The rain was pouring down, and there were only three or two pedestrians still walking on the street. They wore heavy raincoats, and they wanted to wrap their whole bodies in the rain cloth, and then hurried through the rain.

The imperial capital lost its former prosperity, just on the day when the hall announced that the end was imminent. Fear spreads in an instant, like ink droplets dripping into clear water, and people are reluctant to go out on the streets, simply thinking that their homes are the safest.

Most people are still optimistic, they don't want to go out on the streets just because of the heavy rain that has been going on for days, there is water everywhere, and many places have closed down, so staying at home is undoubtedly the best option. The reason why they remained optimistic was undoubtedly their trust in the hall and their ignorance of the Dragon Emperor. Perhaps only the hunters knew what the Dragon Emperor who destroyed all the elites of the hall in one night represented.

It is one of the few places in the imperial capital that is still in business today. Legend has it that Tom, a veteran hunter who broke his leg during a hunt and could no longer hunt, built the inn not far from the tower, so that his colleagues could enjoy the warmth of home after a dangerous hunt.

But there's another way of saying that Tom is just a salty uncle. Because the dance academy is closer to the hot spring than the tower, every beautiful young girl will choose to come here to take a good bath after a day of study. Tom could see the young girls' sometimes bare shoulders and beautiful calves wrapped in bath towels.

Of course, no one can guess Tom's true intentions back then, after all, he has been dead for an unknown number of years. His descendants have opened the building to this day, making it one of the hall's landmarks.

A man wearing a hat walked into the hot spring. The little man who was guarding the doorway was a little drowsy and did not notice the man until the latter came up to him and placed a gold coin on the table, and he came to his senses.

"It doesn't need so much. The little guy hurriedly said, "If you choose—"

"So be it. The man said, "Give me a sign." ”

The man's tone was low, but with an unmistakable taste. The little guy was stunned, and wondered if it was the son of a big family, how could he soak in a hot spring and spend a gold coin? But everyone gave it all, and the little guy also happily accepted it and handed a bamboo stick to the man. This bamboo stick represents that the man can choose the hot spring pool of any price in the museum, and after taking the bamboo stick, the man walked straight to the museum without looking at it.

From beginning to end, the little guy couldn't see the man's face clearly. The latter kept his head down, keeping his whole face under the hat.

"What a weirdo. The little guy muttered. He was about to lie down on the table for a while, when suddenly something didn't feel right, and instead of the oppressive smell of dampness, the air was sticky, scalp-tingling with the smell of blood.

It's just that the smell quickly dissipated, and the little guy thought that he had a delusion, so he didn't pay too much attention to it, and then lay down on the table to rest.

......

Even in this environment, the popularity of the hot spring has not decreased much, after all, it is still a good pleasure to soak in the hot spring on a rainy day. People gather in the pool in twos and threes, and there are wine trays floating on the pool, and all kinds of drinks are served in wine glasses, exuding a curling heat, and I don't know whether it is wine or pool water.

The man wrapped in a bath towel handed the bamboo skewer to the servant guarding inside. The little guy looked weird, because he had never seen a man with a hat in the inner pool, but he knew that this was not something he should ask, what if people just had special habits?

But there was one thing he had to remind the man tactfully: "This gentleman, knives are not allowed in the inner pool." ”

"It's not a knife, it's just a souvenir. ”

"Sir——, even if you say that, I won't let you bring it in. "It's not safe for the other guests. ”

The man was silent for a moment, then slowly raised his head. So, the eyes of the two met, and at that moment, the little guy froze in place, his eyes were a little dull. The man lowered his head and asked in a low voice, "Can I bring it in now?"

"No problem. The little guy nodded blankly, turned sideways, and let the man walk in.

The man swept several pools at a glance, but he was not satisfied, so he did not stop and walked directly inside. He just wanted to find a pool with no people, but found that it was not realistic, so he took a step back and wanted to find a pool with fewer people, and finally he chose the one that was the most inside, which was also the cheapest and the smallest. There was only one man lying shirtless, his head tilted back and his eyes closed, and the worst shochu was in a glass floating on the water of the pool.

