Chapter 17

"Such powerful strength!" The bearded bandit was amazed. In the instant he attacked, he had already seen that the other party was a martial artist at the early stage of Spirit Lock, while he himself was at the middle stage of Spirit Lock. However, after the confrontation, the other party could completely suppress him!

Is an early stage of Spirit Lock stronger than a middle stage?

The bearded bandit couldn't figure it out, but he knew he wasn't a match for the other party. He looked up and saw the other bandits holding the other party back. The bearded bandit calculated the strength ratio, got up from the ground, and called out to the other bandits, starting to flee into the distance.

All of them combined could deal with the leader, but with another person who was even stronger, they were no match.

The bandits quickly retreated, and Lin Yiming didn't chase after them. If he left, what would happen to these old farmers?

Picking up the dagger dropped by the bearded bandit, Lin Yiming then noticed that among the bandits, the leader hadn't left. The leader was now facing away from him, looking at the bandits fleeing into the distance.

"Hmm? His hair..." Lin Yiming's gaze suddenly fixed on the leader's hair. The leader was wearing a mask and a pointed hat, but now the hat was nowhere to be seen. From behind, a long, black hair hung down, looking exceptionally smooth under the firelight.

Is this a woman?

Lin Yiming's heart stirred. Such long, lustrous black hair should not belong to a man.

Under Lin Yiming's gaze, the leader, who had been facing away from him, finally slowly turned around. Instantly, Lin Yiming felt his heart rate accelerate. He could hear his heartbeat very clearly, and he even wondered if his heart would jump out.

"Is this a person?"

Lin Yiming's mouth dropped open in surprise, his eyes wider than ever. The leader in front of him looked even younger than him, probably around twelve or thirteen years old.

At such a young age, her appearance was like the girls in the manga he had read in his previous life, even more beautiful. Especially her bright, large eyes, which he had never seen before. He had never seen such beautiful eyes, nor such large eyes.

These eyes were very, very large, but they didn't give an overly large, disproportionate feeling. Such beautiful eyes had never been seen on any real person, only occasionally in the manga on Earth in his previous life.

"What are you looking at, Guoguo?" Suddenly, a clear, crisp voice like a nightingale rang in Lin Yiming's ear.

Hearing this voice, Lin Yiming realized he had been distracted. When he came to his senses, the leader was already in front of him, staring at him with those large, captivating eyes that would drive any otaku or uncle in his previous life crazy, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"I... I was wondering why you didn't leave." Lin Yiming, looking closely, felt even more amazed by the beauty of the girl in front of him. He was really curious about how her parents could have given birth to such a beautiful girl. However, her complexion wasn't good.

It was clear that her skin was very good, very smooth and white, but her face was very pale, a pale without any blood color.

"Leave? Where should I go?" The girl looked at him with a puzzled expression, her large eyes wide open.

Lin Yiming felt defeated: "Of course, go home. Why are you so young and a bandit? Isn't it better to go home?"

"But Guoguo doesn't know where home is." The girl wrinkled her small nose, looking sad, making people want to hug her and take good care of her.

"Then, how did you become a bandit?" Lin Yiming became even more curious.

"Because they robbed Guoguo and wanted to take Guoguo's money. Then Guoguo beat them, and they made Guoguo a bandit. They said being a bandit means having food to eat. Guoguo was very hungry and wanted to eat, so she became a bandit. That time, Guoguo accidentally killed someone. They told Guoguo that person was the leader. They said the strongest person is the leader, so Guoguo became the leader." The girl simply explained how she became a bandit.

Lin Yiming really didn't know what to say. How could someone become a bandit like this? Looking at the girl who kept calling herself Guoguo, he paused for a moment and then asked, "Now that they're all gone, where are you going?"

"I don't know. Guoguo doesn't know where home is, and I don't know anyone." The girl looked at Lin Yiming with a very lost expression.

"This..."

Lin Yiming was stunned, silent for a moment, and then suddenly asked the girl, "If you have nowhere to go, why don't you come with us? Okay?"

"Okay." The girl nodded straightforwardly, feeling that the person in front of her was a good person.

The girl joined the group. Through conversation, Lin Yiming learned that the girl seemed to have lost her memory, forgetting almost everything, even her age. She only remembered her name was Guoguo.

The night passed quickly, and the next day, they continued their journey. Compared to the first day, their luck seemed even worse. They had only walked for half a day when another group of bandits blocked their path.

"There are really too many bandits on this road. After we exchange the grain, we must find a way to get some money and take the official road!"

Lin Yiming muttered to himself, gripping the dagger he had taken from the bearded bandit, preparing to negotiate with the bandits. But before he could step out, Guoguo, who was riding a horse, suddenly waved a token in front of the bandits. The next moment, something unexpected happened.

"Turns out it's one of us. Let's go." The bandit leader called out, and they quickly left.

"What's going on?" Lin Yiming looked at Guoguo with a puzzled expression.

"Because of this token." Guoguo waved the token in front of Lin Yiming and said, "All the bandits in this area are connected. This token is proof of being a bandit. As long as you have the token, you're a bandit. They all agreed that bandits don't rob other bandits, so they left when they saw my token."

Guoguo explained softly to Lin Yiming, "There's another group of bandits who are different from us. They rob everyone. If we encounter them, my token won't work. And they are very bad. I heard from the second-in-command that they don't rob the elderly, but they rob men, women, and children. They make men dig mountains, women become bandit wives, and they cook and eat children. It's very scary."

Lin Yiming really didn't know such bandits existed, and the town had never done anything about it. However, the more he interacted with this little Guoguo, the more he realized that this girl seemed to have some mental issues.

Fortunately, they never encountered that group of bandits on their journey.

After three and a half days of travel, on the fourth day at noon, they finally arrived at the town.