Chapter 17

Every hunter has something they pursue.

Dreams, status, fame, money, power...

Lai Te is a highly ambitious bounty hunter who has never thought of taking a break on his path to higher status and fame.

Moving forward, taking large steps without stopping—

This is what he has always been doing.

And personally apprehending the notorious "Phantom Troupe" is an extremely important milestone before he reaches his goal.

For this, he left a long-term commission to investigate the "Phantom Troupe's movements" in the "intelligence channel."

Now, there is finally news!

"I know, send the 'intelligence' to my email. I will transfer the corresponding reward after I confirm it."

After saying this, Lai Te hung up the phone directly.

Mo You swallowed a piece of meat and looked up at Lai Te.

Hearing the words "intelligence" and "reward," he realized something.

Lai Te raised his phone and grinned, "Hey, it's time to work."

"Is it urgent?"

Mo You put down his chopsticks and asked the most pressing question.

Lai Te said, "Every second counts."

Intelligence usually has a time limit, especially when it comes to "movements," which requires immediate action.

In other words, he needs to set off as soon as possible.

Mo You nodded in understanding and pointed at the table, "But I can't finish all this meat by myself."

"Haha, don't worry, I'll eat and then go."

Lai Te laughed heartily and scooped out a large piece of pork leg from the bowl.

Mo You didn't say anything more and picked up his chopsticks again.

The two of them buried their heads in their food.

Soon, Mo You noticed that Lai Te was eating the meat at least twice as fast, probably slowing down earlier on purpose, for reasons that were obvious.

Looking at Lai Te's ravenous appearance, Mo You could clearly feel Lai Te's emphasis on this "job."

"This period has been very beneficial, it's enough."

Mo You thought to himself.

Although the "training" period still had one day left, in this situation, he couldn't possibly ask Lai Te to fulfill the "contract."

A moment later, Lai Te finished his portion of the meat.

"Sorry."

Lai Te got up and said apologetically to Mo You, "Something came up, I'll owe you the last day of training."

"It's fine, you can make it up after you're done."

Mo You also got up.

During this time, he had experienced what it means to be "stubborn" from Lai Te, so he wisely kept the thought of "forgetting the last day of training" to himself.

After all, even if he brought it up, it would just be a waste of time.

"I'll go now, talk to you later."

Lai Te left without any hesitation.

"Okay, have a safe trip."

Mo You nodded slightly.

Lai Te waved his hand at Mo You and left in big strides.

This farewell was concise and efficient.

Leaving the temple, Lai Te walked down the mountain path and took out his phone to check the flight information.

"It's 8:35 PM now, and the nearest flight is... 8:50 PM."

Lai Te looked down at his phone screen and muttered to himself, "It's a bit tight."

He put away his phone and did a few stretching exercises on the spot.

"I was planning to talk things out with Mo You tonight, but plans always change..."

As he said this, Lai Te pushed off the ground, and his whole body shot forward like an arrow, disappearing into the night in the blink of an eye.

The temple was as quiet as usual.

Mo You finished the remaining meat and cleaned the table.

After that, he walked to the damaged courtyard and opened his spirit holes to release the maximum amount of qi.

To increase the total "latent qi capacity" and extend the "training" time, there is no shortcut.

Release the qi until it is completely depleted, then wait for it to recover and release it again—

Repeat this process to gradually increase the total "latent qi capacity."

Two minutes later.

Mo You lay on the ground, exhausted, and closed his eyes to catch his breath.

After a while, Mo You barely recovered some strength.

"Suddenly feeling a bit unaccustomed..."

Mo You slowly opened his eyes and picked up a small piece of broken blue brick from the side, holding it in front of him.

The night grew deeper.

On the mountaintop, an old temple stood alone.

The next day.

Dawn broke.

Mo You woke up early, ate a simple meal, and started his daily training.

Without Lai Te as a training partner, he could only focus on strengthening the "four major techniques."

Release, recover, release, recover—

The training was monotonous and tedious, and the morning passed in this way.

At noon, the sun hung high in the sky.

Mo You finished his meal and was about to start a new round of training when he was interrupted by the commotion outside the temple.

A group of workers carrying various tools and materials came to the temple gate, shouting loudly.

Hearing the shouts, Mo You crossed the courtyard and opened the old wooden door.

Seeing a group of "fully equipped" workers standing outside the gate, Mo You was surprised but quickly realized that these workers were probably sent by Lai Te.

"Hello, Mr. Lai Te commissioned us to come here. He said there is a courtyard that needs to be repaired."

