Morrow was momentarily at a loss for words.
If circumstances allowed, he really wanted Biscuit to get as far away from him as possible right now.
He hadn't expected her to pick up on some clues.
Being older really did come with experience.
Morrow sighed inwardly, then feigned a puzzled expression and was about to speak…
Biscuit glared at him, turning away before he could even open his mouth.
She had already guessed what Morrow was going to say.
It was bound to be that same old opening line, "Someone as cute as you…"
Words that should have delighted and intoxicated her instead made her skin crawl like poison when they came from Morrow's mouth.
Watching Biscuit walk away, Morrow exhaled slightly in relief. Then, guided by the staff, he went to pay for and collect the Poultry Scarlet Knife he had just won in the auction.
Whether or not I absorb the aura is up to me. Perfect.
Gripping the Poultry Scarlet Knife in his hand, he felt its solid, weighty heft.
More importantly, he didn't have to worry about the Tree Rings ability automatically absorbing the aura from the blade.
Though unverified, Morrow believed that a knife imbued with aura would be sharper. Since he intended to use it as a reliable weapon, he had no intention of absorbing the aura from it.
Really nice.
Morrow swung the Poultry Scarlet Knife once, reluctant to put it down.
But remembering his main task, he sheathed the blade in its specialized scabbard, made from wyvern hide.
After securing the knife, Morrow headed straight for Bidder No. 56.
Bidder No. 56 was an elderly man with graying hair, who appeared spirited and vigorous.
Beside him stood a young man around Morrow's age, his face stern, exuding an air of solemnity from head to toe.
"Hello."
Morrow approached the old man.
Just as the old man was about to speak, the young man beside him cut in first: "What do you want?"
His tone was cold, radiating an unmistakable aura of rejection.
Morrow glanced at the young man but ignored him. Instead, meeting the old man's questioning gaze, he said solemnly, "The Executioner's Blade you purchased carries the resentment of the deceased. If an ordinary person touches it, their mind and body will suffer harm."
"Oh? You're an Exorcist?"
The old man raised his eyelids slightly, surprised.
Morrow was taken aback.
Right.
Those unfamiliar with Nen often attributed the eerie phenomena caused by Post-Mortem Nen to spirits.
And Nen users with exorcism abilities were referred to as "spiritualists" or "exorcists" in their eyes.
"Yes. If you don't mind, please allow me to purify the resentment from the Executioner's Blade."
Morrow quickly affirmed his identity, afraid the old man might refuse. He added, "It's free, and it won't take much of your time."
"Hmm."
The old man hummed thoughtfully.
The young man beside him frowned, barely suppressing the urge to shoo Morrow away.
After a moment of consideration, the old man nodded at Morrow. "Then I'll trouble you for your help."
Hearing his grandfather agree, the young man's eyes widened slowly in disbelief.
How could someone who looked about his own age possibly be an Exorcist?!
A short while later.
The three moved to a guest lounge.
Soon after, at the old man's request, the auction house delivered the Executioner's Blade.
At close range, the chilling aura emanating from the blade was palpable. Just looking at it from a distance was enough to make one uneasy.
"Please."
The old man gestured for Morrow to proceed. He wasn't a Nen user, yet he could perceive resentful thoughts and similar phenomena.
Though not clearly, just hazy black mist, shifting between solid and ethereal.
So when Morrow mentioned the lingering resentful thoughts on the Executioner's Blade, he was inclined to believe him.
Under his watchful gaze, Morrow suppressed his excitement and approached the blade, placing a hand lightly on its surface.
With a single thought, the dark aura clinging to the Executioner's Blade was abruptly drawn into the tattoo on the back of his hand.
At the same time.
Morrow's mind was forcibly flooded with fragmented memories of repeated beheadings, accompanied by the victims' lamentations, despair, resentment, and fury...
Yet none of these emotions compared to the visceral experience of the executions themselves.
To Morrow, this was nothing new.
He withdrew his hand and glanced at the energy bar on the back of his hand; it had risen from 26% to about 34%.
Earlier, he had exhausted himself scouring the Bull Market for five Nen-imbued objects, only to gain a measly 6%. But now, the Post-Mortem Nen from this single Executioner's Blade, despite appearing weak, had given him an 8% boost.
As expected, Post-Mortem Nen held far greater energy.
A smile tugged at Morrow's lips before he turned to the old man and said earnestly, "There. I've purified the resentful thoughts from the Executioner's Blade for you."
Even if they chased him out as a fraud now, it would still be worth it.
But to his surprise, the old man looked astonished. "Incredible. This is the first time I've seen an Exorcist purify resentful thoughts so effortlessly."
The young man beside the old man had been fuming, ready to lash out at Morrow, but his grandfather's admiration left him dumbstruck.
What was wrong with Grandpa? Had he gone senile?
He'd seen exorcisms before, none were ever this simple, just a single touch and done.
Shock and disbelief churned inside the young man.
Morrow ignored him entirely, instead studying the old man with mild surprise. "You can see resentful thoughts?"
Only someone who could perceive them would know he had truly purified them just now.
But this old man was clearly an ordinary person...
"I can see a little," the old man admitted with a slow nod, his gaze now filled with respect. "Might I have your contact information, sir?"
"Uh."
Ten minutes later.
The old man and the young man left with the Executioner's Blade.
Alone in the room, Morrow couldn't suppress his grin.
What an unexpected windfall.
Not only had he gained a massive influx of Tree Rings energy for free, but the old man had insisted on paying him 100 million as compensation.
More importantly, the old man was the curator of a private museum and had promised to seek him out for future exorcisms.
This was practically handing him a stable channel for collecting Tree Rings energy.
Glancing down at the 34% energy bar on his hand, Morrow mused that after dealing with the Death Threshold, he might take up this line of work, easy money and energy charging in one.
Creak!
The door to the guest lounge swung open.
Biscuit stepped inside, eyeing Morrow with undisguised curiosity.
Seeing her, Morrow rolled his eyes—a rare display of exasperation.
This woman...
Her earlier dramatic exit had just been a smokescreen.
All so she could secretly observe what he was up to.
And with her skill level, if she wanted to hide, he'd have a hard time detecting her.
Unless, of course, she ever directed Killing Intent his way. Biscuit looked at him in astonishment. "So you can perform Nen exorcism too, and even Post-Mortem Nen at that... Tsk, you seem pretty relaxed right now."
"Not relaxed at all. During the exorcism, it felt like being beheaded ten thousand times."
Morrow sighed softly.
Hearing this, Biscuit immediately gasped, then looked at Morrow as if he were some legendary rare creature.
Nen users with exorcism abilities were already extremely rare, and Exorcists capable of purifying Post-Mortem Will were even fewer.
Had she not seen it with her own eyes, Biscuit wouldn't have believed that a Nen user as young as Morrow could possess the ability to cleanse Post-Mortem Nen.
Limitless potential!
Thinking this, Biscuit took out her phone and said with a grin, "The reason I came to find you is that I suddenly realized we hadn't exchanged contact information. Am I disturbing you?"
"…"
Morrow glanced at the door that had been casually pushed open earlier and sighed softly.