When the old man finished telling the story, Kendrick finally asked the main part.
"Where does the king hide the cure in the story..?"
"The cure..? That's easy, of course only the royalties of the Euphoria Kingdom have access to it, but the toughest part is gaining access to them."
When he thought about it, it's impossible even for his father, the Viscount of the Dhair Kingdom to even be able to talk with the royalties of the north unless he has contacts with royalty inside, so how in the hell would he even be able to obtain the cure.
Even more… To think his father would get something to this extent in order to just shut him up. Just how large is the backer of his father has.
"Would it be possible to recreate the cure..?"
If it's impossible to obtain the cure, then wouldn't it be able to recreate it? Kendrick asked the old man with a serious expression. Although it was simply a hope to survive, he wished the old man had the answer for him that could save him…
The old man looked away from him before spacing out. And when he finally had an answer in mind, the old man shook his head in denial and simply told him the truth.
"No, even I, someone who lives from the North, has no knowledge of how to remove or cure them. But..," The old man paused and bit his lips in frustration, it looked as if he recalled something in his memory as trauma seemed to haunt his face, "There is one person who could possibly help you… He was wicked and a very cruel person."
"No! I don't mind even if I have to face a devil or some sort… I will do anything in order to survive. Even if I have to take a helping hand from the devil itself… I… I still have a lot of things I wanted to accomplish in life…"
The old man stared deeply into the desperate eyes of the young man. To be honest, he really didn't want to give the young man false hope but after seeing those determined eyes that were seemingly crying out for survival, in the end, he decided to be the hope for the young man and help him out with his knowledge.
"I can't tell you in full detail, but there was once a master of doctrine who lived in the North. He used to be a guy with a bright smile… Everyone admires him, and so envies. At one event, the master lost everything. His properties, family, friends, and everything he knew. And after those tragedies, the master lost himself and practiced evil arts from ancient times… In truth…,"
The old man bit his lips even harder this time, it didn't take long until blood started seeping out from them. The old man continued with a long face, "He was… Someone, I once knew, and admired."
Kendrick seemed to be overjoyed when he heard the old man knew the one who could cure him, the hope for his survival in his heart seems to grow even larger. It made him feel at ease even for a moment.
"I'm sorry to hear that… Then… Would it be possible for me to survive if I can find him..?"
The old man seemed so down, and thinking of other stuff before answering his question.
"If you can find him that would be great, but the question is whether he would help you or not…"
There was a visible sadness hanging from his dark pupil as he spoke. It seemed to have reminded him of something.
"That tragedy was too much for him… He burned half of the continent from the North with his unknown flames, and took away so many innocent lives with his evil arts from ancient times. It would be a miracle if he did end up helping you."
"But… I have to risk it."
It was the only thing he could think of. He was afraid of death more than anyone. If he wasn't going to end up doing it, he would end up dying anyway, so it doesn't really change anything. He would rather risk it, he already came this far to survive.
The old man knew from one look alone the young man wouldn't give up his pursuit and finally gave him what he wanted.
"In the North, there was a village called Kunlun Village. It was close to the town, and in there, lies a famous mountain. Kunlun Mountain. It was said whoever climbs it never returns, a mountain full of myths and beasts."
Kendrick carefully listened to the old man as he continued on.
"After he set half of the continent in flames, he climbed up the mountain and never returned to the world. It was unknown whether he's alive or not. And… It was also the very last time I saw him, I'll never forget that day."
Kendrick stared at the old man with gloomy eyes. The old man seemed to have gone through a lot. He even asked about it without even considering his feelings, somehow, he felt guilty. It was someone the old man knew, so of course it would be despairing for him to tell Kendrick everything and yet he still did it.
The old man realized the change in the eyes of the young man and immediately changed the atmosphere.
"Don't mind it, you are in a more difficult position. If I were you, I would've ended my life a long time ago, knowing I'd have to experience the pain and thought of the upcoming death I could not stop."
The long night continued, soon enough, the moon was covered in a cloud, and everything below it were soon cloaked in complete darkness.
Kendrick thought about it deeply, and finally decided to apologize.
And when he was about to apologize…
A wind blows from outside. It was a silent yet fast blow.
The old man realized immediately something was wrong, however, he was a little bit too late. Before he could fend it off, an arrow came bursting, shot from the window. And as it landed over the old man's shoulder, a silent but painful groan rang from the old man.
"Fuck…"
The old man couldn't help himself but to curse out, as he painstakingly took out the arrow dug deep inside his shoulder.
The arrow dropped to the ground, followed by blood seeping out from the wound on his shoulder. He doesn't look too good in comparison, it seemed like the arrow was poisoned one way or another.
"Hide yourself! We're being attacked!"