where I can practice dance in White City?”
The woman turned her face toward Jima. She was thin but appeared well-nourished. Her face seemed waxy and dull from the wear of daily life, and she carried a basket of bread covered with a white cloth.
She appeared to be a housewife responsible for food.
The brown-haired woman glanced up and down at Jima, who was thoroughly covered in her hooded cloak and looked out of place among the others. There was a moment of vigilance in her eyes, and then she noticed Jima’s chin, which was half-hidden by the hood, smooth, with tight, even skin, stirring up a twinge of jealousy.
She cautiously raised her hand and said, “I don’t know, and I don’t want to buy anything, goodbye.”
“You look like you should be a local.”
If she asked someone else, I should be able to find a place to practice dance.
“Yes, but that has nothing to do with you.”
The brown-haired woman said and was about to leave.
Jima lowered her hood, revealing her slick black hair, beautiful face, and large golden eyes that shone with light.
The brown-haired woman couldn’t help but be drawn in by Jima’s appearance.
Seizing the opportunity, Jima exercised her charm; it was her first time using this extraordinary ability.
Using “charm” felt like pulling back a bowstring. She instinctively sensed that the tighter she pulled the bowstring, the stronger the effect of the charm.
The brown-haired woman was unaware that she was about to become Jima’s first test subject.
To prevent any accidents, Jima gently pulled on the “bowstring” and relaxed her hand. She felt a slight warmth in her eyes, and the wariness on the brown-haired woman’s face melted away at a visible speed.
The brown-haired woman only felt that the black-haired girl before her, although dressed strangely with an accent clearly not local, was very beautiful and looked like a spy here to gather intelligence. However, her gaze was warm and pure, melting the woman’s heart and creating a fondness for her.
Jima asked, “Can you help me?”
A friendly smile appeared on the brown-haired woman’s face:
“Of course, we people in White City are very kind.”
Jima silently noted that charm was effective on women and that a little bit of force could make ordinary people like her.
“Then thank you.”
“I just need to go home first, to put the bread away.” The brown-haired woman lowered her head, looking at Jima, increasingly finding her cute and likable, and said, “Never mind, it won’t hurt my useless son to be hungry for a while.”
As she spoke, the brown-haired woman led Jima down the street.
“Where are we going?”
“To the commercial area. I’ll ask around; someone must know where to learn dancing.” The brown-haired woman said, “Little sister, where are you from?”
“Me?” Jima said, “I don’t want to say yet.”
“Come on.” The brown-haired woman urged, “Who brought you to White City? You look so beautiful; surely your parents are noble?”
Jima hated this kind of questioning about her background. She remembered when she returned home during holidays, how a familiar face next door would immediately ask where she worked, what she was doing back, and how much she earned.
Jima lied, “Well, my parents often educate me not to tell others about our family matters.”
“At your age, they still see you as a child.” The brown-haired woman remarked, “Don’t they hire a teacher for you directly and instead ask you to find one yourself?”
Jima began to feel a headache.
It seemed in this backward world, there were very few places like modern ones that had dance training institutions where a bunch of people danced together.
Jima put on a serious expression: “I’m almost an adult, and I have my own money to manage.”
“How much?”
Jima wanted to snap at her but refrained, remaining silent.
The brown-haired woman, seemingly oblivious, continued to ask, “Huh? How much exactly? By the way, where does your family live? Did your parents just move here?”
Jima took a deep breath.
It was probably the side effect of charm, bringing their relationship too close…
Jima said, “Actually, my parents have…they entrusted me to a distant relative living in the cathedral.”
“I’m very sorry.” The brown-haired woman said, “How does that relative treat you?”
“Very well.” Jima replied, “He is single and male.”
“Male?” The brown-haired woman raised her voice slightly, “Is he the only one at home? You should be careful.”
“I’m not afraid.” Jima said, “He has two girlfriends, one with large breasts and the other with long legs. They often hang out together and sometimes make some funny noises.”
The brown-haired woman instinctively tightened her grip on her collar and asked, “What does he do?”
“It seems he works for the cathedral, helping with, uh, something like cutting down people.”
The brown-haired woman said, “Then he must be doing quite well. Little sister, you should treat your distant relative better.”
“Huh?”
“Since your parents entrusted you to him, it shows he has good character, and the cathedral treats him well.” The brown-haired woman said earnestly, “Parents’ inheritance won’t last long; as a girl in a strange place, it’s better to rely more on your distant relative.”
