Go and capture those thirty-six fierce villains.

"I have connections in the Mo family, I can give you a 2% discount."

Qin Ning looked at the smiling face, then at the five copper coins in the other person's hand.

"Do you get a commission for referring clients?"

"How did you know!"

Feng Hanying jumped up on the spot, drawing Qin Ning's attention up and down.

I knew it... her figure is just too amazing... cough.

"If I get 80% of the profit, I'll go buy it."

Feng Hanying noticed Qin Ning's gaze, and a blush crept onto her fair face. She was a little angry, but it didn't seem like she was that angry.

Bonfire, grassland, night

The atmosphere suddenly became ambiguous.

Meow~

Just as Qin Ning was about to say something to break the awkward silence, the little black cat, who had finished eating a piece of jerky while lying on his lap, suddenly arched its back and stretched.

She leaped lightly down and walked into the darkness to the side.

"Tanuki, where are you going?"

Meow~

Without turning its head, the little black cat gracefully walked to a sufficiently open space, then slightly opened its mouth.

A ball of black light emerged from it.

"Whoa~~~"

The high-pitched, bright neighing of horses echoed across the silent grassland.

From within that dark light, a tall, chestnut-colored horse suddenly leaped out!

Qin Ning: "...?!"

Feng Hanying: "......??"

Seeing the expressions on their faces, the little black cat nodded with great satisfaction, then walked back to Qin Ning's side, jumped onto his lap, and quietly lay down.

Only her constantly wagging little tail seemed to tell how proud she was.

Wait... why would a horse come out of a cat's mouth?

Qin Ning looked down at the cat, then up at the horse, then back down at the cat, then up at the horse again...

"Wait, there's a strand of white hair on its tail. Isn't that Old Man Gong's favorite steed?" Feng Hanying recognized the horse, then looked at the little black cat in Qin Ning's arms with surprise. "Your spirit beast can store things inside its body, and it's a living thing!? Wait... why do you look so surprised too?"

That's because I just found out too... Qin Ning grabbed the little black cat by the scruff of its neck, lifted it up in front of her, and stared at its heterochromatic eyes for a long time.

He finally understands the importance of communication.

Because of the language barrier, he didn't even know what kind of supernatural abilities his own cat possessed.

"Meow~" The raccoon let out a spoiled meow after being picked up, its ten little paws opening up like flowers.

"Miss Feng, do you sell those kinds of primers inside Blood Rain Fortress?"

"Of course there are. Many military households live there. Why are you asking?"

"It's nothing, I plan to teach her to read."

"Meow!"

The little black cat's paws, which resembled blooming flowers, closed instantly.

......

The original two people, two horses, and one cat became two people, three horses, and one cat.

Qin Ning had considered sending the horse back to the Morigen tribe.

But firstly, the distance is too far.

Secondly, after six or seven hours, the Morigen tribe had long since migrated to who-knows-where.

On the vast grassland, he had no way to find it.

As dusk fell, the setting sun, like countless ordinary evenings, shone upon the city walls.

Qin Ning and his companion arrived at Blood Rain Fortress just before the city gates closed.

Although this place is called a fortress, it is actually a small town. The city wall is three zhang high, built of bluestone and rammed earth, with a horse-faced wall platform, and equipped with lookouts, loopholes and corner towers.

Outside the city gate, a moat 5 meters wide and of unknown depth was even dug.

Thirty miles before reaching Blood Rain Fortress, Qin Ning had spotted some tiny fortresses used for guard duty.

As the two dismounted and entered the city, stepping onto the wooden drawbridge, he noticed that every few meters along the city wall, there was a huge object covered by black tarpaulin.

"That's a creation of the Mohist school—the Guanghan Crossbow, which can kill cultivators below the sixth rank." Feng Hanying paused. "It's said that the Mohist school also has a Golden Crow Crossbow, which can even kill cultivators at the fourth rank."

"However, only Kyoto is equipped with this item."

Because of the token of the Prince of Su, Qin Ning, who had neither identity nor travel permit, was able to enter the city smoothly.

This is one of the reasons why he insisted on traveling with Feng Hanying. This world is not a game; let alone crossing national borders, even crossing cities or states, you'll be arrested on the spot by the authorities if you don't have a travel permit.

The lightest punishment is forty strokes of the cane. The heaviest is being sent to build the royal mausoleum.

Once inside the city, the two checked into two rooms at the only inn in the fortress.

