No one had expected Miss Jun's first words to be these.
Though unexpected, Lei Zhonglian immediately rushed towards Eighteenth Jin, and the guards pounced on the remaining Jinyiwei.
Despite being caught off guard, Eighteenth Jin drew two short spears from his waist.
Lei Zhonglian narrowly avoided them.
"Didn't you tell us to throw down our weapons?" an escort, watching the four Jinyiwei who had also drawn their weapons, shouted angrily, "How shameless!"
Who is the shameless one here!
You told us to throw down our weapons, but the moment we enter, you attack us—this is just too disgraceful.
"Lucky for us, we're not stupid enough to really throw down our weapons as you ordered," a Jinyiwei said with a sneer.
So we are the real fools, we actually listened to Miss Jun and laid down our weapons... We've actually forgotten that these Jinyiwei don't really listen to Miss Jun. They are not Miss Jun's men, even though they followed us to help search for Miss Jun.
Lei Zhonglian and the others watched the Jinyiwei with caution, their bodies tense and on guard.
Even with weapons in hand, it's not certain that we could beat them; now unarmed, we can only fight with bare fists.
We must bite down on one, even if it means death.
However, Eighteenth Jin didn't pay them any attention; his gaze fell upon the men, women, young, and old standing around.
These villagers looked simple and honest, but now they seemed stupefied by the string of unexpected events, standing there with dumbfounded expressions.
But to Eighteenth Jin, these raggedly dressed, dull and feeble people seemed alerting.
In fact, Eighteenth Jin was still puzzled whether all this was self-engineered by Miss Jun?
At first he thought her disappearance was staged; later it seemed not, and when he saw Miss Jun descending from the sky in Zhangqing Mountain, and now being tricked into an ambush, he began to suspect it was all a setup.
A trap aimed at himself.
If that were the case, how could bandits skilled enough to kidnap Miss Jun and hide in Zhangqing Mountain silently for years and set up such peculiar tripwires and heavy arrows exist?
If this were a trap laid by Miss Jun, he wouldn't be so scared. Having familiarized himself with the capability of Miss Jun's protective escorts along the way, it wouldn't be easy for him to be subdued, despite the adage that even a good dog can't hold off a pack of annoying ones.
If this wasn't Miss Jun's trap...
Eighteenth Jin looked at the dazed villagers, carrying scythes and fire sticks...
"We're Jinyiwei on official duty, you civilians..." he began to assert.
Before he could finish speaking, he saw the man standing in the center wave his hand.
This is bad!
Eighteenth Jin's eyes widened, and he struck straight out with the short spear in his hand.
The gathering crowd of weak and elderly villagers had already come forth, knocking Eighteenth Jin's short spears away with scythes and fire sticks.
A group of weak and elderly villagers, even if he was unarmed, he would not fear, not even Lei Zhonglian and his men if they all attacked together, he would not...
As the thought flashed through his mind, he saw the old men and children in front of him shout in unison, advancing with coordinated steps.
"Kill!"
With that shout, Eighteenth Jin felt a blur before his eyes and was suddenly flipped to the ground, overwhelmed by people before he could react, and ropes swiftly entangled his hands and feet.
Their movements were quick, and by the time Eighteenth Jin's vision cleared to see his surroundings, the other four Jinyiwei were also bound up like zongzi (rice dumplings).
Meanwhile, Lei Zhonglian and the other escorts stood still, frozen in place, poised to move forward.
Impressive!
Truly skilful!
A good dog might withstand a bunch of annoying ones, but a good dog is in danger against a pack of good dogs.
Eighteenth Jin internally exclaimed.
Miss Jun revealed a smile, with faint traces of pride and bitterness.
Ah, these people, they are my master's people, my fellow disciples.
She still had fellow disciples, such impressive fellows, offering help without a moment's hesitation when asked.
"Sister-in-law Xia, lock them up," she instructed.
Really treated like one of their own, Xia Yong's wife looked at Xia Yong with a peculiar expression.
"Go ahead, do as Miss Jun says," said Xia Yong.
