The Post-Mortem Nen on the stone box is as conspicuous as a lightbulb to any Nen User. Even without focusing their Aura into their eyes, they could still sense its presence.
Pariston genuinely complimented the stone box in Law's hand, calling it an urn, as if he didn't see the Post-Mortem Nen brewing on it.
Law and Ging were a little far apart, which should have seemed odd, but Pariston did not have any obvious reaction to this, as if he was treating the abnormality as perfectly normal.
In the original work, Pariston is definitely one of the people that Ging least wanted to deal with.
Before Ging could respond to Pariston's 'praise', Law cut in with a smile, "It's nice, right? Need one for yourself? I can give you the craftsman's number and address."
Most people would have declined, but Pariston wasn't most people. He maintained a warm smile and said, "I don't need it for now, but it may be useful in the future."
As he said that, he took out his phone from his pocket and said earnestly, "Might as well save it now."
Law was surprised, but he still made up a number at random. On the other hand, Pariston meticulously recorded it and then expressed his gratitude.
Seeing Pariston finish writing down the number, Law suddenly handed the 'urn' to Pariston. The Post-Mortem Nen in it was like boiling water, wanting to pounce on Pariston.
"Do you want to feel the material?" Law said with a smile.
The inky black Post-Mortem Nen seemed to have a specific attack distance. It pounced at Pariston, but stopped at a distance of about a palm and could not advance further.
The black Post-Mortem Nen writhed violently right in front of Pariston's nose, yet his reaction was unnervingly calm, his eyelids drooped slightly and narrowed slightly.
He waved his hands in refusal, "No, no, I just placed a bet on the Highlander No. 6. That's my monthly salary. It's not good to touch these at the moment."
No. 6 Highlander is one of the contestants in the racecourse. What Pariston meant was that touching things like urns is unlucky and may affect his luck.
Of course, this was absolutely a lie.
'Keep pretending, you bastard.'
Law complained in his heart, but showed a look of regret on his face, "What a pity. This material feels very comfortable."
As he spoke, he deliberately glanced in the direction of the elevator at the other end and continued, "I have something else to do. But if you ever want to try it out, just let me know."
"Yeah." Pariston took a small step back and looked at the two of them with the same unchanging smile.
Law nodded at him and went to the elevator on the right.
Every time he comes to the Hunter Association, he had to take the elevator from the office floor, which is quite troublesome.
Ging looked at the two of them with interest, then followed Law silently.
The two of them walked quite fast and soon disappeared around the corner.
The moment they were gone, Pariston's smiling eyes instantly lost all emotions and became as dead silent as a stagnant pool.
'Such a strong Post-Mortem Nen cannot be formed by ordinary limitations. The carving technique of the stone box is not ordinary and crude. It is currently impossible to tell which era the style belongs to.'
Calling it an urn was just Pariston's black humor. He could see the Post-Mortem Nen, and at first glance, he saw the gap that could be maintained between Law and Ging, so he judged the approximate attack distance of the black Post-Mortem Nen. This was also the reason why he'd stayed so composed.
Judging from the performance of the black Post-Mortem Nen, Pariston believed it is a type that actively attacks, but he didn't know why it did not actively attack Law, and let Law hold it safely.
And then there was Ging sticking close to Law...
'Is it serious work? Or they are just playing around?'
Pariston stood there, pondering seriously. After a while, he raised his phone, deleted the fake number he had just written down, and said to himself, "I should check on my little Highlander. That's my monthly salary."
As he said that, he walked towards the office area.
Law thought that what Pariston said just now was an excuse, but it actually wasn't. If he'd known, he'd have found it even more infuriating.
That was Pariston… He managed to turn truths into lies, and lies into truths.
…
In the elevator, Ging stood in the corner. The black Post-Mortem Nen on the stone box was clamoring wildly, but was suppressed by Law, so that it could not touch Ging, but it still forced him into the corner.
"That guy is a bit difficult to deal with. Don't have too much interaction with him." Ging reminded.
'A bit difficult? Well, you will probably know it in the future.'
Law thought to himself with normal expression, and said, "It doesn't matter, I'm not a member of the association. After this matter is over, I won't be back much."
"There are still two vacancies in the Zodiacs." Ging put his hands in his pockets, leaned against the elevator wall, and said, "Netero probably wants you to fill one of the vacancies."
"I won't do such a troublesome thing." Law looked at the floor number displayed on the elevator.
Ging scratched his head. He had the same attitude at first, but was finally convinced to take the position after Netero made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
The elevator continued upward and soon arrived at its destination. Once the door opened, Law and Ging walked out quickly and came to the hallway.
The corridor was lined with red carpet, and there are potted plants on both sides to add a touch of greenery.
As Law walked past with the stone box in hand, the lush green plants in the pots withered and died in an instant.
Ging wasn't surprised by this. Their journey back from Demon Island to the Hunter Association had taken at least half a month, with multiple transfers between vehicles and airships.
The entire time, Law had been carefully suppressing the black Post-Mortem Nen to prevent it from affecting outsiders.
Plants like these potted greens were far more fragile than humans, and just the slightest brush with the Post-Mortem Nen was enough to kill them.
After quickly returning to his room, Law tossed the stone box onto the table, asked Ging to wait there, then left the room, came to Linne's room and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
When Linne's old voice was heard from the room, Law opened the door and walked in.
The moment there was a knock on the door, Linne knew that the person standing outside was Law. At this moment, she was sitting upright on the bed, looking at Law calmly, without saying a word.
Law closed the door, walked up to Linne, and stated his purpose, "There is something I want to make clear to you."
"Speak."
"I brought back a stone box from the underground ruins of Demon Island. It has a strong Post-Mortem Nen attached to it. In order to open the stone box, I must first exorcise the Post-Mortem Nen on it, but the price may be that I cannot use my Nen Ability for some time."
At this point, Law paused and said, "I think it is necessary to explain this to you."
He will have to follow Linne for at least the next five years. So if he cannot use Nen Ability, he doesn't know if it will affect Linne's teaching.
Linne did not respond directly, but asked: "The Battle Olympia in the Heavens Arena is coming soon, are you not going to participate?"
"I won't participate anymore. I've already delayed you long enough." Law explained.
He had kept Linne waiting far too much, and his desire to fight had decreased, so his interest in participating in the Battle Olympia had dropped to freezing point.
Linne fell silent for a moment, then she got out of bed and walked towards the door, saying as she walked: "Then you can exorcise it."