Chapter 66 The City Of Warriors Part 2

Although the early night was very dark, the torches illuminated the small village, it looked like a crater about to erupt from a distance. Looking at those people who were ready to fight until the last person, Saja knew that his men couldn't beat the strong men standing in front of him.

Saja said, "We just took them to where they want to go."

Kenix asked, "Where do they want to go?"

Saja said, "They are going to enter the main city of the ancient city of Magior."

Kenix said, "Take us there."

Saja said, "I am the village chief, and I am willing to take you there."

Lixin asked, "What are they looking for?"

Saja smiled mildly and said, "They didn't share information with us, and we didn't ask questions. We just take our guests where they want to go."

Kenix said, "Take us there now."

Saja said, "How about we welcome you with dinner, and you can go tomorrow morning."

Lixin said, "Either you take us there now, or every time I count to ten, one person standing behind me will die." He smiled at Saja.

Saja said, "Okay, but I must warn you that anyone who enters the capital city of Magior will never appear again. I can only take you there, but I won't go into the city with you."

Kenix asked, "And why is that?"

Saja said, "We are the cursed people of Magior, so… we can't not enter the capital city."

Lixin said, "Fair enough." He stood up from his chair. "Chief, lead the way."

After walking for a full three hours, Saja successfully brought lixin, Kenix, and the others back to the tree line. The broken wagon was still on the ground in the same position where they had left it.

Saja said, "This is where we left them."

Kenix said, "You lead the way." She pushed Saja hard from behind.

Saja said, "I've told you; we're banned from the forest. Taking us with you will bring you a worse outcome than good." He looked at Kenix and Lixin. "I told you before I came, I will only take you to the entrance of the gate. I will not go in with you."

Lixin looked at his men and said, "Let the leader go. There is no forest we have not yet conquered." He smiled and looked at the dark and dense trees standing in front of him. "And this one is no exception." He charged his horse forward.

One guard pushed Saja away and followed Lixin and Kenix into the forest.

Saja smirked at Lixin and the others with a sneer, knowing in his heart that once they walked past the tree line, they would never be able to get out.

Saja smiled charmingly and said, "I wish everyone good luck." He rolled his eyes and looked at the two people he brought with him. "Another batch of brainless people have entered the city."

U-ri sat close to the bonfire and continued to read the book of life to the other four men. He paused and said, "This is about something we already know, but it's still amazing to see it from a different perspective from someone who is not Tanzanie."

Hajime looked up at U-ri and said, "Continue..."

U-ri closed the book of life and said, "It tells how the Tenth King killed the Kukungga people, offended the Emperor of Heaven, and claimed that he was equal to the Emperor of Heaven."

Hajime said, "We know it's not true. The Tenth King placed his beloved general equal to the Emperor of Heaven."

U-ri said, "It also says that Tanzang and its people were destroyed by the dark forces created by the Emperor of Heaven."

Abrafo said, "That's not true either, because we're still here."

Hajime said, "No wonder Baishui said no one knows for sure what happened to Magior City." He suddenly realized that he had neither seen Baishui nor Jiāo, nor did he know where they were. He suddenly remembered that he believed he had heard the conversation between Baishui and Jiāo when they ran away. "Do any of you know where Baishui and Jiāo are?"

Michio said, "The last time I saw them was by the guest huts. They didn't have dinner with us. I don't remember anything that happened after chief Saja's house until I woke up this afternoon under those willow trees."

Hajime was dumbfounded because he clearly remembered hearing the conversation between Baishui and Jiāo. He senses Yul and him on horseback while they're running away. " But... I remember that while Yul and I were fleeing on horseback, I heard Baishui and Jiāo arguing about not calling for help. Although I still faint from time to time, I believe I saw Yul's face."

Yul looked at Hajime and said, "It's impossible. I passed out at Saja's house."

Hajime said, "Then the person I saw was not you, the person I saw must be Baishui." Hajime's heart sank. "Then where are Baishui and Jiāo?"

Abrafo said worriedly, "We haven't seen them since last night. As Michio said, when we woke up, we were on the ground next to the broken wagon. There was no one else except Saja and his men."

Hajime's lips trembled, "Then Baishui and Jiāo must be in trouble. We must go look for them."

U-ri said, "Don't worry too much, Baishui and Jiāo are very capable at saving themselves."

Yul said, "Baishui must have taken my sword. Let's rest for a day, and tomorrow we will go find Baishui and Jiāo before entering the city."

U-ri said, "But will that delay our journey?"

Yul said, "Baishui volunteered to take us, so I had to find out what happened to him before we entered the city." He looked at the rest of the men. "I will take the watch first."

Abrafo said, "Alright, I will take the second watch."

U-ri walked to Hajime and returned the Book of Life back to Hajime. Hajime said, "You keep it. It is more suitable for you to take care of it than me."

U-ri asked, "Are you sure?"

Hajime said, "I don't want to disappoint Baishui. This book must be very important to him, so he entrusted it to me. You keep it first, and you return it to him when we find him. Maybe by doing this it can soften Baishui's heart, and he might let you study in their library."

U-ri smiled and shook his head. "You sure know how to trick someone into doing your job for you," he said.

Hajime said, "No, I'm not."

Hajime and U-ri follow Abrafo to the self-made leaves mat.

Hajime lay down, put his hands on the back of his neck, stared at the millions of stars in the clear and dark night sky, he sighed, thousands of thoughts surged in his mind. He tried to close his eyes but couldn't sleep. He sat up and looked at the sleeping man beside him. He sees Yul sitting alone by the bonfire looking at the old map.

Hajime walked to the bonfire and sat beside Yul. "Go to sleep. I can't sleep anyway, so I'll take the watch first," Hajime said. "Why are you looking at the old map again? Does it show any new details?"

Yul shook his head. He looked at Hajime and asked, "Earlier today, when you were still in a coma, what dream did you have?"

Hajime simperingly said, "Oh... I hope I didn't embarrass you too much."

Yul said, "You didn't say anything that would embarrass you, but you did mutter something about life."

Hajime sighed and said, "Well, I don't think there's anything good in my life worth mentioning. It's probably rubbish, so don't take it to heart."

Yul recalled the moment when Hajime suddenly hugged him. At that moment, he could feel Hajime's honesty from the heart. He said, "Hajime…"

Hajime turned to face Yul and smiled at Yul. "Um... what?" Hajime replied while inserting another small log into the bonfire.

Yul said, "Hajime, you don't have to be positive all the time and put on a smile when you are not happy. It's perfectly okay to feel sad, angry, annoyed, frustrated, scared, and anxious. You don't need to hold those feelings back because having those feelings doesn't make you a less caring or negative person. It makes you human." He gave Hajime a quick wry smile. "Trust your intuition. You don't need to explain or justify your feelings to anyone, just trust your own inner guidance, it knows best."

Hajime asked gloomily, "Does it?"

Yul said, "The only person who knows the answer is yourself."

Hajime smiled broadly at Yul. "Just now you sounded just like Avalokitasvara." He sighed. "Anyway, thank you for your kind encouragement."

Yul asked, "Is there anything else on your mind?"

Hajime said sincerely, "I often think that if I have just one person who loves me dearly and stands beside me is good enough. I don't need to touch them. Not even talk. As long as when I spread my wings and fly, I would always have a place to fly back to. The last time I felt like that, I was looking into your eyes." Hajime chuckled embarrassedly. "Always be true to your feelings because the more you deny what you feel, the stronger it becomes, right? Therefore, I can admit and say that I have feelings."