Chapter 35.4

Although the conversation had only lasted a few minutes, the atmosphere was rather unusual. Kevin withdrew his hand and instinctively took a step back before pinching his wrist to stimulate blood flow.

Meanwhile, Oswald had already turned and headed towards the crowd. When he glanced back, his expression was solemn and inscrutable.

Kevin heard him issuing orders to the Wujin cavalry, saying, "Anyone with an empty water bag, come forward. We will fill it with holy water."

He then turned around and began to search for something else, asking, "Where is the medical officer? Where can I locate the medical officer?"

"Your Majesty, I'm here. I sustained a minor injury to my leg and am currently experiencing a slight cramp. Do you require my assistance?" The medical officer raised his hand near the ruins of the idol, struggling to stand up.

"Stay where you are. I will come to you," Oswald replied. He stepped over a few rocks and walked towards the medical officer, squatting down and quietly inquiring about their condition.

Kevin withdrew his gaze and did not pay any further attention to their movements, instead preoccupied with thoughts pertaining to the curse.

Yet, within a moment, the familiar sound of Oswald's steady footsteps approached once more. Kevin raised his head in frustration to see Oswald waving at him, stating, "Have them pour holy water. You shouldn't loiter here. Come over and help pack up so that we can prepare to depart."

Kevin nodded and walked over to Oswald. When he reached him, he turned his head and spoke in a low voice with a serious expression. "That's a significant wound; it won't heal quickly. I will fetch some powder from the doctor."

"I don't need medicine powder," Kevin replied, unable to contain a smile or a sigh. "I haven't even finished applying it, and the wound has already healed. When the wind blows, it's only good for smudging my face."

Before he could say another word, Oswald took advantage of his size and placed one hand on the back of Kevin's neck while the other covered his face.

Kevin immediately felt a rush of fragrance straight to his nose, filling it instantly. The next moment, he fell into a deep sleep, like his head had been submerged in a dense swamp that couldn't be disturbed.

As his vision darkened, his last thought was: "Are you plotting against me because you are so itchy?"

He then lost consciousness.

The conversation between the two men was deliberately toned down, and the people in the temple had no idea what had happened.

"I just looked away for a second, and the commander is lying down." Dan Gan stared at Oswald with wide eyes. "Are you still angry?"

Upon hearing such a foolish question, Oswald rolled his eyes in annoyance and said sharply, "Of course I'm angry, but it's too much trouble to confront them single-handedly. I asked the medical officer to provide some medication, and now he has passed out."

The medical officer who had given the emperor several drugs quietly lowered his head and coughed, "Yes, painkillers and sedatives."

Dan Gan didn't understand why painkillers could make someone unconscious. however, he chose to remain silent and not ask more questions given what his followers experienced outside the tomb.

"Your Majesty, the holy water is ready," Nick said, shaking the water bag in his hand and leading the two men towards the side. "Shall we go now?"

Another officer looked hesitant as he glanced at the gravel on the ground. "Should we just leave the statue alone?"

Oswald motioned for Dan to transform into the form of a giant eagle and placed Kevin, who was still sleeping, on his back. He then walked to the edge of the gravel, squatted down, and started to search carefully.

"What are you searching for, Your Majesty?" Nick and the others asked in curiosity.

"Didn't you notice that the statue is hollow?" Oswald pointed to a severed hand of the statue in front of him and scanned other curved stones. "Why would they bother to make it hollow unless there was something inside?"

Upon hearing this explanation, everyone agreed that it made sense. They now understood the emperor's intention—to search for any traces in the hollow statue.

Given the statue's size and the number of gravels, finding any signs of it was challenging, especially since only Kevin had an insect lamp that lit the way.

Nonetheless, the team managed to search most of the gravels with the insect lamp by collecting a few dollars from each person.

"Your Majesty, over here! Come and see this!" One officer raised his hand to get Oswald's attention.

"What is it?" Oswald hurried over and followed the officer's pointing finger.

"See this arc here? It's likely the bottom of the statue." The officer outlined an arc in the air with his finger and added, "There's a footprint here. Take a look."

Oswald frowned, took the insect lamp from one of his crewmates, and approached the stone. He noticed faint traces that looked like dark liquids, possibly bloodstains that once marked the stone statue's feet. The footprint was so shallow that it had almost disappeared.

Everyone held their breath subconsciously. Was the legend true? They couldn't imagine any other possibility besides Phae's body leaving these footprints.

"Wait!" Nick dug out a stone beside him, put it under the bug lamp, and said, "There's something inscribed here."

"What is it?" Oswald asked.

"It's a name and a pattern," Nick replied, handing the stone and the lamp to Oswald. "Your Majesty, I can't comprehend this pattern. The name script is also ancient, and it's not easy to remember."

Oswald stared at the stone for a moment and said in a deep voice, "The pattern is flowers, or rather, flower vines and thorns. The name is..."

Although ancient texts differ significantly from modern characters, some ancient words can still be inferred based on current ones.

The emperor's eyes stayed on the strange name for a long time before he said, "The pattern is of flower vines and thorns. The name is Melo."