Beginning Beyond The Horizon

The voices on the first floor of the inn were half lowered, and Bong's loud voice attracted their attention. Bong walked to the small table in the corner, crossed his arms across his chest, and looked down at the people sitting on the table. He gave Abrafo a cold look.

U-ri stood up excitedly, "Your high..." Bong cleared his throat, and U-ri knew immediately that Bong didn't want to reveal that he was a member of the royal family. "Ah...nephew, why are you here?"

Bong said, "Uncle, I should be the one to ask this question. There was a bit of drama when we departed way last time, with no logical explanation. "He turned to the waiter. "You don't need to stay here."

The waiter quickly left the table. Michio moved from the bench he shared with U-ri and sat on the same bench as Abrafo.

When Bong saw that U-ri had made room for him, he sat on the same bench as U-ri. He asked, "So, tell me, why are you here? What happened after you guy were taken?"

U-ri said, "We were taken to a temple."

"You were taken to a temple?" Bong looked at the people at the table and carefully studied their expressions one by one. "Why?"

Hajime said, "It's because I accidentally swallowed a pure phoenix egg when we escaped from the Phoenix Chamber. So, Kaizen, oh, Kaizen is the person we fought in the lava tube. Kaizen took us to meet his master so they can take the phoenix egg out of me."

Bong asked, "Has the phoenix egg been taken out?

Hajime shook his head. "The phoenix egg will be taken out within six months," Hajime said.

Bong asked, "Then why are you here and not in the temple?"

Abrafo slammed his hands heavily on the table. "Hey! Who do you think you are questioning us as if we're guilty," Abrafo yelled at Bong.

"You lowlife, how dare you speak loudly to me in that tone!" Bong shouted, angrily grabbed a piece of chicken and threw it at Abrafo. 

Abrafo caught the chicken leg and took a bite, which made Bong even more angry. Bong slapped his hands on the table and tried to stand up, but his right arm was quickly pulled down by U-ri.

U-ri said calmly, "Nephew...nephew, let's calm down for a while. There are many people sitting here, so don't make a fuss. Let's finish the meal and continue chatting behind close door."

The situation at the table quickly became heated, and Hajime was afraid that if Abrafo and Bong started to fight, many people would go to bed hungry tonight. In order to prevent their dinner being trash by Abrafo and Bong, Hajime suddenly said, "I'm so hungry now. Let's eat first. The baby is too active. I feel uncomfortable sitting for too long." He reached out and grabbed a roasted sweet potato and peeled off the top skin, and then start eating.

Michio said, "Hajime needs food. Let's not stop Hajime from eating." He grabbed a piece of chicken and started eating. "U-ri eats. So do you, Yul."

Abrafo reached for some meat dishes on the table, but Bong quickly knocked Abrafo's hand away. "These dishes are just for friends," Bong said.

"Even though we parted on bad term, I saved you many times. Aren't we friends?" Abrafo said.

"No," Bong said coldly.

Abrafo glared at Bong and said, "Next time you are in trouble, I will remember to keep my hands on myself."

Bong said annoyingly, "With my ability, I don't need your protection."

After dinner, the five Tanzanies and Bong walked into the room reserved by Bong. The room is much larger than the other two rooms. The five Tanzanies and Bong sat at the table.

"I booked two other rooms because I didn't like people sleeping next to me," Bong said. "So, tell me, why are the five of you here?"

"Why are we telling you? If you want to know our reasons, tell us your reasons first," Abrafo said.

Bong said, "I'm not asking for your opinion, idiot." He rolled his eyes at Abrafo, raised the left corner of his lip, and glared at Abrafo with disgust.

U-ri shouted, "Alright! You two, stop arguing. When our conversation is over, you two can catch up on your happy reunion when we all went to bed." He looked at Abrafo and Bong. "The reason we're here is because we're here for the fourth key."

Bong said, "You haven't given up on the idea yet."

Yul said, "We have our own reasons."

Bong said, "That's right... Hajime told me before that he knew how to kill Eldrys." He looked at Hajime. "Is this still true?"

Hajime said, "It is still true." He looked at the people sitting at the table. "Don't ask me. I'll tell you when the time comes." He looked at Bong. "Your Highness, what about you?"

Bong said, "After you were taken away, we found out that there was a spy hidden among our competitors. We caught that person." He looked at the five Tanzanies. "You five know that person very well."

Michio asked, "Who is that person?"

Bong said, "Meng, the young competitor who escaped from the phoenix chamber with us."

