Chapter 293: The Liao Army Arrived at Chen County
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The middle-aged man looked at Qin Xiaoyao in horror. His legs trembled and his knees almost buckled.
As for Huang Fei and the others, they all had smug expressions on their faces as they looked at the middle-aged man with hostility.
When he saw that Qin Xiaoyao was also looking at him, the middle-aged man’s knees finally gave way and he knelt down.
“Please spare me, righteous hero! Just now… just now… I am a lowly person who doesn’t know any better.”
When he saw that Qin Xiaoyao didn’t answer and was walking toward him instead, the middle-aged man quickly said, “As for the horses in the village, you can take as many as you need.”
“And… and all the valuables! I can also gift them to you, righteous hero!”
Huang Fei and the others were overjoyed.
Qin Xiaoyao, however, raised her eyebrows slightly.
“I said I’m here to buy a horse. Do you think I’m a robber?” she said.
The middle-aged man trembled.
He couldn’t figure out Qin Xiaoyao’s thoughts.
“How… how would I dare to take the money of a righteous hero?”
“If there’s anything you need, just… let me know, righteous hero,” he stammered.
When she saw the middle-aged man’s reaction, Qin Xiaoyao knew that even if she offered money, the other party would not accept it.
Thus, she said outright, “Get someone to bring five horses.”
There was no point in wasting time on such ineffectual communication. Getting a horse and setting off as soon as possible was the right thing to do.
“Sure, sure, sure!” The middle-aged man quickly answered.
Immediately after that, he ordered the only servant who was still standing nearby to get someone to bring the horses over.
Qin Xiaoyao’s expression eased a little when she saw the servant leave in a panic.
At this moment, Huang Shi suddenly stepped forward.
“Er… Leader…” After taking a glance at the middle-aged man, he looked at Qin Xiaoyao with a hesitant demeanor.
His eyes were darting around evasively, and it was obvious that he didn’t have any good intentions.
Qin Xiaoyao didn’t understand him and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Huang An then rubbed his stomach symbolically.
“Leader, he just said that he would give us valuables. You really don’t want them?”
“Also, we brothers haven’t had a full meal for a few days. Do you think we can…”
Qin Xiaoyao glanced at Huang An, then at Huang Fei and the others.
When she saw them swallowing their saliva, she realized that these few followers she had taken in were still starving.
After some thought, Qin Xiaoyao looked at the middle-aged man opposite her.
The middle-aged man quickly lowered his head, not daring to look Qin Xiaoyao in the eye.
“Go and get us some dry food. Well take it with us,” Qin Xiaoyao said.
Upon hearing these words, Huang Fei and the rest were overjoyed.
Their Leader was in a hurry, so it was fine if he didn’t want money. If they could get hold of some dry food, it was fine if the food could fill their stomachs.
“Alright,” the middle-aged man answered.
He hurriedly bowed to Qin Xiaoyao, turned around, and rushed into the courtyard.
Then, before long, the horses and dry food were brought out.
The horses did not look strong, but they were not inferior horses either.
However, there was quite a lot of dry food. There were dried meat, pastries, and flatbreads.
Huang Shi took one of the sacks and examined it.
After seeing what was inside, he took a biscuit and started gnawing on it.
As he gnawed, he walked back.
He opened the sack and offered it to Qin Xiaoyao for her to choose the food inside first.
However, Qin Xiaoyao didn’t take any and told Huang Shi to distribute the food to the others.
As soon as she finished speaking, the rest of the group surrounded them.
The group grabbed the food madly. After taking the food, they began eating, shoving the food into their mouths rapidly.
Whether they were pastries or flatbreads, the group ate them heartily.
Indeed, it was a good idea to follow their Leader. At least they wouldn’t go hungry.
Qin Xiaoyao only glanced at the few of them, but her gaze didn’t stay on them for long.
Instead, she looked at the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man stood there respectfully, awaiting her instructions.
After a while, he had more or less ascertained this fact.
