"This knowledge I am sharing with you, you have to know that it is precarious."
Suddenly, Jean shuddered as Natalie's warning about the powerful individuals replayed in his mind.
After Pausing for a moment, Casper continued.
"The information about the spirit energy is linked to a certain group of dangerous individuals. Do you know why I moved from the city?"
With a confused look, Jean responded.
"No."
"I will tell you if I get a chance. I hope that you won't be in a hurry to leave."
Jean nodded silently, but deep down, he knew he only did that to please the guy.
What mattered to him at this point was his safety and returning home. He couldn't see any other thing intruding his plans.
'As if this is a nice place to stay. Living in such a disgusting place is no different from surviving. Someday a powerful beast might just bypass the defences and trample the structure. This will automatically expose you to much more danger. If given a chance to leave even tomorrow, I could. It is only that I am still worried about my health and my safety. Besides, I am not well versed with this area. I need assistance to move out of here.'
For a minute, Jean was lost in thoughts that he needed Casper to remind him what they were doing.
"For you to instill the knowledge about this whole process, you need to prepare the Painkiller by yourself. This way, it would be difficult for you to forget the process."
Suddenly, Jean was snapped out of his reverie.
He immediately understood how important this knowledge could be to him. So, he didn't want to ruine this precious chance that Casper had given him. Considering that the herbs were rare, he didn't know when he would get another chance to prepare such an important portion.
He still had some questions that he needed to ask Casper, but since the process of preparing the Painkiller demanded for his full attention, he decided to keep the questions for the appropriate time.
'I hope he would explain to me why the herbs can only be transported by him and not me.'
Jean pondered as he waited for Casper's next instructions.
Five minutes later, Casper's voice echoed in the room.
"Now remove the pot from the fire. The portion is ready now."
As Jean picked a rag and removed the pot from the fire, a question formed in his mind.
"How did you know that it had already past twenty minutes?"
Jean asked out of curiosity since he didn't spot a time measuring instrument like a clock or a watch in the surroundings.
With a chuckle, Casper responded.
"You must have been so keen for you to ask such a question."
Casper said as he smiled genuinely.
"Yes, because I haven't spotted any watch or clock since I have been here."
Patting the boy on the shoulder, Casper gazed at the portion in the pot.
"You are right, I didn't use a watch to estimate the required time."
Giving Jean a sideway look, Casper sighed as he turned and glanced into the pot.
"I want you to check inside the pot and tell me what you have noticed."
Casper said gently.
Looking into the pot with narrowed eyes, Jean lingered. Gazed at Casper, then in the pot and finally at Casper.
"What have you discovered?"
Casper asked after a short moment of hesitation.
Scratching the back of his head, Jean lingered.
"I don't know if this is the answer you expect or not."
Jean said in a hushed tone.
Nodding curtly, Casper responded.
"Feel free to tell me what you have in mind. This isn't an exam that you are afraid of failing."
Casper said in an encouraging voice.
Throwing his doubts out of the window, Jean shook his head before responding.
"The herbs colour has turned."
Jean answered with an expressionless face.
"You are not wrong after all."
Casper said with a grin.
'This boy looks sharp, I see him as a suitable guy for my mission. But I don't think if he is mentally ready for such task. I need to know him better, perhaps there are some more things that I am yet to discover about him. For him to be a target for the kidnappers, there must be a reason for that. But since he was not the only one who was kidnapped, I don't have to be worried about the kidnappers holding me accountable for his escape.'
What Casper didn't know, was that Jean was the only guy that the kidnappers were keeping an eye on. If there could be any other people that were kidnapped alongside Jean, that was difficult to discern.
The kidnappers had even launched a search plan for Jean and Marr a day after the escape of Jean.
So, for Casper to think that the kidnappers could not trace Jean, was contrary to what was happening or about to happen.
Since Jean had taken hostage one of their main men, there was no way the kidnappers were going to let the matter die down in any way even if they didn't had lost interest in Jean himself.
Considering that Marr died in the process, it would be difficult for the kidnappers to allow Jean walk free when his actions were instrumental in devising Marr's death. Although this could only happen if the kidnappers succeed to trace Marr's body.
Two minutes passed by in utter silence as Jean patiently waited for Casper to keep the conversation going.
Casper marvelled as he let out a stifled cough.
"For the herbs to turn their from green to brown, it has to boil for a period of at least twenty minutes. You must wonder how I was able to determine this. But to let you know, is that I have previously used the herb while in the city and there is where I used the clock to come up with this time estimate."
As Jean was waiting for the portion to cool down after transferring it into a different pot, he turned to Casper with a curious look.
"So, you couldn't carry a watch or clock to do the estimation from here when you relocated?"
Jean asked as a smirk formed on his face.
"I just wanted to live a simple life with limited distractions and disturbances. And measuring time could have made me feel too anxious while in this forest and that's one of the things that I don't like."
Carrying the pot with the hot portion and placing it at the furthest corner, Jean straightened up as he placed his hands on his waist.
'Now, I have roughly two hours to spare before I continue with the preparation of this concoction. I have to use this time to ask the guy the most important question.'
Jean contemplated for a moment before approaching Casper. Immediately he got to where Casper was, the latter got to his feet and started leaving the kitchen.
This acted piqued Jean's mood as his chance of asking the guy his most disturbing question was taken away.
"Let's go have our breakfast."
Casper stated as he exited the kitchen and marched into the main house with a swagger.
It was as if he was on his way to have a lifetime meal in his own empire.
Jean on the other hand, reluctantly left the kitchen after hesitating for a few moments.
Although he was avid to have another chance to taste Casper's sumptuous meal, the pain of not getting an answer to his most disturbing question still held an upper hand.
'I need to know this, because it involves my future.'
Jean was burning with rage for squandering a rare opportunity to ask Casper the question.
But the possibility of him asking the question while on the dining table was still there. This was the only thing that made was preventing Jean from cursing out loud.
As he walked through the rear door and stepped into the house, sweet aroma assaulted his nose thus dissipating the bad energy that had descended upon him a while ago.
Casper was already arranging the dishes on the table as he opened one after the other.
Lifting his head and gazing at the approaching Jean, Casper let out a smile as he gestured for the boy to seat on one of the chairs.
As he calmly sat on one of the chairs, Jean felt a heart ache for not having a chance to prepare the delicacies in front of him with Casper.
'Maybe the guy had figured out my plans that's why he didn't want to wake me up early. He is selfish with his culinary skills. No wonder he has ever stayed in the city. There was no way a village bumpkin could be this proficient in cooking. I must admit that after this guy, it is my mom when it comes to cooking. But as long as I have a chance to learn from this guy, mom will see dust the moment I shall step into that kitchen again.'
Jean pondered for a while before shamelessly pulling one of the plates closer to him. Without wasting even a second, he had already scooped a spoonful of boiled rice and was already inserting in his watery mouth.
Casper in the other hand sneaked curios glances at the boy before lowering himself in the closest seat.
Jean didn't care about Casper's stare and continued with his business as if nothing had happened.
Twenty minutes later, the two were done eating. Jean who had stuffed himself to the fullest caressed his belly with a satisfied expression.
Just at that moment, he saw an opening to ask his question.
"I want to ask you a question about the herbs."
Jean said in a haggard tine.
"....And what could be that?"
Casper responded with a subtle frown evident on his face.
"You didn't explain to me why it is only you that can transport the herb and not me. So, if you can make me understand that, I will really appreciate."
Jean asked as he locked his eyes on the guy.
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