The boy wasn't annoyed; he just scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly.

Black Owl was speechless upon hearing the boy's words, but he was no longer angry.

Ji Fengming handed the boy a bowl and poured him some wine.

The boy first took a sip, then tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp. He grinned with great satisfaction and exclaimed, "Delicious! Really delicious! That's strong!"

"Little brat, what do you guys from the Canal Gang do? What are you doing in Mangcheng?" Black Owl observed that this kid was genuine and not like those who liked to play mind games, so he no longer rejected him.

Upon hearing this, the young man put down his wine bowl, sat up straight, puffed out his chest, and proudly said, "Our Cao Gang is the largest escort agency in the North. We also take on all kinds of hire jobs and deal in raw fur products. If you want any rare or exotic items, come to our Cao Gang, you won't go wrong!"

"I am Cao Yunheng, the eldest son of the Grand Canal Gang. I am the fourth child in my family, and people in the underworld call me Cao Xiaosi. If you two brothers need anything, please don't hesitate to ask. I have quite a wide network of connections around here."

After saying that, the boy seemed to remember something, his expression changed slightly, and he lowered his voice to ask, "Judging from your attire, you two wouldn't happen to be here for that matter as well, would you?"

Ji Fengming and Hei Xiao looked puzzled: "What is it?"

"Go to the Northwest to kill the Ninth Prince!" The young man was slightly shocked: "Now, most of the people in Mangcheng are heading to the Northwest to kill the Ninth Prince, including these chivalrous people here. You two don't need to hide it from us. The reward is fifty million taels of gold. Even if everyone shares it, it's still a very lucrative deal."

Moreover, the Ninth Prince is the God of War of the Great Zhao Dynasty, said to be undefeated. He must be incredibly difficult to kill; otherwise, why would that mysterious man have offered a bounty of fifty million taels of gold?

"Fifty million taels! Gold!" Ji Fengming's eyes widened in surprise.

Damn!

Is my brother-in-law really worth that much now?

It's gotten to the point where I'm thinking of kidnapping him, exchanging him for money, and then finding a new brother-in-law.

Black Owl frowned: "Do you know who issued the bounty?"

"Who knows? Otherwise, I wouldn't have called him a mysterious person," the young man said, raising an eyebrow with a nonchalant air.

Ji Fengming said jokingly, "We don't even know who put the bounty on this person. If we really kill him, who are we going to ask for the reward money from?"

"The bounty is all kept with Ji Cunbai, the leader of the martial arts alliance. This bounty order was issued by Ji Cunbai," Cao Xiaosi said without any concealment while greedily drinking wine and eating snacks.

Upon hearing this, both Ji Fengming and Hei Xiao became serious.

Ji Cunbai, as the leader of the martial arts alliance, was highly respected in the martial arts world. He was rigid and inflexible, and never interfered in the affairs of the imperial court.

Why did he openly step forward to vouch for the bounty on the Ninth Prince this time?

After having a meal and drinks with Cao Xiaosi, the night grew deep.

Ji Fengming and Hei Xiao tossed the drunken Cao Xiaosi to his attendants and left the inn.

The two strolled leisurely along the way, following the emblem of Donglongmen, and arrived at a very inconspicuous farmhouse.

Inside the courtyard, six silver-ranked assassins and one gold-ranked assassin were preparing to go.

The group's rank at Donglongmen was too low, so none of them had ever met Ji Chenhai or Ji Fengming.

Upon seeing Ji Fengming and Hei Xiao arrive, the group became alert and wary.

"Who goes there? What brings you to break into a private residence?" the lead assassin asked in a deep voice.

Ji Fengming immediately retorted with a look that said, "They're all a bunch of pig brains," and casually flipped his hand to take out a token from his storage ring.