When Lord Du assigned tasks to the prison guards, he naturally didn't need to explain the details.
Zhang Baishan, however, explained the reason as he led the two of them away.
"When the Qingcheng County Yamen hunted the ring-tailed black panthers last year, many veterans died. Most of the people participating this year are newcomers with shallow skills. That's why they came to ask for our help."
"You won't be working for nothing this time. Any panthers you hunt down are yours to deal with as you see fit."
In other words, if they failed to kill a black panther themselves, they would just be helping out for free.
"Understood."
Facing Zhang Baishan, who was essentially Du An's deputy, both Li Ban and Liu Mu bowed respectfully.
"Right, when you go, bring Shen Kong and Yu Li along. Have them help the runners surround the forest to keep the panthers from escaping."
Having given his instructions, Zhang Baishan went back to work.
But Du An was also very busy.
Sometimes Li Ban felt like he was the only person in the entire Death Prison who had nothing to do.
"Thwack!"
"Thwack!"
Li Ban was in the small grove, practicing shooting branches with his Sleeve Arrow.
With his improved physical constitution, his arm was incredibly steady. Combined with his Superhuman Vision, just half a month of training had brought his Sleeve Arrow accuracy to near perfection.
He stepped forward to retrieve the iron arrow, checked the wear on the arrowhead, and only returned it to the Sleeve Arrow's magazine after confirming it was fine.
"It's been half a month, and there's still no notice from the County Office. Isn't this efficiency a bit too slow?"
"Last time at the teahouse, I heard those shop owners were anxious out of their minds, yet they've still dragged this out for over twenty days."
After grumbling about the Qingcheng County Yamen's efficiency, Li Ban returned to the Death Prison from the sinkhole.
Surprisingly, another person was hanging from the gallows outside the first floor's entrance.
However, this person was strung up by his bound wrists and wasn't dead yet.
Li Ban scanned the area and noticed that only one of the remaining slaves was someone he had seen before; the others had all been replaced again.
Then, Tree-man Bing came out of the Death Prison and nodded upon seeing Li Ban.
The true forms of the two tree-man prison guards, Tree-man Bing and Tree-man Ding, were locust trees, and their personalities were much steadier than Tree-Person A and Tree-Person B.
But they still loved eating corpses.
And they equally despised fire.
Li Ban didn't ask about the situation in the sinkhole, but as he entered the Death Prison, he heard Tree-man Bing's rough voice.
"Not bad. Since you survived for three days, I'll spare your life. Remember, if I ever catch you bringing a fire source out again, I'll turn you into a human torch for a day."
The suspended slave begged weakly, "I know I was wrong. I'll never dare do it again."
Li Ban slowly walked into the gloomy dungeon, leaving all the noises behind him.
Passing by the third floor, he saw Liu Mu coming in through the main entrance opposite him.
"Li Ban, perfect timing. Official Zhang just notified us to head to the County Office; the hunt officially begins tomorrow. Pack your things, we leave in the time it takes an incense stick to burn."
Li Ban stopped and nodded. "No problem."
The front of the Qingcheng County Yamen had never been this bustling before.
Li Ban and Liu Mu brought two handymen and arrived at the County Office a day in advance.
Deputy Magistrate Zhou Jinhai personally hosted them. He spoke extremely politely and even invited them to stay at the County Office.
The next day, the rest of the personnel organized by the County Office arrived to gather at the entrance.
Aside from the runners, the extermination force mainly consisted of young hands from various shops and a large number of slaves.
Li Ban thought he would see Hai Dakui here, but no one from the escort agency showed up at the scene.
Liu Mu watched the head constable giving a mobilization speech on the high platform. He leaned his head close to Li Ban and whispered, his lips barely moving.
"Look, everyone here was summoned without spending a dime."
Li Ban nodded slightly.
"The money raised by those shops probably went straight into the pockets of a few County Office officials. Of course, Lord Du definitely got a piece of the pie this time too."
Li Ban could figure that out as well.
After all, the prison guards could work for free, but the Death Prison could not.
A moment later, Liu Mu's voice sounded again.
"When they tell us to make our move later, don't rush in. Follow my lead."
