Chapter 34: The Highest Bounty

He opened his eyes; they were inside the inn.

"Two gentlemen! Your face‑washing water has arrived!" the waiter shouted, carrying a wooden basin toward Feng Yan and Chen Hao's private room.

Feng Yan heard the waiter's voice and slowly opened the inn's door. Bang! a sound erupted from the window as a masked assassin rolled forward. Feng Yan turned his head and saw the assassin hurl a dart at him. He sidestepped, and the dart struck the room's door. The waiter, watching the scene, heard a clang as the basin fell to the floor, splashing water onto his clothes. He then shouted and ran, yelling, "Thieves!"

At that moment, the assassin drew a short knife hidden in his right leg and lunged at Feng Yan. Just as the blade was about to pierce him, Feng Yan spun, seized the assassin's wrist, and with a sudden yank the assassin was flung out, crashing onto the street.

Feng Yan chased after him, stood before the assassin, and with a flick of his right hand the Black Sword materialized in his hand. He pointed the sword at the assassin and asked, "Tell me, who sent you? Speak, and you may go."

"It seems the rumors are true; the Adventurers have already arrived in Li Kingdom. That sword—you must be the Adventurer Feng Yan, right? But why hasn't the other one come?" the assassin said.

Feng Yan gave him no idle talk and struck down with a sword; the mask split in two, revealing the face beneath.

What a delicate face! Pale skin, a tear‑shaped mole at the corner of his eye, long hair fluttering in the wind; in that instant Feng Yan was almost entranced.

"Watch out!" Chen Hao saw a swift arrow flying toward Feng Yan, and spotting the dart at the door, he threw it toward the arrow's direction.

Bang— the weapons clanged in the air with a crisp sound. Feng Yan turned, then slashed his sword at the arrow, while the assassin, seizing the opening, fled like a flash.

"Are you alright, Feng Yan?" Chen Hao asked concernedly.

"I'm fine." Feng Yan shook his head, indicating he was unharmed.

"Good to hear you're fine. However, we should inquire about the bounty hunters," Chen Hao said, falling into thought.

Feng Yan gripped his sword, nodded, and said, "The waiter in the inn should know something; we can ask him for details."

Feng Yan and Chen Hao returned to the inn; the waiter was clearly still shaken, his mind elsewhere, evidently not yet recovered from the earlier shock. Seeing them return, he felt a silent relief, yet his legs kept trembling.

"Waiter, have the kitchen prepare two dishes and a pot of wine," Feng Yan said, then went upstairs to fetch his sword sheath, leaving Chen Hao seated below.

The innkeeper approached Chen Hao, whispering, "Gentlemen, regarding the cost of the window the assassin broke, is that you?" he gestured while speaking.

Chen Hao saw the innkeeper's ingratiating smile, chuckled inwardly, and slowly pulled out a lump of gold, placed it on the table, and said, "This should be enough for you to repair that private room. No big deal, hurry up with the dishes!"

"Yes, yes, yes, right away," the innkeeper replied with a smile, slowly retreating to the counter.

Feng Yan descended the stairs just in time, saw the scene, and said with a hint of amusement, "Look, Chen Hao, this is the power of money."

Chen Hao smiled without replying, agreeing with Feng Yan.

"You bunch of useless trash!" the Prince of Li Kingdom, angry, hurled the porcelain he held onto the floor, the crisp shatter echoing, then shouted, "At this level you still dare call yourselves the strongest bounty hunters? The ones with the most bounties? A bunch of good‑for‑nothing, dead weight, scum!"

The chastised assassin knelt on the ground, enduring the prince's tirade, clenching his teeth in silence.

"It's early morning, why such a big temper?" Yang Xin said lazily, seeing the prince's angry face.

The prince, seeing Yang Xin, grew even more enraged, grabbed something nearby and hurled it at Yang Xin. Yang Xin dodged; the vase shattered on the ground, producing another crisp breaking sound.

Yang Xin looked at the angry prince and teased, "As the prince of your own country, is that all the magnanimity you possess? Is it merely because you were insulted, or is there something in your nation that you cannot handle with money? Look at yourself—where is the bearing of a royal prince?"

"Yes, you're right. I no longer resemble a prince; I feel like a humiliated man!" the prince lowered his head, speaking despondently.

He recalled the sequence: that day, Feng Yan and Chen Hao stood before the prince; the soldiers attacked the two of them—only two! Just as one was about to die under the soldiers' onslaught, a red sword swooped down. At that moment another person made a single move—just one move—and all the soldiers collapsed. He himself was taken into Ju Ren Guo, where he met the beautiful Princess. Yet not every nation relies on money, so the Prince of Li Kingdom felt ashamed and silently swore to eradicate the two!

Seeing the prince's demeanor, Yang Xin smiled and said, "Then I'll go!"