"Meng!" The five Tanzanies were shocked.

Yul asked, "What happened to him after you caught him?"

Bong explained, "I let him go in exchange for an important secret."

"What secret?" U-ri asked.

Bong said, "Meng told me the love story between him and second Lady Lai. He also told me that he deliberately disguised himself to fool my father and told my father that if a white deer appeared in Misnix, then it's the end for us. Therefore, we must kill the white deer at all costs. For this reason, Lixin led his troops to chase the white deer for a year and they end up in Green Mountain." He looked at the five Tanzanies. "I believe that's where he met you five?"

Hajime said, "That's right, we met Lixin, lady Kexin, Baishui and Jiāo there."

Michio asked, "What is his purpose for doing this?"

Bong said, "He wanted to release his master from prison, but when he fell in love with second Lady Lai, he gave up the idea and decided to run away together." He sighed. "But then we discovered another problem with Meng's story. We found that in ancient texts, immortal dragons often disguised themselves as white deer when they wanted to walk among humans."

U-ri stroked his beard and said, "Oh, I understand. If Lixin and the others kill Baishui in Green Mountain that day, Misnix will go to war with the gatekeepers of the South Sea. Not only that, according to what I know, dragon clans are close-knit kin, attack on one dragon clan is equivalent to attacking the entire Nine Dragon clans." U-ri smiled and shook his head. "No matter how powerful Misnix's military power is, your kingdom cannot resist the powerful combine power of the nine dragon clans."

Yul said, "If Misnix Kingdom start a war with the Nine Dragon Clans, no kingdom will dare to stand on your kingdom's side."

"We thought about this," Bong said. "It's a good thing the Lixin mission failed, otherwise Misnix would have perished."

U-ri asked, "So, is this the main reason why you came here?"

"I'm here to find out why Meng would use our soldiers to attack the dragons," Bong explained.

Yul asked, "Did he explain his reasons? Although his reasons may be lies, as far as I know, lies are often mixed with some truth to make the listeners believe false statements."

Bong nodded and said, "He said he was helping his master."

Abrafo said, "This Meng is using military tactics to his advantage. He wants to stand aside, watch and gather the actions he needs at the end of the battle. This shows no matter which side wins the battle between humans and dragons; this It's a two-pronged benefit to him."

Yul said, "To carry out such a plan to this extent, his master must be someone who is highly guarded by the dragon clans." He looked at the people sitting at the table. "And the only person I can think of right now is... Huoyan."

"Huoyan? Who is Huoyan?" Bong asked.

Hajime said, "A nephalem who was born from the pure phoenix egg."

"The master of Eldrys," Abrafo said, looking at Bong with a smirk on his face.

Bong asked, "Where is this Huoyan imprison?"

Yul said, "Kinigan Island."

Bong said, "As far as I know, Kinigan Island is a myth. No one has been there or returned from there."

Hajime said, "We have a friend who can take us there."

Bong asked, "And who is this friend?"

Hajime smiled and said, "This friend is the friend Lixin failed to kill."

Bong looked at the five Tanzanies sitting around the table and was able to put two and two together. He knew that the five Tanzanies were here to get the fourth key, and now they were going to Kinigan Island. This must mean that their fourth key was on Kinigan Island, but if Eldreys's master is imprisoned on Kinigan Island, then there is no way, Bong will let these five people get the fourth key, and release Eldreys's master from Kinigan Island. Although the burden on his shoulders is heavy; it carries the trust of friends and the safety of the people, and he has made his choice long ago. He knew that with his fighting ability, there was no way he could defeat the four Tanzanies sitting at the same table with him. So maybe, he would go with them and find an opportunity to take the fourth key from them without causing them physical harm.

Bong smiled and said, "It's been a long day, you go and rest first. If you want to travel to Kinigan Island, I want to go too."

"Why?" Abrafo asked. 

Bong replied annoyingly, "None of your business." He turned to the other four Tanzanies. "I want to see Kinigan Island with my own eyes."

Michio said, "I have no objection to not letting Prince Bong to come with us."

"Bong only," Bong sighed. "There is no need to add the word 'prince' in front."

"I have no objection too," Hajime said.

"I vote for Bong to come with us," Abrafo said.

Bong turned to look at Abrafo. He thought he had heard Abrafo wrongly. "I thought that among these people, you would be the one who refused to let me come with you. Why change your mind?" Bong asked.

Abrafo looked at Bong with a wicked smile. He said with smiled, "Because we are short of money, and you are our money bag."