Client

Zhu Qing turned to glance at Li Ming, then shook her head.

"Hard to say, but we can't just not do the job."

"But what if he really dies while absorbing the Soul Ring?"

The rough-looking man could not help asking. The deposit was only twenty percent. As a Spirit Emperor, he would earn two thousand Gold Soul Coins for this job, and thirty percent had to be handed over to the Mercenary Group, leaving him with only fourteen hundred Gold Soul Coins.

But if the kid died, he would only get the deposit—two hundred and eighty Gold Soul Coins.

As a Spirit Emperor, he had to work himself to the bone to kill a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Though a Spirit Saint was leading the team, so he could slack off a little along the way, getting only two hundred and eighty coins would still make him feel like he had suffered a terrible loss.

"Then what do you suggest?"

Zhu Qing glanced at him and asked.

"Remember our mission. Keeping the target safe comes first.

"If he can't absorb it, we intervene in time and pull him back. Then he won't die, right?

"We earn the money, and the target stays alive. A win-win."

The rough-looking man glanced back at Li Ming with slight guilt, then lowered his voice.

Zhu Qing hesitated slightly. "But the target of this mission is supposed to obtain a Soul Ring. Stopping him while he is absorbing it doesn't seem appropriate."

"What's wrong with that? This job includes the Life Monitoring Service, which shows that the employer values the target's life greatly.

"If we save him then, how would that not count as carrying out the mission?

"There's no need to sacrifice a young man's life. Don't you agree, Sister Gu?"

The rough-looking man winked at Guli, who had somehow slipped over beside them.

"I think it could work. But first, I'll test this kid and see whether he really has what it takes to absorb a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

"I refuse to believe he is that monstrous. I'd say he is between fourteen and sixteen years old. I don't believe someone that age could already be a Spirit King."

Guli said stubbornly, pinching her bronze-colored slender waist.

Although Li Ming had concealed some of his features, certain details were not so easily hidden. They were either Spirit Emperors or Spirit Saints, and they had ways of roughly judging someone's age.

Little did they know that Li Ming, walking toward the rear of the formation, heard their conversation loud and clear.

After all, his Martial Soul was a satellite.

The satellites in the sky could not monitor sounds on the ground, but he also possessed a Natal Satellite Spirit. At such close range, listening in was effortless.

Then he saw Guli, slender and boldly dressed, drift over from the front of the group until she was walking beside him.

"Little brother, which family are you from?

"Honestly, your family is really willing to spend. To hunt a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, they hired all the high-level fighters of our Red Tiger Mercenary Group.

"Big-spending powers like that are exactly what your sister here likes most.

"So, what do you think of your sister's strength? Could you take me in as well?"

Guli spoke in a soft, seductive voice. Intentionally or not, she brought her lips close to Li Ming's ear. Her warm breath brushed his ear, and a faint fragrance filled his nose, stirring his mind.

"Our family does not lack Soul Masters."

Li Ming felt the warmth coming from beside him but answered without changing expression.

"Then why did you hire us?"

Guli's eyes lit up. Feeling that she had found a lead, she immediately pressed on.

"I heard your group has a good reputation and capable people. My family sent me to assess you, and to absorb a Soul Ring while I was at it."

Li Ming replied calmly.

But Guli's expression immediately changed. Assess them?

What was that supposed to mean?

Guli was completely thrown off.

"Assess us? What do you mean by that?"

Her eyes shifted as she asked. She had completely forgotten her original purpose and had silently been put on the back foot.

"My family intends to find a Mercenary Group for long-term cooperation, one that can serve as our regular team for commissioned tasks.

"We have money. What we need is a sufficiently strong and professional team.

"Still... you seem quite interested in your clients' privacy."

Li Ming turned his head slightly. His eyes looked at Guli through the hanging veil of his conical hat, carrying the confidence of a client.

That was half true and half false. He truly needed a team he could consider trustworthy to help him handle certain matters.

Such as important mineral veins and certain plants.

That required not only people with enough strength, but people he could trust.

Of course, these people were still only being considered.

Bringing it up now was more to give them a proper warning, so they would not get any ideas.

As for money, he had plenty of it. He simply had nowhere to spend it.

"Ah? Hey!

"That's not it. Your sister was just curious.

"If you find me annoying, I'll leave.

"But our team is certainly professional enough."

Guli immediately gave an awkward laugh and explained weakly. Then she quickly found an excuse to leave and returned to Zhu Qing's side.

They had not lowered their voices during the conversation, so virtually everyone in the Red Tiger Mercenary Group had heard it.

"Do you think what he said is true?"

"It sounds somewhat believable. After all, he spent twenty-six thousand Dream Coupons to hire us to hunt a Soul Beast barely over ten thousand years old. That really does seem lavish. If nothing else, he definitely has money!"

Ironically, those words came from the rough-looking man. At some point, he had straightened his body and begun walking properly, like a soldier.

Anyone who did not know better might have thought this was an army rather than a Mercenary Group.

Zhu Qing simply stared at the man until he felt prickling discomfort all over. After all, that had not been his attitude just now. He had intended to muddle through the job, yet now he looked more enthusiastic than anyone.

"Captain, here's what I think. Competition among Mercenary Groups is fierce now, and our income keeps dropping. If we had a wealthy patron supporting us, wouldn't that be a godsend?

"Besides, we would not be joining the force behind him. It would still be an employment relationship, just more stable and better paid. What's bad about that?"

The rough-looking man immediately explained.

"Exactly."

"Our income really has been a little low lately."

The others immediately chimed in.

"Fine. In that case, show the professional standards of our Red Tiger Mercenary Group. Stop lazing about and making fools of ourselves in front of him!"

Seeing that the others shared the same view, Zhu Qing spoke in a deep voice.

At once, everyone straightened up and seriously watched their surroundings, determined to protect their client.

Li Ming smiled faintly at their pumped-up appearance. It seemed he had successfully fooled them.

As long as this trip went smoothly enough, he could not rule out giving them priority consideration. Purple Heaven City was still rather weak and lacked manpower and fighting strength.

But as long as he had money, he could recruit enough manpower and fighting strength.

He was not exceptionally wealthy, but he could still earn more money.

As time passed, they crossed the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest. However, night had already fallen, so they decided to set up camp for the time being.

They moved with great skill and speed, quickly setting up the camp.

The group sat together, while some of them were assigned to keep watch over the surroundings.

"Oh, right, Captain!

"You still haven't told us which Soul Beast we're hunting this time."

Remembering something, the rough-looking man immediately asked.

Zhu Qing glanced at Li Ming. Seeing him sitting quietly to one side, she spoke.

"Mm. According to this intelligence from the City Lord's Mansion.

"The Soul Beast we are hunting this time is a Unicorn around twelve thousand years old. The City Lord's Mansion's intelligence is very accurate, so the age should not be an issue.

"This Unicorn's horn can fire beams of light. The beams are extremely fast and difficult to dodge, so it is best to use cover.

"Its attacks carry scorching heat and can easily burn through trees.

"However, it needs a certain amount of time to charge each attack. That is our opportunity to strike.

"Little brother, it seems you paid quite a price. I have seen quite a lot of intelligence from the City Lord's Mansion, but rarely anything this detailed."

Zhu Qing could not help sighing. Ordinary intelligence usually included a route and information about the Soul Beast, but she had truly never seen intelligence that even provided countermeasures.

But this also proved that he was indeed very wealthy, able to purchase such detailed intelligence from the City Lord's Mansion.