31. Business is Coming

After hanging up the phone, Tang Miao turned around and headed back to the Qingtian Hunter Agency.

But by the time he returned, the client had already left, leaving behind a deposit of three hundred thousand. A full one hundred and fifty thousand upfront!

Seeing Tang Miao come back, Old Man Bao chuckled and said, "Kid, not bad. You just got here and you've already landed a job. But let me give you a heads-up—this city runs deep. Just do your part and don't dig too far. It won't end well for you."

"Don't worry, Old Man Bao. I'm not stupid enough to take a job I can't walk away from alive." Tang Miao replied. Then he looked at Ling Ling and asked, "Where's the person we're supposed to protect?"

Ling Ling was quite satisfied with Tang Miao's attitude. As long as she got to go hunting monsters, she wouldn't have to sit around at school bored out of her mind. In her little head, she'd already mastered the full nine years of compulsory education. Now all she needed was to wait until she turned sixteen.

She pulled out a photo of a pretty girl who looked like a student. She seemed young, probably around seventeen or eighteen.

"Those... ahem, is this girl still a student?" Tang Miao quickly corrected himself when he caught Ling Ling's disdainful glare.

Ling Ling nodded and added, "She's a student at Tianxing Magic High School. She's usually on campus, so let's head straight there. She should be in class right now."

"Alright." Tang Miao nodded, then grabbed Ling Ling and left the Qingtian Hunter Agency.

Watching them go, Old Man Bao couldn't help but worry. Given what the client had described, it seemed like the trouble might be caused by people who operated in the shadows.

If his guess was right, he was afraid Tang Miao might not be able to handle it. He sighed to himself, "Ah... getting old, getting old, and still I can't stop worrying." After stepping out, he locked the door and left.

Two hours later, Tang Miao and Ling Ling arrived at Tianxing Magic High School. The person they were supposed to protect was named Liu Ying, a senior in the magic high school. This school was considered one of the top-tier magic high schools.

The campus had over sixty thousand students... practically rivaling the size of a university.

The school was always brimming with youthful energy. Not every student had gone through terrifying monster incidents like they had, even before finishing high school.

Without the fear of monsters or the taint of society, the magic campus remained pure, full of hope and promise.

When Tang Miao and Ling Ling stepped onto the campus, they were completely lost. The place was huge, and all they knew was the girl's name—nothing else.

Luckily, Ling Ling was a computer genius. She pulled out her laptop, tapped away for a while, and finally got some leads.

They headed toward the girl's classroom, but on the way, they ran into two familiar faces!

"Sister Mu, look, it's that pervert~!"

Walking toward them were Ai Tutu and Mu Nujiao, whom they'd met once before.

Hearing Ai Tutu's nickname for him, Ling Ling shot Tang Miao a look of disdain. Tang Miao sighed helplessly and said, "Hey, Big Rabbit, watch your mouth. I'm not deaf!"

The two came over, and Mu Nujiao asked curiously, "What are you doing at our school?"

They weren't close, but they'd met once. Since Ai Tutu had been so rude, Mu Nujiao came over to ask.

Hearing Tang Miao's nickname for her, Ai Tutu blinked in confusion. "How do you know my nickname?"

Tang Miao ignored her and said to Mu Nujiao, "I'm Tang Miao, and this is Ling Ling. We're looking for someone named Liu Ying."

Ai Tutu eyed Tang Miao warily and said, "Why are you looking for Liu Ying? She already has a boyfriend!"

She'd already figured out why Tang Miao called her that, but she didn't really mind. After all, she had the goods—something many women wished they had!

"We were hired by her father to protect her..." Tang Miao didn't hide anything and explained the whole situation. Ling Ling wanted to stop him, but Tang Miao signaled it was fine, so she let it go.

After all, this was their school. These two girls might be able to help.

Mu Nujiao knew Liu Ying. She thought for a moment and said, "Liu Ying is like us. Even though it's Summer Vacation, she comes here every day to study magic. I think after the break, she's going to Europe to study. Other than that, nothing seems different."

Ai Tutu nodded and added, "Yeah, nothing special lately... Oh, right! She just got a boyfriend recently. He's pretty handsome, but he's an ordinary person."

Mu Nujiao shot Ai Tutu a look, as if scolding her for bringing up someone's private business.

Tang Miao asked again, "Has she always had a boyfriend?"

Ai Tutu stuck out her tongue but answered anyway, "No. I think she just got one a few days ago?"

But then she realized something was off.

Why was she answering everything Tang Miao asked?

Mu Nujiao sighed helplessly and looked at Tang Miao with some confusion. It was strange that he was digging into this.

Tang Miao turned to Ling Ling and asked, "When did her father say the strange stuff started?"

"Just a few days ago."

Even as Tang Miao was questioning the two girls, Ling Ling had already noticed something was off.

"I think, if what her father said is true, either this girl's been overworking herself every night, or she's run into some kind of monster."

Ai Tutu took a step back in disgust and said, "Pervert, what's going on in that head of yours!?"

Mu Nujiao and Ling Ling also looked at him with disdain. Tang Miao shrugged and said, "Just calling it like it is. Take me to see her, and I'll follow her tonight to find out."

Mu Nujiao hesitated, still skeptical. "Are you really hired for this?"

Tang Miao knew these two girls had a shady past, which was why he dared to ask for their help. But now they were doubting him!

Was he the kind of guy who went after every girl he met?

Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't dare go after someone he knew! Little Ling Ling knew about Tang Yue, and if that ever came up in conversation, he'd be asking for trouble...

"You two should know her, right?" Tang Miao rolled his eyes at Mu Nujiao, then looked at Ling Ling. "Show these two rookies your hunter badge."

Ling Ling pouted. Normally, protection jobs like this should be kept under wraps. Outsiders shouldn't know, especially people they weren't close with, to avoid complications. But she pulled out a badge that looked like a police emblem and held it up for the two girls to see.

She felt that although Tang Miao was a rookie, he couldn't possibly trust just anyone he met, right? Besides, this girl's situation was clearly a bit off.

The two women looked at the badge with confusion, and after making out the pattern on it, they both froze.

"Hunter Master!?"

Who would have thought that a little girl could actually be a Hunter Master!?

The hunter badges issued by the Hunter's Alliance couldn't be faked, and they were bound to the owner's identity. The badge the little girl had pulled out was indeed real. The problem was that the two women simply couldn't bring themselves to believe that a ten-year-old girl was a master who had hunted countless demons.

Still, since the item was genuine, the two women naturally couldn't keep doubting it. Besides, they knew of Tang Miao—or rather, almost any student or member of a noble family had some impression of him.

Just like Mu Nujiao's family, who had even invited Tang Miao before...

"Now, can the two of you take us to find someone?"

Tang Miao might be a total rookie as a hunter, but with Ling Ling around, leveling up was no trouble at all.

Mu Nujiao nodded. "Alright, follow us."

Ai Tutu, being a bit scatterbrained, stuck close to Ling Ling and peppered her with questions, but the little tsundere mostly ignored her.

PS: Let me talk about the update schedule. Before going on the paid release, I'll do two normal chapters per day.

If there's a large tip, or if the Monthly Ticket count hits 10+, I'll add an extra chapter. I'm putting in the effort myself, so everyone, please help out—push for the rankings, get some recommendations... Thanks, thanks!

After the paid release, it'll all depend on the results. If the results are good, I'll even do ten thousand words a day... Well, let's talk about that later. It's still early anyway.

After all, that's already seventy thousand words a week! Finally, if you can't tip, Qidian readers, please keep reading—don't just stockpile, thanks!!

The story is still long, and the heroines haven't all shown up yet...