114 Questioning A Madman (1/2)

The chamber was not the only place that the stone staircase led to. Apparently there was a small archway that led to another room. The walls dividing this chamber and the room was rather small. Xue'er could only presume that it was to keep out any sounds that would echo from the front chamber.

As she entered the room, she found it to be rather dark, but her eyes could make out a long table filled with all types of medicine in small jars. There were occasionally the leaves or flower petals that had fallen out in preparation but were never swept up. Small wooden bowls of freshly dried herbs laid in one section of the table, for convenience of concocting.

Her eyes seemed to glimmer a bit as she looked at the bowls. She licked her lips before forcefully removing her gaze from the table, and inspected the room.

The room was smaller than the chamber outside, and with burned-out candles that lined the stone wall, providing light in the darkest place. There was also a scent of spice that carried with it a tint of sourness.

Sitting at a wooden armchair, there was a figure of an elderly man with slightly disheveled hair. His clothes were worn, and he seemed to have been there for a while. This scene reminded Xue'er of her encounter with a corpse in the rain, and Xue'er wasn't too keen on the man's prospects, but since she could not smell a rotting stench, she was quite certain he had not died yet.

As she inched closer, she could hear his faint and ragged breathing. His body seemed to be stiff, without any signs of movement, as though he was some puppet, having been set into such a position by someone.

As her footsteps were practically non-existent, the moment she stopped three steps from him, he did not seem to notice her.

It was only when she said, ”Excuse me, sir, I think I might have gotten lost.” That he moved for a bit and opened his eyes. As far as he could tell, the voice was not familiar. Yet he could barely make out a short figure in the darkness. Instinct said there was nothing to fear, but he still put up a bit of caution.

He did not move, merely observing the figure that was standing there. As though observing some inconspicuous details, but there was nothing to observe. There was merely the outline of a person, and the voice sounded like that of a little girl's.

[How did such a girl enter this inconspicuous place?

No, that couldn't be right, how can a child enter this place?]

He himself knew of the many barriers that protected this place from being discovered, and there was no chance that a child or any person could have stumbled upon it by chance.

Xue'er waited for a reply, but when that didn't come, she asked in a lower voice ”Sir, if I may ask you a question.”

She was sure that he heard her. After all, in the light, she could see his eyes that were opened and silently judging her. His eyes were old and filled with wisdom, like those of a sage. But she knew he was no sage. She could hear the thumping sound of his heart.

”I know you're awake.” Her voice had fallen into a whisper this time, and she could hear his heartbeat racing. This man was perhaps the same age as her grandfather, but much more cowardly. It was no wonder he had fallen to such a state.

She smirked as she listened in silence to the thumping heart. It was not her first time hearing a fearful heart, but it was her first time causing such a scene, and she could not help but feel a bit proud.