The Window to the Soul

The blazing sun turned the treetops the color of gold leaf, and the cicadas' cries warped into an intermittent drone in the rising heat.

After explaining the six categories of Nen Abilities, Lianke handed Carl a cup of clear water.

A moment later, the water in the cup solidified into pale golden crystals.

"Conjuration places the greatest emphasis on balance. It combines beauty and practicality very well. Nice!"

Seeing the result, Lianke nodded in satisfaction, her tone quite cheerful.

As far as she was concerned, any category was acceptable, as long as the brat wasn't a Transmuter!

"Carl, do you know how to judge a Nen user's strength?"

"I don't know, Master!"

Carl answered honestly when she heard Lianke's question.

Rather than cobble together an answer from her half-baked knowledge,

he preferred to hear his teacher's explanation.

"It's simple. There are only three steps."

Lianke's wicker chair suddenly tilted, and her tone grew increasingly teasing.

"First, look at their age."

"Oh?" Carl tilted her head.

"First, you need to know that once we Nen users learn 'Ten,' our prime becomes extraordinarily long. A few Nen masters can even extend it until they die of old age!"

"Second, anyone who lives to that age is either a thousand-year-old tortoise or a man-eating demon!"

"So, when you see a middle-aged or even an elderly Nen user, the first thing you should do is..."

Halfway through her sentence, Lianke turned an expectant gaze on Carl.

Carl blinked, a realization dawning on him-he remembered a certain man who was a hundred and twenty years old yet still firmly held the title of the world's greatest martial artist.

"Get away from them immediately?"

After a while, he finally picked up the thread.

This teacher really seemed to think of him as a child...

"So clever! That's my disciple!"

Lianke nodded in satisfaction and praised Carl.

She had dreamed of this kind of normal interaction between a teacher and disciple for ages!

"Next is the second step."

"Trust your instincts."

Her voice gradually grew serious, taking on a note of warning.

"If you instinctively sense something wrong the moment you meet someone, don't hesitate. Get away quickly!"

"As Nen users, our instincts are more accurate than you can imagine!"

As Lianke finished speaking, Carl glanced out of the corner of her eye at Hisoka, who was not far away.

That morning, Hisoka had also quickly backed away the moment he made a move.

Was that to be expected of Teacher Lianke's disciple?

Without noticing Carl's distraction, Lianke continued:

"Third, observe their eyes."

"Their eyes?" Carl turned back.

"Their eyes!" Lianke repeated, looking straight into his.

"The eyes are the organ closest to a person's soul. Through them, you can get an initial understanding of someone."

"I don't understand."

Carl shook her head and instinctively looked away from Lianke's emerald-green eyes.

It wasn't the first time they had looked each other in the eye, yet this time he felt a light flickering in her eyes that could see into a person's heart.

At that moment, Lianke stood up and pulled him into her arms:

"When you grow up, you'll understand what I mean."

"You lonely little brat, starved for love."

Feeling the warmth of Lianke's embrace, the boy gradually relaxed his stiff shoulders, and his nose suddenly prickled-her embrace carried the scent of irises, completely different from the smell of disinfectant he remembered from the orphanage.

For a moment, his eyes reddened slightly.

But after a moment, he quietly held it back and regained his composure.

"I'm your master."

"So you can cry in my arms, you know. I don't mind."

Ruffling Carl's black hair, Lianke spoke gently:

"Although I don't know why that old fellow Will never found you a foster mother, or what exactly you've been through all these years..."

"But your master here... is best at mending broken things."

The eyes were the windows to the soul, and through Carl's windows, Lianke could see the boy's shrinking soul-that kind of shrinking wasn't something a child with a mother should have.

So this child was a true orphan...

Her hand gently patted Carl's back, as though trying to smooth something away.

"Smack~"

In the shade of a distant tree, the delicate house of cards that had just been completed collapsed for the third time.

Only this time, the smile vanished from Hisoka's face, and a flash of inexplicable jealousy passed through his slender eyes.

"All right, Master Lianke, let me go."

After a long while, Carl's muffled voice came from within Lianke's embrace.

"Huh? I thought you were going to cry~"

Lianke released the boy and studied Carl's eyes for a while before speaking with some disappointment.

By her reckoning, when a child his age was hugged like that, even if he didn't drop to his knees and call her Mom, he should at least shed a few tears, right?

How come this child hadn't shed a single tear...

"Sigh~"

The corners of Carl's mouth twitched, and she sighed helplessly.

No matter what, he was an adult. How could he cry so easily?

Even if he really had to cry, he'd find somewhere private to do it!

Who would sob their heart out in a woman's arms?

Looking at the somewhat disappointed Lianke, Carl fell silent for a moment before speaking:

"Please continue, Teacher Lianke."

Compared with Lianke's embrace, solid instruction was indeed more to his liking.

"No!"

At that, Lianke pouted and glared at Carl angrily:

"You're aiming too high! You haven't even mastered the Four Major Principles, so I have nothing to tell you!"

"..."

Looking at the woman, who was clearly angry from embarrassment, Carl's eyelid twitched. She wanted to speak, but was afraid of offending her further.

Master, you haven't even taught me how to train in the Four Major Principles yet...

"Thump~"

Lianke plopped down in the wicker chair and beckoned to Hisoka under the tree's shade not far away:

"You little brat, get over here and help your junior brother practice the Four Major Principles."

With that, she turned to look at Carl:

"Training in the Four Major Principles is simple. Two words: get beaten!"

"Once you can block Hisoka's fists, your mastery of the Four Major Principles will be barely passable!"

Lianke's tone wasn't harsh, but it carried a deep malice.

"No problem, Teacher Lianke!"

"I'll be sure to teach Junior Brother Carl very, very well!"

Hisoka sprang to his feet, his slender eyes narrowing into smiling slits, brimming with excitement.

Wait, are you two even human?

Watching the master and disciple play off each other, Carl's heart went cold.

If he'd known, if he'd known, he would have shed a few tears just now...

"Are you ready, Junior Brother Carl?"

Hisoka walked to the courtyard entrance and stopped, pulling open his burgundy collar as his burning gaze locked firmly on Carl.

"Feel your senior brother's love~"