While Lynd was discussing matters concerning the Storm God Temple with his priests, in the Sea King's Palace in Braavos, Sea King Ferrego Antaryon looked at the dark clouds covering Braavos.
Although a friendly smile still hung on his face, the worry in his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil.
"Quorro, what does this scene make you think of?" A drop of rain flew from the edge of the pavilion's eaves, landing on Sea King Ferrego's face.
He wiped it away, turned to his Chief Swordsman, who stood quietly by his side, and asked.
Quorro Valentine replied expressionlessly, "The storm god, this reminds me of the storm god, Lord."
"Yes, it's the storm god." Ferrego nodded, the fat on his chin jiggling twice with his movement.
"A few months ago, that battle in the Stepstones seemed similar to now; dark clouds suddenly appeared in the sky, and a storm swept across the sea.
I remember there were rumors that the storm was caused by the Godsworn.
Do you think these rumors are credible?"
"I don't know." Quorro hesitated for a moment before saying, "There are many rumors about the Godsworn outside, but I haven't seen them with my own eyes, so I don't know if the rumors are true or false.
If true, then he might have the ability to control storms; if false, it's all just a coincidence."
"But I think it should be true." Ferrego walked out of the house, not caring about the rain falling on him, and went to the balcony, overlooking all of Braavos.
His gaze swept across the various districts, finally landing on the distant, blurry Storm God Temple, and he said, "I think Linde Terra should be in the city."
Quorro held a small umbrella, following behind Ferrego, shielding him from some of the rain.
Upon hearing the Sea King's words, he was slightly puzzled and said, "The news I saw a few days ago seemed to say that he was busy dealing with matters concerning the Dorne March castle, so how could he…"
"That might just be a disguise." Ferrego interrupted his subordinate, saying in a deep voice, "I can feel that he is in the city.
He should be here for my magical armor.
When Jorlin of House Isold sold me the magical armor, I knew this armor would definitely attract Linde Terra.
Those guys want me to help them block Linde Terra's wrath."
Quorro was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but ask curiously, "Since you already know Kohor's intentions, why did you still buy that magical armor?"
Ferrego sighed and said, "Because I am the Sea King, the Sea King of Braavos."
Quorro did not continue speaking.
As the Sea King's Chief Swordsman, he was well aware of the pressure on Ferrego.
Not only did he have to show sufficient toughness in front of the city's nobles, but he also had to show fearlessness when facing people from other Free Trade City States, because enemies were always around.
The slightest show of weakness would invite overwhelming attacks.
At this moment, a servant came from outside, stopping about ten meters from Ferrego.
Quorro walked over, and after hearing the servant's report, he walked back and said to Ferrego, "Syrio Forel has arrived.
Do you wish to see him?"
Ferrego was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Let him in!
I think this should be the last time I see him."
Upon hearing the response, Quorro nodded to the servant, who turned and left.
Soon after, a short, thin, unremarkable swordsman entered the house, passed through the foyer, and walked towards Ferrego.
"Stop! Syrio, stop!" When Syrio was only five or six meters from Ferrego, Quorro stepped forward and warned.
Syrio stopped and looked at Ferrego.
"Let him come over!
If he truly wanted to assassinate me, he would have done so before." Ferrego turned to look at the previous Sea King's Chief Swordsman and said.
Quorro stepped back to make way, but Syrio did not step forward again.
He merely looked at Ferrego from a distance and said, "I am leaving, and I should not return to Braavos."
"I know." Ferrego looked at Syrio and said, "You have no other choice but to leave."
Syrio looked at the Sea King expressionlessly and said, "Before I leave, I want to ask my good friend Ferrego a question."
Ferrego was silent for a moment and said, "You may ask."
Syrio asked somewhat cryptically, "Did you use the information I revealed back then to achieve your goals?"
Ferrego stared at Syrio for a long time, finally only saying, "Farewell, my old friend."
Syrio said nothing more, turned and left the room, walking out of the Sea King's Palace without looking back.
After Syrio left the Sea King's Palace, Ferrego stood quietly on the balcony, overlooking all of Braavos.
