Chapter 473 - 406: A Peach Blossom Paradise?
Chapter 473: Chapter 406: A Peach Blossom Paradise?
Flora Bloom tilted her head, thinking.
"Aloof, incredibly powerful, with a cold and detached air, disdainful of everything."
The corner of Lex Cross’s lip curled up. "Oh? So that’s how you’ve always seen me?" He turned his head, a confused look on his face. "That doesn’t sound like a compliment."
Flora Bloom laughed heartily. "Of course it’s a compliment! Every single word was meant to praise you, okay?"
"So don’t you dare ruin that larger-than-life image you have!"
Flora Bloom’s shoulders tensed. Lex Cross’s voice was right by her ear, his cool breath ghosting over the shell of it.
"Heh. So, Flora, do you prefer me aloof and disdainful, or a little playful?"
The atmosphere inside the Golden Crow’s nest grew heated, thick with unspoken attraction. But the moment was suddenly shattered by a RUSTLING sound from the tall grass near the parasol tree.
"Who’s there?!"
Flora Bloom called out sharply, craning her neck to peer at the tall grass where the sound had originated.
Aside from the ancient golden parasol tree, the other plants and grasses here hadn’t been assimilated by the base’s flora. That was why Flora belatedly realized she hadn’t sensed any signs of life appearing.
"I think someone was there!" Flora Bloom said to Lex Cross, her brow furrowed.
Lex Cross merely smiled faintly. ’Nina Rook is imprisoned in the basement of Villa Three,’ he sighed to himself.
’Unable to find Nina Rook, her people are finally getting anxious.’
"Don’t worry about it. They’re just small-fry. Five and the others will handle them." Ever since Saul Sterling had advanced to a High-level Superpower, he’d recovered some of his former strength. Finding and eliminating these people would be a simple matter.
’Villa Three is under Flora’s complete control, and Earth itself suppresses the power levels of outsiders. For now, they can’t harm anyone at the base.’
’The most important thing now is to neutralize the poison in Flora’s body.’
’This woman, who seems so clever yet is so foolishly naive, still has no idea she’s been poisoned.’
He looked at Flora’s face, no longer so delicate and beautiful. Her eyelids were so swollen that her once large, expressive eyes were reduced to dull, downcast triangles.
Faint spots had appeared on her fair skin. Though they weren’t dark, one patch covered an entire eyelid and eyebrow.
Her once plump, youthful cheeks were now gaunt and dull, and the corners of her mouth drooped, as if etched by the ravages of time.
A pang of pain and regret shot through Lex Cross’s heart. ’How devastated would she be if she knew what she looked like now? How could I have been so careless and let a malicious person exploit an opening?’
At first, Flora’s symptoms hadn’t been so obvious. But ever since the day they returned from Korsan Base, they had become increasingly pronounced, starting the very next morning.
Lex Cross had arranged it with everyone at Base Three. They all shared a tacit understanding not to tell Flora. They simply urged her not to run around, hoping she would stay at the base instead of always going out.
This poison didn’t just cause inexplicable and irreversible weight gain; it also gradually disfigured a beautiful woman’s face.
These changes to her body and face hadn’t happened all at once. They had formed slowly after she was poisoned, accumulating bit by bit with each passing day.
Fortunately, Flora wasn’t in the habit of looking in mirrors, and Jade had already used an excuse to remove all the ones in the villa.
On the Golden Crow’s back, Flora lay comfortably while Lex sat cross-legged beside her.
"Where are we going?"
Lex Cross held the tablet Flora always used, which now displayed the coordinates Saul Sterling had transmitted.
"We’re almost there. Want to rest a little longer?"
Flora squinted and yawned. "I’m a little tired, but I’d rather not rest. Where are we?"
Flora slowly stood up on the Golden Crow’s back and looked down.
A grove of peach trees stretched out below, not a single one withered despite the winter. Even from high up in the air, they could smell the faint, sweet fragrance of the blossoms.
Flora hesitated for a moment. "This... this peach grove isn’t some kind of sentient plant, is it?"
Lex Cross shook his head. "You’re overthinking things. The apocalypse has only been going on for half a year. There are zombies in the cities; if sentient plants were everywhere outside them, how could humanity possibly survive?"
Flora turned her head, her gaze fixed on Lex’s handsome, glowing face. "That’s true. It’s just that since the apocalypse began, most of what I’ve run into are evolved creatures and plants. Over time, I’ve started to feel like every animal and plant in the whole world has changed."
This peach grove was located in the western outskirts of Mirefall, on the site of the former Rexton Town.
Flora had some recollection of Rexton Town. According to some apocryphal historical text, it had once been the ancient capital of a small, little-known dynasty.
In her previous life, before the apocalypse, she had always dreamed of visiting this place.
"I remember this used to be a tourist spot, an ancient town. But where is it?"
The Golden Crow’s flight began to slow, and it started circling above the peach grove.
"Look deep inside the grove," Lex Cross said, pointing to a tiny, indistinct dark spot in the center of the trees below.
The Golden Crow’s current altitude was comparable to an airplane making its final descent, about fifteen minutes from landing.
Flora focused her gaze. There, in the very center of the grove, hidden by the flourishing peach trees, was an entire classical town.
This reminded Flora of a certain famous ancient poet, Master Tate.
Suddenly, he came upon a grove of peach trees, which lined both banks of the river for several hundred paces. There were no other trees, only fragrant, tender grass and a beautiful riot of fallen petals. The fisherman, much amazed, continued, wishing to see how far the grove extended.
However, this place had no mountain and none of the mystery Master Tate described; instead, it was simply a case of ’homes deep within the peach grove.’
"What a beautiful peach grove! Such a peaceful little town! To think a place this beautiful still exists half a year into the apocalypse!"
Lex Cross nodded. "Let’s go down." He then said to the Golden Crow, "Fly straight down to the center of the grove. Don’t stop at the edge."
While flapping its wings that spanned over thirty meters, the Golden Crow grumbled disdainfully. "It’s just an Illusion Array to fool the eyes. What in this world is so mysterious that my Golden Crow clan can’t burn it to ash with a mouthful of True Sun Fire? What’s there to be afraid of!"
Flora patted the Golden Crow’s head with a grin. "Just do as you’re told. Don’t you dare harm this beautiful peach grove. That would be a terrible waste!"
"Understood, my master!"
Carrying the two of them, the Golden Crow began its descent, expecting to land unimpeded by the ancient town deep within the grove.
However, as the Golden Crow flew closer, a pale yellow halo, shimmering with Earth Element energy, materialized in mid-air, blocking the bird and its two passengers from getting any closer.
"An Earth Ability User?" Flora Bloom frowned as she peered down.
Black energy was already gathering in Lex Cross’s hand. Flora believed that this barrier, which looked magnificent but in reality posed no obstacle to them, would shatter with just a light touch.
"Lex, wait! That barrier is likely protecting the people inside, keeping them undisturbed. Don’t destroy it!"
Lex retracted the black energy in his hand, then saw Flora flick her wrist, sending a spray of spiritual water downward.
The spiritual water passed through the barrier without any resistance, scattering onto the peach grove below.
No living creature, including plants, had any resistance to the spiritual water from Flora’s personal dimension.
Down in the peach grove, several of the trees with the thickest trunks began to shift, moving from their original positions toward the ancient town.
The pale yellow halo flickered again, this time blinking erratically, on and off.
Seizing the opportunity, Flora slapped the Golden Crow on the back. "Now! Charge in!"