The white-bearded old man had not expected Hobart to be so shameless. He had answered Hobart's question seriously, yet Hobart had answered his question in such a manner.
However, the old man did not get angry. He merely smiled. "It has been a long time since I met a young man as thick-skinned as you."
Klein thought, A long time since he met one? Could the last person that thick-skinned have been Rosell? "All right, let's not waste any more time." The old man said, "Before the Crimson Moon arrives again, I'll tell you how to leave this place."
He seemed to raise his hand weakly and pointed ahead. "Do you see that wall over there? Is there a recessed area on it?"
Hobart and Klein had already noticed the ancient, primitive symbols covering that wall, except for an empty space in the middle that prevented them from connecting into a whole.
Now that they looked carefully, the blank area was about the size of two palms, visibly recessed inward, as though its surface bricks had been dug out.
"As long as you find the corresponding piece of obsidian and place it in the recess, this wall can initially break free from its 'secrecy' state." The old man spoke slowly. "Then, I will tell you a complex special symbol. It is the key to opening the 'Escape Gate.'"
At this moment, Hobart looked as though he were listening intently, but a symbol suddenly surfaced in Klein's mind: a vertical eye formed from many secret symbols! It was the information the Antigonus Family Notebook had transmitted to him through infecting the Misfortune Puppet when he had first stood watch over Chanis Gate as a Nighthawk in Tingen City!
"Where is that obsidian?" Hobart asked.
The old man gave a low laugh.