The lead worker greeted Mo You respectfully.

"Yes, come in."

Mo You, who understood the situation, opened the door wide and gestured for the workers to enter.

The workers immediately picked up their tools and materials and entered the damaged courtyard.

The lead worker confirmed the requirements with Mo You.

After getting the go-ahead, they immediately started the work.

With their high efficiency, the entire team completed Mo You's requirements in just one hour.

It was unclear where they found the weathered stones, but the repaired courtyard looked almost the same as before.

After seeing the workers off, Mo You closed the temple gate and returned to the courtyard, once again marveling at Lai Te's thoughtfulness.

"Speaking of which... Hawk should be back soon, right?"

Looking at the restored courtyard, Mo You suddenly remembered his stepfather.

Hawk said he would be back in ten to fifteen days, and now, eleven days had passed. He might return in two days.

He thought about calling Hawk to check on the situation.

But remembering Hawk's instruction, "Don't call unless it's an emergency," Mo You decided against it.

Time passed slowly.

The sun set, and night fell.

In a small town about a hundred kilometers from the temple.

Hawk was leaning against a secluded bridge, his right hand tightly pressing against his abdomen, his head slightly tilted back as he panted.

Sweat trickled down his face and dripped into a pool of blood, creating ripples.

Drip, drip—

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps mixed with the sound of the stream.

Hearing the footsteps, Hawk's eyes sharpened, but then softened again.

"You seem to be badly hurt, Hawk."

Under the bridge, the stream flowed gently.

Moonlight slanted across the water, shimmering.

Suddenly, a frog leaped into the water, blurring the reflected light.

When the water calmed, a green figure appeared in the clear reflection.

The figure stood on the bank, calmly staring at Hawk, who was leaning against the bridge.

"It's just a minor injury."

Hawk turned his head to look at the figure.

She wore a green dress, was petite, and had a pleasant appearance. She wore thin-framed glasses and had a steady, calm gaze.

Notably, her green hair was adorned with a pair of dog ears.

But upon closer inspection, the dog ears appeared to be accessories.

The person was Kido Yorkie, one of the twelve zodiac members of the Hunter Association, and a two-star professional hunter with the roles of physician and legal scholar.

"Minor injury?"

Kido walked into the bridge and said calmly,

"Just hearing my footsteps made you emit a killing intent. This deliberate reaction is like a trapped animal trying to roar to issue a meaningless threat."

"..."

Hawk remained silent for a moment, then said with a helpless tone, "Mr. Legal Scholar, I wonder how many years I would be sentenced for wanting to save face and being stubborn?"

"There is no such item in the law, and I'm just stating the facts."

Kido came to Hawk's side, her gaze falling on his bleeding abdomen, and frowned.

"You didn't come, so I guessed something happened. But... I didn't expect you to be this badly hurt. With your abilities, if you really wanted to run, even multiple Nen users would be helpless, right?"

"That's true."

Hawk laughed bitterly, about to ask Kido to help stop the bleeding, but Kido cut him off,

"But you were severely injured because the enemy had a 'locking-type' Nen ability? No, if that were the case, you would probably be dead. That's strange, hmm? Could it be..."

Kido thought of something, her eyes suddenly becoming serious, and she asked in a low voice,

"Has the 'afterlife entity' at the temple grown so much that you had to leave the 'Rat Treasure' there?"

"Ah, yes, if my left hand wasn't useless now, I would definitely applaud you. But right now, what's more important is, can you help me..."

Hawk looked weak.

Kido's expression changed, and she didn't pay attention to the second half of Hawk's words. She lowered her head and clenched her teeth, muttering to herself,

"Damn, it's already this serious... I can currently contact one Nen remover, plus the one in the Association, making two. But neither of them is good at removing 'afterlife Nen.'"

"That..."

Hawk looked at Kido, who was muttering to herself, and said weakly, "If it's convenient, can you help me stop the bleeding first?"

Kido still didn't react and continued to mutter, "Although I've issued a bounty, the reward is an unavoidable problem."

"..."

Hawk's eyes were lifeless.

He looked down at the severe bleeding and felt a sense of anxiety, as if his health bar was about to run out.

"Hey, Kido, I'm about to die, look at me, will you?"

"@#@..."

The incessant muttering of someone.

"..."

Hawk's eyelids twitched several times. After hesitating, he said at this critical moment, "Kido, single dog."

"Hmm?"

Kido suddenly looked up, her eyes sharp, and stared at Hawk.