"These people are not simple; we should be careful."

Lu Baichuan whispered his explanation, saying that he had used his clairvoyance to observe for a while, which further confirmed his conjecture.

Unlike ordinary bandits who were disorganized, these bandits were disciplined, just like those in a military camp.

Yes, these people look like they've served in the military; their presence here suggests they're either deserters or traitors.

Thinking this, his expression turned much colder.

Qin Jian also changed his playful demeanor from before. Although he couldn't see what was going on on the other side, the fact that Lu Baichuan was so serious was truly remarkable.

He rested under the tree, waiting for Lu Baichuan to come down so they could talk.

"What exactly is going on?"

A short while later, Lu Baichuan came down, said nothing, handed him the telescope, and told him to look for himself.

Qin Jian swiftly climbed the tree with his telescope, watched for a while, and then began swearing profusely.

"Why do they have so many weapons? What's going on? These aren't ordinary bandits, are they?"

Qin Jian came down shortly after, clearly unable to bear the sight any longer.

This all-seeing eye could see so far and so clearly that it could clearly see what was happening inside the village, and naturally it could also see how the bandits treated the captured women.

It was simply appalling.

Even a glance at him makes me worry that I might lose control and rush over to save someone.

But that obviously wouldn't work. There were too many people on the other side, at least a thousand. Lu Baichuan hadn't brought much with him this time, especially the medicine his wife had made. He only brought a little bit for self-defense, and with so many people on the other side, it was basically useless.

There are only twenty of them in total. Without comparison, there is no harm. We must act with caution.

No matter how many people we bring out this time, we must bring them back safely.

The two sat under the tree, their expressions somewhat solemn.

Not to mention that they outnumbered us and were armed, there were also so many women being held hostage. If we pushed them too far, they might just kill them, which would be even worse.

"What should we do now? We don't have enough manpower. Why don't we write back home and ask the Emperor to send people to help us?"

Qin Jian tapped his head in annoyance. He thought he was just going through the motions, but who knew he would actually run into this?

And it's still so tricky!

"It's too late, and it's easy for people in the capital to find out. If more people get involved, it will take even longer to delay things."

Lu Baichuan denied it. They came here to deal with those traitors in the capital in the short term. If they made things more complicated, it would be a loss.

Qin Jian was quite surprised: "So, you want to explain it yourself and not tell anyone?"

If they had brought their younger siblings' medicine, it would be fine, but they didn't bring anything. It's really difficult for them to manage on their own.

"It's not that bad. We can go to the local government and ask them to send someone to help us."

A distant source of water cannot quench a nearby fire; we can only seek help from those closest to us.

Qin Jian nodded; this was the only way.

But it's hard to know whether the local government in such a small place is reliable or not.

The two returned home with heavy hearts, and the group had just finished burying the bodies.

The woman, her eyes red from crying, knelt before Lu Baichuan: "Please, sir, avenge my family! I am willing to pay any price!"

She'd even go so far as to let herself go into those thieves' hideout as bait; all she wanted was for those people to die.

"Get up first. The other side has a large number of people and is powerful, so we can't go there rashly for the time being. Let's go down the mountain and into the city first, and ask the local government to send some people with us."

With that, he took the lead and went down the mountain.

The woman hurriedly lifted her tattered skirt and followed.

She's lucky to have met these kind people; she must stick close to them.

They had traveled a long way to get here and had been eating only flatbread for days. They were already craving something else and were determined to have a good meal as soon as they got down the mountain.

It was inappropriate for a group of grown men to be accompanied by a ragged girl. When they passed a clothing store, Lu Baichuan asked the woman to buy a small set of men's clothes, tie her hair up, and make her look like a young boy before heading towards the restaurant.

"My name is Qinglian. I will definitely repay your life-saving grace!"

Qinglian, meaning true love, has a pair of large, sorrowful frog eyes that make her look especially pitiful.

“There’s no need for that, young lady. It’s just my duty.”

Lu Baichuan always remembered that he was a married man and tried his best to keep his distance from Qinglian. If he hadn't been desperate for a place to settle her down, he wouldn't have wanted to have a woman by his side.

It would be best to contact local officials and ask them to arrange a place for the woman to stay.

The group went out for a meal and drinks. At first, Qinglian was a little reserved, after all, it was her first time eating at the same table with so many men, and her family had just been murdered, so she really didn't have much of an appetite.

But Qin Jian said that she needed to be full to have the strength to take revenge, and she thought that made sense. Even though she didn't have much of an appetite, she forced herself to eat two bowls of rice.

She was the only one left in the house. She needed to eat her fill before she could rescue her sister-in-law and the maids.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Lu Baichuan led the way to the local government office.

At first, the constables were quite arrogant, but their attitude changed abruptly when their guards showed their identification badges.

A short while later, a chubby official came out in a hurry. His official robes were wrinkled and looked like they hadn't been taken care of and had only been put on in a rush. He was still holding his official hat in his arms and hadn't had time to put it on.

Lu Baichuan's face darkened, and he instantly felt that this person was unreliable.

"Greetings, sirs. I was unaware of your presence. I apologize for not welcoming you properly."

The chubby official bowed to them with a smile, speaking politely, but the respect didn't reach his eyes.

This is just a performance for them.

Recalling his previous suspicions, Lu Baichuan immediately abandoned the idea of ​​telling the truth.

"Get up. I just happened to be passing by and came across this young lady Qinglian all alone, so I brought her here. You can arrange a place for her to stay."

When he spoke, everyone was very curious. Weren't they here to allocate manpower?

Why didn't the general mention it at all?

Only Qin Jian noticed Lu Baichuan's suspicion, and since he didn't trust these people, he remained silent.

The others were all subordinates, and since their superiors hadn't spoken, they naturally didn't dare to interrupt.

Only Qinglian looked at Lu Baichuan in shock, feeling as if she was about to be abandoned.

She was terrified and helpless, but she was only able to get here alive thanks to Lu Baichuan and his group. She dared not make any more requests and could only silently lower her head to hide the sadness in her eyes.

Little Fatty then noticed that the shortest person in the crowd was actually a girl. Looking at her now, she was really pretty, with her nose red from crying, making her look incredibly pitiful.

He nodded repeatedly in agreement: "Rest assured, sir, I will certainly handle the matter well!"

For him, this was indeed not a difficult task, especially since he had always been a very chivalrous person and would naturally treat this beautiful young woman well.

Lu Baichuan watched from the side, not missing the lewdness in his eyes.