Wanted to See the World

A tall figure with waist-length hair stepped forward from behind Milluki. Her cascade of jet-black hair hung loose, and a pair of hollow, emotionless cat eyes stared straight at Bai Zhu.

"Who are you?"

Every hair on Bai Zhu's body stood on end!

Danger!

Extreme danger!

This was the most terrifying presence he had encountered in the eight months since coming to this world! It made Bai Zhu realize that he might have overestimated himself just now. He had not noticed Illumi's arrival at all.

In other words, if Illumi had attacked him instead of stopping Milluki just now, he would already be a corpse.

Cold sweat instantly soaked Bai Zhu's back, but he still forced himself to remain calm.

The temptation of a series achievement was simply too great. The cat-finding series achievement alone was worth thirty points. The Creation Society series achievement had to be worth at least a hundred, right?

That Zanpakuto in the system inventory, the one he could not pull out, was counting on this wave of Reiatsu!

"Me?" Bai Zhu forcibly suppressed the urge to run away at once and pretended to be calm, pointing at himself. "What could I be? Just someone watching the show. You two, though—you don't look like people from this town."

He paused, deliberately lowered his voice, and jerked his chin toward the church, putting on a mysterious expression. "You're here because of those cultists too? Let me tell you, that church is creepy as hell. Even the kids inside who have only just learned to walk are Nen users. Don't you think that's strange?"

At last, the faintest ripple appeared in Illumi's hollow eyes.

"What else do you know?"

There was a chance!

Bai Zhu's heart leaped with joy. He knew he had gambled right. He continued feeding the fire, throwing out a bombshell he had inferred from the achievement name [Ella's Suffering Holy Infant]. "Not much... But I've been watching them for months, and I noticed something interesting. Every time they hold a service, lots of pregnant women show up. Many aren't from our town. Tell me, why would they travel all the way to this godforsaken place?"

Bai Zhu left his words hanging, then spread his hands with an expression that said, You get it.

"But my information doesn't come free. How about it? Want to work together? You're interested in those cultists who dared put out a bounty on the Zoldyck family too, aren't you?"

He stared fixedly at Illumi, trying to find even the slightest crack in that expressionless face.

But Illumi was far more difficult to deal with than Bai Zhu had imagined.

He completely ignored Bai Zhu's offer of cooperation and turned to leave.

"Milluki, what are you standing around for? Let's go."

"Huh? Brother..." Milluki was still a little dazed, but he hurried after Illumi.

Illumi raised a hand and flicked Milluki's forehead with his curled index finger, neither too lightly nor too hard.

"You're an assassin. Don't respond whenever any random nobody talks to you. Learn your lesson, or one day you'll get talked to death before you even finish a job."

His voice was not loud, but Bai Zhu still heard every word.

Watching the brothers' backs grow more distant, the smile on Bai Zhu's face slowly vanished.

Damn it, the plan had failed.

Bai Zhu cursed under his breath.

It had all been for nothing. He had handed over a crucial piece of information for free. He had practically been taught a lesson by a little deadpan brat who had not even grown all his hair yet. It would be embarrassing to tell anyone about it.

"Whatever. They can run, but the temple can't."

Bai Zhu quickly adjusted his mindset and turned back for one last look at the church.

As long as the Zoldyck family kept investigating, he would have a chance to get involved.

Since this series achievement was called [Ella's Suffering Holy Infant], the breakthrough was probably tied to this "Ella." Rather than charging blindly into the church like a headless fly, he might as well find this "Ella" first.

Yes, that was the plan!

Having figured it out, Bai Zhu's mood brightened again. He strolled back to the stall run by his landlady, Aunt Hannah, both to say goodbye and to gather some information.

"Auntie, packing up?"

"I was waiting for you, kid!" Aunt Hannah was briskly tidying up the cash box. Seeing Bai Zhu, her eyes crinkled into slits from her smile. "Tell me, did that old Pianer rip you off?"

"Would he dare?" Bai Zhu chuckled and casually took the cash box to help carry it upstairs. "The hides were good this time. If he wanted them, he had to bleed for them. The final price was decent. I didn't let him take advantage."

