The County Magistrate opened his eyes with a distressed expression, "Xiao Tian, why don’t you go home and accompany your wife on such a late night? Why do you keep knocking on my door?"
"..." The steward, disdained by his master, choked for a while before he restrained his speechlessness and said, "My lord, the young warriors have returned."
"?" The County Magistrate was stunned for a moment, "They’ve come back so early today?"
"They brought quite a few people with them, probably worried about any mishaps if they were late."
"???" Upon hearing this, the County Magistrate’s sleepiness disappeared in an instant.
The County Magistrate dashed out of the back courtyard with all haste.
He had thought "quite a few people" might mean the young warriors brought back a lot of corpses, or perhaps many heads.
However, it never crossed his mind that what the young warriors brought back were indeed living people.
These more than twenty burly men immediately filled his public hall.
Seeing this imposing scene, the County Magistrate got such a fright that he hid behind his steward, and as Uncle Master and the others came out, sleepy-eyed, upon hearing the news, they also found themselves one by one subtly taking cover behind one another.
The group epitomized the phrase ’fearful of death’ to the fullest extent.
After a while, the steward, who was pushed to the front as a human shield, looked at them with a face full of horror, "You... you... what’s going on?"
Li Wenli scratched his head awkwardly and explained, "The County Magistrate, you’ve misunderstood. These folks have come to pledge their loyalty to you."
"???" Only when he heard Li Wenli’s voice did the County Magistrate tentatively peek out from behind the steward.
Finally, through the gaps between the throng of strong guys, he saw the familiar figure of the young warriors.
The County Magistrate let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Good heavens, you scared me to death," the County Magistrate said as he patted his chest and walked out unconcernedly, "I thought the bandits had stealthily infiltrated Dai County, ready to usurp my black gauze cap."
The County Magistrate, somewhat speechless, glanced at these burly men, "Sigh, Fox Brothers, you could have just brought back a dead one, but capturing these alive, this puts me in a tough spot."
Their Yamen’s dedicated executioner had already gone off to join the army, and now there was no one to carry out the beheadings. Bringing back captives alive just meant extra work, didn’t it?
"..." The bandits were at a loss for words.
They felt that the County Prefect was simply a devil. They might as well curl up and die as grass.
"County Magistrate, you’ve misunderstood," Li Wenli explained with a laugh, "Although these men are from Black Spider, I have accepted their surrender. They now voluntarily join Dai County at your disposal. Of course, they also consider Dai County their home and will protect it with all their strength in times of peril."
"What?" The County Magistrate could hardly believe his ears.
Li Wenli nodded affirmatively.
The County Magistrate still looked incredulous.
After a moment, he pulled Li Wenli to the corner: "Little Fox Brother, I understand what you mean, but I must also make it clear to you, these people are different from Old Uncle Qiu.
Old Uncle Qiu and the others are good citizens, I feel secure using them, but how can I dare employ these troublemakers?
They are honorary men from the Green Forest; what if one of them suddenly turns violent and twists my head off?
I made a vow to the Bodhisattva to plead for the lives of the people in Dai County until I’m 120 years old. I cannot allow these uncontrollable factors to shorten the time I have to plead for the citizens."
Li Wenli was at a loss for words. He never expected the Fat County Magistrate to be so greedy; he was dreaming of living to 120 years old - as if, even without them joining, he could live that long.