A Prearranged Fight

Ryuseki and Lin Yingbin encountered an ambush by Zhi's assassination force on their way home. During the ensuing battle, the bounty hunter—Black Hunter Slumber—suddenly intervened, defeating Zhi's dispatched assassination force, the Golden Scorpion, with overwhelming strength. This behavior incurred Ryuseki's dissatisfaction.

Though Slumber helped Ryuseki defeat the enemy, Ryuseki viewed it entirely as a provocative gesture from Slumber, making him feel that his pride had been insulted. Using this as a catalyst, Ryuseki and Slumber agreed to settle things with their fists the following afternoon. Slumber readily accepted this meaningless prearranged fight.

The following afternoon, an abandoned airport in the eastern suburbs of the city.

Ryuseki, Lin Yingbin, Ryuu Mufei, and Meisha arrived together. Ryuu Mufei and Meisha came largely to stop Ryuseki.

The East District Airport was originally the city's first airport, but with urban expansion, this small airport had become difficult to operate. Therefore, after the new West District Airport was built, this airport was abandoned and all air transport operations were suspended. It could be considered geographically vast and sparsely populated. The original tarmac was already covered in withered yellow weeds, leaving only the three-hundred-meter-long asphalt runway in the very center as the entire scenery here. If it were spring, this would still be a good place to fly kites. After all, the city also had developed waterway routes and highways, and while the West District airport couldn't compare to an international airport, it was still quite large. Thus, this abandoned airport rarely saw use again, making it the best possible place to choose for a prearranged fight.

Right, there is something I forgot to mention. Bounty hunter is a profession spanning a wide variety of industries in this world. They make a living by completing tasks assigned by 'employers'. Within this industry, every bounty hunter adheres to their own principles and strictly follows the rules. Of course, there are exceptions; their existence is despised by other bounty hunters.

In this world, there are many Bounty Hunters, with tens of thousands of them registered under the HUNT Organization alone, and many possess extraordinary strength. Speaking of the 'HUNT' Organization, it exists to establish a bridge of communication between Bounty Hunters and employers, as well as being an organization dedicated to providing intelligence and dispatching tasks for Bounty Hunters. It is also a transit station and rest center for these Bounty Hunters. This organization is spread all over the world, and it is brimming with talent and packed with experts.

As a side note, the 'prearranged fight' proposed by Ryuseki is called a 'DUEL' in the bounty world. When two or more people have a common goal, they determine who will complete the task through a duel. This is also one of the basic rules of the bounty world. Of course, if someone fails to follow the rules, they will be mocked by all Bounty Hunters. For hunters who rely on identity and fame to get by in the bounty world, this situation meant unemployment.

Even on the surface, Meisha was deeply pessimistic about this prearranged fight. Her face showed complaints about Ryuseki doing such a thing, though she didn't speak them aloud.

Since the weather was somewhat cold, Meisha had also changed into thicker clothes; November weather was cold no matter what. Meisha wore a grayish-green long tunic, with a white long-sleeved tight-cuffed sweater over it, and a dragonfly knot tied at the collar. Her lower body wore a grayish-blue short skirt paired with white leggings and gray snow boots. Coupled with her twin-tail hairstyle, the whole person looked exceptionally cute.

Dressing like this was originally intended for going out to play with Ryuseki over the weekend, but unexpectedly she was brought here instead, and Meisha looked disheartened. Moreover, at this time, Ryuseki actually ignored the few of them and just walked ahead alone. She grew a little angry, pouting as she looked around, thinking to herself that she wouldn't talk to Ryuseki for a whole day after this fight ended.

On the way here, Lin Yingbin explained things to Ryuu Mufei and Meisha, who were clueless.

"The appearance of that bounty hunter Slumber seems to have given Ryuseki an inexplicable sense of oppression. You two probably haven't been in contact with Ryuseki long enough to understand yet, but having been in deep friendship with him for so long, I understand him somewhat. He is the kind of person who is unwilling to let others do things for him, especially when they haven't given him a heads-up beforehand. He once told me that if others do things for him, a feeling of being replaced arises deep inside his heart."

Listening to his words, Ryuu Mufei furrowed his brows and asked, "The feeling of being replaced?"