After a while, he finally spoke, "Quorro, immediately send people to the docks to inquire about all recently docked ships.
Ask if there are any particularly prominent individuals on board, like a radiant figure such as Linde Terra.
No matter how much he tries to conceal himself, his brilliance cannot be hidden."
"Do we need to send people to the Storm God Temple?" Quorro inquired.
"No," Ferrego shook his head and said, "That is a forbidden area.
What belongs to the gods belongs to the gods; what belongs to mortals belongs to mortals.
Mortals venturing rashly into the gods' territory will only be shattered.
Do you believe that if I send people to investigate the Storm God Temple today, the Faceless Men from the House of Black and White will appear before me tomorrow?
Do not think that all gods are hostile to each other, and that mortals can take advantage."
"Yes." Quorro nodded.
That night, a large number of city guards arrived at the docks of Braavos.
They found the owners of the ships recently docked and inquired about the passengers, sailors, and mercenaries on board.
Soon, they found several suspects, and Lynd, who appeared before people as a divine archer, was naturally among them.
At this moment, Lynd had already left the Storm God Temple and returned to the inn where he was staying.
After washing up, he was preparing to rest and planned to explore Braavos for a few days before visiting the Sea King's Palace.
Although it was already confirmed that the magical armor in the Sea King's possession was not his own, he still needed to make the trip to see if he could obtain some useful clues from the Sea King.
However, just as he had finished washing, he heard a knock at the door.
Opening it, he found that the person knocking was not a servant from the inn, but an unfamiliar little girl.
"Are you Lord Linde?" The little girl looked up timidly at the tall Lynd and asked.
Lynd was momentarily stunned, then admitted, "Yes."
The little girl, as if reciting lines, said, "The Sea King has sent people to the docks to investigate you, and they will soon find your location.
Please follow me; I will take you to a safe place."
Although Lynd no longer needed to evade the Sea King's people at this point, even if he were discovered by the Sea King, he could use the opportunity to meet the Sea King directly and resolve the matter.
However, he was quite interested in the person behind the little girl, so he asked the little girl to wait for a moment.
He went back inside, re-equipped his weapons, and then came out.
Subsequently, the little girl led Lynd directly from a small staircase beside the inn to the street, avoiding the people in the inn.
Then, they entered a house nearby and went directly to its basement, where there was a passage to the central lake's waterway outside, and a small boat was already waiting there.
The little girl gestured for Lynd to board the boat, while she herself did not get on, standing by the shore and telling the boatman to set off.
Passing through a narrow waterway, the small boat entered the central lake.
Under the cover of night, the boatman skillfully navigated the small boat, weaving among the temple's islands.
He always managed to keep the boat hidden in the shadows of the temple, so that people on shore could not see a small boat gliding across the lake.
Soon, the small boat arrived at the island where the House of Black and White, dedicated to the Thousand-Faced God, was located, docking at a small pier.
Without waiting for the boatman to say anything, Lynd stepped onto the pier and walked towards the gate of the House of Black and White.
At this moment, he could vaguely guess whose subordinate the little girl who had informed him was.
Just as he ascended a flight of steps and arrived at the gate of the House of Black and White, the tightly closed gate slowly opened, and a strange middle-aged man with a hooked nose and a scar on his face walked out.
Upon seeing Lynd, the middle-aged man bowed to him, then calmly said, "Someone has been waiting for you for a long time, Lord.
Although someone is unwilling to recall past painful memories, someone is still very happy to see a past benefactor again."
"Someone?" Lynd heard this self-referential way of speaking.
"This is how someone learned to speak from the Lorath people, and it suits someone very well, because someone has given up everything from the past, including memories and names." The middle-aged man looked at Lynd expressionlessly and said, "Oh, by the way, someone's current name is Jaqen H'ghar.
Lord Linde can call someone by this name."
Upon hearing the introduction, Lynd understood that the person before him was indeed the Jaqen from his memories who would later appear in the Red Keep and change Arya Stark's fate.
However, what he found incredible was that this Jaqen was actually Tessa, the little girl he had saved back then.
