Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)

Chapter 336: Night Time Stalker

They were once again stuck. Even if Red Beard had really found where the lady was buried, the secret was not of any use.

Xiao Lin went more in depth, asking Ibeiya various questions about the myth, such as the name of the king and the lady, as well as the various changes in Silverlight Lake throughout the years.

It was then that Xiao Lin had sharply noticed something else: the origin of the lake’s name. It was said that many years ago, the lake would emit a silver light during the night when the light of the two moons hit the bottom, which was where the name came from.

“A silver light? Is it the reflection of the moon?” Xiao Lin first tried to find a logical reason for it, but logic was not really all that useful in Planet Norma.

“Uncle, I’m just talking about the legends. In truth, no one living near the lake had ever seen this so-called silver light.”

“Why don’t we check it out tonight?” Lilith said decisively.

The weather had been quite good those few days. There were no clouds to be seen, and the moonlight was plentiful. Xiao Lin agreed to her suggestion, and the three of them tidied up before heading straight to the lake. It was not yet that late, and Xiao Lin estimated the time to be around eight at night, but Planet Norma did not have much of a nightlife; the same went for the village. Everyone basically stayed in their houses after the sunset.

That was why Xiao Lin was immediately on high alert after noticing some strange movements behind them. Any native who would be outside during the night was probably following them.

The village had a certain relationship with Red Beard. He might have dared to hide his treasure here, but no matter how confident he was that it would not be found, it was unlikely he would leave it unattended. There were definitely some people left around the village to take care of the treasure and prevent anyone from getting too close.

Xiao Lin was prepared for that, and shot a look at Lilith, alerting her. The one following them had an unclear identity, but did not seem too strong with how they were following them. Otherwise, Xiao Lin at his Black Iron rank and Lilith at her Bronze rank would not have noticed.

The two moons were crescent shaped, and the white moonlight shone over the mirror-like surface of the lake. Some bugs would occasionally fly past, causing ripples on the surface. It was a very normal scene, with no silver light to be seen.

Lilith was a little disappointed, and suddenly rushed backward toward the person following them. Her intense speed did not leave the person any time to react, and after a brief struggle, Lilith’s threats could be heard before the night once again turned silent.

The one following them was easily brought over by Lilith, but it was unexpectedly a young boy, his age closer to Ibeiya’s. His gaze darted around as he faced Xiao Lin and Lilith, fright evident on his face.

“I remember him,” Xiao Lin recalled. “When we arrived, this boy seemed to have wanted to walk toward us, but a few old people stopped him.”

Was he the spy Red Beard left behind?

Xiao Lin found that hard to believe, but did not eliminate the possibility. However, this dumb-looking boy who could not even follow them properly definitely did not seem like the type.

“What is your name?” Xiao Lin asked.

“Qwei.” The boy said nervously in Normese.

“He’s probably around Black Iron-rank in skill, and had probably never gone through any proper battle training,” Lilith said to Xiao Lin. She was careful, communicating with a mix of Mandarin and English to prevent Qwei from understanding.

Xiao Lin trusted Lilith’s judgement. With Lilith’s battle sense, her estimation of the boy’s skill should be quite accurate after the fight capturing him.

“Qwei, is it?” Xiao Lin knelt down, trying to soften his tone. He could see that the boy was obviously afraid; he was trembling. He gently said, “You don’t have to be scared. We won’t do anything to you. Tell us, do you know Red Beard?”

Qwei nodded his head initially, but quickly shook his head, mumbling something as he did so. Unfortunately, just as Xiao Lin tried to listen, the boy immediately shut his mouth–trembling even harder, the look of terror in his eyes obvious.

“He seems to be trying to tell us something, but he’s afraid to?” Lilith speculated.

“He’s very afraid,” Ibeiya said.

Xiao Lin rolled his eyes. Anyone could see that he was afraid, but he suddenly widened his eyes. The boy’s gaze did not fall on them as he fidgeted most of the time. He furrowed his eyebrows, standing up before whispering to Lilith, “The one he’s afraid of doesn’t seem to be us.”

In truth, Dawn Academy had a pretty good reputation around their territories in recent years. They might be colonists, but they still treated the locals quite well. They did not force too many taxes on them, nor did they kill indiscriminately. Of course, that was putting aside those with thoughts of rebellion. Dawn Academy’s governmental style had actually attracted quite a few native immigrants.

This village was not removed from society, so they definitely knew that. They might be respectful to outsiders, but they would not be so terrified.

It had to be something else that caused the boy to be so scared.

Xiao Lin and Lilith immediately increased their alertness. Xiao Lin shut his eyes, projecting his mental strength outward. His Basic Meditation had already been at LV6 before the third examination, and after his training in Necromantic Mediation, it was not at LV7, but he still could not sense any living things around.

Lilith’s Basic Meditation was even lower. Xiao Lin shook his head at Lilith, indicating that either there was no one around them, or the opponent was a lot more skillful than Xiao Lin, allowing them to avoid being sensed.

Of course, it was also possible that the boy was good at acting–so good he was even better than Ibeiya.

Lilith was more partial to the last possibility. She was always very careful around strangers. In fact, she still had very clear defenses around Ibeiya, even now. Both Xiao Lin and Ibeiya could feel it, they just never brought it up.

“I-I just went out to use the toilet. I-I’m going back.” The boy tried to retreat, but Xiao Lin could not willingly let him go. Yet, no matter how they asked, the boy stubbornly kept his mouth shut.