Hot Springs

As evening fell and the sunset dyed the sky red, the Hunter's Alliance in Yangcheng welcomed the day's rush hour.

"How is this not a Spirit Essence? It just has a slight flaw. Why are you counting it as a Remnant Soul?"

"What gives you the right to change our success rate? By the time we got there, his younger brother had already been eaten by a Demon Beast. You can't count that as a failed rescue!"

"I did the most work this time, so I get thirty percent of the entire reward. Got a problem with that?"

"Not a chance! What makes you think you can say such shameless crap?"

The hall was noisy. Hunter Mages and clients cursed and argued loudly on the surface, but were really just haggling back and forth.

A group walked in. The hall suddenly fell silent when people saw them, and whispers spread:

"It's the Fire Flame Squad!"

"Isn't that the only demon-hunting squad in all of Yangcheng led by an Intermediate Fire Mage?"

"Yeah. The other Intermediate Mages either joined the military or were recruited by the big families."

"I wish I could join them..."

"Keep dreaming. Their minimum requirement for squad members is Intermediate level three. Do you have what it takes?"

Noticing the gazes from either side, Ma Zhuang of the Fire Flame Squad instinctively puffed out his chest. He felt proud—a feeling the Flying Tiger Squad had never given him.

Ever since joining the Fire Flame Squad, he had only been given odd jobs like clearing out minions to save the captain's magic energy. His teammates looked down on him and excluded him, and the pay and benefits weren't nearly as good as advertised... But at least he was free!

"I made the right choice. If I'd stayed in that dump of a squad, the Flying Tiger Squad, my life would have been over!" Ma Zhuang thought, standing even straighter.

"Whoa!"

"Holy crap..."

"That's incredible!"

The people around him gasped. Ma Zhuang instinctively lifted his chin, but quickly realized they weren't looking at him at all. They were looking at... behind him?

He turned around, and his expression froze.

His former teammates each carried a bulging backpack and dragged a pair of climbing ropes. Tied to the ends of the ropes were the hard shells of Cave Lizards.

Their delighted, carefree expressions were like those of anglers who'd just caught a huge fish, or travelers passing their own front door three times without going in. They couldn't wait to show off to everyone.

"Sorry, sorry! There's so much blood, we got the floor dirty. Can't help it—the shells were freshly stripped. We'll clean it up later!"

Liu Xiao apologized to everyone nearby. They were all cursing inwardly, green with envy.

"I can't carry this anymore!" Fangfang hollered. "It's so heavy, I can't even use Wind Track!"

The others weren't nearly as showy as those two, but they were all beaming, even Qianqian, the cool beauty.

"Well, if it isn't Ma Zhuang! Haven't seen you in a few days. How's it going?" Liu Xiao had sharp eyes and immediately spotted Ma Zhuang's constipated expression.

Ma Zhuang had wanted to slip away, but now that he'd been called out, he forced a strained smile. He couldn't let himself lose face, especially in front of his former teammates!

"Everyone in Yangcheng knows how strong the Fire Flame Squad is. But you guys..." Ma Zhuang glanced at their haul. "You got lucky. The Demon Beasts must have killed each other, and you just happened to find the leftovers."

"Come on, we didn't find any leftovers!" Liu Xiao laughed. "We just got a reliable Fire Mage. Don't mind me, I'm just bragging."

Ma Zhuang: "..."

"Liu Xiao!" Zhu Wang called from the front desk.

"Sorry, my captain doesn't let me talk to random people. See you!" Liu Xiao hurried over, leaving Ma Zhuang seething with helpless rage.

At the front desk.

"Hahahaha! You should've seen that guy's face. He looked like he'd eaten shit. I felt so good!" Liu Xiao animatedly described Ma Zhuang's expression to everyone.

Qianqian said coolly, "It has nothing to do with you. Zhang San killed all the Demon Beasts."

"Same thing. Zhang San's on our squad, so if you do the math, that means I killed them." Liu Xiao snickered. "Qianqian, why not just make a move on him? He did save your life, after all. Then Zhang San would really be one of us."

"Shut up!" Qianqian immediately lost her composure. Beneath her unseen bangs, the tips of her ears had turned red.

Watching all this from afar, Ma Zhuang felt his heart shatter. He'd once pursued Qianqian, but she'd never given him a chance. Her answer had always been that he was too ugly.

But that new Fire Mage wasn't even that handsome. With his hat and mask covering so much of his face, he was probably ugly too!

Meanwhile...

"Our reward this time is 3.2 million. Zhang San did the most, so he'll get 1.6 million. The rest of us will split what's left," Zhu Wang said.

Liu Xiao was the first to speak up. "I'm fine with that."

"Me too. I barely did anything," Fangfang said with a grin.

Wang Peng and Qianqian, both quiet types, said nothing and nodded.

Zhu Wang smiled. "Then that's settled. Zhang San, send me your card number and I'll transfer the money."

"Hold on to it for me. We can settle everything at the end." Xu Fang still hadn't gotten his card replaced.

"Sure." Zhu Wang suggested, "We hit the jackpot today, so dinner's on me. Let's find somewhere to celebrate."

"Sounds great! Long live the captain!" Fangfang said excitedly. "How about the new Hot Spring Inn in the north of town? I hear their natural hot springs are great for your skin!"

Even Qianqian's eyes lit up at the mention of improving her complexion. What woman could resist that temptation?

"It's too expensive," Wang Peng said, shaking his head. "Five thousand per person, per night. Not worth it."

"Why are you so practical, Wang Peng?" Liu Xiao said. "It's a rare treat when the captain's paying. We have one rule: the pricier, the better; the nicer, the better. Don't hold back!"

Xu Fang strongly agreed. He followed the same principle with Zhan Kong: if you passed up a bargain, you were an idiot.

"You rascal." Zhu Wang laughed helplessly. "Fine, hot springs it is. It's only a few tens of thousands. It's all on me tonight!"

Out of the 3.2 million, he would get 320,000. Spending thirty or forty thousand to bond with his teammates was well worth it.

Xu Fang asked curiously, "Yangcheng has natural hot springs?"

"I don't think it used to," Fangfang recalled. "They appeared just a month or two ago. A few wealthy families in Yangcheng have already fenced them off and turned them into private businesses."

"I see." Xu Fang nodded thoughtfully.

The rampant plant growth and the sudden appearance of hot springs... He couldn't help wondering if they were connected.

"Dear guests, our signature natural hot spring experience offers an authentic Japanese-style atmosphere, with separate clothed and nude bathing areas."

The attendant, wearing a yukata, smiled and introduced the place with her hands folded in front of her.

"We want the nude area! Let's all bare it all!" Liu Xiao cried, pumping his fist. Qianqian and Fangfang glared at him.

The attendant's smile didn't waver as she continued, "The clothed area is mixed-gender, while the nude area has two separate pools."

Liu Xiao immediately fell silent.

Xu Fang didn't care either way. So what if they went to the nude area? His little brother had nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone else was the one who should feel self-conscious.

He just couldn't crack that kind of joke right now. He had to keep up his persona.