On the surface, it seemed he had changed Tessa's fate of death, but now, upon careful thought, even if he hadn't intervened, Bowo, the Faceless Man in the Red Keep at the time, might have incidentally saved Tessa, who was discarded in a slum's garbage heap or sold to Flea Bottom as an ingredient for brown soup.
Lynd's intervention merely made things take a slightly roundabout turn, and everything returned to the starting point.
"Where's Bowo?" Lynd inquired.
"He has returned to eternal silence." Jaqen replied calmly.
She then stepped aside, gesturing for Lynd to enter, and said, "You can stay in the House of Black and White during this time.
Although the Sea King's position in Braavos is supreme, that is only relative to mortals.
This is the domain of the gods; mortal power cannot reach here."
The two entered the House of Black and White, one after the other.
Passing through a huge corridor, they arrived in the spacious main chamber.
In the center of the main chamber was a large pool, and by the pool, many devotees were silently praying, making no sound.
Statues of different gods stood on the walls around the main chamber.
According to the teachings of the Thousand-Faced God, they were all incarnations of the Thousand-Faced God, and interestingly, the statue of the storm god corresponding to Lynd was also among them, with the same appearance as the one in the Storm God Temple.
At this moment, by the pool, several people, desperate from illness and the pressures of life, took a stone ladle placed nearby, scooped a cup of water from the pool, drank it, then turned and entered an empty stone niche in the nearby wall to lie down, quietly awaiting death.
Some priests, attendants, or Faceless Men apprentices of the Thousand-Faced God entered the main chamber.
They bowed to Jaqen, then each went to a stone niche, checked the people lying inside, and moved those who had died onto small carts to be transferred elsewhere for processing.
After Lynd entered this main chamber, his gaze swept around and then fell upon the central pool.
He then walked curiously to the side of the pool and looked at the clear yet dark water within.
Although on the surface this spring water appeared ordinary, Lynd could perceive magical energy within the water.
Similarly, he could also see faint magical energy emanating from the bodies of those who had drunk the water, clearly being corroded by the magical energy in the pool.
This corrosion could be harmful, completely destroying the functions of the body's organs from the inside out, either leading to complete death or turning them into living dead.
Among those deemed dead by the attendants and apprentices, some were actually still alive, but their bodily functions were so completely destroyed that they resembled corpses.
They were very unlucky, as they would live to feel themselves being dismembered bit by bit, and even witness their own faces being made into masks for the Faceless Men.
Conversely, magical corrosion could also be beneficial.
In some individuals suffering from illness and unbearable pain, the magical energy would impact the diseased areas, killing the cells causing the illness, allowing them to gradually recover their health.
"Would you like a drink?" Jaqen walked to Lynd's side and asked.
Lynd looked at her, reached out for the small spoon, scooped a spoonful of the pool water, and drank it in one gulp.
The magical energy in the water that entered Lynd's body was swallowed by the Nameless King Rune in Lynd's heart before it could even take effect.
Seeing that Lynd showed no abnormalities after drinking the water, Jaqen's hand, which had been tightly clutching a medicine bottle, relaxed, and a rare smile appeared on her face.
Meanwhile, what Lynd was thinking about was how it would feel to immerse himself in this pool.
However, this was merely a thought, because Lynd was certain that even the immense magical energy generated in this pool would not be enough for the Nameless King Rune to consume.
The ultimate result would only be the complete destruction of this sacred artifact of the House of Black and White.
At that point, no matter how good his relationship with Jaqen was, the followers of the Thousand-Faced God would probably not forgive him.
He would inevitably face endless assassinations by the Faceless Men.
He himself was not very worried about the assassinations; as long as Glory was by his side, no assassination could succeed.
But his subordinates, the officials and generals, did not possess such abilities; those who could survive assassinations were extremely rare.
His territory would naturally collapse without being attacked, becoming completely desolate.
Therefore, the House of Black and White of the Thousand-Faced God has always been considered by Lynd as one of the forces not to be provoked, and even now that he possessed such formidable strength, his apprehension towards the House of Black and White had not changed.
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