Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

Chapter 177

Heaven's Divine Punishment

The kingly teacher of his was reclining on a bamboo bed, one arm holding a book while the other laid upon a ceramic pillow.

Martell glanced around the room and saw that he was inside a small hut made entirely out of bamboo. Rough and simple. White papers with pictures and symbols drawn upon them were strewn around the place. Some were also pasted on the walls, these seemed to be the best of them. And though they were inanimate, Martell could feel something in them; powerful intents that drew him in.

The boy had seen enough during his delves into the memory of his teacher to surmise that those symbols were letters of his Mistress’s world.

The man touched the tip of his thumb with his forefinger, then did the same with his middle and ring finger. He slightly cocked his head, as if contemplating something, then put down his book.

“Martell, my beloved disciple. Are you here?”

“H-huh?”

Martell was startled. Though he had seen the memories that imparted him the Techniques and songs that Autumn Rain Cicada and Golden Lotus Vagabond, this was only the second time the man with the golden hair spoke his name.

“I can’t see where you are, but I know that you’re looking at me,” the man said while gesturing at the air. “Come. You have doubts. I will try to help you.”

“Master?! Are you talking to me? How is this possible?”

“I know what you’re thinking,” He took a piece of exquisite paper and began grinding a stick of ink on a finely crafted inkstone. “But no, I’m not speaking with you. What you are seeing is just a memory. I simply appear to be doing so by approximating your reaction.”

He then took a brush made of the tail of a mystical creature and dipped it into the ink before letting the brush dance on the paper vigorously. “I know that you are currently confused. You are currently facing a bottleneck in your Cultivation, and you have to make decision that will change your destiny.”

“I’m sorry that I cannot be there to help you directly…but I can help guide you,” His Master lifted the brush with a flourish. He took a step back and spoke. “Go to this place. There you will find someone that can help you.”

Martell looked at the paper and found that a beautiful picture of a snowy forest and a decrepit altar half buried in the snow had been drawn upon it. He also saw his figure in front of it, complete with his ears. But what shocked Martell to the core was the poem that was written underneath.

Steep hills skirt the Green Forest,

White waters traverse the mountain’s crest;

A boy seeks the wisdom of an old tree;

And found that nothing is free

The pain of understanding,

Is more than the pain of knowing.

They were written in the common tongue of Grea.

“H-how is this possible?” Martell spoke. “No. Mistress once said that the Barbarian country in her old world had a similar language, but how could he know how I look?”

Autumn Rain Cicada suddenly looked up; his face grew alarmed. He ran out of the hut and stood in the middle of a runic circle with five Artifacts placed on equidistant positions on its boundary.

Martell, still in a state of shock, suddenly realized that they were in the middle of a forest. The wind was howling, causing the trees around them shudder.

“It’s coming,” Autumn Rain Cicada said as he made gestures which caused the Artifact to activate and formed a barrier around him. Soon after, dark clouds gathered in the sky, obscuring the moon. But the darkness only lasted briefly, as lightning began to snake through the cloud. The sound of thunder caused Martell to flinch.

“W-what is that?!”

“Watch well, my disciple. This is the price of fighting against Heaven’s Will.”

Then, a giant bolt of lightning shot down from the Heavens, crashing down onto his Master’s head. The barrier held firm though the effort caused Autumn Rain Cicada’s body to tremble, blood seeping from between his lips.

Just as he seemed relieved from surviving the ordeal, thunder began to roar again. This time, it resembled the sound of a mighty beast. At this, Autumn Rain Cicada mouthed derisively. “O Heavens, do you hate it so much that a mere mortal dared to gaze upon your secrets?!”

“MASTER!” Martell screamed. Forgetting that he was inside a memory and that the scene that he was seeing now was something had already happened and he could do nothing to change it.

Once again, lightning came crashing down from the sky. But halfway through, it took on the form of a mythical beast resembling a horse with a single, spiralling horn, rushing down to punish the man who dared to defy the Heavens.

That single stroke shattered the barrier, breaking all the Artifacts that formed it, and engulfed everything in pure white.

Even faced with the Divine Punishment, Autumn Rain Cicada managed to mouth a few words.

“Never lose hope, Martell.”

“MASTER!!!” Martell shouted as he jolted awake from his sleep. He stumbled to the ground as he tried to stand, after which he felt for his body. He grasped at his chest and was relieved that he was unharmed.

His mind was disoriented, but as soon as he gathered his wits, Martell desperately looked for paper and ink in his room. As soon as he found it, he quickly wrote the poem lest he forgot it.

Martell returned the quill to its inkwell and pored upon the poem he just wrote.

“This poem…Master wants me to go to the location this poem points to…” Martell bit his lips. “But Mistress ordered me to help Rhoddes. No, to be exact, she wanted me to learn from him…if I get him to come with me, then…nonono, if I pull him in from his work. Mistress would be cross.”

Martell grimaced as he scratched his head. “Ugh, Mistress does not like semantics if used against her. If I do this, no doubt a punishment is in store.”

