Chapter 57 was quite rewarding.

Huangyang Town was bustling with people coming and going.

Vehicles frequently drove along the main road. Some were filled with Demon Monsters captured alive and locked in cages, while others carried wounded warriors clad in armor.

A military patrol squad passed by Yun Bai and his companions.

Yun Bai turned his head and was surprised to find that the person leading the patrol squad was an acquaintance—Wang Er.

Wang Er also saw Yun Bai, but since he was on duty, he did not stop to talk to him. He passed by Yun Bai as if nothing had happened.

The group found a restaurant in Huangyang Town, and only after they were seated in a private room did they finally relax completely.

"Finally, we don't have to trouble Fu Lianchuan to start a fire," Li Ying teased.

Fu Lianchuan also breathed a sigh of relief. Every time they went on these field missions, he, being skilled in Water and Fire Spells, was often used as a stove.

Although his Storage Pouch was fully equipped with flint and such, Captain Zeng Fu always used the excuse of "more practice and regular assessments" to make him use Fire-type Spells to start fires.

After a while, he also found it quite annoying.

"The captain has gone to sell the loot and will be back in a while. Come, come, let's order first," Du San said excitedly. "The local specialty of Huangyang Town is stir-fried yellow mutton. I've had it once, and it's very good!"

The menu provided by the shop was a thin wooden board. Everyone immediately crowded around, discussing it all at once, as if the great battle they had just experienced had never happened.

"This braised pork trotter looks good!"

"We must have this plate of mutton; I've been so bored with my food these past few days!"

"Yeah, if it weren't for those seasoned bigu pills that Yun Bai brought, I would have died of cravings out on the Cang Plains."

"Is there anything spicy to whet our appetite?"

"And bring a pot of the local good wine!"

Yun Bai greatly enjoyed this atmosphere in the squad; it always reminded him of his past life and made him miss his hometown even more.

"I wonder how Qianqian is doing, and if she's getting used to school," Yun Bai thought.

After seven or eight dishes were served, Captain Zeng Fu finally returned.

"Captain!"

"Captain, come and eat!"

Everyone greeted him enthusiastically.

Captain Zeng Fu was in a bright mood. He sat down, leaned his upper body back against the chair, tilted his chin up, looked around, and tapped the table lightly with his hand.

He grinned, revealing eight big white teeth. "Everyone, guess how much we earned this time?"

Pairs of fiery gazes fixed on Captain Zeng Fu.

"One hundred thousand?"

"Two hundred thousand?"

"Captain, stop keeping us in suspense."

Captain Zeng Fu kept them in suspense for a moment before finally saying, "Demon Monster cores, poison sacs, bone spikes, eyeballs... altogether we sold them for 270,000!"

"So much!"

"Holy crap, 270,000!"

"We made a killing!"

"Old Du, did you hear that! The money for your Formation Flags is back, and it's multiplied several times over!"

One by one, they all exclaimed in shock.

Yun Bai also shouted in excitement. In the squad, he was the one who lacked money the most and needed it urgently!

A total of 270,000 meant an average of 54,000 per person!

This single deal was more than what they had earned in the previous four or five days combined.

Yun Bai began to calculate in his mind. In this week of missions, he had earned nearly 90,000 Spirit Stones!

If he could maintain this level, he could save at least over 200,000 in a month! His sister's medicine would have a chance.

The wine was half finished.

"How do you feel about your first mission?" Captain Zeng Fu walked over and sat down beside Yun Bai.

"Everyone took good care of me, and I learned a lot," Yun Bai said gratefully.

"Haha, you also gave me a big surprise. When we go back, I will definitely praise you in front of Old Zhou," Captain Zeng Fu said, clearly satisfied with Yun Bai.

"We've only been out for five days this time, and you've made great progress," Captain Zeng Fu said. "Especially that sword strike where you feigned being hit and then caught it by surprise."

Recalling the moment when Yun Bai and he entangled the half-step Second Realm Fate-Fallen Demon Monster, Captain Zeng Fu also felt shocked.

Originally, Captain Zeng Fu had let Fu Lianchuan be responsible for close-quarters entanglement, while Yun Bai was responsible for protecting Old Du.

However, the swamp where the Demon Monster was located could easily trigger a marsh gas explosion if fire were used, which would lead to everyone's death. Coincidentally, Fu Lianchuan's specialty was Fire-type Spells.

Sending Fu Lianchuan, who was restricted, up to fight the Demon Monster in close quarters was originally the only choice, but Yun Bai had taken the initiative to request to fight the Fate-Fallen Demon Monster in close combat.

