Li Xi continued, "Go and get the money now. I'll be waiting for you at home. If you're not back within an hour, I'll find someone else."
Jia Duo was still a bit confused. You've said everything you needed to, but he still couldn't believe it. He asked tentatively, "Are you sure about this?"
A slight smile touched Li Xi's lips. "Five gold coins. You can earn a five silver coin commission. If you can give me two of those five silver coins, I can wait for you for two hours."
With that, Li Xi took out the property deed and placed it in front of Jia Duo.
This time, Jia Duo was completely convinced that Li Xi was serious about mortgaging his property. "Wait for me."
After saying that, Jia Duo's flying shoes took him away in a flash. Five silver coins could buy him five days in the best brothel. Such a good deal couldn't be missed.
In less than an hour, Jia Duo came running back, out of breath. Five gold coins were neatly laid out before Li Xi, along with a mortgage contract written on parchment.
"The money, the contract. If you dare to go back on your word now, I'll let you know the consequences of angering me," Jia Duo said, trying to sound menacing, fearing Li Xi might change his mind at the last moment.
Li Xi picked up the contract and looked at it a few times. It was good, he didn't recognize a single character. Fearing a trick, he quickly called for backup, "Xiao Fan, do you recognize the words on this?"
[I do not, Master. Besides the ninjutsu system, I have no other function.]
At this moment, Li Xi understood why Xiao Fan had called himself an idiot when he introduced himself. He truly was an idiot who knew nothing but ninjutsu.
"Mido, don't worry. We've been neighbors for so many years. Although I've always urged you to sell your house, I would never tamper with the contract," Jia Duo said, looking at the property deed that was almost in his hands. He said both good and bad things, afraid that the deed might sprout wings and fly away the next second.
Li Xi pressed his thumbprint on the contract. Even if there was a trick, he wasn't afraid. Once he reached great success in his cultivation, he wouldn't be afraid of not getting his house back.
Without hesitation, he tossed the property deed into Jia Duo's hands, took the five gold coins, and looked at Jia Duo with a meaningful gaze. "Take good care of my property deed. Perhaps one day, I will come to reclaim it."
Jia Duo ignored him. He had seen such things many times and had never met anyone who could redeem their property deed. Still, he had to say the polite words. "Don't worry. The God of Contracts is watching from the divine realm. I wouldn't dare offend him."
After that, he examined Li Xi's house as if it were his own, strolling around with his hands behind his back. However, seeing Li Xi's calm demeanor, he felt a bit awkward and left with a few dry laughs.
Li Xi paid him no mind and pondered the God of Contracts he had just mentioned.
The divine system in this world was complex, generally covering all aspects of life. The God of Contracts was one of the most favored deities by businessmen, responsible for overseeing the signing of contracts. Any contract purchased from the Temple of Contracts was considered inviolable. Of course, the God of Contracts had not yet returned to the divine realm. He was likely still walking the world in the guise of a saint.
After clearing his mind of these trivial matters, Li Xi headed towards the Adventurer's Guild with the gold coins.
Before the great chaos, Kadu City was located in the heart of the human kingdom. During the chaos, it was not greatly affected. Instead, it absorbed many nobles and knights, transforming the once not-so-wealthy small town into a moderately sized city.
The city lord was Viscount Gadoro, an old noble with a history of three hundred years. He was now very old; some said eighty, others a hundred. No one knew his exact age.
The former owner of this body, Mido, had heard rumors of Lord Gadoro's death more than once, but each time, it turned out to be false. He still firmly controlled this prosperous city.
Li Xi soon arrived at the Adventurer's Guild, filled with tall figures: human warriors carrying heavy swords, and a few clerics in white robes. However, Li Xi couldn't identify which deity they served due to the lack of specific insignia.
He also saw a mage holding a staff, who was respectfully treated wherever he went. Even an illiterate minor like Mido knew that mages possessed god-like power and held the highest status on the continent, commanding respect everywhere.
Upon reaching the registration counter, he was greeted by a young, beautiful woman with long golden hair. Her deep eyes, upturned nose, and fair skin seemed to emit a faint glow, causing Li Xi to stare.
He wasn't unfamiliar with beautiful women. In his previous life, he had seen all sorts on television and online, whether naturally beautiful or enhanced. But a woman radiating such an inner light was a first.
"Young man, you must not be of age yet. Wandering around without your parents' permission is not a good thing."
The beauty had instantly discerned Li Xi's age.
Li Xi's face flushed with embarrassment. This body's previous owner had been an apprentice blacksmith. Although he looked about twenty, in the eyes of some, his essence remained unchanged. He was indeed too young.
He directly placed a gold coin on the counter. "I want to register as an adventurer."
The beauty didn't take the gold coin but looked at Li Xi. "If you stole money from home, take it back now and I'll pretend I didn't see anything."
Li Xi puffed out his chest. "My parents died long ago during the great chaos. This is my own money, not stolen or robbed. I earned it through my own efforts."
Hearing Li Xi say this, the beauty was surprised. Judging by Li Xi's attire and the emptiness of energy within him, he appeared to be an ordinary person. For such a person, even earning one silver coin would be difficult, let alone a gold coin. However, since the customer insisted on registering, she stopped trying to dissuade him.
