Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 22 The Great One-Star Hunter Returns to His Faithful Cave

After returning from the training center, Lin Lin rested for a day to adjust his condition, and then came to the assembly center again.

"Huh? Where's this flower?"

In front of the task counter, Lin Lin glanced around and didn't see the relatively familiar Konoha. There was only Sasayuki who was calm and quiet, but seemed to be slacking off.

"She's off today. Is Mr. Lin Lin going to take on a commission?"

Sasayuki made a gesture of invitation and straightened up slightly.

Lin Lin scratched his head and walked closer. "I thought Miss Sasyuki only handled matters related to high-ranking hunters... Could you please help me find any suitable commissions, hunting and gathering are fine, just don't make me travel too far."

"Ok."

Sasaxue responded first, and then while looking for the appropriate task documents, she corrected Lin Lin's common sense in her calm and gentle voice.

"It's true that I'm in charge of matters related to high-ranking hunters, but high-ranking hunters and high-ranking commissions are rare in the guild. They're not always available. The vast majority of them are actually low-star commissions. These things can't be left to Chihua alone."

After a pause, she asked, "Is it because I always seem to be slacking off that Mr. Lin Lin has a subtle misunderstanding?"

Eh? !

Lin Lin was stunned, while Sasuke chuckled softly, "I'm just kidding... Actually, this flower is too energetic and often takes on a lot of work, leaving me with nothing to do. That's why it looks like I'm just slacking off..."

"Hmm... Come to think of it, it seems like he is indeed slacking off. But Mr. Lin Lin is not a talkative person, so he will definitely keep it a secret, right?"

Sasayuki winked playfully.

Huh?
Lin Lin felt like he had gotten to know this poster girl all over again. Looking at her steady and calm demeanor, who would have thought that she would actually take the initiative to make a joke?

"Um... yeah, right? Also, just call me Lin Lin."

"Okay, Lin Lin, you can also just call me Sasuke..."

She was talking, but it didn't stop her from searching for commissions. "Okay, here are all the one-star commissions that are limited to the stream area. Let's take a look."

It has to be said that the ecological environment around Jieyun Village is so stable that the few documents in front of him are all collection commissions, and the only hunting commission is to subdue flying beetles.

Hiss... Flying beetle, forget it...

Killing this thing always felt like it wasn't worth the effort. He had to use either a flashbang or a poisonous smoke bomb, but those items weren't cheap for him. As for gathering and blending them himself? That was a waste of time. He might not have found enough materials to blend them by the time limit. Killing that thing was a huge waste of items.

The remaining collection commissions were not much different. After flipping through them, Lin Lin finally accepted a commission to collect honey.

Because I had escorted Sophia before, I went straight back to Jieyun Village and didn't go to visit Xiong Er. I took this opportunity to bring some delicious food to Xiong Er.

After completing the task acceptance, Lin Lin suddenly remembered the dog dragon leader whom he had hit on the head. The day before yesterday, Cihua said that he would issue a hunting commission, and he didn't know what the situation was now.

Thinking of it, Lin Lin asked casually, and Sasuke answered without thinking. It seemed that she was quite concerned about this matter.

"The commission to hunt the Dog Dragon Chief was issued as an emergency commission yesterday. It was a task accepted by old man Qia. If you set out now, you might meet him in the hunting ground." As a tourist village, Jieyun Village can complete most of the commissions by traveling hunters who come here to rest. The few local hunters in the village usually do gathering tasks, and this Qia is one of them.

Lin Lin had seen him several times at the gathering place, but he was not familiar with him. He only knew that he was a light crossbow user who was always smiling. He looked like he had gray hair and deep wrinkles on his forehead. He might retire soon.

I'm already old, and my usual tasks are mainly gathering. Isn't it a bit risky to challenge large monsters just before retirement?

"'I'll try my luck before my hunting career ends, so that my grandson can proudly tell his friends that his grandfather was a great hunter.' That's what he said."

Sasuke noticed Lin Lin's worry and said comfortingly:

"Don't worry, Mr. Chia has been a hunter for half his life. He's experienced, calm, and reliable. He made all the necessary preparations before setting out. To be on the safe side, he even hired the guild's cat rescue team. There's no problem."

Well, come to think of it, he must have a clear understanding of his own abilities and won't get carried away. Why would he worry about others when he has nothing better to do?
"I hope so. I'm off."

"Have a safe journey!"

……

When Lin Lin arrived at the hunter camp halfway up the stream again, he clearly felt the difference from the last time.

The energy consumed by traveling was much less. The last time I arrived here, I had to rest and recover my strength. This time, my breathing just became a little heavier, but overall I still had plenty of energy.

After a slight adjustment, Lin Lin set off directly, still following the familiar route, passing by the Dog Dragon's Lair from above the cliff. He found no signs of fighting. He didn't know whether the old man Chia had not started hunting yet, or they were already fighting fiercely somewhere nearby.

Shaking his head, Lin Lin followed the mountain road to the place where he had previously seduced the puppy dragon by bleeding the mushroom pig. However, this time he did not stop there, but continued to go deeper into the forest.

Various trees and shrubs gradually became sparse, while bamboo forests of varying heights gradually became more prosperous. After walking for about a quarter of an hour, the lush greenery suddenly had a touch of gray. After a few more steps, a cliff covered with vines appeared in front of us.

Looking up, you can vaguely see a deep crack leading to the cave inside.

"It really is here... So, the dog dragon leader who caused me to jump off the cliff is indeed the individual I submitted the observation report for?"

Feeling a little regretful that he couldn't take revenge personally, Lin Lin shook his head and climbed up the vine that he had climbed many times before. He remembered that he had stored the flying beetle materials he had collected and some blending materials that could not fit in the rag bag here, but he never had the chance to come back to get them.

Squeezing into the cave through the crack, Lin Lin was suddenly stunned. Fire?
What's going on? Why is there a fire here? Could it be Old Man Qia? Why is he here if he's not going to fight the Dog Dragon Leader?

Full of doubts, Lin Lin turned the corner and met the eyes of a short figure. The height of just over one meter fully proved that this person was not Qia as he thought.

His forehead was bald and his face was red, reminiscent of the cheeks of a snow lion. His ears were pointed, revealing him to be another old man from the Dragon Clan. There was also a diamond-shaped white mark on his forehead.

The bulging backpack was placed aside, and the walking stick in his hand had just been used to push the firewood from the fire, and it looked a little black.

The old dragon man looked up in surprise and looked at the hunter who suddenly broke in.

"It's strange that someone would come here. Are you lost?"

　No prize guessing game: Who is the little old dragon man?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)