1848 Lotus Pool On their way to the palace, egg marks appeared on the foreheads of both Little Silver and Xie Qing King. It was very worrying. Lake Viscount gained it, as well. Xie Qing King held up a mirror to examine himself. He kept looking at it, and with a dire expression, he said, “So d*mn ugly! The mark could at least be a flower or something. Having an egg on my head makes me look stupid.” Han Sen couldn’t believe that was precisely what Xie Qing King was worrying about. Little Silver was lying on Han Sen’s shoulder, not having any particular sort of reaction. With Captain Wood leading them, they had no trouble on their journey. The power of four Marquise had already scared off most of the xenogeneics nearby. They didn’t bother killing any lower class xenogeneics they saw along the way, as they were focused on reaching the Raven palace as soon as they could. They came to a valley, and Captain Wood cleared out the xenogeneics that were hanging around. Deep Blue Viscount followed closely, and spoke while pointing at a mountain. “The entrance is here.” “This is the peak! This is not an illusion. But there is no door. Are you sure this is the place?” Captain Wood asked with a frown. Yes, I am sure of it,” Deep Blue Viscount said, as he trotted up to one of the mountain’s cliffsides. He searched the wall for a while, and eventually, pushed his hands firmly against a rock. After Deep Blue Viscount pressed it, he returned to Han Sen. And then, a boom noise sounded swiftly after. A few hundred meters of mountain began to sink, as a higher peak began to rise behind it. There was a door on its stone surface, one that was massive. Han Sen and everyone else were in shock. The place had a grand, powerful atmosphere, which spoke volumes about how scary the Ravens might have been, once upon a time. “How do we open the door?” Captain Wood asked Deep Blue Viscount. Deep Blue Viscount said, “You just have to push it open. That’s how I slipped in and slipped out.” Captain Wood signaled for a Marquise to push open the stone door. It was dozens of meters high, but the Marquise was able to open it with a light push. There was no need for much strength. What resided beyond the stone door was equally impressive in size. Many palaces were visible inside, and the buildings extended until they vanished into the distance. “Master! You must follow behind me, with a gap of about three meters.” Captain Wood stared at Black Steel with a serious look. And after Black Steel agreed, the team was allowed to enter. The palaces were all connected. They were all built from stone, but they were so old, they looked very rustic and primitive. Even with the protection of the mountain, they looked poorly kept. Han Sen saw a multitude of carvings on the walls, depicting bird-like creatures. Large bird statues stood on both sides of the plaza. “Deep Blue Viscount, will there be danger up ahead? Captain Wood asked. Deep Blue Viscount gave a wry smile. “Many warriors died before I entered, but by the time I made it in, all was fine.” “Maybe when Chiron Earl went in, they destroyed any traps left behind by the Raven,” a Marquise suggested. “That could be true, but even so, it is best to remain vigilant. We cannot drop our guard for a single second.” Captain Wood was speaking with a deep, authoritative voice. The group of them followed behind Deep Blue Viscount as they moved forward. It wasn’t long before they stumbled across a pile of boney remains. They definitely belonged to Rebate. “They must have been part of the previous group.” Captain Wood checked out the bones, and noticed the skulls each had a large hole in them. They were so big, you could squeeze a clenched fist clean through. The team kept traveling. Their path had proven to be surprisingly uneventful. Aside from seeing the odd pile of bones here and there, there was nothing that posed an actual threat. Han Sen thought things over as he walked. “Weird. It looks like this place has not been visited by anyone in quite a while. And there are some creatures outside that could most certainly not have been dealt with by a Viscount. How did Wind Viscount get into this palace and get himself infected with the Raven’s mark?” Although there was no danger, Captain Wood was being careful, nonetheless. He didn’t speed up on his way; he remained at a slow and steady pace. After they walked a dozen miles, they went past a temple that had also been constructed from stone. Their eyes turned bright when they soon saw a pool of lotuses right next to it. The lotus pool had no water, though. Most of the lotus’s stalks, leaves, and flowers had all withered into death. There were only a few living ones left in the middle. The flowers that were alive were as white as snow. The leaves were like jade’ and with their soft glow, they looked terrific. “Is this the lotus pool you’ve been talking about?” Captain Wood looked at Deep Blue Viscount. “This is it. I accidentally fell in there and swallowed a lotus root. I was so hungry that I dug some up and ate more of them. That was how my mark disappeared.” Deep Blue Viscount looked surprised, and he desperately wanted to run to it. Hearing that, Lake Viscount and the other Barons all rushed towards the pool. “Stop!” Han Sen shouted, with a frown. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚 No one listened to Han Sen, though. They all wished to cleanse themselves of the egg mark plaguing their foreheads by ripping out the lotus roots and consuming them. Even though it would be a temporary pause Han Sen was calling for, it was better than getting ahead of themselves and snatching the plants right now. “Anyone who steps closer to the pool dies.” Captain Wood made a hum. And then, the two Viscounts and the Barons stopped moving. Captain Wood looked at Han Sen and said, “It looks like your family members require some discipline.” Yes, and I will give it.” Han Sen rubbed his nose. The Nobles in his employ were mostly spies of one sort or another. They didn’t want to listen to his orders, particularly so if claiming the flowers meant the difference between life and death. They hadn’t followed Han Sen for very long, either. So, it was not as if Han Sen could control them. “Mister Wood, I beg of you to provide me some of this lotus root. I only need a little!” Deep Blue Viscount quickly turned to begging. After Deep Blue Viscount said this, the other Barons started to beg, too. They all had a ticking timebomb planted on their heads, after all. But Captain Wood ignored them. He walked over to the lotus pool and looked at the flowers. A while later he asked, “Do you know what species of flower these are?” Everyone shook their heads, not knowing what species of plant they were. “Alright... Go ahead and dig up a lotus root.” Captain Wood frowned while he spoke to the Barons. “Thank you,” the Barons responded happily. You can dig it up, but if you dare steal a bite, I will cut your heads off,” Captain Wood continued coldly. “Dig them up and I won’t mistreat you. I won’t give you any less, leastways.” The Barons looked bitter as they went forward to dig up the lotus roots. Captain Wood and the four Marquise kept their eyes peeled on them. No one dared to eat one of the roots against the Captain’s orders. “Why aren’t you guys moving?” Captain Wood asked coldly, seeing Xie Qing King and Gu Qingcheng.