She took out a form. "This is the basic information you need to fill out. Only after completing this can you become an adventurer."
Li Xi didn't look at the form. Instead, he looked at the beauty, his face as thick as a city wall, and began to act cute. "Big sister, I'm illiterate. Can you fill it out for me?"
The beauty looked at the shrewd Li Xi and took the form, skillfully asking for his information. "What is your name?"
"Li Xi."
As the beauty wrote with a quill, she looked up at Li Xi. "A rare name. You must be descended from Easterners, aren't you?"
Li Xi didn't know if there were Easterners in this world. He used this name for registration so as not to forget his roots. "I don't know."
"Profession?"
"Ninja."
The beauty looked up again. "I've never heard of that profession. Are you sure?"
Since there was no such profession, Li Xi hesitated. "The wind will destroy the tree that stands out. I should remain low-key. I'll put down 'Warrior'."
"Rank, I'll mark it as classified." The beauty knew Li Xi was just an ordinary person and omitted all the information she could.
After filling it out, the beauty held up a crystal ball towards Li Xi. "Look here."
As soon as Li Xi looked, the crystal ball flashed, and the beauty said, "Done."
She then handed him a bronze badge with an 'F' on it. On the back were Li Xi's name and a portrait, with a sword next to it. It turned out the crystal ball was like a camera, capturing Li Xi's image.
Seeing Li Xi scrutinizing the badge, the beauty knew he was unfamiliar with these matters and explained, "F rank is the lowest among all adventurer ranks, with S rank being the highest. Everyone must start from the lowest rank when registering as an adventurer. Even the current S-rank Dragon Knight Cameron worked his way up from F rank."
"You can only accept F and E rank missions for now. When you complete ten missions without failure, you will be promoted. Failing one mission requires completing two more to be promoted."
After explaining, she pointed to another room in the hall. "That is the mission hall. You can go there to accept missions."
The beauty's explanation helped Li Xi understand many things that Mido had never been exposed to before.
"Thank you, big sister. What's your name?" Li Xi asked with a smile, his innocent face full of sincerity.
The beauty didn't think much of it. "My name is Ais. May the God of Adventurers protect you."
"Thank you, big sister. When I earn money, I'll come back to buy you delicious food."
[Master, adventurer registration successful. Initial reward acquired: Kunai Throwing Technique.]
This was the system Xiao Fan's prompt that Li Xi received when he got the badge.
"Didn't you say I could draw a prize? Why did you just give it to me directly?"
[Master, this is a special reward.]
"Alright."
Li Xi wished for a stack of such special rewards.
Li Xi walked towards the mission hall pointed out by Ais. His ten fingers danced like they were performing, as flexible as octopus tentacles. This was due to the Kunai Throwing Technique instantly evolving them.
Li Xi had never seen such agile fingers. His previous stiff fingers were like ten unbendable carrots compared to his current ones.
As expected of a ninja's fingers, without such flexibility, one couldn't quickly perform hand seals.
Walking dozens of meters to the mission hall, he saw five doors inside, labeled F, E, D, C, and B respectively.
People were constantly entering and exiting each room. F and E rooms had the most people, while B had the fewest, with hardly anyone appearing even after half an hour.
It was immediately clear which level of adventurer entered which room.
Li Xi stepped into the F-rank room. He saw a large screen with numerous missions scrolling across it, each mission marked as 'Accepted' or 'Unaccepted'.
"So advanced?"
What Li Xi had seen before, and the environment in which the previous owner, Mido, had lived, resembled the European Middle Ages: dirty and chaotic, with the stench of open sewers perpetually emanating from the streets. He never expected to see such advanced technology.
He supposed it made sense. This world was filled with all sorts of deities and strange powers, so some advanced inventions were perfectly normal.
Li Xi didn't know how to operate it, so he watched how others did it.
He saw a burly man identify a mission and then, holding his badge, go to the counter behind the screen. After saying something, he took a small token from the counter. A mission to accompany a knight for training changed from 'Unaccepted' to 'Accepted' on the large screen.
The process was simple. Li Xi followed suit, looking at the missions on the screen. To his surprise, only a handful were marked 'Unaccepted'; the rest had already been taken.
One was a mission for a mid-level mage named Monko, who needed a mage apprentice as an assistant. The requirements were not high, only that the person had magical aptitude. The reward was an opportunity to ask one question.
Li Xi knew he couldn't do this one, as they wanted a mage, and he didn't even know how to read.
The next mission was to find the traces of bandits outside the city. Detailed intelligence was not required, only a general idea. The reward was 10 silver coins.
The previous owner, Mido, had never even left the city and was completely unfamiliar with the terrain. This mission was also out of the question.
The third mission was to clear wild beasts from the farmlands of the Temple of Agriculture. There was no limit to the number of participants. The reward was one-fourth of the hunted prey, which could be exchanged for money or taken directly.
Li Xi browsed through the missions and finally decided on the one from the Temple of Agriculture.
He took his badge to the counter and said to the person behind it, "I want to accept the mission from the Temple of Agriculture."
The person at the counter took his badge and immediately returned it with a small token. "Take this mission token and go to the city gate. There will be a priest from the Temple of Agriculture there."
"Okay." Li Xi took back his badge and mission token but did not go to the city gate. Instead, he went to the blacksmith's shop.