Creeeak…
All eyes turned as Xue Shen stepped inside, his body soaked in blood, the massive head of the man-eating bear resting on his shoulder. The foul stench of blood filled the hall, causing hunters to instinctively step aside, all covering their noses.
He walked straight to the counter and dropped the Bears head onto the receptionist's desk.
"Here."
The young woman behind the desk froze, her eyes wide. "You… you actually killed it in an hour?!"
"Mhm" Xue Shen said with a nod.
"T-that's incredible! Well, here's your reward." She quickly handed over a pouch of coins.
Xue Shen opened it and counted aloud. "Fifty gold…?" He tilted his head. "What's with the extra ten?"
"Ah, that's your joining bonus for initiation."
"I see—" He stopped mid-sentence as the foul stench reached his nose. Glancing around, he noticed everyone covering theirs. "Well… I'd best be going. Seems I reek." He said also pinching his nose.
"Um… actually, Mr. Qian Liu," she said hesitantly, "we just received a new mission—an escort request. The young lady of the Ning family is traveling to Baiyan City, and the mission requires protecting her until she arrives safely. The reward is two hundred gold per hunter. Several have already signed up, but since the guild doesn't want to risk damaging relations with the Ning family, we plan to send only our best. You've already proven yourself… would you be willing to take it?"
Xue Shen's eyes narrowed. "When?"
"Tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow, huh?" His brows raised slightly.
"Yes."
"I see… sure. I'll accept."
"Perfect! Please meet here as early as possible tomorrow."
"Ah, and the bear? I'd like to sell it."
"Understood. Wait here a minute, Mr. Qian," she said, going to the back and coming back with a second pouch.
"Here's another twenty-five gold."
Xue Shen took it, gave a nod, and left. He climbed onto his wagon and made his way back to the Golden Lantern Inn.
"Welcome back, sir…" the inn's receptionist greeted, though he quickly covered his nose at the stench of blood radiating from Xue Shen.
"Is there a place I can clean up?" Xue Shen asked.
"Yes, sir. Upstairs, down the corridor. There's a washroom there."
Following the directions, Xue Shen found the place, and immediately bathed, scrubbing away the dried blood and rinsing his clothes. Afterward, with only a towel covering his lower body, he stepped back into the hall, carrying the bundle of stained garments. A passing girl wearing cleaners outfit caught his eye.
"Take these and clean them. Bring them to the receptionist once you're done."
The girl's eyes flickered as she stared his refined physique, broad shoulders, hard abs, and well built muscles, and her cheeks flushed. She looked away quickly. "Y-yes, sir." She accepted the bundle and hurried off.
Xue Shen returned to his room, sat at the table, and emptied the two pouches onto the surface. One by one, he counted the coins.
A total of one hundred and eight gold coins.
A satisfied smile appeared on his lips. looking like he was happy at the weight of his earnings. He placed the coins into his pouch, then changed into clean clothes.
"Why do you smile when you're not even truly happy?" a voice interjected, seemingly in his mind. Xue Shen continued smiling and appeared to ignore it.
Later, he made his way downstairs. Finding an empty table, he sat and waved over a server.
"What will you be having, sir?" asked the same server from that morning.
"Water and bread."
"Understood."
Xue Shen leaned back, finally allowing himself to relax after the day's hunt.
The food finally arrived at Xue Shen's table. This time, he ate more refined, slowly eating the bread.
After he finished, he dropped a gold coin onto the table, then strolled back to his wagon. He wanted to explore the city; after all, he hadn't seen much of it yet.
As he wandered the bustling streets, stalls and vendors crowded both sides of the road, their tables piled high with skewered meats, polished weapons, and even plain-looking stones that peddlers swore held hidden value. The air buzzed with voices and the clatter of coins.
"Oi! You there! Come here!" a voice shouted, clearly aimed at Xue Shen.
He looked over and saw four men signaling for him to follow.
"Do they think I'm an idiot?" Xue Shen muttered, ignoring them completely as he continued to explore the city.
"Stop! Sir, would you like to buy a blade? I can see yours is worn out and not fit for long-lasting combat!" A man suddenly tapped Xue Shen on the leg, urging him to halt.
