Beginning Beyond The Horizon

Walking into the unknown, the four Tanzanines followed the glowing path, leading the four Tanzanies into the depths of the forest, where thee glow stopped by the stream.

"Why did the glow stop here?" Abrafo asked, looking around at the rocks on the bank. 

Yul sighed and said, "It seems that the water may have washed away the glow powder." 

U-ri said, "I sprinkle it on them, and even though their feet no longer have the powder, their bodies should still have some powder." 

Yul said, "They may have crossed the stream to the other side." 

The four Tanznies began to cross the stream and walked towards the other side, but when they reached the bank of the stream, they found that there were no traces of the glow powder. The four Tanzanies began searching for traces of the glow powder but found nothing. 

Abrafo frowned angrily, "They must have washed themselves." 

Michio asked, "What are we going to do next?" 

Yul said, "Their hiding place must be nearby." He looked at the others. "Let's spread out and look for clues." 

U-ri sighed guiltily and said, "Sorry, I didn't expect there to be a stream in the middle of this forest." 

Yul said, "It's not your fault." 

Abrafo said, "Yul is right. Although you are the smartest among the five of us, you do not have a pair of magical eyes that can predict the future like Lady Huan or Lady Zoya." 

"Shh..." Yul said, putting his hand on Abrafo's shoulder. "Listen." 

Abrafo looked at Yul and asked quietly, "What?" 

"Did you hear that?" Yul asked. 

"Hear what?" Abrafo asked dumbfoundingly. 

"Waterwheel," Yul said. 

"Huh? Waterwheel?" Abrafo looked at Yul with a dull face. 

"I heard the waterwheel running," Yul said. 

The four Tanzanies remained silent and listened carefully to the sound of the waterwheel. As they opened their ears, no longer paying attention to the sounds of nocturnal animals, they heard the faint sound of a waterwheel in the distance. 

Michio said, "I heard it too, it seems it's not far from here." He took a step forward, but his arm was grabbed by U-ri. 

U-ri looked confused, "Wait a minute... why is there a waterwheel in the middle of the forest? The Taka tribe is no longer a civilized tribe, so they should have no reason to use a waterwheel." 

Yul said, "It could be a trap to make people believe there is a village nearby. But to determine whether there is a village nearby, let's confirm it. Maybe Hajime may have been taken there." 

Abrafo said, "We're as good as being lost right now, so let's go and have a look. Maybe we'll go in the right direction and find where the Taka is hiding."

Yul said, "Let's approach it with caution because we don't know what's waiting for us." 

Tonight, the moon is a dim crescent, emitting no moonlight. Tonight was darker than the night before, when the moon was full of stars. The four Tanzanies had difficulty walking on the grass strip at night and with no moonlight, so they walked slower than usual. Even so, every step they took brought them closer to the sound of the waterwheel, and they knew they were going in the right direction. After an hour of walking cautiously across the grass strip, the four Tanzanies found themselves standing on the outskirts of a deserted, abandoned village. 

To avoid detection, the four Tanzanies hid behind three large trees. 

"Oh... this looks very haunted," U-ri whispered, turning to look at the other Tanzanies. "It looks scarier than walking in a cemetery at night." 

"No shit..." Abrafo frowned, shivering when he felt the cool air hit the back of his neck. "It gives me a weird feeling." 

Yul said, "Although the moon is not on our side tonight, we still have a great advantage. Let's go and see if there are any clues about Hajime's whereabouts. Moreover, sleeping in an old house is better than sleeping in the open. At least we have a roof over our heads." Yul stepped out from behind the tree and walked cautiously towards the abandoned village. 

Michio looked at U-ri and said, "Walk in front of me." He looked at Abrafo. "And you." 

Abrafo said, "I will be in the rear." 

The four Tanzanies walked past the first few houses and found that their roofs had completely caved in, making them uninhabitable. As they continued their search, Yul suddenly stopped and turned to look at the others following closely behind. 

U-ri asked, "What's wrong?" 

"That house," Yul said, pointing to a house two houses away. "The house looks like it's in good condition." 

Michio said, "Then let's spend the night in that house." 

Yul looked to the right and said, "We'll stay in this house." He gently opened the door and walked in. 

Michio asked, "The one two doors away is in a better condition, why did you choose this one?" 

U-ri shook his head and said, "If it's too good to be true, then it's not true." He followed Yul in. 

Miccio stretched his bald head and said, "I don't understand." 

