Chapter 193 Escaping Plan

The pealing sound of bamboo chimes echoed in the ears of the Tanzanies from afar. Fresh air blows around the Tanzanies, and the smell of small trees tickles the nostrils of the five Tanzanies. The path they took was clean and tidy, as if the road had been well taken care of. As a breeze blew across them, the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long tree shadows across their path. 

Walking behind the man in black holding Hajime's right wrist, Yul felt uneasy because he had entered an unknown place. The perfect environment made Yul feel that this peaceful environment was not what it seemed, but there was nothing he could do because he knew that as soon as he took action, Hajime might be in danger, so Yul did not plan to attack, but slowly walking behind Hajime and the man in black. 

From time to time, Yul noticed that Hajime would turn his head to check on Yul and others. Although Yul could not ask Hajime, Yul would smile at Hajime to reassure Hajime that he was still behind Hajime. 

Abrafo looked at the back of the man in black and then at the red fox following them. The more he looked at the back of the man in black and the red fox, the more annoyed he became. 

"Does this stupid fox need to follow us so closely?" Abrafo frowned. "We're not planning to run away or leave Hajime behind." 

"He follows us to make sure we don't attack his master," U-ri said, turning to look at the large red fox with bright yellow eyes. Seeing those eyes, U-ri shivered and turned around quickly. "Those eyes always give me the creeps." 

Michio turned to look at the red fox and said, "Me too..." He quickly turned around. 

Abrafo looked at the others walking beside him. He whispered, "According to what Hajime said back then, a mage can only create two portals in his life, so how can this mage create multiple portals?" 

Yul said, "In my opinion, he is not an ordinary mage." 

U-ri said, "With the way he fought the three of you, he defeated the combined strength of the three of you in the easiest way. So, I agree with you, the man walking in front of us is no ordinary mage." 

Abrafo said, "Hey... traitor, stop lowering our morale by boosting the enemy's skill." 

U-ri said, "I'm not." 

Abrafo said, "When we fought with him, he mentioned that the sword on my back was made by him, so why did he make this sword? What is the relationship between him and the red phoenix we killed?" 

Michio said, "The key point is why that sword and the red phoenix appeared in the Phoenix Chamber." 

U-ri said, "This is something we need to figure out, but the question is how do we find something we don't even know about. And we are his hostages." 

Abrafo said, "Well...then we don't need to find out anything. We just need to escape safely and continue our mission." 

Michio said, "But this man can create any portal and bring us back here. If we don't resolve our differences with him, we must make peace with him first." 

Abrafo whispered, "We don't need to make peace with him, we just need to be one step ahead of him." 

U-ri said, "Your idea is a short-term solution. We need a long-term solution." 

"Let's play step-by-step from now on, gathering what we can first," Yul said. "Understanding your enemy better is a guarantee or a close guarantee of victory." 

Michio asked, "So, what is our escape plan?" 

Yul sighed, turned to look at the red fox twenty yards behind him, and then sighed. "I'm thinking of a plan, but first we have to free Hajime from him. I'm worried that he will hurt Hajime if we attack him," Yul said. 

"In order to avoid a conflict with him, we should run away as soon as we rescue Hajime," Michio suggested. 

"Running away without knowing where you are is the same as not running away at all," U-ri said. 

Yul said, "I agree with you, so let's keep a close eye on our surroundings and see where this path leads us. If we must fight to escape, then so be it. Follow our escape plan." 

Long ago, the five Tanzanies had long thought of such a scenario and made an escape plan if one of them was taken hostage. Revisiting their escape plan, Hajime suddenly realized that he didn't hear Abrafo's continuous complaint for sometimes. He looked back to see how far behind the others were, but when he saw that the men were so close to each other and their voices were almost inaudible, he suddenly realized that they might be planning an escape. He turned to look at the man in black to see if he had noticed. 

"Don't you even think about it?" the man in black said. "As long as I'm here, you have no chance of escape." 

"How.... How do you know?" Hajime asked. "Are you able to read minds?" 

The man in black sneered and said, "It not difficult to read." 

"So, what exactly do you want from me?" Hajime asked. 

The man in black rolled his eyes at Hajime and said, "I really want to destroy your soul. I want to destroy you... I can't do it because that's not my call." 

