Chapter 51 - 49: Searching for Hustace’s Team
The search party for Young Master Hustace, ostensibly "led" by Qi Liu, traveled through the night. The intensity of this mountain ascent led to a flurry of complaints from this eccentric group.
The hunched Great Witch wasn’t holding the party back; even she was somewhat surprised by this. But despite her astonishment, she didn’t forget to grumble about the myriad inconveniences of traveling at night.
Axia complained because Qi Liu had unknowingly usurped his role as leader. As an Alchemist in the party, and potentially the future Wizard of the Alchemy Workshop, he felt it was a profound humiliation to be ordered around so unexpectedly. To wash away this humiliation, he constantly taunted and ridiculed Qi Liu. He believed this ridicule could change the status quo. His mocking was like a soothing balm to his wounded pride and, at the same time, a sharp blade stabbing deep into the sensitive core of the other’s heart.
Musa was the quietest of the complainers, but a quiet voice didn’t mean fewer complaints. He didn’t stop muttering throughout the entire ascent, his words perpetually circling the concept of ’worthless.’ His obsession with whether or not he was worthless surpassed all else, and it was unclear if his endless muttering and rambling was a complaint or a lament.
Only Qi Liu, his gaze resolute, remained unaffected by any of these events. Neither Axia’s ridicule nor Musa’s ramblings could sway Qi Liu’s determination to travel through the night. He marched straight up the mountain, seemingly knowing the path ahead. He didn’t utter a single word the entire way, paying no heed to the various complaints from the other three.
And so, these four individuals formed this peculiar party.
Qi Liu traveled through the night, intending to find Young Master Hustace as quickly as possible. It wasn’t until the moon had climbed high above the mountain’s peak that Qi Liu finally decided to halt their progress.
They weren’t as fortunate as Stan and Igor, who had found a cave to rest in; this group had to make do on the open mountainside.
Finding a single person in such a vast mountain was a considerable challenge. Even a Hunter with advanced Secret Sensing Skills couldn’t guarantee locating a specific target on a mountain.
Qi Liu pressed on because he had an agreement with Young Master Hustace: they had agreed to rendezvous at the summit of Guru Mountain. Qi Liu had observed Dawn Peak and estimated that conquering it would take no more than a day, as the mountain wasn’t particularly high.