One of her purposes in coming up the mountain was to completely wipe out this bandit den and prevent them from continuing to wreak havoc on the surrounding areas.
But the current situation is indeed quite difficult to handle.
"No! We won't do that again, girl."
"Yes! Let's stay here!"
Many people sought refuge in these mountains from the disasters and chaos outside, and after a few days of peace, they no longer wanted to leave.
"I see." Lin Qixia's eyes darted around, and suddenly an idea struck her. "Then—would you be willing to follow me?"
Everyone was surprised when she suddenly said that.
Including Lin Xiao and Lin Jiudong.
"Are you really going to do this?" Lin Xiao asked her with a complicated expression.
Unexpectedly, Lin Qixia suddenly decided to recruit these bandits into her ranks.
Lin Qixia nodded, "Don't worry, I have my own plans."
Even if we successfully drive these people away, they might still gather elsewhere and continue their old business of plundering.
Instead, it would be better to take these people under my control now.
This way, we can both eliminate their potential threat to us and make them work for us, achieving two goals at once.
Among the bandits, the young man in white was the first to agree to her suggestion.
"You? You think quite highly of yourself!" he scoffed dismissively. "Why do you think these people would agree to your request?"
But the very next second after he finished speaking, the people behind him began to speak in succession:
"We are willing!"
"We are willing to follow you, young lady!"
"Girl, as long as you don't let us leave, we'll do whatever you ask!"
In an instant, the white-clad youth was slapped in the face; the smile on his face froze, and he looked even uglier than if he were crying.
Lin Qixia was also satisfied with his reaction, and gave him a disdainful look.
This kid is still too young and doesn't understand people's hearts.
These bandits were forced to come up the mountain because they had no other choice, and now they are in a desperate situation again.
Today, she thoroughly demonstrated her strength to these people, which, in a way, also gave them a guarantee.
Just like the people from Xiahe Village who went up the mountain with her tonight, following her guarantees they'll have food.
Even if someone steals her food, she can lead people to take it back.
Such strength is obvious to all, and human nature is to admire the strong; these bandits are no exception.
Lin Qixia turned to look at the bandits, her expression now stern. "Very well, since you've agreed, from today onwards you are my people! I will ensure your basic needs are met."
"There are only two conditions. The first is to give up the idea of continuing to rob and plunder."
"Only in this way will I agree to let you all stay here."
She spoke in a calm and unhurried tone. Not only Lin Xiao and Lin Jiudong, but also Huo Yanqing, whose eyes were filled with amazement, were watching Lin Qixia silently.
"Secondly," Lin Qixia continued, pacing back and forth, "since you are my subordinates, you must act according to my orders. Anyone who disobeys will be expelled from the team and never reused!"
"As for those who betray me with ulterior motives and harm my interests—I will make sure they save their own lives!"
Her final words were very stern.
The crowd around Lin Qixia fell silent for a moment because of her words, which was initially thought to be due to fear.
But the next second, a burst of excited cheers erupted from among them.
"Great! We're willing! Of course we're willing to listen to the girl!"
"The girl treated us like this, giving us a way to survive. We are willing to go through fire and water for you!"
Many people excitedly swore an oath of loyalty to Lin Qixia.
The white-robed youth, who was being held captive by Huo Yanqing and kneeling on the ground watching this scene, had an expression that couldn't be more unpleasant.
Lin Qixia slowly walked towards him, raised her hand, pinched his chin, and forced him to look at her.
"What's your name?" she asked.
The young man in white was already immobilized by Huo Yanqing's acupoint strikes, and now, forced to raise his face to face the girl's mocking eyes, he felt utterly humiliated.
The boy turned his face away, avoiding her gaze: "Enough nonsense! If you want to kill me, just do it!"
"Ah!" To his surprise, he was kicked hard by Huo Yanqing from behind the next second.
He collapsed onto the dusty ground, his white clothes becoming filthy and making him look quite disheveled.
Even his mask was knocked off, and now his face was buried in his hands, and his breathing became increasingly heavy.
He looks quite angry.
Huo Yanqing, on behalf of Lin Qixia, coldly pressed him for a name: "Name?"
The young man in white raised his face, glaring hatefully at Lin Qixia: "Yun! Stop!"
He answered through gritted teeth, but he did say it nonetheless.
As the mask on the boy's face fell off, Lin Qixia made eye contact with him for a moment and saw his true face.
She was stunned for a moment, completely amazed.
It was a face as exquisite and perfect as a flawless white jade, which, combined with his white robes, should have given him a pure and aloof air, like a lotus.
However, her captivating peach-blossom eyes and naturally red lips added a touch of alluring beauty.
This appearance, amidst extreme conflict, also possesses a strange harmony.
"Xia, Xia'er." For some reason, Huo Yanqing called out to her in a panic.
Seeing that she ignored him, he kicked the boy again with a gloomy face: "Don't look at her!"
"Ah!" Yun Zhi fell backward to the ground and screamed again.
He still stared at her angrily, and perhaps because of his appearance, he looked somewhat bleak at that moment.
Especially now that he's crawling on the ground in a disheveled state, rummaging through the dust to find his fox mask.
He breathed a sigh of relief after finding it and hurriedly putting it on himself.
Lin Qixia finally came to her senses and cleared her throat: "Alright! If you don't want to join my team, you can leave on your own."
After saying that, she gestured to Huo Yanqing, signaling him to let the person leave.
She was just puzzled and surprised. How could someone like that be doing such despicable things on this mountain with someone like Cheng?
His overall demeanor and style of doing things were simply too incongruous.
"Get out!" Huo Yanqing was clearly impatient and simply released Yun Zhi's pressure points, letting him leave.
Yun Zhi was caught off guard by this.
The boy clearly didn't expect Lin Qixia to let him off so easily.
"Aren't you leaving yet?" Lin Qixia noticed his undeniable gaze and awkwardly urged him again.
Yun Zhi stood there, then suddenly looked at the two of them with a half-smile: "Who said I was leaving?"
"What?" Lin Qixia was caught off guard by his words.
Huo Yanqing's gaze towards the boy became even more wary.
Especially when he saw Yun Zhi slowly walking towards Lin Qixia, he directly blocked Lin Qixia's path.
Yun Zhi didn't mind. He stared at Lin Qixia behind Huo Yanqing and said in a low voice, "I'm just like those people. I want to join your ranks and become one of your people."
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