From Morrow, Tessa saw something that transcended his age.
He was clearly lying, yet he did so with an effortless ease.
Moreover, the boy didn't seem to care whether his lies were believed, adopting an indifferent "take it or leave it" attitude.
Compared to her own disciple…
What a stark contrast.
Tessa sighed inwardly.
She had already noticed a certain degree of trust Sanbica placed in Morrow.
If she allowed Sanbica to continue spending time with Morrow like this, she feared that one day, her disciple would be sold out by him and still be foolishly counting the money.
The likelihood was far too high!
Despite her concerns, Tessa remained curious about how Morrow had managed to remove the Post-Mortem Nen.
But she didn't expect to get an answer from him.
If it had been her twenty years ago, she wouldn't have been naive enough to answer whatever others asked… Hmm.
Tessa admitted that in her younger, more impulsive days, she had indeed suffered a painful lesson in this regard.
The human heart was the most fragile thing under scrutiny. You pour your sincerity into it without expecting anything in return, only to wake up one day and peek inside, only to find a merciless pump draining it all away.
No, I have to go there immediately.
Though she kept giving instructions to Sanbica over the phone, Tessa couldn't sit still.
She rose from the edge of the bed in the makeshift tent, not even bothering to pack her belongings, and prepared to leave the excavation site at once.
But the moment she stood up, the tent flap was pushed aside.
A man with spiky short hair and an unkempt beard barged in.
"Tessa, quick, quick, this is a huge discovery!"
The man gestured excitedly, his brown eyes alight with enthusiasm.
Tessa ended the call, first glancing at the still-swaying tent flap before fixing a cold stare on the man, who was as giddy as a child. She enunciated each word slowly, "Ging Freecss, I'm warning you again, before entering someone else's tent..."
"This really is a site from the Shate era!"
The man named Ging Freecss seemed oblivious to Tessa's expression as he continued excitedly, "If we can just open the stone door at the very end, we'll uncover everything! Tessa, the Nen on the door, please..."
Thud!
A can struck Ging squarely on the forehead, cutting him off mid-sentence.
Clang.
The metal can hit the ground with a light sound.
A half-eaten piece of instant meat inside tumbled out, now covered in sand.
Tessa slowly lowered the hand that had thrown the can and said calmly, "Now, will you listen..."
"Tessa, what was that for?"
Rubbing his head, Ging crouched down, picked up the piece of meat, dusted off the sand, and popped it into his mouth. Mumbling through his chewing, he said, "Don't waste food."
...
Tessa closed her eyes in despair.
—--
"I'm leaving."
Late at night, Morrow arrived at the dilapidated mud-brick house to bid farewell to Sanbica.
Initially, he had followed her, only to find her inside the house, mixing medicine for patients.
If Hisoka hadn't suddenly appeared, the process of getting to know and assist Sanbica might have been free of misunderstandings.
But it was precisely Hisoka's appearance that made Morrow abandon his plans to dig for more information and instead launch a direct assault on the Virus Research Lab. Looking at the results, it did save quite a bit of trouble.
"So sudden?"
Faced with Morrow's abrupt farewell, Sanbica blurted out.
"Yeah," Morrow responded with a smile. "The matter's settled. Staying would just be a waste of time."
"But there's no need to leave at this hour... Alright."
Sanbica thought Morrow could wait until the next morning to leave and instinctively wanted to persuade him to stay. However, she quickly reconsidered, fearing it might put Morrow in an awkward position.
Morrow observed Sanbica.
This Virus Hunter before him possessed a kind of unguarded purity, and beneath that purity lay a selfless and compassionate heart.
Even with most of her face concealed, her eyes always easily betrayed her inner thoughts.
Before meeting Sanbica, Morrow had somewhat doubted the existence of such people in the world.
But the world was vast. The more one traveled, the more one realized that previously held beliefs might not always hold true.
Morrow marveled at the rare and precious qualities Sanbica embodied.
So, if there was ever another chance to acquire antiques or similar items from certain shady dealers in the future, he would definitely haggle ruthlessly!
"Sanbica, this isn't a place to linger," Morrow suddenly reminded her.
Sanbica met his gaze and nodded. "I know. My master mentioned it too."
"Good. I'm off then."
After the reminder, Morrow turned decisively.
Sanbica watched his retreating figure and softly said, "Mm, goodbye."
"Oh, one more thing."
Morrow abruptly halted but didn't turn back, facing the evening breeze as he asked, "Am I a pervert?"
Sanbica froze for a moment, recalling their recent interactions, a hint of shyness flashing in her eyes.
"No."
"What about Hisoka?"
"Ah..."
Sanbica found herself in a dilemma, reluctant to speak ill of others but equally unwilling to lie.
"Yes."
In the end, she chose honesty.
"Exactly."
Morrow smiled broadly and strode away.
He walked all the way to the village entrance, putting several lengths between himself and the settlement before stopping.
With pointed meaning, he remarked, "You heard that, didn't you? So stop giving me those looks as if we're the same kind, Hisoka."
"Heh."
From the slanting shadows, Hisoka emerged with a light chuckle, entirely unbothered by Sanbica's earlier "discrimination."
Morrow turned his gaze to Hisoka. "Six months."
...
Hisoka's smile faded slightly as he waited for Morrow to continue.
Morrow spoke calmly, "Six months from now, I'll be waiting for you at Heavens Arena. Until then, don't let me see you again."
"Hmm."
Hisoka lowered his eyes, idly shuffling a few playing cards between his fingers as if pondering.
Morrow wasn't in a hurry, patiently awaiting Hisoka's response.
Six months...
Within that timeframe, he needed to definitively deal with Feitan to eliminate the "X" Sword of Execution, after which he could handle Hisoka's persistent provocations.
However, his current Nen ability was essentially tailored specifically for Feitan.
While it would likely be highly effective against Feitan, its efficacy against Hisoka was uncertain.
Still, that was a concern for half a year later.
Ultimately, Morrow remained confident.
Under the night sky, across the open plains, the two stood in silence for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Fine."
Finally, Hisoka reluctantly agreed.
Although I couldn't use the "appeasement" approach anymore, being able to cut the cold war period by half a year in one go wasn't entirely unacceptable.