The man didn't hesitate and walked straight in. If you let that guy know that the man spent a gold coin and chose the cheapest pool, then he really doesn't know what to say.

The man sitting in the pool felt the fluctuation of the pool water, he raised his head, saw the man going into the water, and said with some dissatisfaction: "Hey, I have covered this pool." ”

"This is a public bath. The man placed the knife on the edge of the pool and slowly raised his head, "You're not alone. ”

At this moment, the eyes of the two people met. Then the two of them were stunned at the same time, and familiar and unfamiliar names popped out of their mouths at the same time.

"Tim?"

"Ian?"

......

"I've been looking for you for a long time. Tim looked at Ian and said softly, "It's been about a year or so, and I haven't been able to find you." ”

"Are you going to tell me about your book?" said Ian, "I already know what it's called, 'The Age of Sail for Swordsmen, Hunters and Dwarfs.'" ”

"I didn't expect you to remember it so clearly. Tim was a little embarrassed, "I made up that book, and I portrayed myself as a great character in the book, but in fact, in Atlantis, I was the one who dragged his feet." ”

"It doesn't matter, people just need to know your story, not the facts. Ian shook his head, "I still wish you a dream come true." ”

"Dreams or something, there's not much left after I get back from the sea. Tim said dryly, "I just want to make a little money and make my life better." ”

"Not bad. Ian nodded.

"It's just, why did you become like this. Tim finally mustered up the courage to look Ian in the eye. It was not the black eyes he remembered, but a pair of red, jewel-like pupils. I have to say that these eyes are beautiful, but when they appear on a man's body, Tim only feels unnatural, and an indescribable sense of oppression. Every time I look at him, I feel the urge to fall to my knees.

"They told me about the new Lord of Thorns, whose name was Ian. Tim whispered, "I didn't believe it was you at the time, and I thought how many years we'd been apart, and you'd be the most powerful hunter of all?" ”

Ian didn't speak, and he kept his eyes on the pool so as not to make Tim feel stressed. His figure was reflected in the pool, reflecting this pair of terrifying eyes, and the distressing scars on his body, crisscrossed like a cracked earth.

"Is Green alright, that fat dead man. ”

"He's fine. Ian nodded, "He's been with me all these years. ”

"That guy is a bit annoying, but it's still reliable after all. "Actually, when I got home, I always missed the days we had on Epilon Island, and I knew it would be the best moment of my life, and I would never have experienced it again." Sometimes I also want to be like you, to be a hunter, so that I have to take risks all my life, how meaningful, but my subconscious tells me that I will definitely not be a hunter like this, I can only drag my feet, and the only thing I can do is to turn the adventure into a story and record it on paper. ”

"So, sometimes I envy you and Green. Tim chuckled, "I'm not like you, you've had a great life. ”

"It comes at a price, many, many people die. Ian said softly, "Honestly, I don't know when I'm going to die." ”

"Dude, you can't die. Tim said half-jokingly, half-seriously, "Now that everyone sees you as hope, you're going to lead us through the end." If you throw in the towel, we all lose. ”

Ian shook his head imperceptibly.

"I was looking for you before, and someone said that you went to the Burial God Desert, and there has been no news for half a year, and many people think you are dead. Tim asked, "You're not coming back now, it's just that I don't understand why you're back so low-key." ”

"There are some things that need to be dealt with first. ”

"Thing, what?"

Ian hesitated for a moment, then took the knife from behind him.

"Isn't this the knife Vincent gave you? Tim laughed, "I didn't expect you to bring it with you." ”

"It's not the same. ”

Ian drew his knife slowly, and Tim's playful expression froze a little. The dark golden blade he remembered did not appear, but instead it was a pure black blade, and the moment it was unsheathed, Tim felt the temperature around him drop a lot. When the blade was completely out of its scabbard, Tim felt that it was not a knife, but the claws of a beast.

What frightened him even more was that there was still blood on the blade. As it was unsheathed, blood slipped from the blade of the knife little by little, dripping into the pool water, which soon turned pale red.

Tim forced a smile: "Why, did you kill a pig with it before you came?" ”

"That's half right. Ian put the knife back into its sheath and said lightly, "For killing." ”