Chapter 103: Payment and Questions

The undead warriors seemed to be peculiar creatures that had long dwelled underground. Their prolonged life in darkness had severely degraded their eyesight, so much so that they failed to spot the two figures lying prone in the distant desert.

After devouring the two lumps of flesh clean, the dead men tugged on the ropes tied around the sandworm’s head, attempting to drag it back.

Forced to regurgitate what it had just swallowed, the starving sandworm was nearly driven mad. It could sense the living auras of Menglinna and Nanaya in the distance.

It wanted to hunt. It wanted to fill its belly.

But its head was tightly bound by the rope, and no matter how hard it struggled, it couldn’t break free. Adding to its misery, the undead warriors, irritated by the sandworm’s earlier antics, raised their shovels and struck its head heavily.

Resigned, the sandworm had no choice but to burrow back underground.

“Hmm, acceptable,” Miaomiaonia said, scrutinizing the photos in the two women’s hands. “If all this is true, then without a doubt, your assassination was a complete success—no, this wasn’t an assassination at all. It was a complete accident.”

“Of course,” Menglinna nodded. “But who would have thought there’d be a sandworm in that desert, along with a death tribe that raises them?”

In response to Menglinna’s skepticism, Miaomiaonia guiltily averted her gaze. “Who knows? This place is so desolate. Unless someone’s actually explored it, no one can say for sure what’s down there, right?”

It was a clever move. Perhaps this hadn’t been an accident at all in Miaomiaonia’s original plan.

Rather, it was a brutal accident involving four people, wasn’t it?

But since they were all back, there was no need to dwell on it, right?

With such a perfect outcome, doubling the bounty shouldn’t be a problem, right?

“Judging by your tone, you’re not exactly negotiating with me, are you?”

“In principle, no,” Miaomiaonia wiped the sweat from her brow. “But since this commission came from me personally, principles don’t really apply.”

Miaomiaonia winced as she opened her wallet. Hoping to save on the two women’s commission fees, she ended up paying double the bounty—out of her own salary.

Menglinna took the money pouch and weighed it in her hand.

The weight was right. Fair enough.

But she still had to make her point clear. Even with the money in hand, Menglinna put on a sour expression. “Don’t pull something like this again. If we catch you doing it…”

Miaomiaonia looked bitterly at the pouch in the other’s hand. “There won’t be a next time…”

This time, she’d lost her shirt.

“Good.”

With the money secured, everyone was all smiles. But Nanaya didn’t rush to claim her share. Instead, she kept her eyes on Miaomiaonia. “We took out those two, but are there still other beasts in Yabana City?”

Miaomiaonia nodded. “Of course. But our guild isn’t a charity. We don’t actively hunt these beasts.”

The Adventurers’ Association was too deeply rooted. Nanaya didn’t believe they knew nothing about these creatures.

With that thought, Nanaya pressed further, “How did those beasts come into being? Were ordinary humans transformed through some method of infection?”

Miaomiaonia looked away, avoiding Nanaya’s gaze. “If you ask me, I’ve heard a few insider stories. Some say those monsters were humans mutated after receiving forbidden modifications. Others say it’s the result of excessive blood healing. Those are the two main theories. But as for the truth, I couldn’t say.”

“Okay.”

Nanaya figured Miaomiaonia knew more, but there was no way to pry it out of her. So she decided to drop it.

****

This commission was completed smoothly. Though each of them had one chance to make a request from the guild, no one had used it yet.

Menglinna had originally planned to use that chance to ask the Adventurers’ Guild for help with her vampire transformation, but on second thought, it wasn’t urgent.

She’d find time to visit Yushi first. If Yushi couldn’t help, then she’d turn to the guild. Besides, she needed to collect some patent fees from Yushi soon and ask about the potion sales.

After their usual meal, everyone went their separate ways. Nanaya lagged behind, slowly following Menglinna.

Speaking of which, Nanaya hadn’t come to Yabana just for fun. She had a mission to investigate the city’s unique medical practice: blood healing.

The unexpected compound eyes on the beasts and Miaomiaonia’s casual mention of forbidden modifications piqued Nanaya’s curiosity.

She felt these things might be related to blood healing. If only she could get her hands on those beasts’ eyes. Too bad both beasts had been eaten by the sandworm…

Lost in thought, Nanaya walked straight into Menglinna’s back.

“Guh!”

Menglinna, who had stopped to take out her keys, was startled almost to the point of jumping.

Only then did Nanaya realize she’d been too absorbed. She looked at Menglinna. “What’s with the overreaction? Can’t you be more mature?”

What a classic case of blaming the victim—first bumping into someone, then acting like they’re at fault.

Menglinna was annoyed but dared not speak up. She just shot her a glare.

“Got a problem?”

In a bad mood, Nanaya reached out and pinched her—where, don’t ask.

“Croak!” Menglinna blushed and slapped away Nanaya’s wandering hand. Clearly, Nanaya was in a foul mood.

Figuring that if she kept arguing over trivialities, the other would only push further, Menglinna decided to change the subject. “By the way, are you really that concerned about those beasts?”

“Obviously,” Nanaya glanced at her. “Someone’s been using that excuse to sneak into my room every day.”

“Hehe,” Menglinna giggled sheepishly. “Yabana City really is dangerous lately.”

Nanaya couldn’t be bothered to continue bickering. Instead, she recalled how Menglinna had avoided the beasts’ eyes during the hunt. “Hey, you could sense it, right? Those beasts’ eyes were off.”

Though she was a saint candidate, Nanaya didn’t have much experience. It took the Flame Goddess’s reminder for her to notice the eyes. But Menglinna was oddly knowledgeable about these things despite being not much older.

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