After agreeing to go and help Qin Ning obtain her travel permit and ID card at daybreak the next day, Feng Hanying returned to her room.

This is the first time I've stayed in a proper bed since transmigrating.

Qin Ning lay down comfortably, silently watching the little black cat jump around the room, getting familiar with its surroundings.

She seemed to be full of curiosity about everything outside the Taoist temple.

"Those are ornamental plants...you can't eat them. Those are candles...you can't eat those either. Those are teacups...don't throw them on the ground."

After giving several instructions to make sure the little black cat wouldn't cause any more trouble, Qin Ning finally took out the Bagua plate from his pocket.

The incantation was cast, and a familiar clicking sound rang out.

The Bagua compass spun around, but the Li trigram remained lit.

This means that the nearest small evil spirit is still due south.

"I wonder if we'll encounter a second little monster before reaching Beian City. Or will we have to continue south after arriving in Beian City?"

The unknown road ahead led Qin Ning to speculate.

Put away the Bagua compass properly.

I slept soundly through the night.

The next morning, after having breakfast, the two headed straight for the garrison headquarters of Blood Rain Fortress.

On the way, Qin Ning noticed that although the area was large, the layout was extremely simple, and the whole place was shaped like the Chinese character "丰".

Blacksmith shops, clinics, shops, brothels, and so on were all located on the right side of the long street.

In addition, he saw many merchants in the fort, some of whom looked like they came from inside the Great Wall, while others looked like they came from the grasslands.

"It's hard to imagine that the soldiers here are the protectors of fair trade, but once they change their clothes and go to the grasslands, they become bandits who slaughter tribes."

Passing by a market, Qin Ning saw several soldiers on duty and sighed softly.

"Be careful what you say. You'd better hide that flag inside the spirit beast's belly. If it gets lost, even if you can explain its origin, you'll still be charged with smuggling military-controlled items."

Feng Hanying whispered her instructions.

"Don't worry, it's all packed away." Qin Ning raised her hand and patted the little black cat perched on her shoulder.

Not far past the market was the garrison headquarters.

With the token clearing the way, the two did not encounter any ridiculous situations like the gates of an official residence not knowing which way to open.

After asking around, they quickly found the clerk in charge of issuing travel permits and household registration.

"Travel permit lost?"

Behind the dark yellow lattice window sat a middle-aged man, about forty years old, wearing a plain green robe and sporting a goatee.

He looked at the two men suspiciously through the window, a lewd smile suddenly spreading across his face.

"These people from the grasslands are so beautiful, young lady, did you perhaps buy them from the grasslands... uh..."

The dark blue token bearing the large character "肃" (sù) choked the goatee's words, preventing him from saying anything more.

He coughed lightly and said seriously:

"Come on, register your name..." the man said at length, and finally added, "Well, after registering all this, you only need to wait another half month before you can come back to me to pick up your travel permit and other items."

"Half a month? That's so long?" Feng Hanying frowned. "Can't it be faster?"

The man with the goatee remained calm and composed, speaking in a businesslike tone: "The garrison commander is very busy with official duties, and I can't say for sure when it will happen. Why don't you go and talk to him yourself?"

The cold cherry blossoms were sealed with qi.

As a city garrison commander, she already held the rank of a fifth-grade official, while she only possessed the token of a guest minister of the Prince Su's mansion. If she went to the other party for such a trivial matter, she would not only lose face for her master, but might even be turned away.

Qin Ning remained silent for a moment, then reached into his pocket and took out two pieces of silver, one large and one small.

Snapped!

He slammed the loose silver coins onto the small table in front of the goatee: "Fifteen days is too long, what's the fastest?"

"Ten...no, seven days, I guarantee I'll get it done for you in seven days."

Upon seeing the silver, the goatee's eyes lit up, and he reached out to take it.

Then, under the other party's extremely surprised gaze, Qin Ning put the silver back into his pocket.

"We'll come back in seven days to collect our travel permit. If we can't get it, I'll return to the grasslands." Qin Ning said, pointing to Feng Hanying beside him. "She will return to Beian City to meet Prince Su herself. As for what she'll say... guess."

After saying that, he grabbed Feng Hanying's arm and walked away.

The goatee stood there, stunned. After a long while, he got up and threw the paper containing Qin Ning's information heavily on the ground, cursing under his breath.

However, after calming down after his outburst, he stroked his beard, hesitated for a moment, then picked up the paper from the ground and slammed it heavily on top of a stack of official documents.