The Bones of the Ancient God

Chapter 6: The Mysterious Boy

The three kidnappers walked along the path at a relaxed pace, their laughter breaking out without the slightest sense of caution.

“Hahaha, we got another one. If we can get five or six children in one day, we can get rich quickly,” one of the kidnappers said with satisfaction, his shoulders rising lightly as if the burden on his back were not a small child.

“Right, but now we have to hurry. By six in the morning, there will already be many raids. We must not be late getting to the base,” the other one added, slightly quickening his pace.

They continued moving until they reached the edge of a shallow river, filled with slippery rocks and cold running water. At that moment, a firm voice broke the silence.

“Stop!”

All three immediately turned around almost at the same time. The flashlights in their hands were raised, the white light sweeping across the surroundings until it finally stopped at one point. There stood a teenager, his body upright, his gaze fixed straight at them.

However, as soon as they saw who had shouted, the three of them instead grinned.

“Even though he is not one of the children who are our targets, his lungs and heart can still be sold. Especially his kidneys. We are really lucky this time,” one of the kidnappers said while glancing at his companion, his eyes shining with greed.

“Hahaha, the universe is really on our side. Let me handle that kid,” the other one replied with a short laugh.

“Fine, but finish it quickly.”

“Done. He is only a kid,” he replied confidently.

The man wearing the face covering stepped closer. Every step he took could be heard clearly on the rocks. At the same time, Kaelan felt his head throbbing violently. His vision trembled for a moment, then flashes appeared in his mind one after another. Hand movements, foot positions, breathing patterns, everything felt so clear.

It was a martial arts training scene.

Although it lasted only for a moment, Kaelan was able to remember every movement perfectly.

“Very familiar, but why can’t I recognize the place where I trained?” he thought briefly. “Forget it, the important thing now is to deal with those bastards first.”

Without hesitation, Kaelan jumped.

His jump was much higher than what a child his age should have been capable of. The man immediately gaped, his eyes widening as if he were watching a scene from a martial arts movie.

Before he could recover from his shock, Kaelan’s small foot had already struck the flashlight in the man’s hand.

BAANG!!!

The flashlight was thrown far away, bouncing once against the rocks before finally sinking into the river. Instantly, the man’s vision was filled with complete darkness. Without the light, he lost his sense of direction.

When he opened his mouth to call his companion, Kaelan’s foot had already struck his shoulder.

BAANG!!!

“Aaahhh—” the man screamed, but his voice was cut off. His body was thrown backward and immediately went limp. One kick was enough to knock him unconscious.

WHOOSSHH!!!

Kaelan moved again. His body shot toward the second man, who was carrying the kidnapped child. Kaelan’s fist struck the man’s back without hesitation.

BAANG!!!

“AAAHHH!!!”

A piercing scream rang out. The man felt the devastating impact, and the strength was far beyond anything he could have imagined.

Kaelan immediately grabbed the unconscious child from the man’s shoulder. His movements were fast but controlled. After making sure the child was safe in his arms, Kaelan kicked the man’s waist.

BYYUUUAAARR!!!

The man was thrown away and fell into the river with a loud splash. The cold current immediately swept over his body.

Now, only one man remained.

The last man trembled violently. His hand holding the flashlight shook as he directed the light toward his two companions who were no longer moving.

“Impossible… how can there be a child as strong as you?!” he exclaimed with a terrified expression. Sweat soaked his clothes even though the mountain air was extremely cold. It was still around four in the morning, and this location was in a remote village on the outskirts of the mountain.

Kaelan walked toward a large, wide rock. Carefully, he placed the child on top of it, making sure the small body was safe. After that, Kaelan stood upright and stared at the last kidnapper.

“Why are you kidnapping children in my village? Now tell me where you are taking this child. If not, perhaps your two friends can still live. But you will not.”

Something changed within Kaelan. His face radiated an indescribable pressure. The aura coming from him was so dominant that it seemed to suppress the breathing of the person standing before him. He did not look like a thirteen-year-old child at all. He looked more like a cold and merciless angel of death.

“Even if you kill me, I will never betray my boss!” the man shouted as he bent down and grabbed a rock beneath his feet.

WHOOSSHH!!!

Without thinking twice, the man threw the rock with all his strength, hoping it would hit Kaelan’s face.

But to Kaelan, the fast-moving rock seemed to move extremely slowly. He jumped to the side and swung his leg, kicking the rock with perfect precision.

BAANG!!!

“AAAHHH!”

A cry of pain echoed along the river. The man immediately fell down, rolling around while clutching himself. The rock kicked by Kaelan had struck him in a sensitive area.

The cold river water no longer mattered. All he could feel was intense pain.

Kaelan immediately dragged the kidnappers’ bodies one by one toward a large tree beside the river. The wet rocks caused parts of their bodies to scrape and hit the ground, but Kaelan did not care. His only focus was making sure they would not escape when they regained consciousness.

After all three were beneath the large tree, Kaelan crouched down and reached for their face coverings. He removed them one by one, making sure their revealed faces could be seen clearly even with only the remaining dim light from the surroundings.

“They are not villagers from my village,” Kaelan murmured softly, staring coldly at their unfamiliar faces. “But they seem to have memorized the location of this place. It seems someone from Ashvale Village itself gave them a map of the location.”

Kaelan stood up, then searched the waist of one of them. He found a long dagger hanging neatly, as if they had indeed been prepared to face anything that blocked their path. Kaelan immediately took the dagger, then checked the other two bodies to make sure there were no remaining weapons.

After that, his gaze shifted toward a cluster of young bamboo growing not far away. Kaelan walked closer, choosing bamboo that was still flexible, then cut it with the long dagger. His movements were skillful, as if he were already accustomed to handling sharp tools.

He began peeling and splitting the young bamboo into several long strips. Kaelan did not cut randomly. He chose the strongest fibers, then twisted them, pressing them with his palm and slowly turning them so that the bamboo formed strong ropes.

Kaelan had often seen the villagers in his village making bamboo weavings. He remembered how they turned young bamboo into strong ropes. Now, that memory had turned into real movements in his hands.

When he finished, the bamboo ropes had been formed. Kaelan returned beneath the large tree. He lifted one of the kidnapper’s arms, then tightly wrapped the bamboo rope around the tree trunk. The binding was tight, and the knot was pressed firmly so that it would not loosen. He did the same thing to the other two kidnappers, one by one, until all three were securely tied to the tree trunks.

Kaelan then took one of the face coverings he had removed earlier. He stared at it for a moment, as if considering something.

“The villagers must not know that I did this,” he murmured.

He put the face covering in his hand, then turned toward the large rock where the child had been placed earlier. The child was still unconscious, his body limp, his breathing slow and steady. Kaelan lifted the small body and carried him.

The child’s body seemed to be no burden to him. Even while carrying a seven-year-old child, Kaelan could still move nimbly. His steps were quick, but they did not shake the child.

Kaelan immediately headed toward the location of the woman who was tied to a tree on the outskirts of the village. When he finally arrived, Kaelan saw that the woman was still crying. Her body was held by the ropes tied around the tree trunk. Her lips were covered with black tape pressed tightly over them, making her cries turn into muffled sounds.

Kaelan approached her, but this time he had already covered his face using one of the kidnappers’ face coverings. He made sure the covering fit properly, hiding most of his face so that he would not be easily recognized.