Qin Xiaoyao was probably not a mountain bandit, or rather, this fellow didn’t have any intention of entering their residence to rob them.
This was the best outcome.
With five horses and some food, they could send this group of demons of pestilence away, which was considered a great stroke of good luck in this misfortune.
Initially, Qin Xiaoyao wanted to say something, but when she saw that the middle-aged man didn’t even dare to look at her, she gave up saying the words she had prepared.
Following that, she took out the silver note worth 50 taels from her pocket.
“This 50 tales silver note is my payment for these five horses and the food.”
After taking a look at the horses and the large sacks of dry food on the ground, Qin Xiaoyao continued, “Although the amount is somewhat little, you guys shouldn’t be losing money.”
The middle-aged man froze.
He raised his head in astonishment and saw Qin Xiaoyao handing him a silver note.
He didn’t know if he should reach out to take it.
“Take it…” Qin Xiaoyao urged him upon seeing his reaction.
50 taels was a lot, okay?
She hadn’t even walked out of Hua An Prefecture, yet she had already spent 50 taels. She was feeling a great deal of heartache, okay?
“Alright…” The middle-aged man quickly answered and accepted the silver note.
Only then did Qin Xiaoyao step up to get the horse.
After that, she leaped nimbly onto the horse.
She leaned forward, held the reins with one hand, and said in a low voice, “Take the dry food. Let’s go!”
Huang Fei and the rest finally stopped eating and hurriedly went to grab the dry food and load them on the horses.
Thereafter, they all mounted their horses and followed Qin Xiaoyao.
As they rode their horses behind Qin Xiaoyao, carrying lots of dry food on the backs of the horses, the four men were exceptionally excited.
Once again, they felt that following Qin Xiaoyao was the wisest decision they had made.
The group of people quickly left the Wang Clan Village and arrived at a fork in the road.
“Whoa…” Qin Xiaoyao finally pulled back the reins.
“Which way should we go next?” She turned around and asked the four men.
Huang Fei nudged his horse forward a few steps.
“If we go left, the road leads to Greenhill Town, but the gate of Greenhill Town is closed now. We might not be able to enter the town if we go there.
“On the right, the road will get us out of Zhao County and lead us to Chen County.
“After that, the road will lead us out of Chen County and we will depart Hua An
Prefecture. We can head to High Pass Town from there.”
Qin Xiaoyao’s eyes lit up.
However, Huang Fei continued, “But the Liao army has already entered Hua An Prefecture. Chen County is the outermost county of Hua An Prefecture, so there are bound to be Liao soldiers there.
“If we go that way, we’ll probably bump into them.”
After speaking, Huang Fei and the other three’s faces turned grim.
Now, the people outside Hua An Prefecture were all crowding into the inner area or retreating to the other prefectures, trying to flee the Liao soldiers.
If they followed this route, they would be going against the flow of fleeing hordes.
However, if they didn’t take this road, they would have to take a detour.
Furthermore, the Liao army was constantly on the move. Even if they took a detour, they might still bump into the Liao army.
“Let’s take this path. Just be careful on the road!” Qin Xiaoyao quickly made a decision.
“Giddy-up…” She immediately tugged on the reins and galloped forward.
Huang Fei and the other three looked at each other and followed her.
The rest of the journey was smooth. At noon, Qin Xiaoyao got off the horse and let it rest.
At the same time, she ate with the four men to replenish her energy.
In the afternoon, the group continued their journey.
In the end, before they had even left Zhao County, they met a group of migrating refugees.
The group of five did not stop and continued forward, but they saw more refugees.
Some groups had dozens or hundreds of people while others had more than ten people. The smallest group comprised at least a family of a few people.
Taking advantage of the break time, Huang Shi volunteered to ask the refugees about the situation.
It was only then that he found out that most of the refugees had come from Chen County.
Chen County had indeed fallen into the hands of the Liao army. After the county was occupied, the Liao army burned, killed, and plundered, causing countless deaths and injuries..