Chapter 102: Return (1)

Angele quickly returned to Moss Town. The place was still deadly silent. No one was on the streets and not a single movement could be detected from the buildings.

Mists blanketed the streets as the streaks of sunlight failed to burn them away. Angele walked slowly in the middle of the road, glancing at every direction.

Angele was certain that people still hadn't woken up yet as he couldn't hear anything. A raven landed on one of the buildings' roof. It stood there quietly, staring at Angele with its red eyes.

The raven wasn't cawing or anything, only standing there. Angele looked at it for a brief moment before he walked toward the hotel.

*Creak*

Right after Angele opened the door, he lowered his footsteps and furrowed his brows.

Beside the building, three carriages were still parked there, and the horses were still sleeping. Coachman Tom had his back laid on one of the carriages, snoring.

Angele decided to check on him first. He released the door handle and walked toward Tom. He crouched down and started shaking Tom's shoulders.

"Hey, Tom. Come on, wake up." Angele kept shaking Tom's shoulders, even pinching his right ear.

"Ah..." Tom groaned and slowly opened his eyes, "Master... What happened?"

"We need to move." Angele lowered his voice. He stood up, pinched his horses' ears and woke them up.

"We are done here?" Tom was still trying to figure out what was going on, but he decided not to think too much, "Sure, I will start preparing now!"

"People in this town all fell asleep. We need to leave the place as soon as possible. Something isn't right." Angele felt uncomfortable, but he couldn't make heads or tails of what was wrong.

Angele recalled the day he arrived at the town. People in the hotel were the only residents he met, and Tom pretty much took care of everything for him. Zero detected movements in the houses, so Angele was certain that those were human beings. Yet today, it was different.

Tom walked into the hotel. Angele had told him that others were sleeping, but the place only had deathly silence. He shuddered from this as he started preparing the supplies for the trip.

Angele walked around the yard and checked the carriages. He did not find anything strange. He wondered what happened to the other people in the garden.

'They probably died?'

The door on the other side would take them to a different area, so Angele had no time to check it. He made the decision based on Zero's analysis and believed he made the right choice, which was the reason why he asked Messi's granddaughter to follow him. Delanya had left in a hurry, so Angele didn't acquire any valuable information from her; though it seemed like they didn't just encounter Claw Warriors.

Angele shook his head. In any case, he wouldn't go back there. He walked out of the yard, intent on checking on other residents.

On the left side of the hotel, there was a wooden house surrounded by wooden fences. It seemed like the house was built a long time ago since it looked old.

The fences were closed, but Angele easily jumped over them and entered the front yard. The yard was filled up with weeds, seemingly as if the owner barely did any yard work.

Angele slowly walked toward the door and pushed it carefully.

*Crack*

The door slowly opened, and black smoke returned to Angele's fingertips. He had corroded the lock using negative energy particles. However, it was only effective when the lock wasn't complex.

Angele could smell the mold in the air as he entered the room.

"Wait..." Angele drew back and coughed several times.

He used the wind particles to blow the dust out of the door.

After most of the dust was gone, he finally entered the room, "What? How?" He was shocked.

The house was empty, no one was inside. Angele saw one wooden table in the middle of the room and several chairs. A wooden bow hung on the wall, and the fireplace was covered in spider webs.

*Crack*

Angele stepped on a spoon and he started searching around.

He was sure there were people here when the first time he arrived at the hotel.

Angele narrowed his eyes and his expression changed. He quickly turned around and left the house to check the other houses.

"What the hell..." There was cold sweat on Angele's forehead. His body had warmed up due to running around, but he could only feel a chill climbing up his back.

All the houses, all of them — empty.

There were no people around. Even a mouse couldn't be found, and all the furniture was covered in dust. It was almost like no one had lived here.

'Where are those people? I'm sure Zero detected them before.' Angele was panicking.

Angele stood in the middle of the town, being surrounded by the mist. All the hairs on his skin stood on its end.

"Wait..." Angele took a deep breath and calmed down. He turned around and headed toward the hotel.