“Oh, I remember.” I will work hard to leverage that relationship.
Before long, the two arrived at the commercial area. It seemed the people of White City were influenced by that group of square-headed cathedral personnel. The entire commercial area was composed of one white square stone house after another, symmetrically aligned with the entrance as the center.
The pathways were wide, and the entrance was artificially divided into three parts, separated by pillars. Above them hung three signs: “Pedestrian Path,” “Horse Riding Path,” and “Truck Path.”
Various animals loaded with goods lined up in a long queue before the “Horse Riding Path,” while the neighboring “Truck Path” was sparsely populated. A cart pulled by a horse carrying goods moved through the almost deserted horse path, entering the bustling commercial area.
Jima looked around but saw no one checking, so she asked, “Does nobody use the truck path? There are so few people, and no one is watching.”
The brown-haired woman said proudly, “We people of White City are very self-disciplined; only trucks can use the truck path.”
Jima noticed that many elegantly dressed horse riders were obediently queuing up in front of the horse riding path. She felt that the cathedral was the supreme authority in this city.
As soon as she stepped into the commercial area, Jima saw a sign that made her feel extremely displeased. It hung at the entrance of the commercial area, each character as big as a monkey, stating: “This area is under honest jurisdiction; no one can lie, please trade with confidence.”
The brown-haired woman became even prouder and said, “In other places, merchants are not as honest as in White City. By the way, little sister, what’s your name?”
She must have done it on purpose, waiting until now to ask.
Jima did not want to expose her real name; thanks to the cathedral’s public policies, her name had long spread, known as the seductive demon Jimo. If she said her name was Jima, she would most likely be exposed.
Jima attempted to lie, saying:
“My name is Qiao—”
A force obstructed her from saying the lie, but it was not as strong as expected. After all, Jima did not have the surname Qiao.
Seeing Jima falter, the brown-haired woman smiled and said:
“Don’t worry, little sister, I won’t harm you.”
Jima speculated that this widely used extraordinary power had a limited impact on her, someone inclined towards deceit.
Since the extraordinary power’s description was that as long as it could barely make sense, your lie could be convincing…
Why not give it a try?
In a flash of inspiration, she said: “I’m a girl, and Qiao is a pretty name for a girl, so they call me Qiao.”
This time, the jurisdiction of honesty did not obstruct Jima.
“Qiao? That’s a lovely name.” The brown-haired woman said, completely ignoring the nonsensical logic, “I’m called Brown Bess.”
So it seems that “as long as it barely makes sense” refers to this; she didn’t even notice that it was nonsense…
Her name was three characters long, too long to remember.
Jima said, “From now on, I’ll just call you Sister Brown.”
The brown-haired woman covered her face and laughed, saying, “Little Qiao, you really know how to tell a lie.”
The brown-haired woman became even more enthusiastic. She took Jima around the entire commercial area, finding several acquaintances and even inviting a stout shopkeeper to her home for dinner.
In the end, they gathered several places to learn dancing. The brown-haired woman compared various places, asking about their reputations, and was even more concerned than Jima.
She initially planned to try each one and if she encountered any underhanded schemes, she could perfectly use her extraordinary power to crush them, adding a touch of pleasure to her oppressed life.
“…The male dance teacher in the East District is good; he has performed for the king and is said to be gay. But perhaps he hasn’t met any attractive female students; one cannot let their guard down. By the way, little Qiao, is your home far from the commercial area?”
Jima, lost in thought, suddenly came to, saying: “Whether it’s close or far doesn’t matter; you don’t need to worry about that.”
“What do you think of Kristina in the commercial area? She’s an old dancer and a teacher in a troupe. She trains the troupe while taking on some side work teaching girls to dance.”
Jima smiled happily: “That’s great.”
She thoroughly enjoyed this feeling of being able to influence others with just a gentle use of her extraordinary ability, getting a total stranger to devote herself to her service.
Suddenly, the smile disappeared from the brown-haired woman’s face, and her expression hardened, every wrinkle on her face filled with aggression as she strode toward Jima.
Jima was first startled, doubting her lying ability, fearing something had gone wrong leading to a backlash.
The brown-haired woman moved past Jima, shouting at a nearby young man who was setting up a stall, “Are you stealing money from home again to set up a stall selling your worthless things? Is it easy for your dad to earn a bit of money?”
