096 Brother Shen, you are truly a true gentleman.

Zhai Le remarked, "Lin Feng? That's even less appropriate."

Shen Tang, curious, asked, "How so?"

She found the name quite good and meaningful. Apart from sounding less like a girl's name, everything else seemed suitable.

Zhai Le hesitated to speak. In today's world, even some royal families struggled to survive, such as the Xing Kingdom's royal family, let alone ordinary people. The circumstances of the young maiden's relatives were unknown. Perhaps they could be contacted soon, and they might be willing to take care of the orphaned survivor, providing her with shelter. If her relatives lacked conscience, it would be akin to stepping into another pit of fire. However, it was more likely that they wouldn't be found. After all, in times of chaos, lives were cheaper than grass.

Zhai Le leaned closer to Shen Tang and whispered, ensuring the young maiden couldn't overhear, "Having the maiden by Brother Shen's side, whatever her fate may be in the future, for now, she will surely serve as a maid. The name 'Lin Feng' is too grand. I'm afraid she may not be able to bear it and might meet an untimely end."

Shen Tang chuckled, "You're still superstitious about this?"

Zhai Le replied, "Better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't."

Shen Tang, however, took a different stance, "I don't agree with your view, Zhai Le. In such a perilous and deadly situation, she managed to salvage her life. It shows that fate has not abandoned her. As the saying goes, 'When the time exceeds the limit, the negative turns positive.' Who knows if the future holds smooth sailing?"

Seeing her insistence, Zhai Le refrained from dampening her spirits any further.

Shen Tang concluded decisively, "Alright, she shall be called Lin Feng from now on."

The young maiden's emotions had stabilized considerably. She bowed deeply, lowered her gaze, and softly said, "Lin Feng greets the lord."

Shen Tang added, "As for a formal title, we'll decide on that later."

Upon hearing this, both Zhai Le and Lin Feng looked at her in surprise.

Lin Feng clenched her sleeves tightly, pursed her lips, and remained silent.

Zhai Le said, "It's customary for a girl to receive her title at her coming-of-age ceremony. She's still very young."

Shen Tang retorted, "You had a title before you turned twenty, didn't you?"

Zhai Le replied, "That's different."

In this world, men could receive literary and martial titles as symbols of their identity. It was unclear who initiated the practice, believing that taking a title early would help refine literary and martial prowess.

Therefore, for over two hundred years, as long as a person could sense the aura of heaven and earth and successfully guide it into their meridians to cultivate their skills, they could take a title, usually bestowed by parents or mentors, although there were exceptions - individuals could choose their own titles.

However, the process was different for women.

If unmarried at fifteen, parents would give them a title. If betrothed or already married before fifteen, it was usually the husband who named them. Shen Tang was certainly not the young maiden's parent, so it seemed somewhat inappropriate for him to give her a title, lacking in propriety.

Unless Shen Tang had intentions towards the young maiden, that is a different matter.

Zhai Le felt like he had seen through Shen Tang's intentions.

Hmm, rather devious intentions!

Was it just her imagination, or did Shen Tang feel a chill down her spine?

This intuition didn't last long. The henchmen had already moved all the bodies to one place. Their eyes kept darting towards Zhai Le, subtly hinting at their expectation - for Zhai Le to dig the graves. Not only would it save time, but the holes he dug would be deep, wide, and spacious.

Zhai Le, always willing to help, said, "Alright, watch me."

"It's not urgent to dig graves," Shen Tang intervened, stopping him. She turned to the henchmen and asked, "Have you searched the bodies? Don't leave behind anything useful or valuable. Even the smallest things matter. Waste nothing; even mosquitoes, tiny as they are, are meat."

Shen was well-versed in the principles of thrift and household management, even to the extent of setting up a stall to sell alcohol. "Even a small piece of silver must not be overlooked."

Zhai Le was speechless.

Besides moving the bodies and searching them, the henchmen had to move the wooden boxes from the Lin family. Each box was incredibly heavy, some scattered on the ground, others stacked on the carriage. Some contained gold and silver jewels, some held antiques, and others were personal "luggage" of the womenfolk. Shen Tang inspected them all with a torch, while Lin Feng nervously twisted her sleeves, keeping her head bowed as she followed behind.

In total, there were twenty-seven boxes of various sizes. Including those taken by the bandits, there might be as many as fifty.

From the contents of the boxes, it was evident that the Lin family was likely wealthy and well-established. If it weren't for Shen Tang and the others, these henchmen might have rushed to plunder them.

Shen Tang instructed Lin Feng, "You take care of these boxes."

Lin Feng suddenly looked up at Shen Tang, hesitated to speak.

Zhai Le spoke up for her, "Isn't this, perhaps, inappropriate?"

Logically, these were all spoils of war, but until recently, they belonged to the young maiden and her family. Now that her family was all gone, leaving only her, and Shen Tang was asking her to sort through these things...

Inappropriate, indeed.

Shen Tang rolled her eyes, "What's inappropriate about it? Most of these are women's belongings. Would you have these stinking men handle them? Show some decency! At least leave behind a clear name for them in death. Besides, who knows if we'll even find the bodies tomorrow. If not, their clothes can still be used to make graves."

Zhai Le was taken aback, not expecting Shen Tang to think this far ahead.

Ignoring Lin Feng's astonished expression, Shen Tang continued, "As for your own belongings, you can handle them yourself. It's a bit of a safeguard for you."

She paused for a moment, instructing Lin Feng, "As for your mother's belongings, pick one or two items as keepsakes. It'll be good to have something to remember them by in the future... Why are you about to cry again?"

The redness lingered, adding a glistening mist, almost falling but not quite.

Lin Feng wiped her tears, genuinely grateful from the bottom of her heart, "Thank you, lord."

The guilt-ridden Shen Tang muttered, "..." Taking someone else's money and being repeatedly thanked by the sole survivor, even the thickest-skinned person would find it somewhat uncomfortable. She could only awkwardly pat Lin Feng's head, saying, "Don't mention it. Go on."

As Lin Feng turned away, Shen Tang covered her face with her hands.

Zhai Le sighed, praising, "Brother Shen is truly a gentleman!"

He had judged Shen Tang's intentions with a petty mindset.

Ashamed

, utterly ashamed.

Shen Tang now covered her face with both hands, muttering, "Let's not talk about it."

Didn't she look embarrassed enough to dig out three living rooms and two halls?

Zhai Le: "???"

It took almost half an hour to tidy up everything. The boxes were rearranged and loaded onto the carriage. They would be taken down the mountain tomorrow. Shen Tang instructed the henchmen to tidy up the "campsite" and prepare to stay here for the night. Because of the unexpected windfall, Shen Tang had also become more generous, allowing the henchmen to eat the dry rations prepared by the guards.

If you make people work, you should also ensure they eat well, right?

As for the young Lin Feng...

With many mosquitoes in the forest, Shen Tang had her enter the carriage and specifically instructed her, "No matter what happens later, don't run around outside the carriage."

Upon hearing this, Lin Feng looked up at her, worried.

Then she looked past Shen Tang at the henchmen.

Shen Tang understood what she meant.

She explained, "It's not these henchmen. They don't have the guts to cause trouble. It's the bandits. There's a bandit's den in these mountains. They probably raided you before. It's rare to come across such a big sucker; they could live off it for three years. Why would they let a fat duck fly away? They're familiar with the terrain here, and with the commotion just now, they couldn't have missed it. At the latest, they'll come to raid us in the second half of the night."

After much hesitation, how about "Lingde" as her title?

Lin Feng, a wind beneath the trees, embodies both virtue and morality.