Chapter 292: Why Is There No Bounty on Me?

The humid air was filled with the smell of rust and mildew, mingled with a strong scent of blood.

Ninja World's largest underground Exchange House was hidden deep within an abandoned mine cave in the River Country, where flickering torches on the rock walls cast distorted human silhouettes onto the uneven surfaces.

"Is this really the biggest Exchange House in the Ninja World, meow?" Dao Ba tilted his head toward Lian Ye. "Kid, you weren't fooled, were you?"

Just looking at this dilapidated scene, anyone would find it hard to believe that this is indeed the Ninja World's largest Exchange House.

Lian Ye stared at the expensive map he had bought, his expression under the bamboo hat turning sour.

He naturally didn't know the exact location of the Exchange House, but to find Jiaodu's cash machine, he had to spend money to buy information.

And this map was purchased at a high price from a merchant.

Looking at it now, it seemed he had been scammed…

But Lian Ye couldn't tell Fat Cat about it, so he pretended not to care.

"Since we're already here, let's go in and take a look."

Anyway, we've reached the entrance, so let's go in. If the map is accurate, this could truly be the Ninja World's largest Exchange House.

"Alright." Dao Ba nodded.

In fact, it was also curious whether Lian Ye had been duped; if so, it would report the matter to Lord Ban…

The man and the cat quickly entered the cavern's interior, and fortunately it really was an Exchange House.

Although unsure if it was the largest, any Exchange House would suffice.

As soon as Lian Ye entered, dozens of wary gazes shot at him from every corner.

In his observation, among them were defected ninjas with faces full of scars, bounty hunters with shifty eyes, and even a few Ninja Village ninjas wearing different village headbands, clearly taking on side jobs here.

Here, everyone is a potential prey, and could also be a hunter seeking to kill and loot.

"A new face." Behind the counter, the one‑armed Shopkeeper Lao squinted his cloudy eyes and tapped the table with his remaining three fingers. "Do you understand the rules? Entrance fee is fifty thousand taels, or weapons of equal value, or… information."

Lian Ye frowned displeased at the words, having to lose fifty thousand taels before even opening a deal.

It seemed he would have to go to Jiaodu later for reimbursement.

He pulled a fifty‑thousand‑tael silver note from his coat and placed it on the counter; Shopkeeper Lao took the note, his voice hoarse, "Are you here to post a bounty or to accept one?"

Lian Ye gave no answer, his gaze falling on the bounty notices covering the entire right wall. Dense sheets of paper plastered the stone, ranging from low‑rank D‑rank bounties to S‑rank bounties worth hundreds of millions, neatly ordered by amount.

At the top were a few gold‑edged bounty notices—the Kage of the five great Ninja Villages.

Among them, Qianshou Feijian's bounty was the highest, a full five hundred million taels! It was obvious this was the bounty originally issued by the Lord of Lightning Country…

If nothing unexpected happened, the grass on that Daimyo's grave mound would already be three meters high.

In recent years Thunder Country has been vigorously developing its economy, and the source of this money need not be elaborated.

"Hey, are you deaf?" a towering, scar‑crossed brute stood up, several kunai at his waist jingling with his movements.

The surrounding companions, seeing this, also stood up, hands reaching for their waists.

Clearly, they had already marked Lian Ye as prey.

In the Bounty Hunter trade, black‑on‑black is a very normal occurrence.

Because this was an Exchange House, they couldn't strike directly; they could only provoke by picking a quarrel to enrage the other.

As soon as the newcomer acted rashly, they would swarm and slash him to death, taking all his money and valuables.

The others watched with interest, wondering whether the newcomer would be beaten to death by the mob or would turn the tables single‑handedly.

Lian Ye remained silent, too lazy to bother with these minnows, and walked slowly toward the bounty wall.

He had been looking for a while and discovered a very serious problem!

It was that his own bounty seemed missing; to be sure he hadn't overlooked it, he examined again carefully, yet still found no portrait of himself.

Damn, do these guys think I'm beneath them?

"Why isn't there a bounty on me?"

Lian Ye's voice was filled with confusion and bewilderment, his tone light, almost as if talking to himself, yet it rang clearly in the silent Exchange House.

He stood before the bounty wall, looking up at the stacked bounty notices.

After a brief silence, a harsh burst of laughter erupted.

"Hahaha, this guy's brain must have been slammed by a door?" Ba Lian Zhuanghan thumped the table, laughing uproariously, "Who do you think you are? A Shadow‑level defected ninja? Valuable heads aren't something just anyone has!"

In the corner, a tall skinny man with glasses sneered, adding, "Perhaps… he thinks he's lived too long and wants to post a bounty to have someone kill him?"

Another round of raucous laughter followed.

Shopkeeper Lao shook his head; he'd seen plenty of such clueless youths, who usually don't live past three days.

"Had enough laughing?" Lian Ye's cold voice rang out, and the surrounding laughter froze instantly as they realized a chilling murderous intent had locked onto them, their faces turning terrified.

"If you've had enough," Lian Ye drew the Tachi at his waist, "you may all depart."

He was already irritated that his own bounty was absent from the wall, and now these clueless brutes kept arguing.

Consider that he, a proud Konoha Deadly Poison Master, after decades of arduous cultivation finally became a Shadow‑level Strongman, only to have no bounty notice and be mocked by a bunch of trash.

"Uncle can endure—no, who can endure what cannot be endured!"

Since that's the case, he could only let those guys set off early…

"Bastard, I'll take you on; everyone, charge!" Ba Lian Zhuanghan roared, gripping his kunai and lunging at Lian Ye.

The surrounding comrades, seeing this, immediately reacted and hurried after him.

In the dim light, a flash of blade streaked, then a head flew high—upon closer look, it was the Ba Lian Zhuanghan who had charged ahead.

Before anyone could react, the group of underlings behind also had their heads severed.

"He's dead, he's killed!" the other watching Bounty Hunters scrambled in chaos.

Know that Ba Lian Zhuanghan was a regular at the Exchange House; even when beset by three Elite Jonin, he managed to retreat unscathed, truly an Elite Jonin.

Yet such a strongman was killed with a single glance.

The newcomer could instantly slay Ba Lian Zhuanghan and his comrades, and could likewise instantly slay that group.

The Bounty Hunters no longer had any interest in watching the show, and they rushed toward the exit, trying to get away from this place of dispute.

Some bustle is best not watched, as it can easily draw fire onto oneself.

Lian Ye naturally could not let this group of walking ATMs leave; with a flash he appeared at the doorway and blocked their path.

Hey hey hey, where do you think you're going?