"Brother Li Xi is back! Oh, who is this great beauty you picked up?" Xinis's eyes lit up when he saw Ai Weil's luxurious silk clothes. This outfit alone was worth three gold coins, and not just anyone could afford it.
Seeing Li Xi in his new leather armor and Ai Weil with a flushed face, Xinis grinned at everyone. Laughter filled the air, brimming with unspoken understanding.
Li Xi's face turned red again. His morning clothes had been burned, and he'd changed without much thought, not expecting to be misunderstood like this.
"Go away, stop the nonsense. This is Madam Ai Weil. I met her on the road. She's also going to Abi City and was alone. I thought we were going the same way, so I gave her a ride."
"We understand, we understand. We won't tell Alice. Don't worry, Brother Li Xi, we never betray our friends."
"Hahahaha!"
Li Xi's explanation only made things worse, so he gave up and found a tent to settle Ai Weil in.
Since strangers had joined the caravan, Robert came to check the situation. Xinis blocked him, and Robert, grateful for Xinis's earlier discovery of the bandits, let it slide. Otherwise, no one would be allowed to hitch a ride without paying a copper coin. This was from Sultan Novels.
Xinis privately asked Li Xi about the bandits. Li Xi just chuckled and asked Xinis if there were any bandits on the road, claiming he hadn't seen any.
Xinis understood immediately. The bandits must have been wiped out. He was genuinely impressed by Li Xi's ability to accomplish anything he set his mind to. Many people couldn't even find the bandits' lair, yet Li Xi had found it so easily.
A bandit force of at least five hundred men, and in their own stronghold. Li Xi had eliminated them all in less than an hour, silently. Such strength made Xinis exclaim he was a monster. He was already this formidable at his age; imagine what he would be like in a few more years – shoulder to shoulder with gods!
The rest of the journey was smooth sailing, with no incidents, and they reached Abi City without a hitch. What surprised Li Xi the most was that Ai Weil had befriended all three hundred-plus people in the caravan within two days. Even the drivers spoke of Madam Ai Weil with thumbs up, saying, "Madam Ai Weil is a kind and warm-hearted lady. If she appreciated my driving skills, I'd drive for her my entire life."
So, when Ai Weil departed, everyone from the caravan came to see her off. Many even gave her their goods, disregarding their own purpose of selling. This gave Li Xi a deep chill, reminding him of a famous ancient poem, "The Duke of Zhou feared slander, Wang Mang was humble before his usurpation."
The words were somewhat out of place, but the meaning was spot on. Thus, the entire caravan saw Ai Weil off, while Li Xi hid far away.
It was best to stay away from such a master, lest he be caught in the crossfire of a deadly, unseen blade. After all, even the level four bandit leader had been poisoned to death by this woman. Her methods were… not just impressive, but incredibly so.
After Ai Weil left, Xinis returned, still sighing, "Such a lady is rare. Brother Li Xi, I believe Madam Ai Weil would stay for you if you asked. What a shame."
Li Xi remained silent. A woman like that wouldn't stay for a man's word, not even a dragon could keep her.
"Let's go. We'll turn in our quest and then go for a meal."
Robert issued each mercenary a quest completion certificate and their commission, promising to seek out the Black Tiger Mercenary Group and the White Lion Mercenary Group for future missions.
Tai Qi patted his chest, guaranteeing that his White Lion Mercenary Group was impeccable.
With the quest completion certificate, Li Xi could submit his quest at any mercenary hall. After submitting this one, his quest completion progress reached four times. With three more D-rank missions, he could advance again.
"Let's go, we're going for a meal."
Having completed the quest so easily, Xinis and the others were in high spirits and excitedly dragged Li Xi off to eat.
Li Xi first booked a room, saying he wanted to change his clothes. Xinis and the others didn't think much of it and told him to hurry back, promising a night of heavy drinking.
Suppressing his excitement, Li Xi returned to his room and called out, "Xiao Fan, start the roulette."
A roulette wheel, visible only to Li Xi, appeared. Li Xi scanned it broadly. Overall, it was decent, neither exceptionally good nor bad. After all, the quest had been quite mundane and easy to complete, so ordinary rewards were expected.
First, regarding weapons. Tian Tian's Double Dragon was a constant fixture. Li Xi suspected it might stay there forever if he didn't draw it.
There was a small bag of soldier rations. This time, there were no explosive tags, but a large saber with semi-circular notches on both the top and bottom. Li Xi immediately recognized this distinctive saber: the Severing Blade - Executioner's Blade, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. After being broken, it could absorb iron atoms from the enemy's blood to regenerate itself. Momochi Zabuza had used this blade to fight evenly with Kakashi. It was an excellent weapon.
Li Xi had only been in this other world for a little over a month, and he had already broken several weapons. It wasn't that the weapons were poor, but the enemies were too strong, creating an urgent need for high-quality weapons.
If he could obtain the Executioner's Blade today, he wouldn't have to worry about weapons breaking and constantly replacing them.
Then, looking at the ninjutsu:
Shadow Clone Jutsu,
Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu,
Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu,
Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning,
Water Style: Water Wall,
Earth Style: Earth Wall.
Except for Shadow Clone Jutsu and Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, which hadn't appeared in a while, the others were mostly familiar. Li Xi, of course, hoped most to get Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, a ninjutsu that depended on one's chakra reserves.
