Hunters: The Prequel - Chapter 269

“How are you so good at this,” Mane had a positively stunned expression as he watched Lily expertly clean his wounds with a bottle of alcohol. The alcohol was actually a bottle of alcohol rich wine that Old Fan had at home.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve had to dress up someone’s wounds,” Lily blushed slightly as she stated. She had a kind smile on her face as she obediently attended to Mane.

“I can’t believe she used it,”” Old Fan had tears in his eyes are he watched the bottle of wine that was right next to Lily. The formerly full bottle was now almost empty. Lily had almost emptied the bottle of its entire contents when she was disinfecting Mane’s wounds. She poured the wine on Mane’s hand without holding back, much to the pain of Old Fan.

“I was saving that bottle for a special occasion,” Old Fan sniffed sadly.

There was one mystery surrounding Old Fan: how did the old man befriend Dan who was so estranged from the rest of the village? The simple answer was: through their mutual love of alcohol. The two men loved good wine and excellent mead. They sampled alcohol from all across the world – literally. The major reason behind most of Dan’s travels to the bigger cities and towns was wine. And he bonded with Old Fan on that. As someone who never got drunk no matter how much wine he drunk, he was pleasantly surprised when he met an old man who could compete with him in drinking. The ecstatic Dan became acquainted with Old Fan right away, and they spent most of their time researching new wines and even creating some on their own. The main reason Dan always brought Magical Beasts that he hunted to Old Fan wasn’t because he wanted the old man to have an endless supply of meat. It was because Old Fan was highly skilled in brewing his own wine and was experimenting brewing wine with Magical Beasts’ blood. So far, the results had been mediocre, but they had made some pretty good achievements too. And one of those masterpieces was the wine Lily was recklessly using on Mane’s cut. It was a scene that brought tears to Old Fan’s eyes. But there was nothing he could do.

Lily was his ‘baby’. He could only watch from across the room as Lily used up the wine he had been saving for years now. This was wine that was so good that the old man was reluctant to drink it, so he always made excuses to extend its shelf life. First he said he would take it when the twins celebrated their tenth birthday. But when that day came, he extended it to their 15th birthday. When that day also came, he finally said he would take it in joy when either one of the twins got married. However, the twins knew that he would once again postpone the date for uncorking the wine when that time did eventually come. But now he had to watch as the wine he saved was wasted on a mere cut. A simple cut!

“She didn’t even listen to me when I told her it was too important to waste on a mere cut,” Old Fan lamented to the only person next to him; the only person he could complain to.

“I know. Normally she is so obedient but the look she gave Grandfather when you said Mane’s injury was a mere cut sent chills down my spine”

Lam recounted the moment when Lily was searching for some alcohol to use and didn’t find any. She had almost given up when she suddenly recalled that her Grandfather kept a stash of wine in their home. When she asked the old man for it, he tried to argue that she didn’t need to go that far since Mane only suffered from a small cut. The cut was a bit deep. That much was true. But it wasn’t anything that wouldn’t heal in a few weeks.

Lily argued that the blade of the assassin could have been poisoned, and it was necessary to disinfect the wound just in case. To Old Fan, that argument was nonsense. If the blade was indeed poisoned, disinfecting the wound would be of no use. After all, the poison would have long entered the bloodstream before any disinfection could take place since Mane had already been cut. So it was more prudent to have him down a couple of antidotes after analysing the poison on the blade. But there was no poison, so it was meaningless to do anything of the sort.

However, when Old Fan tried to get his point across, Lily ignored him and said the wound would have to be disinfected anyway. She pried the hiding place of the wine from Old Fan’s mouth and took it out. Old Fan pleaded with her to use as little as possible, yet she ignored him again. The look she gave him when he tried to take back the wine was scary. The old man could have sworn that there was killing intent within those eyes when he tried to grab the bottle from her hands.

“So I wasn’t the only one who felt that eh! You felt it too, didn’t you Lam?” Old Fan grabbed a hold of Lam’s collar as he rumbled. The dignified air that he always carried around him was nowhere to be found. It was a good thing that he was all the way across the room, and Mane whose mind was occupied by Lily wasn’t paying any attention to him. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to say if Mane would ever call him Elder Fan again.

“I did Grandfather. So you don’t have to keep on strangling me. We have a guest here. Behave yourself” Lam smiled bitterly as he tried to pry his Grandfather’s hands off his neck.

“But she looks really happy. Even though she’s covered in bloodstains, she looks so happy” Lam smiled pleasantly as he watched his sister interact with Mane with a genuinely happy smile on her face. It had been a while since he saw her this happy with someone other than her family members.

“Indeed” Old Fan watched the two youngsters with a smile.

“She never expressed this kind of joy even when we were surrounded by friends” Lam sighed when he recalled how his sister had changed when their parents died. Although she still smiled, it was more practiced than it was genuine. Even in the times she was surrounded by friends, she didn’t have this kind of radiant smile on her face.

