42 THE SINISTER TREE 4

They continue for two days, at late noon of the third day, the searching team came upon a road junction between the main road and a small dirt road lead to the northwest. For the dirt road, a woman suddenly appeared, hailing them. She seems to be in her mid-twenty to early-thirty, dressed like a normal peasant woman, hair tied up in a bun behind her head, and a nice looking round face. the woman seems very ordinary but somehow she makes Crown Prince Lam felt unease, because of her tone of voice when she speaks, a flat, steady, emotionless tone. And even after the Brocade Cloak Guards announced that she is standing before the present of the Emperor and the Crown Prince, the woman just bows with an expressionless face, she shows no surprise, not even disbelieve of what she heard, as if meeting the "head of the stated" and the "next in line of the crown" in the middle of nowhere like this is perfectly ordinary.

"answer me, do you saw an imperial convoy go pass here a week ago?" Emperor Tu asked her.

"yes, Your Majesty, there was an imperial convoy had come and stayed at my village about five day ago." The woman answered with a flat tone voice.

"really, then did you saw anything abnormal from the convoy?" Emperor Tu asked.

"I do not know, sire. But you can ask the elders for more information." She replied.

"when we on the way here, we spotted a corpse on the road, that corpse seem to be one of the convoy, do you know anything about that?" Crown Prince Lam asked.

"no." the woman answered bluntly with her flat tone, and a blank stare. Her gaze creeps the hell out of Crown Prince Lam, made the hairs on his neck suddenly stand right up.

Realized the dying daylight, and the crimson twilight sun is only a length of a hand from the horizon, Emperor Tu decided they will take rest at the woman village for the night and also to meet the village's elders to ask for more information and told her to lead the way. But Crown Prince Lam came to his father and whisper "father, I think we should just set camp here then go to village tomorrow." Crown Prince Lam said to his father and still kept watching out the peasant woman.

"huh? Why?" Emperor Lam asked.

"wrong? Unease? what do you mean? She's just a peasant woman." Emperor Tu frowning in confuse.

"uh… it's just the way she talks… it makes me feel strange." Crown Prince spoke, scratching his horn.

"well, I do admit that the way she speaks is strange, but what to worry about that? I think you overthinking too much. Besides, we need to find more information about your uncle as soon as possible, it can't be help it." Emperor Tu said then rowel his velelis after the peasant woman. Crown Prince Lam have to put aside his unease feeling aside.

About ten minutes following the path westward, and cross over a low hill, a green foliage of a big tree slowly come to their view behind the hilltop and then a village with 30 to 40 houses, surrounding the big tree. The tree seems very old and enormous, from a far Crown Prince Lam estimated its high must be about 80 lias tall, the trunk's diameter even bigger than some of the building in the village, its foliage stretched far, and roofed the entire village under its shadow, with many big branches hang low near the ground. Surrounding the village is a thick wall of bamboo trees, rustling in the wind, and act as the village nature barricade. To the southeast of the village is the main gate. Amaze with the gigantic tree, Crown Prince Lam ask one of the Brocade Cloak Guard next to him, if he know what tree it is. The guard took good long look and guess it maybe a Cerpidar tree, though he said he never saw any cerpidar tree this gigantic.