บท 65: Strange Old Man

It was almost evening when they arrived at the small house. Zero spotted something that Mii called a waterwheel and Truen knew that they must be close.

There were a few fields in the clearing filled with strange looking plants. Truen wasn't sure about their edibility but it spoke volumes about the owner of the house.

"Maybe we should stay in the lamp for tonight and search the forest for food. We don't know who lives here yet."

Zero was disappointed that they had to wait for another day to visit the owner of the house but agreed after looking at Truen's serious expression. After a satisfying meal of pig-pigeon roast over a campfire some distance away from the house, Truen excused himself. Zero nodded, thinking that Truen needed to relieve himself.

Instead of relieving himself, Truen used this opportunity to secretly scout the house and its owner after setting up some barriers around the camp area. One could never be too cautious after all.

The house was brightly lit and the elf approached stealthily. It was awfully quiet and that made Truen more alert than usual.

Inside the house was an old man with long white hair tied in a bun wrapped with a cloth tie. He had long grey beard, moustache and bushy eyebrows that hinted at his age. However, there was no signs of wrinkle on his skin which confused Truen. The man looked human but the elf could sense a strange energy being emitted by the odd old man.

The old man was reading a book and sipping on tea the whole time, seemingly unaware that someone was observing him. The house was lit by several candles and the furnishing inside was simple. The old man led a simplistic life and owned very few belongings. There was a straw mattress on the floor, a small fireplace outside the house, a wooden drawer that kept some supplies and a few sets of clothes folded neatly on top of the drawer.

Truen didn't move any closer to the house and stayed in a tree by the forest edge to observe silently.

The elf was startled badly and nearly fell out of the tree when a voice directly transmitted itself to his mind.

"If you are so curious, you can come in and introduce yourself."

The old man hadn't moved or shown any indication that he knew he was being watched. However, Truen knew better. He'd been compromised!

From inside the house, the old man flipped another page and took another sip of his tea leisurely. The elf chose to retreat instead of taking up the challenge.

The old man slowly raised his eyes from the book after Truen left. He looked at the previously occupied tree and chuckled airily.

Young ones were truly fun to tease.