Bandit's Treasure Trove

Meanwhile, behind the cold iron bars of their prison, Rui sat alone, separated from the girls but still close enough to hear their voices. He crouched down in his dimly lit cell, absently tossing a small pebble against the wall, catching it, and repeating the process. The repetitive motion was the only thing keeping his mind from spiraling into frustration.

Saya leaned against the bars of her cell, scanning their surroundings. Her mind raced with possible escape strategies. "How are we going to get out of this mess?" she muttered.

Yiren, who had been sitting with her back against the wall, let out a dry chuckle. "Amazing. You're still optimistic after all this?"

She turned her head slightly, glancing at Lina. The usually confident girl was curled up in the corner, hugging her knees, her body trembling. The fight had completely drained from her eyes.

Saya sighed. ( Lina's out. Whatever happened back there shattered her. )

"We can't fight our way out of this," Saya continued, shifting her focus back to their situation. "So we'll have to be clever."

"They're probably planning to ransom us off," Yiren said, her tone light as if this were just another inconvenience. "Relax, it's not like they can actually do anything to us."

Saya, however, wasn't convinced. She stole another glance at Lina, her state confirming that this situation was worse than just a simple kidnapping.

"Rui, are you still awake?" Saya asked.

"I am," Rui replied, lazily tossing his pebble once more.

Saya's eyes narrowed as she thought. "This cell… it's in the deepest part of the cave. Well, maybe not the deepest, but deep enough that it's intentional. They designed it like this to prevent their captives from escaping—or from being rescued."

Yiren smirked. "You think too much."

Saya shot her a glance. "And you're surprisingly calm for someone in tattered clothes."

Yiren simply shrugged. "Nothing I can do about it now. Though, I do wonder about that kid. He must've run for help by now."

Lina's head suddenly snapped up, her eyes wide with desperate hope. "R-Right! That's true, isn't it? He must have!"

But Rui, who had remained silent for most of the conversation, sighed and shattered that fragile hope.

"He might have. But who would listen?" Rui tossed his pebble against the wall again, his voice eerily calm. "This isn't just some hideout. It's a stronghold."

Lina's hope flickered, her breath hitching as reality settled back in.

Saya exhaled, rubbing her temples. "Then we have to find a way out ourselves," she muttered. "Because I am not waiting around to be sold off like livestock."

Rui snorted, still flicking pebbles against the wall. "Easy to say, but what do you suggest? The bars are solid, the guards are outside, and we don't have weapons."

Yiren leaned against the wall of the cell, tilting her head slightly. "If we assume that Kazel ran for help, we should hold out for as long as possible," she said. "If he didn't, well… we'll think of something else."

Lina, who had been hugging her knees, suddenly raised her head. "No… No, he must have," she whispered, almost like she was convincing herself. Her hands clenched her torn robes tightly. "He—he must have reached someone by now… right?"

Saya sighed. (She's not getting better anytime soon.) "That's an optimistic way of looking at things," she said, forcing a small smile.

Yiren smirked. "You're the one who started the optimism, remember?"

Saya rolled her eyes. "That was before Rui reminded me that this place isn't just some random hideout but an actual stronghold," she muttered, nodding toward the other side of the cell where Rui sat. "If Kazel went for help, he needs a damn army to even dent this place."

Rui finally stopped tossing his pebble, looking up at them. "Realistically, there is no rescue coming. No offense to the kid, but this is a numbers game. Even if he reached someone, it's not like a sect or an order is going to send men just to save a bunch of nobodies."

Lina paled. "T-Then what are you saying?!"

"He's saying that we either get out on our own or we don't get out at all," Saya said bluntly. "Which is exactly why we need a plan."

"But there is no plan," Yiren countered. "Not one that we can make, at least. The moment we step out of this cell, we're outnumbered, outmatched, and unarmed." She sighed, leaning back. "Our best bet is still waiting."

"Waiting for what?!" Lina snapped, finally raising her voice. Her eyes were filled with fear and desperation. "Waiting to be sold off?! Waiting for them to break us?!"

Rui sighed, tossing his pebble into the air and catching it. "Waiting for him."

Silence filled the cell. Saya frowned. "You mean Kazel?"

Rui tossed his pebble again, catching it absentmindedly. "Of course, there's another possibility," he mused.

Saya raised a brow. "Oh? And what's that?"

Rui leaned back against the cold stone wall, his expression calm but thoughtful. "If that kid's a big shot—some noble's heir, a hidden young master—then he might actually be able to rally enough people to storm this place."

Lina's eyes lit up with desperate hope. "R-Really?"

"But," Rui continued, flipping the pebble in his palm, "that's highly unlikely."

Lina's expression fell.

"Think about it," Rui said. "He was alone when he joined us, wasn't he? No guards, no servants, no insignia on his robes. Just some kid who happened to be wandering near the forest, wanting a spirit beast. That doesn't scream 'influential background' to me."

Yiren exhaled through her nose, nodding. "True. If he had a powerful background, he wouldn't have been with us in the first place. He would've had bodyguards or at least a better weapon than that old sword."

Saya folded her arms, her lips pressing into a thin line. "So what you're really saying is… our fate is still up in the air?"

Rui shrugged. "Pretty much. Either he's dead, running for his life, or actually doing something useful. It's a gamble, but hey, I like a good gamble."

Lina gritted her teeth, her nails digging into her arms. "Then we're doomed."

"Not necessarily," Yiren murmured. "Because something about him was strange."

Saya tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

Yiren narrowed her eyes as she recalled their earlier encounters. "He wasn't scared."

The room fell silent.

"When the bandits attacked, he didn't scream. He didn't beg. He didn't panic like a normal kid would," Yiren continued. "Even when he spoke to us, he was always too calm, too… sure of himself."

Saya slowly nodded. "Yeah. I noticed that too."

"Which means," Yiren said, a slow smirk forming on her lips, "that either he's an idiot who doesn't understand danger…"

Rui chuckled. "Or he's far more dangerous than he looks."

Saya exhaled. "Then let's hope it's the latter."

---

"Now that's how you level the playing field."

Kazel smirked as his eyes gleamed with excitement. Before him stood a mountain of Spirit Stones, piled high like the hoard of a greedy dragon. The sheer amount was staggering—this had to be the result of years of plundering, ransoms, and thievery. A fortune stolen from countless victims now lay at his feet, ripe for the taking.

Without hesitation, Kazel stepped forward and buried himself in the glittering mound, letting the cold, pulsing energy of the Spirit Stones engulf him. He sank deeper, the stones shifting around him like shifting sands, until his entire body was submerged.

In that moment, he closed his eyes and entered his soul space.

The energy here was dense, like a raging storm trapped in an unbreakable shell. He could feel it pressing against him, waiting—no, begging—to be absorbed. His grin widened as he stretched his will outward, commanding the energy to flow.

One by one, the Spirit Stones around him dimmed, their brilliant glow fading as their energy was siphoned into his soul space. The immense power surged through his body, bursting like firecrackers in his core, each pulse strengthening him.