Performing for a Living

Late at night, Jing Yang lay on the bed in his small inn, gazing at the dim moonlight outside the window.

When he had passed Slaughterhouse Dock in East Town at dusk, waves of Death Qi had seemed to burrow straight into his heart in a sneak attack. It had scared the hell out of him. He had thought he might pass out on the spot, or transform right there and suddenly grow several years older... Judging by his previous experiences, some kind of energy that leaked out when he was "ripened" would also affect the surrounding environment. The first time he had awakened, the patch of grass around him had been as tall as a person. Later, the leaf he had used for Water Divination aboard the ship had turned into a branch. Even Wu Er's injury, which he had seemingly received from Poachers, had been healed.

If something like that had really happened in the street at dusk, news of such a bizarre incident might have reached the ears of people who cared.

For instance, the people from Kakin who were still investigating on this island.

Jing Yang had hurriedly said goodbye to Menchi and Ging before returning to the inn where he was temporarily staying near the amusement park. Yet even after night fell, he showed none of the signs he had displayed before "transforming," such as feeling like he was about to faint.

The only rule was that there were no rules? An adaptive transformation, huh?

Jing Yang turned over and sat at the edge of the bed. He reached out and grabbed the Rock Sparrow sleeping by the pillow in his palm, rubbing its drowsy little head as he made up his mind. Looks like places overflowing with bad luck, like slaughterhouses and markets, are off-limits for me from now on!

I'll have to be careful around hospitals too...

Ignoring the Rock Sparrow's dissatisfied chirping, Jing Yang considered his recent plans.

As he thought, his attention was drawn to the perspective of the crow he was currently possessing...

Shizuku's back was kind of nice to look at...

Jing Yang shook his head, wiped his face, and fell backward onto the bed.

Today, through Wu Er's body, he had personally experienced the strength of Shizuku, a prospective Phantom Troupe member... Though Jing Yang himself hated to admit it, Shizuku was indeed stronger than him for now!

Early to bed, early to rise. Tomorrow, he would keep his head down and train!

The next day, the sky was bright.

In the woods of the Fanged Moon Tiger Sanctuary, the five amateur Hunters who had originally infiltrated the place with Shizuku gathered at the spot where they had first split up, as agreed the day before, and exchanged the information they had gathered.

"Speaking of the Kakin Royal Family, you think of Kakin's long history. If there's something they refuse to discuss, then naturally you'd think of dangerous ancient tombs and the like..."

After comparing their findings, the five reached the same conclusion.

But despite that, after a full day and night of sneaking around and searching, they had found nothing—not even a hair, much less some mysterious ancient tomb!

"Where's that woman?" "Where's Shizuku?"

The five amateur Hunters looked around and laughed. "Ha ha, knew that woman was unreliable. She's pretty, sure... but she probably got lost, right?"

"Or maybe Blanche Company caught her," another chimed in.

The apparent leader of the group was named Dago. He was an Emitter and the most experienced amateur Hunter among them. He had also been the first to suggest splitting up on the first day to expand their search area. First, it would test everyone's abilities and give them a clearer sense of one another's level. Second, he thought highly of the girl named Shizuku and wanted her to learn a lesson on her own, so she would be more obedient afterward...

"She definitely got lost," someone complained. "Not just anyone can be an amateur Hunter. That woman seems to have some strength, but she doesn't look too bright. What kind of qualified Hunter has strength but no brains? That bald guy from Ochima really has no standards when hiring people."

"Don't rush. Let's wait," Dago soothed the other four, raising his hand to check his watch. "We'll wait until noon, at least."

The four trusted Dago greatly, so they fell silent for the time being, scattering to hide and wait quietly.

They waited and waited...

They waited until noon, when the sun passed overhead, before Shizuku finally came into view.

The four were instantly furious, but Dago stopped them and calmly said to Shizuku, "You're awfully late. That's not acceptable for a Hunter."

"What do you mean, late?" Shizuku looked utterly confused. She glanced at them and asked strangely, "Didn't you go back to the hotel to rest?"

Go... back... to the hotel... The five of them felt their blood pressure rise at once. "You went back to rest last night? And you only came back now? How could you do that? Didn't we agree to meet up?"

Shizuku said, "That's impossible. I don't remember anything like that."

Their fists clenched... Dago and the others took several deep breaths. Yet judging from the woman's tone, she truly did not seem to be lying on purpose. She genuinely did not remember!

They had merely assumed her memory was bad enough that she would forget the meeting place and time. They had never expected her memory to be on another level entirely—she had simply forgotten the whole arrangement!

What kind of person was this?

"Caw, caw~"

Jing Yang, possessing a crow, could not help laughing.

