Chapter 69
"How'd you know?" Hisashi didn't try to lie his way through. As a reply, the Qin simply pointed at his swords. Hisashi's eyes knitted as he figure out who the man is.
"You're Mai's Master, aren't you? The one she calls Master Jin."
"For correction, everyone calls me that. I don't want them to, but they don't want to stop. But yes. I am Jin Dan, the current Qin of the United Han. I'm referred to by my people as Master Jin, but you, my friend from the neighboring country, can call me Jin if you don't want to." Jin Dan shrugs.
"I suppose, the swords on my waist aren't enough of a clue as to how you know about my intentions?" Hisashi asks.
"You see my friend, can I call you my friend? Whatever. You see, a person's eyes never lie. Most of them would hide themselves through a façade, or some disguise, or a mask… sometimes even having a different personality. And even with that, you can see who they are with their eyes, even with a blind person's eyes.
But, you, no offense, is like an open book. I don't even need to see your eyes to know what kind of person you are. I can guess right now if you want. Do you want me to?" Jin elaborates, pointing and playing with his finger as he says so.
"Master Jin. I don't thi-"
"Enlighten me," Hisashi said, cutting the old man off.
"You're… a strong person." "Wow… What gave it away?" Jin smiles at the latter's response.
"I didn't mean it like that. What I meant to say, is you've been through something. Your behavior is enough to tell me that. You travel to different towns as if you're looking for something, and you're ready for a fight; seen from your sword and your actions with Old Man Kai.
You also want to be alone. You don't like associating yourself with others seeing that you fought the beast horde just to be left alone. But you still don't like being bothered. Why? That's because you're always thinking of this thing you're looking for as if it's an obsession. And you want to find it as soon as you can." Jin puts his hand on his chin as if thinking. Hisashi on the other hand, is simply quiet, listening to what the man is saying.
"Should I add more?" Jin asks. "Master Jin." Old man Kai intervenes. Hisashi looks at him before returning his look to the Qin and saying, "Sure." Which makes the man smile again.
"The fact that you're a teen, according to Mai, means that your abnormal combat strength is a product of talent, hard work, and intense passion similar to that of insanity. And if I'm guessing the thing you're looking for, is a certain someone you want to kill… A strong entity most likely. After all, a cautious man like you wouldn't like to lose to that certain someone again.
And the reason that I said again… is because they're the cause of this obsession, this quest of finding them. To get revenge! Vengeance! Justice!"
"Should I commend you that you're close?" Hisashi said as he remove his hat.
"That hat is a sign of your boundary. I'm surprised that you trust me that much, or even Mai, enough to show us your face. Do tell me, what did I get wrong?" Jin smiles, seeing how the teen revealed his face.
"I'm not looking for someone. But rather… something, a creature of a different race. And as a correction, I don't trust you. I just think that you and I can cooperate. After all, you summoned me here for a reason, didn't you?" Hisashi simply said, with no change of expression on his face.
"Oooh, you're a fast one. What is it that you're looking for?" Jin caresses his non-existing beard.
"Demons. That's what you call them here too, don't you." Hisashi said so to him. But Hisashi's eyebrows knit as he sees Jin's face light up in delight.
"Is this coincidence? Or fate? Either way, I believe that we'll be cooperating from now on." Jin said with a big smile as he stood up. He walks to Hisashi, without losing his commanding presence and offers his hand to the teen.
Hisashi looks at the hand, then at the man, before taking and shaking it.
…
As they roam around the capital, Old Man Kai and Hisashi snack on some delicacies that the residents gave free to the old man. Contrary to before, Hisashi isn't wearing his hat anymore and is showing his bare face.
"I'm surprised that you took Master Jin's hand right away. I assume you'd want to know more about what he's talking about." The old man said as he bite on a bun.
"I have a friend like him back home, except softer. So with that, I know that Jin wouldn't bullshit me. At least not in the core. Maybe he'll try to get advantage of the deal but I don't mind." The teen replies.
"Did his analysis hurt you in any way? He loves doing that. But he's always blunt and doesn't stop once he's on a roll."
"Not really. It's not that big of a deal." Hisashi said as someone pokes his bum. A small girl appears which he thought at first was asking for something. But another boy close to her age follows with a basket in his hand.
"Big brother! Do you want to buy our sweet bun? Our mother made them! It's reaaaally really tasty! I can even give one for you to try." The little girl said to Hisashi.
"Bao! If you keep giving people free try, we'd lose money as Mister Baldy said yesterday!" The older brother said as he catch his breath.
"Just believe in me, brother! Bigger brother, do you want a try?" Bao turns to his brother before slowly turning to Hisashi… with puppy eyes.
A smile appears on Hisashi's face as he asks how much it was and how many they have. Meanwhile, Old Man Kai simply stands there, listening to them as a smile appears on his face too. The two children finished their transaction as Hisashi bought all their products.
"You seem to have a soft spot for kids." The old man said to him, as he took a bite of the buns. The latter looks at him as the smile leaves his face.
"I'm just craving for some sweet buns. Also, they're pretty cheap."
"Really? But you paid them double." Hisashi looks away as they continued back to walking.
"Are you really blind, old man? No disrespect, just curious."
"You're blind compared to me, young man." 'I even know that you bought that to give it later to those kids playing in the park.' The old man thought to himself.