Hunter: I'm Really Not a Nen Exorcist - Chapter 18

Cheadle coldly glared at Hawk, her eyes almost seeming to cut through him.

Her response wasn’t just due to Hawk poking at her weak spots, but also his light-hearted jest about her Zodiac Title from the Hunter Association.

Such disrespect was something she would not tolerate.

Seeing Cheadle’s attention finally on him, Hawk sighed in relief.

Compared to bleeding out, a few stern glances from Cheadle were nothing.

“Well…”

Hawk tried to manage a smile at Cheadle, intending to emphasize the urgency of stopping his bleeding.

But before he could finish, Cheadle’s icy voice interrupted, “Move your hand. I’ll stop the bleeding first.”

“Okay!”

Upon hearing this, Hawk swiftly moved his hand, revealing the ghastly, bleeding wound on his abdomen.

Cheadle crouched down, promptly removing her white glove, and lightly placed her palm over Hawk’s wound.

“Activate.”

Her delicate, fair hand emitted a soft, misty green Nen glow, visibly wrapping around Hawk’s wound.

Under the influence of this Nen, the bleeding from Hawk’s injury was noticeably restrained, and after a while, it ceased altogether.

This was the characteristic of the Enhancement category. Using Nen as a medium to intrude into the target’s body and temporarily enhance the target’s clotting function.

Cheadle used this method to quickly stop Hawk’s bleeding.

Of course, if one could enhance the clotting function, they could also enhance the self-healing function.

Had it been aimed at self-healing, Hawk’s wound would not only have stopped bleeding but would have healed faster.

Cheadle didn’t opt for that because she wasn’t an Enhancer.

Developing an ability to enhance others’ clotting function, while not being of that category, demanded time and energy which she deemed manageable.

But to enhance another’s self-healing capability, even if she wished to, it was beyond her power.

Not to mention whether her memory capacity and innate talents could support such an endeavor, the biggest risk was that –

The ability crafted after exhaustive effort in a non-native category might not produce the desired results.

In simple terms, the returns might not justify the investments.

“I feel like I’m coming back to life…”

After the bleeding stopped, Hawk felt significantly better.

Cheadle didn’t reply but instead took out a wound ointment from her pouch and vigorously applied it to Hawk’s wound.

“Hissss…”

Hawk winced at the stinging sensation.

This was clearly retaliation!

He wanted to tell Cheadle to be gentler, but he held back.

Hawk knew that such a remark would likely result in Cheadle applying even more pressure.

After a short moment, the emergency treatment was completed.

Cheadle walked to the creek to wash the blood from her hands.

Hawk, feeling a bit recovered, lifted his eyes to gaze upon Cheadle’s silhouette.

“Cheadle, even though you’ve chosen the path of a Disease Hunter, it’s wasteful to divert your talents to other Nen categories. If I’m not mistaken, you’ve developed abilities outside your native Nen category, and you’ve more than one now, right?”

Hearing Hawk’s words, Cheadle suddenly stopped washing her hands in the creek. She turned around, giving Hawk a piercing look.

“What right do you, who wastes his Nen talents on tomb raiding, have to lecture me?”

“……”

Hawk opened his mouth, eventually bowing his head in silence. In the darkness, a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes.

The sudden silence made the atmosphere inside the underpass even more pronounced, the sound of Cheadle’s hands washing in the water echoing louder.

Finally cleaning the last traces of blood, Cheadle slowly stood up, her face impassive. “Who hurt you?”

“Who else could it be?”

Hawk’s head shot up, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.

Seeing his reaction, Cheadle immediately understood, her brows furrowing. “Is it again those self-proclaimed ‘Legacy of the Old Pure Team’? So they found you?”

The so-called ‘Pure Team’ was a legendary group of Hunters who followed the will of the previous chairman of the Hunter Association.

However, times have changed. With Netero now the chairman of the Hunter Association, the influence of the Pure Team has diminished.

“No.”

Hawk shook his head, narrowing his eyes, “To be precise, I sought them out.”

“!!!”

Cheadle’s pupils contracted, her voice raising involuntarily: “Have you gone mad? After everything, you dared to approach them? If your whereabouts were exposed, Moyu would be in direct danger!”

“Don’t worry. I’m not so reckless as to act without preparation, and I’d never jeopardize Moyu’s safety.”

Hawk leaned heavily against the wall, reducing his menacing aura.

Cheadle took two steps forward, coldly saying, “You’re always so presumptuous, forgetting what I did in the past to help you. Why did you seek them out? Do you have any idea how much effort I had to exert to clean up after your antics? Especially after Moyu was born, I had to distance myself…”

“If I weren’t pushed into a corner,”

Hawk interrupted, staring deeply into Cheadle’s angered eyes, “Do you really think that, with my Nen ability crafted especially for covert operations, I’d willingly seek out trouble?”

