Chapter 291: Taking In Underlings
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“What are you guys doing?” the leader shouted.
“Back then, I was the one who brought you guys out to do this. Now, whoever can leave should grab the chance now. Why aren’t you guys getting out of here quickly?”
“Big Brother, if you don’t leave, we won’t leave cither!” The short man continued to kowtow as he said in a sobbing voice.
“That’s right! We agreed to live and die together! If we’re going to die, we’ll die together!” the tall man said.
“Second and Third Brothers arc right!” The taciturn fellow who had been silent all this time also spoke up at this point.
Qin Xiaoyao, who was watching from one side, felt like laughing.
“Enough. Did I say I wanted to take your lives?” she said.
The three people who were kowtowing and the leader who was on the ground with a face full of grief and indignation froze.
Immediately, the four of them became ecstatic.
“Hero, you are not going to kill us? Arc you serious?” the short man immediately asked Qin Xiaoyao.
Qin Xiaoyao glanced at the short man.
“Since you guys didn’t kill anyone, I suppose your crime doesn’t quite warrant death.
“Help him up, I have something to ask you. If you answer well, I’ll let you live.”
“Thank you, hero! Thank you, hero!” The short man quickly thanked her.
Together with the tall man, they helped the leader up.
“Hero, if you have anything to ask, just go ahead. We will definitely tell you everything we know.” The leader stood up with the help of his two subordinates and cupped his hands respectfully to Qin Xiaoyao.
Only then did Qin Xiaoyao speak. “Where’s the nearest town from here? How far are we from there?”
“Also, is this the way to the border station?”
The four of them didn’t have much of a reaction when they heard the first question, but when they heard the second question, the four people’s eyes flickered.
“Hero, you are going to the border station?” the leader said with some excitement.
Qin Xiaoyao looked at the man and nodded.
The leader immediately looked at Qin Xiaoyao with admiration. “You’re quite highly skilled, hero. Are you going to join the army?” he asked.
Qin Xiaoyao paused for a moment.
After thinking for a while, she said, “Yes.
“I’m going to join the Second Prince’s army,” she added.
There were too many people in the military camp. Even if she found the Second Prince’s team, she probably wouldn’t be able to get inside.
Joining the army and then entering the military camp, followed by looking for the person was the most reliable way.
The leader’s eyes lit up at once.
“Hero, can you bring us along?”
When he saw Qin Xiaoyao looking at him, the leader immediately knelt down on one knee.
“We are willing to follow you to join the Second Prince’s camp!”
The other three followed suit.
They also mimicked their big brother and bowed to Qin Xiaoyao.
When he saw the bewilderment on Qin Xiaoyao’s face, the leader continued,
“We… are not villagers from nearby in reality.”
As Qin Xiaoyao’s eyes flickered again, the leader hurriedly added, “But we’re from Hua An Prefecture nevertheless. It’s just that we’re from Chen County, which is adjacent to Zhao County!”
Qin Xiaoyao didn’t say anything and waited for him to continue.
When he saw her reaction, the leader felt more at ease and continued, “There was a drought in Hua An Prefecture last year, and then there was a locust plague.
“In the entire Hua An Prefecture, our Chen County suffered the most.
“Almost all the villagers in the surrounding villages have moved away. They are all trying to flee to other places.
“Some went to other prefectures, while some didn’t leave Hua An Prefecture. Instead, they fled to the various major towns.
“Back then, our families entered the town.
“By doing manual labor for others, we originally thought that we could still make a living and ensure that our family would not starve to death. To our dismay…” A pained expression appeared on the leader’s face.
“To our dismay, the price of food soared. The money we made… was not enough to feed our entire family.
“In the end…” The man’s eyes were already filled with tears at this point.
Qin Xiaoyao didn’t reply, but her expression was one of sympathy.
In times of famine, it was common for people to starve to death.
Even in Mountain Spring Town, many people were found to have starved to death on the streets.
“In the end, my mother and youngest sister starved to death in order to save food for the family,” the man said as he wiped away his tears.
“With two less people in the family, the rest of us were barely able to survive. But then, the mountain bandits came.
“After they entered the town, they killed anyone they see. My father, my wife, and my three-year-old son… They all died in the hands of those bastards!” At this point, the man’s eyes were bloodshot and his body was even trembling.
At the same time, the rest of the people were also weeping.
This was because their situation was similar to their big brother’s.
After wiping away his tears again, the man continued, “We killed the mountain bandits at that point and left the Huang clan town.
“It was a pity that there were too many mountain bandits. We couldn’t beat them, so we could only escape.
“Later on, we found out that the Second Prince’s army had wiped out all the bandits in Huang clan town.
“It was not only Huang clan town, but many other places in Hua An Prefecture have been cleansed by the Second Prince’s army.
“The four of us brothers have all lost our families. After learning that the Second Prince had stationed troops in Mountain Spring Town, we thought of joining him and came here.
“But when we arrived at Mountain Spring Town, we discovered that we were too late and that the Second Prince had already left.
“We had no choice but to commit robberies on the roads nearby.”
At this point, the man looked at Qin Xiaoyao again and cupped his hands at her.
“Hero, your martial skills are excellent. If you join the army, you’ll definitely be put in an important position.”
“We have nothing left to worry about. We are grateful to the Second Prince for avenging our families. Therefore, we want to join the Second Prince’s army.
“Hero, if you are willing to accept us, from now on, the lives of us four brothers will belong to you. We will follow your orders to carry out everything!”
The other three also looked at Qin Xiaoyao with earnest expressions.
They had previously agreed among themselves to join the army under the Second Prince.
In the end, the Second Prince left with his army. They thought that they had no more chances, so they stayed here and passed their days in a daze.
However, they saw new hope now.
If they followed this hero, they would definitely be able to successfully join the Second Prince’s troops. After that, they might even be able to make a name for themselves.
Qin Xiaoyao paused for a while.
She thought to herself that these people had been wandering outside for a long time and had been to more places than she had.
At least within Hua An Prefecture, they should be more familiar with the place than she was.
If she brought them along, at least she would not get lost within Hua An Prefecture.
Besides, more people meant more power.
With subordinates at her disposal, it would be easier for her to look for Song Que in the future.
“Alright. Then you guys will follow me from now on.
“We’ll talk about the rest of the matters after we find the Second Prince’s army.” She had only embarked on this journey to look for her husband and had no intention of joining the army or following the Second Prince.
When the matter was over, she would definitely leave the military camp.
The leader was overjoyed. He didn’t mind that Qin Xiaoyao didn’t completely agree to let them follow her. He exchanged a look with his three brothers.
Then, they all bowed to Qin Xiaoyao again.
“Huang Fei hereby pays his respect to Big Brother!”
“Huang Shi hereby pays his respect to Big Brother!”
“Huang Daqiao hereby pays his respect to Big Brother!”
“Huang An hereby pays his respect to Big Brother!” The four men spoke at the same time.
Qin Xiaoyao was stunned for a moment.
This scene reminded her of her previous life when she led a few members of a small mercenary team on a mission.
Her brothers also often looked at her with the same expression. However, they called her “Leader..”