Tang Ming continued to feel relieved for a moment longer, but then he recalled the fight with the giant man, and his expression soured. He looked up at Ling Xiao and said, "We're in trouble after all. The Madman Mercenary Corps is a level-seven group with over five hundred members. They're pretty famous even in the Imperial Capital. Sigh, those guys memorized what we look like. They'll probably report back to their boss soon. We should leave tonight under the cover of darkness."
Just then, Ling Xiao suddenly pulled a book from his robes. Its cover was tattered, and it looked quite old. A corner of Ling Xiao's mouth curved up as he said, "That short person in black was actually a little thief—and a woman at that. When she bumped into me, she slipped this into my robes. It might be important."
Tang Ming froze, stammering, "You're saying that kid in black... was a woman?"
Ling Xiao blushed and nodded. "Yeah, didn't you recognize her voice? Let me see what book this is... Huh? Life-Reaping Sword Skill. Heh, a Middle-tier Earth-level Sword Skill?"
While Ling Xiao was muttering to himself, Tang Ming stood frozen, staring at Ling Xiao in utter disbelief. He stammered, "M-Middle Tier of the Earth Level? A sword skill?"
Ling Xiao nodded. He opened it and glanced through a few pages, feeling the Swordsmanship was rather ordinary. He casually tossed it to Tang Ming. "Here. If it weren't for you today, I would have been in danger. This book is yours."
"Th-This... How can I accept this!" Tang Ming said, but his eyes blazed with a brilliant light. He stared at the book in his hands, gripping the Middle-tier Earth-level Sword Skill so tightly and gritting his teeth that Ling Xiao felt a pang of concern.
"Tang Ming, are you okay?"
"Brother Ling Xiao," Tang Ming said, taking a deep breath. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, their clarity had returned. "I can't accept it."
'Why?' Ling Xiao was puzzled. 'It's just a Middle-tier Earth-level Sword Skill. It's truly nothing special to me.' Ling Xiao knew what he lacked was the ability to use his Inner Strength. Once his meridians were cleared, his cultivation would advance by leaps and bounds. No matter how good a sword skill was, its effectiveness depended on who practiced it.
"Do you know how much this book is worth?" Tang Ming caressed the skill manual's tattered cover as if stroking a beloved woman. "If this were put up for auction, it could easily fetch several hundred thousand gold coins. How could I possibly accept such a massive fortune?"
After speaking, Tang Ming suppressed the reluctance in his heart and tossed the book back to Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao was taken aback. 'Several hundred thousand gold coins... That really is a lot. Father probably only got a few tens of thousands of gold coins for emptying out that entire Wulan Family weapons shop. Hundreds of thousands... it's quite tempting.' Recalling Tang Ming's anguished muttering, Ling Xiao felt he should help the man fulfill his desire. If for no other reason than the fact that when he was in danger today, Tang Ming had drawn his sword to help and declared that he would not abandon a companion!
He remembered that before they started drinking, Tang Ming had specifically told him not to cause trouble here. That's right—it was for his sake that Tang Ming had provoked the men from the Madman Mercenary Corps.
"Several hundred thousand gold coins... I never would have thought it was so valuable!" Ling Xiao said, lightly tapping the book in his hand with a solemn expression. A flicker of disappointment crossed Tang Ming's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by understanding. After all, if he were in Ling Xiao's shoes, he probably wouldn't give it away so easily either. As for helping out, that was a quality every Adventurer should possess—never abandon a companion. 'Only then will your companions not abandon you when you're in danger!'
"However..." The smile in Ling Xiao's eyes slowly widened, and he tossed the book back to Tang Ming again. "We're partners, aren't we? As for Gold Coins, I'm not short on them!" As he spoke, Ling Xiao patted the bulging coin purse at his waist. His hand landed, lifted, and then froze in mid-air. He stood stunned for a long moment before cursing in frustration, "That damn little thief..."
Tang Ming, holding the Middle-tier Earth-level Sword Skill that Ling Xiao had handed him, stared dumbfounded at Ling Xiao. The gratitude on his face hadn't even had time to fade before he burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. He laughed until tears streamed down his face, only stopping when he saw Ling Xiao's expression twist into a knot. Clutching his stomach, he asked, "The little thief stole it?"
Seeing Ling Xiao's sullen nod, Tang Ming said with a grin, "You had at most a thousand gold coins in that purse, right? That's a huge sum, but compared to this Middle-tier Earth-level Sword Skill, it's not even worth mentioning! Hehe, in a way, we're the ones who came out way ahead! What's there to be afraid of without gold coins? What's mine is yours!"
Ling Xiao had to agree. The main reason he was so frustrated was that he had fallen for the little thief's trick without even noticing. He had known the instant she'd stuffed the book into his robes.
