The Xiao Family's dilapidated courtyard.
When Jun Wuxie returned, Little Yue Yao was still fast asleep.
He sat by the bed, dug out some Skin-Nourishing and Muscle-Generating Cream with his finger, and gently applied it to her chilblains.
"Wuxie Gege."
Yue Yao's eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes, looking at him with a blinking gaze, secretly smiling.
This is so good now; Wuxie Gege is finally well, and she no longer has to worry.
Jun Wuxie tapped her little nose and softly said, "Did Gege wake you up?"
"No, Yue Yao just woke up." Little Yue Yao hugged Jun Wuxie's arm, burrowing her head into his embrace, and said, "When Gege was sick before, Yue Yao was so scared. Xiao Qi and them always bullied us. Yue Yao is useless; I couldn't protect Gege..."
"Silly girl, only Gege protects younger sisters, there's no such thing as a younger sister protecting Gege."
"No, Yue Yao just wants to protect Gege. Yue Yao really wants to grow up quickly. When I grow up, I can Cultivate!" She said this, huffing and puffing, waving her little fists: "Then, whoever dares to bully Gege, Yue Yao will make him cry!"
Jun Wuxie held her tightly in his arms and said, "From now on, no one can bully you again. Whoever dares to bully you, I will kill him!"
"Wuxie Gege, will you leave Yue Yao in the future?"
"No."
"Then Yue Yao wants to be with Gege forever, okay?"
"How is forever enough? Gege wants to be with Yao'er this life, next life, next next life, forever and ever..."
"Hehe, Wuxie Gege, you promise, don't lie to Yue Yao~ Let's pinky swear~"
...
Jun Wuxie carried Yue Yao's small medicine basket on his back and left the Xiao Family with her in his arms.
He had to do a bounty mission and didn't feel comfortable leaving her there.
At some unknown point, the abnormal phenomenon caused by Xiao Xu had dissipated, and the sky had returned to daylight.
The Xiao Family was incredibly lively.
Along the way, the Xiao Family members who saw Jun Wuxie all showed expressions of disbelief, but soon their faces turned to disdain, and they started discussing amongst themselves.
"I didn't expect him to recover. It's a pity, though, the former Genius, how dazzling he was then, but now even if he has recovered, he is dim and unremarkable under Xiao Xu's brilliant radiance."
"Hmm, that's right. Even if he recovered his former talent, he has fallen from grace. Only Xiao Xu is the most brilliant and dazzling Genius in our Qingyang City!"
"Hehe, just a Family outcast, and we used to praise him so highly..."
...
Various taunts continued.
For the Xiao Family, Xiao Xu becoming a Fated Messenger, attracting astonishing celestial phenomena, was a sign of absolute extraordinary talent. Even if Jun Wuxie recovered, he was still far inferior to Xiao Xu.
Jun Wuxie paid no mind. These people used to flock to him when he was dazzling, but now they were sneering and ridiculing. Human nature's coldness was never more apparent than this.
Responding to them now would be meaningless. Only by powerfully defeating their so-called prodigy in full view of everyone would be the best response.
When he arrived at the Xiao Family's main entrance, he saw a scene of a sea of people.
The leaders of various large and small forces in the city carried heavy gifts, queuing up to offer congratulations.
Those people were inevitably shocked when they saw him, but then they shook their heads, and no one greeted him.
Jun Wuxie didn't care about any of this. Now that Xiao Xu was in power, everyone's eyes were naturally only on that Fated Messenger.
"The Bi Family Head, Bi Fenglin, and all Elders, present gifts to congratulate!"
"The Ji Family Head, Ji Xiang, and all Elders, present gifts to congratulate!"
"The Jiang Family Head, Jiang Chen, and all Elders, present gifts to congratulate!"
"Qingyang City Lord, Wang Cheng, presents gifts to congratulate!"
...
The Xiao Family was riding high, even the guards at the entrance held their heads high, their gazes towards the high-ranking officials of various forces no longer holding the reverence of the past.
"What are you pushing for? Go queue up at the back!"
Xiao Qi was also at the entrance, but he didn't see Jun Wuxie coming out of the mansion; his mind was entirely focused on the people coming to offer congratulations.
