After passing Jing'an Temple, walking along the lush, flower-filled boulevard, they slowly entered some old streets that exuded a unique Republican era charm.
At the end of the old street, Ye Bing immediately spotted a signboard gently swaying in the alley's breeze, emitting a creaking sound.
"This must be it," Ye Bing muttered.
After walking a little closer, he finally got a clear look at this old shop, which resembled a tea house with a blend of old Chinese and English styles.
At the entrance of the old shop, a young girl with long, twin pigtails sat on a stool, swinging her cute little legs while looking at a picture book.
The young girl, noticing Ye Bing's approach, said without lifting her head, "Are you here for a commission? The starting price for a commission is 300,000, with the price adjusted based on difficulty. We don't accept commissions for stray cats and dogs under 300,000."
Ye Bing's mouth twitched a few times. Although he knew Leng Lingling's personality, being in the situation, he still couldn't completely ignore it.
"Neither," Ye Bing said after calming himself down. "I'm here for a job interview."
"A job interview? You want to be a Demon Hunter for our Qingtian Hunter Agency? You? Can you even cast magic yet?" Leng Lingling put down her book, looked up, scanned Ye Bing a few times, and asked with great skepticism.
Ye Bing didn't speak; actions spoke louder than words. He extended his right hand, and an ice shard instantly materialized, causing the surrounding temperature to drop by several degrees.
Leng Lingling shivered, and suddenly, an old man's voice came from inside the shop: "Lingling, is someone here for a commission?"
"Grandpa, he's here for a job interview. He's too young, we don't need him," Lingling said to the room, then glared at Ye Bing before resuming her reading.
Ye Bing was speechless; this little Lingling was truly vengeful.
"Heh heh, come in, young man. That's just Lingling's personality," the old man said.
"Excuse me for disturbing," Ye Bing said at the door before pushing it open and entering.
As soon as he entered, Ye Bing saw an old man sitting at the counter, holding a pipe and puffing away.
"Hello, sir. My name is Ye Bing. Are you Grandpa Song?" Ye Bing politely asked.
Bao Laotou tapped his pipe and said to Ye Bing, "Oh? You know this old man?"
"Ying Grandpa said you are an old friend of his and that you opened a Qingtian Hunter Agency, so he sent me here to gain some experience," Ye Bing said truthfully.
"Ying? Is he doing well? It's been decades since I last saw him," Bao Laotou asked.
"Ying Grandpa is in good health. He's the one who sent me to study in Demon City," Ye Bing said.
Bao Laotou thought for a moment, then called out to the door, "Lingling, come in!"
"Grandpa, what is it? You're not really going to let this brat be a Demon Hunter for our Qingtian Hunter Agency, are you?" Leng Lingling pouted and said.
"Heh heh, Little Bing, what level of mage are you now?" Bao Laotou chuckled.
"Ice System Intermediate," Ye Bing said.
Little Lingling was shocked: "You? Intermediate? Did you cheat?"
"When I was 12, I awakened the Ice System myself. I've been cultivating for over 4 years now. Is intermediate too much?" Ye Bing said helplessly.
Little Lingling was momentarily speechless. She hadn't expected Ye Bing to be a self-awakener, a phenomenon that might only appear once in decades.
"So that's it. Perfect, I have a small commission here that no one wants to take. Let it be your assessment task, Little Bing. Lingling, you partner with Little Bing," Bao Laotou said, stroking his beard.
"Hey, have you ever killed a demon?" Lingling, somewhat displeased with Bao Laotou's decision, pouted and asked Ye Bing.
"Demons? I suppose I have. Their meat tastes good," Ye Bing replied.
"Tastes good? Are you that heavy-tasting?" Little Lingling asked in shock.
"Uh, don't misunderstand. The ones I hunted were deer, cattle, pigs, and birds. At first, I didn't know they were demons. My elder (Qing Luan) took me to hunt them, because there are no ordinary animals in my village; we can only rely on hunting for meat," Ye Bing quickly explained.
"Hmm, the meat of those demons indeed tastes good. This old man also tasted it when he was young."
Bao Laotou nodded in agreement, while only Little Lingling felt her world collapse. Those ugly-but-cute demons could actually be eaten?
"Come, Little Bing, take a look at this commission," Bao Laotou took out a piece of paper from the drawer and handed it to Ye Bing and Little Lingling.
Ye Bing took it and read it. The commission stated that in a certain street in Demon City, an irritating metallic scraping sound would emanate from the sewers at night. It was suspected that a demon had entered their street, and the commission fee was 300,000.
"Grandpa Song, shouldn't the City Hunter Squad be responsible for the content of this commission?" Ye Bing asked.
"Hmm, you're right. This kind of commission should originally be handled by the City Hunter Squad. However, the City Hunter Squad went a few times and found no trace of demons, so they gave the commission to our Qingtian Hunter Agency," Bao Laotou explained.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Lingling," Ye Bing said, handing the commission to Lingling.
"Why are you giving it to me? It's clearly your assessment commission!" Lingling frowned her pretty eyebrows and said.
"Grandpa Song asked me to team up with you. I'm sure Lingling has some extraordinary abilities, and since Lingling doesn't have combat power, what's left must be extraordinary wisdom, right? So, leaving it to you is no problem," Ye Bing subtly flattered her.
Lingling's lips curved slightly upwards; clearly, Ye Bing's flattery pleased her greatly.
"The commission says there will be metallic noise at night, so we'll just go at night. Is it okay to meet on this street at five o'clock?" Lingling asked.
"Yes, no problem," Ye Bing nodded in agreement.
"Don't be late! I hate people who are late!" Lingling admonished.
After leaving the Qingtian Hunter Agency, Ye Bing realized that he had been in Demon City for a month but, other than attending school, he hadn't explored the city. Since he had free time today, he decided to take a good stroll.
Ye Bing went to a nearby shopping mall and wandered aimlessly inside. Suddenly, Ye Bing saw two familiar graceful figures.
One was tall with long, wine-red hair, and the other was petite but had a pair of large, jade-like breasts. They were Mu Nujiao and Ai Tutu.
"Huh, Ye Bing? What a coincidence, you're also out shopping?" Ai Tutu was the first to spot Ye Bing and jogged over to him, saying.
"Yeah, I had nothing to do today. I realized I've been in Demon City for a month and haven't been out, so I thought I'd explore Demon City," Ye Bing said.
"Perfect then! Mu Jie Jie and I are shopping. Come with us! How about I, this young lady, show you around Demon City today?" Ai Tutu said happily.
Ye Bing thought for a moment, then shook his head: "Sorry, not today. I have a commission to complete this afternoon, so I don't have much time. Maybe next time."
"Oh? What kind of commission? Take me with you! It sounds interesting!" Ai Tutu grabbed Ye Bing's hand, her eyes sparkling, and said.
"Tu Tu! That's Ye Bing's private matter!!" Mu Nujiao frowned her pretty eyebrows and said to Ai Tutu.
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