He then drew his bow and loaded an arrow.

Wang Tingwan asked, "Do we really have to do this? You once were…"

"Good friends, is that it?" Yang Xin interrupted her, "Remember, this is a game! Anything goes! Or are you still…!"

Yang Xin's tone was extremely angry. Wang Tingwan looked at the person before her, worry rising in her heart, thinking, "All of this is fate playing tricks."

Yang Xin said to the prince, "Raise the bounty, raise it to the maximum! Summon all the bounty hunters in this country."

"But…" the prince began, but was cut off by Yang Xin.

Yang Xin flashed a terrifying smile and said, "You said you wanted to kill them, so do as I say."

Inside the inn, the waiter was summoned by Feng Yan and Chen Hao; Chen Hao gave the waiter a small piece of gold. The waiter furtively glanced at the innkeeper, who was busy counting on his abacus, unaware of the waiter's actions. He tucked the gold into his sleeve and said, "Gentlemen, do you have any questions?"

Chen Hao asked the waiter, "Do you know about bounty hunters?"

The waiter first scanned the surroundings, ensuring no one was watching, then whispered, "It's an organization in our country that serves money. They take people's funds and work for clients; the price varies with the assassination target. From today's events, the assassins who tried to kill you two seem to be among the top five bounty assassins, known as the Masked Assassin, or simply the hunter."

Wangyi, upon hearing this, grew worried and said to Feng Yan and Chen Hao, "If the top five are that strong, won't the rest be…" She couldn't continue, feeling uneasy inside; she feared that the two benefactors she saved might be assassinated here.

Feng Yan looked at the girl, smiled, and said, "Don't worry, we're fine. After all, we've already braved the Blood Maple Forest of Ju Ren Guo. The bounty hunters here are just a bunch of trash, no need to worry."

The waiter, hearing this, felt his legs go weak again and whispered, "So, you are the adventurers who passed through the Blood Maple Forest of Ju Ren Guo?"

"Yes, that's right," Chen Hao replied.

Upon hearing this, the waiter felt frightened and hurriedly said, "Gentlemen, please eat first; if you need anything, just call me." He then ran to the innkeeper and whispered for a while.

The innkeeper, after listening, said calmly, "What's the problem? As long as they eat and pay, if anything breaks they'll compensate. Besides, these diners in front of me are all wealthy patrons. Look at this." As he finished, he slapped the gold ingot Chen Hao gave onto the counter, producing a "clack."

The waiter slowly walked out from behind the counter, while the innkeeper continued turning his abacus, muttering, "One liang, two liang, three liang…"

Suddenly, the main door was kicked open, startling the innkeeper. He saw the people before him, smiled, and said, "Sir, just tell us who you're looking for. No need to keep kicking the door; let's talk properly, okay?"

The three standing before him were tall and imposing, with fierce faces. One of them grabbed the innkeeper's clothing, lifted him, and demanded, "I heard your little shop has adventurers! Tell me where they are."

The innkeeper's expression turned frantic, his feet leaving the ground, and he said, "Good fellows, our shop only has diners, guests who eat; there are no adventurers here."

Feng Yan, still restless, reached for his sword, but Wangyi grabbed him, shaking his head, signaling him to hold back and not act rashly.

Chen Hao said to Feng Yan, "Sit here for now; I'll take a look. We must not expose that sword, or more trouble will follow."

Chen Hao stepped forward, stood before the three, and said, "Release the innkeeper. There are no adventurers in this inn, only us diners. The adventurers you seek have already been taken away by another group of bounty hunters."

"Alas, my catch has flown away," the leader said, then released the innkeeper.

The innkeeper, still shaken, thanked Chen Hao while saying, "These three are renowned bounty hunters here. Because they operate as a trio, fellow hunters call them the Brotherhood Squad; we refer to them as the Evil Three, since there are three of them."

Having heard that, Chen Hao understood, thought for a moment, then returned to Feng Yan and said, "There's an organization in this country called bounty hunters; they're similar to mercenaries, essentially taking money to do work for others."

Upon hearing that, Feng Yan understood and replied, "So the reason you didn't let me go earlier was because of this sword on my body."

Chen Hao nodded and said, "The Prince of Li Kingdom has seen this sword, so we need to go to the blacksmith to purchase two new weapons."

Thus Feng Yan placed the Black Sword back in the inn, and together with Chen Hao went to the blacksmith to buy new weapons. The surrounding houses were adorned with gold and silver; some wealthy homes had jade tiles. On the bustling streets, crowds came and went, and street vendors hawked their wares, hoping for good earnings.

"Clear the way! Clear the way! Palace guards on duty!" a guard shouted, and people promptly cleared a path, standing on either side of the road.