In Captain Zeng Fu's view, what was most terrifying about Yun Bai was his calmness and attention to detail. The precision of his attacks and dodges was shocking. He seemed like a battle-hardened old hunter, and the reactions of the prey locked onto by Yun Bai seemed to be all within his calculations.

In these few days, by skillfully combining the use of guns, crossbows, Formations, swords, and other weapons, Yun Bai had managed to achieve a combat record of a Late Stage Cultivator with only a First Realm Middle Stage cultivation!

What Captain Zeng Fu did not know was that this was mostly thanks to Xiao Liu. With the accumulation of experience, Xiao Liu's information set was becoming richer, and it could predict various reactions of the Demon Monsters.

"Ah, Captain. I was just lucky. I only earned this much because I encountered such a large-scale cleanup mission on my first time out," Yun Bai said, scratching his head modestly.

"Hmph. You're just fishing for compliments," Captain Zeng Fu laughed and scolded. "You kid. If it were any other rookie without skills, encountering so many Demon Monsters on the first time would probably have been so panicked that they couldn't even open their Storage Pouch. Do you know why Fu Lianchuan had an opinion about you at the beginning?"

"Why?"

"Because we had brought new people into our squad before, and they were just like you, a so-called 'Genius'," Captain Zeng Fu smacked his lips and said. "That person was from a big Family, never lacked resources, and his cultivation speed was incredibly fast. But when it came to actual combat in our squad, he, a Late Stage Cultivator, couldn't even beat a Middle Stage Demon Monster, and in the end, he even let the Demon Monster get away!"

"In order to bring him along, our squad had to give up several opportunities to earn merit, and our mission execution efficiency was greatly reduced. Later, his cultivation had a Breakthrough, and he was transferred out of our squad. He even reported to the higher-ups that our squad abused newcomers!" Captain Zeng Fu's chest burned with anger whenever he mentioned this.

"What a jerk!" Yun Bai also cursed.

"Heh, no need to bring up the past. As for the things I promised to buy for you last time, just come to me when you've saved enough Spirit Stones," Captain Zeng Fu patted Yun Bai's shoulder heavily. "Young man, keep it up! Just from this one mission, you've hit the jackpot!"

"Mm." Yun Bai nodded heavily.

The setting sun melted like gold, dyeing the blue tiles and white walls of Chu Prefecture with a layer of warm orange-red.

Figures were scattered on the street, and pedestrians returning home walked in a hurry. Squad Yi-34, dragging their exhausted but relaxed bodies, finally returned to the familiar Chu Prefecture at dusk.

Yun Bai said goodbye to his teammates and walked quickly toward his small courtyard in the south of the city.

He pushed open the courtyard gate, but saw that the courtyard was quiet. He didn't see his sister Yun Qian's lively figure, nor could he hear Shen Qi's soft voice, and even Yang Peilan was not busy in the kitchen.

"Where has everyone gone?" A hint of doubt just rose in Yun Bai's heart.

Creak—the courtyard gate happened to be pushed open behind him.

"Ah?! Brother!" A crisp cry filled with unbelievable surprise rang out. Like a little bird returning to its nest, Yun Qian lunged forward, hugging Yun Bai's waist tightly. She buried her small face in his lapel, which smelled of dust and blood. Her voice was muffled but full of joy: "You're back! That's great!"

Yun Bai felt a warmth in his heart and looked down at his sister in his arms. Having not seen her for a few days, her little face, which originally had a bit of baby fat, seemed to have thinned slightly, and her chin had become a bit sharper.

He lovingly rubbed Yun Qian's soft hair and deliberately put on a stern face: "What's going on? I've only been out for a few days, why have you lost weight? Have you not been eating properly?"

Seeing Yun Bai's expression, Yun Qian was a bit flustered: "Brother, I... I'm fine, it's just that I've been too busy lately."

At this moment, Yang Peilan also entered the courtyard with a vegetable basket. Seeing Yun Bai, her face immediately bloomed with a smile of relief: "Oh my! Young Master Yun! You're finally back! That's great, that's great! These past few days, Qianqian has been talking about you while eating, talking about you while practicing, and even before going to sleep, she asks me, 'When will Brother come back?' Just now, I went to buy groceries, and thinking that school would be ending soon, I stopped by to pick up the two girls so they wouldn't have to walk home in the dark. And look, we just happened to run into you at the door!"

"So that's how it is." Yun Bai understood.

Yang Peilan was very perceptive. She smiled and picked up the vegetable basket: "You young people should have a good chat. I'll go to the back to prepare dinner. Tonight, I must hold a welcome feast for Young Master Yun!"

With that, Yang Peilan nimbly slipped into the kitchen, leaving the space in the main room to the three young people.