Chapter 21: Scholar Lin Jingming

An hour later, when they reached the foot of the mountain, night had already fallen.

Lin Zhong heard the dense sound of footsteps in the forest and immediately became alert.

“Everyone, be on guard. Someone is coming, and there are many of them.”

The fighters all placed their hands on their sword hilts, ready to face any threats.

As they walked out of the forest and approached, they saw the two people at the front. Lin Zhong quickly ran toward them.

“Master, you’re back! Everyone was so worried, especially the two young masters. They’ve been asking about you all afternoon. Are you all right? Who are these people?”

Lin Zhong anxiously asked a string of questions.

“Uncle, don’t worry. We’re fine! You know our skills, right? These are people who were previously robbed by mountain bandits,” Lin Da cheerfully replied.

“Uncle Zhong, sorry to have made you worry,” Lin Luoluo spoke after Lin Da had finished.

Just as they reached the cart, Lin Zirui ran up and hugged Lin Luoluo.

“Big sister, you’re finally back! Zhirui missed you so much.”

“Our Zhirui is the bravest!” she said, gently patting his head.

Lin Wanwan also ran over, holding a flatbread.

“Big sister, you’re hungry, right? I have a flatbread for you. Have a bite, dinner will be ready soon.”

Lin Luoluo took the flatbread and took a bite.

“Thank you, Wanwan! Go tell Aunt Zhong to cook more for dinner.”

“Okay, big sister, I’ll go now.”

After Lin Luoluo ate the flatbread Wanwan gave her, she quickly ran off to notify Aunt Zhong.

“Uncle Zhong, please arrange them. I need to go with Lin Da for a while.”

She said this as she walked toward the mountain bandits they had tied up earlier.

“Take them into the forest,” Lin Luoluo ordered.

Lin Da immediately understood what the master meant and told Lin Yi and the others to bring the people along.

The mountain bandits, thinking they were about to be silenced, were terrified, but with their mouths gagged, they could only make muffled sounds.

Once they reached a place where no one could see them, Lin Luoluo used her space ability to seal them with a mark, then sent them off to do their tasks, before returning to the main group.

The middle-aged man and the others, seeing only Lin Luoluo and her companions return, realized that the bandits were likely gone and quietly rejoiced that they were still alive.

They didn’t have to wait long, and dinner was soon ready.

After a long day, everyone had a warm meal and then rested.

The next morning, everyone got up early.

Lin Luoluo asked the middle-aged man what their plans were.

“My home is in Xunyang Prefecture. This time, I brought a large amount of silk and cloth, intending to sell it in the north and bring back northern goods. But now… I don’t know what to do, my purse is empty,” the middle-aged man said, lowering his head.

Lin Luoluo, feeling guilty, touched her nose. The silk and cloth were with her! But once something had passed into her hands, it was impossible to give it back, especially after saving them. She decided it could be considered payment for saving them.

“Xunyang Prefecture, huh? We’re heading that way too. You can follow us,” she said, allowing him to accompany them because she had taken his goods.

“Among these people, five are my business partners. Can they come along too?”

“Sure,” Lin Luoluo said. “We have a large group already, so I don’t mind having a few more.”

“Thank you, kind hero!” the middle-aged man exclaimed happily.

A young man also stepped forward to explain his situation.

“I am Lin Jingming, from Yong’an City. I was on my way to the capital for the imperial examination when I met Uncle Shen (the middle-aged man). After traveling together, here I am… but the spring exams are over, and I must wait three years.”

“Alright, alright, you can follow us too,” Lin Luoluo said, seeming to be affected by the situation.

“Thank you, miss!” Lin Jingming lowered his head, shy.

As for the other men, they were small-time traders who had been robbed. They were on a different route from Lin Luoluo but not far from home. They planned to follow her to the next town and rent a cart to return home.

Lin Luoluo instructed Lin Da to give each of them twenty taels of silver.