The soldiers, brandishing whips, commanded a group of Dwarves who received bags of goods from them and trudged forward with the loads on their shoulders. Feng Yan and Chen Hao watched from the side; finally a dwarf could no longer hold on, fell to the ground, and a "clack" sounded as the whip struck him. The dwarf slowly rose, faced the soldiers, then used his shoulders to lift the items that had fallen and struggled to catch up with the line.

Looking at the scene before them, Chen Hao said, "Hey, should we?"

Feng Yan laughed and said, "Does this count as an added hidden quest?"

The two blocked the palace guards' way; the guard drew his sword from its sheath and said, "Get lost!"

Feng Yan couldn't take it anymore; he pulled a piece of gold from his pack and hurled it at the guard's forehead. The guard collapsed, about to flare up, but felt something hard in his hand, looked down, and saw it was a piece of gold. He quickly pocketed it and gave the two a fawning smile, like a domesticated dog.

Chen Hao looked at the guard's appearance and joked, "Hey, doesn't this guy look like a dog?"

Feng Yan turned his head and calmly said, "Not even as good as a dog."

Then Feng Yan walked up to the guard, kicked him in the head, and said, "Now I've bought all these dwarves! Understand? If you do, get your stuff and scram!"

The guard stashed the gold, greeted his attendants, and left with the loot. Feng Yan and Chen Hao watched these people— or whatever they were— dogs, perhaps— fading bit by bit from their sight, and they laughed, saying, "Money can accomplish everything, and also destroy everything; perhaps this is the gentleman's love of wealth, obtained by proper means."

The dwarves all expressed their thanks to Feng Yan and the two. Feng Yan and the two looked up at the sky; their memory of dwarves was a symbol of resilience, bravery, and diligence, representing goodness, yet seeing the grateful dwarves before them, they could not reconcile them with the dwarves of their memory.

Thus Feng Yan asked the lead dwarf, saying, "I've heard that dwarves have extremely tough bodies and spirits stronger than any ordinary person, yet I see your faces full of worry— why is that?"

"We have lost the protection of the gods," said the lead dwarf, his eyes showing despair.

"Never mind, we don't know what gods these are, but this piece of gold should be enough for you to live on!" Feng Yan said, then tossed down a gold ingot.

The two were about to leave when the dwarves called them back; the lead dwarf approached, holding a piece of metal that glowed strangely in the sunlight. Feng Yan and Chen Hao were about to take it when three figures snatched it away first.

"That's the Evil Trio!" Chen Hao exclaimed.

"What nonsense!" Feng Yan snapped angrily, continuing, "Someone sends a gift and it's snatched right away— nobody would be happy about that!"

"What can you do about it? What are you two capable of? Just two good-for-nothings," the leader sneered, full of pride.

Feng Yan extended his right hand, and the Black Sword flew into his grip. The three before him saw the Black Sword in his hand, their eyes flashing with greedy green light, and said, "Then kill you, and your sword will be mine."

"That depends on whether you have the skill!" Feng Yan declared, then gathered his power; slowly the black sword transformed into red, and he unleashed a red sword qi at the three. With a boom, they collapsed, faces filled with terror.

Feng Yan made a gesture to take it; the three felt his immense pressure and obediently handed it over. Feng Yan took the item, gave it to Chen Hao, and said, "This looks not bad; later we'll find a blacksmith to see if we can forge a decent weapon— at least better than nothing."

"Watch out!" Chen Hao shouted, seeing a white-clad person brandish a long spear and thrust it at Feng Yan.

Hearing Chen Hao's shout, Feng Yan turned, eyes widening; though he dodged in time, the spear still tore his clothes.

"Not bad reflexes; that still counts as the adventurer's attitude I expect— at least fighting such an opponent won't cost me my position as chief bounty hunter." The assassin, regretting his failed sneak attack on Feng Yan, then went on to praise him.

"Oh, it's nothing; if I hadn't reacted quickly, I'd probably be your spear's victim." Feng Yan sized up the person, glanced around, and said, "But I don't have time to spar with you now— next time."

Having said that, Feng Yan grabbed Chen Hao, swung the red longsword again, releasing sword qi; after a puff of thick smoke, the two vanished from sight.

Yang Xin walked up from behind the chief bounty hunter, watched the smoke slowly dissipate, and said, "Looks like he noticed me."

Feng Yan and Chen Hao returned to the inn; Chen Hao asked Feng Yan, "With your weapon you could beat him, so why did you run?"

"Of course I could, but have you forgotten what pierced me last time?" Feng Yan countered Chen Hao.

Chen Hao blinked, then understood, saying, "It's Yang Xin behind me."

Feng Yan nodded and said, "Yes, keep your thing safe; this item is good— making a spear tip or arrowhead would work wonders. We're short on time, so let's leave it at that."

Having said that, they disappeared into the private room.