Blackhearted

We're heading back already? Feels like I came here for nothing! Yun Shu felt speechless after hearing the captain's words.

He had not even done anything yet. He had only come along for the trip, and now they were already going back. Though he had not spent anything, he had not gained anything either, because he had already said he wanted none of the rewards from this mission...

"What, are you regretting it now, little brother Lu Fei?" During their break, the female mercenary looked at Yun Shu with a smile.

"No, I just think this adventure is way too easy!" Yun Shu said in surprise.

"Indeed. Compared to before, our luck this time has been a little too good. We actually came across a Medicinal Horn Deer, something we might not encounter even once in years!" The captain nodded as well.

"Looks like little brother Lu Fei really is our lucky star!" The female mercenary's gaze at Yun Shu grew even stranger.

This made Yun Shu somewhat repulsed by the woman. Did she have some kind of unusual hobby? She was not some damn shotacon, was she...

"Alright, if you've rested enough, pack up and get ready to head back! Lu Fei, you performed pretty well this time. You didn't panic too much when you saw Magical Beasts. I'm formally inviting you to join our little team now. What do you say?" The captain had actually been secretly observing Yun Shu the entire way.

Although Yun Shu was like most rookie mercenaries, not knowing what to do during his first visit to the Monster Mountain Range and seeming rather idle, this fourteen-year-old boy had a good mindset and appeared quite mature.

Though having only Five-Stage Dou Qi at fourteen meant his cultivation talent was rather ordinary, it was still better than these men in their twenties and thirties, who were only around the level of Dou Zhe.

Once Yun Shu grew stronger, he would surely be able to break through to the Dou Master realm before thirty. When that happened, their team would strike it rich.

"Sure." Yun Shu nodded.

He pretended to agree on the surface, but he was merely trying to placate these guys. How could someone carrying so many secrets casually join some rookie Mercenary Team?

Yun Shu was only considering his own safety. He was afraid that if he refused here, these mercenaries would turn against him.

Once they returned to Wu Tan City, he would be free to do as he pleased.

"Wonderful! Little brother Lu Fei!" The female mercenary's gaze at Yun Shu became increasingly strange.

On the way back to the city, Yun Shu idly played with the Short Sword in his hand. Since he had temporarily accepted the captain's invitation, this sword could be considered a welcome gift from him.

Because they had entered the Monster Mountain Range earlier, Yun Shu had been cautious, never relaxing his grip on the Short Sword for even a moment. Now that they were heading back, he naturally began properly playing around with it.

After all, what boy did not like this kind of weapon...

He spun the Short Sword in his hand, nearly slashing his own arm. The people behind him burst into laughter. In their eyes, Yun Shu was still just an innocent kid.

"Awoo!! Awoo awoo!!"

However, at that moment, several wolf howls suddenly sounded from not far ahead.

"This is bad!! Horned Wolves are blocking the path back!!" The captain's expression changed as he spoke gravely.

Everyone knew wolves were pack animals. What was more, there had been more than one howl just now—there seemed to be two or three of them.

Once they became entangled with Horned Wolves, all it would take was one howl from them to summon a hundred or so reinforcements...

"Stay calm! Calm down! This is the outer region of the Monster Mountain Range. Even if there are Horned Wolves, there can't be a whole pack. The ones ahead must have wandered off alone. As long as we deal with them quickly, we can leave before the wolf pack arrives!" The captain immediately fulfilled his role as leader, calming everyone down.

"Let's do it!! Today's haul concerns our good life for the next year!" An Eight-Stage Dou Qi man gritted his teeth.

"That's right! Let's fight them! We need to get out of here quickly!!" The others echoed him.

"Good. Listen to my command, everyone. Don't panic and lose formation!" The captain began directing the group, preparing to surround and kill the scattered Horned Wolves.

This time, Yun Shu joined the battle as well. He had no choice. If he wanted to survive, he had to contribute.

Besides, this had been Yun Shu's original purpose in coming here—to gain experience!

Now that he had the chance to fight Magical Beasts, Yun Shu was even less willing to give it up, even if he was no match for a First-Order Magical Beast yet.

Holding the Short Sword, Yun Shu followed behind the captain. Whenever a Horned Wolf leaped over to attack, he would seize the chance to help, slashing at its body with his sword.

It was impossible for him to face a Horned Wolf alone. A First-Order Magical Beast was already capable of contending with a Dou Zhe, while Yun Shu only had Five-Stage Dou Qi. So he followed behind the captain alone, dealing with the Horned Wolves' attacks when appropriate.

"Hiss!! What incredible strength!" Yun Shu could not help frowning. After taking a blow from a Magical Beast just now, he realized how terrifyingly powerful these creatures were.

In truth, the reason Xiao Yan had dealt with First-Order Magical Beasts so easily in the original story was mainly because Yao Lao had helped temper his body. He had trained his body for several months just to learn Eight Extremes Collapse. Yun Shu, on the other hand, had been transported here in his own body. He had already been in suboptimal health, and even cultivating Dou Qi could not make up for that in just a few short months.

So, over the next period of time, he would probably need to train his body.

"That is!!" As Yun Shu hid behind the captain and rubbed his arm, he suddenly spotted two blue snake-type Magical Beasts coiled around a tree not far away.

"Covered in blue ice crystals... Those are First-Order Magical Beasts, Crimson Ice Serpents!!" Yun Shu remembered that these were the first Magical Beasts Xiao Yan had encountered after entering the Monster Mountain Range with the Herb Gathering Team from Ten Thousand Medicines Hall.

These Magical Beasts were among the most common First-Order Magical Beasts in the outer region of the Monster Mountain Range. They possessed an ice attribute, and their ice cores contained cold poison. If someone was poisoned and did not receive treatment within half a day, the cold poison would freeze the blood in their body, killing them.

"Wat..." Before Yun Shu could shout his warning, the captain covered his mouth with a hand.

"Lu Fei! The fewer people there are, the more Gold Coins we'll get!" The captain looked at Yun Shu with a smile.

Yun Shu pretended to be tempted by the Gold Coins and nodded, but inwardly he was speechless. He had not expected the captain to be even more sinister and blackhearted than he was. He truly had a human face and a beast's heart...

The entire team trusted him completely, yet this was how he treated his companions.

Still, Yun Shu was only mildly surprised. After all, he would not feel the slightest guilt even over stabbing his teammates in the back.