Chapter 290: Encounter Robbers on the Road
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
After making sure that she had told her family everything she needed to, Qin Xiaoyao went back to her room to pack her luggage.
Then, she went to the kitchen to get some dry food Madam Liu had prepared. Finally, she said goodbye to her family and went off.
After leaving the house, Qin Xiaoyao rushed to the Liu family’s house again before the sky turned dark.
When Big Girl Li and the others learned that Qin Xiaoyao was leaving, they were all very worried.
In particular, Big Girl Li repeatedly tried to dissuade Qin Xiaoyao and hold her back.
However, Qin Xiaoyao had already made up her mind and didn’t listen to any advice.
In the end, Big Girl Li could only send off her good sister in resignation.
“Sister Sanya, don’t worry. With me and Daniu here, we’ll take good care of Aunt Song and the rest!”
“Mm-hmm!” Next to her, Liu Daniu chimed in as well.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Song. Erniu and I will go to the Song family’s house more often,” Wang Dashan added.
Liu Erniu, who was nearby, also nodded his head.
Qin Xiaoyao felt more at ease.
She cupped her hands at the crowd before turning around and leaving.
After going out, she went out of the alley and headed straight for the town gate.
Of course, it was impossible for her to leave the town through the town gate. Fortunately, Qin Xiaoyao was experienced. She found a familiar spot and threw the rope up straightaway.
Then, she climbed up the town gate tower and released the rope to lower herself down the town gate tower.
Due to her skillfulness and the fact that the soldiers in the town didn’t expect anyone to leave the town at this hour, no one noticed Qin Xiaoyao’s presence.
When she arrived outside the town, the sky was already dark.
Qin Xiaoyao lit a torch and walked all the way to the fork in the road outside the town.
This was a three-way junction. The three main roads were all official roads that led to different prefectures.
Qin Xiaoyao frowned as she recalled what the official had told her during the day.
In the end, she chose the official road leading to the border.
Her husband’s whereabouts were currently unknown. If she were to search for him alone, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Now, the only person she could ask for help from was the Second Prince.
She had to locate the Second Prince first, and then ask the Second Prince to help her look for Song Que. This way, the probability of her finding Song Que would be higher.
And right now, the Second Prince should still be at the border, fighting against the Liao army’s reinforcements.
With this idea in mind, Qin Xiaoyao hurried on her way through the night, her feet moving very quickly.
The spring night was a little cold, but she was feeling so hot that she was sweating as she walked.
Whenever she thought of Song Que’s current situation, she would not feel pain or fatigue anymore.
In the middle of the night, the torch burned out, and Qin Xiaoyao was forced to find a place to rest by the roadside.
She didn’t want to sleep at first, but when she remembered how she had to maintain her strength, she still closed her eyes.
In the end, she had a nightmare. She dreamed that Song Que and a group of scholars were escorted to the battlefield.
Then Song Que kept calling her name, asking her to save him.
She wanted to save him, but she found that her legs were as heavy as lead, and she couldn’t move at all.
Just as the Liao army took their battle sabers and hacked at her husband, she woke up in fright.
When she opened her eyes, she realized that she was in the wilderness.
The mist was dense in the middle of the night, and some parts of her body were even a little cold.
After wiping the cold sweat that popped out on her forehead due to the nightmare, Qin Xiaoyao took out a piece of clothing from her bag and draped it over herself.
There was still some time before dawn. Although she was no longer sleepy, she still had to continue to rest.
She also thought about her next plan.
Finally, it was dawn.
When she could see the road clearly, Qin Xiaoyao packed up her luggage and continued on her way.
She had to get to the nearest town as soon as possible and buy a horse as a means of transportation. Only then could she speed up her journey.
As she thought of this, Qin Xiaoyao walked even faster.
However, because she didn’t have a map and didn’t meet any travelers on the road, she didn’t walk with much confidence.
In particular, whenever she passed by a fork in the road, she was afraid that she would go the wrong way.
Finally, when she reached an official mountain road, Qin Xiaoyao met someone.
“Hand over all your food and belongings, then get lost!” Four men with sticks and hoes in their hands suddenly appeared and blocked Qin Xiaoyao’s way.
When she saw that the four of them had sallow faces and not much flesh on their bodies, Qin Xiaoyao immediately guessed that they were probably refugees.
And when she saw the weapons in their hands, she surmised that these people had just newly taken to the woods to become outlaws.
“Hehe! If you have the ability, come and take it from me,” Qin Xiaoyao said indifferently.
Of course, she wasn’t afraid of these weaklings.
Not only was she not afraid, but she was also a little happy.
Right now, she was worried that no one would show her the way, and these few people appeared just in time to help her.
“You’re looking for death!” Before the man in the lead could say anything, a short man standing behind him yelled out.
Then, the short man said to the leader of the group, “Big Brother, I’ll go and deal with him!”
The man in the lead took a look at Qin Xiaoyao. When he saw that Qin Xiaoyao was not tall, and was thin and weak in comparison with a man, he believed the other party was definitely no match for his subordinate. He nodded.
The short man immediately revealed a sinister smile. He slapped the stick against his palm as he walked toward Qin Xiaoyao.
In the end, just as he was about to raise his rod, Qin Xiaoyao raised her foot and gave him a kick that sent him flying.
“Ouch!” The short man wailed in pain.
When the rest of the group saw this, they became fearful.
It was only after the leader spoke that they suppressed their fear.
“Let’s attack together!” The man in the lead waved his hand forward.
The three of them exchanged looks and then charged at Qin Xiaoyao with their weapons.
The corner of Qin Xiaoyao’s mouth curled up slightly. She took aim and hit out at their weak points. With just two or three moves, she effortlessly knocked those three weaklings down to the ground.
Ouch! Wails of anguish rang out continuously.
After brushing the dust off her hands, Qin Xiaoyao then walked leisurely toward the leader.
“Hero, please spare me! We’re only doing this because we’re starving.
“We… we’re all villagers from nearby, not mountain bandits!” The man in the lead quickly begged for mercy.
The other three also got up, but they didn’t run away. Instead, they ran over and knelt in front of Qin Xiaoyao.
They all begged Qin Xiaoyao to let them and their leader go.
When she saw this, Qin Xiaoyao’s impression of them improved somewhat. “How long have you guys been here? How many passersby have you robbed? Have you… killed before?” Qin Xiaoyao’s tone was a little grave when she said the last sentence.
“No… we’ve never killed anyone!” The short man cried in fear.
“We have only… only robbed twice. You… you are the third one!” another tall man said.
“We’re so hungry that we can’t help ourselves. Although we robbed them of their things, we didn’t rob everything. We left them some rations and let them go!” When he saw Qin Xiaoyao frowning, the tall man quickly added.
“Really?” Qin Xiaoyao looked at the leader, who was lying on the ground with the most serious injuries.
The leader nodded.
“It’s true! We wouldn’t dare to lie.”
“Please… please forgive us, hero. Please give us… give my three brothers a chance to live.” The leader had long been prepared to take the fall for the rest when they first embarked on this path.
The other party was a martial arts expert and his methods were brutal.
Now that he and his brothers had offended the other party, he was afraid that they wouldn’t be able to escape.
He could only hope that the other party would let his three brothers go. He was willing to bear the consequences alone.
“No! I beg you to spare our big brother. We will kowtow and apologize to you!” the short man cried.
He then kowtowed to Qin Xiaoyao.
Each kowtow was extremely weighty and full of sincerity.
When the tall man and the other man saw this, they also followed suit..