Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 24 (Patreon)

Chapter 24: Teasing

At the same age, with the same black hair and eyes, both holding a special book formed by Nen, both smiling...

However, Chrollo's smile was gentle, while Luo's was hearty. The two of them silently looked at each other, and the conversation paused momentarily.

During their first brief encounter, Chrollo took a great interest in Luo, but Luo's feelings were not as positive, primarily because of the questions Chrollo began with.

Machi, standing to the side, was puzzled and felt that Chrollo was somewhat strange today.

"May I ask how old you are this year?" Luo suddenly asked.

It was a very common question.

"12 years old, and you?" Chrollo's smile never wavered.

"Ah, 13 years old, one year older than you." Luo scratched his head, smiling even more heartily. He didn't actually know how old his current body was; probably only a bone age test could tell.

No matter the age, as long as he was older than Chrollo, that was an advantage of asking the other person's age first. Even if the other person said they were a hundred years old, he could say he was a hundred and one.

Chrollo nodded slightly, smiling, "No wonder, your hand seems to be bigger than mine."

Saying this, he suddenly lifted the 'Bandit's Secret' in his hand, then passed it over, continuing, "The handprint on this book looks quite similar to yours, how curious. Why don't you try pressing your hand onto it and see if it fits perfectly?"

"Haha."

Luo laughed heartily, then looked at Chrollo with a 'you seem to be joking with me' gaze, though he was actually already smiling.

He knew that Chrollo's book could steal other people's Nen abilities, and placing a hand over the blood handprint on the book was one of the conditions, along with manifesting the ability for Chrollo to see and answering Chrollo's questions about the ability.

These three conditions had to be met within an hour to steal the ability, and the person from whom the ability was stolen would lose their Nen.

"This handprint is obviously larger than my hand." Luo turned to Machi, saying, "Right, Machi?"

Machi glanced at the handprint on the book, then deliberately looked at Luo's hand, nodding, "Indeed, it's larger."

"Eh? I thought it matched quite well." Chrollo scratched his head, embarrassed.

Machi's eyes narrowed slightly, indeed, Chrollo was a bit strange today.

"Here, let me show you." Luo, maintaining his hearty smile, then deliberately placed his hand over the blood handprint on Chrollo's book, earnestly saying, "See, it indeed is larger."

"It really is larger." A flicker of surprise passed through the depths of Chrollo's eyes as he withdrew his hand, asking nonchalantly, "By the way, what ability does your book have?"

Truly fitting for the future leader of the Phantom Troupe, thinking of stealing abilities upon their first meeting... The last condition was to answer questions, and if answered, the ability would be stolen.

"I'm not very clear myself, after all, yesterday was my first time using Nen." Luo shrugged, then dispelled 'God's Hand.'

Purposely placing his hand over the blood handprint was just to tease Chrollo, as long as he doesn't answer any questions about Nen abilities within an hour, the conditions would not be met.

As for making Chrollo aware of the oddity, it didn't matter. Chrollo was only twelve years old now, not the leader he would be in a decade or more, and not someone to be feared.

Luo was confident that he would become stronger than Chrollo, stronger than any member of the Phantom Troupe.

So, what was there to worry about? Even if Pakunoda were to probe his memories, as long as he had strong abilities, it was a minor issue.

Hearing Luo's words, Chrollo smiled lightly and also dispelled 'Bandit's Secret.'

There was an hour's time, which was ample for him, so he wasn't in a hurry and then looked at the ominous hand at Luo's feet.

"Not insisting on asking now, planning to intersperse questions about Nen abilities in the later conversation, overall, this guy is really unlikeable." Luo followed Chrollo's gaze to the ominous hand at his feet, silently thinking.

"May I take a look at this wooden hand?" Chrollo asked.

"Of course." Luo said.

Chrollo nodded, then walked over, squatting down, ready to pick up the ominous hand.

"You might want to pick it up with a wire." Luo offered a kind reminder, after all, the color on the ominous hand was formed from countless blood and bones, just thinking about it felt disgusting.

"It's fine, it's just blood stains."

Chrollo was slightly surprised, understanding the implication of Luo's reminder, but still directly picked up the ominous hand with his hands, examining it closely.

"Do you know what this wood is?" Upon hearing the word "blood stains," Luo raised an eyebrow, suspecting Chrollo knew about the ominous hand.

"Mhm."

Chrollo nodded, turning the ominous hand over in his hands, responding, "This is the ominous hand of the Lilit tribe, a sacred relic passed down through generations of the Lilit tribe. The material it's made from is a tree that only grows in swamp mud, if I'm not mistaken, it's called the 'White Mud Tree.'"

"This tree is pure white all over, with a fragrant scent, beloved by mud worms, making it extremely rare. Moreover, to use it to make the 'ominous hand,' there's a very strict requirement."

Suddenly, Chrollo raised his index finger towards Machi and Luo.

"What's the requirement?" Machi asked curiously.

Luo grimaced, not expecting Chrollo to know so much.

"The trunk of the White Mud Tree is filled with sweet sap, and when the tree reaches a hundred years of age, it will nurture a tree within a tree in the white sap. The material for the ominous hand comes from the tree within the White Mud Tree."

"As the White Mud Tree ages, it emits a sweeter scent, attracting mud worms, so a hundred-year-old White Mud Tree is very rare because they are almost all eaten by the worms."

"The ominous hand of the Lilit tribe is made from a hundred-year-old White Mud Tree. It was originally white, but now it's stained red by blood, and the interior is likely deep red as well."

"By the way, the sap of the White Mud Tree is a rare delicacy, with a difficulty rating of B to obtain. Many of the world's top billionaires hire Gourmet Hunters to obtain the sap of the White Mud Tree, but only a few succeed."

Chrollo continued his explanation while observing the ominous hand, and after a while, he looked at the broken fingers, a trace of regret on his face.

"You know a lot." Luo sincerely exclaimed, only knowing it was the ominous hand of the Lilit tribe through the white smoke characters, but not as detailed as Chrollo's explanation.

And if what Chrollo said was true, Luo was very interested in the B-rated difficulty White Mud Tree sap, since he was a foodie.

"I like reading books, and I happened to have read about the ominous hand." Chrollo smiled.

"Is this piece of wood valuable?" Machi, listening from the beginning, was only interested in the value of the ominous hand.

"The Lilit tribe disappeared three hundred years ago, leaving behind very few ominous hands, a treasure in the eyes of collectors. However, this ominous hand is missing three fingers, greatly reducing its collectible value. Normally, it would fetch about 20% of the market price, but there should be buyers."

Chrollo's slender fingers gently brushed over the tactile surface of the ominous hand, earnestly saying, "But this ominous hand is a bit special. Offering it at 50% of the market price, there would still be buyers."

"Why?" Machi asked curiously, though she was more interested in knowing how much it would actually be worth.

"It's because of the age." Chrollo said.

Machi then turned to the silent Luo, surprised, "Is it because it has a history of 900 years?"

Hearing Machi's words, Chrollo was quite surprised, following Machi's gaze to Luo, then somewhat understanding.

After all, Luo also mentioned the origin of the ominous hand, knowing how to appraise its age, which should not be strange.

"To be precise, it's 920 years." At that moment, the silent Luo suddenly said.

Chrollo's eyes sparkled, sincerely saying, "You really like reading books."

"Mutual feelings." Luo continued to laugh heartily, subtly boasting, though in reality, his frequent reading was just a bluff.

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