Abrafo placed his left hand on Michio's back and pushed Michio into the door and said, "From the safety point of view, this house is better than the house two doors away." Abrafo followed Michio in and closed the door behind him. 

The house they chose had only half the roof, but four walls were still standing. 

Michio continued to complain about their choice of house as Yul stood up and stood by the window staring at the house which was two doors away.

Abrafo looked at Yul then looked at Micho and said, "Keep your voice down." He stood up and walked to Yul. "What's on your mind?" 

Yul said, "Of all the houses we passed, that one seemed to be in the best condition, why?" He turned and looked at Abrafo. 

Abrafo said, "I don't know." 

U-ri walked up to Yul and Abrafo and said, "If I had to guess, my guess would be that the house was built to attract passers-by." 

Yul turned to U-ri and said, "You go rest first. I will take the first watch." 

Abrafo and U-ri knew that Yul's heart had not rested yet, so even if they wanted Yul to rest, his eyes would still be open because of worry, so they patted Yul's shoulders lightly, and the two men returned to Michio leaving Yul standing guard by the broken window. 

"Woah... what are you doing?" U-ri said, quickly rushing towards Michio. 

Michio looked up at U-ri and said, "Make a fire." 

Abrafo frowned shaking his head and said, "Monk, you still remember that we want to be unnoticed, right?" 

Michio said, "What does lighting a fire have to do with our desire to remain unnoticed? 

U-ri said, "Because if you light a fire, we will be seen by the Taka and our plan to quietly evacuate any captured villagers will no longer work." 

Abrafo sat beside Michio and said, "I have to admit that the days spent in the safe environment of the temple made us lose the sense of alienation when danger is approaching." 

Michio said, "I was thinking that since we're in this abandoned village, no one would care if we were here." 

U-ri said, "But this is an unknown place. We don't even know if it's really abandoned or if it was deliberately placed here to make us think there's no danger behind those broken walls." 

Yul stood by the broken window and kept staring at a house outside. With hundreds of thoughts swirling in his mind, he saw a fire bead emerging from the well, but when the fire bead grew larger and closer to the wellhead, he discovered that it was not a fire bead, but a fire torch. 

Yul turned quickly to the three Tanzanies who were still talking on the other side of the house. "Guys...be quiet..." Yul said softly. "Come here." He waved to the others. 

The three Tanzanies stood up quickly and moved quickly to where Yul stood, trying to be as quiet as possible. As they looked out of the broken window, they saw two Tarka men standing by the well. 

"Where did they come from?" U-ri whispered. 

"The well," Yul whispered back. 

Abrafo whispered, " So, the Taka live underground?" 

More Takas began to come out of the well. After the twenty Taka men came out of the well, men and women of similar height to Wen also began to come out of the well. 

Michio whispered, "Those must be the Dongxue villagers who were captured by the Taka." He turned to look at his friend. "What are they going to do with them?" 

Yul looked around to see if Hajime was among the frightened Dongxue villagers, but he did not see Hajime. As the night hour continues ticking, more and more villagers continue to come out of the well. 

"Where is Hajime?" Abrafo whispered. 

After more than thirty Dongxue villagers stood in a row, several baskets were pulled out of the well. After the two Takas placed the baskets on the ground beside the well, they threw the rope back, and then the Takas began to pull the rope. Hajime was slowly pulled out of the well. 

"Hajime..." Just as Yul was about to take action, Abrafo grabbed Yul's arm. 

"Wait... there are too many villagers," Abrafo said. 

U-ri said, "We need a plan to help those villages escape." 

Yul knew it now; no life was more important than the lives of Hajime and his unborn child. Seeing Hajime's hands tied, and his mouth gagged, Yul finally understood Hajime's anger towards him when he said Hajime was selfish. He bit his lower lip, trying to control his emotions, and saw a white Taka slowly emerging from the well. 

After coming out of the well, Xun walked up to Hajime, raised Hajime's chin to face him, and smiled at Hajime. "Ah... if only you are a woman, I will let you be my queen, but it's a pity that you are a man," Xun said with a smile. "Tonight, the child in your belly will be sacrificed to the moon god." He chuckled and then licked his lips with his tongue. "I wonder what the baby in your belly will taste like. Will his skin be soft and juicy, or rough and dry?" He continued to giggle, and soon the Taka began to stomp their feet on the ground, looking at the crescent moon and chanting happily.