Chapter 293: The Liao Soldiers Arrive at Chen County

Chapter 293: The Liao Soldiers Arrive at Chen County

The middle-aged man, seeing this, looked at Qin Xiaoyao in terror, his legs trembling, almost falling to his knees.

Huang Fei and the others, however, all wore smug expressions, looking at the middle-aged man with hostility.

Seeing that Qin Xiaoyao was also looking at him, the middle-aged man's knees buckled, and he finally knelt down.

"Spare my life, righteous sir! Just now—just now it was this lowly one who acted rashly."

Seeing that Qin Xiaoyao did not respond but instead walked toward him, the middle-aged man quickly added, "The horses on the estate, take as many as you need, righteous sir."

"And—and the wealth! It can also be given to you, righteous sir!"

Huang Fei and the others all looked pleased.

Qin Xiaoyao, however, raised an eyebrow.

"I said I came to buy horses, do you take me for a bandit?" he asked.

The middle-aged man's body trembled.

He couldn't fathom Qin Xiaoyao's intentions.

"How—how could I dare ask for money from a righteous sir?"

"Whatever you need, righteous sir, just—just say it," he stammered.

Seeing the middle-aged man's reaction, Qin Xiaoyao knew that even if he offered to pay, the man would not accept it.

So he directly said, "Have someone bring out five horses."

Wasting time on ineffective communication was pointless. Getting the horses and setting off as soon as possible was the priority.

"Yes, yes, yes!" the middle-aged man hurriedly agreed.

He then instructed the only servant still standing nearby to have the horses brought out.

Seeing the servant scurry away, Qin Xiaoyao's expression eased somewhat.

At that moment, Huang Shi suddenly stepped forward.

"That—that, boss..." He glanced at the middle-aged man, then hesitated, looking at Qin Xiaoyao.

His eyes darted around, clearly up to no good.

"What is it?" Qin Xiaoyao asked, not understanding.

Huang An then rubbed his belly.

"Boss, he just said he would give us wealth, are you really going to refuse it?"

"Also, we haven't had a proper meal in days. Can we—"

Qin Xiaoyao turned to look at Huang An, then at Huang Fei and the others.

Seeing them all swallow hard, she realized that her followers were hungry.

After some thought, Qin Xiaoyao looked at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man quickly lowered his head, not daring to meet Qin Xiaoyao's gaze.

"Bring some provisions for us to take along," Qin Xiaoyao said.

Hearing this, Huang Fei and the others all looked pleased.

If the boss was in a hurry to leave and didn't want the wealth, at least they could get some food and eat their fill.

"Yes," the middle-aged man replied.

He hurriedly bowed to Qin Xiaoyao, then rushed into the courtyard.

Before long,

The horses and provisions were brought out.

The horses didn't look particularly strong, but they weren't inferior either.

There were plenty of provisions: dried meat, pastries, and flatbreads.

Huang Shi was the first to grab a bag and check its contents.

Seeing what was inside, he took a flatbread and started eating.

As he ate, he walked back and opened the bag, offering the food to Qin Xiaoyao first.

Qin Xiaoyao, however, declined and told Huang Shi to share the food with the others.

As soon as she spoke, the others gathered around.

They grabbed the food and started stuffing it into their mouths.

Some ate pastries, others ate flatbreads, enjoying their meal heartily.

Indeed, following the boss was good. At least they wouldn't go hungry.

Qin Xiaoyao glanced at them, but her gaze didn't linger on any of them for long.

Instead, he looked at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man stood respectfully, awaiting orders.

After a moment, he was almost certain.

Qin Xiaoyao was likely not a bandit, or at least had no intention of entering their home to rob them.

This was the best outcome possible.

For five horses and some food, they could send this group of troublemakers away, which was a stroke of luck in an unfortunate situation.

Qin Xiaoyao had intended to say something, but seeing the middle-aged man dare not even look at him, he abandoned his prepared words.

Then, he fished out the fifty-tael silver note from his pocket.

"This fifty-tael silver note is for the five horses and the food."

Glancing at the horses and the large bags of dry rations on the ground, Qin Xiaoyao added, "It's a bit less, but you shouldn't lose much."

The middle-aged man froze.

Surprised, he looked up to see Qin Xiaoyao offering the silver note.

He wasn't sure if he should reach out to take it.

"Take it—" Qin Xiaoyao urged when he saw the hesitation.

Fifty taels is a lot, isn't it?

She hadn't even left Hua'an Prefecture yet and had already spent fifty taels, which pained her heart.

"Yes—" The middle-aged man quickly responded, taking the silver note.

Only then did Qin Xiaoyao go to lead the horses.

He then nimbly mounted one of the horses.

Leaning forward, he gripped the reins with one hand and said firmly, "Load the rations, let's go!"

Huang Fei and the others finally stopped eating, hurriedly gathered the rations, and hung them on the horses' backs.

Then, they all mounted their horses and followed Qin Xiaoyao.

Riding behind Qin Xiaoyao, with plenty of rations on their horses, the four were exceptionally excited.

They felt once again that following Qin Xiaoyao was their wisest decision.

The group soon left Wang Family Village and arrived at a crossroads.

"Whoa—" Qin Xiaoyao finally pulled back on the reins.

"Which way do we go next?" He turned to ask the four.

Huang Fei rode his horse a few steps forward.

"Going left leads to Qingshan Town, but the town gates are closed now. We might not be able to enter even if we go there."

"Going right will take us out of Zhao County and into Chen County."

"From there, we can leave Hua'an Prefecture and head for Tongguan Town."

Qin Xiaoyao's eyes lit up.

But Huang Fei continued, "However, the Liao Soldiers have already entered Hua'an Prefecture. As the outermost county of Hua'an Prefecture, Chen County is bound to have Liao Soldiers."

"If we go there, we might run into them."

Upon hearing this, the faces of Huang Fei and the others grew serious.

Currently, the people on the outskirts of Hua'an Prefecture were moving inward or to other prefectures to escape the Liao Soldiers.

If they took this route, they would be going against the flow.

But if they didn't take this route, they would have to detour.

And since the Liao Soldiers were constantly on the move, even a detour might lead to an encounter.

"We'll take this route. Just be cautious on the road!" Qin Xiaoyao made a quick decision.

"Yah—" He then spurred his horse and charged forward.

Huang Fei and the others exchanged glances and followed closely behind.

The journey went smoothly, and by noon, Qin Xiaoyao dismounted to let the horses rest.

At the same time, he ate with the four to replenish their energy.

In the afternoon, the group set off again.

But before they left Zhao County, they encountered a group of migrating refugees.

The group didn't stop, but as they continued, they saw more and more refugees.

Some groups numbered in the dozens or hundreds, while others were just a dozen or so, and the smallest consisted of only a family of a few.

Taking advantage of a rest break, Huang Shi volunteered to inquire about the situation.

It turned out that most of these refugees were from Chen County.

Chen County has indeed fallen into the hands of the Liao Soldiers, and after the capture of the county town, they engaged in arson, murder, and plunder, causing countless civilian casualties.