After a few minutes of struggling against himself, the boy made up his mind. “Master had never led me astray, so if I just say that he was the one who told me to do this…I think she’ll let me off the hook…,” he was suddenly unsure of himself.

“…maybe…?”

In the mansion’s library, Klein, Donovan and the Hero was poring over the map of the surrounding area. There were little flags positioned on possible places that is the same as what the Hero described. However, there were at least twenty of said places and the three had been arguing fruitlessly for their next step. Especially because Akira was still pushing that they needed Martell to go with them, for wherever Martell is, that will be the right place. And Klein could not accept such logical fallacy.

They were in the middle of one such arguments when the door opened and Martell walked in.

“Martell!” Donovan was happily surprised. “Have you decided to join us?”

“…I have conditions.”

Akira and Donovan’s face brightened in an instant, whereas Klein looked doubtful.

“Yes! Anything you want!” Akira replied.

“One, you will not question what I do. And two, you will not question what I will show you.”

“How are we supposed to agree to them if we don’t know what you intend?” Klein asked.

“Please, Klein. We’re at our wit’s end here. If we look at these forests one by one, it will take months! The furthest forest can take us almost a week to get there,” Akira said desperately. “We agree to the conditions.”

Klein could only sigh. He wondered if the past Heroes acted like this too.

“I want you to swear to it in the name of your Goddess. I don’t trust simple promises.”

The three of them did as he asked, albeit reluctantly in Klein’s part.

After that, Martell showed them the poem.

“Are you saying this poem can point us to the location of the Guild Master?” Klein asked. “Interesting, this poem is rather odd. Unlike any I’ve ever seen before. Where did you -?”

“Ah – “ Martell raised a finger, warning him. “No question regarding my source.”

“I think we can focus on the first two lines,” Klein said with a shrug. “One thing though, a green forest in winter does not exist.”

Martell had a flash of thought regarding the Untouchable Marshes, but judging by the picture of the snowy forest he saw, that place would not be correct. Also, it was not a forest.

“Then let’s focus on the details, then. The forest is situated near steep hills. With white waters running down a mountain,” Martell said. “Do we have places like that in the map?”

Klein and Akira placed markers on all possible locations that had those characteristics. They found that there were nine places. But none of them could possibly be green. “Then is Green Forest the name of the forest?”

“No, there are Wiseman’s Woods, Preston Hedges, Bloodthorn Forest. No Green Forest.”

“How about this place?” A slender hand pointed at one of the markers. Hannah had apparently let herself in while they were focusing on the map. “Old Calendians usually name things by what they are or what they look like. That’s why there are people with old last names like Schmidt or Baker.”

Martell looked at the name denoted on the map and nodded. “Grunewald Forest.”

“Green Forest…,” Klein chuckled. “…Forest.”

“I guess that’s where we’re going next.”

“Yes! Excellent! Now we’re cooking! Let’s start making preparations. We leave at dawn!” Akira swelled with optimism. “Thank you so much, Martell! We’ll make sure to protect you well! Haha!”

“Alright, alright,” Martell said. “But I also need to ask someone to go with me -”

Akira was so elated, he simply nodded and enthusiastically left with members of his party to prepare. Martell, who was left alone, shook his head tiredly.

“I’m starting to regret my decision.”

Martell, who could not fully trust the Hero of Calendia - judging by his experience thus far - went to meet Nick in his usual spot. Rhoddes was also there, nursing a single mug of beer which looked comically small in his grasp.

When he invited Nick, he was prepared for the Paladin to make long and drawn-out excuses to avoid going with him. He had even prepared some info that he could use to force him to come with. Yet, the man straightforwardly agreed. Which took him for a loop.

“What?” the man asked, taking a gulp of ale. “Why are you making that face?”

“I…just didn’t expect you to say yes so readily.”

“I’m sure you have your own reasons why you are doing this. And I can see that you ‘re going to do this regardless of what I say. So, as the only sane and normal person in the party, I’m just making sure that you make it safe through whatever it is you wanna do.”

“…”

“If you are okay with it, I would also like to go with you,” The Anukaran Nankhudi offered

“Are you sure? It would be excellent…but what about the Daydreamers?”

“Most of them now only need time to heal. Also, I’ve promised your Mistress that I will take care of you while she’s gone,” he said. “Unfortunately, my beloved companions are still taking it easy, so only I can go with you.”

“Just you being there is already a relief. Nick here’s dependable, but only sometimes.”

“Oooh, I’m hurt,” The Paladin took a swig with a loud chuckle. “By the way, tell me this, Rhoddes,” the Paladin made a sleazy smile. “What’s the deal with you and the Wizard in your party? Seems like she’s sweet on you.”

“…yes, she is.”

“How far have you gone then? Have you…done the deed yet?”

“If you refer to intimacy in bed, then no…not quite there,” the man said.

“What? Do you have some problem performing?”

“No. I have a problem with size.”

Although Martell and Rhoddes could not see his expression, they could imagine a deadpan face behind the cloth. “You mean…” Nick made a suggestive whistle sound. “Size difference?”

The three continued teasing Rhoddes for the rest of the evening and spent a pleasant dinner together that day.

Not knowing of what fate had in store for them.