Firelight

PS: The following chapters are transitional and might be a bit dull, but they are indispensable!

PS+1: Just realized something tragic—it seems the first chapter was censored, so now it jumps straight from the prologue to the second chapter...

PS2: Thanks to 'Shan Su', 'Cong Ci Yi Lai Ni', and 'Mo Mo Mo' for the tips. Thank you for the support!

PS3: By the way, is the protagonist's name really that awkward? I'll open a poll in the book review section later to decide whether to change it. If it needs changing, I, Xiao Jiao, will take advantage of the low word count and edit it chapter by chapter.

PS4: Finally, please vote for this book!

"What's up with him?"

Bai Ina looked at Jande, who was following behind Tufang and Zongcilang, and asked coldly.

"Ah~" Zongcilang let out a listless yawn and said without reservation, "Don't know which nerve of his got crossed. He said he wanted to come with us to the Goa Kingdom to help carry some things!"

Bai Ina frowned upon hearing this. He stopped paying attention to Jande and led the way toward the Goa Kingdom.

However, he did not know that this very act of ignoring him would completely shatter his peaceful life.

The journey to the Goa Kingdom was not actually that far. After all, they didn't need to go to the central district; they only needed to reach the small town on the outskirts of the Goa Kingdom.

Passing through the central area of the Terminal Gray and climbing over the small hill in the distance, it took them less than two hours in total to reach the outermost town of the Goa Kingdom.

Once there, the group split up to buy what they needed, agreeing to meet at the town entrance in an hour.

After buying some rice and flour, Bai Ina went to a shop selling tableware to buy a new pot for Loxi, then returned to the town entrance to wait. It hadn't even been half an hour.

After all, there wasn't much he needed.

Tufang was the next to arrive after Bai Ina, carrying several sacks on his shoulders. He wasn't surprised to see Bai Ina already waiting at the entrance. After exchanging a greeting, he waited with Bai Ina for the other two to return.

Just as the hour was almost up, Zongcilang strolled out of the town carrying several woven bags, looking unhurried. When he saw that only Bai Ina and Tufang were there, he curled his lip: "Has that dead weight not come back yet?"

"Let's wait a bit longer, he should be here soon!" Tufang shook his head and said coldly, though there was a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone.

However, they waited for nearly another hour, yet there was still no sign of Jande.

Zongcilang sneered: "Let's go!" Without waiting for Bai Ina or Tufang to object, he turned and walked away.

Bai Ina had no objections either and followed behind Zongcilang.

Tufang hesitated for a moment, but then he sighed and muttered to himself: "Forget it, he knows the way back anyway."

What they didn't expect was that half a month passed, and Jande still hadn't returned.

However, no one went out of their way to look for him. Even when Teacher Kubo found out, he just sighed and never mentioned him again.

On this day, Bai Ina headed to the border town once more.

Of course, he wasn't looking for Jande; whether that person was dead or alive had nothing to do with Bai Ina. He was heading to the border town simply because they had forgotten one thing when the four of them went out that day.

They had gone as a group of four, each with their own tasks, and Jande had been assigned to buy seasonings. At the time, they assumed Jande had been delayed by something and had returned early; it never crossed their minds that Jande had taken the money and run off.

This resulted in the seasonings not being bought, and what bothered Bai Ina the most was that they only discovered this in the afternoon when the seasonings ran out completely and Loxi went to the storage room to look for them...

So, Bai Ina had to set off as quickly as possible to the border town to buy the seasonings before dinner time.

When he passed through the central area of the Terminal Gray, the atmosphere felt strange. He saw the thugs who usually spent their time scavenging for trash or sleeping in broad daylight all crowded into the streets, busy moving something.

Bai Ina couldn't be bothered to pay attention to them and walked straight through the Terminal Gray toward the border town.

However, Bai Ina failed to notice an eight or nine-year-old child wearing a straw hat and a boy with freckles on his face among the crowd.

If Bai Ina had seen them, he might have realized something.

It was nearly dusk by the time Bai Ina reached the border town. After buying enough seasonings at the shop, he hurried back, needing to return before dinner.

Just as Bai Ina returned to the Terminal Gray, his expression changed. Before he even entered, he smelled the pungent odor of gasoline, and not far away, flames were shooting into the sky.

"A fire?"

Bai Ina's face changed instantly. In the next moment, he bolted, heading straight toward the direction of the dojo.

Has the plot reached this point already...

Although Bai Ina knew that the Terminal Gray would be set ablaze due to the visit of the Celestial Dragons, he didn't know the exact timing.

Moreover, since he never went to the central area, he had missed a lot of news.

However, he wasn't too worried about the dojo. After all, the dojo was located by the coast, and there was no trash or debris around it, so it was basically impossible for the fire to reach it.

Because of the gasoline, the sudden fire engulfed the entire Terminal Gray in just a few minutes, and countless screams erupted throughout the area.

Figures ran through the sea of flames, desperate to escape the terrifying inferno.

Bai Ina ignored the surrounding residents and headed straight toward the dojo.

"What are you doing? Didn't I already tell you where the treasure is?"

At that moment, a childish voice reached Bai Ina's ears. He instinctively looked toward the direction of the sound.

Not far from him, a group of people had grabbed two boys, and the leader was wearing a typical pirate captain's cloak.

However, Bai Ina's gaze skipped over the group and landed on the two captured boys. Although they looked much younger than they would in the future, he recognized them at a glance.

The slightly older youth with a few freckles on his face was Ace, and that little brat wearing a straw hat was none other than Monkey D. Luffy!

Bai Ina felt no surprise at the two of them appearing here; after all, according to the plot, this was exactly where they would meet Sabo, the future chief of staff of the Revolutionary Army.

At this moment, the group of people opposite them also noticed Bai Ina, and their movements faltered.

"Tch, another brat? Is this some kind of concentration camp for kids?" Bluejam spat on the ground as he looked at Bai Ina. "Throw him into the fire! Damn it, I find these brats eyesores the moment I see them!"

"Run! These pirates have gone mad!"

Ace roared at Bai Ina, who appeared to be frozen in fear. The fact that these pirates were still risking their lives to hunt for treasure under such circumstances proved they had lost their minds; he wouldn't be surprised by anything they did now.

Upon hearing this, Bai Ina glanced at Ace, then turned his cold gaze toward Bluejam.

"I can't be bothered with meddling in other people's business. Move aside, I'm passing through!"

"..." Ace.

"..." Bluejam.

"Uh, Ace, what did he just say?" Luffy, held in the arms of a pirate, blinked his eyes, thinking he had misheard.

"Hahahahahaha!"

"Is this brat scared stupid?"

"What did he just say? He actually told us to move aside..."

"..."

The next moment, a burst of wild laughter erupted from the mouths of these crazed pirates. Bluejam looked at Bai Ina mockingly and said, "And what if we don't?"

Bai Ina's expression turned icy instantly. In the next second, he vanished from where he stood, transforming into a blur as he wove through the crowd of pirates. He appeared behind Bluejam, sheathed his Black Blade Dawn, and continued walking forward without looking back.

The group of pirates behind him stood motionless, not even glancing at Bai Ina, as if they had no intention of stopping him from leaving at all.

"Hm? This is..."

Ace seemed to have sensed something, and with an expression of disbelief, he looked toward the pirate who had been holding him.

Thud, thud, thud, thud...

In the next second, the heads of all the pirates rolled to the ground simultaneously, blood spraying upward and drenching Luffy and Ace.

The first reaction of the two boys, now soaked in blood, was not fear, but rather looking up in utter shock at the back that was gradually fading into the distance...