Employment Matter

Under the blazing sun, all things seemed to have lost their vitality, wilted and listless. Yet Green Mountain Town at the foot of the Magical Beast Mountain Range was the complete opposite, bustling with activity.

"Quiet down. Everyone knows the rules of our Myriad Medicine Pavilion for this herb-gathering expedition into the mountains. We recruit one hundred mercenaries each time, requiring at least Two-star Dou Zhe strength. The pay is five hundred gold coins, with half paid upfront and the remainder upon completion of the mission. No one may withdraw midway." At that moment, a middle-aged man in front of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion explained the requirements of the employment mission. Seeing no objections from the crowd, he announced the official start of recruitment.

Boom... As the middle-aged man's words fell, the mercenaries present erupted in excitement.

Everyone knew that the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's employment missions offered some of the best value around. Not only was the pay generous, but the missions were generally not too difficult. The pavilion's herb-gathering routes had long been fixed, and they had been continuously cleared over the years, though the occasional suicidal magical beast still blundered in.

But to mercenaries who spent all year roaming the Magical Beast Mountain Range with their lives on the line, that little bit of danger was practically gold delivered to their doorsteps. Naturally, the mercenaries were exceptionally enthusiastic.

Looking around, the mercenaries had consciously formed a queue. None dared disobey the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's rules. There had once been someone reckless enough to do so, but the pavilion had expelled him on the spot and announced that it would never treat him again. For mercenaries who lived by the blade, that was no small matter. They spent their days in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, constantly walking the line between life and death. Without a physician's treatment, death was not far away.

The mercenary who realized what that meant packed up his belongings overnight and fled Green Mountain Town. Though the pavilion had not killed him outright, how was that any different from killing him? From then on, no one dared act recklessly before the Myriad Medicine Pavilion again.

Recruitment continued, and no mercenary below Two-star Dou Zhe stepped forward to overestimate himself. After all, the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's inspectors were no fools.

Suddenly, a sinister voice came from a corner. "I wonder whether my strength... meets the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's employment requirements?" A man draped in a black cloak stepped out from the crowd. His voice was gloomy and hoarse, carrying the aura of a venomous snake, while the strength emanating from him was unmistakably that of a Nine-star Dou Zhe.

The people around him abruptly felt a chill sweep over them and shuddered. Only then did they turn to look at him, and discussion immediately broke out.

Even so, no one stepped forward to stop him. These mercenaries might have looked rough and burly, but they were not fools. The cloak man clearly was not someone to be trifled with, and since they had not even been hired yet, who would volunteer to stick their neck out? That was what mercenaries were like—realistic and cold-blooded. Not everyone was like Scarface, thinking with his crotch and wanting a man on top of a man. (Scarface had only been dead for two chapters. He was not dead enough yet, so he had to be dragged out and whipped again. Hehehe...)

The middle-aged man who had explained the mission requirements flashed a hint of surprise in his eyes, but he still nodded slightly, signaling for the man to join the group. He did not believe anyone would risk offending the Myriad Medicine Pavilion just to toy with him.

Half an hour later, all one hundred mercenaries had been recruited. Just as the middle-aged man finished consulting the physicians in the group and was about to set off, a loud shout rang out and stopped him in his tracks.

"Hold it! How can the Myriad Medicine Pavilion recruit mercenaries without the participation of our Wolf Head Mercenary Group? Could it be that the Myriad Medicine Pavilion looks down on our Wolf Head Mercenary Group?" A group of mercenaries approached from afar, surrounding a young man and woman. Beside them was the fat, sturdy man who had just shouted—He Meng.

He nodded and bowed as he followed behind Lin Feng and the young woman, looking exactly like a lapdog. Yet when he raised his head toward the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's people, he put on an arrogant air, the very picture of a petty villain drunk on success.

That day, he had perfectly completed the task Lin Feng assigned him. In a moment of happiness, Lin Feng had casually rewarded him with a bottle of First-grade Qi Replenishing Pills. He had been overjoyed, and after learning of Lin Feng's identity as an esteemed Alchemist, he decided to devote himself wholeheartedly to serving under him. He would strike wherever ordered—even if he had to be a dog, he would be an alchemist's dog.

Even the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, which he had once not dared to offend, was now shouted at without the slightest face given, since Lin Feng stood behind him. After noticing Lin Feng give a nod, he puffed out his chest even more.

In truth, Lin Feng did not care whether he lived or died. It was not that he was heartless; at He Meng's age, he had yet to advance to Dou Master. Even if Lin Feng spent enormous effort bombarding him with pills, he would at most become a Dou Ling in this lifetime. With no family ties between them, he was merely a lackey skilled at flattery. Plenty of people wanted to be Lin Feng's lackeys, so He Meng was simply not worth cultivating. Of course, in consideration of how diligently he handled matters, Lin Feng would not deny him benefits when he left in the future.

The scene shifted to the middle-aged man, whose expression visibly turned ugly. "Th-this, my lord, the mercenaries hired by our Myriad Medicine Pavilion have already reached the required number. If you wish to join, I must first seek the Pavilion Master's instructions."

Though cold sweat poured down the middle-aged man's back, he still forced himself to ask Lin Feng. As for He Meng, he did not even spare him a glance. If Lin Feng—who had killed Mu She and forcefully taken over the Wolf Head Mercenary Group some time ago—had not been present, he would have retaliated against He Meng's unreasonable words long ago.

"You..." Seeing how the middle-aged man all but ignored him, He Meng flew into a rage and immediately prepared to make a move.

"Stand down." Lin Feng, standing at the front, waved a hand. He Meng's furious face instantly transformed into that of a lapdog, and he immediately retreated. Still, he shot the middle-aged man a vicious glare, making it clear that He Meng would remember this grudge.

"Physician Li, rest assured. Our Wolf Head Mercenary Group does not want the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's pay. We merely wish to follow your mining route into the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Of course, if you need us to take action, then the appropriate payment must still be made. What do you say?" As Lin Feng finished speaking, he narrowed his eyes. The pressure of an Advanced Dou Shi seemed to leak out uncontrollably as he spoke.

At once, everyone present apart from those from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group involuntarily retreated several steps, their expressions turning grim.

"Th-this... an Advanced Dou Shi..." Physician Lin felt that powerful aura, his mouth hanging open in shock as he managed only those few words. The surrounding mercenaries, the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's people, and even the Wolf Head Mercenary Group members wore stunned expressions.

They had known that Lin Feng could kill Mu She in an instant, so his strength had to be considerable. But who could have expected him to be an Advanced Dou Shi? And who knew whether that was even the full extent of his strength? Thinking of this, and then considering Lin Feng's age, everyone looked at him with involuntary reverence. Even the cloak man seemed to unconsciously bow slightly.

"Hahaha, Lord Lin Feng has honored us with his presence. Who would dare not welcome you? I was busy handling matters just now and failed to come out to greet you at once. That was my mistake. How about this? Whenever you visit the Myriad Medicine Pavilion in the future, everything will be ten percent off—no, twenty percent off." A well-dressed middle-aged man emerged from the Myriad Medicine Pavilion and cupped his hands toward Lin Feng.