You put me in charge of the prison and turned all the female prisoners into female military goddesse

Lu Jing asked, "Do you really know magic?"

The other person looked up and glanced at him. The wariness in their eyes was like a clenched, unsheathed knife.

He didn't say anything.

"So you really wiped out your entire family?"

He still didn't say anything.

Lu Jing sneered, "Trying to act all high and mighty, huh?"

The person on the haystack opened their mouth.

"Aba, aba, aba."

The sound was not loud, like a breath squeezed out of the throat, each syllable was indistinct, and the tip of the tongue could not touch the palate.

Lu Jing was stunned.

Qin Liniang leaned out from behind, her eyes wide with surprise.

"A mute?" Lu Jing turned to look at Qin Liniang. "You've kept her locked up for so long, didn't you know she was mute?"

"I don't know, Lord Lu," Qin Liniang quickly waved her hand. "She hasn't spoken since she was locked up. We thought she was just a sullen person who didn't like to talk to people. Who would have thought she was mute?"

Lu Jing turned back. The torch was brought a little closer.

Can you write?

The other person nodded.

Lu Jing drew his sword, turned it around, and handed over the scabbard.

Write your name on the ground.

The other person took it, and the tip of the scabbard scratched the muddy ground a few times. Dust billowed up, forming several lines of crooked, illegible characters.

Everyone crowded around to take a look.

Nyurumedo.

"Your name is Nirumedo?" Lu Jing confirmed.

She nodded.

"Is it true that your entire family was wiped out?"

She paused. The scabbard lay motionless on the muddy ground.

Two or three seconds later, it swiped down again.

Correct.

hiss--

The female prisoners behind them all gasped, and two of them took a half step back, their shoulders bumping against each other.

Lu Jing didn't back down. He took another look at the person squatting in front of the haystack.

Not tall. Standing, he's probably only up to Lu Jing's shoulder, a little over 1.65 meters.

He was so thin that you could see the outline of his shoulder blades under his prison uniform, and his arms were as thin as reeds.

That physique could wipe out an entire family? He'd have trouble even wielding a knife.

Lu Jing then asked, "Do you know how to use weapons?"

She wrote: Yes.

Lu Jing stuck the torch into the wall and bent down to retrieve the scabbard.

"Those who want to come with me, stand up and follow. Those who don't, stay put."

He turned and walked out quickly, without stopping.

Qin Liniang and the others quickly followed, their footsteps clattering as they crowded together.

A moment later, Lu Jing heard a rustling sound from the haystack behind him. Someone stood up, and footsteps followed, neither too close nor too far.

Nirumedo chose to follow Lu Jing.

The other female prisoners glanced back, then quickly looked away, shifting their feet to the side to make way for her. No one wanted to walk next to her.

When Lu Jing pushed open the dungeon door, he first held the door panel and peeked out halfway.

The sunlight in the courtyard was blindingly white. Withered leaves swirled in the wind, there were no footprints or fresh bloodstains on the ground, and the tiles on the wall remained exactly the same.

Safety.

He turned around and waved to the crowd. The female prisoners filed out, squinting to adjust to the light. Some took a deep breath, as if trying to get rid of the stuffy smell of the dungeon.

"Where are you going?" Qin Liniang asked, leaning closer.

Lu Jing tucked his sword back into his waistband: "Set up the storeroom and find the map."

"Map?"

"With a map, we'll know how to get out of the city, and which way to go once we're out," Lu Jing said, lifting his foot. "Follow me."

The county government office was small, with its storeroom located in the east wing of the backyard.

I walked through corridors and courtyards without encountering anyone.

The ground was littered with bundles, broken porcelain, and overturned inkstones left behind during the escape; two rows of wooden shelves had collapsed; and official documents were scattered all over the place.

Pushing open the door to the shelving room, the interior was even more chaotic. The room was filled with piles of documents and files, some scattered on the floor, their footprints obscuring the writing.

"Find it," Lu Jing said, "the map, the top shelf."

The female prisoners scattered, some rummaging through the latrines, others searching.

Lu Jing ignored them, climbed up the crooked wooden frame, ran his fingers over a row of scrolls, pulled out a map, and immediately unfolded it.

The mountains and rivers are outlined in ink, and there is indeed a continuous mountain range outside the city, marked "Baixi Mountain Range", which stretches for more than ten miles.

Yes, it has mountains and water, which is suitable for Tibetans. Let's go there to rest first and then make further plans.

He rolled up the map and tucked it into his pocket.

"Let's go. Out of the city, to the White Creek Mountains; that's a suitable place to live."

The female prisoners clutched the scraps they had just picked up, looking completely bewildered.

"Release it now?"

"What else? Wait for the cannibal soldiers to come, and then eat you with flatbread?"

Everyone fell silent.

When I went out, the sun was already setting.

The streets were even more chaotic than the county government office.

A clothesline lay across the middle of the road, with half a garment hanging on it that hadn't been taken down yet; a stall selling sesame cakes had been overturned, sesame seeds scattered all over the ground and trampled into the mud; the door of a house was half open, and an old woman with gray hair sat on the threshold, holding a pillow in her arms, muttering something to herself.

