An hour later, when they arrived at the foot of the mountain, night had already fallen.
Hearing a dense chorus of rustling footsteps coming from the forest, Lin Zhong immediately became alert.
“Everyone, be on guard! Someone is coming, and there are a lot of them.”
Those who could fight all rested their hands on their sword hilts, ready for battle at any moment.
Only after the approaching group emerged from the woods and gradually drew closer did they recognize the two people leading them. Lin Zhong quickly strode forward.
“Master, you’re finally back! Everyone has been worried sick, especially the two young masters—they’ve been asking about you all afternoon. Are you all alright? And who are these people?”
Lin Zhong fired off a string of questions anxiously.
“Uncle, you can relax completely. We’re all perfectly fine. You know what we’re capable of, don’t you? These people were all victims who had been captured by the mountain bandits,” Lin Da replied with a grin.
“Uncle Zhong, we’ve made you all worry.”
Lin Luoluo only spoke after Lin Da had finished answering.
As soon as she reached the carriage, Lin Zirui ran over and threw his arms around her.
“Big Sister, you’re finally back! Zirui missed you so much!”
“Our Zirui is the bravest of all.”
She gently patted his head.
Lin Wanwan also ran over, holding a flatbread and trying to hand it to Lin Luoluo.
“Big Sister, you must be hungry! I have a flatbread here. Eat this first to fill your stomach. Dinner will be ready soon.”
Lin Luoluo accepted it and immediately took a bite.
“Thank you, Wanwan. Go tell Aunt Zhong and the others to cook more tonight.”
“Okay, Big Sister! I’ll go right away.”
Seeing Lin Luoluo eat the flatbread she had given her, Lin Wanwan happily turned and ran off to notify Aunt Zhong and the others.
“Uncle Zhong, make arrangements for them. Lin Da and I need to take care of something.”
After speaking, she led Lin Da over to where the bound mountain bandits were.
“Take them into the forest,” Lin Luoluo ordered.
Lin Da immediately understood what his mistress intended and instructed Lin Yi and the others to bring the prisoners along.
The mountain bandits thought they were about to be silenced forever. Terror filled their hearts, but with their mouths stuffed, they could only make muffled sounds.
“Mmph… mmph…”
Once they reached a place where no one could see them, Lin Luoluo collected them into the Space, branded them with her mark, ordered them to go about their assigned work, and then left the Space before returning.
When the middle-aged man and the others saw that only Lin Luoluo’s group had returned, they assumed those bandits were gone for good and couldn’t help but feel fortunate that they themselves were still alive.
They didn’t have to wait long before dinner was ready.
After a tiring day, everyone ate a bowl of steaming hot food and then went to rest.
Early the next morning, everyone got up.
Lin Luoluo asked the middle-aged man what his plans were.
“My home is in Xunyang Prefecture. This time, I brought a large quantity of silk with me, intending to head north to sell it and then purchase northern goods to bring back for trade. I never expected…” He lowered his head. “Now I wish to return home, but unfortunately I have no money left.”
Lin Luoluo awkwardly rubbed her nose.
The silk was with her.
But once something entered her hands, how could she possibly hand it back? Besides, she had saved them. She would just consider the silk payment for rescuing them.
“Xunyang Prefecture, huh? We’ll be passing through there anyway. Just travel with us.”
Considering she had taken his goods, she was willing to let him accompany them.
“Five of the people here are my employees. May they come with us as well?”
“Sure.”
Her group already had plenty of people. A few more wouldn’t make any difference.
“Thank you, Hero!”
The middle-aged man was overjoyed.
The young scholar also stepped forward and explained his situation.
“This humble scholar is Lin Jingming, a native of Yong’an City. I was on my way to the capital for the imperial examination when I met Uncle Shen”—the middle-aged man—“and we decided to travel together. Then this happened… Now that this year’s Spring Examination has already passed, I’ll have to wait another three years.”
“Fine, fine. You can come along too.”
It seemed he had simply been caught up in the disaster.
“Thank you, Miss!”
Lin Jingming lowered his head shyly.
As for the other men, they were all small merchants. After being robbed, their destinations differed from Lin Luoluo’s group, but their homes were not too far away—only a few days’ journey. They planned to follow Lin Luoluo to the next town and then rent a carriage to return home.
Lin Luoluo instructed Lin Da to give each of them twenty taels of silver.
