The Hideout

"Move it! Don't grab anything else." The bandit leader, wielding a machete, shouted as five or six of his henchmen hoisted sacks of grain and scattered into the forest.

Seeing the bandits about to flee, Jinn rushed after them but was blocked by the bandit leader.

"Kid, we just want some grain. Don't make me hurt you!" the bandit leader growled menacingly, his somewhat rusted machete angled in front of him, his foot cautiously inching forward.

"Pfft! You're just a bunch of thieves!" Jinn retorted fiercely, thrusting his spear towards the bandit leader's chest.

A glint of cold light quickly enlarged, but the bandit leader's knife deftly parried the spear, which was immediately blocked. Seizing the moment when Jinn's force was spent, the bandit leader's left hand grabbed the spear shaft.

For a moment, Jinn couldn't pull his spear back.

The bandit leader sneered and took a big step forward, swinging his machete down towards Jinn's head.

Facing the incoming blade, Jinn simply let go and leaped backward. The chilling gleam almost grazed Jinn's face as it slashed down. Amidst Jinn's pounding heart, the blade narrowly missed him, slicing through the air and tearing a long gash in his leather armor.

Jinn finally completed the simple backward leap, escaping the bandit leader's range. Breathless and shaken, Jinn panted heavily, his right hand instinctively feeling his chest. The leather cuirass bore a long scar, but his body was unharmed.

The bandit leader glanced at Jinn in surprise. But seeing that Jinn was now unarmed and no longer a threat, he paid him no further mind, kicked Jinn's spear away, picked up a sack of grain, and turned to leave.

Having narrowly escaped, Jinn first retrieved his spear before turning back. By then, aside from a few corpses, the bandits had vanished.

Jinn, with a strong sense of justice, felt compelled to do something. So he chased after the direction the bandit leader had fled. By the time Norn noticed, all he saw was a small receding figure.

"You little brat! Stop chasing them!" Norn shouted at Jinn's retreating, but the distance was too great; Jinn couldn't hear him anymore.

Norn stamped his foot in frustration, about to give chase when he was held back. Turning around, he saw the caravan boss.

The caravan boss's face was stern, and he simply shook his head without saying another word.

Back to Jinn's side.

Jinn lowered his head, examining a clear footprint in front of him. His body immediately followed the trail. These bandits had no intention of covering their tracks, and the grain sacks they carried made it easy for them to leave footprints. As a hunter, Jinn easily found these.

Half an hour later, the footprints in front of Jinn multiplied, even mixing with other types of tracks. Jinn even found a piece of linen cloth that had been dropped.

This confirmed Jinn's direction and made him slow down even more. Jinn hadn't lost his senses; he followed these traces rhythmically. As long as he could find out where this group of bandits was holed up, he could then join forces with others to retrieve the stolen goods.

As a knight, Jinn naturally felt it was his duty to protect the merchants and recover the goods.

And as a hunter, Jinn was never short of patience. He believed he would catch up to these "prey."

Finally, after traversing through dense forests and hills, Jinn saw a small figure in the distance. Alert, Jinn immediately crouched low, hiding in the thick underbrush and slowly looking for an opportunity to get closer.

After slowly advancing for a while, Jinn, lying in the grass, finally got close to the bandits' hideout.

It was a cave, and many successful bandits were carrying the grain they had stolen into it, bag by bag.

The bandit leader, on the other hand, put his knife aside and counted the amount of grain.

Jinn silently memorized the location, preparing to return, when he was distracted by a clear, childish voice.

"Uncle Anthony! You brought back so much grain from the village!" A little girl ran out of the cave. Although she was thin and sallow, seeing so much grain made her very happy.

The bandit leader laughed heartily and patted the little girl on the head, boasting, "Of course, I'm a veteran. That scum baron's army can't do anything to me."

"But why does Uncle always carry a knife when he goes out?" The little girl blinked her big eyes innocently.

"Of course, it's for self-defense! There are still a lot of bad people out there!" The bandit leader picked up the machete beside him, twirled it a few times, and then said warmly to the little girl, "But don't worry, little Fanny! I'll protect you."

The little girl's face immediately bloomed into a smile. Then, as if she had thought of something, she looked curiously at the crowd and asked, puzzled, "Uncle Anthony, why don't I see Uncle Ruf?"

The bandit leader's face froze for a moment, then he put on a smile again, "He's been sent to a distant town to buy grain."

"Really?" The little girl's eyes lit up with anticipation, "So when Uncle Ruf comes back, he'll bring lots of bread, right?"

"He will. But his bread is only for good kids. So, little Fanny, you have to be good to get bread," the bandit leader squatted down, his face full of smiles, coaxing her.

"Fanny!" A woman of about 30 years old ran out of the cave. After seeing that the little girl was safe, she let out a sigh of relief, then her face turned stern as she scolded the little girl, "Didn't I tell you it's dangerous outside? You mustn't run around."

The little girl made a face and hid behind the bandit leader.

"It's okay, I'm here. Jacqueline, you don't have to worry so much," the bandit leader put the little girl behind him with one hand and said gently to the woman, "Alex is my best friend. I'll take care of you."

The woman's face darkened, and the scene fell into sadness.

Jinn was overwhelmed by an indescribable emotion. For a moment, he was lost, unsure whether he should report the location of this group and join others to raid these "bandits."

But as Jinn was lost in thought, the little girl spotted a pretty butterfly and chased after it curiously—the direction was straight towards the bushes where Jinn was hiding.

Jinn's eyes widened involuntarily, and his trembling hand tried to draw the small knife from his waist, but this simple action took him a long time to complete.

The little girl's cheerful laughter rang clearly in Jinn's ears, and her innocent gaze was something Jinn couldn't bear to look at directly.

Jinn turned his head, gritted his teeth, and finally slowly drew the knife.

The little girl remained oblivious to the danger, chasing the butterfly's path carefreely, her clear laughter echoing in the small clearing.