Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 299 (Patreon)

Chapter 299: In the Darkness

In the dimly lit, dry cave, Luo held a set of stained clothes in his hands, which had been taken off from Sanbica Norton's body. He slowly placed the clothes aside, gazing silently at Sanbica’s face, which was unlike that of ordinary people. During the time Luo had known Sanbica, he had never seen her true face. Usually, he could only see her eyes, as she always wore gloves over her hands.

Luo remembered that when they first met, Sanbica was particularly sensitive about physical contact. Throughout their interactions, Luo noticed that Sanbica’s physical constitution was considerably weak among Nen users. Today, having seen the face beneath Sanbica's mask, he understood part of the reason. "Cute," was the word that immediately sprang to Luo's mind upon seeing her appearance.

Her eyebrows were thin and slightly curved like crescent moons, her nose was straight and delicate, her lips were small and thin, and when tightly pressed together, they almost seemed to disappear—giving an illusion of vanishing lips. Luo thought Sanbica’s eyes were the most beautiful he had ever seen. Although they were closed at the moment, they added a vulnerable charm to her demeanor.

The first impression was of cuteness, followed immediately by fragility.

Sanbica’s skin was pale to the point of being almost transparent. It wasn’t the typical sickly pale but resembled the paleness of a corpse, devoid of any hint of blood, with fine blue veins visible on her skin, strikingly conspicuous. Staring closely at the blue patterns, it almost seemed possible to see the blood flowing through them.

This linked fragility and paleness extended not just to her delicate face but also to her arms, legs, and even the parts of her body covered by her close-fitting clothes, mostly the same. Luo gently touched Sanbica’s cheek, as if caressing a piece of precious porcelain, his touch soft and cold.

“This is the constitution of Sanbica…”

Luo murmured softly, retracting his hand, and then gently pushed on Sanbica’s shoulders and waist, positioning her on her side, before slightly lifting the thin white gauze short-sleeve shirt she wore. At her lower back, there was a swollen bruise, which even her outer garment had failed to conceal, and lifting the clothes now revealed it more clearly.

Seeing the injury, and thinking of the dangerous situation Sanbica might have faced, a surge of killing intent leaked from Luo. Although he only knew vaguely of Sanbica's mission, one thing was clear: the prison was supposed to be an ally, not an enemy of Sanbica. Whatever the complications, Luo wasn't interested in delving into them—as long as Sanbica was safe, that was enough. But if the opposition continued to trouble her, he would surely make them regret it.

Suppressing the killing intent rising from within, Luo picked up the bottle of medicine Bisky had given him, opened the cap, and poured a bit into his palm—a thin mint-green viscous liquid. After measuring the amount, he gently pressed his palm onto Sanbica's lower back, slowly rubbing and rotating to let the medicine seep into the wound faster.

Luo controlled his strength as much as possible, but the injury had deteriorated to such an extent that even a light touch caused pain, making Sanbica furrow her brows in evident discomfort. After applying the medicine three times and massaging the injury for ten minutes, Luo finally ceased, put away the medicine bottle, and gently laid down the lifted white gauze shirt over Sanbica.

"Phew."

After applying the medicine, Luo exhaled deeply. Unsure whether Bisky's medicine, reputed to heal bruises, would work, this was the only option to try for Sanbica at the moment.

He picked up the outer garment and looked at Sanbica’s body, which revealed its contours clearly. The clothes were already troublesome enough to take off, and now putting them back on was nothing short of a disaster.

"How about just covering her with it?"

Luo stared blankly, seriously considering the feasibility of this idea. Thinking of the difficulty of dressing Sanbica, he felt like surrendering. On a bed of layered hay, Sanbica lay on her side, wearing a short-sleeve white gauze shirt that barely covered her upper body, revealing the beginnings of her bust, and very short thin pants, exposing almost all of her thighs.

If Luo had been more experienced, he certainly would not have minded the trouble and would have insisted on dressing Sanbica properly. However, in the end, Luo decided to simply cover Sanbica with the clothes like a blanket, and that's exactly what he did.

After covering Sanbica with the outer garment, Luo lay

 down beside her. He needed a good sleep to restore his nearly depleted Nen as quickly as possible.

"With a black cat on watch outside, it’s somewhat reassuring," Luo muttered to himself, closed his eyes, and shut down his Aura Nodes, entering the state of "Zetsu," feeling the sleepiness overtake him. He thought the black cat was somewhat useful; if it hadn't forced him to swallow so many stones and sand, they wouldn’t have this hidden cave now. Letting it keep watch, he could rest with ease.

Before long, Luo fell into a deep sleep. In the forest, nearly a hundred artificial soldiers conducted a carpet search. This place was undoubtedly one of the most dangerous in Devil’s Island. Despite the danger, it posed little challenge for them, but Dove and his team were not having such an easy time.

Devil’s Island was undoubtedly a highly dangerous demonic domain, and this forest was one of the most perilous areas on the island. The forest covered a wide area, with lush plant growth making it a vast sea of green, and locating a person within was not a simple task.

Dove was determined to secure Sanbica’s abilities, no matter how much time it took or how troublesome it was. From the start, he never believed Luo could withstand his hundred artificial soldiers. Perhaps it would cost the lives of ten or twenty artificial soldiers, but for Sanbica’s unique abilities, it was worth it.

The material needed by the artificial soldiers, though demanding, could be continuously produced if one was determined enough.

As evening approached, the various forms of life in the forest gradually became apparent. Deep into the night, in the cave, Luo slowly opened his eyes. The darkness enveloped him, but he faintly felt someone’s gaze upon him.

"Sanbica?" Luo ventured to ask.

"Mmm."

A mosquito-like whisper came from directly in front of Luo in the darkness. Both uttered a sound, and though they could not see each other, they could determine each other's location based on the sound.

"Uh…" Luo moved awkwardly, distancing himself a bit from Sanbica.

Sanbica couldn't see Luo's movements, but listening to the rustling sound, she could probably imagine what Luo was doing at the moment.

"Where is this?" Sanbica asked, holding the outer garment covering her, without mentioning their earlier interaction.

Luo stopped shifting his body, and the rustling sound ceased, leaving only their breathing in the cave.

"A temporary dugout," Luo replied.

Sanbica, hearing this, looked around in the darkness, unable to find any source of light, only feeling the occasional breezes from an unknown direction.

Realizing Sanbica was turning her head in all directions, Luo explained, "I sealed the entrance."

Sanbica fell silent.

Seeing that Sanbica didn't speak, Luo was at a loss for words.

Luckily, Sanbica didn’t bring up the matter of undressing...

He thought to himself.

But just as he was thinking this, Sanbica spoke up, "Did you apply medicine to me?"

"..."

In the darkness, unable to see each other, but their sensitivity to each other's gaze had increased significantly.

Luo felt Sanbica's gaze on him, nothing abrupt, just as calm as her tone.

His eyes rested on Sanbica, still lying beside him in the dark.

Faced with this question, an image of Sanbica in her intimate apparel suddenly flashed through Luo's mind.

There was still light then, and he had seen quite clearly…

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