Chief Chen sized them up. "You're bandits from the mountains."
Lai San's heart pounded. He nodded haphazardly, then quickly shook his head. "We haven't done anything that bad, have we?"
At most, they'd stolen chickens and dogs from nearby villages and tagged along behind other mountain strongholds to pick up scraps. They truly hadn't done anything heinous.
"Don't be nervous," Chief Chen said, looking at the two ragged men before him. They were probably dressed only a little better than the beggars in a den. From the looks of them, they were likely fringe bandits.
"I'm not here to arrest you." Thinking of his current mission, a fire lit in Chief Chen's eyes.
'If I can recruit these bandits to come down and live honestly as farmers, the Lord County Magistrate will have an easy time reporting to his superiors, and we subordinates can get some real benefits too.'
