Chapter 364: The White Houses

Monroe’s mental state was clearly no longer stable.

Saul blinked but didn’t point it out.

Mark, standing nearby, likewise showed no extra reaction.

It wasn’t until the two of them brought it up that Saul suddenly remembered. These people had been stuck in this eerie place for over half a year, maybe even longer. How had they handled basic physiological needs like food?

Saul himself had no problem in that regard. He already knew from Kongsha’s cry for help that they were trapped here, so he had packed plenty of food in a compressed bag before coming.

But the amount he’d brought certainly wasn’t enough to last another half a year.

“Where’s Kongsha?” Saul asked.

Mark shook his head, worry showing on his face. “Kongsha was the one who initiated this expedition, and she’s also the most reckless of us all. She even ventured into the Dead Season and barely made it back alive, seriously injured.”

“Could the exit to the valley be inside the Dead Season?” Saul asked.

“No way, absolutely not!” Monroe reacted violently, face full of resistance. “If the exit’s in the Dead Season, I’d rather never leave this place!”

Mark sighed. “The deeper you go into the Dead Season, the more terrifying it gets. You’ll understand once you see it yourself. It’s not far from here.”

A gust of wind blew by, flattening the ankle-high grass on the ground. By the time the blades straightened back up, they had already turned from green to yellow.

“Autumn has arrived!” Monroe exclaimed joyfully. “Quick, go look for food!”

“I’m heading out too,” Mark said, looking barely able to contain himself. “Saul, you can explore on your own. There might be veiled crystal essence inside these houses. Just remember—where the ground turns black, that’s the Dead Season. Stay away from those areas.”

Mark gave his warning and tried to slip away, but Saul caught him by the arm.

“There might still be elves in Autumn, right? What do elves actually look like? Is running the only option if you encounter one?”

Mark tried to wriggle free but failed. Reluctantly, he turned back and spoke quickly, “You can’t see what they look like. If something strange attacks you, then it’s definitely an elf. If you don’t want to use magic, just run. Get out of their line of sight and duck into a house to hide. That’s why we’ve been staying in this settlement.”

His eyes were red, like a starving wolf.

Saul let go, and Mark vanished behind a white wooden house with a whoosh.

Now that no one else was around, An quietly remarked, “He was calm just a moment ago, but suddenly he acts like a starving ghost.”

Morden, however, had a theory. “It’s probably because Autumn only lasts a short while. They have to seize the opportunity to gather enough food.”

Agu suggested, “Master, even though you brought your own food, we could also gather more, just in case.”

Saul nodded and assigned tasks to the group.

Herman followed Mark’s trail in search of food. The more mentally attuned Agu and An split up to search for veiled crystal essence, while Morden stayed by Saul’s side.

“Don’t wander too far. If you find veiled crystal essence, call me immediately. Your physical bodies are too dull to carry it.”

An and Agu both nodded.

Agu said, “Got it. Once we find veiled crystal essence, we’ll keep our eyes on it and make sure it doesn’t vanish.”

The group split up and went their separate ways.

Saul, with Morden in tow, decided to start searching from the outermost houses.

Even though these places may have already been combed through, Saul was confident in his powerful mental abilities—he might notice something others had missed.

This cluster of white wooden houses was where the elves lived and where Mark and the others had discovered the veiled crystal essence.

As he approached one of the houses, Saul didn’t rush in. He first circled around the outside and noticed something odd about its structure.

It had one door and four windows.

Two of the windows were on the same wall as the door. The other two were on the left and right side walls. The rear wall had no windows at all.

The door was small. Saul had to duck to get through.

The windows were even smaller, barely larger than a person’s head—more like air vents.

There was no doorknob or lock. Apparently, elves didn’t lock their doors.

Saul ducked inside, with Morden needing to stoop even lower to get through.

The ceiling was under two meters high, and the space inside felt a little stifling.

At a glance, apart from a few grass mats, there were no other furnishings or decorations.

“Do elves really live so simply?”

One of Saul’s hands morphed into an octopus-like tentacle—a transformation that had practically become instinct by now and wouldn’t disturb his soul body.

As he scanned the room with his eyes, his tentacle brushed over every inch of the floor, while his mind analyzed what little he could infer about the elves’ lifestyle.

Although he’d originally been averse to anything related to elves… he was already here.

Unfortunately, even after searching this house thoroughly with Morden, they came up empty-handed.

So they moved on to the next house.

The second house had one door and six windows.

Four of the windows and the door were all on the same wall, and the other two were on the side walls.

Before entering, Saul paused to examine it. “Morden, don’t you think this house looks a bit like a human head?”

“Very much so,” Morden agreed. “And an ugly one at that.”

Saul chuckled.

Indeed, if someone looked like this house, they’d be downright hideous.

This house was a bit bigger, but Saul still found nothing inside.

“Should I call Penny back?” he hesitated for a moment, but quickly dismissed the idea. “If Penny hasn’t come back on her own, she must have something important to do. Finding veiled crystal essence isn’t the top priority right now.”

Right now, the only potential use for veiled crystal essence was to supplement Penny’s energy reserves. Saul didn’t have much use for it himself.

The two exited the house, debating whether to continue the search or check on Mark and Monroe.

“The other two probably haven’t found anything either.”

If An and Agu had located something, they would’ve notified Saul immediately.

However, just as Saul ducked his head to exit the white house with six windows, he saw two women coming around from behind the house in front of him.

He blinked, a little dazed, then hesitantly spoke, “Kongsha?”

The woman in front also spotted him. Her red lips curled into a smile.

“Ah, you really came.”

Even wearing a loose-fitting apprentice robe, Kongsha’s graceful figure was still faintly outlined as she walked.

Judging by the magical energy radiating from her, she was still a Second Rank apprentice, but she looked much healthier than she had back at the Wizard Tower.

It was as if being trapped in this elven valley was torment for everyone else, but enjoyment for her.

In contrast, the girl apprentice trailing obediently behind her seemed far more pitiful, as if she wanted to shrink entirely into her robe.

“You never said in your invitation that you wanted me to come bail you out,” Saul said, gaze returning to Kongsha’s face.

Kongsha blinked and gave a teasing smile. “But you still came, didn’t you? I was afraid if I told you the truth, you wouldn’t come.”

She gestured to the girl behind her. “This is Kasila. She just advanced to Third Rank after entering this place.”

Saul had already noticed Kasila.

She timidly followed behind Kongsha, not daring to even lift her eyes to meet his. Only when Kongsha introduced her did she quickly glance up but just enough for Saul to catch a glimpse of her face beneath her bangs before she lowered her head again.

Through the broken strands of hair, Saul could still see her pale, trembling lips.

Someone like her… was actually stronger than Kongsha? A Third Rank apprentice?

Then why did she look more like a lackey… or perhaps even a captive?

(End of Chapter)

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.