Allies - Part 3

A group of white-haired elders came. The first elder looked anxious and excited at the same time.

Heero greeted the elder with a slight bow to show his respect. But the elder with the long white hair reached out to Heero and said, "No, don't! We don't deserve your respect!"

"What are you talking about, Elder? You certainly deserve my bow and I am just doing my master's teaching, respecting the elder" Heero smiled.

"Huhu... as expected from a disciple of the saint," the elder smiled as he praised Heero, "this old man is Dazekh, the chief of the Purple Mountain tribe, and please don't joke, young master. I certainly don't deserve your bow,"

The old man with long white hair bowed, "Dazekh greets the disciple of the saint,"

Together with Dazekh, the other old men also bowed to Heero.

He was helpless and confused. Helpless at the reverence they had for him as he was not used to being treated like this. Confused as to why Dazekh had said he did not deserve his bow.

"Young Master, are these your companions?" Old Man Dazekh asked as he tilted his head back.

"Yes, they are my family and friends,"

"Lyera, escort them to our tribe, I want to talk to the young master first!" Old Dazekh ordered the woman dressed in purple.

"Also, prepare a feast for the Young Master and his family!"

"But Chief..." Lyera wanted to say something, but swallowed her words under the eyes of Dazekh and the other old men.

Heero motioned for the others to follow the purple-clad woman. Only he and Old Man Dazekh remained behind.

"Would you mind accompanying the old man for a walk, young master?"

Heero replied with a nod and a smile, indicating that he was fine with a walk.

Then Heero and Old Man Dazekh walked at a leisurely pace towards the Purple Mountain. Old Man Dazekh remained silent and did not speak until they entered the Purple Mountain.

"Isn't this place beautiful, young master?"

Heero scanned the surroundings, remembering the past. When his master had brought him to this Purple Mountain for the first time.

The memories were still vivid in his mind. Back then, he had been so excited and always praised how beautiful the Purple Mountain was.

"Hmm... It's still beautiful, even time can't take away the natural beauty of Purple Mountain. Not much has changed,"

"Hoho... So did the young master visit this place in the past?" Dazekh did not seem surprised. It was as if he knew about it.

Heero nodded, "Yes, back then, my master came here to attend a ceremony for the newly elected chief, Chief Sikran, "

"So you really are the disciple of Saint. This old man is relieved, but also sorry to doubt the young master's identity!"

"Old Man Dazekh apologizes and deserves to be punished for doubting the Young Master," Old Man Dazekh bowed his head.

"It's okay, I know you are just being cautious," Heero did not mind, but he was curious about one thing, "How did you know I was the real one?"

Old Dazekh raised his head and smiled, "Thank you for forgiving this old man, young master.

"As for how I know that you are the real one, it is because the previous chief left a record every time Saint visited our tribe. Just now you mentioned the exact time of your visit, and I had read the record left by Ancestor Sikran. You come with your master to congratulate Ancestor Sikran, Young Master Xing Heero."

"Ah...

Only then did Heero come to a realization. He understood why Old Dazekh had said that he did not deserve his bow. He was the elder here, not Old Man Dazekh.

"If you are here, does that mean you have met Saint?"

Heero stopped his steps and looked at Old Man Dazekh with a confused expression. He did not understand what Old Man Dazekh was talking about.

"As I said, I have read all the records left by my predecessors. The last time Saint came here, he helped our tribe avoid the Great Catastrophe. Before that, Saint also came to us and asked for our help in finding you!"

"According to the records, Saint had not found you when he sealed this place."

Heero nodded his head and began his story. About the change in Dramonia, which now became Earth.

"I see... I see... So now the sealed space has begun to open in the form of a gate? Does that mean the outside is safe now?" Old Dazekh was quite satisfied with that.

"Yes, even though the air and energy outside is polluted,"

"Haha... The Mountain God really takes care of us! In the past, He sent your master to save us from the damned specters. Now He has sent the Saint's disciple to save us from another crisis. The Mountain God truly loves us!"

Old Dazekh let out a heartfelt laugh.

"A crisis? Is something happening to the Purple Mountain Tribe?"

Then Old Man Dazekh began to tell a story about himself and his tribe. Having been isolated with limited land, the resources in that land were also limited.

The tribe had survived for thousands of years since the isolation. But now they were facing a huge problem, the food crisis.

The Purple Mountain Tribe was a tribe of hunters. They hunted to live. Whether it was hunting the specters or the beasts, the Purple Mountain Tribe was one of the best hunting tribes.

They were able to survive by hunting, but a problem arose. The number of beasts kept decreasing until it was very difficult to find even one living beast.

The beasts in this room were scarce. Without beasts, the Purple Mountain Tribe lost their source of food.

"I see..." Heero nodded. The crisis was more or less solved now. They could leave this room and hunt the beast on earth.

As for where the beasts disappeared, it must have something to do with the Nocturnal Beast. And he guessed right.

"That's right, it's them! They are the culprits, and we have been hunting them for a long time. Now those damned cowards would run at the sight of us!"

Old Dazekh poured out all his grievances to Heero and Heero listened to the old man.

After they had talked for quite a while, Old Man Dazekh remembered something.

"Ah, young master! I heard from Lyera that you want to talk to me about specters? I am all ears."

"Yes, I have a request..." It was Heero's turn to explain the current situation on Earth.

"I see... It's a pleasure for the Purple Mountain Tribe to help the young master. Besides, the specters are our tribe's mortal enemy!"

Old Dazekh readily accepted Heero's request, "Young Master, let's discuss the details in this old man's humble village. We have prepared a feast for you and your family."

Only then did the old man Dazekh take Heero to the Purple Mountain Village.

When they both arrived, the festive atmosphere was palpable. A village of tree houses, that was the simple sentence to describe the Purple Mountain Village.

At the entrance of the village, they were greeted by the group of elders.

Heero saw that Miao Miao and the other children were quite close to the children of the Purple Mountain tribe. Language was no barrier for them to play together. They laughed and played happily.

As for the adult group, they were the complete opposite of the children's group. They remained stiff and alert to their surroundings. But soon the barrier between them was broken by the great feast.

The best drinks and food provided by the Purple Mountain Tribe melted the heroes' alertness.

By late afternoon, a group of old men and the heroes were dead drunk. They collapsed on the ground with red faces.

Heero was fine though, he even had a cup of purple wine in his hand. He lifted the cup, swallowed it in one go and stood up.

"It's time to uncover the mystery behind the abandoned city."