Chapter 338 - THE WHEREABOUTS OF THE MALE ELF

"Okay, this would be my last question. Can you 100% assure me that this elf will know all the details regarding what happened to Finnea?" Luo Yan asked Alicia seriously.

Alicia didn't hesitate to give him one of her very enthusiastic nods. But after that, a flash of hesitation appeared on her face. As if she wanted to say something but wasn't sure if she could.

"If you don't directly mention the elf or say anything related to what happened to Finnea, I think you could freely speak," Luo Yan said, encouraging her with a gentle smile.

"Is- is it really enough?" she finally asked.

"Of course. In fact, it's more than enough." Luo Yan stood up and offered his hand to Alicia. "Thank you, for your cooperation. What you did today would definitely help Finnea's family have that much needed closure."

Alicia tremblingly reached out to his hand and then proceeded on bursting into tears once again. "T-thank you."

"We'll be leaving now. But please do stay in this room for a while until you calm down," Luo Yan said, taking back his hand. "Do you want me to ask someone to bring you tea?"

"N-no, it's okay. I'll be fine here."

Luo Yan smiled and turned to the little fox and the big Qilin sitting on the opposite couch. He gestured his head towards the door, telling them that they should leave. Eclipse didn't hesitate to jump into his arms and Shen Ji Yun also stood up. The three walked out of the lounge room.

[Mashter, that was amazing! You took a lot of information from her without her even speaking!] – Eclipse said excitedly, his big sapphire blue eyes looking at him full of admiration.

[Yeah, sometimes I even wonder how I could be so amazing.] – Luo Yan said without even a hint of humbleness.

Eclipse suddenly went silent and just stared at his master. [Eclipse suddenly felt that he shouldn't praise Mashter too much.]

Luo Yan raised one of his brows. [Oh? And what is that?]

[Because Eclipse is afraid that Mashter's head would get bigger and bigger. A Mashter with a big head is not attractive.]

Luo Yan chuckled and flicked the little guy's forehead. [Smartass.]

Then he turned to Shen Ji Yun who had been quiet until now. He seriously looked like he didn't even listen to the conversation between him and Alicia. He wondered what was going through his head since earlier. Anyway, he better snapped out of it because they still had a lot of things to do.

"Brother Ji Yun, I think we should talk to the Leader again. Currently, he's the best source of information we have regarding that male elf," he said.

A male elf who left Crimson Corps right after what happened to Finnea and who's also most probably a Mage – surely there wouldn't be that much who fit that description. 

Although Shen Ji Yun looked like he wasn't paying attention earlier, well, he probably really wasn't, the things Luo Yan and that NPC discussed still entered his mind. He was good at multi-tasking that way. So, he nodded at Luo Yan's suggestion. And then, he thought of saying;

"Yan Yan, I'll do my best so we could finish the two tasks by tomorrow."

Luo Yan stopped then raised his head to look at Shen Ji Yun's handsome face. Seeing the other being so serious, he suddenly had an urge to tease him. 

"Then maybe next time Brother Ji Yun should help me in interviewing the NPCs," he said with a playful smile. "Who knows, maybe you'll do better than me."

Realizing what Luo Yan meant by what he said, Shen Ji Yun's face quickly heated up. Turning his whole face into a ripe red tomato. Because it was like the other was saying that he wasn't much of help when it came to talking to NPCs. And now that he thought about it, whenever the two of them do tasks like this together, it was always Luo Yan who interacted with the NPCs. 

He felt ashamed which made his face even redder.

Looking at his reddened face, Luo Yan couldn't help but let out a laugh. Really, it was always fun teasing Shen Ji Yun.

Hearing the bell-like sound of Luo Yan's laugh, Shen Ji Yun's feeling of shame slowly receded. Because he knew that this rabbit was just being a naughty fox again. Although, he must admit, he probably should really step up when it came to interviewing NPCs. Should he start with that elf they were looking for?

[Mashter shouldn't tease Captain too much.] – Eclipse said.

[But it's so fun.]

[Then Mashter should be careful once Captain retaliates. Eclipse bet that would definitely not be fun for Mashter.]

Luo Yan only smiled. He glanced at Shen Ji Yun. This guy retaliating? He had already done that with his little Casanova antics. Albeit unconsciously and very unintentional. And he must admit, it really was effective. Making his heart all aflutter. 

"Let's go and talk again to the Leader," he just said.

Shen Ji Yun nodded and they walked again towards the leader's office. Luo Yan knocked and they were told to enter. This time, there was no longer any smoke lingering around.

"Has your talk with Alicia already finished?" the leader asked.

"Yes, thank you for letting her talk to us," Luo Yan said.

The leader shrugged. "There's no need for thanks. I also wanted to know what happened to Finnea back then. But Alicia had always refused to talk about it. Did she tell you anything important?"

"She did. So, I wanted to ask the Leader for another favor."

"If it's related to Finnea, then I'll do what I can. Her father was a close friend of mine, you see. I had always felt guilty about what happened to her, always felt like I failed the both of them. So, I'd be more than glad to offer my assistance in any way." 

Luo Yan nodded. "I see. Then, Leader, if there's someone in your group of mercenaries who suddenly left not long after Finnea was cursed."

The leader went silent for a moment, as if he already had a feeling where this conversation was going. "There's a number of them. Because of what happened to Finnea, I remembered the things that transpired in our group that year quite clearly. You need to be more specific."

"A male elf. He's a mage who's pretty enamored with Finnea."

The leader widened his eyes in surprised when he heard that. He even looked unbelieving. As if there's no way that male elf would be involved in what happened to Finnea. But at the end, he still answered Luo Yan honestly.

"Rhys. His name is Rhys."

Luo Yan smiled in triumph. "Do you know where he is now?"

The leader shook his head. "But I kept Life Lamps of the members of Crimson Corps – former and current members alike. If I used that, I could know his current location instantly." He went silent for a moment before continuing on. "If your suspicion of him turned out to be correct, then he should have a way to know if I used his Life Lamp. The moment I did, he would probably move from his current location. So, you need to be fast."

Luo Yan nodded. "I understand."

The leader stretched his hand and a lamp that had a flickering light inside appeared on top of his palm. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the light inside. He closed his eyes. Once he opened it, it was suddenly filled with complicated emotions. 

"Rhys is currently at the Tower of Edia." He closed his eyes again before letting out a long sigh. "And he's very close to his own death."