Commission

Thud, thud, thud! Thud, thud, thud!

Two rapid rounds of knocking reached his ears, jolting the sleeping Yizhe awake from his dream. He could not remember at all how he had fallen asleep last night.

Thud, thud, thud! The knocking continued.

"Who is it? So early in the morning!" Irritated, he could only suppress his impatience, climb out of bed, and head for the door.

"Who are you?"

With his eyes still somewhat blurry, Yizhe opened the door. Standing outside was a short, stout middle-aged man with a round face, a long beard, and a small felt cap on his head.

"Sir, forgive the disturbance!" the stout middle-aged man said apologetically.

"I am the leader of the White Horse merchant caravan, Qing Shi!"

"Hm? What do you want?" Yizhe asked impatiently.

Although Yizhe acted as though he knew nothing, he already understood what was going on.

This fat caravan leader must have learned from the old innkeeper that he was staying here and had come to invite him to join the caravan.

Otherwise, the man would not have rushed over to knock on his door at daybreak.

"Sir, I heard that you are a ninja training abroad?" Qing Shi carefully confirmed.

"Yes."

"I also heard that you intend to go to the Land of Iron. May I ask whether you are currently carrying out anyone else's commission?" Upon hearing Yizhe confirm that he was a ninja, Qing Shi's face gained a few more traces of a smile.

It seemed the old innkeeper had not lied to him.

"No," Yizhe answered coldly.

By now, the fat caravan leader's purpose was unmistakable.

"Wonderful! Would you be willing to accept our caravan's commission and protect us safely to the Land of Iron?" Hearing that Yizhe had no commission, Qing Shi happily stated his request outright.

"You have already been stuck here for several days, haven't you?" Yizhe asked casually, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yes! Since we have not been able to find any ninja willing to join us, we have not dared to set out!" Qing Shi said worriedly.

"Under normal circumstances, merchants like you would hire a few samurai for courage, take such a remote route, gamble that you would not run into bandits, and still earn enough profit from this trip to make the risk worthwhile!"

"But now, you have been hiding here and do not dare to move. You must already know that someone will definitely intercept you ahead. A few samurai are no longer enough for protection, which is why you delayed your journey and dared not take the road!"

"Am I right, Leader Qing Shi?" Yizhe stared at Qing Shi with a half-smile.

"Yes, yes, yes! I never expected someone so young to be so outstanding and perceptive!" Qing Shi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, forcing a smile as he praised him.

"The people intercepting you are also ninja, right? Otherwise, samurai guards alone would be enough for you to make an attempt!" Yizhe continued.

"That is right! They are a group of bandits with two ninja as their leaders! We have already fought them once and lost several guards!" Qing Shi said with a pained expression, explaining the situation.

"What rank are those two ninja?" Yizhe pressed.

"They are both Genin!" Qing Shi answered without hesitation, sounding certain.

"You know that so clearly? You do not happen to know them, do you?" Yizhe asked suspiciously.

"Heh, heh!" Qing Shi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead again and smiled awkwardly. "They are a notorious bandit gang along this route, called Red Ant. Since their two ninja leaders are not particularly strong, they can only dominate remote routes like this one. Our caravan often travels this route, so we have dealt with them many times and know a thing or two about them!"

"If you have dealt with them before, why not just pay a toll? What are you afraid of?" Yizhe was thoroughly puzzled.

"Sir, you do not understand! The goods our caravan is transporting this time are not ordinary supplies!" Qing Shi glanced around before lowering his voice. "We are transporting a batch of weapons!"

"No wonder." Hearing that the caravan was transporting weapons, Yizhe finally understood.

Although the war across the Ninja World had only just settled, military preparedness could not possibly be relaxed. Weapons and military supplies were indispensable. Even in peacetime, such goods brought enormous profits, much less at a time like this!

No wonder those bandits had torn off all pretenses and wanted to seize them.

"However, if I alone have to hold off two ninja, I am afraid that may be beyond me," Yizhe said with a cold smile.

"Sir, rest assured! When the time comes, you only need to keep the two Genin occupied. Leave everyone else to the guards! I believe Red Ant will know when to retreat once they see that!" Qing Shi said cautiously.

"What about the payment? How will my payment be calculated? Holding off two Genin for you is dangerous work!" Ever since learning that there were only two Genin on the other side, Yizhe's interest had begun to stir.

As long as a commission was not too dangerous and would not threaten his life, Yizhe could still accept it.

"As for payment... three thousand upfront! Once we safely reach the Land of Iron, I will give you another seven thousand. How does that sound?" Hearing that Yizhe was inclined to accept, Qing Shi excitedly jiggled the fat on his face.

"Ten thousand?" Yizhe had not expected the fat caravan leader to offer a reward of ten thousand so readily, forcing him to raise his estimate of the mission's danger in his mind.

After all, a Genin-level commission generally did not pay more than five thousand.

"What do you think..." Qing Shi asked quietly. This was the highest price he could offer.

"Hmm..." Yizhe was somewhat concerned. "Give me a little time to think it over!"

"I see... Then forgive the disturbance!" Qing Shi said with some disappointment, forcing a smile. "I will wait for you in the hall downstairs. I look forward to good news!"

"Our caravan's journey has already been delayed for several days. If we delay any longer, I am afraid we will not reach our destination on time! We will depart by this afternoon at the latest! I hope you can help us!" Qing Shi had just started to leave with his heavy body when he suddenly remembered something and turned back to remind him.

"Yes. I understand," Yizhe replied softly, without giving a definite answer.

After Qing Shi left, Yizhe closed the door, lay on the bed, and began carefully considering whether to accept this commission.

At first, when he heard that there were only two Genin on the other side, he had felt fairly reassured.

His own strength had already reached the threshold of Chunin. With the protection of Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, even if he fell into danger, he still had a strong chance of escaping alive.

But that fat caravan leader had offered a high-paying commission of ten thousand so readily. Yizhe had no choice but to reassess the danger posed by those two Genin.

After all, they were desperadoes who lived by the blade every day. Their combat experience must be extremely rich. They were not comparable to a fledgling like him who had only just graduated from the Ninja Academy.

"Fine! How can I grow without experiencing life-and-death battles? My training should begin here!" After much consideration, Yizhe ultimately decided to accept the commission.

Tap, tap, tap!

Qing Shi, who had been anxiously waiting in the hall, looked over at the sound and immediately spotted Yizhe calmly coming downstairs.

"Sir, what have you decided?" Wearing a smile, Qing Shi hurried over and asked cautiously.

"I, Yizhe, accept your caravan's commission!"

What Qing Shi received was an answer that filled him with delight.