As soon as they went upstairs and pushed open the door, a bear-like figure lunged over. A palm the size of a fan landed heavily on Bai Zhu's back.

"You brat, you finally came back! Come on, have a few drinks with your uncle!"

It was Aunt Hannah's husband, Gelo.

"Uncle Gelo, it's only noon. Aren't you afraid Aunt Hannah will make you kneel on a washboard?" Bai Zhu grimaced from the slap, but he answered with a grin.

Lunch was exceptionally lavish, with chunks of stewed meat so tender they fell apart, steaming hot on the table. Bai Zhu ate until his mouth was slick with grease.

After eating and drinking his fill, Aunt Hannah still had to go downstairs to watch the stall.

Seeing her about to leave, Bai Zhu stopped her. He pulled a thick stack of Jenny from his pocket and shoved it into her hands—two hundred thousand in all.

"Auntie, take this."

"What are you doing, kid?" Hannah's hand shook, and she nearly dropped the money.

The moment Gelo saw this, his eyes widened. He gave Bai Zhu another slap on the back, so hard that Bai Zhu nearly coughed up the meat he had just eaten.

"You little brat, are you looking down on your uncle? You paid every cent of rent, and you help your aunt look for that damned fat cat every day. Why are you giving us money? Take it back, save it for a wife!"

Rubbing his back, Bai Zhu gave a bitter smile. "Uncle, Auntie, you have to accept this money."

He paused, his expression growing much more serious.

"I'm leaving."

Gelo's hand froze in midair, and the atmosphere in the room instantly changed.

"Leaving? Did something happen?"

"Nothing like that." Bai Zhu shook his head. "It's just... the Hunter Exam is starting soon, and I want to give it a try. If I pass, I want to go out and see the world. I might... not come back for a long time."

"A Hunter... Being a Hunter is good."

Gelo's voice seemed to squeeze out from his throat, muffled and heavy. Somehow, he produced a crumpled cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. He sank into the sofa, wrapped in curling smoke, his expression impossible to make out.

The air in the room suddenly grew heavy.

Bang!

Gelo slammed his palm onto the table, making the cups and plates rattle. His booming voice returned. "Good lad! A real man ought to go out and make his mark! What future could you have, wasting your youth in this godforsaken place? Go take it! Your uncle supports you a hundred percent!"

Then his tone shifted, and his huge palm shoved the stack of money straight back.

"But you take this money back!" Gelo glared. "What, you're leaving, so you're using money to slap your uncle in the face? You think your uncle didn't take good enough care of you?"

In the end, Bai Zhu still failed to give them the money.

Gelo half-pushed, half-dragged Bai Zhu back downstairs.

At the stall, Aunt Hannah was humming a tune as she packed things up. When she saw Bai Zhu come down, she asked cheerfully, "Done talking with Uncle Gelo?"

"Done. He nearly slapped me to death." Bai Zhu rubbed his shoulder.

"Don't blame your uncle. When he was young, he took the Hunter Exam too. He even bragged that he passed several rounds."

Bai Zhu wanted to ask why Gelo had not continued, but when he looked at Aunt Hannah's face, he seemed to understand something and did not ask. Still, he needed to ask about Ella, so he spoke directly. "By the way, Auntie, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Is there a woman named Ella in our town?"

Aunt Hannah paused. Tilting her head, she counted through every girl and married woman in town she could name, then finally shook her head.

"No, definitely no one named Ella. Why are you asking all of a sudden?"

Bai Zhu's heart stirred, and he pressed on. "Then... what about outsiders? For example, someone who comes to town often but doesn't live here?"

Aunt Hannah thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped her hand in realization.

"Now that you mention it, I remember!" She lowered her voice and gestured toward the church with her chin. "There are quite a few outsiders in the Creation Society who come to attend services. One of them might be named that. After all, among all the towns around here, ours is the only one with a Creation Society church."

She quickly added, her tone extremely certain.

"If she were from our town, there's no way I wouldn't know her. If such a person really exists, she's most likely from out of town!"