Chapter 101 Rapacious Part 2

Watching the sun set over the top of the mountain. What he saw was very similar to Mount Fuji. In Hajime's previous life, he had always wanted to see Mount Fuji, but he was too poor to afford such a trip. Hajime doesn't know if there are any differences between the mountains in his previous life and the mountains here.

"What are you thinking about," U-ri said, walking towards Hajime. 

Hajime said, "I just want to know if there is any difference between the mountains here and Mount Tai." 

U-ri chuckled and said, "I'm not an expert, but I'm sure the soil is different in different places, so the texture of the soil will make the mountains and hills different." He looked at Hajime. "Just like people, different cities have different cultures." 

Hajime sighed and said, "You're right." 

U-ri asked, "How is your pain?" 

Hajime said, "Although I can't feel the pain now, but with certain motion I still have pain from time to time." He sighed heavily. 

U-ri asked, "What's wrong?" 

Hajime said, "Speaking of differences, I've noticed that when I get injured lately, it hurts a lot and takes a long time to heal. I used to stab myself and the wound healed in less than an hour. Well, but now my wounds took a long time to heal." He sighed heavily again. "I think I'm broken." 

U-ri said, "You told us that you were cursed. You can only die if you find true love." There was a long silence between the two. "What if... what if there's more to the curse?"

Hajime asked, "What else?" 

U-ri said, "What if it takes longer to heal because you have feelings for someone, or someone has feelings for you?" 

Hajime said, "You have a point, but there's no one else around except us... I mean, I don't think it's possible to fall in love with someone among our friends..." 

U-ri said, "Oh, child, sometimes you don't need to go far to find love, because love is always with you, you just don't realize it." 

Hajime said, "You mean, I actually fell in love with someone?" 

"That's the only reasonable explanation at the moment," U-ri chuckled. 

Hajime said, "U-ri, I have something to confess, but I don't think I can confess it in front of others." 

U-ri said, "This old man's lips are as tight as iron. No fire can melt them." 

Hajime said shyly, "I think... I think... I actually like Yul... It's a different kind of like. You know the kind that is more than friends." 

U-ri smiled and said, "If you really like him, no one will stop you." 

Hajime asked, "Why?" 

U-ri said, "Your marriage is a royal decree from His Highness. Even if Yul wants to divorce you, he can't unless you both agree. So, if you like him, don't drive him away. Open up and express your feelings like husband and wife do." 

Hajime said sadly, "But he doesn't like me the way I like him. For him, I'm a responsibility that he must protect. Without me there will be no white dragon tail and your kingdom will perish in eighteen years." 

U-ri said, "How can you be so sure of that?" 

Hajime asked, "What about you? How can you be so sure that Yul can like me." 

U-ri said, "Captain Bayarmaa is not a statue, he is a living person with a beating heart. If you continued to love him, a person with a heart will eventually love you back." He laughed and saw that Yul, Abrafo, and Michio were walking towards them. "Speak of the devil." 

Hajime turned his head and found Yul and the others walking towards them. He suddenly felt embarrassed, maybe because he had just confessed his feelings for Yul to U-ri, or maybe because he was embarrassed knowing that Yul might not feel the same way about him as he did about Yul. 

U-ri looked at Hajime's face and teased, "You're blushing." 

Hajime quickly turned his head and looked down at the ground. "I didn't," he said, feeling his heartbeat slowly speeding up and his face starting to feel hot. 

U-ri continued his teasing, "Keep denying it. Should I tell him?" 

Hajime said, "If you tell him, say goodbye to my bangle." 

U-ri laughed and said, "Have mercy on this old man." 

Abrafo handed the packed bag to U-ri. "The map shows our next destination," he said. "I said we should spend the night, but Yul said no." 

Hajime asked Yul, "Why don't you want to stay the night?" 

Yul said, "You're up and walking, and the rest of us are uninjured, so we don't need to stay." 

Michio said, "Also, chief Saja cannot be trusted." 

Yul said, "I decided to leave because of my conversation with Saja in the forest." 

U-ri asked, "Is there any problem with the conversation?" 

Yul said, "Saja said the forest is curse, but the Fairy Ring Circle is designed for defense. If the forest is curse, why did he need to poison us in the first place." 

U-ri said, "I've thought about this too. Is there something in that forest that we shouldn't know?" 

Yul said, "When we were left at the edge of the tree line, nothing attacked us.  The environment changed, and the vines only attacked us when we entered the forest. Moreover, Saja and his men were afraid of entering the forest." 