She saw someone pass by, but didn't look up. She just sat there, her voice like the embers of a burnt-out stove.

"Stop looking," Lu Jing said in a low voice. "Let's go."

The female prisoners followed behind him, lifting their skirts and walking quietly.

After walking two streets, Lu Jing suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Qin Liniang almost bumped into his back.

Lu Jing glanced back. The ochre prison uniform stood out too much in the drab streets; it could be seen from afar—a dozen or so red figures followed behind, like a funeral procession.

"I need to change my clothes," he said.

There was a silk shop on the street corner. Half of the door panel had been removed, but the fabric inside was still there. Several rows of ready-made clothes were hanging on bamboo poles. The fabric was thick and mainly gray, blue, and navy blue.

"Go inside, find something you can wear, pick men's clothing, it'll be easier to move around in!"

The female prisoners paused for a moment, then scattered in a flurry.

"This material is soft!"

"Is this color okay?"

"Look how long the sleeves are—"

"Enough!" Lu Jing leaned against the doorframe, shouting angrily, "Are you trying to escape? Hurry up and change. Those who don't want to live can wait."

The girls shrank back and quickly tried on the clothes they had chosen.

Qin Liniang loosened the ties of her prison uniform and pulled it down, revealing the curves of her shoulders and collarbone. Mu Jiangli, standing next to her, jumped back in surprise.

"Crazy! Lu Jing is still here!"

Qin Liniang turned and glanced at Lu Jing, a smile playing on her lips: "Lord Lu, don't be afraid."

She pulled her prison uniform down further, revealing her slim waist and rounded hips. The uniform clung to her hip bones, and several other female prisoners followed suit, taking it off as well.

Sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the door, hitting the lower back. There were also two people with their backs to the door, bending over to reach for their clothes, their backs and waists taut in the curve.

Mu Jiangli was both anxious and angry, and stomped her foot.

Jiang Duyue had already reached the doorway of the inner room without anyone noticing, and was holding onto the door frame with one hand.

"I'll change here," she said. "Is anyone inside?"

Mu Jiangli followed her inside: "I'm going in too."

Lu Jing reached out and grabbed Mu Jiangli by the back of her collar.

"You can't go."

Why!

"What if you run away?"

"I—" Mu Jiangli stared wide-eyed, her mouth opening halfway before closing again.

"Change it here."

Mu Jiangli's face flushed red. She looked at Qin Liniang and the others; they had all changed into new clothes, some fastening their belts, others gathering their sleeves, their faces beaming with joy. She looked down at her prison uniform, then at her ochre clothes covered in dust.

She turned around, her back to Lu Jing, and hunched her shoulders slightly before untying her belt.

Halfway through the change, Lu Jing clicked his tongue.

"What are you doing?"

"Your butt isn't very good," Lu Jing said, "not perky enough."

Mu Jiangli suddenly turned around: "You put it—"

She was halfway through her sentence when she looked down and realized she wasn't wearing a shirt. She gasped and turned back around, her ears burning red.

Lu Jing raised an eyebrow.

Hmm. The size is just right; it can be held in one hand.

"Are you dressed yet?" He turned to look at the others.

The female prisoners responded in a few scattered voices. They changed from gray, cyan, and blue into various colored short brown sleeves, which, though loose-fitting, at least made them look less like prisoners. Mu Jiangli was the last to turn around, wearing a faded blue cloth shirt, her lips still pouting.

Jiang Duyue changed the fastest, straightening her cuffs as she came out.

"Let's go." Lu Jing pushed open the door.

I hadn't walked more than a few steps outside when a shout came from the neighboring courtyard:

"Help--"

Lu Jing didn't stop, continuing to urge everyone: "Don't meddle in other people's business, you're even disregarding your own dignity."

"My lord," Qin Liniang tugged at his sleeve, "doesn't this voice sound a bit like little He Xiang?"

Lu Jing paused in his steps.

He listened intently.

"Let go of me... Don't touch her, come at me!"

I heard it clearly this time.

It was Wen Lanxiang's voice, sharp and trembling.

Lu Jing walked quickly to the gate of that house and looked through the crack in the door.

Beside the well, Wen Hexiang was pinned to the ground, and a scout was tearing at the collar of her clothes.

On the other side of the well, Wen Lanxiang and Ye Qingqing were bound hand and foot with ropes, their mouths stuffed with rags. Next to them was a large iron pot, and two bandits were adding firewood to the bottom of the pot, where the water was already steaming.

"Damn it." Lu Jing sighed helplessly.

How did I get caught again?

He took the bow off his back, reached for his saddlebag with his right hand, and prepared to launch a surprise attack with a cold arrow to kill the scout in the courtyard.

But at that moment, the courtyard gate was suddenly kicked open.

Clang!

"stop!"

Jiang Duyue stood at the door, her voice not loud, but every word was clear.

The three thieves in the courtyard turned around at the same time. The one who was holding Wen Hexiang released his grip and slowly stood up.

Lu Jing slapped his face.

"Damn it." He peeked at Jiang Duyue's retreating figure through his fingers. "Doesn't he even know what a sneak attack is?!"