Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 625 - 618: The Mysterious Elderly Man

Chapter 625: Chapter 618: The Mysterious Elderly Man

A small path connected to the watchtower. Surrounding it was a low wall made of stone and a simple wooden door. The girl walked into the area enclosed by the wall, arriving at a well. Without any wariness, she leaned her sword against the wall and drew a bucket of water from the well.

Next, without giving it a second thought, she undid her hooded cloak, followed by her top.

"What are you doing!" Seeing her bare back, Luo’er’s eyes widened in surprise.

"I must clean myself before taking you to meet the Master, and so must you. The Master is an ordinary man, susceptible to illness," the girl casually replied, not even bothering to look back. As she spoke, she proceeded to unbutton and remove her trousers.

"That’s not what I am ... " Luo’er flushed at her actions, waving his hands and feet in protest.

Blocking everyone’s view, Tangmo covered Luo’er’s face and barked: "Stop staring, all of you turn around, did you hear!"

At her words, Luo’er hastily turned around, his cheeks blushing. Cheng Ziang and Hu Daoke exchanged awkward glances, and reluctantly followed suit.

"We need to keep our composure!" Cheng Ziang joked at Hu Daoke.

"You too!" Hu Daoke rebuked without courtesy.

"Honestly, it’s irritating," Tangmo muttered, shaking her head, "She’s definitely trying to seduce Luo’er. I knew she was up to no good."

"What’s wrong with you all?" The girl, seemingly noticing their reactions, asked innocently.

"Can’t you have some dignity? Don’t undress in front of boys," Tangmo scorned the girl.

"I can’t undress in front of you all?" asked the girl, tilting her head in confusion.

"Of course not, why do you think you wear clothes!" Tangmo was almost driven mad by the girl’s ignorance.

"Listen," whispered Hu Daoke approaching Cheng Ziang, "can the Master resist her charms?"

Cheng Ziang coughed before replying flatly, "Don’t make baseless assumptions, it may get you into trouble."

Unbothered by their stares, the girl leisurely washed herself. Unable to bear the sight any longer, Tangmo asked Baiyue to help the girl, saving them from the continuous display of skin.

After washing, the girl fetched some new clothes from a small wooden shed by the well. The outfit was simple like the last, the only difference being the absence of a hooded cloak.

Once she was dressed, Tangmo finally cancelled the alert, permitting the three men to turn around. The girl picked up the sword leaning against the wall, began to clean the dirt off, and told them, "You need to undress and take a bath too, otherwise you might make the Master sick."

"Don’t worry, our provisions for cleanliness are way more thorough than yours." Luo’er reassured her. He summoned his team members to cleanse the splashes of Exotic Beasts’ blood on them, spray disinfectant all over their bodies, and place the girl’s discarded clothes in a bucket of disinfectant.

The girl expressed suspicion towards their methods but remained silent. After getting cleaned up, she took them towards the ancient watchtower, her sword in hand.

On reaching the watchtower, the girl didn’t hesitate to push open the heavy wooden door. Inside sat an old man in a robe, seemingly expecting the arrival of the Advance Team. As the girl pushed open the door, he already faced the entrance.

After opening the door, the girl didn’t step in immediately. Instead, she took a small step to the side, bowed slightly to Luo’er and respectfully ushered him in, saying, "Please."

"I have been expecting you for a long time, adventurers of the prophecy," the old man spoke in an aged voice. His voice was somewhat hoarse, apparently due to not having spoken in a long time.

After a moment of hesitation, Luo’er led the team into the watchtower. It was a watchtower with a radius of approximately five meters that had been turned into a dwelling, filled with various pieces of furniture. A large hemp carpet covered the center of the hall.

Due to its military architecture, the windows in the watchtower were very small. Even with two candles lit, the interior was extraordinarily dim.

Luo’er walked straight over to the old man and took a close look at him. He was around eighty-plus years old, with long silver hair and a beard, which made him appear quite aged. He was wearing a deep-color robe with a hood. If Luo’er remembered correctly, this should be the type of robe worn by priests of the Northern Church Court, typically distinguishable by its ostentatious embellishments.

However, unlike the Church Court’s priest robes, this robe was not extravagantly decorated and had probably faded from washing, but later been dyed a dark color.

"I’m sorry, adventurer, you should keep a distance of three meters from me lest I get infected by the curse on you," the old man lifted his head and said to Luo’er.

Only then did Luo’er notice the peculiarity of the man. He had no eyes - or rather, his eye sockets were hollow, a characteristic of missing eyeballs. The old man in front of him was, in fact, blind.

"You knew we were coming?" Luo’er asked with a furrowed brow.

"Of course, the prophecy already foresaw your arrival, you can’t resist its power," the old man said indifferently.

"What’s this prophecy?" Luo’er couldn’t help but ask.

At this moment, when everyone had entered, the girl shut the door. The room immediately darkened, leaving only the flickering light of two candles.

"I apologize, Feng is not accustomed to considering others before closing the door. I’ll ask her to reopen it," the old man said with a note of apology.

"No need, since you mean no harm, there’s no reason for us to be on guard," said Luo’er, waving his hand dismissively.

He noted that the girl’s name was Feng, a word in Tasta that means "Maple Leaf" or "Maple Tree". However, if read quickly together, the latter part could be easily overlooked, leaving only the meaning of "Feng" (Maple).

For the advance team, in an unfamiliar environment, dim lighting could keep them constantly on edge. The old man seemed to understand this, hence his considerate words.

Once certain she would not be sent to open the door, the girl walked over to the old man, picked out a blanket from the clutter, and spread it on the floor. In the dim candlelight, Cheng Ziang noticed a magic array depicted on the blanket.

Next, the girl knelt on the blanket with her long sword placed in front of her. She lowered her head and closed her eyes as if meditating. Then, to everyone’s surprise, the magic array underneath her began to emit a faint light. Almost everyone could feel the magic in the air around them rapidly stir and converge into the array beneath her.

"It seems you’re quite interested in Feng," the old man said with a faint smile.

"You know what I’m doing?" Luo’er, shifting his gaze from the girl to the old man, asked with a furrowed brow.

"Of course, even though I can’t see with my eyes anymore, I clearly know where each one of you is and what you’re doing. Including your unseen friend. Right, little girl?"

The old man showed a confident smile and then looked in a certain direction. Luo’er heard Fulajie’er gasp in surprise - she had been discovered yet again.

Luo’er stared intently at him. It was incomprehensible how both the old man and the girl could sense Fulajie’er’s presence. It’s worth noting that, in her spirit state, Fulajie’er does not consume much magic power; it’s so minimal that it causes hardly any ripples in the magic in the air.

Yet these two could sense her existence, which meant they weren’t relying on the disruption of magic power, but on some other factor.

With that thought, Luo’er sat opposite the old man, placing his weapon aside. He had many questions for the old man, as well as an inkling that he could get all the answers he sought from him.