Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 159 (Patreon)

Chapter 159: The Scroll Tube

The ruins are located in an open area surrounded by many modern houses, likely the residences of the staff.

From the line of tourists waiting at the entrance, it is clear that the authorities are serious about protecting the ruins of Parlo City.

There are restrictions on the number of people allowed to enter at any one time, likely also time-limited, which helps in crowd control and reduces the monitoring burden on staff.

Such restrictions, even during the off-season, highlight the allure of the Parlo City ruins.

Luo and Sanbica Norton stand side by side amidst the crowd, almost unnoticeable because most of the others are couples, making them appear as a couple too.

Observing the high alertness of the guards around the perimeter—and even more so inside—the ruins, Luo thought to himself, "Looks like there's no chance during the day, maybe not even a touch."

The Parlo City ruins are a significant revenue source for the authorities, so such stringent protection measures are understandable. On one hand, they prevent damage to the ancient structures, considering their historical value. On the other hand, they deter thieves with ill intentions.

In the world of hunters, black market transactions are rampant, with countless sellers and buyers dealing in all sorts of bizarre items, such as the century-old feces of a duke's pet dog.

Where there's demand, there's monetary transaction.

The ancient architectural style of Parlo City ruins, like a blurred stone-carved flower, is also in demand in the black market, fetching quite high prices.

Essentially, if the black market has demand for anything, even if it's illegal or requires risking one's life, there will be many takers.

Given such strict security at the ruins, it seems a night visit is necessary.

Luo and Sanbica wait in line obediently, unable to skip the queue even with a hunter's license.

As time passes, one group of tourists enters and another leaves. After waiting for two hours, it's finally Luo and Sanbica's turn.

The Parlo City ruins admit only three hundred visitors at a time. After paying the entrance fee, the staff briefs the visitors on several strict rules before gradually letting them in.

Visitors are allowed inside for only half an hour.

Luo and Sanbica follow the crowd through a stone archway into the ruins.

The accompanying tourists walk straight along the main path, hardly paying any attention to the nearby ruins brimming with the passage of time.

Parlo City was once a significant city, but it was destroyed in wars and further deteriorated over centuries, leaving only a relatively intact area.

Most visitors head straight for the statue of the goddess of love in the center or a smaller fraction to the lord's mansion.

Luo, however, aims to find the residence of a once-renowned artisan named Fringe.

"So many places are gone, I hope Fringe's house is still there," Luo muses as he and Sanbica casually stroll, memorizing every piece of architectural debris.

Uniformed security is everywhere, making it impossible to approach the ruins; reluctantly, they just scout the area first.

With limited time, Luo moves quickly, inspecting half the area quickly and then heading to where the statue is located.

It is a female statue with many fine lines on the surface, draped in a thin silk garment, holding a harp, and her eyes brimming with love—a masterful portrayal of affection and artistic detail.

Walking past, the collapsed buildings reveal various wall reliefs and decorative stone sculptures.

Seeing the statue and remembering Fringe was also a stone carver, Luo realizes that Parlo City was known for its stone sculptures, overshadowed only by its reputation as the city of love.

"Sanbica, why don't you look around by yourself?" Luo suggests, feeling awkward to have Sanbica keep up with his brisk pace in the ruins.

"On my own?" Sanbica responds calmly.

"Uh…" Luo suddenly realizes it might be inappropriate to let her wander alone as most others are in pairs.

Dropping the suggestion, they move away from the statue, avoiding most of the tourists, towards another area of the ruins.

From the few memories obtained from Fringe, it's challenging to distinguish his residence amid all the wreckage.

Moreover, associated with the Dark Sonata is a scene where Fringe buries a scroll tube into a brick, then embeds it next to a fireplace.

Although Luo doesn't know exactly what's inside the scroll tube, a vague feeling suggests the Dark Sonata might be within it.

The fireplace narrows down the search area.

As time nearly runs out, Luo quickens his pace.

Suddenly, a long-lost, treasure-detecting sensation emerges, guiding Luo like a compass needle.

Following this peculiar feeling, Luo looks towards a building's ruins, badly damaged but with some remaining walls and columns, including a mostly destroyed fireplace.

"Is it here?" Luo raises an eyebrow, trusting his white smoke font

's treasure-hunting ability, feeling confident.

It seems the Dark Sonata is likely near these ruins.

"What's wrong?" Sanbica notices Luo stopping and staring, her expression puzzled.

"Nothing, it's about time we go," Luo replies, turning away as the site's security begins to clear the crowd and verify the number of visitors.

As the half-hour mark arrives, Luo and Sanbica leave with the crowd, heading back to their rented lakeside cabin.

Having confirmed the location, they just need to wait until night to act.

That night, Luo leads Sanbica through the darkness towards the Parlo City ruins.

The outer security is even tighter than during the day, though the interior status is unknown.

Regardless, Luo is determined to retrieve what Fringe embedded in the brick wall, dodging surveillance, knocking out the perimeter guards with Sanbica's Nen, silently breaking through the barbed wire with his own Nen, then restoring the wire to its original state after entering.

Having confirmed the location during the day, they head straight for the sensed house ruins.

Approaching, the sensation grows stronger, affirming Luo's belief that the item is indeed here.

Sanbica watches quietly as Luo crouches in front of the decaying wall, curious but unspoken.

"Found you."

Luo moves his hand over the brick surface, then stops at a specific spot.

Without any doubt, Luo activates his ability, extracting the hidden scroll tube, then restores the brick wall to its original state.

"There really is something…" Sanbica observes, watching the ancient scroll tube in Luo's hands.

By the faint moonlight, Luo examines the scroll tube, matching it with the appearance in Fringe's memory fragments, feeling a sense of satisfaction from relying on his white smoke font's treasure-hunting function…

-------

Table of content - Next Chapter >>>

• Your invaluable feedback and ratings mean the world to me. Please take a moment to rate this novel at Novelupdate.

• You can also check out the other Novels I'm currently translating by clicking HERE.