Xia Yong's wife acknowledged and beckoned everyone forward.
"Miss Jun, don't think that just because of this..." Eighteenth Jin snapped, his voice stern.
But before he could finish, a woman shoved her hand over his mouth, an acrid, pungent smell almost bringing tears to his eyes.
What's with this woman's hands? Did she just knead cow dung?
He shook his head to avoid the woman's hand. How could a woman simply block his mouth and expect it to stay blocked? Indeed, her hand was shaken off, but he found himself unable to speak.
His lips and tongue felt spicy, sour, and numb, and soon half of his face was numb as well.
What formidable bandits!
Eighteenth Jin finally confirmed this fact, looking at these seemingly weak and elderly villagers with a shocked expression.
How did Miss Jun persuade such formidable bandits?
It was Miss Jun who was truly formidable.
Eighteenth Jin had no chance to ask anything more as he was carried away by the group, and Miss Jun also quickly disappeared from his sight.
Watching Eighteenth Jin and the others being taken away, Lei Zhonglian and his companions' expressions did not relax, but became even tenser.
These people were too formidable.
They had clearly seen the coordination of these people, whose movements were not particularly intricate, even blunt to a degree, but these simple motions became fierce and impregnable with their advances and retreats.
How could these be just a group of weak villagers? They were clearly well-trained killers.
Lei Zhonglian and the others slowly moved back to Miss Jun's side, tensing their bodies in guard.
Now that these seemingly weak villagers had shown themselves to be so formidable, the bowmen capable of firing heavy arrows who had yet to reveal themselves would be even more terrifying.
"Miss Jun, what do you mean by this?" Xia Yong asked after a moment of silence.
"I've said it before, let me tell my people, don't misunderstand; I'm just here to vaccinate you, and I'm willing to vaccinate you," Miss Jun said with a laugh, patting her chest, "Luckily I made it in time, otherwise it would have been bad if a fight broke out."
Her expression was joyful, filled with relief and a hint of fear, these emotions were genuinely sincere with no hint of pretense.
Xia Yong and the others exchanged glances.
Why is that?
"Miss Jun, you truly have the benevolent heart of a doctor," said a woman walking out from behind Xia Yong and the others, speaking sincerely as she bowed in respect.
It's because they asked her to truly vaccinate their children. Despite the disrespectful method of invitation, as a Doctor, she had forgiven them.
This explanation also made sense.
Xia Yong and the others' expressions relaxed slightly.
Miss Jun laughed, shaking her head.
"Actually, I am not a doctor," she said, "Nor do I have such a benevolent heart. If it wasn't for you this time, I can't guarantee what I would have done."
Huh? What does that mean?
Xia Yong and the others looked surprised, and the woman was also somewhat startled.
"Then, Miss Jun, what do you want from us?" Yang Jing, who had been silent, finally spoke, "What do you need us to do?"
In this world, it all boils down to interests.
"What I needed you to do, you have already done," Miss Jun said, pointing in the direction where Eighteenth Jin was carried off.
Xia Yong and the others exchanged another glance.
"That man, I have sent people to guard him, this time it won't..." Sister-in-law Xia suddenly spoke, glancing at Miss Jun.
She intended to assure that these people couldn't escape, but Miss Jun's recent escape had shaken her confidence in her previous actions, and she felt unsure about making such a guaranteed statement.
Miss Jun understood her meaning.
"No need to worry, besides me, no one else could escape," she said with a shake of her head and a smile.
Xia Yong and the others fell silent for a moment.
"Miss Jun is formidable," he said.
"Then do you know why I am so formidable?" Miss Jun asked, looking at them.
Huh?
Was this question a display of arrogance? Xia Yong and the others were stunned again.
Miss Jun stepped out from the protection of Lei Zhonglian and the others, walking step by step towards Xia Yong, her expression gradually becoming solemn.
"Because I know a man named Zhang Qingshan," she said.
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Thanks to MAX Stone, Janeeyre, Ice from the South for the rewards and He's Bi O(∩_∩)O
Thank you, everyone. I'll keep asking for votes at the end of the month.