Li Ban glanced at him. "You want to negotiate a price?"
Liu Mu pulled his head back and stood up straight. "How many panthers can there actually be in those woods? Once the fighting starts, we'll be lucky if we can grab one each. Just wait, I'll definitely secure the benefits we deserve."
"...Alright."
As they spoke, the County Office finally finished organizing the ranks. A massive group of over a hundred people set off imposingly toward the forest on the outskirts.
The sea of heads had looked dense in front of the County Office, but once they spread out in the wilderness, the numbers no longer seemed that large.
Especially since the vast majority were slaves, shop hands, and guards who only knew a few basic kicks and punches. Their true combat power still depended on the few individuals with identity.
People like Li Ban and Liu Mu, with their Tier 2 Status, were the first tier of combatants here, second only to Deputy Magistrate Zhou Jinhai.
Arriving outside the mountain forest where the ring-tailed panthers frequently roamed, Zhou Jinhai assigned tasks to everyone.
The hundred-plus people entered the woods and began setting up capture nets and beast traps, even marking the air above the traps to prevent friendly fire.
Because Liu Mu and Li Ban were high-tier fighters, they temporarily stayed by Zhou Jinhai's side. The moment a ring-tailed panther appeared, they would need to step up and fight it head-on.
The others were responsible for surrounding the panther to stop it from escaping.
After everything was set up, Zhou Jinhai had the runners beside him pull out a few frail slaves.
"Draw blood!"
With that command, the runners drew their sabers and slashed each slave's arm.
The cuts weren't deep, but they were long.
The slaves' wails instantly echoed through the forest.
But Zhou Jinhai's voice drowned them out.
"All of you, lure the black panthers out properly. Whoever manages to lead one back—so long as you don't die—I will strip you of your slave status."
The moment he said this, the slaves who had just been clutching their arms and crying in pain dashed into the woods almost simultaneously.
These people all had the character for slave branded on their faces, so Zhou Jinhai wasn't afraid of them running away.
Besides, the others had already surrounded the outer perimeter. Other than heading deep into the mountains to feed the other wild beasts, they had no other choice.
After the slaves had been running inside for a while, Zhou Jinhai waved his hand. "Let's move!"
They had to follow behind the slaves, just in case those injured men lured out a black panther but couldn't escape back in time.
Li Ban, following behind Zhou Jinhai, watched Liu Mu slowly inch closer to the Deputy Magistrate.
Zhou Jinhai was extremely alert; he looked at Liu Mu when the latter was less than three meters away.
Liu Mu smiled, leaned in, and murmured a few words.
Although he could only see their backs, Li Ban quickly noticed Zhou Jinhai's shoulders stiffen for a fraction of a second.
Zhou Jinhai glanced back at Li Ban, and Li Ban merely met his gaze calmly.
When Zhou Jinhai turned his head forward again, he gave Liu Mu a nod. He must have agreed to whatever terms Liu Mu had proposed.
Li Ban didn't know what terms Liu Mu had discussed with Zhou Jinhai, but facing a Deputy Magistrate, Liu Mu wouldn't dare push too far.
At most, he would fly Du An's banner to extort a bit more hazard pay.
Li Ban took advantage of this distraction. Using the tree branches as cover, he released the Silver Kingfisher.
Once the fighting broke out, they would likely get separated. Li Ban needed to keep track of Zhou Jinhai's location so he could find an opportunity to kill him.
The Silver Kingfisher was only the size of a thumb's first knuckle. Unless someone was specifically looking for it, they would never spot the tiny bird.
The Silver Kingfisher flew into a nest perched on a tall tree.
There were three eggs inside, along with a mother bird incubating them.
The mother bird turned her head and saw the Silver Kingfisher. Seeing the intruder approach, she warily thrust her sharp beak out to peck at it.
But the Silver Kingfisher's reaction was faster.
Darting in like lightning, it pecked straight into the mother bird's brain.
Without any time to put up a fight, the mother bird collapsed over her own eggs.
A second later, Li Ban, who was closely following Zhou Jinhai, suddenly received a prompt from the mission assistance system.
[Element 'Silver Kingfisher' has acquired a second ability: Mimicry.]