"Let's keep moving. Since they slaughtered the villagers here, it means their base must not be far from here."
Although none of them could be called saints, they couldn't bear to leave the villagers' corpses exposed to the wild. So, the group dug a large pit and buried the villagers, giving their consciences at least some closure.
"This country is in chaos. In my country, things like this would never happen," said Katherine as she stood up after praying for the dead.
Though they were from different nations, Katherine still felt sympathy for these villagers.
"Never happen? Or did it happen and you just didn't know about it?" Baichuan wasn't convinced that there were no bandit groups in her country.
"I'm sure it would never happen. Once you visit my country, you'll understand just how different our nations are."
"Oh? Then let's wait and see."
After witnessing such a tragedy, no one in the group was in a good mood. As they continued walking, not a single one of them spoke.
"Look, there's a small path over there. Do you think it leads to the bandits' hideout?" Katherine pointed out a fork in the road that had appeared.
"Probably." Baichuan pulled out the map for a look. He had bought this map with the others before leaving the city, to avoid getting lost along the way.
But he noticed the path wasn't marked. "Seems like this was a trail made by the bandits themselves."
He put the map away and said to the group, "Are you all ready? If you don't want to go, you can wait here."
"We've been ready." Shanks and Buggy both looked eager, especially Shanks, who could barely contain himself.
"Of course I'm coming. Staying here alone feels even more dangerous," Katherine added.
"Alright, then let's head up the mountain."
For some reason, as Baichuan spoke those words, his right eyelid twitched violently, as if something bad was about to happen.
"I hope I'm just overthinking it…"
"What's wrong?" Katherine noticed Baichuan pressing his hand to his right eye and asked.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"It's nothing. Let's keep moving," Baichuan said with a forced smile.
Hearing that, Katherine didn't ask further.
They followed the path into the mountains. Strangely, although it led deep into the forest, they saw no animals at all, not even any carcasses.
The deeper they went, the stronger Baichuan's sense of dread became.
Unable to suppress his unease, Baichuan suddenly stopped.
"Why did you stop?" The others halted as well, and Shanks looked at him questioningly.
"I have a bad feeling about where we're headed."
"What? You scared?" Buggy sneered. "Just some ordinary people, what's so dangerous?"
"I'm not worried about myself. I'm worried you might be in danger."
"Don't worry, with the great Buggy here, she'll be safe," Buggy said, flexing his muscles.
But he had misunderstood. Baichuan said "you all," while Buggy thought he was referring to Katherine alone.
Baichuan was about to clarify, but suddenly a voice interrupted them.
"Hey! Who are you people?" Baichuan turned around and saw a group of people blocking their path. Shanks and Buggy immediately drew their weapons, ready to fight.
"Did you kill the villagers down the mountain?" Now that they had run into someone, Baichuan didn't bother with small talk.
And just from their clothing, it was obvious these people weren't good news.
"Oh, those lowly peasants? Yeah, that was us," one of them said smugly.
"Why?" Baichuan asked through clenched teeth.
He couldn't understand how they could bring themselves to do it, slaughtering even women and infants. They were nothing short of monsters.
"Why? Why would we need a reason to kill? If we want to kill, we kill! Hahahaha!"
"What, you guys here to avenge them or something?"
"No. We're here to kill you." Now that they knew who was responsible, there was no need for more talk. Speaking to these beasts was a waste of time.
"Buggy, Shanks, let's go."
"Hell yeah, I've been dying for this!" Shanks charged forward in a flash and took down one bandit immediately.
"You little brat! You dare kill one of ours? Kill them! Tear them to pieces!"
Though the enemy had numbers, their strength didn't compare. In just a few moments, only their leader was left.
Baichuan slowly walked toward him step by step.
"Don't come any closer! Stay back!" The man flailed in panic, collapsed to the ground, and trembled all over.
"Did it ever cross your mind how those defenseless villagers must have felt before they died?" Baichuan squatted down in front of him and spoke each word coldly and deliberately. He wanted him to feel the despair the villagers had suffered.
"Please! Spare me! It wasn't me! I didn't do it!" The man fell to his knees and kowtowed to Baichuan frantically, even smashing his head open. But Baichuan felt no pity at all.
"If it wasn't you, was it ghosts then? Huh?"
"It was the Great General! He ordered us to do it. We hadn't even planned to kill them at first!"
"The Great General? So he's the one behind all this."
"Yes, that's right!"
"Who is this Great General?"
"I don't know! He just showed up at our hideout a few days ago, and our boss told us to call him the Great General."
"You, get up. Lead us there. I want to see who this Great General is."
"Okay, okay! I'll do whatever you want, just don't kill me!"
"Cut the nonsense. Move!"
"Yes, yes!" the man nodded frantically.
He walked ahead to lead the way, while Baichuan and the others followed behind. After about half an hour, they finally saw the bandits' hideout.
To be honest, the place looked just like one of those mountain hideouts Baichuan had seen on TV before.
"The Great General should be inside right now." But just as he finished speaking, a blade silently appeared at his neck and sliced it.
His eyes widened in shock, probably not even understanding why he was killed.
"I never said I'd let you live. You led us here of your own free will, didn't you?"