Chapter 34: All Hui Guo Rou Must Die
"She... she actually agreed to call you 'Boss'?"
When Menchi finally heard the full story of what had happened at the amusement park, she was utterly and completely floored.
She processed this, her mind struggling to connect the dots. Sure, the kid—Kai—had a personality that was jarringly mature, an old-soul-in-a-small-package kind of vibe. And yes, he claimed he was twenty, and he certainly had the skills to back up some of his bravado. But at the end of the day... he still looked like a five-year-old. He was barely tall enough to see over the table!
The young Gourmet Hunter's brow furrowed in complete disbelief. She crossed her arms, looking from Kai's smug face to Shizuku's blank one. "Shizuku, are you actually serious about this?"
Shizuku just tilted her head, her expression as placid as ever, as if the question itself was confusing. "Of course I am. I lost the bet."
Kai shot Menchi a grin. "What about you, Menchi? You want in? I've still got eight slots open for my Ten Celestials. I guess I could, reluctantly, save one for you. Your ability is... passable... You'd make a decent cook for an organization with a future as bright as mine."
Menchi, surprisingly, didn't even get angry. She had seen firsthand what Kai was capable of and couldn't deny his skill. "I'll... think about it," she hedged. "I just became a Pro Hunter, you know..."
The trio, now officially a team, chatted as they walked, heading back into the vast, sprawling territory of the Blanchett Company's reserve. And just like before, the company had assigned them escorts—two guards who followed at a polite, watchful distance, just far enough behind to be out of earshot.
Menchi activated her Gyo, her eyes scanning the forest floor. "So, what exactly are we looking for? What does this 'God Script' you mentioned look like?"
Kai shrugged. "Honestly? Just... weird scribbles. Anything that looks like graffiti where it shouldn't be. Keep your eyes peeled for flat ground, large stones, tree trunks... any surface that looks like it could be written on. If we're lucky, we'll spot something."
Menchi gave him an "OK" sign.
The task was easier said than done. The dense, primal forest was thick with shadows, and they knew that some of those shadows belonged to Pale Moon Tigers. They had to stay alert for predators while scanning every tiny detail of the environment. The constant vigilance was exhausting.
"This would be a whole lot easier if I knew En," Kai sighed, kicking a loose stone.
Menchi shot him a sly, teasing grin. "Oh? What's this? I thought the 'genius' Big Brother Kai could master any technique just by looking at it. Don't tell me there's finally something you can't do?"
"I don't think it's a talent problem," Kai said, looking thoughtful.
"Oh, really? Then what is it?" Menchi 'tsked', not buying it. She turned to Shizuku, who was diligently scanning a patch of rocks with her Gyo. "Hey, Shizuku, do you know En?"
"I've heard the term," Shizuku replied, not looking up. "But I haven't learned it."
"If I really wanted to learn it," Kai explained, "I would have just asked Ginta to teach me before he left. The only logical conclusion... is that deep down, I just don't have any particular desire to learn En."
That stopped Menchi. "That's... a thing? You can just not want to learn a useful skill?"
"En is a great recon tool, don't get me wrong," Kai said, holding up a finger. "But it has two major flaws. One, you can't really fight while you're holding a massive, wide-range En. You have to pull all that Aura back to use Ken or Hatsu. Two, the second you 'ping' a target, they know you've pinged them. It's like peeking at your teacher from behind a stack of books. The moment you see them, they see you."
"So, I guess my subconscious just thinks it's a clumsy, uninteresting technique. That's why I've never bothered," Kai concluded with a shrug.
"And yet, here you are, really wishing you knew it," Menchi shot back.
"Hey, you don't know what you're missing 'til you need it, right?"
"Well, there is one other person on this island who definitely knows En," Menchi said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder. "That 'little tiger' guy, Kanzai. The Zodiac."
"He's on a mission," Kai reminded her. "What if his protection target gets ambushed while he's busy giving us lessons? Who takes the blame for that?"
"What are the odds of that happening..." Menchi muttered.
They searched the reserve, high and low, for the entire day. They found nothing.
Along the way, they ran into Dako and the other four freelance Hunters. One look at their exhausted, dirt-streaked faces told Kai they'd had about as much luck as his team.
With only three days left on the contract, the pressure was on. The looming deadline and the lack of any results were starting to fray everyone's nerves.
Dusk began to settle, and the forest grew dim. A low roar echoed from the trees.
The two Blanchett Company guards tensed, their hands instinctively moving to the tranquilizer pistols on their hips. But from the shadows, a Pale Moon Tiger emerged, its fur already beginning to pulse with that soft, jade-like glow.
