Chapter 7: On the Journey
The next morning, sunlight streamed into a bedroom.
Inside the bedroom, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes tightly shut, meditating.
“Hoo~”
He exhaled a breath. The higher his blade technique level, the slightly more efficient his meditation became. Though meditation was monotonous, it served as a form of tempering for one's will.
Half an hour later, Su Xiao checked out of the hotel and left. He needed to depart from Qilu City.
Transportation in the Hunter World was very convenient. There were many ways to reach Yorknew City, such as by airship or train.
Among them, the fastest was the airship, which also had the highest fare.
The airship business was a lucrative piece of meat, but the airship operations in Qilu City weren't controlled by the Ten Dons' organization. Instead, they were managed by the Hunter Association.
Compared to the Hunter Association, the Ten Dons' organization was insignificant. It could be said that the Hunter Association was an entity that stood above most national institutions.
At the entrance of the Airship Management Office, Su Xiao looked at the long queue in front of the door and twitched his cheek.
Today was the morning of August 26th, with five days left until the start of the Yorknew Auction. Even so, the transportation vehicles from various cities heading to Yorknew City were all operating at overcapacity.
Looking into the distance at the ticket counter, a sign hung there, clearly reading: "Earliest airship ticket: September 7th."
That meant even if he bought an airship ticket, he wouldn't be able to depart until September 7th.
Su Xiao looked at Bubu Wang. Was he really going to have to ride this guy to Yorknew?
Bubu Wang took two steps back, its gaze clearly saying: "Master, that's over a thousand kilometers. Please calm down, this Wang can't do it."
Leaving the Airship Management Office, Su Xiao headed straight for the train station.
The situation in front of the train station wasn't much better. A familiar scene appeared—it was a sea of people.
"Tickets, tickets! Tickets for the 9 AM departure to Yorknew!"
A chubby young man stood in the crowd. He had only hawked a few times before letting out a muffled groan. He was invited by the mafia for "tea." The train station was the mafia's business; even scalping tickets had to be managed by the mafia.
The mafia escorted the trembling fat man away. Bubu Wang had two tickets in its mouth.
"This thing... it can't be fake, can it?"
After a preliminary check, the two tickets were genuine. At exactly 9:00 AM, Su Xiao boarded the train heading to Yorknew.
Inside the carriage, Su Xiao sat by the window, with Bubu Wang sitting beside him.
"The train to Yorknew City is about to depart. Please check your luggage, personal belongings, etc..."
A gentle voice came over the intercom from the attendant. Su Xiao had already taken out a tablet and was playing a puzzle game.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked, clearly meaning, "This Wang is hungry."
Su Xiao took out a pile of snacks and placed them on the small table in front of him. Bubu Wang used its front paws to tear open the packaging and began eating contentedly.
Before long, a young man and woman sat down on the seats opposite Su Xiao.
Su Xiao glanced up and then continued playing his puzzle game.
"Brother, is Yorknew really as lively as you said?"
The girl opposite Su Xiao spoke. She had a pure appearance and wore a beige dress.
"Of course. Although Yorknew holds an auction every year, they always manage to bring out rare collectibles. This time, we're just going to watch the excitement."
The man beside the girl was simply dressed—a white T-shirt, black pants, and a pair of rimless glasses.
"I can't wait."
"Yeah, don't get separated from me. Yorknew is under mafia control, so it's not safe."
"I know, you're so naggy."
The girl pouted, and her brother let out a helpless wry smile.
The train slowly started moving. Bubu Wang used its front paw to nudge Su Xiao, its little eyes seeming to say: "Master, I want to sit by the window and see the scenery."
"Even eating can't shut you up."
Su Xiao stood up and switched places with Bubu Wang. Bubu Wang grabbed a bucket of chips and contentedly watched the scenery outside the window.
"This... how amazing."
The girl opposite stared at Bubu Wang, little stars seeming to appear in her eyes.
"Doggy, here, have this."
The girl took out a piece of jerky and held it out to Bubu Wang.
Bubu Wang rolled its eyes, ignoring the girl, with an expression that clearly said: "This Wang is very aloof. Don't bother this Wang."
"Sis, don't mess around."
The girl's brother grabbed his sister's hand and smiled apologetically at Bubu Wang.
Just two seconds earlier, when the girl handed the jerky to Bubu Wang, Su Xiao had looked up. The girl's brother inadvertently made eye contact with Su Xiao.
In that instant, cold sweat soaked the clothes on the girl's brother's back. There was no hostility in the other's eyes, no killing intent—just a simple glance.
But his keen perception told the girl's brother that this man was dangerous, dangerously so.
"Oh? So this is Nen ability. Perception is quite sharp."
Su Xiao lowered his head and continued playing the puzzle game. He hadn't released any aura, yet the other party still sensed something.
The girl's brother's sitting posture stiffened, and cold sweat trickled down his cheek.
"Brother, what's wrong? The carriage isn't hot, so why are you sweating all over?"
The girl looked at her brother with confusion.
"It's nothing. Emily, didn't you say you were sleepy earlier? Take a nap."
"Mm, okay. But brother, this is a sign of kidney deficiency, you know. I read it in a book."
Emily leaned back in her seat to rest. Her brother took out a book and focused on reading it.
"You're quite skilled, sir."
Su Xiao suddenly spoke, and the girl's brother's body stiffened.
"Not at all, not at all. Compared to you, sir, I'm nothing. Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Kenny."
Kenny was secretly on guard.
"Reading a book upside down—that's quite a challenge, isn't it?"
A smile appeared on Su Xiao's face as his hands continued their operations.
"Oh?"
Only then did Kenny realize he was holding the book upside down.
"We don't know each other, and we have no grudges."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Kenny nodded.
"Sorry, that was rude of me earlier."
Although Kenny outwardly relaxed, he was anything but. What he saw when he covered his eyes with Nen was something he would never forget.
An ordinary person's aura was colorless or milky white, but Su Xiao's aura was a light blue, wild, sharp, as if it wanted to devour everything.
The train ran smoothly. At the current speed, it would take about 13 hours to reach Yorknew.
For the first hour, Bubu Wang could still pass the time by watching the scenery, but after two hours, the thing got bored. It started rolling and tumbling on the seat, occasionally bumping into Su Xiao.
Three hours later, Bubu Wang had already hit it off with the girl named Emily across from them. The one person and one dog started playing cards, and whoever lost had to stick a strip of paper on their face.
In less than half an hour, Su Xiao could already see Emily's face. Apart from her two big, watery eyes, her face was covered in paper strips.
Emily's brother's mouth twitched. He had seen smart dogs before, but this was the first time he had seen a dog with such high intelligence.
"No! How do you have the big and little jokers again? How infuriating!"
Puffing up her cheeks, Emily threw down her cards. Unfortunately, Bubu Wang's hand was just too good.
"No way, one more round."
Emily, her face full of paper strips, was almost turning into a "mop." Bubu Wang was no longer bored; it started shuffling the cards with its nimble front paws.
The boring journey became less dull thanks to these two lively characters. Su Xiao put away his tablet and prepared to rest for a while. There were still five hours until they arrived at Yorknew City.