“Ali, there’s nothing to fear with Jared around!” Percy wasn’t afraid at all, for he was now blindly worshipping Jared. “It still pays to be cautious. The journey ahead. of us remains a perilous one,” Jared reminded.
For some strange reason, Jared’s first impression of Francois was that he was extremely ruthless. It wasn’t until they had traveled for a few hours that the group entered the mountain range where the sunlight was blocked out by the dense forest.
Even though they were now inside the mountains, everyone remained unfazed. As they were only moving along its borders, any demon beast that appeared wouldn’t be particularly strong. The danger didn’t concern. them at all. Along the way, Brutus constantly tried to talk to Francois, but the latter didn’t seem interested in having a conversation.
“Who in the world is that guy? Dr. Weiss seems to be afraid of him. He’s not showing the doctor any respect despite the latter being someone renowned in Quakersville,” Percy said when he saw how obsequiously Brutus was behaving toward Francois.
“I’ve never seen him in Quakersville either. He looks unfamiliar to me,” Ali said as he stared at Francois. While Ali spoke, a middle-aged man with at beard approached them and said, “He’s Dr. Weiss’ senior. That’s why he’s so afraid of him.”
Ali responded by giving the man a suspicious glance. One could never be too careful when dealing with strangers in Ethereal Realm. Noticing the wary look in Ali’s eyes, the middle- aged man introduced himself, “I’m Hefe Granger from Bliss Village.”
“You’re from Bliss Village?” Percy came forward. “How did you get here? Wasn’t everyone in Bliss Village massacred by those from Cyan Village a long time ago?” Upon hearing Percy’s question, Hefe said in a sorrowful tone, “They were, but I managed to escape. That’s why I came back seeking. vengeance.”
Seeing that Hefe didn’t seem to be lying, Ali felt a sense of sympathy welling up in him. “How are you going to take revenge alone? You probably can’t even break into Cyan Village.”
“I’ll definitely have my revenge even if it costs. me my life. Dr. Weiss promised to make me a power burst pill if I were to help him secure his herb.”
The mere mention of the power burst pill piqued everyone’s interest, including Jared’s. The power burst pill was capable of dramatically enhancing one’s power but could only do so for ten minutes. Thereafter, its user would explode like a bomb and be blown up into smithereens. Hefe was prepared to sacrifice his own life for revenge.
“Did you just say that man is Dr. Weiss’ senior? Tell me more,” Jared asked Hefe. “That’s right. I’ve never heard of Dr. Weiss having any seniors, let alone him belonging to a sect.”
Ali had interacted with Brutus a few times, and he had come to Quakersville on more than one occasion. Yet he had never heard anyone mention such a thing.
After scanning his surroundings, Hefe said softly, “His name is Francois Wurstel, a member of Emerald Cauldron Sect. Dr. Weiss, too, is a member of the same sect. Francois was the one who ordered Dr. Weiss to search for the mystical herb.”
Jared stared at Hefe with a grim look on his face, “How do you know so much? Why are your telling us this?”
Such matters were secret and shouldn’t be easily shared. Moreover, it was hard to predict one’s intentions in Ethereal Realm. Given everyone’s competing interests, no one would do something for free. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Hefe, and they all had him surrounded.
