Luo Ning's eyes changed in an instant, shifting from ordinary black to a crimson red embedded with tomoe.
They were a pair of eyes completely different from the Scarlet Eyes!
Kurapika looked at Luo Ning in astonishment, having no idea why such a transformation had occurred.
"My eyes changed the moment I desired the power of revenge," Luo Ning said slowly.
"This... how is this possible! Then..." Kurapika was somewhat incoherent.
"It is nothing. Although they no longer look like the Scarlet Eyes, every ounce of power contained within them comes from the Scarlet Eyes!" There was little emotion in Luo Ning's eyes, as if he were describing someone else's affairs. "The first tomoe belongs to me, and the second tomoe belongs to my father."
Though Luo Ning spoke softly, his words sounded like a clap of thunder in Kurapika's ears.
"You absorbed Uncle's eyes?" Tears shimmered in Kurapika's eyes.
He could hardly imagine what kind of resolve Brother Luo Ning must have carried to make such a choice!
"Yes, I took my father's gouged-out eyes back from Uvogin." Luo Ning looked down at his hands. "I wanted the power of revenge—the power to kill Uvogin and everyone in the Phantom Troupe. Thus, my father's eyes responded to me; they merged into my own so warmly, becoming my strength and a part of me!"
This was the explanation Luo Ning had prepared long ago.
Furthermore, the actual situation was similar; every pair of Scarlet Eyes provided him with a portion of power. Whether it was for the karma tied to obtaining this power or for his own sake, taking down the Phantom Troupe was something Luo Ning was destined to do. Therefore, speaking this way presented no issues in his mind.
Kurapika felt a great sense of shock in his heart.
After a long silence, he finally spoke slowly, "So, the eyes of our clansmen will all become your strength?"
"Yes. After my father, I absorbed another pair of eyes, which gave me the capital to fight Uvogin in the arena," Luo Ning admitted. Then, with a hint of caution and apology, he added, "Kurapika, do you blame me?"
"How could I?" Kurapika shook his head quickly. "This is the will of our people; I only feel happy! Brother Luo Ning has received the recognition of our kin, and they are willing to give their power to you. I believe this is both their trust in you and their hope that you can live on well with this strength!"
By the time he finished, Kurapika was already streaming with tears.
As Luo Ning stood up and handed Kurapika a tissue, he patted him on the shoulder. "Rest assured, I will live well and make those slaughterers pay the price they deserve!"
The image of his clansmen tied up in the square and tortured to death was the clearest memory Luo Ning had received from his predecessor. Even in his midnight dreams, he had revisited that despairing, hellish scene several times as if returning to the actual site. The elderly, the children, the women—everyone—none could escape the fate of being tortured to death at the hands of those demons.
And the greatest demon of all who tortured everyone was that short, devil-like beast of the Troupe who took pleasure in the suffering of others: Feitan!
"We will reclaim all the eyes of our people and let them complete their revenge personally through my eyes!" Luo Ning swore an oath.
Kurapika stood firmly by Luo Ning's side. Although he felt that Brother Luo Ning, who inherited the will of the entire clan, should not have only revenge in his eyes, the words died in his throat when he thought of Luo Ning's experiences.
Besides, did he really want to persuade him otherwise?
Kurapika asked himself, and the answer was that he also wanted revenge—to eradicate all those executioners!
So, let it be this way for now! Let everything start anew after the revenge is complete!
"By the way, why are we here?" Kurapika asked.
"To find someone. Her ability should be able to help us, and she has a particular interest in collecting human parts. Perhaps we can get some news about the Scarlet Eyes from her," Luo Ning explained.
Kurapika did not have much of a reaction. This surprised Luo Ning slightly.
"The Scarlet Eyes are rated as one of the seven most beautiful sights in the world. The person who made that evaluation is the one who truly deserves to die. Many collectors nowadays are just following a trend. At least for now, it is fundamentally impossible to stop people from coveting the Scarlet Eyes," Kurapika said with a touch of helplessness.
But his perspective was very rational. Luo Ning had somewhat underestimated Kurapika's maturity. There was no helping it; the current Kurapika was much younger than the one he had seen in the manga, making it easy to forget he was actually not even fourteen yet.
"However, for those who have ulterior motives regarding the Scarlet Eyes, I will not be soft-hearted!" Kurapika said fiercely.
Luo Ning nodded; such spirit was good.
"So, when do we start training in Nen?" Kurapika's eyes were full of anticipation.
"No rush. For you, it is best if you can awaken Nen naturally. That way, you can build a more solid foundation and go further on the path of cultivation." Luo Ning understood the principle that haste makes waste.
In Kurapika's current state, without activating his Scarlet Eyes, he would start to struggle after reaching the 150th floor of the Heavens Arena. To open his nodes, in Luo Ning's view, he needed the ability to charge up to at least the 190th floor.
So Kurapika still needed to train. Since Luo Ning needed to cultivate as well, they would start with weight training!
...
Neon Nostrade had quietly slipped away from home again in the morning.
She was very fond of "still" and "breathless" human organs. It seemed that after being removed from a living body and made into a specimen, they gained a new life and a new meaning. It was just that places in Mauldin City where so many human organs were displayed were truly rare.
As for corpses soaked in formalin, Neon was not interested in those, even if there were organs inside.
The Natural History Museum of Mauldin City was the place Neon visited most often. There were many animal specimens there, as well as animal organ specimens kept in jars. However, Neon knew that those were not actually from animals, but from humans.
She didn't know who had killed those people and then stuffed the organs into the museum. Many people visited every day, but even now, Neon had not found anyone else who realized those disguised organs were actually human.
Today was the same as usual; Neon stood before the display case containing a heart.
Perhaps it was because the other party had disguised this heart that it seemed to possess a kind of magic, drawing Neon in. She really wanted to take this human heart, which was labeled as a monkey heart, home with her.
Unfortunately, the money her father gave her was not nearly enough to buy it. On the other hand, some like-minded people she had met online grew curious after hearing about the situation here, constantly asking her about the heart.
Neon felt a bit of regret, fearing that one day she would no longer be able to see this beautiful heart in the museum!
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