Seeing their boss running away from the village, they all hesitated for a moment before following their boss.
"You all, help the villagers. I have some work to take care of," said Ronin. He then disappeared from his original spot, reappearing on top of a tree, and followed the bandits who were quickly riding away from the village.
It didn't take long for the bandits to catch up with their boss. "Boss, why are you running away?" asked one of the bandits, curiosity in his expression.
"Who said I'm running away? I simply forgot that there is important work I have to attend to. After all of you informed me about what happened in the village, I forgot my duty and came with you. When I was conversing with that fool, I suddenly remembered my obligation, so I'm hurrying back now to complete my work," replied the bandit's boss, his stern expression feigned.
"Oh."
*****
"I knew it; the boss must have important matters to attend to, so he doesn't waste his time on that fool."
"Yes, yes."
"The boss is mighty."
"The boss is invincible."
All the bandits exclaimed with a newfound understanding on their faces.
"Hmph, can you tell me what that important work of yours is? Is it pooping?" Ronin questioned as he suddenly appeared in front of the bandit's boss.
The horse raised its front legs and halted after sensing the powerful aura emanating from Ronin. Animals are known for their keen senses when it comes to detecting danger.
"Who is that bas..." Before he could finish his sentence, the words stuck in his throat as he saw the person to whom the voice belonged.
"Brother, what are you doing here? When I mentioned poop, I was just lying. The work I am about to do is highly confidential. How can I let everyone know my plans when it's confidential?" the bandit's boss said with a forced smile.
"Until now, how many people have you killed?" Ronin asked, his expression stern.
The bandit's boss assumed that Ronin was inquiring to determine if he was stronger than him, so he didn't hold back and even added a few lies, stating, "I've killed 400 people so far."
"Oh," Ronin responded, glancing at the group of bandits and starting to count them slowly with his finger. "Hmm, there are only 60 of you, and you've all killed 400 till now. The numbers count is not balanced," he remarked. Then, he turned his attention back to the bandit's boss and asked, "Are there still any others in your hideout?"
"None," the bandit's boss replied, feeling an ominous sensation creeping over him.
"Very well, no problem. I'll balance this count with other bandit groups," Ronin said, nodding his head. He then disappeared from his original spot and reappeared in front of the bandit's boss.
The moment he appeared in front of the bandit's boss, blood sprayed into the air, and heads began to fall one after another, rolling like footballs on the ground. All the blood ended up drenching the bandit's boss, who was surrounded by his subordinates.
"As... I thought... He's a cultivator... He's not an ordinary cultivator... Nothing happened to me. Did he spare me?" the bandit's boss mumbled inwardly, his initial fear turning into a sense of relief.
"Immortal cultivator, did you spare me?" he asked, forcing a smile onto his face.
"No, I never intended to spare you," Ronin replied, shaking his head. He thought, "Immortal cultivator? Now I understand how you've survived until now with a brain the size of a bean. You're certainly skilled at licking important official's asses."
"What? Cough... Cough..." The bandit's boss looked at the slowly bleeding wound on his chest and coughed up several mouthfuls of blood before collapsing from his horse to the ground.
"These bastards are all ruthless killers; they all deserve a fate worse than death. Let's see what's in their hideout," Ronin murmured inwardly, disappearing and appearing on the top of a tree. He moved towards the hideout, following the tracks left by the bandits, fully utilizing his senses.
It didn't take long for Ronin to reach the hideout and enter inside. He found various valuable items made of jade, silver, gold, and more. Without wasting any time, like a vacuum cleaner, Ronin swept all the valuable things into his space ring. After a few minutes, he came across cages containing naked women with injuries on their bodies, varying in ages.
"These bastards didn't even spare little girls," Ronin muttered under his breath, his face contorted with anger.
"They died really easy deaths," he continued, clenching his hand into a tight fist. He unleashed his sword attack on the cage locks and the chains that bound the naked women and little girls.
Then he used his energy to prevent them from falling onto the hard metal cage floor. One by one, he slowly released them from the cages and began treating their injuries with the healing pills he had in his possession.
One by one, the women slowly opened their eyes, all looking at Ronin with fearful gazes, huddling close to each other.
Ronin shook his head with a helpless expression and explained, "I killed all the bandits. I just saved all of you. Everyone is safe now. Relax, and soon you'll be able to walk. I will help you all return to your homes."
"Can... you... really send... us back... to our homes?" asked one of the girls in a stammering voice.
"They won't trust anyone until they recover from the traumatic experience they went through," thought Ronin, nodding in response to the girl's question.
"First of all, let me provide you all with dresses to wear," said Ronin, giving them dresses from his storage rings, including those he found in the hideout.
It didn't take them long to change into the clothes. These girls were from different villages around the forest, so they formed groups, and Ronin made sure that all of them safely reached their homes. He passed valuable items to each girl's family after they were reunited, and he provided more than one item depending on the number of girls in each family.
If a family had more than one victimized girl, he would provide multiple valuable items to that family.
All of their families deeply expressed their gratitude to Ronin after learning that he had rescued their family members from the bandits.