"How does the Celestial Lotus fit into all this?"
"She had been looking for the Celestial Lotus for as long as I can recall," the maid replied. "And finally, she has it now. This isn't good for anyone."
The maid who was usually very calm revealed a few traces of fear as she thought about what the future could entail for them.
"You came here for the Celestial Lotus. Please take it! If you can't take it, destroy it! But don't let her have it! If she does..."
"What will happen if she does?" Xu Shan grew even more confused. The Celestial Lotus was only useful in awakening the Celestial Spirit of a person.
Other than that, it also had a few minor effects, but none so big that they could make people tremble in fear. It wasn't a weapon of mass destruction. It was a plant, after all.
In the back of his mind, he even wondered if the girl was exaggerating at this point.
The Maid knew that Xu Shan was doubting her. It also made sense for her. Why would he trust her to that extent? The knowledge about the Celestial Lotus was limited for most people.
She placed her finger on her storage ring, making a small scroll appear in her hand.
"You are curious about what will happen if she succeeds? Here." She handed over the scroll to Xu Shan.
Xu Shan held the scroll which appeared so old that it could be torn with even the slightest of force.
The paper was yellowish and had already developed a few cracks that showed signs that the long passage of time had left on it.
He carefully opened the scroll. Xinren also moved closer to him, curious as to what was written on the scroll.
After opening the scroll, Xu Shan went through the words.
As he went through the scroll, reading each line carefully, his eyes initially revealed uncertainty.
His uncertainty developed into a frown. He glanced at Xinren next to him before turning back to the scroll.
His expressions became somewhat dark as he finally finished reading through the scroll. He had to control his strength a lot to make sure he didn't tear apart the scroll.
It was the first time for him reading the information mentioned in the scroll. With the age of the scroll, it definitely wasn't something that the maid or Yunxi could've made up.
This was an authentic artifact of a forgotten era, knowledge that had gone extinct in the Celestial Realm as well as in the Divine Realm.
"Where did you find this scroll?" he asked the Maid, scrolling it carefully.
"I stole it from the Queen's Chamber." The maid lowered her head. She still remembered how scared she was when she was stealing it.
She always had to look over her shoulders to make sure that the Queen wasn't there. A single mistake would've sent her to her death.
"Who else did you tell about this? Does that little girl know?" He asked, taking a momentary glance toward the mansion in the distance.
The Maid shook her head in response. "She doesn't. Initially, I wasn't going to tell her. Because, the farther she stayed from this, the better it was for her. But with your appearance, it's clear that she isn't going to stay back."
'Your appearance has ignited her hope. Now even if you don't help, she would probably still go forward with it. And in the end, it'll be a disaster."
"Why are you telling this to me then?" Xu Shan inquired.
"I don't know if you will help her or not. However, I wanted you to know this before you decide. Because this... It affects you more than it affects the Young Lady... Not just because of the Celestial Lotus but because of what that leads to," the maid replied. "The rest... It's for you to decide."
After she finished everything she had to say, she turned and entered the mansion to catch up to Yunxi. The one reason she stayed with Xu Shan was to tell him about this. From this point on, everything depended on him.
Xu Shan watched the maid leave. The scroll remained in his hand, held in his firm grip that kept getting tighter.
He looked in the distant horizon. "The Divine Queen... What a hassle."
He didn't finish his sentence. He kept the scroll in his storage ring and turned around, leaving the Clan Premises.
....
After half an hour, Yunxi came out of the building. She was accompanied by the Patriarch of the Clan.
Initially, when Yunxi's mother left the clan, the Patriarch was furious that she ignored her commands. However, through the years of solace, his anger had calmed down.
Now seeing his granddaughter return, he only had love in his eyes. She was his blood. When she needed his help, how could he say no. This was her clan as well and it was always going to be.
"Even though our clan has fallen a lot, we still hold enough influence to help your friend get an identification. Don't worry about that." The Patriarch laughed, as he patted his granddaughter's head.
There was no arrogance in him. The clan wasn't rich, but throughout this adversity, they had one advantage!
All the snakes who were with the clan for their own benefits had long left. Only the trusted people, who cared more about family than their own ambitions, had stayed behind.
Through this ruin, their clan was even more closely knit now. They were more like a proper family now, where no one was selfish.
"Thank you." Yunxi thanked the old man.
As she stepped out of the building, she pointed in the direction where she had left Xu Shan.
"He's right the-"
She stepped mid sentence, noticing an empty spot. She turned to her maid, asking, "Where is he?"
The maid sighed. She understood that she should've kept her expectations down. "He left... And I doubt he will be returning…"
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