Chapter 212

Life is full of uncertainties, who knows what the future holds? Live in the present. Leave the future to the future. Li Xia rarely advised Qiu Ling not to dwell on things.

Qiu Ling walked up to Li Xia and crouched down, "Miss, I can't bear to leave you." Qiu Ling had decided to be with Xiao Changyou, which meant she could no longer serve Li Xia.

"You can always come back to me," Li Xia's words made Qiu Ling's eyes turn red, but she didn't want to cry in front of her mistress. "Miss, I'll go gather some firewood," Qiu Ling said as she stood up and ran away.

Li Xia let out a soft chuckle and lay down on the makeshift lounge chair made by Qiu Chan, closing her eyes to rest.

Qiu Chan returned with her team, carrying their hunt. Following the chef's instructions, they processed the game. The chefs showed off their skills, preparing the meals. Drawn by the aroma, Xiao Changyou returned with his apprentices.

Zhou Heng also returned with his men, followed by bound bandits. Each of these bandits was seriously injured, though their wounds didn't look like they were inflicted by soldiers.

Behind them, there were more than a dozen girls huddled together.

"What happened?" Xiao Changyou stepped forward to inquire.

"These beasts," Jiang Chong couldn't help but curse. Zhou Heng had taken Jiang Chong's squad to Xiaofeng Mountain, first having Jiang Chong's men lie in ambush nearby.

Zhou Heng found a position upwind and scattered sleeping powder. After taking the antidote, he entered the bandit's lair to investigate, knocking out and tying up those who hadn't fallen asleep. There weren't many people in the lair, only about twenty. They were quickly tied up, and Zhou Heng sent a signal.

Jiang Chong led his squad to charge in and search the lair. In three rooms behind the house, they found survivors. They kicked open the doors to find more than a dozen young girls huddled together, trembling. The girls were barely clothed and had been severely abused.

Jiang Chong led his team out, found clothes, and had the girls put them on. After dressing, with repeated assurances from Jiang Chong, the girls came out to see the immobilized bandits.

One of them rushed over, hitting, scratching, and clawing at the bandits. One even bit off a bandit's ear. If it weren't for the need to keep these men alive for the apprentices to practice on, Jiang Chong wouldn't have stopped her.

Everything in the bandit's lair was packed up, loaded onto carts, and brought along.

Xiao Changyou led Qiu Ling and Qiu Chan to tend to the girls' injuries. Qiu Chan and Qiu Ling bandaged the girls' wounds and applied medicine. Seeing how badly the girls had been tortured, they felt deeply saddened. If Li Xia hadn't bought the two of them back then, they might have been among these girls.

"The day after tomorrow, we will set off for the frontier," Li Xia's words made the girls look at each other, not knowing what to do.

"If you want to go home, I can have someone escort you back. If you don't want to go home and wish to start a new life elsewhere, you can follow us to the next town. There, we can arrange new household registrations and identities for you to start fresh," Li Xia's words made the dozen or so girls look at each other.

"If I go back, my father will beat me to death," one of the girls said fearfully.

"I'm not going back either. I was sold by my parents. If I go back, I'll just be sold again," someone else said, and others chimed in.

...

Out of the 16 girls, only two wanted to go home. Li Xia had these two stand aside. She would arrange for someone to send them home.

"Then we'll drop the rest of you off at the next county town and arrange new household registrations for you," Li Xia had barely finished speaking when the girl who had been leading suddenly knelt before her.

"Madam, I want to stay by your side," her words surprised Li Xia. She asked for her name, "What's your name?"

"My name is Da Mei. My mother died from severe bleeding during my difficult birth. My father was a hunter who died in a tiger's claws while hunting in the mountains. My elder brother and sister-in-law didn't want to raise me, so they sold me," Da Mei not only told her name but also her life story.

"Madam, Da Mei is quite strong," Qiu Chan spoke up. The two had developed a good relationship during these ten days.

"We're going to the frontier where there's a war. We could die at any time," Li Xia's words didn't scare Da Mei.

"Madam, I will work hard to learn martial arts from Qiu Chan. I won't be a burden to you. When we reach the frontier, I can even go to the battlefield to kill enemies," Da Mei tried her best to prove herself, hoping Li Xia would accept her.

The words "kill enemies on the battlefield" stirred Li Xia's heart. "Alright, I'll take you in."

"Madam, please take me in too," other girls came forward, wanting Li Xia to accept them.

"Who is willing to go to the frontier with me? Raise your hands," Li Xia looked at the girls. Eight or nine girls raised their hands, willing to follow Li Xia to the frontier. The remaining few decided to go to the next town to start new lives with new identities.