The man pulled Ming Zhi Tian’s hand away again. "No, what I mean is, it’s better to meet by chance than to plan, so let’s cooperate. Five-five split on the bounty, what do you say?"
Ming Zhi Tian feigned contemplation. "Sounds good..."
The man was delighted, thinking to himself, 'The sucker’s fallen for it.'
Ming Zhi Tian shattered all his hopes. "But I'm taking the whole bounty."
The man froze, then recovered. "What? No, can you even finish it? If you don't have my help, can you complete the mission? You’re still..."
Ming Zhi Tian cut him off. "Alright, we all know who you are. Please step aside. I'm busy and don't have time to waste here with you."
The man was shut out, but there was nothing he could do but move aside. He hadn't expected Ming Zhi Tian, who looked so naive, to be so hard to fool. It was strange, had he misjudged?
In reality, Ming Zhi Tian was used to it. In the Celestial Sphere, people like him were everywhere. He hadn't expected to encounter them in this vast Ancient Cultivation Realm.
The man was likely a repeat offender. He would first try to lure someone in, pretending to cooperate and suggesting a fifty-fifty split later. But when it came to dealing with the bandits, he wouldn't be the one in the front line. Using Ming Zhi Tian as bait, he hoped to catch a big fish. If not, he could advance or retreat as needed. He could directly abandon the bait and escape, or if successful, he would slit the throat of the injured bait afterward and claim the bounty with the spoils, a win-win.
The timer started from the moment he accepted the mission. The deadline was five days. If the mission wasn't completed before the deadline, it would be considered a failure regardless of completion status.
Within a day, Ming Zhi Tian reached Cliff Mountain outside the city. The bandits had established their stronghold on Cliff Mountain, often descending to rob and rape the people along the Huayang path. Therefore, people preferred to pay more to travel along the Huayang Grand Road rather than take the shortcut.
It was still daylight. Ming Zhi Tian didn't rush into the mountain. He sent Buck to scout ahead, while he practiced the "Eternal Life Art" under a tree.
The first level of the Eternal Life Art: "Train the body, first temper the bones, refine the flesh, then release the blood, only then can one achieve eternal life."
Had he reached the first level so easily? But when he tried to proceed further, he found it increasingly difficult. Seeing Buck return, Ming Zhi Tian put away the Gluttony Beast scroll.
"Let's not practice for now. If time is wasted, I'll have to pay money. Let's go deal with the bandits first."
Ming Zhi Tian slowly stood up. "Buck, what's the situation?"
Buck didn't understand, but he knew what Ming Zhi Tian was asking. He began his charade of "You guess what I'm doing."
Buck first rolled on the ground, then took five steps, then retreated three. He then let out a "roar."
Ming Zhi Tian said, "You mean... there's a fight ahead? How many people? And then someone shouted and got captured?"
Buck's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly. Ming Zhi Tian looked at the sky. "We'll infiltrate when it gets dark."
...Night fell.
Under the moonlight, a man and a beast crept up the mountain. Soon, they reached the entrance of the bandit camp. Three bandits were guarding the front gate.
Ming Zhi Tian pondered for a moment. "This is the front gate. Buck, come, go around to the back."
Hanging precariously, they circled to the rear. Ming Zhi Tian donned his cold iron gauntlets, ready for combat.
Ming Zhi Tian instructed Buck to wait there. He quietly climbed to the top of the stockade, using the artifact control technique to attract the attention of the bandit guards, then knocked them all out with one punch each.
After dealing with the outer defenses of the back gate, Ming Zhi Tian’s intention was to capture the leader.
The main camp was obvious. He had Buck create a diversion below while Ming Zhi Tian climbed to the top of the stockade to observe their every move.
After several observations, he confirmed that the black-faced, heavily bearded man was the bandit leader. Ming Zhi Tian let out a whistle, and Buck charged in, drawing their attention.
Buck bared his fangs and claws, biting anyone he could, and pounced. The hundreds of pounds of Buck's sudden attack caught them completely off guard.
The diversion was successful. Ming Zhi Tian followed by leaping down. The bandit leader frowned and looked up. "There's someone else?!"