However, as they were leaving, a young maidservant ran out of the village and knelt before them, pleading, "Honorable guests, please have mercy and take me with you!"

The little girl's kneeling sent chills down the spines of the Lin family.

They knew perfectly well that such a pretty little girl, who couldn't even protect herself, could not possibly have a good ending in such a chaotic world.

She looked to be only ten years old, not much older than Lin Jinyue. The Lin family felt somewhat sorry for her.

But……

One should always be wary of others.

Moreover, they were eager to check out the surrounding area, and if they encountered poisonous insects or snakes, they would have to go into the farm if necessary.

Judging from the girl's appearance, demeanor, and courage, one could tell she was raised by a wealthy family; ordinary merchants and rich households could not afford to raise a girl like her.

Lin Shucheng was about to speak when she suddenly knelt down.

"Please, please take me with you. I can do anything. I... I can fetch water and cook, and I can even read and do math. I have some jewelry and money on me, you can have it all..."

With that, the young girl steeled herself and said, "Master, I... I'll be your concubine or your bed warmer, whatever. Third Master Hei hasn't touched me yet, I'm still virgin..."

Lin Shucheng almost choked on his own saliva.

This little girl, who looked about the same age as her daughter, actually said she wanted to be his concubine.

Lin Shucheng froze.

He felt a little uneasy. These days, few families would send their daughters to school. She could read and do math, which showed that she had been pampered by her parents. If there were any other way, would this girl have said such a thing?

He sighed and looked at Lin Jinyue.

Lin Jinyue thought that since they had found a village nearby and had not encountered any danger on the way here, she decided to keep the little girl.

She also asked, "What's your name? Where are you from?"

The little girl said, "My name is Qiuyun, and my home is..."

Qiu Yun paused, then lowered her head and said softly, "My father's family is in the capital... I was kidnapped by human traffickers while I was out enjoying the Lantern Festival. If you can help me contact my family, my parents will definitely repay you."

Lin Shucheng waved his hand: "It's hard to say. If your family has some influence, I'll send you to Guangcheng to find the officials and contact your parents. If you come with us, the world is chaotic, the journey will be arduous, and you'll definitely never see your family again."

Qiu Yun's eyes were red, but she knew that Lin Shucheng had agreed to let her go with him.

Once kidnapped by human traffickers, it's virtually impossible for them to return unscathed to Guangcheng.

They eat people without spitting out the bones there.

Qiu Yun, her eyes red, said, "My lord, I'll go with you. I won't cause any trouble. I can endure hardship."

Lin Shucheng then said, "Alright, we'll take you with us, but it will be a tough journey... Also, don't ever say anything like 'be my concubine' again. You're about the same age as my daughter, and it's upsetting to hear."

Qiu Yun nodded and obediently left with Liu Dazhuang and the others.

Lin Shucheng stayed here to watch over the people getting food and rice, while Liu Dazhuang took the little girl and left first.

Lin Jinyue searched the area and found miasma and some wild beasts.

However, it is not difficult to solve.

Lin Jinyue told Liu the butcher and the others about the solution, and asked them to go back to the village and organize people to solve the problem.

After learning her lesson from the cold arrow at Langya Mountain, Lin Jinyue became much more cautious in her actions.

I use the binoculars to look around whenever I have free time.

The woods here are quite dense, making it difficult to see clearly, but Lin Jinyue did manage to spot a small village.

Since they were already here, and it wasn't convenient for them to go to Shawan County or Guangcheng right now, they figured they might as well gather some information nearby to find out what Prince Jing and Xie Hong were up to.

The villagers are very easy to talk to.

They really treated them like refugees who had fled famine.

Lin Jinyue watched her father chat with the villagers for a while without getting impatient.

I listened the whole time.

Before long, Lin Jinyue grasped the key point from their conversation: "Huai'an Town? What's so special about it? Are Huai'an Town the only place we refugees can go now?"

Aunt Wang then explained in detail: "Yes, Huai'an Town is good. You know the Red Turban Army, right? Huai'an Town is where they were stationed. Hey, we're just telling you this in secret, don't tell anyone else... We're just talking about this in private..."

However, she sighed again, "I heard there's another nice place, Yunhe Village, but those people are wanted by General Xie. We were about to leave this place and wanted to ask the village chief of Yunhe Village to take us in, but as soon as we finished packing, someone said that all those people in Yunhe Village were wanted."

Lin Jinyue and her father exchanged a glance.

The name "Red Turban Army" sounds familiar.

However, since the Red Turban Army dared to come to Lingnan, they would most likely cause trouble for the Gu family.

Lin Jinyue hoped that the Gu family could take over Lingnan as soon as possible, and that they should stay away from any rebels or incompetent fools.

She thought, since she and her father are here, why not just take care of all these people as well?

While we're at it, let's see if we can persuade them to join the Gu family army.

Lin Jinyue asked a few more questions. They had never met before, but Aunt Wang answered all her questions without reservation.

Lin Shucheng felt even more that these people were incredibly naive.

Even when Lin Jinyue expressed her desire to go to Huai'an Town, Aunt Wang wanted her son to take them there, fearing they wouldn't know the way.

After thanking Aunt Wang, he said, "No need to trouble you. I'll take my daughter with me. It might take a lot of time, so my daughter and I will go together."

Lin Shucheng did not let them follow, and he also became wary of Huai'an Town.

Something's wrong with this town.

After they left, they walked for a while. Lin Shucheng found a fake beard from somewhere and put it on. Lin Jinyue also deliberately blackened her face, quickly covering up her not-so-obvious beauty mark. She deliberately hunched over, and even her own father could hardly recognize her.

The horse was really eye-catching, even though they were dressed in coarse linen clothes, the kind of clothes people in the village wear.

Even in the city, only wealthy families would keep horses. Ordinary people would choose to buy oxen or mules. Horses were enough for pulling a cart, and buying an ox could also help plow the fields.

Horses are something farmers wouldn't even take for free. They don't use them regularly, but they have to be fed and cared for every day, and the feed they eat costs money.

When they were almost at the gate of Huai'an Town, seeing that there was no one around, Lin Jinyue put the horse into the farm.

Since Lin Jinyue had nothing better to do, she brought her father along to gather information.

The father and daughter found a somewhat secluded inn and booked only one room, so that Lin Jinyue could go to the farm to rest that night.

The soundproofing at this guesthouse is really bad.

As Lin Shucheng walked to the window, he heard the names of the family.

"I still think that if people like Lin Jinyue and her brother, who possess extraordinary skills, cannot be used by us, it is best to get rid of them."