Patrol, Gossip

Patrol, Gossip

On the second day, it was the wizard couple Qiao Lin and his wife.

The couple knew how to conduct themselves. They had even specially brought Ronan gifts: freshly baked apple pie and mutton pie.

They warmly said that he could often come over to mooch meals from them in the future, their desire to ingratiate themselves plain for all to see.

Ronan politely invited them inside for a cup of tea. After seeing the couple off, he sampled the apple pie and mutton pie they had brought.

He could not help sighing. Compared to Qiao Lin's Wife's cooking, what the hell had he been eating all this time?

On the third day, it was the young wizard Linas's turn.

Ronan did not see him. He guessed Linas had left directly without greeting him.

The fourth day was the Half-Elf siblings.

Thinking of the gentle, lovely Half-Elf girl he had seen at Potter's funeral, Ronan timed things carefully and waited outside the treehouse early. He hoped to feast his eyes on her again, perhaps even chat with her and get acquainted.

But after waiting and waiting, all he got was the cold-faced Half-Elf brute. The man asked him a couple of simple questions before leaving, leaving Ronan disappointed for quite some time.

The fifth day.

At last, it was Ronan's turn to patrol.

"Spell ring, One-Handed Sword, waterskin, rations."

Inside the cabin, Ronan checked the items he needed one by one, then donned his Gray Magic Robe.

He had originally planned to wear a set of light leather armor underneath.

However, because of his body-tempering cultivation, his physique had changed considerably. The leather armor left behind by the previous owner no longer fit him, and wearing it would only hinder his movements, so he gave up on the idea.

The moment he stepped out of the cabin, Ronan saw Jacob, the blond chubby boy assigned to patrol with him, waiting beneath his Old Oak Tree.

Ronan climbed down the tree along the vines. Noticing the movement, Jacob hurried over to meet him.

"Morning, Lord Ronan."

Jacob greeted Ronan, his expression carrying a trace of barely concealed excitement and agitation.

"Morning."

Ronan smiled politely at him and casually asked, "Have you eaten breakfast?"

"I haven't!"

Jacob was about to shake his head, then quickly nodded instead.

Ronan could not be bothered to care whether he had eaten or not. He had only asked out of courtesy anyway, so he said directly, "Then let's begin."

"Okay, okay."

Jacob followed closely behind him like an attendant.

Ronan took his first patrol fairly seriously.

He took out the patrol route map drawn by Old Wells and studied it, considering the arrangements ahead.

Starting from his home, he would first go to Qiao Lin and his wife's home, the nearest one, then Old Wells's home, then Venecia's, the Half-Elf siblings', and every residence belonging to the members of Linas's small group. Including patrolling the activity area, inspecting the water source, and checking the supply storage points, the entire route should take him two hours at his pace.

But if he brought Jacob along... Ronan glanced at the blond chubby boy following tightly at his side, whose breathing had already begun to grow heavy after walking for such a short while. "It'll probably take over three hours."

"Damn it. Looks like I won't be doing anything else today..."

Ronan shook his head and sighed inwardly.

In truth, the group had not stipulated how many times each patrol team had to make its rounds, nor were there fixed route requirements.

But patrols were a matter of luck to begin with. No one knew when or where trouble might suddenly arise, so Ronan felt it was better to be conscientious.

For everyone's sake, and for his own.

His preliminary plan was to cover the map in his hands at least three times a day: once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once at night.

If things went smoothly, he should still be able to squeeze out some time for his own work.

Lost in thought as he walked, Ronan unknowingly arrived at the first patrol point: Qiao Lin and his wife's residence.

Qiao Lin and his wife's treehouse had been built between two intertwined trees. From the outside, it looked much larger than Ronan's.

Since the couple had made a special visit last time, Ronan decided to go up and greet them out of courtesy.

To his surprise, the couple seemed to have expected his arrival. They had been waiting at the door early and greeted them with extraordinary enthusiasm, treating them to a lavish welcome.

This was Ronan's first formal visit to another wizard's home. Feeling somewhat embarrassed that he had not brought any gifts, he merely sat down for a cup of black tea before getting up to take his leave.

Jacob, who claimed he had already eaten breakfast, devoured an entire plate of freshly baked raspberry pies made by Qiao Lin's Wife, eating some and taking some away. Even as they left, he kept burping loudly.

Ronan was utterly speechless.

Perhaps because he felt he had become a little familiar with Ronan, Jacob began taking the initiative to chat with him after they left Qiao Lin and his wife's home.

"Lord Ronan, I heard you're a Rune Master?"

"Yes."

Ronan nodded casually. It was no secret; he had never deliberately concealed it.

"That's truly incredible!"

Jacob exclaimed, looking at Ronan with undisguised respect and admiration.

"In the Treehouse Area, I've never seen a genius like you, becoming a Level Four Wizard and a Rune Master at such a young age."

"Heh."

Ronan smiled without responding.

After flattering him for another round or two, Jacob suddenly asked cautiously, "Lord Ronan, do you have a teacher, or perhaps an inheritance?"

Ronan glanced at Jacob. "Why do you ask?"

"Because Lord Linas is like that."

Jacob answered without thinking. "Lord Linas's teacher was a High-Level Wizard Apprentice. After he passed away, he left everything to Lord Linas."

Ronan froze, then instinctively pressed, "Where did you hear that?"

"Madam Barbara. A very beautiful female wizard who used to live over there..."

Jacob pointed in a direction and said, "Half a month ago, she kicked aside several of her former lovers and became Lord Linas's mistress."

Only after Jacob finished speaking did he seem to realize he had misspoken, hurriedly covering his mouth.

But Ronan had an enlightened expression.

"No wonder that guy is so arrogant, and already Level Five at such a young age. So he inherited the legacy of a high-level Wandering Wizard."

Ronan could not help asking Jacob whether he knew why the young wizard Linas had moved to the Treehouse Area.

This time, however, Jacob hemmed and hawed, unwilling to explain clearly.

Still, Ronan guessed that with Linas's sort of personality, the kind that would even brag about his family assets to his bedmate, word had most likely gotten out about the High-Level Wizard Apprentice's inheritance he carried, drawing the attention of people with ill intentions.

Or perhaps he had simply been driven here by enemies.

The secret about Linas that Jacob had inadvertently revealed piqued Ronan's interest, and he began actively chatting with Jacob.

To his surprise, Jacob was truly something else.

Though his strength was mediocre and his talent average, his ability to dig up gossip was absolutely first-rate.

He knew everything about the wizards across a vast stretch of the surrounding area.

Which male wizard was secretly sleeping with which female wizard, which wizard's son was not actually his biological child, how two male wizards had astonishing sexual preferences and not only met in secret behind everyone's backs all year round, but always brought a billy goat along as well... Ronan's horizons were broadened. If not for Jacob, he would never have known that the wizards of the Treehouse Area lived such fascinating lives.

He even learned that Old Wells had once had a daughter in his youth, who had unfortunately died young. The reason he took such care of Venecia, who lived by the Tree Spring Side, was entirely because he regarded her as his own daughter. Time passed swiftly amid Jacob's endless gossip and anecdotes, but unfortunately, by the latter half of the patrol, Jacob gradually fell silent from exhaustion, leaving Ronan still wanting more.

Pushing aside the thick cover of dead branches and fallen leaves, Ronan carefully inspected the items inside the small tree hollow before him.

Food, several packets of hemostatic powder for treating external injuries, a bottle of the most basic antidote, and a brand-new, unused Signal Box.

"Old Wells really put thought into this."

Ronan covered it up again and sighed softly to himself.