Chapter 32: A Mission Full of Doubts

On the top floor of the casino, Qimu Chao and Shui Men met the casino's owner, who is the client for this mission—Caiqian Fenglin.

Although the casino below is fairly modern in its décor, his office interior is a typical classical Japanese style; whether the floor or other decorations, everything inside is made of wood.

The enemy probably only needs a simple Phoenix Fairy Fire to set everything here ablaze.

But how it's decorated is the client's business; the moment he saw Qimu Chao and Shui Men, Caiqian Fenglin stood up from his seat, his aged face breaking into a chrysanthemum‑like smile, all the wrinkles bunching together.

Dressed in a kimono, he hurried to the two, grasped their hands firmly and gave them a solid shake, the up‑and‑down swing of his grip not appearing flamboyant nor causing offense.

At the very least, he gave them proper respect.

"We truly appreciate you both coming all the way from Fire Country to here—please, please, this way, this way," he said.

Perhaps it is the sorrow of a small nation, or the lofty status of a ninja, Caiqian Fenglin, smiling, led Qimu Chao and Bofeng Shuimen to the seats opposite his, then poured tea for them.

Qimu Chao and Shui Men exchanged a glance, and then he noticed a hint of doubt in Shui Men's eyes.

He guessed this kind of display was also Shui Men's first time seeing it.

Qimu Chao agreed; even though the status of a ninja is indeed lofty, ninjas who do not engage in production rely on subsidies and commissions from various countries for daily expenses, essentially super‑powered mercenaries; as the client, Caiqian Fenglin should not have to be so servile.

What exactly is he selling in his gourd?

When troops come, the general blocks; when water comes, the earth covers. Qimu Chao and Shui Men kept their doubts hidden, lifted the tea that Caiqian Fenglin had just poured for them, took a sip, and set the cup down.

"You both must have had a hard journey to get here; tonight my subordinates will treat you well, and starting tomorrow please make sure to protect my little daughter carefully," he said.

Then Caiqian Fenglin, still smiling, said to them, "You two should go rest first?!"

Even though no specific mission details were given, they were told to rest like that?

Hearing this, Shui Men stood up, his face solemn, and said to Caiqian Fenglin, "We can postpone the rest for now, Mr. Caiqian, I would like to ask you something."

"In the mission contract you did not detail what will happen while protecting your daughter, why we would clash with ninjas from other countries. I need you to clarify this, otherwise we will have to abandon the mission," he continued.

"Actually it's very simple."

Hearing Shui Men, Caiqian Fenglin smiled again: "Do you know Tea Country? In a month, Yucha Island of Tea Country will host a large gathering; merchants from many nations will go there, and my daughter will go in my place to auction some items."

"However, Tea Country has no ninjas or Ninja Village, and they refuse to align with He no Kuni or Fire Country, so the area remains chaotic, especially Yucha Island, where the lack of proper armed protection leads to frequent murder and robbery."

"Given this situation, I hope you both can protect my daughter and bring her back safely."

Hearing Caiqian Fenglin's explanation, Shui Men nodded, then left silently with Qimu Chao.

Under the guidance of Caiqian Fenglin's subordinate, the two arrived at a luxury hotel beside the casino.

On the way, Caiqian Fenglin's subordinate kept smiling, introducing Qimu Chao and Shui Men to the customs of He no Kuni and points to note about each casino.

Finally, he laughed, "This hotel was built by our Caiqian Casino especially for premium clients; it's an ultra‑luxury hotel with top‑tier facilities. You both can enjoy various premium services, soak in the hot springs, and mixed‑gender bathing is a specialty of ours."

After escorting them to the room, the subordinate bowed and said, "Wishing you both an enjoyable evening."

Having said that, he closed the door and left.

The moment he entered the room, Qimu Chao's Magnetic Field Sense fully activated; finding no watchers or summoned spirit beasts, he sat on the bedside and asked Shui Men, "What do you think of this client?"

"A web of lies."

Shui Men sighed, then laughed, "Most of the information he gave is probably false; I never expected so many problems on our first mission together."

"Now we can only take it one step at a time; since he refuses to explain the real situation, we can only do our best to protect that target."

"When I heard him say that earlier, I thought you'd choose to leave outright."

Hearing Shui Men, Qimu Chao also laughed.

Shui Men shook his head, "Abandoning the mission is one thing, but I think you also don't want the first mission of your Ninja Career to be abandoned or failed."

At this point, Shui Men laughed and shook his head, "I boasted that the first mission I took you on was B‑rank; if we both abandon or fail this, we'll have to obediently return to D‑rank tasks like weed‑pulling or cat‑hunting."

"Given your personality, you surely don't want to do those missions, do you?"

"What's that?"

Qimu Chao spread his hands, "Did we both take a small loss from him?"

"It's not a small loss; once we finish the mission and get paid, he did clarify the dangers in the contract. This mission can't rise to a national level, so it will never become an A‑rank mission."

At this point, Shui Men patted Qimu Chao's shoulder, "Let's go experience He no Kuni's nightlife. I bet Lady Gangshou has wanted to come here for a while. Let's soak in the hot springs first, then visit Caiqian's casino. After all, didn't he say that here we can exchange chips without paying, and any chips we win can be turned into coins to take away—if we don't take them, we get nothing…"

After all, as Jiraiya's disciple, Bofeng Shuimen is never rigid in this regard, which is one of the aspects that appeals to Qimu Chao.

Some other ninjas would probably just rigidly rest early, or go off alone to secretly investigate the real situation of the mission.

They wouldn't enjoy life like Shui Men and Qimu Chao do.