Actually, if Li Xi were to use Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu now, there would be no difference compared to Shadow Clone Jutsu. The distinction would only appear later, when Li Xi's chakra reserves increased.
"Spin it."
There wasn't anything particularly good, so Li Xi sat down and fiddled with the space ring he had picked up from the bandit leader, Ma Qiwei.
The space ring wasn't large, less than ten square meters. It contained very simple items: some gold coins and a few rare herbs.
While organizing, Li Xi said, "Stop," and continued organizing the items, unconcerned about what he would get today.
A moment later, Xiao Fan's voice came through, "Congratulations, Master, you have obtained Shadow Clone Jutsu."
"Oh, Shadow Clone Jutsu. I thought it would be Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu."
A flood of memories surged into his brain, allowing Li Xi to instantly master this ninjutsu. He could create several clones, and his strength would be divided accordingly. The clones inherited all of the original's memories and could be used as the original.
Although it wasn't Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, it was more than enough for Li Xi at this moment.
"Spin again."
The pointer spun wildly as Li Xi continued to sort through the space ring.
The ring wasn't large, so the capacity was naturally limited. Li Xi finished organizing in no time. Only one item surprised him.
"Stop."
This item was a token. The front had a devil's pattern, and the back had two crossed, blood-dripping daggers.
Li Xi took out an identical token from his own ring. Indeed, it was the Assassin's Alliance token he had found on Delavont.
Li Xi had discreetly inquired about the Assassin's Alliance these past few days but had found no leads. He hadn't expected to finally get a clue, only for the informant to be dead.
"What is this all about?"
Li Xi was a bit exasperated. He had finally found a lead, only for it to disappear before he could even reveal his identity. How frustrating.
"Congratulations, Master, you have obtained the Severing Blade - Executioner's Blade."
A saber over two meters long appeared out of thin air. Li Xi grasped the hilt and, with a slight effort, discovered that the Executioner's Blade was no less heavy than Jiaomo's broken saber, and its quality was even better, making it perfectly suited for his current use.
With this handy weapon, Li Xi's earlier frustration about missing the Assassin's Alliance clue subsided considerably.
He placed the Executioner's Blade into his space ring, changed his clothes, and went out to drink with Xinis and the others.
As soon as he opened the door, he noticed an awkward atmosphere. A familiar booming voice was loudly proclaiming, "Our White Lion Mercenary Group is a renowned mercenary group, incomparable to those Black Tiger Mercenary Groups."
Li Xi sat next to Xinis and asked with confusion, "Why is he here again?"
Xinis wore a wry smile. "Don't worry. Before the next mission starts, he'll follow us every step of the way."
Perhaps fearing Li Xi's annoyance, Xinis added, "Don't worry, he means no harm. He's just a bit childish."
Li Xi had come to understand Tai Qi's personality throughout their journey. He indeed had no ill intentions, just an exceptionally strong childlike nature. The best way to deal with such people was to ignore them. He continued drinking with Xinis and the others as if Tai Qi wasn't there.
After a while, Li Xi stood up, needing to relieve himself. Xinis also stood up. "Let's go together."
They walked towards the latrine with their arms around each other's shoulders. Tai Qi, having spoken for so long with no one paying attention, was bored. Seeing Xinis and Li Xi leave, he followed.
When Li Xi reached the latrine and looked back, he saw Tai Qi following. He was annoyed by someone following him to the toilet and frowned, "I say, Commander Tai Qi, do you have a stalking fetish?"
Tai Qi was a bit drunk and bristled. "Is this latrine yours? If you can come, so can I."
Li Xi chuckled. This kind of person deserved a lesson. Fortunately, he had a ninjutsu that was perfectly suited for this situation.
He formed hand seals.
"Earth Style: Earth Release Body Severing Technique."
Before Tai Qi could react, he was suddenly pulled into the ground, with only his head exposed above the surface.
"What, what did you do to me?"
Li Xi squatted down and looked at the large head. "I don't like people following me. If you do this again, don't blame me for taking some action."
At this moment, Xinis, having finished, walked out and saw Tai Qi with only his head sticking out of the ground. He immediately realized Li Xi had done it. Only he here had the means to toy with a level four Great Earth Warrior like this.
He stepped forward, blocking Li Xi with his upper body, and slapped Tai Qi on the forehead. "You've really had too much to drink. Drink less next time, or you might find yourself being buried one day. Look here, this is Brother Li Xi. He's my savior. You can't afford to offend him."
After speaking, Xinis winked at Tai Qi repeatedly, giving him a frantic hint.
Tai Qi also began to realize his situation. He, a proud level four Great Earth Warrior, had been pulled into the ground without noticing. Although he was drunk, it also showed that this person, who claimed to be only slightly weaker than an intermediate warrior, was no simple man.
He said apologetically to Li Xi, "Brother Li Xi, I'm sorry. I was too drunk."
"It's fine. I'm easy to talk to."
Li Xi waved his hand and went to relieve himself. At this moment, Xinis pulled Tai Qi out like pulling a radish and earnestly advised him, "You need to change your temper. If you offend someone you can't afford to offend one day, you won't even know how you died."
"I understand."
Tai Qi deflated like a frost-bitten eggplant and dejectedly returned to the table to continue drinking.
Li Xichu came out and saw Xinis looking visibly more cheerful, asking, "How was it?"
Xinis threw an arm around Li Xi's shoulder and laughed heartily. "Thanks, brother, for helping me vent my anger."
"Our relationship is so good, who else would I help if not you."