I'll get a new one when I do," Xue Shen said, continuing on his way.
Xue Shen continued wheeling his wagon around the city. Although darkness was approaching, the streets still seemed lively, with so much activity going on.
"You scamming son of a bitch!" a man shouted, angrily complaining about a weapon he had bought from a vendor.
"It's not my weapon that's defective, sir! You're the one at fault! The problem is probably with how you're wielding it!" the vendor shouted back.
Amid all this buzz, one building drew his attention, it rose above everything, a towering structure that towered the cityscape.
At least thirty armored guards with spears stood watch before its doors. Their stern gazes made most passersby keep their distance. But curiosity got the better of Xue Shen, and when he approached, the guards didn't stop him.
Inside, the sight was impressive—but not to Xue Shen. He had seen things like this before. The ceiling stretched high overhead, and the spacious hall was lined with polished red marble. A long counter sat at the center, flanked by staircases curling upward on both sides.
He approached the receptionist.
"Hello, sir! What can we do for you today?" she asked with a bright smile.
"What is this place?" Xue Shen asked, his eyes glancing around curiously.
"Hmm? This is the Spirit Pavilion!"
"And what services do you provide?"
She blinked. "Ah… we buy and sell cultivation manuals, spiritual beast cores, rare plants, and pills. We also host auctions on a bi-monthly basis. Um… sir? Are you sure you're in the right place?"
Xue Shen's heart froze. 'Cultivation! If I could just buy a manual from this world, I could finally begin the journey toward becoming a cultivator here…'
"How much for the cheapest breathing technique?" he asked.
"That would be approximately… a thousand gold coins."
Xue Shen felt as if a blade had pierced his chest.
'A thousand?!'
"I see… well, thank you for your time." He forced a polite smile, then turned and walked out, the smile vanishing the moment he stepped outside. For a fleeting moment, he considered theft, but one glance at the guards reminded him he would be caught. Even if he somehow managed to kill them and take the books, he would almost certainly be hunted down by cultivators—after all, a place that sells cultivation manuals should easily be able to assemble a group to protect their property.
In his current weakened state, Xue Shen couldn't afford to get tangled in such messy web of strings not unless the potential benefits far outweighed the risks.
Later, back atop his wagon, he wandered the streets aimlessly, glancing at the vendors' sold—but nothing caught his interest or seemed useful.
"Ha… time to go back," he thought.
"Oi! Come here!" a voice shouted, but he ignored it.
"Oi! I told you to come here!" Xue Shen glanced toward the alley and saw a man standing there, gesturing at him to approach.
Xue Shen continued on toward the Golden Lantern Inn, paying the man no mind.
"Welcome back, sir! Your clothes have been washed. Here they are," the receptionist said, handing him his neatly folded garments with a warm smile. Xue Shen accepted them silently.
He made his way upstairs to his room and entered it, now in his room he placed his neatly clean clothes in his drawer, then collapsed onto the bed. Exhaustion washing over him, and soon, he fell sleep.
"Knock, Knock, Knock."
Xue Shen awoke to the knocking outside his door. When he opened it, he saw the same lady from yesterday. Like before, she said.
"Sir, breakfast is ready downstairs."
Xue Shen headed downstairs and ate his breakfast of bread and water. Afterwards, he climbed back atop his wagon and drove to the Monster Hunter Guild.
Arriving at the guild entrance, he saw a lavish-looking carriage with two smaller carriages in front and behind it. and another carriage with four seats followed, and about twenty horses were grouped together.
CREEEEAAAAK.
He opened the door and saw a crowd of people, counting at least twenty.
Three people stood together. One he recognized—Da Xiong. Another, a man wielding a sword, was unfamiliar to him, and the third was a woman carrying a bow and a short dagger.
Nearby, a pink-haired young lady dressed in lavish clothes was surrounded by a middle-aged man in white robes, with about twenty guards huddled protectively around her.
"Welcome, Mr Qian Liu," the receptionist said excitedly upon seeing Xue Shen.
"Welcome, friend.." Da Xiong said without looking at Xue Shen, making the atmosphere awkward.
