Chapter 427 427. DEAD-MAN SITTING

Noah arose from his bed, standing to glance outside the window of the building he had been utilizing as a lodge for the past week.

It was night outside and the silver light of the full moon unfolded in the night sky.

Thanks to the lights that filled the streets of the town everything wasn't completely dark. That would leave a weird vibe for whoever was traversing the streets.

Noah directly jumped out the window and landed lightly on the street below him. After which he vanished from sight.

He sprinted toward the town's head's house even if he could have just teleported.

Noah arrived before the said building and an eyebrow rose on his face due to the extra amount of lights he could now see.

Walking past the open gate, he crossed the stone pathway to arrive before the closed door into the building.

A knock on it was enough to get the reaction he desired, and in less than a minute the door flung open and the town's head daughter unfolded in his eyes.

"Welcome sir George," the young lady curtsied, her orange gown slightly touching the ground as a result.

Noah nodded his head, taking a moment to sweep his calm gaze over her features.

She was beautiful.

"Please, come this way," she gestured, letting her hand out for Noah's arm.

He almost furrowed his brows on the outside, but he didn't and held his arm out for her to grab.

'Isn't this just like a normal visit,' Noah wondered inwardly, strangely confused by the event.

"I never got your name," Noah's voice rang out as she led him up the stairs, slowly.

"And I never got to see your face," She replied, eyeing the yellow mask he had on. It perfectly matched his yellow robe.

Noah gave a short laugh at her direct words. He had worn a mask throughout the mission to save Erolia's young brother, Savy. So that was to be expected.

Speaking of him, Herald had sent the boy to stay with one of their close friends at the edge of the area. Hopefully, that had been a good idea.

The only thing that could lead people to recognize Noah was his white hair. It stood out like a sore thumb.

"Tell me your name. And I'll show you my face," Noah offered even if he already knew it. It had become a hassle knowing people's names when they had not told it him. He would require some way to get it.

The young lady was being hard.

She nodded at his offer opening her mouth to speak. "I am Tilda," she announced narrowing her eyes slightly at sir George's face.

Noah almost gave a chuckle, but he simply pulled down his mask with his right hand, and watched her expression flicker, before her eyes widened without much of her consent.

Noah smiled and wore the thing back allowing her to regain focus.

She cleared her throat, startled and slightly embarrassed. Now that she had seen his face, her attitude towards him couldn't help but change. She fell silent and resumed their walk.

They did not speak after that point. Much to Noah's pleasure.

Tilda led Noah to a nicely decorated dining room.

On the far end of the slightly long table was Kius and the man eagerly stood to welcome them.

"Sir George!" the expert exclaimed seemingly excited while rushing toward his daughter and his guest.

"It's been a while, towns head," Noah replied with a fake smile of delight allowing Kius to take his had in a frantic handshake. During which Tilda let go of his arm, her sudden silent behavior left Noah wondering.

"I hope you're not offended by my sudden in-absence. I had wanted to visit you the day of their return, but young Tilda had advised that I did something better than a simple visit."

"And although it was impromptu, we managed to make good use of our resources," Kius gestured at the table laden with different plates filled with different delicacies. They smelled nice, Noah had to admit inwardly.

Glancing at the chair Tilda had pulled out and nodded at him, Noah went ahead and sat while Kius went and sat on the other side, but they could still converse.

Tilda sat rather close to Noah, making him wonder if it was something she had planned with her father or an action she had decided to take by herself.

"Please have your fill. There are things we must discuss." Kius smiled taking a bit of the food before him.

"I honestly want to know how you did it," Kius had admitted starting the conversation.

"Did what?" Noah asked slightly unsure of what the man meant.

"Laid waste to a hideout featuring tens of tier 3 cultivators," Kius explained genuinely intrigued.

"Even more. Battling an individual even I feared, but for obvious reasons," he added glancing at his daughter. She reminded him of his dead wife.

Noah raised an eyebrow, having already pulled down his mask to eat.

He immediately recalled the nature of the man before him, and felt a wave of disgust sweep over him.

Everything the man had been doing till that point looked and felt false, but Noah didn't allow his sudden contempt ruin his carefully thought reply.

"I'm just that strong," he responded with a shrug and the entire room seemed to fall dead silent.

"I see," Kius muttered unsure of what next. George's answer had been incredibly vague, and it seemed he had done it on purpose.

'Just that strong. Who exactly are you?' Kius sighed inwardly before moving to carry out the next phase of his plan. He did so by immersing Noah in different conversations, acting as host-like as possible. But the expert before him was impossible to crack.

Every try to milk information had been carefully dodged. It seemed he had rehearsed their dialogue before then, or he had the ability to read minds.

Kius subconsciously became careful at the thought of being able to read minds. Sure it was impossible for the average cultivator, but there were deviants out there who could influence the thoughts of those around them either negatively or positively.

There were even deviants who were cable of subjecting magical beasts to their will by simply utilizing their ability on the wildest of monsters. Kius became meticulous, yet he moved on with his tasks.

After all, if truly sir George could read minds, he would have known than to eat of the food on his side of the table. As they contained a substance that rendered even peak tier 3's at their weakest state.

If only Kius knew that Noah simply did not care about the poison. His body continued to completely detoxify it, and the system continued to inform him about it.

To Noah, Kius was a dead man sitting. He only wanted to see where the whole thing would lead to.