Chapter 57: Two Paths for You

Despite having already saved him, why did you still bring him back home?

It’s not like it’s his daughter or younger sister’s style.

The two couldn’t help but glance at Ji Xun a few more times.

Hmm~ He’s tall, but he looks a bit thin and weak. He doesn’t seem like he can handle things as well as they can!

Shen Yu’an walked over to the cart and took two steamed buns from it.

She then took Ji Xun’s water flask and added some water before handing it to him.

Ji Xun thanked her and took the food, devouring it hungrily.

It had been two days since he had eaten anything, so even the dry steamed buns tasted delicious to him now.

“I’ll explain his situation when it’s daylight. For now, I need to rest,” Shen Yu’an said.

After running for so long tonight and seeing those people’s “extra meals,” she was mentally and physically exhausted.

Shen Rong gave her a sympathetic look. “Okay, you go rest for a while. After Ji Xun finishes eating, we can let him rest with us too.”

…

The next morning, people started waking up one by one.

Having had a good rest the day before, they weren’t as sleepy in the morning.

Shen Yu’an also opened her eyes when she heard the commotion. Even though she had rested for less than four hours, she didn’t feel as tired anymore.

As soon as everyone woke up, they saw Ji Xun, who was not there the night before.

Ji Xun politely greeted them one by one. He still didn’t know who was who among them, so he had to guess their age to address them.

Shen Rong explained to everyone that this person was rescued by Shen Yu’an from the bandits last night, and asked them to make an extra portion for breakfast.

So, when everyone saw that Shen Yu’an had woken up, they curiously asked about Ji Xun.

“Sister Yu’an, who is he?” Shen Sanlang approached and asked.

Shen Yu’an then explained what she had learned from yesterday’s reconnaissance mission and how she managed to bring Ji Xun back.

Then she continued, “Ji Xun said that he got separated from his household servants and he happens to be heading south as well. We can give him a ride, and when we get there, he will give us an ‘escort fee’ in return.”

After saying that, Shen Yu’an smiled and looked at Ji Xun, “Isn’t that right, Ji Xun?”

Ji Xun saw Shen Yu’an’s kind smile and didn’t dare to say no.

Ji Xun spoke in a warm tone, “Miss Shen saved me from the bandits, it was a great kindness. When we arrive in the south, I will definitely repay you.”

The smiles on the faces of the others became more genuine after hearing his words.

After all, it was just one more person, and as long as the money was right, everything would be fine.

After breakfast, some people came to ask when the Shen family would leave.

They saw that the Shen family was not leaving and didn’t dare to act, fearing that they would encounter bandits again without protection.

Shen Yu’an was very disgusted with their behavior of seeking protection.

Among the people of Shen Village, excluding children and the elderly, the number of men accounted for about sixty to seventy percent.

However, they only thought about seeking protection by walking behind them, but did not consider improving their own abilities.

After all, such a forced behavior of being required to protect others is really unpleasant.

Shen Yu’an’s face turned cold. Originally, she planned to find a time to take her family and wipe out the bandit’s den.

She looked over at the team of more than a hundred men from Shen Village and thought it would be a shame not to make use of such a good manpower.

Shen Yu’an gathered all of the Shen Family member and talked about what she had learned from her investigation the night before.

When they heard that the robbers were using human flesh as a reward, everyone felt a chill in their hearts.

“What should we do then? They have people blocking both the main and side roads, and we can’t go around them from the mountain. Can we fly over them?” Grandma Shen said anxiously.

The others also felt dejected and didn’t know what to do for a moment.

Suddenly, Shen Rong spoke up and asked, “Yu’an, did you see how many people there were last night? If there weren’t too many of them, we could just slaughter them all. This way, we can pass through and prevent them from causing harm to other people again.”

The others also looked at Shen Yu’an with questioning eyes.

They were no longer the same people who were not moved by a knife. As seen a few days ago, they had already cleaned up those who came to provoke them.

Shen Yu’an looked at her eager family and couldn’t help but twitch her eyes uncontrollably.

Did she mislead them?

However, Shen Yu’an still said, “I estimate there were seventy to eighty people. It’s their territory, and we won’t be their match if we go.”

Shen Yu’an’s statement was a bit exaggerated. While they could defeat the bandits, she would not be able to protect every single person in her family if they did so.

She didn’t want them to exchange injuries for injuries and let the people of Shen’s village reap the benefits.

So… Shen Yu’an cast her gaze towards the people of Shen’s village who were waiting nearby and were ready to leave with them.

It would be a good opportunity to train them, so they wouldn’t become like weak chickens and food for others if they split up later.

A plan slowly formed in her mind.

She whispered her plan to the people of Shen Family.

Their eyes also lit up with excitement. Why didn’t they think of this before? With them joining the group, they would outnumber the bandits.

Without wasting any time, they decided to act on the plan. Shen Yu’an didn’t intend to stay in that place for too long.

The group of people already knows of their existence. If they don’t see them passing by for too long, they may start to suspect that they are here.

At this point, they were being passive and it might be better to take the initiative.

The Shen family members stood up and walked towards the nearby resting place of the villagers from Shen village.

Seeing them approach, Lizheng stood up with a smile and asked, “Brother Shen, are we planning to set off?”

“This is Master Ji, who escaped from the bandits yesterday. He said that the bandits have people waiting to ambush us on every road, and if we leave now, we’ll be walking into a trap,” Shen Yu’an said in a loud voice.

Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, the crowd became noisy.

“What should we do then? Should we go back? We can’t possibly defeat those bandits,” someone said.

However, there were also those who said, “Shen family girl, we all saw it yesterday. Your family is all powerful. Why don’t you kill those bandits first and then let us pass?”

Shen Yu’an’s face turned cold. She should have just left them to fend for themselves.

Shen Yu’an said coldly, “Ha, what wishful thinking!”

“Now I’ll give you two options. Either you come with us to kill those bandits, or you can figure things out on your own here,” Shen Yu’an said.

“To be honest, there aren’t many of us in our family, so if we want to leave quietly, we can,” she continued.

Upon hearing this, some people immediately became unwilling. “How can you have such a ruthless and selfish thought? We’re all from the same village. Why would you leave us behind?”

Shen Yu’an didn’t want to say more to them. People with such thick skin would only be afraid of her if she struck fear into them, only then they wouldn’t dare to cause trouble again.

Shen Yu’an looked at the person who spoke out and walked over to him in three or four steps. She dragged him out and pressed a knife against his face, then looked coldly at the people from Shen village and said, “It seems that you all think what he said is fine, so let him choose the second option for you.”