Chapter 2182: Laizon’s Thoughts

To be honest, it was quite difficult to guess what Laizon was thinking. He was so old and was in his last few decades. What was he doing, interfering with the issues and concerns of the younger generation?

Even back when they were younger, he mostly kept to his own villa, only going out whenever the territory called for it. It could be said that the old man was a bit ’anti-social,’ a term he learned here in Alterra, and only gave a good face to his late wife.

It had been a long time since then, and to be honest, Zaol had already forgotten such a person existed in Bleulle.

"He wants to extend his life so much..." Gaia mumbled. "It didn’t have to be under Bleulle, right?"

When his wife said this, it seemed like a fog was cleared in Zaol’s mind.

In retrospect, to his knowledge, that old guy hasn’t done any heinous things, even in his youth. At best, he was neutral; at worst, he was somewhat decent acquaintances with an asshole like Bleumrick.

He had also been indifferent to most events, opting to stay at home.

Though some things had to be investigated, there was the Oaths system that could guarantee some accuracy.

Laizon would definitely be troublesome as an enemy, but he didn’t necessarily need to become one.

At this, Grandpa Zaol shot out of his seat and gave his wife a sound smooch on the face. "My wife is a genius!!"

...

Laizon was currently inside the Grand Hotel, having a suite for himself. He had just finished a nice, scented bath and sat down on the balcony to take a look at the beautiful town below.

These people really know how to live.

"I wish you were here, wife..." he said, whispering to himself, feeling regret. His late wife had always been full of life and curiosity, and she would quite like this place.

She had always wanted to travel outside Bleulle, and he would often accompany her. It was the reason why most citizens had never seen him at all—because he was rarely in Bleulle. And when he was there, he preferred to be inside the house, as he found nothing interesting outside.

Similarly, the other places did not have much to hold their attention either. They lived in a city, so generally only another City could be interesting to them.

They never had a child, but they were perfectly happy and had each other, keeping themselves away from the politics generally associated with power.

It was just that such a thing couldn’t last forever. Occasionally, he would be summoned to help out in wars and the like, exchanging aether crystals for them.

Their allocation was not that big, and he shared it with his wife, which was unusual among men in general, who often hogged all the crystals for themselves.

Sadly, absorbing aether crystals well also required talent, and his wife couldn’t particularly absorb too many.

Over the years, their peers passed away one by one, and soon, his wife followed.

No matter how many aether crystals he poured, it was not enough to extend one’s life.

The aether crystal required seclusion as the body absorbed the energy and integrated with its own energy.

It varied from person to person how much they could get. For example, someone could use an entire crystal but feel no added energy at all, much like pouring water on a damaged basket.

In the end, Laizon watched as his wife’s life withered away with age, and he wondered to follow her directly.

This was already a few decades ago, but unlike his wife, he was still alive.

This was because, at some point during his mourning period, he had been set up with different women. At the time, he was still considered middle-aged due to his high level.

He ignored them all, and it was one of these women who vindictively told him something. After he rejected her, she splattered insults all over the place, the prominent one of which was ’Why are you wasting time on a dead person? You’re going to forget all about her anyway!"

Xenoans did not have a concept of the afterlife. They simply believed in a person’s return to the earth, returning the energy back to the world.

This meant that once they were gone, they were gone, especially after they had been forgotten.

He was hardy and his life was maximized for his level. Since absorbing crystals worked well on him, he kept using it, extending his life even when there wasn’t much to live for anymore.

This way, someone could keep remembering his wife.

...

Zaol knocked on this door shortly after that. Laizon wondered if he was going to ask for a fight and belatedly greeted them.

The Gold Patriarch invited himself inside the suit and settled down on his sofa, bringing out a delicate glass bottle with some sort of alcohol. Laizon was a little confused and quite annoyed with the intrusion in his personal space.

Laizon’s definition of personal space was pretty much the air he breathed. If he were in his villa, this private space comprised of at least the entire floor. In this suite, it was the entire suite, and Zaol was stepping all over it.

"What are you doing here?" he asked with gritted teeth, already calculating to throw the ’younger old man’ out of the balcony.

"So, what do you think of Alterra?" Zaol asked casually as he sat. He took it upon himself to grab some glasses in her space, pouring a bit of this alcohol inside.

This was special-grade Alterran alcohol that could not be bought easily! Looking at the other’s grumpy face, Zaol couldn’t help but mutter that this old man was so unappreciative.

Laizon’s sharp eyes never left Zaol, making sure he was letting out an aura of oppression. Even when he took the cup, its aroma wafting up his nose, he consciously kept his frown.

His furrowed eyebrows only loosened when he took a sip, and then another, and it was only then that he decided to answer this damned ’younger old man’.

"I find it very beautiful and advanced for a town," he said, pausing. "It’s just that some things are too inconvenient and impolite."

"So...why not retire here?"

"What?"

Laizon was a little startled and he looked at Zaol, who seemed indifferent to the repressing aura Laizon had been emitting.

"There’s a local saying: A relaxed mind and a joyful mind make for a longer life," he said. "Haven’t you been trying to extend your life all this time?"

"To be honest, I feel younger since I’ve moved here," Laizon agreed. "Isn’t it just because of the abnormal state of aether here?"

Zaol: "..."

"First of all, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Second, it had more to do with the lifestyle and culture.

"What do you work so hard to live longer for? You use nearly half of your time in seclusion, anyway."

"What do you have left in Bleulle? A villa where only you and a few servants live in?"

"I remember your late wife liked to travel back then. If you think of her spirit as attached to you, don’t you think she’s experiencing these things through you?"

"So...why don’t you work for Alterra, instead?"