I will take you as my concubine

Wang Ming also grew ruthless, personally leading tens of thousands of men forward.

As a result, the forces searching for Lin Zixiao expanded several times over. The densely packed soldiers covered the entire mountain.

Under these circumstances, Wang Ming refused to believe they couldn't find Lin Zixiao.

"Even if he's a fly, we must find him!"

"Search!"

The entire army, fueled by fierce determination, began to search every inch of the area.

Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, inside a thatched cottage, Lin Zixiao slowly woke up.

Three questions subconsciously popped into his mind.

Who am I?

Where am I?

What am I doing?

Soon, his mind cleared, and he remembered.

He was Lin Zixiao, the commander-in-chief of the Lin Family Army. Because of his loyalty to the imperial court, he was betrayed by his subordinates, the Seven Heroes of Chifeng. After he led his army to defeat the Seven Heroes of Chifeng, they somehow obtained firearms from an unknown source and beat his forces into a crushing defeat.

The great advantage he had built was destroyed in a single day!

Left with no choice, he could only wander outside the capital, looking for an opportunity to strike back.

But he accidentally stepped on a slippery rock, rolled off a cliff, and after that...

He had no more memories.

"Oh, you're awake?"

A female voice sounded.

Lin Zixiao quickly looked up and saw a young girl dressed in coarse, simple clothes. Despite her humble attire, she had a tall, agile figure and heroic eyebrows. She was walking toward him carrying a wooden basin.

"You're finally awake."

The girl said, "I went hunting that day and found you fainted at the bottom of the mountain. Seeing that you were heavily injured and seemed to have lost a lot of blood, I saved you and brought you back."

"I even specifically invited the village doctor for you and used up a lot of the herbs I gathered. Thank heavens, you finally woke up."

"How are you doing?"

"Is your body feeling alright now?"

"Does it still hurt?"

Lin Zixiao finally understood. He tried hard to move his body. Although he still ached all over, he had practiced martial arts since childhood and had endured countless hardships. He didn't care about these minor aches and pains at all.

He immediately replied, "Much better."

"I should be fine..."

Before he finished speaking, Lin Zixiao's expression changed: "Oh no, the army is still outside the city. Without me, won't they be slowly devoured by the Seven Heroes of Chifeng? Quick, quick, quick... send me back!"

"Ah?" The girl was taken aback. "Are you in such a hurry? Your injuries haven't healed yet, you know?"

Even as she spoke, her hands didn't stop moving.

Since Lin Zixiao was so anxious, she didn't dare delay. She quickly helped him up and escorted him all the way out. It took quite a long time, and the girl was sweating profusely from exhaustion, before she finally brought him to the edge of the dense forest.

Looking up, there was an endless, open expanse of land.

If one looked closely, one could even see soldiers in the distance.

The girl obviously didn't have much fondness for soldiers; in fact, she seemed rather averse to them. She said, "Judging by your appearance, you must be in the military, right? Your soldiers are right ahead now, so I won't escort you any further."

"Goodbye!"

After saying that, she turned to leave.

Lin Zixiao reached out to stop her, saying, "Miss, you saved me, Lin Zixiao. I am not someone who forgets a favor. I will definitely reward you handsomely."

"There's no need. It was just a passing effort."

"No, I must repay you!" Lin Zixiao's tone suddenly became agitated. "My Lin family has passed down the traditions of farming and studying for generations. We abide by propriety and righteousness, and our entire family is fiercely loyal. Our family tradition has always been that a drop of kindness received must be repaid with a gushing spring."

"In this life, I absolutely cannot fail my late father's dying wishes."

"I must ensure that I do not let down my country above, nor my confidants below."

"Every favor must be compensated, every virtue must be repaid!"

"This is the foundation upon which our clan has stood for generations!"

"You saved my life; how could I not repay you?"

"Do you want to bring shame upon my ancestors?"

"And make me, Lin Zixiao, despised by the world?"

The girl was startled. "I was just telling you not to take it too much to heart. Why are you getting so worked up?"

"Alright, alright, if you want to repay the favor, then do it."

"Then you..."

Before the girl could state her request, Lin Zixiao had already said, "I, Lin Zixiao, will definitely take you as my concubine to repay your kindness!"

The girl: "???"

She almost thought she had misheard and asked back, "Taking me as a concubine counts as a favor? I don't want that. If you insist on repaying me, just give me a hundred taels of silver."

"No!" Lin Zixiao categorically refused.

"No? Then give me fifty taels!" the girl said. "If fifty taels still won't do, then give me twenty, or ten. Five taels is fine too."

"No!" Lin Zixiao grew increasingly anxious. Because of his agitation, his injuries, which had not fully healed, flared up again. Yet he was so eager to speak that his face flushed bright red.

After a long while, he finally choked out: "No!"

"I cannot give you silver!"

"I want to take you as my concubine!"

"How can a life-saving grace be settled with mere silver?"

"If this gets out, where would my Lin family put its face? Where would I, Lin Zixiao, put my face?"

"When I go down to the underworld in the future, how will I explain this to my father?"

"Therefore..."

Lin Zixiao enunciated every word clearly: "I, Lin Zixiao, will definitely take you as my concubine to repay your life-saving grace!"

A surge of anger had already begun to rise in the girl's heart.

For no good reason, why should she become someone's concubine?

Sister Er Ya from next door became someone's concubine, and within two months, she was beaten to death by the principal wife and thrown into a mass grave, and her parents didn't even dare to collect her corpse!

She absolutely did not want to be anyone's concubine!

So she said, "If you don't want to repay the life-saving favor, then don't. It's not like I'm forcing you. If you really want to repay it, just give me a hundred taels of silver."

"Become a concubine?"

"I will never be a concubine in this lifetime."

"Even if I starve to death, even if I jump off from here, I will never be a concubine!"

Lin Zixiao's eyes widened: "You... could it be that you want to be my principal wife? No, the lady I marry with full formal rites must be of equal social standing to me, and it must also be permitted by His Majesty. Your status is far from sufficient!"

"Therefore, I must take you as my concubine!"

"I absolutely must take you as my concubine!"

The girl's temper flared up instantly. She turned around and picked up a large rock.

Without hesitation, she smashed it down onto Lin Zixiao's head.

With a loud thud, Lin Zixiao collapsed to the ground!

"Concubine, concubine, concubine! Go be a concubine yourself in your next life!"

After cursing him, the girl turned and walked away.

However, she had barely taken two steps when she heard the smashed Lin Zixiao still muttering with a voice as faint as a mosquito: "I... I..."

"Must take you as my concubine..."

The girl stopped in her tracks, turned around, and hefted another large rock!

Thud!

She smashed it down once again!

"Concubine, concubine, concubine! Concubine your damn head!"

This time, Lin Zixiao couldn't speak another word.

After the girl inspected him for a moment and felt reassured, she left peacefully!

...