Chapter 65
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 .