“…”

Cheadle fell silent.

Indeed…

Unless circumstances forced him, Hawk, who always preferred to avoid combat whenever possible, wouldn’t actively confront or look for trouble.

Realizing this, Cheadle quickly calmed down. “Why did you do it?”

“Because… time is running out. I need a new ‘Post-mortem Item’ to suppress the costs. If necessary, I’m willing to use my own life as fuel.”

Hawk looked up, and when discussing such serious matters, he no longer had his usual playful demeanor.

“Hawk, you…”

Cheadle seemed to have realized something, her eyes widening.

Hawk smirked slightly, whispering, “Even if I hadn’t said it, you would have guessed, right? I took the initiative to strike, aiming to steal one of the scores of the ‘Dark Sonata’ from those bastards. But I failed… Haha, without Rat Jewel assisting me, I’m just a useless fool.”

“…”

Cheadle pursed her lips, silent.

She knew the situation was so severe that Hawk even needed to leave Rat Jewel in the temple to help suppress that Post-mortem Item.

But now, knowing that Hawk was risking so much to steal a new Post-mortem Item, she realized the situation was even graver than she thought.

Slowly, Hawk adjusted his gaze, turning to look at the deep night outside the underpass.

“The proudest moment of my life,” the man began, eyes unwavering and filled with determination, “is being able to navigate any ruin or tomb at will. But it’s also my deepest regret…”

“Cheadle, I don’t want to make the same mistakes again.”

Hawk said, gazing intently into the distance.

“If you really felt that way, you shouldn’t have acted impulsively. Hawk, once again, your actions have put our loved ones in danger.”

Cheadle put on her white gloves, her voice cold. “In any case, I don’t trust your ability to cover up your tracks. I’m going to find Moyu right now to ensure nothing goes wrong.”

“No, wait for me to recover… two days, no, just one day!”

Hawk struggled to rise, his back pressed against the wall.

Cheadle glanced at him and snorted, “At the moment, you’re not in a state to enter ‘Zetsu’. Even if I gave you three days, you wouldn’t be able to regain enough strength, let alone heal.”

Without waiting for Hawk’s response, she turned and left the underpass, heading into the dark night.

…

At the mountaintop temple.

The surroundings were eerily silent, not even the chirping of insects could be heard.

Moyu sat in front of a computer, the screen’s white light reflecting in his eyes.

“This search engine is too outdated.”

Moving the mouse around, Moyu sighed softly. The corner of his eyes glanced at the date and time displayed on the computer screen:

April 25, 1993, 23:22.

If Moyu recalled correctly, the storyline in the original series started in 1999.

Although the current timeline differed from the original story by several years, computers and mobile phones had already become mainstream. Especially mobile phones, their development was spectacular.

One of their most notable features was the ability to receive signals almost anywhere in the world, making them a favorite among Hunters. However, for some reason, the development of computers lagged behind, perhaps because hunters relied more on mobile phones.

“Still can’t find it.”

Moyu released the mouse.

He was trying to find the contact details of the famous actress Airetin Nako, but due to the limitations of the search engine, he couldn’t find anything.

“Nevermind, I’ll check again later.”

Moyu shut down the computer and picked up a photo intertwined with black energy strands. He then left the room and headed to the main hall.

Arriving at the altar, Moyu casually placed the photo, which bore a ‘Grudge’, back in its original place, and then turned to leave.

Over time…

Moyu’s Nen ability had grown stronger through continuous training.

Perhaps because of this, he had become more sensitive to the presence of a grudge.

Previously, as long as he didn’t enter the main hall, he would subconsciously ignore the items on the altar.

Now, even when he stood in the courtyard to practice, his senses would constantly remind him of the grudges inside the hall.

So he decided to spend some time to fulfill the last wishes of the items on the altar, hoping to elevate the grudges they carried.

Returning to his room, Moyu turned off the lights and went to bed.

The next morning, as dawn broke.

Moyu woke up promptly and began his daily training.

There was a knock at the door just as he was starting.

Moyu was slightly taken aback. His first thought was that Hawk had returned, but he immediately dismissed that notion.

If it had been Hawk, he wouldn’t just knock. He’d shout loudly.

“Could it be Monica at this time?” Moyu pondered.

Walking through the courtyard to the entrance, he approached the old wooden door and inquired, “Who’s there?”

If it turned out to be pilgrims or tourists, he would dismiss them on the grounds that the temple was temporarily closed.

“I’m a friend of Hawk’s.”

A female voice responded immediately from the other side of the door.

A friend of Hawk’s?

Moyu felt a hint of surprise. He removed the door bolt and slowly opened the seemingly fragile wooden door.

Outside the entrance stood Cheadle.

As she gazed upon the face emerging from behind the door, she momentarily appeared dazed.