But as for when his heavy coin purse was taken and replaced with a chunk of iron of similar weight, Ling Xiao had no idea. What's more, the female thief was already injured. To think she didn't forget to steal even when she was hurt that badly... her professionalism was just speechless!
At that moment, Tang Ming stood up and bowed deeply to Ling Xiao. When Ling Xiao moved to dodge, Tang Ming said in a low, serious voice, "Brother Ling Xiao, I can tell you come from a noble background. Although your strength is average, you possess exceptional medical skills. Your future accomplishments will certainly not be limited to this. I dare not aspire to your level, but I, Tang Ming, will never forget the kindness you've shown me today by gifting me this sword skill!"
Tang Ming didn't utter any nonsense like promising a grand reward in the future. The man didn't even care about several hundred thousand gold coins, so why would he care about some so-called grand reward? All Tang Ming could do was engrave this debt of gratitude in his heart and stand up for Ling Xiao without hesitation whenever he needed help.
Ling Xiao helped Tang Ming up and said with a smile, "Brother Tang, what are you saying? Since we've become Adventurers, our status is just that—Adventurers! Besides, in terms of Adventurer rank, I'm the one at the lowest level, hehe."
"Haha," Tang Ming laughed happily. "No wonder the captain thinks so highly of you. You seem like a natural-born Adventurer!"
"Give me a break..." Ling Xiao said with a gloomy look. "Have you ever seen a natural-born Adventurer who doesn't even notice his coin purse being swapped out...?"
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. With a composed expression, Tang Ming tucked the Middle-tier Earth-level Life-Reaping Sword Skill into his robes. Then, Wang Chao entered from outside, followed by the other three members of their group.
Wang Chao's expression was calm, but Wu Liang looked furious. The moment he entered the room, he started reprimanding them. "Tang Ming, Ling Xiao, look what you two have done! The captain warned you over and over not to cause trouble. Tang Ming, you're a veteran, for crying out loud. How could you not even know this simple rule?"
Although Wu Liang was addressing Tang Ming, his words were actually aimed at scolding the newcomer, Ling Xiao, for not knowing the rules and causing them huge trouble.
"And another thing..." Wu Liang started to say more but was cut off by a wave from Wang Chao.
Wang Chao frowned and said, "Enough. What's done is done. There's no point in complaining. Let's pack our things, rest up for a bit, and leave tonight!"
Anya and Gaia both gave Ling Xiao and Tang Ming comforting looks of support, which made the two feel much better about their guilt. Wu Liang, on the other hand, stood there with a look of deep-seated resentment, his eyes full of disdain and disgust for Ling Xiao. Wu Liang was becoming more and more convinced that agreeing to bring the boy along had been a terrible mistake.
'In the past, they passed through Wutan Town once or twice a year and never had any incidents. Why did something happen as soon as he joined?' Just a moment ago, an Adventurer who knew them and was also staying at the inn had run over to deliver a message. He said several Mercenaries from the Madman Adventurer Group were looking all over for their team's Tang Ming, and they seemed furious.
That Adventurer didn't recognize Ling Xiao, but he knew Tang Ming. They were on pretty good terms, so he had come to give Wang Chao a heads-up.
In this kind of situation, it was often hard to judge who was right and who was wrong. Besides, the Adventurer who brought the news had also said that it wasn't Tang Ming and Ling Xiao's fault; the Mercenaries had been the ones to go too far.
Wang Chao was not an indecisive person, so he immediately decided they would leave that night. He had only come over to remind the two of them to be careful and not to go out again.
After saying his piece, Wang Chao turned and left. Wu Liang snorted and followed him out. Gaia scratched his head, chuckled good-naturedly, and said, "It's fine. If we run into them, we fight. If we can't win, we run!"
Tang Ming gave Gaia a thumbs-up. Anya pouted from the side. "You big oaf, what if we can't run away?"
"Can't run away?" While Gaia was scratching his head and thinking, Anya dragged him out. From the hallway outside, they could still hear Gaia muttering, "If we can't run, we fight to the death!"
"Idiot. Who the hell would fight to the death with you..." Anya's silvery laughter floated away.
After everyone had left, Tang Ming clapped Ling Xiao on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. That's just how Wu Liang is. Don't stoop to his level. You stay here for a bit, I'm going to go explain things to the boss!"
Since Wang Chao hadn't said anything just now, Tang Ming was a little worried he might be angry with him, so he wanted to go and explain.
Ling Xiao lay on his bed, replaying the brief exchange between the giant man and Tang Ming in his mind. He silently calculated his chances of defeating the giant if he had been the one to fight.
The door was suddenly pushed open. Ling Xiao assumed Tang Ming had returned already, but then he heard an unfamiliar breathing sound. He opened his eyes to see a figure completely shrouded in a black cloak staring at him. The pair of eyes visible from within the hood were filled with rage!