"Young Lord Qi, a small token of my regard, please accept it."
The one Xiao Qi was scolding was the head of a small Family. He had been queuing honestly, but facing the unwarranted Make things difficult, he still took out a large bag of gold coins and handed it over.
"What do you mean? Do you think I'm a beggar?"
Xiao Qi slapped the Family head across the face, drawing blood from the corner of his mouth. He covered his face, not daring to resist. Despite the humiliation, he could only force a smile and quickly slipped in a gold coin card.
"Consider yourself smart."
Xiao Qi checked the amount, showing a satisfied expression, and moved on to his next target.
Everyone shook their heads secretly, not daring to utter a sound. Xiao Xu's rise signaled the Xiao Family's rise; no force in Qingyang City could contend with them.
After leaving the Xiao Family, Jun Wuxie also took a few distant glances. As soon as Xiao Xu attracted the abnormal phenomena, some people in the Xiao Family began to swell with pride.
He had originally intended to kill Xiao Qi in public, but it was not appropriate to get entangled with the Xiao Family at the moment. The most urgent task was to quickly acquire money to exchange for Cultivation resources.
...
The Hunter Guild is located in the south of Qingyang City.
Every day, a large number of bounty hunters come here to hand in and receive missions.
These bounty hunters are mostly in groups, some even forming mercenary groups of considerable size, living a life on the edge of a knife. Solo hunters are extremely rare.
Jun Wuxie had never done a bounty mission before, but he did have some understanding of the Hunter Guild.
It is said that the Hunter Guild was established a long time ago by nine powerful Loose Cultivator hunters.
The Guild Hall is very spacious, divided into a Mission Release Area, a Mission Handover Area, a Hunter Registration Area, and a Mission Waiting Area.
"Isn't that the Xiao Family's Young Lord Jun Wuxie?"
Some bounty hunters showed strange expressions.
The Xiao Family's Young Lord was severely injured and paralyzed; this news had spread throughout Qingyang City half a year ago.
"He's actually recovered?"
"Now that Xiao Xu has risen, a Heaven-Gifted Genius, Jun Wuxie probably can't stay in the Xiao Family, otherwise he wouldn't come here dressed so shabbily. It seems he wants to become a hunter."
"Hey, if there's a chance, we could try to recruit him into our mercenary group. If he recovers to his Peak state, he still has some value."
In the Mission Waiting Area, a bearded man and a pale-faced young man were talking in low voices.
At this moment, in the Hunter Registration Area.
"Hello, how can I help you?"
A seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl with a nimble demeanor, skin like congealed fat, and a very beautiful appearance smiled and spoke to Jun Wuxie.
She wore a work badge on her chest with the name Qin Keqing written on it.
"I'm here to register as a bounty hunter."
"Alright, please wait a moment."
Qin Keqing took out a form, registered him according to the procedure, and then took out a bronze token for him, saying, "Please keep this. This is your Elementary Hunter Token, and also your symbol of identity."
Jun Wuxie put the Hunter Token into his pocket and said, "Can I accept missions now?"
"Yes." Qin Keqing smiled and pointed to the Mission Release Area, saying, "You are an Elementary Hunter, currently able to accept bounty missions of up to two-star difficulty. You can also wait; new missions will be assigned before dark."
Jun Wuxie nodded, went to the Mission Release Area and looked around. Most of the missions here had already been taken, leaving only a few.
The one-star and two-star missions that no one had taken had low bounties. One-star missions were only a few dozen gold, while two-star missions had several hundred gold, but they must have been quite difficult, otherwise they would have been taken long ago.
His gaze swept over the one-star and two-star bounties, finally settling on a five-star public bounty mission.
Mission: Kill the Flame Python.
Location: Dragon Ridge Mountain Range outskirts, Flame Valley.
Bounty Amount: One hundred thousand gold!
His pupils contracted!
A bounty of a full one hundred thousand gold!
He had some understanding of bounty missions before; even five-star missions usually paid around ten thousand gold. This mission was actually as high as one hundred thousand gold?
Such a bounty amount was truly too generous, breaking the historical bounty record of Qingyang City!