When Lin Luoluo turned her gaze toward the twenty-odd women, an elegant and dignified young woman immediately took the lead and knelt without hesitation.
“This humble woman has nowhere left to go. I beg you, Miss, to take me in. I am willing to become a servant or maid to repay your life-saving kindness.”
She had originally been the legitimate daughter of the local prefect in this region. However, after losing her mother at a young age, she had been schemed against by her father’s concubine and her half-sister, who had her sent to the mountain bandits. Having lost her chastity, she no longer wished to return to that house that devoured people alive.
The others also knelt one after another, begging Lin Luoluo to take them in.
A delicate-looking young woman spoke the thoughts shared by all of them.
“Miss, we’ve all been inside the bandits’ stronghold. Regardless of whether our chastity was actually lost or not, our families no longer have a place for us. If we go back, there’s no way for us to survive. They will never allow a daughter with such a stain to exist. We want to live. Please take us in.”
Lin Luoluo took a deep breath and calmed herself.
She truly hadn’t thought this through.
In modern times, if something like this happened to a woman, her parents would only feel heartbroken and blame themselves for failing to protect their precious daughter. She had forgotten that this was the cruel old society, where women had an incredibly difficult life.
“Everyone, get up. You may follow me, but only those who can withstand the final test will be allowed to stay. Those who are not kept need not worry either. I will provide you with some starting capital. As long as you’re hardworking, you won’t starve.
“But there is one condition—you must never betray our group. Anyone who does will end up like this stone.”
Lin Luoluo raised her hand and struck the large rock beside her with a single palm.
The massive stone instantly shattered into pieces.
Her sharp gaze swept across everyone present.
Seeing her split such an enormous rock with one strike, their hearts pounded in fear.
“We swear to follow you unto death, Mistress! Should we ever betray you, may we end up like this stone!”
After exchanging glances, they all raised their hands and swore their oaths.
Just like that, Lin Luoluo’s group grew even larger.
What?
They wanted to forget their pasts, start over, and have her bestow new names upon them.
Help! Someone, please save her! Don’t make her come up with names! She’s absolutely terrible at naming people!
“How about Yue One, Yue Two, and then continue according to age?”
Hmm. It’s easy to remember and doesn’t require any brainpower. Perfect.
Lin Luoluo thought to herself.
Everyone was speechless at their mistress’s naming ability.
But since she was the mistress, what could they do?
They could only grit their teeth and accept it.
“Thank you, Mistress, for bestowing our names.”
They knelt once again to express their gratitude.
“Alright, everyone, get up and have breakfast. We should leave early after eating.”
“Yes, Mistress!”
Everyone answered in unison.
The booming voices nearly deafened Lin Luoluo.
While eating, Lin Luoluo remembered that Lin Jingming was from Yong’an City and struck up a conversation with him.
“Hey, handsome, how old are you?”
“This humble scholar… this humble scholar has just reached the age of ruoguan.”
When Lin Luoluo asked about his age, the tips of Lin Jingming’s ears turned faintly red.
“Ruoguan? Ruoguan? Eighteen? Nineteen? Twenty? How old is that supposed to be?”
Lin Luoluo was completely baffled.
Can’t ancient people just say how old they are? Why do they have to use terms like ruoguan*? What a headache.*
Whatever. It probably just means he’s an adult.
She continued asking,
“Where in Yong’an are you from?”
“This humble scholar is from Lin Family Village, Qingshui Town, Feng County, Yong’an.”
Lin Luoluo was struck as if by lightning.
What kind of ridiculous fate was this?
The scholar she had rescued actually belonged to her own clan.
After taking a moment to process it, she extended her right hand toward him.
“Hello! My name is Lin Luoluo, daughter of Lin Qing.”
This time, it was Lin Jingming who was too shocked to speak.
“You… you… you… you’re Qing… Qing Uncle’s daughter?”
He had originally intended to ask whether she was General Lin’s daughter, but after Lin Luoluo shot him a glare, he remembered that General Lin was no longer alive. The words “General Lin” that had been about to leave his mouth instead became “Uncle Lin.”
Lin Luoluo nodded.
Seeing how excited he was, she couldn’t help saying,
“Calm down. We’re all family, so why are you so worked up? Keep eating.”
“It is this humble scholar’s fault. It’s just that I haven’t heard any news about Uncle Qing for so long, so I became emotional. I’ll eat now… hehe…”
After that, the two of them exchanged no more words and quietly finished their breakfast.