All Hui Guo Rous Must Die

"Shizuku made you her boss?"

Menchi had been shocked when she learned about it.

Even if Jing Yang had always acted old-fashioned, no different from an adult, even if he claimed to be a twenty-year-old big brother, even if he was quite capable... he still looked like a little boy!

The young Gourmet Hunter frowned, folding her arms. "Shizuku, are you serious?"

Shizuku looked a little confused, then nodded. "Of course."

Jing Yang said, "Menchi, are you interested? I still have eight openings. I can barely squeeze you in! Your abilities are so-so too... you could be a cook in my brother's organization with such a bright future!"

Menchi did not get angry. After all, she greatly respected Jing Yang's skills. "We can talk about that later! I've only just become a Professional Hunter..."

The three of them chatted as they walked after meeting up, once again entering the protected area managed by Blanche Company.

As usual, the person in charge assigned staff to accompany them during the investigation, following a short distance behind the three.

Menchi gathered Aura in her eyes and asked, "What exactly do these Divine Characters you mentioned look like?"

Jing Yang said, "Just some incomprehensible scribbles, anyway! Keep an eye out for flat ground, rocks, tree trunks, and places like that. You might find something."

Menchi gave an OK sign.

Tiger shadows lurked throughout the dense forest. They had to watch out for the beasts while carefully observing their surroundings. Gyo was not without cost either. Even the most skilled experts would not keep Gyo active at all times. Maintaining full concentration was exhausting, and if they encountered real danger with their attention scattered and unable to focus, they would be finished.

"If only we knew En," Jing Yang said wistfully. "That would be much more convenient."

Menchi grinned slyly. "I thought genius big brother Jing Yang could learn any technique the moment he saw it! So there are things you're not good at too."

Jing Yang pondered for a moment. "I don't think this is necessarily a matter of talent."

"Then what else could it be?" Menchi clicked her tongue and turned to Shizuku, who was using Gyo to inspect the other side. "Shizuku, do you know En?"

"I've heard of it, but I haven't learned it."

Jing Yang said, "If I truly wanted to learn it, I would have asked Ging while he was still around! So the only answer is... deep down, I don't urgently want to learn En."

Menchi did not understand. "That can happen?"

"En is certainly a very convenient scouting technique..." Jing Yang smiled and raised fingers one after another. "But first, when you spread En, it isn't suitable for combat. If you have to fight, you still need to pull back the Aura used for En. Second, when En finds a target, the target also realizes they've been detected by your En. It's like secretly peeking at the teacher from behind a pile of books during class. The moment you see the teacher, the teacher has already seen you too."

"I guess I just feel that this kind of scouting method is pretty boring, so I don't really care whether I learn it or not," Jing Yang concluded.

Menchi said, "In short, you want to learn it now."

"You only regret not studying until the moment you need it."

"Isn't there someone who definitely knows En?" Menchi raised an index finger and pointed in the direction they had come from. "That 'little Tiger,' Kang Jae of the Zodiacs."

Jing Yang reminded her, "He has his own mission. What if the target he's protecting gets attacked while he's teaching us? If something happens, whose fault would that be?"

"What are the odds of that..." Menchi muttered.

The three searched carefully throughout the protected area for another day, but still found nothing.

Along the way, they encountered five other amateur Hunters. Judging by their dirt-streaked faces and exhausted appearances, they were likely in much the same situation.

Only three days remained before the final deadline, yet they had nothing to show for it. Everyone was getting anxious, as could be seen from the dark circles under their eyes.

Dusk fell, and deep tiger roars echoed through the forest.

As several Blanche Company staff members warily rested their hands on the holsters of their tranquilizer guns, a Fanged Moon Tiger emerged from the woods. The stripes on its body glimmered faintly, lustrous as jade.

"It's you." Menchi stepped forward and stroked Wu Er, then explained to the staff behind her, "We've run into him several times and gotten familiar with him. No need to be so nervous."

Wu Er walked up to Jing Yang and rubbed his huge head against him.

Jing Yang smiled and patted the tiger's head. Looking at Wu Er, he suddenly remembered something and turned to ask, "You have paranormal incidents involving ghosts here, right?"

"Nothing like that."