"Yeah! He told me that would make him appear very incompetent, unable to accomplish anything at all." Lin Yingbin continued to explain.

At this moment, Meisha seemed to realize suddenly and replied, "Oh, no wonder last time he asked me if he was very incompetent."

"Aside from that, his competitive spirit is exceptionally strong—frighteningly so. This is especially obvious in things he focuses on; I still remember what happened back then. When we were kids, I was playing a video game with him, and someone told him that his older brother had already achieved a perfect clear. Back then, he stubbornly pursued a perfect clear, to the point of neglecting sleep and food for nearly three months for this game, until he finally managed a perfect clear too, and even finished it in a time that surpassed his older brother's."

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yingbin continued: "I don't know whether this personality can be considered good or bad for him; as a friend, I just don't want him to get hurt because of it."

Talking up to this point, the three of them looked at Ryuseki's back with one accord. Ryuseki walked at the very front without a word. Clearly looking so sunny, it felt as though he bore a weight heavy enough to crush him. Yet despite this, his pace lacked a single shred of hesitation. From his brown eyes, one could read a resolute and indomitable will. He walked silently, and there was no telling what was actually going on inside his head. However, it was clear that he would certainly not give up this fight—definitely not.

"I haven't just once heard him say he wants to protect us. Because of Kikka You's passing, he seems to be under a tremendous amount of pressure. He seems to feel that this was his fault, and that friends are people he should protect, rather than people who should protect him," Meisha said, looking at his heavy-laden back.

Lin Yingbin raised his head to look at the orange-red sky and took a deep breath. Casually tugging at his hair, he said, "His older brother was called a genius by everyone before, and people always intentionally or unintentionally brought up his older brother in front of him. This is probably also the reason that forged his current competitive personality! Whenever his older brother was brought up, he was always ignored. When we were kids, the big reason we got along so well was that I rarely brought up his older brother. He also told me that people always bringing up his older brother in front of him made him feel deeply unbalanced. He always felt that he had been living under his brother's shadow all along. So, while he seemingly had a very good relationship with his older brother, he actually harbored signs of resentment toward his brother deep down."

"Kouhi big bro, you mean? But Kouhi big bro looks like he takes good care of Ryuseki!" Regarding this, Meisha found it somewhat hard to believe.

"It's not really Kouhi's fault; Kouhi also sensed his younger brother's feelings, so..." Lin Yingbin walked with his head lowered, recalling some past events, and continued: "So he gave up all his bright prospects. Originally, he could have had a very good future. But out of fear of hurting his younger brother's pride, and to take better care of his younger brother, he gave up the opportunity to study abroad."

"Turns out such deep bonds can exist between brothers!" This conversation inevitably reminded Ryuu Mufei of certain unmentionable past events. "Unlike me, having such a scumbag of a brother!" he muttered softly, though the displeased expression on his face could be seen—it looked like Ryuu Mufei's brother indeed brought him many unhappy memories.

"You have an older brother too?" Hearing his muttering, Meisha asked.

"I do, but he's a guy our clan calls depraved. He was driven out of the clan, and nobody knows where he went. I heard he died outside, but that's only fitting for his crimes, considering he did so many wicked things."

When saying these things, Ryuu Mufei's eyes were filled with hidden anger.

"You sure hate your brother a lot. He's your biological brother, is it really necessary?" Lin Yingbin still found it somewhat hard to believe. However, just as Ryuu Mufei wanted to explain, he was interrupted by Ryuseki.

"What are you guys still talking about!" He turned around and looked at the three of them. "We've arrived."

"Hehe! He's just like this when he gets paranoid; his words and actions become extreme. You two bear with it; that's just the kind of person he is—very loyal to relationships, and he hates owing others. He hopes to protect the ones he loves well. Don't you think he's rather cute like this?"

Lin Yingbin smiled and explained to the two of them. Because Ryuseki's tone earlier was rather cold, he explained out of fear of creating any bad impressions for the pair.

As they spoke, the group arrived at the prearranged spot. Standing in the middle of the withered grass field was a person wearing a blood-red wide-brimmed hat. Through the hat's shadow, a pair of murderous red pupils could be seen. The Black Hunter, Slumber, awaited their arrival with an eerie smile on his face.