The receptionist broke the silence. "Ahem… this is the young lady of the Ning Family," she said, glancing at the pink-haired girl. Then, turning to the white-robed man, she said, "And this is Mr Quan Ning."
"Greetings, young lady, and greeting, sir," Xue Shen said, putting his fist in his palms.
The young lady and Quan Ning didn't even acknowledge him, acting as if he didn't exist—or matter at all.
The receptionist then introduced the three hunters who would join the mission. "This is Mr Lin Gao, a tier 2 hunter, and this is Miss Yan Gao, a tier 3 hunter. And, of course, you already know Mr Da Xiong, a tier 3 hunter." Finally, she introduced Xue Shen. "This man is Mr Qian, a tier 2 hunter."
Lin and Yan faces showed surprise, they knew most top-level hunters, yet they hadn't met Xue Shen before.
"Nice to meet you all," Xue Shen said, putting his fist in his palms as a respectful gesture towards them aswell.
"Nice to meet you, Mr Qian," Miss Yan and Mr. Lin replied, staring at him curiously.
"Ugh can we hurry the hell up!" the young lady suddenly interrupted, irritation on her face.
"Alright, since everyone's here, let's get going," Quan Ning said, with a smile.
Xue Shen and the others stepped outside toward the carriages. The four hunters, including Xue Shen, stared at each other.
Xue Shen spoke first.
"Which one of us plans to be the driver?"
"Hmm… my wife and I aren't that good at driving a carriage…"
"I don't mind," Da Xiong said.
"Alright, then I'll be the second driver, and we can take turns," Xue Shen said.
Da Xiong and Xue Shen hopped onto the driver's seats, while Lin Gao and Yanran Gao got inside the carriage.
Arriving at the eastern gate, they saw two carriages waiting, each with about 10 people.
"We greet the young lady of the Ning Family," the people said bowing respectfully towards the young lady.
Then they saw the white-robed man, and their faces instantly lit up with surprise.
"W-We greet the elder of the Ning Family!" they stammered, addressing Quan Ning—who didn't respond.
Eventually, Quan Ning signaled them to stop. "Alright, since everybody is here, let's go."
The young lady's entourage exited out the eastern gate and continued on the path to Baiyan City..
2 hours later…
The entourage eventually entered the forest, heading toward Baiyan City. Xue Shen, bored, stared at the road and began counting the entire entourage, not including the young lady herself and so called Ning elder.
He counted about forty or so people.
'That's a lot of people just to guard one lady,' he thought. Then he noticed something, more guards were guarding a different carriage, not the one that the young lady went into, and that carriage was fully enclosed…
'Eh? Could they be escorting an item instead of the young lady? Or is the person inside not actually her and she's in that one?' Xue Shen considered, many possibilities but couldn't know for sure. He needed more information.
Xue Shen turned to Da Xiong. "So, why did you become a hunter?" he asked, he hopped the question would make the time of trip passed by more quickly.
Da Xiong, surprised, laughed at the sudden question. "I wasn't all that smart. All I had was my strength and brawn, so I couldn't really become anything else, hahaha." He scratched his head with his right hand while keeping his left one on the reins.
"What about you? What made you want to become a hunter?" Da Xiong asked curiously.
"To kill monsters," Xue Shen answered truthfully. That was truly his goal.
"Hahaha, well, that is what we do. I guess you were born for this job."
Another two hours later, Xue Shen and Da Xiong had been talking the entire way through. He gained a better understanding of the man, Da Xiong had been abandoned as a child and had grown up as a delinquent. Despite his rough past, he had turned his life around, surviving and learning to rely on himself. By the end of the chatter, Xue Shen had an understanding of his attitude—his resilience, resourcefulness, and ability to make the most of whatever life had handed him.
Da Xiong also tried asking Xue Shen about his past, but Xue Shen brushed him off, clearly unwilling to share.
"HALT!" Suddenly, Quan Ning's voice rang out, loud and imposing.
Every carriage and horse stopped immediately.
"COME OUT!" Quan Ning yelled, unsheathing his sword. Seeing this, everyone else followed suit, including Xue Shen.
Xue Shen looked around but saw nothing suspicious. Only the Ning elder seemed to be the only person to be able to sense the danger.