"They're just rumors."

"What ghosts or spirits could there possibly be in this world? It's all made up out of thin air."

"How could anyone believe that..."

The staff hurriedly clarified, but the more they explained, the worse it seemed to get. The boy across from them did not appear to have heard a word.

You clearly don't believe us, so why the hell did you ask?

A question mark seemed to pop up over Shizuku's head. She was very curious what Jing Yang had thought of now.

Jing Yang looked around and raised his voice. "They say that the people of the Kakin Kingdom are extremely secretive about this place—no, more than twenty years ago, before it was moved here, this place was not yet an island. In any case, the people of Kakin avoid speaking of this place..."

"Who are you talking to?" Menchi was very surprised, but Jing Yang looked so serious that she could not help growing solemn as well.

Shizuku copied Jing Yang and looked around.

"Hey, little Hunter, don't play at ghosts and gods." The staff hurriedly said, "It's fine if you can't finish the mission, but what if something really—" They quickly shut their mouths.

Menchi and Shizuku immediately looked at them.

"So there really is something here?" Menchi giggled.

Jing Yang continued, "—I've heard that Kakin has many matters involving witchcraft and curses. Though it is superstition, rumors do not arise without cause. A normal person would bend down to pick up a Coin that fell from their pocket, but Kakin avoids this territory that has been 'lost' for over twenty years as if it were the plague. It's hard not to be suspicious!"

Dago and the others heard the commotion and came over one after another, watching Jing Yang talk animatedly to the empty air with puzzled, bewildered expressions.

A chilly wind seemed to sweep through the dense forest around them. Wu Er prowled about with low growls, while deeper in the woods, more and more striped Fanged Moon Tigers could vaguely be seen appearing.

"If Kakin wronged you, then come out and tell us your grievance!" Jing Yang called loudly. "If you hate Kakin and wish to devour their flesh alive, then come out and tell us of your hatred..."

If he had not been mistaken that day, that fleeting "ghost" had taken the form of a small boy with skin as white as death.

Those people of Kakin's Royal Family were wicked as hell. They used curses, slaughtered each other, and raised a whole collection of bizarre, sinister Nen beasts. Jing Yang had not carefully finished that part of the manga, but he did not mind speculating from the most twisted angle possible...

"Is this kid crazy?"

Dago and the others felt their scalps tingle. "He really isn't normal... Whoa, what's that?!"

"There's a shadow!"

"A ghostly shadow? A ghost?!"

The four people beside him were so startled that even Dago jumped, his scalp tingling even worse. He snapped, "What are you yelling for? There are no ghosts in this world. Even if something similar exists, it would only be—"

Nen Abilities!

The others suddenly understood.

They had understood, but the staff had not. In fact, they were rubbing their eyes. After the little Hunter named Jing Yang had shouted like that, near where the Fanged Moon Tigers had appeared deep in the woods, there seemed to be—perhaps, maybe, possibly—a flash of white shadow. But when they looked closely, it was gone.

"It was just an illusion caused by the Fanged Moon Tigers' stripes while they were running, wasn't it?" one staff member questioned.

"No." Shizuku gathered Aura in her eyes and stared fixedly at the pale-white child's silhouette emerging from the dense forest. "There really is something there."

Menchi stared wide-eyed and swallowed nervously.

A wind suddenly rose around them. Dago and the others felt goosebumps spread over their bodies. Was that ghostly thing someone's Nen Ability?

A Nen beast?

Or something else... Could it be Jing Yang putting on an act?

Right, this kid was an Emitter! Had he deliberately sent out some half-real, half-fake Nen beast to fool them?

No, he was not trying to fool them. He was trying to swindle money, fake results, and double the reward!

"Listen carefully."

Just then, Jing Yang suddenly spoke up in warning, placing special emphasis on the word "listen."

Dago and the others naturally did not understand, but Menchi and Shizuku's hearts stirred. Both gathered Aura in their ears... Gradually, from that ghostlike pale figure, as if drawing nearer from far away, a strange sound reached their ears, becoming clearer and clearer:

"All Hui Guo Rous... must die... All Hui Guo Rous... must die..."

Like a candle snuffed out by the wind, the pale child's silhouette vanished.