色戒无删除版

He was not sure why he knew too, maybe because of their connection with the guardian. That serpent was once the owner of the land but it was subdued by those ancestors until it relented and chose to sleep rather than continue fighting. Since the ancestors wanted to keep the serpent under wraps, they formed a contract with it. That must be the reason he could sense the sleeping serpent.

"Because that place felt the same as usual," was his only answer before pulling and releasing the reins. He then used his feet to pat the horse's side to signal it to move.

The master looked at the duke's back before he too followed. He gave the place one last look before it fully disappeared behind the dense trees of the forest. Rain started to fall down again before they could reach the third place but the duke showed no stopping so Cygnus couldn't complain.

Instead, he raised a barrier that covered each one of the sentinels and their horses to shield them from the rain. They gave a nod at the master's direction as they continued on their journey. The splash of water as the horses passed through a muddy path echoed through the night since they were the only ones in that place. This time the place was a bit further from the shrine and it took them almost two hours to reach it.

Based on Cygnus's awareness of time, it was already near midnight when they arrived at an abandoned mining site. The master was not expecting this but it also made sense that a place like this would have evil energy. He could feel deep resentment from the place, especially from the opening that was created on the side of the mountain.

He couldn't feel any barrier too, like the other two places and the evil energy was seeping out to the surrounding area. It seemed that they were in the right place. He looked around but he didn't see any roaming evil spirits which was a bit odd considering the circumstances.

"I don't see any evil spirits in here," he commented after he too alighted from his horse. "But I can still sense a lot of evil energy in this place. Even the resentment here is so potent in the air, what kind of place is this?"

"This was a slave camp. It is where slaves were sent to work. It was part of the history of Blackwell that we tried to hide and we didn't really talk about it. All written records of it were destroyed and everything I knew about this place was passed down orally." Galahad looked at the darkness beyond the opening that was carved out of the mountain.

"That's quite surprising. So, your ancestors were into hoarding slaves too?" Cygnus shook his head and sighed after the information he learned.

"I don't know what they did in the past but strictly speaking it was not our ancestor but rather the ancestor of the main family. You see, the patriarch of Blackwell has a younger brother. In fear of getting robbed of his power, he made his younger brother's family a branch family and stripped them of their authority," Galahad explained. "But after a certain incident where the patriarch died, the younger brother took the opportunity to inherit the leadership. Nobody really objected since the patriarch has no heir."

"Your family is a bit messy." The master tilted his head to the side. "So, these slaves did they all die inside of that tunnel?"

Galahad's gaze went back to the tunnel again, "Yes. There was a time in the history of the world where a purge was done and in the process the slaves were gathered there and were all killed. According to stories, the patriarch did it to save his life."

Cygnus's face darkened at what he heard. A purge, it was strangely familiar to him. A term he had recently heard in the capital and now he was hearing it again in this desolate and lonely place. He was not sure if it was a coincidence or not.

"When did this purge happen? And why did the patriarch need to kill all the slaves he had?" He asked even though he already had an inkling as to when and why it happened.

Galahad did not notice the change in the young man's voice because his focus was on the tunnel and the sentinels who started to patrol around. "A thousand years ago. It was a purge to kill everyone who had magic in them. I don't know the cause of such an inhuman act but it did happen and those slaves were born with magic."

Cygnus became silent with his head bowed down. 'So, that was it. I've learned another thing in this place. It was really this world.' A grin that reached ear to ear appeared on his seemingly angelic face and the redness in his eyes flickered. Simultaneously, a red warning sounded inside Ari's system.

"Duke Galahad, do you perhaps know who was behind that purge?" Cygnus controlled his face as he raised his head to look at the duke.

The duke shook his head. "That is an information that even my ancestor doesn't know. I tried to ask my father but even he did not know who it was."

"Is that so," the master mumbled. He looked at the tunnel and fell silent.

"Why are you interested in what happened one thousand years ago?" Galahad then noticed the change in the young man's demeanor.

"Well, I just found it interesting, that's all." Cygnus was not willing to talk any further so the duke did not force him to, instead, he returned his focus on the tunnel.

After the sentinels patrolled the area, they came back to report. They found nothing outside of the old mining site so the problem would have to be inside. The duke then instructed that the others would wait outside while he and the rest of the sentinels would go inside.

"Can I go instead?" Cygnus suddenly volunteered. "I can do it alone and if any of you come, you might become a casualty and we don't like that do we?" He gave them a casual grin.