Thanks for Your Help...

P.S. New book—please add it to your favorites, recommend it, and click!

If you've read this far, brothers, and still haven't added it to your favorites, come give Xiao Jiao a favorite. It doesn't cost anything. Brothers reading on other sites can also create an account and give Xiao Jiao a favorite, a click, and a recommendation.

Every vote, every favorite, and even every click from you brothers can help Xiao Jiao get some exposure on the new-book rankings and help more readers discover the story. So I hope you'll help Xiao Jiao make a push for the new-book rankings.

Starting today, Xiao Jiao will do his best to update twice a day. The other Bleach novel has also reached its final volume, and it'll be finished in another dozen or so chapters.

At noon, the sun shone brilliantly. The little grove outside town was lush and green, a beautiful sight. But danger lurked behind that beauty. The man leading the group of six watched Loxi draw closer, his face filled with greed and... murderous intent.

"Hmm, once I take Beli back, fifty thousand Beli should be enough. I can fill a barrel with fresh water at one of the villagers' homes in town. Thirty thousand Beli should buy enough meat for a month's voyage. The remaining twenty thousand should be more than enough for rice and flour... Ah, right, I should buy a few outfits for Mr. Bai, too..." As he walked, Loxi planned out the expenses like a shrewd little housekeeper.

"Hmm?"

But when Loxi came within twenty meters of the grove, his expression changed in an instant. His raised foot froze for a moment before he calmly set it down. At the same time, he twitched his nose and immediately slowed his pace.

Loxi lowered his head, panic welling in his eyes. "They must've just happened to pass by and stopped to rest in the woods. From the smell, there are six of them, and they've got a bit of blood on them. They don't seem like good people." As he spoke, he abruptly stopped, alarm flashing across his face.

"No, they're after me. Three are hiding on each side of the path. What do I do—" As he muttered to himself, Loxi continued to lift and lower his feet as if he hadn't noticed a thing.

Loxi's face clouded with indecision. If he entered the woods, he'd walk straight into their ambush. But if he didn't go through the woods, he couldn't reach the shore beyond them or get back to the ship.

"What's with that kid? Don't tell me he spotted us." Old Seven watched Loxi stop and asked in confusion.

"How could he? He's more than twenty meters away. There's no way he can see us hiding here. This isn't an open plain."

"Exactly. He probably saw something interesting and stopped to stare."

"No..." The gang leader's expression changed. He watched Loxi and said, "He's backing away, not walking forward."

"How's that possible?" The other five looked toward Loxi in disbelief. Only then did they notice that even though he was walking, he was getting farther from the woods.

The leader's expression turned cold. He drew a pistol from his waist and snarled, "You think you can fool us? Cripple that little bastard!" With that, he charged out, and the others followed him from the woods, armed with swords and knives.

"You bastards—"

Seeing that they'd spotted him, Loxi stopped pretending and turned to run.

Bang—

Just then, a gunshot rang out. Loxi looked at the bullet hole beside his foot, his face turning deathly pale. His stride faltered.

"Damn it, I missed! Get after him!"

The leader cursed furiously when his shot missed, then reloaded his pistol with gunpowder.

Loxi's expression changed at the sight. Instinctively, he wanted to surrender and hand over his money pouch. But memories of the past two days suddenly flashed through his mind. He gritted his teeth and darted off to the left.

No matter what, he couldn't let these bandits get their hands on the Beli. It was the only thought in Loxi's mind at that moment...

Since they had a gun, he couldn't run straight back to town along the path. The bandit would shoot him full of holes before he made it back. So Loxi didn't head for town. Instead, he veered into the woods alongside the path.

"Damn it, what a slippery little bastard."

The bandits were furious. They turned and chased after Loxi.

At the same time, Bai Ina was aboard the ship, no longer training. He was looking toward the grove on the island.

"Was that... a gunshot?"

A fierce glint appeared between Bai Ina's brows. He bent his good leg, then sprang forward, speeding off like an arrow. The instant he landed, he bent his right leg again and shot into the small grove at incredible speed.

"Don't you dare die—"

Bang—

The moment the gunshot rang through the grove, Loxi hurriedly ducked behind a huge tree.

"Huff—huff—huff—huff..."

Loxi leaned against the tree, gasping for breath. His face was as pale as paper, and despair crept into his heart. He was out of strength...

"Come out, you little bastard! You can't get away!"

The leader and his men searched the area. The leader sneered, "Come out and hand over the bounty you just collected. Then I might consider letting you go."

The others wore mocking smiles at their leader's words.

Let the kid go? What a joke. He was just saying that. The little bastard had seen their faces...

Loxi didn't know that. He struggled with indecision.

Should he hand it over... or not?

The two thoughts kept alternating in his mind. At last, he gritted his teeth. "I'll hand it over. I can have Mr. Bai take it back from them later." He had complete faith in Bai Ina. But just as he was about to step out and give the bandits the bounty, his expression changed instantly.

"You little brat, let's see where you run this time!"

While Loxi was distracted, one of the bandits had crept up behind him. By the time Loxi came to his senses and smelled the bandit, it was too late. As he turned, the big man behind him kicked him in the stomach. Loxi's small body flew a meter through the air and hit the ground.

"Hahaha! You little bastard, go on, keep running!"

The leader came over with his men. He sneered at Loxi, who was clutching his stomach and writhing on the ground, then raised his gun and fired.

Bang—

"AAAAAAAAAAH—"

The bullet pierced Loxi's thigh. The intense pain drained the color from his face, and tears streamed down his cheeks.

"You little bastard! Why'd you stop running? Go on, keep running!"

The leader looked at Loxi with sadistic glee and laughed cruelly.

"Holy crap, we've struck gold! Boss, that's five hundred thousand Beli!" The big man who had kicked Loxi picked up the pouch and counted the money. He shouted in delight.

"Five hundred thousand?"

The leader was taken aback. A flicker of apprehension crossed his face. "Pirates with a bounty of five hundred thousand are all pretty strong, and they've got a crew of ruthless men behind them. We can't afford to mess with a bounty hunter who can kill a pirate like that. We'll kill the kid and get off this island as fast as we can."

"Got it!"

The others nodded.

"No... You said you wouldn't kill me!"

Loxi's face changed instantly, and he cried out in terror.

"Not kill you?" The leader sneered. "Idiot. You've seen our faces. Do you really think we'd let you leave? Better find an honest job in your next life..." As he spoke, he aimed his pistol at Loxi's head and slowly squeezed the trigger.

Seeing this, Loxi shut his eyes in despair.

But the gunshot and sudden pain he expected never came, even after a long wait.

"Hmm?"

Loxi cautiously opened his eyes a crack, then flung them wide in surprise at the small figure standing in front of him.

"Mr. Bai!!!"

It was Bai Ina, who had rushed over after hearing the gunshots. His expression was ice-cold, and the long sword in his hand was already drawn. The bandit leader standing before Bai Ina was frozen in place like a fool.

The other five were puzzled, but only for a moment.

Crack—

The gun in the leader's hand split down the middle of its barrel. Like a chain reaction, a thin line of blood appeared down the bandit leader's body. The next second, he split in two.

Blood pooled like a stream. Fresh entrails writhed in the pool, and his heart still beat. Its thump, thump, thump was clearly audible.

"Hiss—"

At the sight, the remaining five sucked in a breath, their faces filled with terror.

Bai Ina slowly straightened up and brought his right foot down on the heart in front of him.

Squish.

With a muffled sound, blood sprayed into the air. Killing intent filled Bai Ina's face, and his voice seemed to come from the depths of hell.

"Thanks for taking care of my kid—"