Hajime asked, "Then who made that call?" 

The man in black said, "Your fate will be decided by Master Budi and others." 

Hajime asked, "How many others?" 

The man in black turned his head and looked at Hajime with an annoyed expression. "You'll find out when we get there," he said, rolling his eyes at Hajime. "Don't try to run away as it will do you more harm than good." 

Hajime wanted to ask for details about the body he possessed, but the man in black seemed angry, so Hajime chose to remain silent for the time being. 

Just as the Tanzanies were wondering how long they would have to stay on the road, the dense wood became brighter, when more sunlight fell on them through the gaps in the trees. As they emerged from the dense woods, the first thing they heard was the sound of people talking. When they were completely out of the dense woods, the scenery of rice fields came into view. 

The Tanzanies were surprised to see such a scenery, because they thought they would encounter a hellish scene along the way, so the calm sound of people's voices and the view of rice field made the five Tanzanies surprised. 

"There are people living here, right?" Yul asked. 

The man in black didn't answer and continued to walk. 

Hajime asked, "Are there people living here?" 

The man in black said, "I heard him." 

Hajime asked, "Then why didn't you answer?" 

The man in black said, "I am not obligated to answer any of your questions." 

Hajime thought for a moment and said, "Since you answered my question, why not answer his?" 

The man in black said, "I don't need to answer his question, because it's not important to me." 

Hajime asked, "How far is it to get there?" 

The man in black did not answer but continued to move forward. 

The more Hajime looked at the man in black, the more he wanted to ask questions. He decided that since the man in black was in a better mood, he would take the risk and ask. Hajime took a deep breath and summoned up the courage to ask, "Do you know my host?" 

The man in black suddenly stop, turn to look at Hajime, and his eyes full of anger. "Host? Is that what you call him?" He squeezed Hajime's wrist. "You have the courage to steal his body and use it as you like, but you don't dare to tell the people following you your true identity." His right hand grabbed Hajime's collar. "Thief..." he gnashed his teeth. 

Hajime could see the anger burning in the eyes of the man in black, as if if Hajime opened his mouth again, the man in black would bite Hajime's throat and rip out the jugular veins on his neck. 

Michio raised his head and saw the intense movements of Hajime and the man in black. "Uh...what's the problem now?" Michio said worriedly. 

Yul rushed forward and grabbed the man in black's arm. "Let go of your hand," Yul said angrily. 

Knowing that they were about to approach the temple, the man in black gritted his teeth, looked at Hajime angrily and said, "You have no right to know who he is." He let go of Hajime's collar and began to quicken his pace. 

When they approached the stone gate, the man in black tightened Hajime's wrist with his left hand and began to walk faster toward the open gate stairwell. 

Hajime tried his best to catch up with the man in black, but due to lack of physical strength and probably starvation, he couldn't keep up. Therefore, in the eyes of others, the man in black seemed to be dragging Hajime forward towards the open gate. 

Yul was annoyed by this. He rushed forward, grabbed the man in black's left hand with his right hand, and pushed the man in black's hand away from Hajime's wrist. 

The other Tanzanies quickly rushed to Yul and Hajime, so that in case of a fight, they could assist Yul and Hajime in time. 

"That's enough," Yul said, standing in front of Hajime. "We came here voluntarily, there is no reason for you to treat Hajime like this." 

"You dare to stand between me and him?" The man in black sneered. 

"We're not afraid to give you another round if you want," Abrafo said, reaching for his sword. 

"You know you can't beat me," the man in black said. 

Abrafo said, "The last person who says this to me ends up underground." 

Michio said, "If you continue to test our patience, it may not end well for you." 

U-ri knew that a fight would not go well, so he stepped forward to try to calm the heated situation. "Sir, it seems you're not a bad person. We volunteered to come with you, which means we won't try to escape. Also, if you explain to us what exactly you want with Hajime, we can find a solution that works for both of us." 

"Kaizen, this benefactor is right. No matter how far you drag the body, if the person does not come willingly, it means that the person did not come at all," Budi's voice sounded. 

"Master..." Kaizen murmured. 

The five Tanzanies who were preparing for a showdown with Kaizen, looked up at the top of the stairwell. They saw an old monk wearing a white habit, stroking his long white beard, looking down at them with a warm smile.