Based on how she was portrayed in the manga, Shizuku's memory was adaptive too. She forgot things she did not care about so quickly that she could rival Nobita Nobi's speed at falling asleep for an afternoon nap after picking up a pillow. One moment, she could be arm-wrestling Gon in the street to determine a winner; the next, she could forget the whole thing completely. When she saw Gon again, she might not even remember ever meeting him...

On the other hand, Shizuku was, in some ways, the most disciplined and loyal person in the Phantom Troupe. She remembered certain Phantom Troupe rules clearly and carried them out faithfully. She even wore a cross necklace that did not currently exist—perhaps as a symbol of the Phantom Troupe's leader, Chrollo. She had something of the adorably dim-witted class monitor about her when it came to discipline.

Thinking this, the two crows flapped their wings and continued circling Shizuku.

The morning passed just like that.

Jing Yang's real body practiced Hatsu at his lodging, training in the Manipulator and Emitter categories.

Meanwhile, some of the birds he controlled lingered around Shizuku to make themselves familiar to her, while another group watched the Kakin group on the North Coast from afar. As for the remaining birds, which had originally been observing Kang Jae and the Ochima officials, they had long since given up. It was simply too boring, and they could not exactly fly into the building to eavesdrop on meetings...

At noon, Jing Yang avoided the streets of East Town and took a detour to the place where he had trained the day before. Wu Er had already been waiting there.

Not long afterward, Menchi arrived with Ging, carrying a huge pile of ingredients.

"Ha ha, I saved room," Jing Yang said with a smile. "Don't stand on ceremony. Get cooking."

"Who exactly is supposed to not stand on ceremony here?" Menchi was not angry. She already loved cooking, and having someone look forward to her food made her quite happy. Soon, she deftly prepared several dishes for Jing Yang and Ging to enjoy together. The Fanged Moon Tiger and even Jing Yang's Little Gray Bird got their share as well.

Once they were full, it was time to train.

Again and again, Jing Yang used 'Ken' until he exhausted all the Aura in his body. After a brief rest, he pulled himself together and did it again.

He seemed tireless.

Not only Menchi—even Ging, a seasoned expert, found the sight somewhat alarming.

If he were really just a few-year-old kid pretending to be an adult, he couldn't possibly have this kind of perseverance... Ging thought. But the speed of his progress is also abnormal.

Normally, if someone wanted to extend the duration they could maintain 'Ken' by ten minutes, it would take a month of grueling effort.

Extending Ken by ten minutes meant six hundred seconds, which meant raising one's total Nen quantity by six hundred Aura. That required a month of hard work. On average, a day of training could at most extend it by twenty seconds and increase one's total Nen quantity by twenty Aura.

Yet only one day had passed, and Ging had already witnessed Jing Yang extend the time he could maintain 'Ken' by more than three minutes compared to yesterday—around two hundred seconds, with his total Nen quantity increasing by two hundred Aura.

Ten times the training efficiency of an ordinary person!

Is it because of his extraordinary recovery ability? Ging silently analyzed.

It was not that he deliberately wanted to pry into someone else's Nen Abilities. Jing Yang simply made no effort to hide anything from him, and once Ging saw it, he instinctively began to think and analyze. It could not be helped.

His situation is more like he suffered some kind of accident that reduced both his body and Nen quantity to a childlike state. He isn't becoming stronger now—he's "recovering" his strength... Is something like that even possible?

Setting aside Ging's complicated thoughts, Menchi was much more straightforward. She had tried to imitate Jing Yang's training style, only to collapse from exhaustion two hours earlier. Even now, she was trembling and had yet to fully recover.

"You're practically a magical beast," Menchi declared wearily.

Jing Yang ended his training, wiped off his sweat, and rubbed his stomach. "Then you, the cook, better be prepared to feed a magical beast."

"Tomorrow, then!"

Menchi waved a hand and limped away with Ging.

On the way back, Menchi suddenly said, "Ging, I have an idea for developing my Nen Ability."

Ging gave an "Oh?"

"I can't lose to him!" Menchi clenched her fist, her fighting spirit surging. "I can definitely do it!"

Night fell over the amusement park. There were fewer visitors than before, but still quite a few.

Jing Yang found a roadside stall and ordered a huge amount of food. After filling his stomach, he played with the Little Rock Sparrow while observing the scattered groups of visitors around the amusement park.

The cash in his hand was dwindling.

Money only going out and never coming in was not ideal. He had to find a way to earn some extra cash.

Besides...

Jing Yang thought it over. He did not have any other skills, just plenty of strength. Why not set up a stall and perform for money?