“Maybe it’s because she finally has a friend after so long” Lam smiled.

“Is that what you think,” Old Fan smiled mysteriously?

“What else could it be Grandfather,” Lam wondered?

“All this while she has been burdened. Tito has made her life hell for the past few years, and she has felt responsible for the treatment her family gets because she refuses to marry him. And worst of all, there was nothing she could do. But Mane came along. Not only did he effortlessly beat up Tito and his gang, he made sure that they would lie in bed for a few years at least.”

“Wait what,” Lam was startled? This was the first he was hearing of Tito and his friends’ conditions.

“You heard me. They wouldn’t be able to cause you any trouble for some time.” Old Fan waved his hand nonchalantly. It seemed he didn’t think it was a big deal that Mane had bedridden some of the brightest youngsters of the village.

“No wonder Village Head Samoa sent Wild Boar after him,” Lam suddenly understood why Village Head Samoa had become impatient enough to send Wild Boar, one of his right hand men, after Mane.

“But he didn’t stop at Tito and his friends. He has also bested Wild Boar who was known for his ferociousness with a heavy sword whilst only sustaining a cut on the hand. A cut that looks like it was inflicted by holding on to a blade” Old Fan accurately saw through the reason for Mane’s injury.

“Grandfather, are you saying that Mane could have won without any injury at all,” Lam was flabbergasted? He knew Mane was talented, but he didn’t think the boy who had agreed to teach him was this talented.

“Yes. I may be old now, but don’t forget my identity. Although I do not fight now, my eyes are good enough to understand things when they see them” Old Fan stated.

Lam nodded in response. Although his grandfather didn’t look it, he was a New Type, and one of the strongest warriors in the village a few decades ago. After all, one cannot became a Village Head because of wisdom alone. They required strength too. Even Lam’s father was a strong New Type. It was a pity he died, because it was said that his talent was even greater than his father’s.

“Now Lily is relieved. She is happy that he is able to defend himself against even the strongest of warriors, and hence has no need to fear Village Head Samoa. So the burden of dragging Mane into this family’s mess has been relieved” Old Fan finished.

“Yeah,” was all Lam could say.

“It’s good she has somebody now. She looks like an obedient housewife,” Old Fan smiled kindly as he watched Lily dutifully stitch up Mane’s wound.

“Wait what. Are you saying Lily likes Mane? That can’t be possible! They only just met!” Lam sounded agitated. And why wouldn’t he be. Lily was his treasured sister. No matter how well he thought of Mane, it didn’t factor into a relationship with his sister.

“Relax. Nothing has happened between them yet. But I can tell that that boy Mane also has a good impression of your sister. It seems that they are both green in the matters of love so have no idea what is going on” Old Fan laughed boisterously. He didn’t react like the way Lam did. He watched the two youngsters interacting with each other across the room with a pleasant smile on his face.

“But how can that be,” said the still agitated Lam?!

“Calm down otherwise someone would think you are attracted to your own sister,” Old Fan held Lam by the shoulder and sat the boy down forcefully. His words caused Lam to calm down.

“Although that boy is dangerous, he is a good lad. Or would you rather have Lily fall into the arms of Tito?” Old Fan questioned.

Lam was silent at his Grandfather’s rebuke. It was true that Mane was a decent lad. Although they had only met today, a lot had happened between that short period of time that brought them closer.

“Why do you say he’s dangerous Grandfather,” Lam asked?

“Don’t you find it odd? He just killed someone, but he’s perfectly calm about it. You told me he was cleaning up the place when you arrived. That sort of calm is not born from staying indoors. He has killed before. And not once. Lily has been infected by his calm, which is why she hasn’t realized what has truly happened yet.”

“If you are saying he’s dangerous, then why are you happy that Lily is falling for him,” Lam lost his cool once again when he heard Old Fan’s statement. Now that he thought about it, Mane was too composed for someone who had just killed another. Lam was able to calmly analyse the body because he had done it a dozen times. After all, his friends and extended family were slowly killed off by Village Head Samoa so he was used to death. But his overprotectiveness for Lily ensured that he never exposed her to such sights. So although Lily knew what was going on, she had never seen a bloodied corpse firsthand like she did today.

“Because the world we live in is dangerous. This village is relatively peaceful because we are close to an Enchanted Forest, so bandits avoid this area. But in other parts of the world ****, pillaging, and murder are common. For someone who came from the outside, it is normal that he has killed several people before. Most likely bandits and robbers. So it is no surprise that he is so calm.”

“However, even in such an environment he is still kind and knows how to differentiate good from evil. He is truly like his Uncle” Old Fan sighed when he recalled how dangerous his travels were in the old days.

“I suppose you are right,” Lam sighed as well. His Grandfather was right, just as he always was.

“Besides, if they do get together, it would only benefit you,” Old Fan added.