The elder watched as Pandora drank all the hot water, wide-eyed in disbelief. Thankfully, Richard promptly drew the elder’s attention, speaking, "Old sir, let’s talk about the castle instead. You saw us two walking out just now and reacted rather strangely. What’s going on?"
"Ah, well..." the elder steadied himself, then hesitated. "How should I put this..."
"Just say whatever you want to say," Richard said.
"Alright..." The elder took a deep breath and began to speak slowly.
After a while, Richard had learned quite a bit.
The man before him was the current chief of Alubak Village. According to the elder, the castle was there before the village, and no one knew when it had been built.
Oddly enough, though the castle had always been there, no one had ever been seen entering or leaving—it seemed perpetually unoccupied. Yet, occasionally at night, some of the windows would let out light, as if haunted.
Some of the bolder village youths had actually ventured into the castle to see what was going on... but...
"Gulp—" the elder swallowed, his face showing fear as he slowly revealed the outcome, "but... once anyone enters that castle, no one ever comes out alive."
"Yes." The elder tried to calm himself, picked up his own cup of barley tea, and took a small sip before seriously adding, "That’s why I was so scared when I saw you and this little girl coming out of the castle, I thought you were... gulp... ghosts."
"Ghosts?" Richard chuckled, "We’re certainly not ghosts. Ghosts can’t go about in the daytime, right, old man?"
"That’s true." The elder nodded in agreement. "Even the boldest of ghosts only come out at night. So, who exactly are you, and why did you enter that ancient castle?"
"It’s a bit complicated, but to put it briefly, someone gave me an address, and I followed it here and saw the castle, so I went in to look around. Afterwards, I found the castle completely empty and had to come out, hoping to find some other clues, and then I saw you."
"If you really want to find some clues or someone, I suggest you visit some big cities nearby," the elder suggested kindly.
"Yes," the elder nodded. "For example, Ajia City to the north, Dur City to the south, or Morton City to the east. These places have more people and a variety of characters. Maybe they can help you find the person you’re looking for."
Richard’s eyes twinkled, and after a moment of thought, he nodded, "That makes sense, thank you."
"You’re welcome," the elder said. "But please allow me not to escort you out. At my age, I just can’t handle much excitement. I was so frightened earlier that I feel like I’m falling apart. My entire body aches, and I need to drink more hot tea to warm up and ease the pain."
As he spoke, the elder’s hands trembled slightly as he continuously took small sips from his wooden cup.
Richard stood up with a smile, addressing the elder, "You should rest well, sir. I won’t disturb you any longer, I’ll be on my way. Oh, and please accept this silver coin as my thanks." With that, Richard placed a silver coin on the table.
"Uh..." the elder hesitated.
A moment later, Richard nodded at the elder, said no more, and, taking Pandora by the hand, walked out of the hut towards the distance.
Inside the hut, the elder watched Richard leave, slowly stood up, looked at the silver coin on the table, picked it up, then walked to the door.
Watching the direction Richard left, the elder’s eyes flickered, wondering something, as he fiddled with the silver coin in his hand.
Suddenly, the elder remembered an oversight, his face slightly changed, and with a "snap", the silver coin was instantly crushed.
"Darn it!" the elder said, "I misspoke! But... that youngster might not have noticed."
"Yes, he probably didn’t notice," the elder said gravely, slowly retreating, closed the door, sat back at the wooden table, his expression shifting unpredictably, "Probably a high chance he didn’t notice, probably..."
Richard and Pandora had left the village, with Richard considering whether to follow the elder’s suggestion and settle in a nearby city. This way, he could continue to study things, explore the secrets of the Black Spirit King, and look for the Cat Slave Girl, Heidi.
Just then, Richard blinked and suddenly exclaimed, "Not right!"
"Hm?" Pandora, following alongside, tilted her head and looked at Richard curiously, asking, "What’s not right?"
"That old man is not right," Richard said. "I remember I never told him I was looking for someone, I only mentioned looking for some clues. If so, how did he know that my purpose in looking for clues was to find someone? And how did he know to tell me to go to Ajia City, Dur City, and Morton City, where I could find the person I’m looking for?"
Pandora’s eyes widened, somewhat uncertain, "Are you... asking me?"
Richard didn’t respond, turned his head to the side, and muttered to himself, "There’s clearly only one explanation: that elder must have already known my purpose, he was pretending all along. Maybe he is someone from the castle, he knows where the people from the castle went, and intentionally misdirected me."
Having said that, Richard fixed his gaze, took Pandora by the hand, and headed back the way they had come.
Richard reappeared in front of the familiar thatched cottage, creaking the door open.
Inside the cottage, the elder sat behind the table, drinking tea. Hearing the door open, he slowly set down his cup and looked up. Seeing Richard, his expression showed little change, merely asking slowly, "Why have you come back?"
"I want to confirm something," Richard stared into the elder’s eyes, "which is, old sir, how did you know I was looking for someone when I hadn’t told you that I was ’looking for a person’?"
The elder was silent, and after a long pause, he said solemnly, "You want to confirm this, or have you already confirmed it?"
"So, you admit you were deceiving me?"
"Young man, since you figured it out, the smartest move is not to expose everything," the elder said, straightening his stooped body, a chilly and sinister aura emanating from him, "Everything that exists does so for a reason. Acting rashly like you are will only make things worse."
"Just like it is now!" the elder shouted, waving his hand, a mass of black mist surged out.