The stone box resembled a miniature version of this sacrificial hall, square with upturned corners and an inverted crescent moon placed horizontally on top.
Earlier, Law and Ging had been busy investigating the area and had almost forgotten about Kuro. They also didn't know where he found the stone box, but at this time, he rushed into the sacrificial hall excitedly.
Ging's eyes filled with wariness. The level of Post-Mortem Nen emanating from the box was the strongest he had ever encountered. (T/N: It's written as resentment, but I think it's better to translate it as Post-Mortem Nen like my other novel.)
Post-Mortem Nen wasn't something left behind only by Nen Users after death. Under certain conditions, ordinary people could also leave behind Post-Mortem Nen after they died.
There were often rumors about haunted places or charlatans performing exorcisms, but not all of them were entirely false.
The truth always lay somewhere between reality and fiction. When the numbers were large enough, out of a hundred cases, there might be one that was real. But most people preferred to believe the more common version of the truth.
Ordinary people who reached the pinnacle in a certain field could also unconsciously leave behind traces of Nen. And after death, if conditions allowed for Post-Mortem Nen to remain, the emotional turmoil before death could amplify that Nen, making it even stronger.
Compared to the Nen of the living, the Post-Mortem Nen was a far more troublesome existence. It had one defining characteristic, which is without external interference, it would never dissipate.
When Sanbica's master was young, he once explored an ancient tomb that likely belonged to a general from antiquity.
When they entered, the Post-Mortem Nen within manipulated the skeletal remains of those buried alive with the general, attacking them.
That Post-Mortem Nen was probably left behind by the general, but it didn't necessarily mean the general was a Nen User and he could have just been an ordinary person with an extremely strong will to dominate.
However, there was still a difference between the Post-Mortem Nen left behind by ordinary people and Nen Users. The former would never be as strong as the latter.
Ging has been to many ruins, some discovered but not fully excavated, some already dug up and turned into tourist attractions, and some still sealed away, untouched by modern eyes. In many of these places, he had encountered Post-Mortem Nen.
Some of those Post-Mortem Nen were very aggressive, while others were weak, incapable of even harming ordinary people. But the intensity of the Post-Mortem Nen emanating from this stone box surpassed anything Ging had ever seen before.
"Where did you find it?"
Compared to Ging's high alertness, Law was not only calm, but also a little excited.
If the Post-Mortem Nen is incredibly strong, even a Nen User would not want to come into contact with it rashly. Even a Nen Exorcist would have to think carefully about whether they can completely remove the Post-Mortem Nen.
It was worth noting that when Nen Exorcists exorcised the Post-Mortem Nen, they also operated under the principles of Vows and Limitations. The way they exorcised Nen was essentially first drastically weakening the Nen attached to the host, then transferring it to themselves.
Therefore, whether or not the Post-Mortem Nen transferred to the body can be removed in the end is the deciding factor in whether a Nen Exorcist would take action!
Thanks to the assistance of the White Smoke Font, Law didn't have to worry about most of the concerns Nen Exorcists faced. Moreover, in his eyes, this stone box, which would deter most Exorcists, was nothing less than a nourishing feast.
"I found it on a corpse. The clothes it was wearing were different from the others." Kuro casually tossed the stone box containing strong Post-Mortem Nen to Law.
In Ging's eyes, the careless action made it seem like the Nen Beast was attempting to murder his owner. His eyelids twitched.
The next second, he saw Law catch the stone box without issue, and the surging Post-Mortem Nen on the stone box made no move to attack him.
As soon as Law caught the stone box, the White Smoke Font immediately presented him with the option to absorb it.
His six Nen Categories are already close from 60% and exceed the safe value. The purity of the Post-Mortem Nen in this stone box is astonishingly high, so even if useful memory fragments may be obtained after absorption, Law didn't dare to absorb it rashly.
If any category exceeded 60%, his body would enter a forced Zetsu state, and in their current environment, that would be no different from suicide.
Choosing not to absorb it, Law turned the stone box over in his hands. The appearance of the box was very similar to the sacrificial hall, but there were no visible seams. It looked like a single, solid piece.
Kuro floated over and asked for credit, "Since I found this for you, how are you going to reward me?"
"A fish?"
Law said casually without even raising his head.
Kuro's face was already very dark, and now, it looked like he could disappear into the shadows of the night. He said angrily, "I have never seen someone so shameless. Weren't all those fish caught by me?"
Law lazily raised his head and said, "Then what do you want as a reward?"
"Let me kill two hundred people?" Kuro looked at Law expectantly. Worried that Law would not agree, he changed his words and said, "How about a hundred? Just those vicious criminals in prison."
Killing a pig could also blacken the pages, but the best effect is achieved when the target is a human.
"...I'll stick with giving you a fish."
Law turned away, leaving the black cat with only the back of his head. He then glanced at Ging, who looked surprised.
Ging was surprised by the content of the conversation between Law and Kuro, and he was even more surprised that the Post-Mortem Nen on the stone box could coexist peacefully with Law.
Ging walked towards Law and was about to ask a question when he saw that the black Post-Mortem Nen on the stone box seemed to be stimulated by something.
It surged like a tsunami, showing strong aggression towards Ging, who was walking towards him.
Ging stopped in his tracks, his doubts growing even more intense.
'Judging by the behavior of the Post-Mortem Nen, it was clearly the aggressive type, but it did not react to Law at all.'
"It seems like you won't be able to touch it unless we remove the Post-Mortem Nen from the box first."
Law said this, then casually tossed the stone box to Kuro, asking him to keep it for him first.
"But it doesn't react to you at all." Ging's eyes followed the stone box and curiosity appeared on his face.
"Because I'm a Nen Exorcist."
Law smoothly deployed his bullshitting skills. There was no way he'd reveal the existence of the White Smoke Font. Whenever others noticed his peculiarities, he never avoided the topic. Instead, he'd sidestep the key point and give a plausible answer that let them fill in the blanks themselves.
Unfortunately, Ging is obviously wasn't the type to just 'fill in the blanks'. Making random guesses without basis often led people further from the truth.
He also knew that Law had the Nen Exorcism Ability, but being able to exorcise Nen didn't necessarily mean one could peacefully coexist with Post-Mortem Nen.
Even then, he did not get to the bottom of it, but asked, "Can you remove it right now?"
Compared to Law's hidden secrets, this was what truly mattered to him.
"I can, but after exorcising it, I'd be forced into a state of Zetsu for a while. Given our current situation, that's not an option." Law explained.
The moment Ging heard this, his expression immediately turned serious. He looked at Law and said solemnly, "You could've just said you couldn't do it. There was no need to reveal such crucial information. If I wanted to harm you, I could easily use this against you."
"For example, I could hire someone to pose as a rich client, offering a reward you couldn't refuse to perform an exorcism, and then, once you're in Zetsu, I could strike."
His tone was solemn, which was a careful reminder to Law to never carelessly disclose such vital weaknesses.
From Ging's perspective, this kind of warning wasn't strange, but he didn't fully understand Law's nature and how his actions differed depending on the person and situation.
"You wouldn't do that." Law smiled slightly and said with great confidence, "After all, it's rare for you to find someone who shares the same ideals as you. Why would you turn against me? Besides… because you're Ging Freecss."
Hearing Law say this, Ging scratched his head and said with disdain: "I'm not gay."
Law was speechless, 'Damn, you even know the word 'gay'? You sure surf the Internet a lot!'