*************************

"Tom!" Angele pushed the door open and entered the hotel.

"Tom! Hurry up, we need to go!" he yelled.

However, the place was silent, and Tom did not reply to him. Angele stopped for a second, his worst fear realized.

Angele left the hotel immediately and went to check the carriages. The horses were still there, and they neighed, but he still did not find Tom. The place was small, so Angele was certain that Tom would hear him if he was around the hotel.

Angele drew his dagger and held it tight. He quickly walked toward the backyard.

The kitchen and supply shop were in the backyard, and Angele wondered if Tom was preparing the supplies. He went across the bushes and arrived at an empty ground.

A small house with a chimney on top was there; it was the kitchen. Angele walked around and yelled, but he had found not a single trace of Tom.

"Damn it!" Angele cursed. He knew he had to leave. He grabbed what he could and returned to the carriages.

Angele jumped onto the driving seat and shook the reins.

"Let's go!"

He left the hotel quickly, and the carriage started moving along the street.

"Tom is gone too..." Angele felt numbness in his scalp, "He was talking to me not so long ago..."

"Is this place an illusion? But I talked to the owner and I ate all the food. They were real for sure. The dust coated the furniture in the houses I checked, and it seemed like no one touched them for years..."

Angele kept thinking but he could not arrive at a conclusion. The whole incident was too strange.

"Giddy-up!" Angele shook the reins again and increased the speed.

Ten minutes later...

Angele had left Moss Town. He passed the forked road and started heading back using the same route he had come from. The chilling wind was blowing over his face, which cleared his mind.

He started to see the tall pine trees on the roadside and the ground covered with gray stones. Angele remembered his meeting with the squirrel when he was trying to touch the mushroom.

He looked at the left side of the road. Angele wanted to meet the squirrel again. For some reason, he had the desire to talk to any living being.

The carriage advanced slowly along the bumpy road. After some time, Angele finally encountered the squirrel once again. It was sitting on the grasses and biting a pinecone.

"Halt." Angele stopped the carriage and jumped off it. He walked toward the squirrel quickly.

"Hey, you are here again." The squirrel greeted Angele and raised its head, "So how did it go? What did you get?"

Angele forced a smile, "Well, I got what I wanted."

He crouched down, feeling a bit relieved.

"The elder of the forest wants to meet you. Will you accept the invitation?" the squirrel asked.

"The elder?"

"Yea. Actually, he wants to buy some of the snacks you give the last time. We live very close to the road, so we can talk to the merchants passing by easier," the squirrel added.

"I didn't take too many snacks with me..." Angele hesitated.

"It's fine. I'm sure you still have some left," the squirrel waved its claw and said.

"Alright..." Angele felt relaxed after talking to the squirrel.

"Follow me." The squirrel held the pinecone in claws and started moving toward the forest.

"What about my carriage?" Angele questioned.

"My mates will look after it for ya." The squirrel pointed at the carriage.

Angele turned back and saw a black squirrel waving toward them on the roof of the carriage.

"Allen~ Take care~" The black squirrel was waving his claws.

*BAM*

Allen threw his pinecone toward the carriage and it hit the black squirrel's head.

"Come on, do your job!" Allen clapped with its claws, "Alright, let's go."

Angele smiled, "So you have a name?"

"That's my nickname." Allen shrugged.

They quickly disappeared into the forest.

"Allen! We are done!" The black squirrel yelled from behind, "My sister too! I'll not allow her to talk to you anymore!"

***************************

Angele followed Allen to a lake after going across the forest.

Mist rose from the green lake. It was huge, such that Angele couldn't see the other side of the lake.

A long, brown wooden dock was built upon the lake. Angele could see the long legs supporting it under the surface of the water. The dock looked like a bridge that led to the middle of the lake.

Angele felt speechless after seeing what was at the end of the dock. It was a cat standing upright on its hind legs. The cat had put its hands on the back and was mumbling something. Also, there was a fishing rod behind its feet. The strange scene made Angele think that the cat had already witnessed the vicissitudes of life.