Jiang Li led Lin Xiao and Su Yao westward all the way. Although there were occasional twists and turns during the journey, it was fairly smooth on the whole.
On this day, they came to a remote place and saw a village nestled at the foot of a mountain from a distance. Wisps of cooking smoke were rising, adding a touch of earthly flavor to this desolate place.
When they got closer, however, they sensed a somewhat oppressive atmosphere in the village.
Jiang Li felt that something was amiss, so he asked Lin Xiao and Su Yao to wait for a while at the entrance of the village while he walked slowly into the village, intending to find out what was going on.
As soon as he entered the village, he heard a hubbub of noise. Jiang Li followed the direction from which the sound came and saw a group of people gathered in an open space in the middle of the village.
He pushed aside the crowd and took a closer look. He saw a thin middle-aged man with a flushed face shouting loudly at a little girl. The little girl was only about thirteen or fourteen years old, with two pigtails, thin and sallow-faced, clearly the result of long-term malnutrition.
But her big eyes were full of stubbornness and defiance at the moment.
At the little girl's feet, several men were lying sprawled on the ground, all with bruised faces and swollen noses, moaning and groaning.
Apparently, it was the little girl who had knocked them down.
All they could hear was the middle-aged man swearing and shouting,"Ye Xiaoke, you ungrateful wretch! I was kind enough to save you and raise you up to this age. Now it's time for you to repay my kindness. I owe these gentlemen gambling debts. You go and pay off the debts for me, and that'll be considered as repaying my kindness in raising you. But look at you, you even dare to hit people. You're really getting out of hand!"
Ye Xiaoke bit her lip tightly, with tears in her eyes, but replied stubbornly,"I won't go! You're pushing me into the fire pit. I'd rather die than go!" As she said that, she tightened her grip on the hoe in her hand, which was quite disproportionate to her small figure. It seemed that as long as the middle-aged man dared to force her again, she would fight back once more.
Jiang Li's eyes fell on the hoe, and he was slightly moved in his heart. Then he carefully observed Ye Xiaoke's steps and movements, and was secretly startled in his heart.
This little girl's steps seemed disorderly, but in fact, they contained certain patterns. Each step she took was filled with a clever force. It seemed that she was a martial artist, and her foundation was rather solid, far from being comparable to an ordinary village girl.
Just at that moment, among the several gamblers lying on the ground, a guy with a fierce and fleshy face struggled to get up, pointed at Ye Xiaoke and said viciously,"Hmph, you little brat! You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Today, you have to go whether you like it or not!" After saying that, he waved his hand, and the other gamblers also got up one after another and surrounded Ye Xiaoke.
Seeing this, a trace of fear flashed across Ye Xiaoke's face, but it was quickly replaced by determination.
She gripped the hoe tightly with both hands and held it across her body, ready to fight again.
Although those gamblers had just suffered a setback, relying on their numbers and thinking that the little girl had only gained the upper hand by sheer luck, they rushed forward menacingly once again.
Ye Xiaoke, however, remained calm. She slightly shifted her steps, and her figure flashed like lightning, instantly dodging the pounce of the man in the front.
Then, she suddenly swung the hoe in her hand, creating a whistling sound of wind. The hoe seemed as light as a feather in her hand as she effortlessly swept it towards the gamblers on one side.
With a "bang", the gambler was hit by the hoe and flew out like a kite with its string cut, falling heavily to the ground and moaning again.
The other gamblers saw that the situation was not good, but they couldn't stop their steps and continued to attack Ye Xiaoke. Ye Xiaoke showed no fear at all. She swung the hoe vigorously, and each swing carried tremendous force. Another two gamblers were hit by her and fell to the ground screaming.
However, after all, there were many of them. Although Ye Xiaoke was quite skilled in martial arts, after a fierce fight, she gradually began to feel exhausted.
Just when one of the gamblers spotted an opportunity and was about to pounce on her from behind and succeed, a figure flashed like a ghost and instantly appeared behind Ye Xiaoke.
It was Jiang Li who made a move. With a gentle wave of his hand, a soft stream of spiritual power gushed out. The gambler who was pouncing was like hitting an invisible wall and was bounced back, falling to the ground and unable to get up for a long while.
Seeing this, the other gamblers were so frightened that they stopped in their tracks one after another and looked at Jiang Li in horror. The middle-aged man also widened his eyes, his face full of astonishment.
Jiang Li coldly swept his eyes over everyone, and his voice was low but carried a sense of authority."Forcing a little girl in broad daylight, do you still have any law?"
The gambler with a fierce and fleshy face summoned up his courage and said,"You... who are you? Mind your own business! This is a matter in our village. This little girl is that guy's daughter. He owes us gambling debts, and it's only natural to use his daughter to pay off the debts!"
