"Boss, have we been scammed by that woman?!"
Under the blazing sun, dozens of strong men, wielding axes, were sweating profusely.
They had been cutting bamboo for over a month, and those two men hadn't reappeared. The food they were left with, enough for a month, was dwindling.
I remember that time, they came by the smell, intending to rob them, but instead they were subdued by the other party.
Especially that woman, she's quite good-looking, but has a terrible temper.
The grilled meat smelled so good, how could these strong men, who hadn't eaten for days, resist? Of course, they couldn't wait to start eating, but afterwards they felt weak all over, and a large group of them had been drugged.
The woman stepped forward with a cheerful smile, her voice clear and crisp, but to everyone else it sounded like a nightmare.
"Is the barbecue delicious?"
They shook their heads vigorously, wanting to denounce this heartless woman.
She promised to treat them to barbecue? Looking at the woman's wicked smile, some even suspected that she wanted to roast and eat them.
Do you want the antidote?
Everyone nodded frantically, and the woman said with a grin, "The antidote is available, and so is food."
It's said that the more beautiful something is, the more toxic it is. Having already been scammed once, the crowd dared not trust this woman again.
"Oh dear, you guys don't need to be so nervous."
The woman's smile remained bright; she even reached out and patted the eldest brother's face.
"I'll buy you grain, and you guys help me cut bamboo. You have to cut for five hours every day. If it's not enough, wait until I get back, hehe..."
Her smile was exceptionally bright as she fed each of them a black pill, a poison that would cause their intestines to rupture and die within three months if they did not take the antidote.
After saying this, he thoughtfully left them a month's worth of food, and the two of them rode away on their little red horses in a dashing manner.
"She-devil, here's our antidote!"
They were all exhausted, but this female demon had actually escaped? What if a wild beast came out of the mountains and all of them were devoured?
However, this female demon was still quite kind-hearted; in less than an hour, everyone gradually regained their strength.
Looking at the remaining, now-cold roasted meat and the small pile of grain, everyone had mixed feelings.
Finally, the leader spoke up: "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and move these things back up the mountain."
Even if the barbecue is contaminated, they'd feel safe eating it at home. They can just stay in bed and sleep a little longer.
The group wanted to be strong enough to disobey the woman, but then they thought about the inexplicable poison in their bodies. What if they really did die from the poison in three months? Who would they complain to?
A month passed in the blink of an eye, and their food was almost gone, but the woman still hadn't arrived. The bandits were starting to feel uneasy.
"Keep chopping, eat less, just enough to keep you from starving." The leader spoke, and the robbers dared not object.
Looking at the bamboo that had been cut down all over the mountainside, the group felt a sense of accomplishment. Even though they didn't know what the bamboo was for.
With so much bamboo, it would be very difficult to transport it down the mountain.
Five or six more days passed, and the woman still hadn't come.
A few of the henchmen simply sat on the ground and acted like they were shirking their responsibilities: "She's not coming back, so what are we still doing here hacking away for!"
The leader, however, remained silent and continued chopping with his axe. He glanced at the few underlings who were shirking their duties and said, "If you're not afraid of death, then keep slacking off."
After hesitating for a few moments, the younger brother resigned himself to his fate and picked up the axe.
"Hey, it's been a month, your efficiency is pretty good."
A crisp sound, as melodious as a clear spring, yet as terrifying as a demon.
The men present all shrank back slightly.
"You're back?"
The eldest brother remained calm, his usual nonchalant demeanor replaced by a rare seriousness on his face: "This is what we cut over a month, five hours a day, without slacking off."
Looking at the bamboo covering the mountains and fields, and this group of men who couldn't be more obedient.
Han Luoxue nodded in satisfaction and chuckled, "Not bad, I'm very satisfied. You can go back now."
Everyone was surprised, but they still hurriedly left.
This woman was unpredictable; when she told them to leave, they quickly fled, fearing that they might be poisoned again after they ran away.
Han Yuchen followed the others out, and only after making sure they were all far away did he turn around and signal to Han Luoxue that it was okay.
Han Luoxue calmly put away all the bamboo. Fortunately, her space was large enough that she could store more bamboo so that she wouldn't have to find someone to chop it up when she upgraded her space in the future.
After collecting everything, the two went up the mountain. Seeing them approach, the robbers all waited obediently, showing none of their usual banditry.
“Miss Han, we really haven’t been slacking off. We’ve been working more than five hours a day.”
The eldest brother, driven by a strong will to survive, spoke first, and the others quickly echoed him, fearing that the female demon would lose her temper again.
"Well done. I can buy you some more grain, but not much, maybe two or three hundred catties?"
The robber's lips twitched violently. What could two or three hundred pounds possibly do? There were twenty or thirty of them, plus women and children, making a total of seventy or eighty people. This amount of food wouldn't even be enough to fill their teeth.
"What? You don't want it? Then forget it."
Han Luoxue just wants to go home as soon as possible. She hasn't been back for more than a month, and she guesses her parents are very worried about her.
"No, Miss Han, we want it."
The leader hurriedly spoke up, saying that although two or three hundred catties wasn't much, it was better than nothing. They were robbers, and they used to be ordinary villagers. They had no other choice but to resort to robbery and become outlaws.
Han Luoxue knew this, which is why she gave them another way out.
"Miss Han, may I ask where you are from?"
Han Luoxue left them three hundred catties of grain and rode away. The leader, however, asked...
"You still want to go and take revenge?"
Han Luoxue raised an eyebrow, and a sharp glint flashed in Han Yuchen's eyes.
“Girl, you’ve misunderstood. I just think you’re a capable person, and we’re all going to die here sooner or later, so I’d like to ask you for a job.”
This... Han Luoxue was speechless. She was the one being robbed, but in the end, she was supposed to take care of the robber's future?
Thinking of their village, there isn't much land, but it's backed by mountains, so they can cultivate some wasteland.
Han Luoxue turned to look at Han Yuchen, who nodded. The main reason was that some of them were quite skilled and could be of use.
"You can go to Hutouya Village in Wuling Town."
Han Luoxue told them the location, and whether they wanted to go or when was up to them. If they did go, she could lend them a hand.
Actually, she doesn't have many people she can use right now, and she still wants to develop her own power.
Especially Han Yuchen, whose identity is not simple either. If these people are useful to her, she might as well give them a try.
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