“I say, Buddy, do you know where the bounty hunters’ guild is in this city?” I picked up my chopsticks and casually grabbed a few pieces of what looked like ham, put them in my mouth, and asked Junior.

As soon as Junior heard my question, he immediately said, “Sir, isn’t the bounty hunters’ guild and the terracotta warriors’ guild right across from our restaurant? Just look at that big flag, doesn’t it say so?”

Damn! If I could read, would I even need to ask you? “Alright, I got it. You can go now.” I waved my hand, shooing Junior away like swatting a fly.

Chapter Six: Claiming the Reward

After eating and drinking my fill, I carried my steel sword and headed to the deserted bounty hunters’ guild.

The walls of the guild were covered with all kinds of magical notices. Even for an illiterate like me, it didn’t matter—just put your hand on the slip of paper, and it would automatically speak out its contents. The tasks ranged from double-SS level missions—like rescuing a princess kidnapped by an evil dragon—to unranked ones—like helping Aunt Brulan find her lost cat. Finally! Right in the center of one wall, I found the wanted poster for Lord Rock. It boldly stated: Wanted, members of the Fire Phoenix Mercenary Team: Mowgli, Jed. Alive: 100,000 blue gold coins; dead: 20,000 blue gold coins.

That’s such a huge difference? Did I lose out on 80,000 blue gold coins with two sword swings? Seeing this, I almost fainted on the spot. I had no idea how much 80,000 blue gold coins were worth. All I knew was that when I left the village, everyone scraped together for ages and managed to give me three blue gold coins, saying it was enough to hire two carriages to bring back two loads of supplies. They said one blue gold coin equals a hundred blue silver coins, and one blue silver coin equals a hundred blue copper coins. A single blue gold coin was already pretty valuable.

I walked up to the bounty hunter counter, struck what I thought was my coolest pose, and said to the blonde beauty inside who was reading some documents, “Hey~~, beautiful. I’m here to turn in a mission.”

The blonde beauty looked me up and down, gave a scornful smile, then lowered her head to continue reading her documents. She even muttered just loud enough for me to hear, “Broke guy! Dressed like that and still wants to hit on girls? Why don’t you take a look at yourself first…”

Damn! I know people judge by appearances these days, but isn’t this a bit much?

“I’m here to turn in the Lord Rock mission.” As soon as I said this, I realized there was suddenly a sofa behind me! A real leather sofa! I had no idea how something so heavy could just appear behind me out of nowhere.

“Sir, please have a seat. What kind of service do you need?” The blonde beauty’s eyes sparkled like stars as she coquettishly handed me a glass of green, bubbling drink.

How could I not use both hands to accept something from a beauty? I immediately reached out with both hands and grabbed the beauty’s soft, smooth hands. Wait, no! I meant I grabbed the drink she handed me.

“I’m here to turn in a mission. Could you please…” My hands kept rubbing the beauty’s little hands as I exchanged glances with her.

The blonde beauty gently pushed away my wandering hands, pressed the magic intercom beside her, and said, “A handsome gentleman has completed the Lord Rock mission…” After a mechanical-sounding exchange, the blonde beauty stepped out from behind her counter and plopped herself right onto my lap.

Oh~~! “Isn’t this a bit inappropriate? We’re in public, how about…” I wrapped my arms around the blonde beauty’s slender waist, half-heartedly trying to persuade her to get up.

The blonde beauty clearly had no intention of getting up. She lay against my chest, wrapped her arms around my neck, and whispered in my ear, “It’s fine. Here in Rock City, as long as both parties are willing, there’s no problem.”

The few people in the hall seemed to confirm her words. Each one acted as if they didn’t see what we were doing. I seriously wondered, if I started a wild “wrestling match” with this beauty right here, would these guys still act like nothing was happening?

“Sir, may I ask your name? You don’t look like a local. Do you have a place to stay tonight?” The beauty asked as she licked my earlobe with her tongue.

With this kind of teasing, there’s no way I could keep my cool! My little brother was slowly raising his proud head. Judging by the beauty’s expression, she could already feel my enthusiasm. “Beautiful, why bother with formalities when we’ve just met? I haven’t found a place to stay tonight. How about…”

Just as I was flirting with the girl, a rough voice suddenly rang out in the hall: “Who completed the mission to catch those two bastards?”

As soon as I heard that arrogant voice, I knew the big shot with the money had arrived. I quickly had the beauty sit on the sofa, stood up myself, and, with my lower half pitching a tent, walked over to the source of the voice.

I walked up to the man surrounded by dozens of subordinates and sized him up carefully. He had a broad back and a burly build, stood about 1.9 meters tall, with a face full of stubble and a scar running from his right eyelid all the way down to the left corner of his mouth. He wore a huge nine-ring broadsword at his waist and a coat that looked like it was made from tiger skin.