U-ri said, "I agree with Yul. We will only be attacked when we get out of the tree line. Also, Saja and his men will be attacked as soon as they get close to the tree line." 

Abrafo stepped forward and said, "Could it be that Lady Lan have great hatred for Saja and his people?" 

Hajime said, "It's possible." 

Yul said, "The palace in Maggio City is guarded by the Fairy Ring Circle Formation.  This obviously means that whoever placed the Fairy Ring Circle formation there was to protect the capital from enemies." 

Abrafo said, "Listening to what you two said, I feel that this forest has a lot of hatred for Saja and his men." 

Hajime said, "Maybe it's because Saja and his people have the same bloodline as Lady Lan's enemies." 

Michio said, "Or maybe, Saja and his people have the same bloodline as Lady Lan's enemies, they cannot enter the forest." 

Hajime said, "Lady Lan put the Life Curse spell on this city."  Hajime looked at Yul and the others.  "Or what if many years ago, the Tenth King and your ancestor were here, helping Lady Lan defend the city and place those Fairy Ring Circles around the capital to prevent the enemy from attacking." 

Yul sighed and said, "Or seal Mrs. Lan's enemies in the city." 

Hajime suddenly remembered the vine he picked up the day before. He quickly reached into the cross bag and pulled out the two vines. He stared at these vines for a long time, and suddenly remembered that the green vines Lan Huan attacked them were different from the dry vines he held in his hand. 

Seeing Hajime spacing out, Yul asked, "Hajime, what's wrong?" 

Hajime looked at Yul and said, "The vines that attacked us the day before and the vines that Lady Lan attacked us in the palace are two different kinds of vines." He showed the vines to Yul. "You see...these are hard and rough, but the ones Lady Lan uses are soft." 

Yul looked at the dry vines in Hajime's hand and said, "This proven that besides Lady Lan, there are others guarding Magior's capital." 

U-ri said, "Oh... Jiāo told me that they saw a man sitting in a cave, and vines stretched out from the cave walls and attached to the man. It looked like he was feeding the vines." 

Michio said, "I was very close to the cave, but before I reached the cave, the little boy asked me to help him find his mother, so I did not enter the cave." 

Yul said, "If my theory is correct, there is more than one guardian protecting Magior Capital City." 

U-ri said, "The only way to know for sure is if we go back and find out." 

Hajime put his hand into the cross bag and took out two wooden eagle figures.  He threw the wooden figures to the ground.  Hajime's two eagles stood before them.  "Let's go and find out," Hajime said, walking towards the eagles. "I can't sleep without knowing the truth." 

Abrafo said, "What about Lixin and the others?" 

Hajime said, "I have given him my parting gift because I thought that once our mission here is completed, that map will tell us our next destination, and if our next destination comes up, Yul Will urge us to leave." 

Yul said, "Our mission is to enter No Man's Land and get the white dragon's tail." 

When the eagles landed in front of the cave, the five Tanzanies jumped from the eagles' back.  Hajime looked at the two big eagles and said, "Guard the entrance." 

The five men entered the cave and walked to the rock platform. To their surprise, they did not see a man, but a woman in her twenties sitting cross-legged and meditating. When the men approached the woman, the woman suddenly opened her eyes and smiled at the men. 

Michio looked at the woman and at his friends.  He said, "She has a shadow." 

Yul asked, "Who are you?" 

The woman stood up with a smile and walked towards the men standing before her.  She stared at them one at a time. She looked Hajime up and down and said with a smile, "You are a very interesting person... You are already dead; how can you still be alive and well?" 

Yul grabbed Hajime's hand and pulled Hajime behind him. He stood in front of Hajime, staring at the woman.  "Lady, watch your words," he said frantically. 

The woman looked at Yul and said, "When I look at you, I see your hand holding your bleeding heart filled with tears. How funny..." The woman looked at the men. "It's not just them, every one of you is interesting." 

Abrafo said, "What's your name." 

The woman said, "Tell me yours, and I'll tell you mine." 

Abrafo said, "Abrafo of Tangzang Kingdom." 

The woman's face was gloomy. "Tangzang Kingdom..." She sighed. "I haven't heard that word in a long time." 

U-ri asked, "So you know about Tangzang Kingdom?" 

The woman said, "I was supposed to go to Tangzang Kingdom with the others, but I chose to stay."  She looked at the men and smile.  "This untouchable slave is Zoya."