Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

Salin's legitimate reason left the man with the bow speechless.

"Who brought this insect?"

After stuffing the last spider leg into her mouth, Salin crossed her arms and swept her gaze over Law's group, pausing briefly on Law, Buhara, William, and Gel, as through her trained eyes, she immediately identified as the four as Nen Users.

Law quietly observed Salin. Her long hair was tied into a neat ponytail, her skin fair, with many pronounced wrinkles marking her face.

Her brown eyes were sharp and lively, her lips thin, and her features bore some resemblance to Sabro's.

Without considering her status as a Nen User, her appearance suggested an age between thirty-five and forty. But for a Nen User, pinpointing an exact age was far from easy.

His gaze shifted from Salin's face to the bronze pendant hanging on her chest.

Noticing Law's unabashed scrutiny, Salin suddenly locked eyes with him, raised an eyebrow, and fired off two questions: "Do you know me? Did you bring the insect?"

The man with the bow asked the children to go play somewhere else, stared at Law coldly, and said, "This guy just said he knew you!"

Salin glanced at the man with the bow, then looked at Law carefully and said, "What's your relationship with Uncle Limpy?"

She asked this because the insect she'd just eaten carried the distinct flavor unique to Uncle Limpy's household.

'Uncle Limpy?'

Law was momentarily taken aback before recalling the diary's contents. Salin had once loved Uncle Limpy's insect hotpot, which suggested this Salin was likely Sabro's sister.

Law still didn't answer, and instead asked: "Do you know Sabro?"

"I don't know him." Seeing that Law didn't answer the question, Salin's smile turned slightly dangerous.

Law was puzzled and asked tentatively: "July 18th, sunny. I'm going to the Forbidden Zone of the Kandhia Desert!"

This sentence is the content of the first page of Salin's diary.

Hearing Law's words, Salin's expression shifted. She strode forward, planted one foot boldly on the table, leaned in, and rested her elbow on her knee, propping her cheek with her hand.

With a bright smile, she stared intently at Law and asked seriously: "You are not my nephew, are you?"

As soon as these words came out, Law immediately confirmed Salin's identity. He shook his head and said, "No, but nominally, I'm Linne's disciple."

This was his second probe.

"Master Linne..." A look of surprise appeared in Salin's eyes, but then she quickly calmed down and said, "The Sabro you mentioned… is he my older brother?"

"I think so, but I'm surprised you didn't react at all when I brought him up." Law replied. He was now 100% sure that the woman in front of him was Sabro's sister, and she was still alive and well.

Salin retracted her foot, stood up straight, and said speechlessly: "His name's Sabo, not Sabro."

Law blinked. He then remembered aside from their first meeting, when he and Buhara were told to call him 'Sabro', the man had never revealed his real name. He'd just assumed 'Sabro' was his actual name.

"Are you the person in charge here?" William, who had been growing increasingly restless, suddenly spoke up.

Salin looked at William and nodded, "You could say that. Everyone here is under my protection."

Next to him, the man with the bow smiled bitterly, 'What she said was not wrong…'

"Then… how many women are there here?" William's hands clenched tightly under the stone table.

Salin found the question odd but answered anyway, "Four."

"Four?" William glanced at the four women weaving clothes in the distance.

"Big Sis, you didn't count yourself." The man with the bow reminded in a low voice.

Salin suddenly realized and said, "Including me, that makes five."

"I see…" William's head slowly drooped, disappointment washing over him. After a pause, he jerked his head up and pressed on: "Has a woman named Lyla ever come here?"

When Salin heard this, she understood then that William was searching for someone. She hesitated before replying regretfully: "As far as I know, there is no such person."

William's head sank again, and his rising expectations were instantly shattered.

Countless people have died on the mountain path, and in the end, only a handful manage to cross the grassland. The Lyla William spoke of was most likely long gone, just another among the piles of bones.

Salin took a few steps forward, grabbed Law's hand, and said, "There's a lot I want to ask you. Come with me to a quieter place." She then turned to the man with the bow and added, "Take good care of them. Since they've made it here, they're one of us now."

"Understood." The man with the bow replied, though he couldn't help but stare in surprise at Salin's hand gripping Law's. Honestly, he thought Law's looks were a bit rough… he was impressed his boss didn't mind.

Law let Salin pull him along. Before leaving, he signaled to Buhara with a glance to stay behind, then followed Salin away from the settlement.

Ali had remained silent the entire time since arriving. Only after watching Law and Salin leave did he finally ask the man with the bow the most critical question: "Why can't we leave?"

This was something everyone present wanted to know.

The man with the bow looked at Ali and answered, "That grassland out there is crawling with monsters. They ignore people coming in from the outside, but the moment someone tries to leave, they swarm and tear them apart in an instant."

At this point, the man was silent for a while, and then he said solemnly: "Maybe that doesn't fully convey how terrifying those things are. Let me put it another way… do you know about the Sand Tide?"

The members of Desert Hawks looked at each other and nodded.

The Sand Tide, as the name suggested, was a massive surge of sand, like a tsunami. It was a natural phenomenon even more dangerous than sandstorms or quicksand.

The man with the bow lowered his eyelids and said, "When those monsters gather together, they move like the Sand Tide. No matter how many people face them, they're wiped out in an instant."

After hearing the words of the man with the bow, Ali and his group fell into deathly silence.

'So… this was the real reason no one could leave?'

…

On the other side, after Salin led Law out of the settlement, she let go of his hand and said, "Follow me."

As soon as she finished speaking, Salin's Aura flared, and she shot forward like an arrow, speeding into the distance.

Seeing this, Law gathered his Aura in his feet and darted after her, catching up in the blink of an eye.

"Not bad. Then again, you were trained by Master Linne." Salin remarked, glancing sideways at Law as they ran side by side.

Law smiled but didn't bother correcting her about his actual relationship with Linne… or the fact that most of his abilities had little to do with her.

"How old are you?" Salin suddenly asked. She fully embraced Law as a fellow disciple under Linne, and the moment he mentioned her name, Salin had not only placed deep trust in him but also accepted him as one of her own.

Law hesitated for a moment, then pointed at his face, and said, "I'm wearing a human skin mask, so my real age is probably sixteen."

"A mask?" Salin looked at Law in surprise. If Law hadn't said anything, she wouldn't have noticed.

"Yes." Law controlled his throat and returned to his original voice.

"Got any more?" Salin blinked, looking eager to try.

Seeing her reaction, Law couldn't help but laugh. His previous impression of Salin had come entirely from her diary, but from the way she'd snatched the insect like a child grabbing candy to her current demeanor, she gave off the impression of someone still youthful at heart.

At that thought, he replied, "No more."

Salin said regretfully, "Is that so…"

…

After five minutes of sprinting, the two came to a stop.

Before them stood a majestic, sprawling palace complex.

"What is this place?" Law couldn't help but ask.

"The Millennium Imperial Capital, but I prefer to call it the Main City. There are many rare treasures in it… including a massive treasure vault~" Salin winked at Law, then jumped into the air, clearing the city wall in a single bound and heading straight for the palace's highest point.

Suppressing his excitement, Law followed, scaling the palace until they stood atop its roof… about seven or eight stories high.

"So… is my brother doing well?"

As Law reached her side, Salin gazed up at the churning black clouds in the sky and asked.