The old man finally let out a massive sigh of relief and slumped to the ground. After a good while, he knelt and kowtowed to Jiang Jin, Thank you, my lady, for saving my foolish grandson's life.
He then kowtowed to Xie Nanxiao, Thank you, young master, for saving my foolish grandson's life.
The young boy also snapped back to reality, kneeling down and kowtowing to the two of them.
Jiang Jin had a rough idea of what had happened, but she still asked, Get up first, and tell me what the situation is.
The old man wiped his tears and, with the boy's support, stood up shakily. He is a bandit from the mountains, named Datou.
Datou was on the night watch last night, but he was accustomed to slacking off. Since he was guarding the end of the village where very few people went, he just found a haystack, burrowed into it, and fell asleep.
When he was woken up by the noise, he saw Xie Nanxiao leading men to block the exit at the end of the village, while Jiang Jin was leading people to massacre the bandits in the village. This scared him half to death.
Running was out of the question. These people were searching every house and every corner, killing any able-bodied young man they saw.
At the same time, he noticed that as long as someone wasn't an able-bodied young man, this group would spare them.
In a moment of desperation, he had a bright idea. He rolled on the ground, making his clothes and face dirty and disheveled.
Just then, he saw the old man and the boy. He dashed forward, took the boy hostage with a dagger, and forced the two to help him cover up his identity.
Datou knew very well that he couldn't escape, so he could only disguise himself as an innocent civilian captured and brought up the mountain, hoping to bluff his way through and find a chance to escape later.
The boy was the old man's grandson and his only living relative. Just as Datou had expected, the old man was easily manipulated by him.
Thus, Datou pretended to have a crippled leg, making it look like the boy was supporting him as he walked, but in reality, his dagger was pressed against the boy's waist the entire time.
At that time, the sky was just beginning to lighten, making it hard to see clearly. When the soldiers came to capture the three of them, they really didn't notice anything wrong.
Coupled with the fact that there wasn't enough rope, those captured later weren't tied up. This gave him an opportunity and led to this incident.
Everyone else was panicked and keeping their heads down, so naturally, no one noticed that a bandit had infiltrated their ranks.
After briefly explaining the situation, the old man knelt down again to beg for mercy. My lady, I... I was also forced. If you must kill someone, kill me. Please spare my grandson.
The boy knelt beside him and spoke for the first time, It was me. I was a coward. It has nothing to do with my grandpa. If you must kill someone, kill me.
Get up. Jiang Jin didn't intend to blame them; it was just human instinct.
She looked around at the crowd and said loudly, Everyone, raise your heads. Look around to see if there are any bandits or evildoers among you. Those who report them will be rewarded.
The old man and the boy were the first to respond to her words. This was a chance to make amends, and they scanned the crowd with their eyes.
The others followed suit, their eyes darting as they looked left and right.
The old man pressed his lips tightly together, hesitated for a moment, and then pointed at a man and a woman. They have committed evil deeds.
Jiang Jin raised an eyebrow and looked at the two people he pointed out.
The man was in his twenties, and the woman was about seventeen or eighteen. Seeing the old man pointing at them, they were startled and immediately retorted.
Di Gui, don't spit venom! We are all suffering people who were kidnapped and enslaved by the bandits. How could we commit evil deeds?
The woman chimed in, Exactly! I... I am bullied and humiliated by the bandits every day. Who could I possibly do evil to?
The old man, Di Gui, shook his head. Zhang Yong, it's true that you were kidnapped and brought up the mountain, but your sister Zhang Shui, relying on her good looks, once caused the death of a woman.
The bandits once abducted a gentle and beautiful woman. She was very much favored by the bandit boss, who even neglected Zhang Shui during that time.
Because of her beauty and sweet voice, Zhang Shui had been exclusively favored by the boss ever since she was brought up the mountain, unlike the other women who had to serve several men.
This was also the reason why Zhang Yong, despite being an able-bodied young man, only had one leg broken instead of being killed.
Out of jealousy, Zhang Shui would secretly torment and humiliate the woman. Finally, taking advantage of a time when the woman went up the mountain to gather firewood, she pushed her down a steep slope.
The women on the mountain also had to work during the day and serve the bandits at night.
At the time, this was witnessed by the boy, Di Gui's grandson, Di Shu. Zhang Shui even hypocritically screamed in alarm, telling people to save the woman.
Unfortunately, the woman had fallen, smashing her head and passing out in a pool of blood. She died that very night.
Afterward, Di Shu secretly told Di Gui what had happened.
Di Gui could only sigh. They couldn't even protect themselves, so naturally, they didn't want to cause trouble, and the matter was kept quiet.
Besides, no matter how much the bandit boss liked the woman, she was just a plaything to him. No one cared about the life or death of a plaything.
Relying on Zhang Shui's favor with the boss, Zhang Yong often threw his weight around among the old and weak servants.
It was bad enough that he forced them to do the work assigned to him by the bandits, but he also humiliated several women from the village.
As soon as Di Gui finished speaking, several people immediately chimed in to recount Zhang Yong's various evil deeds.
Jiang Jin waved her hand. Kill them.
Zhang Yong was terrified and hurriedly knelt down to beg for mercy. My lady, my lady, I... I was wrong, but I haven't killed anyone! I... my crimes don't deserve death! I'll change, I'll change...
Zhang Shui went weak at the knees, kneeling on the ground and pitifully begging Xie Nanxiao, who was closest to her. Young master, save me! Young master, save me!
Xie Nanxiao looked down at her.
Zhang Shui's face lit up with joy. She revealed a soft smile and spoke in a sweet voice, Young master, I beg you.
Xie Nanxiao raised the blade in his hand and plunged it straight into Zhang Shui's heart.
Before Zhang Shui could drop her delicate expression, her eyes widened as she looked down at the blade in her chest.
Zhang Yong was also dragged to the side by a soldier and dispatched with a single strike.
Jiang Jin looked around the crowd and, making sure no one else was stepping forward to report, spoke, The bandits have been completely wiped out by us. Logically speaking, you are now my slaves.
However, I don't like to force people against their will. You now have two choices. The first is to become my people and work for me from now on, and I will guarantee you food and clothing.
Second, you may leave on your own. I will give you half a quarter of an hour to consider.
The crowd looked at each other in dismay, unsure of what to do.
Di Gui was the first to make a choice. He stepped forward with Di Shu. My lady, I am willing to go with you.
Jiang Jin nodded. Good.
Seeing someone take the lead, the others quickly made their choices. Apart from five people who wanted to go find their relatives, everyone else was willing to follow Jiang Jin.
Jiang Jin had her people give the five individuals ten catties of coarse grain each. There was no more to give; she had already done her utmost out of benevolence and righteousness.
But by the same token, these five people had to wait until her group departed before they could leave.
The five naturally did not dare to object and obediently nodded in agreement.
When Jiang Jin led her mighty contingent down the mountain to the official road, Yao Ji was already waiting there with his men.
To Jiang Jin's surprise, standing together with Yao Ji and Dong Si was a strange man.
Jiang Jin frowned. She was certain she didn't know this man, but he looked somewhat familiar.