"It's okay, it's him," Menchi said, walking forward to pat Butch on the head. She explained to the guards, "We've run into this one a few times. He's friendly. You can relax."
Butch ignored her and walked straight to Kai, rubbing his massive head against him.
Kai laughed and scratched the tiger's chin. As he looked at Butch, he was suddenly struck by an idea. He turned to the guards. "Hey, you guys... this island has a ghost story, right? About hauntings?"
"Absolutely not."
"That's just a baseless rumor."
"There's no such thing as ghosts. It's all made up."
"You can't believe that stuff..."
The guards all started talking at once, their denials a little too quick, a little too forceful. Their attempts to clear the air only made Kai more suspicious.
You don't believe us, do you? Then why did you even ask? one of the guards thought, annoyed.
Shizuku, however, tilted her head, her curiosity piqued.
Kai scanned the darkening forest and raised his voice, not to them, but to the trees themselves. "I've heard... that the Kakin Kingdom is terrified of this place. No... not this island. This land. This piece of their continent that was ripped away two decades ago. They're all desperately trying to keep its secrets buried..."
"Who... who are you talking to?" Menchi asked, completely baffled. But Kai's grave, theatrical tone was so serious that she couldn't help but feel a chill, her own expression growing tense.
Shizuku copied him, her head swiveling, scanning the shadows.
"Hey, hey, little Hunter, stop trying to spook us," one of the Blanchett guards said nervously. "It's okay if you can't complete the mission, just don't... don't mess around. What if you actually—" He cut himself off, his eyes wide.
Menchi and Shizuku snapped their heads to look at the guards. "Oh?" Menchi's nervousness vanished, replaced by a sharp, excited grin. "So there is something out here."
Kai continued his monologue, ignoring them. "—I've heard that Kakin is steeped in voodoo and black magic. Superstitions, maybe. But rumors like that don't just appear from nowhere. A normal person would pick up a coin they dropped, but Kakin has spent two decades avoiding this 'lost' piece of their own land. It's hard not to be suspicious!"
At that moment, Dako and his team, drawn by the sound of Kai's voice, emerged from the woods. They looked on, confused, as Kai continued to orate to the empty air.
The wind suddenly picked up, rustling the leaves with a mournful sound. Butch began to pace, a low growl rumbling in his chest. In the deep woods around them, more glowing, jade-like patterns began to appear as the other tigers emerged.
"If the Kakin Kingdom wronged you, then show yourself!" Kai's voice boomed through the clearing. "Tell us your story! If you hate Kakin, if you want to tear them limb from limb, then come out and tell us why!"
He was sure he hadn't imagined it. That fleeting "ghost" he'd seen days ago had been the image of a small, pale-white boy. And the Kakin royal family... they were a twisted bunch, with their curses, their succession-battle slaughter, their grotesque Nen beasts. Kai hadn't finished that arc, but he was more than willing to assume the most twisted, evil explanation was the correct one.
"Is this kid insane?"
Dako and his men felt their scalps tingle. "He's definitely not right in the head... Whoa, what was that!?"
"A shadow!"
"A ghost?!"
The panic from the other four men made Dako's own skin crawl. "Shut up!" he hissed. "There's no such thing as ghosts! Even if there was, it would just be—"
Nen!
The realization hit all the Hunters at once.
The Blanchett guards, however, were rubbing their eyes. As the kid had shouted, they'd all seen it. A flicker of white, just at the edge of the woods, where the tigers were. It was there, and then it was gone.
"It's just a trick of the light," one guard reasoned. "The tigers' fur, it's..."
"No," Shizuku said, her eyes glowing with Gyo. She was staring at a spot in the deep woods where a pale, spectral figure of a small child was hovering. "There's really something there."
Menchi's eyes went wide, and she swallowed nervously.
A cold wind swept through the clearing. Dako and his men felt goosebumps rise all over their bodies. What is that thing? Is it someone's Hatsu? A Nen Beast?
Or... is it him? Dako stared at Kai. Is this a trick? He's an Emitter! He just conjured a fake-looking Nen beast to fool us! That's it! He wants to fake a 'discovery' to get the bonus!
"Listen. Carefully." Just then, Kai's voice cut through the tension. He put a sharp, sudden emphasis on the word "listen."
Dako and his men were just confused, but Menchi and Shizuku both caught the command. They instantly focused Gyo into their ears.
And then they heard it.
A strange, ethereal sound, drifting from the pale, ghostly figure. It started as a whisper, then grew clearer, and clearer...
A child's voice, distorted and filled with an ancient, chilling hatred.
"...Hui Guo Rou... must all die... Hui Guo Rou... must all die..."
And then, like a candle flame snuffed out by a sudden gust of wind, the pale-white child's figure dissolved and was gone.