Jiang Li snorted coldly."Hmph, using your daughter to pay off debts. How dare you say that!" After saying that, he turned his head to look at the middle-aged man."As her adoptive father, how could you be so heartless?"
The middle-aged man looked ashamed but still argued stubbornly,"I... I had no choice. I owe so many gambling debts. If I don't use her to pay off the debts, how can I survive!"
Hearing this, Ye Xiaoke couldn't hold back her tears any longer and they burst out of her eyes. She sobbed and said,"Adoptive father, I originally thought you were truly kind to me. But since my adoptive mother died, you've changed. You've become addicted to gambling and now you're even going to sell me to pay off the debts. You... you've really let me down!"
Jiang Li sighed inwardly. This little girl was also a pitiful person. He looked at Ye Xiaoke and asked softly,"Little girl, what are you going to do next?"
Ye Xiaoke wiped away her tears and said stubbornly,"I... I don't know. All I know is that I can't go and pay off their debts for them. But since my adoptive father has already made up his mind, I... I don't want to make things difficult for him either. I might as well just go with them."
Jiang Li was touched in his heart. Although this little girl had suffered such injustice, she still remained kind-hearted. It was truly rare. After thinking for a moment, he said to the middle-aged man,"How much gambling debt do you owe?"
Hearing this, a trace of surprise flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes. Thinking that Jiang Li was going to pay off the debt for Ye Xiaoke, he quickly replied,"Not much, just fifty taels of silver."
Jiang Li frowned slightly. Fifty taels of silver was no small amount for ordinary villagers. He looked at Ye Xiaoke and already had a plan in mind.
Immediately, he took out a silver ingot from his storage ring and threw it to the middle-aged man, saying,"This silver ingot weighs a full one hundred taels, which is enough for you to pay off your gambling debts. From now on, don't ever think about using this little girl again."
The middle-aged man took the silver and immediately beamed with joy, nodding repeatedly."Yes, yes, yes. Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir! I won't dare to do it again."
Jiang Li then turned to Ye Xiaoke and said,"Little girl, now you're free. You can leave and find a good place to go."
However, Ye Xiaoke widened her eyes, looked at Jiang Li, and said seriously,"No way. Since you bought me, I'm your little maid now. Although I'm young, I also know that one should repay kindness. I can't just leave like this."
Jiang Li was stunned for a moment. He had originally just wanted to help the little girl get out of the difficult situation, but he didn't expect her to be so stubborn.
He said with a wry smile,"I bought you just because I didn't want you to be taken away by them, not really to make you my maid."
However, Ye Xiaoke firmly shook her head."I don't care. Anyway, I have no home to go back to now. You are my master, and I will follow you."
Seeing that she was so persistent, Jiang Li sighed inwardly. This little girl had also suffered a hard life. Since she had nowhere to go, it might be better to take her with him.
So, he nodded and said,"Alright, since you're so insistent, then you can follow me."
Hearing this, Ye Xiaoke immediately stopped crying and burst into laughter, with a bright smile on her face."Great, Young Master! I will surely serve you well!"
After that, Jiang Li took Ye Xiaoke back to the entrance of the village and reunited with Lin Xiao and Su Yao.
When Lin Xiao and Su Yao saw that Jiang Li had brought a little girl back, they were both full of doubts.
Jiang Li then briefly told them what had happened.
The group continued on their journey. Along the way, Jiang Li found that although Ye Xiaoke was young, she was born with extraordinary strength. She could wield that hoe in her hand effortlessly.
Moreover, she also had a good foundation in martial arts and should have no problem dealing with some ordinary petty thieves and the like.
Jiang Li was curious in his heart, so during a break, he asked Ye Xiaoke,"Xiaoke, who taught you your martial arts skills? Also, do you still remember your own origin?"
Ye Xiaoke tilted her head and thought for a while before saying,"I don't know who taught me these martial arts skills. I just can't remember anything before I was eight years old.
My adoptive father said that I was injured by wild beasts and then he saved me when he was herding cattle on the mountain. At first, my adoptive father was really nice to me. But after my adoptive mother died, he became addicted to gambling and that's why he wanted to sell me.
Now that I've sold myself into slavery, it can be considered as repaying my adoptive father's kindness."
Listening to her, Jiang Li couldn't help but become even more curious about the little girl's origin.
A little girl with no memories before the age of eight, yet having an extraordinary martial arts foundation. But seeing Ye Xiaoke's innocent look, he didn't feel right to ask more questions. He could only secretly keep this matter in mind, thinking that if there was an opportunity in the future, he would explore and help the little girl uncover her origin.
What they didn't know was that right after Ye Xiaoke left, a young man came to the village to inquire about her.