When Lin Luoluo turned to the group of women, one elegant and graceful-looking woman immediately kneeled and spoke without hesitation.

“I have nowhere else to go, please, miss, take me in. I will serve you as a maid to repay the favor of saving my life.”

She was originally the legitimate daughter of the local governor, but after losing her mother at a young age, she was betrayed by her aunt and half-sister and given to the mountain bandits, losing her purity. She no longer wanted to return to that cannibalistic family.

The others also kneeled, pleading for her to take them in.

A beautiful woman with delicate features spoke for the group.

“Miss, we have all been with bandits. Whether innocent or not, we have no place to return. If we go back, there will be no future for us. They will never allow such a daughter to live. We just want to survive, please, miss, take us in.”

Lin Luoluo took a deep breath and calmed her emotions. She hadn’t deeply considered it before, but in modern times, when a woman experienced such a fate, her parents would be heartbroken and blame themselves for not protecting their precious daughters. She had forgotten that this was the evil old society, where women had it hard.

“Get up! You can follow me, but only those who can endure the final test will be allowed to stay. For those who don’t make it, don’t worry. I’ll give you some startup funds. As long as you work hard, you won’t starve. But there’s one rule: never betray our group. If you do, you’ll face this fate,” Lin Luoluo said, raising her hand and striking a large rock nearby. The rock shattered instantly as she gave them a sharp look.

Seeing Lin Luoluo break the rock with a single strike, they all felt a chill run through them.

“We swear, we will follow the miss faithfully. If we betray her, we will end up like that stone!” They exchanged glances and all raised their hands to swear.

Thus, Lin Luoluo’s group grew larger.

“What? Forget the past and start fresh. You want me to give you names?”

“Help! Someone help her! Don’t make her think of names, she’s hopeless at naming!” Lin Luoluo thought in her heart.

“How about calling them Yue Yi, Yue Er, according to their ages?”

“Yeah, this way it’s easy to remember and doesn’t take much thought. Perfect,” Lin Luoluo thought to herself.

The others were speechless about their master’s naming ability, but since she was the master, they had to accept it.

“Thank you, miss, for giving us names!” They kneeled again in gratitude.

“Alright, get up and have breakfast. After eating, we’ll leave early,” Lin Luoluo said.

“Yes, miss!” everyone replied together, their voices shaking Lin Luoluo’s ears.

While eating, Lin Luoluo remembered that Lin Jingming was from Yong’an City, so she started chatting with him.

“Hey, handsome, how old are you?”

“I… I just turned twenty,” Lin Jingming said, his ears turning slightly red.

“Twenty? What does ‘twenty’ mean? Eighteen, nineteen, twenty—how old are you really?” Lin Luoluo asked, a bit confused. Didn’t ancient people just say their exact age? Why use terms like “twenty?”

“Forget it, as long as you’re an adult,” she thought to herself.

She asked again, “Where in Yong’an are you from?”

“I’m from Feng County, Qingshui Town, Linjia Village,” Lin Jingming replied.

Lin Luoluo was struck as if by lightning. What a terrible fate this was!

It turned out that the person she had saved was from her own family—he was a scholar in her clan.

After a moment of processing, she extended her right hand.

“Hello! I’m Lin Luoluo, daughter of Lin Ying.”

Now it was Lin Jingming’s turn to be stunned.

“You… you… you’re Qing… Qing Uncle’s daughter?”

He had originally wanted to ask if she was General Lin’s daughter, but when Lin Luoluo shot him a glare, he remembered that General Lin was no longer around and corrected himself to “Uncle Lin.”

Lin Luoluo nodded, seeing how excited he was, and couldn’t help but speak.

“Calm down, we’re family. No need to be so excited! Keep eating.”

“It’s my fault, I haven’t heard anything about Uncle Qing for so long, I got too excited. I’ll eat now. Hehe…” After that, they ate their breakfast in silence.

(Comment if you still want me to translate this novel, it’s giving me a headacheeee HUHUHUHU)