Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 399 (Patreon)

Chapter 399: The Royal City

Salin's justifiable reason left the bow-wielding man speechless.

"Who brought this pot of insects?"

Stuffing the last spider leg into her mouth, Salin crossed her arms and glanced over the group led by Luo, pausing for a moment on Luo, Buhara, William, and Geru.

She was a Nen user, accustomed to focusing her gaze to observe newcomers, quickly recognizing that Luo and his group were Nen users.

Luo quietly observed Salin. Her long hair was tied into a neat ponytail, her skin was fair, her face showed many noticeable wrinkles left by the years, her brown eyes were piercing, her lips were thin, and her appearance bore some resemblance to Sago.

If one disregarded her identity as a Nen user and judged solely by her appearance, she seemed to be between thirty-five and forty years old. However, determining the exact age of a Nen user was not easy.

His gaze moved from Salin's face to the bronze pendant hanging on her chest.

Noticing Luo's undisguised scrutiny, Salin suddenly looked at Luo, raised an eyebrow, and threw two questions at him: "Do you know me? Did you bring this pot of insects?"

The bow-wielding man instructed the children to play elsewhere, glaring coldly at Luo as he interjected, "This man just said he knows you."

Salin glanced at the bow-wielding man, then carefully scrutinized Luo, asking, "What is your relationship with Uncle Bek?"

She asked this because the insect pot she had just eaten was a unique flavor from Uncle Bek's house.

Uncle Bek?

Luo was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly remembered the contents of the diary. It seemed Salin used to love eating Uncle Bek's insect pot, so it appeared this Salin was likely Sago's sister.

Luo still didn't answer and instead asked, "Do you know Sago?"

"No." Seeing Luo's persistent silence, Salin's smile became a bit dangerous.

Luo was puzzled and tested her by saying, "July 18th, sunny, I am going to the Forbidden Zone of the Kendia Desert!"

This was the content on the first page of Salin's diary.

Upon hearing Luo's words, Salin's expression changed, and she quickly stepped forward, placing a foot on the table, leaning forward with her elbow on her knee, resting her face on her hand, and smiling brightly at Luo, she asked seriously, "Could you be my nephew?"

With these words, Luo immediately confirmed Salin's identity and shook his head, "No, but I am nominally Linne's disciple."

This was the second test.

"Teacher Linne..." Joy flashed in Salin's eyes, which quickly subsided, and she said, "The Sago you mentioned, is he my elder brother?"

"I think so, but I'm very puzzled why you had no reaction when I mentioned him." Luo said, now one hundred percent sure that the woman in front of him was Sago's sister, still alive and well.

Salin retracted her foot, stood up straight, and said helplessly, "His name is Sabo, not Sago."

Luo was momentarily stunned. Right, apart from the first time he met and called him Sago, Sabo had never revealed his real name again. Luo had thought Sabo's name was Sago.

"Are you the person in charge here?" At this moment, the restless William suddenly asked.

Salin looked at William and nodded, "You could say that. Everyone here is under my protection."

The bow-wielding man beside her smiled bitterly; what she said was not wrong.

"Then how many women are here?" William's hands, hidden under the stone table, clenched tightly.

Salin was puzzled as to why William was asking such a question but still answered, "Four."

"Four?" William looked at the four women in the distance weaving clothes.

"Boss, you didn't count yourself." The bow-wielding man reminded softly.

Salin suddenly realized and said, "Including me, that makes five."

"Is that so..." After getting the accurate answer, William lowered his head slowly, and the disappointment on his face was evident. After a moment, he suddenly raised his head and continued to ask, "Has a woman named Layla ever been here?"

Upon hearing this, Salin immediately understood that William was here to find someone. She paused and regretted, "As far as I know, there has never been such a person."

William once again lowered his head slowly, and the rising hope was instantly dashed.

Too many people had died on the mountain path, and only a few made it through the grassland. The Layla William mentioned was likely one of those white bones.

Salin stepped forward a few paces, took Luo's hand, and said, "I have many questions for you. Come with me to a quiet place." She then instructed the bow-wielding man, "Take good care of them. Since they are here, they are now one of us."

"Understood." The bow-wielding man responded, then stared at Salin holding Luo's hand with a puzzled look. Honestly, he thought Luo's appearance was a bit rough, yet the boss didn't seem to mind.

Luo let Salin lead him away, signaling Buhara to stay behind with a glance, and then followed Salin out of the place.

Ali, who had been silent since arriving, watched Luo and Salin leave before throwing a crucial question at the bow-wielding man, "Why can't we leave?"

This question was on everyone's mind.

The bow-wielding man looked at Ali and replied, "There are many monsters hidden under the grassland outside. They don't care if people come in, but if anyone tries to leave, they swarm and tear the person to pieces in an instant."

He paused for a moment, then added solemnly, "Perhaps you can't understand the terror of those monsters, so let me put it this way. Do you know about sand tides?"

The members of the Eagle Group exchanged glances and nodded.

Sand tides, as the name suggests, are large waves of sand, like tsunamis, more dangerous than sandstorms and quicksand.

The bow-wielding man's eyes drooped slightly as he said, "Those monsters swarming together are like a sand tide. No matter how many people face them, they are gone in an instant."

Hearing this, Ali and his group fell into a deathly silence.

So, this was the fundamental reason they couldn't leave?

Meanwhile, after leading Luo out of the settlement, Salin let go of his hand and said, "Keep up."

As soon as she finished speaking, Salin's Nen power burst forth, and she suddenly transformed into a swift shadow, heading far away.

Seeing this, Luo gathered his energy in his legs and swiftly followed Salin in the blink of an eye.

"Not bad, after all, you were taught by Teacher Linne." Salin glanced sideways at Luo, who was running alongside her.

Luo smiled but didn't explain his relationship with Linne or that his current skills had little to do with Linne.

"How old are you?" Salin suddenly asked. She highly valued her identity as Linne's disciple, so when Luo mentioned Linne's name, she not only placed great trust in him but also warmly accepted Luo as a fellow disciple.

Luo hesitated for a moment, pointed to his face, and said, "I'm wearing a human skin mask. My actual age should be sixteen."

"A mask?" Salin looked at Luo in surprise. If Luo hadn't mentioned it, she wouldn't have noticed.

"Yes." Luo adjusted his throat, restoring his original voice.

"Anything else?" Salin blinked, looking eager.

Seeing Salin's behavior, Luo couldn't help but laugh. His previous understanding of Salin came from the diary, but from her playful entrance to her subsequent actions, she gave him the impression of still being very young.

Thinking of this, Luo replied, "No more."

Salin looked disappointed, "I see."

After running for five minutes, they stopped at a place.

Standing before them was a magnificent palace complex.

"What is this place?" Luo couldn't help but ask.

"This is the Royal City of the Millennial Empire, but I prefer to call it the main city. There are many rare treasures inside, including a large treasury~" Salin blinked at Luo and then leaped over the city wall, heading straight for the palace roof.

Suppressing his excitement, Luo followed Salin to the top of the palace, about seven or eight stories high.

"How is my elder brother?" Salin asked, looking at the rolling black clouds in the sky as Luo arrived beside her.

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