Lin Ru got out of the carriage and told everyone in Shili Village to rest where they were. She then took Wu Ling and Wu Juan to scout ahead!

Because she couldn't ride a horse, Wu Juan led her, and after about half an hour, they finally arrived!

The city gate had the three large characters "Kangqu County" written on it. Although this was a county town, it was larger than any county town she had ever seen before!

A group of refugees stood guard at the entrance. They were all skin and bones, with cracked lips and numb eyes. When they saw Lin Ru and her group approaching, their eyes were fixed on the horses beneath them, like wolves eyeing their prey!

If they hadn't seen the weapons in Wu Ling and Wu Juan's hands, they probably would have rushed over and swallowed those two horses whole!

Lin Ru and the other two jumped off their horses and headed towards the county town gate. The further they went, the more vigilant the guards became!

As they approached, the guards drew their swords and pointed them at Lin Ru and the other two!

"You three, stop right there! Don't come any closer, or don't blame us for being impolite!"

Lin Ru and her companions immediately stood still, maintaining a relatively safe distance from the other side. She smiled and said, "Gentlemen! We've come to inquire about the situation; we mean no harm!"

After she finished speaking, she threw a piece of silver across the way!

The leading guard took the piece of silver and weighed it in his hand; it was probably three or four taels.

A smile finally appeared on his face. "Tell me what you want to know!"

Lin Ru: "I wonder if we could go inside and buy some food?"

"There should be grain for sale here, right?"

The head guard smiled!

"Yes, we do have some! But you can't get in! If I'm not mistaken, you were chased here by the army of Prince Shun! You probably don't have any travel permits either!"

"Our magistrate has given a strict order: no one is allowed to enter the city without a travel permit!"

Hearing this, Lin Ru felt slightly relieved! Given their county magistrate's current state, Prince Shun should be unable to defeat them for the time being!

She tossed over two more pieces of silver!

"I wonder if you, sir, could make an exception for me?"

The guard tossed the loose silver in his hand and even bit it with his teeth! Just when Lin Ru felt there was a chance...

The head guard uttered two words: "No!"

"This is a direct order from above, unless you have a travel permit!"

Hearing this, Lin Ru was somewhat troubled. She pulled back Wu Ling and Wu Juan, who were about to take action!

He whispered, "Don't act rashly yet. Let's go back first and discuss this further!"

So the three of them mounted their horses and headed back. They had only gone a short distance when suddenly a rope appeared across the roadside and in the middle of the road, meant to trip their horses!

Wu Ling and Wu Juan tightened the reins, and the horse neighed as if it wanted to stand up, with its two front hooves hanging in the air!

Lin Ru collapsed into Wu Juan's arms!

Once the horses calmed down, those men rushed at us with sticks and machetes!

Wu Ling and Wu Juan didn't even need her to go down; they killed all those people in just a few moves!

Some fled in panic, and they were not pursued!

They rode their horses and galloped back!

When they arrived at the camp, they saw everyone gathered together. Lin Ru thought something had happened again, so she quickly dismounted and ran over!

Unexpectedly, it was the boy who woke up, but he was curled up in a ball with his knees drawn up to him, looking very scared and wary. He would go crazy if anyone got close, hurting several kind villagers. As a result, everyone only dared to watch him from the sidelines, and he would not answer no matter how the people around him talked to him!

When Lin Qing saw her older sister return, she rushed over to greet her, "Elder sister! You're finally back! The little boy you found when you were gathering herbs seems to be mute! And he seems to have some mental problems."

"He bit my third uncle as soon as he woke up. It took two of my cousins ​​a lot of effort to pull him away and explain what happened. And then this little mute boy is like this! It's like someone is trying to harm him!"

Just as Lin Qing was calling him a "little mute," the boy finally turned around and couldn't help but retort, "You're the little mute! I'm not a little mute!"

Lin Qing was startled by the boy's sudden voice!

He frantically hid behind Lin Ru, pointing at the boy, "My God! You're not mute, why aren't you saying anything?"

"You made me think you were a little mute!"

The boy snorted coldly and then lowered his head again, burying it between his knees. He didn't say a word.

Lin Ru then heard the key point in the boy's words!

She walked toward the boy with great interest, just as he realized what was happening and went berserk, trying to kick and bite Lin Ru!

Lin Ru stepped forward and slapped the boy across the face, and the scene immediately fell silent!

The boy covered his flushed face, looking at Lin Ru in disbelief. "You—you actually dared to hit me! Do you know who I am? You actually dared to hit me, believe me or not, I'll make you wish you were never born!?"

Lin Ru smiled and slapped him again!

This time, the handprints on both cheeks are aligned!

The boy was stunned by the two slaps. After he came to his senses, he went berserk again and tried to stand up to kick and beat Lin Ru!

But before he could stand up, Lin Ru stood up first. She went up and kicked the boy, making him fall backward!

She looked down at the disheveled boy who had fallen to the ground!

"You're quite something, kid. You still can't figure out the situation after all this time!"

"We saved your life! Not only are you ungrateful, but you also dare to harm your saviors. It seems you don't want your life anymore! I might as well kill you and pretend I never saved you!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a long knife was handed to her from the side. She turned her head and saw Wu Juan very respectfully handing over her long knife!

Lin Ru took the knife with a smile, held it with one hand, and slashed horizontally at the boy's neck!

This terrified the boy, who scrambled backward on all fours!

As he crawled, he cried out, "You can't kill me! I'm the county magistrate's son! If you dare kill me, my father will never let you go!"

Lin Ru pretended that her martial arts skills weren't very good. After missing her first strike, she slowly walked forward, preparing to strike a second time, and said sarcastically, "You probably just woke up and saw a county town in the distance, so you just made it up! Who knows if what you said is true or false? I could say my father is a general!"

"As long as this thing has a mouth, you can weave it however you want!"

"And how did you, the son of a county magistrate, end up in that desolate wilderness? We found you in the mountains a hundred miles away! Judging from your appearance, you must have been knocked unconscious and dumped in those mountains!"

"Moreover, when we found you, you had already been poisoned by snake venom. After we cured you of the snake venom, we discovered that you also had another slow-acting poison in your body. My third uncle and two cousins ​​went to great lengths to save you!"

"You bit my third uncle as soon as you got up. You're a heartless little bastard. Even if you are the county magistrate's son, you're definitely the least favored one!"

"Or perhaps he was a discarded pawn?"