Beginning Beyond The Horizon

When Fufu opened her eyes, she found herself curled up in a fetal position next to the iron door. Although the moonlight filtered through the small skylight, the light that shone into the small dark room was minimal, she could see clearly because her eyes had been accustomed to the darkness for many days, since the day she locked herself and the others inside the pagoda. She blinked a few times, then looked to the other side of the small room. She found eight women and three men still sleeping together. She knew that without food and water, they would soon lose consciousness and die of dehydration and starvation. She tried to swallow her saliva to moisten her throat, but all she tasted was the rusty metal taste of her own blood oozing from her chapped lips.

The aroma of grilled meat emanated from outside of the pagoda through the small holes into the room, and soon the room was filled with the aroma of food. At this time, the twelve people locked in the room were completely awake, and their stomachs were constantly growling, but there was nothing they could do except wait silently.

Fufu knew that although Ya had escaped to seek help, help would not arrive in time to save them before hunger took its toll on them. She looked to her side and found the sword and shield lying beside her. In order to make her thoughts as clear as possible, Fufu looked at the golden lion head on the golden shield. When she continued to look at the golden shield, her eyes saw the golden sword hilt neatly stored in the shield's sword holder.

Seeing her sword, Fufu knew that it was no longer possible to wait for death here, so when they still had some strength, it might be time to break through. Even if everyone can't escape, maybe some people can escape. Fufu grabbed her shield and sword. She slowly stood up and looked through the small hole and found ten bandits roasting meat over a campfire not far from the door. She glanced around and found that except for the ten bandits, there was no one else. She turned to look at the three men and eight women.

"Everyone," Fufu said weakly. The three men and eight women looked at Fufu. "Rescue won't come in time to save us." She looked across the room at the eleven people. "If we want to get out of here alive, we have to save ourselves. You know what will happen if Malik's men catch you, so you have to run as soon as this door open." She looked at the three men. "As soon as the door opens, I will take action first, and you three will follow." She looked at the women. "When we fought with Malik's people, you all must ran away. Remember, you must run only to the left, that is the direction back to Maka City." The women nodded to Fufu. Fufu grabbed the crossbar inside the shield, tightened the straps on the shield to her left arm, and looked at the three men who were also holding swords. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, Captain," Bo, Han, Ru said unison.

Fufu pushed the stone beside the door, and the heavy iron door opened. Fufu went straight towards the three bandits on Fufu's right, while Bao, Han, and Ru rushed to the left towards the other seven bandits. 

Fufu hit the first bandit in the back of the head with her shield, knocking the first bandit unconscious. She quickly pulled out the sword from the shield, swung the sword forward, and cut off half of the second bandit's face. She jumped forward and stabbed the third bandits in the left chest with the sword, causing the third bandit to fall to the ground. Fufu pressed her knee hard on the fallen bandit's abdomen, and she swung the shield directly towards the bandit's face. Fufu broke away from the dead bandit and rushed to the other bandits on the left.

Seeing Fufu, Bo, Han, Ru were fighting with the bandits, the eight women run out of the door to their left, only to encounter another group of bandits, so they rushed back towards Fufu and the three men.

Seeing the woman running back, Fufu and her subordinates quickly backed away. At this time, some bandits from the second group had already entered the pagoda and closed the door, so Fufu and the others could not go back inside. Frustrated, Fufu discovers that her eventual escape plan was nothing more than a cat-and-mouse game with Malik's men.

"Feisty," Xun smiled and walked towards Fufu and others. "You are one of a kind." He looked at Fufu. "I like it." He started laughing. "Surrender yourself to me and I will let you live."

Fufu raised her shield up to her chest. "Surrender?" She said courageously looking at Xun. Her right leg and right arm holding the sword were moved back into a stance. "I don't know how."

Wadi walked slowly from behind Xun and said, "Since you won't surrender, there is no reason to keep you." He looked at his men. "Kill her but leave her body intact."

Xun held out his arm to stop Wadi's men. He said, "She is mine." Xun rushed towards Fufu with his double-edged spear.

Seeing Xun rushing up, Fufu refused to back down. She also rushed towards Xun. As she approached, she began to attack Xun's lower body, by sliding her knees forward, raising her shield to block Xun's spear, and stabbing Xun's left calf with the sword in her right hand.

Seeing Fu Fu's attack, Xun quickly raised his left foot and did a single side somersault to avoid Fufu's sword. Xun used ninety percent of his strength to swing the double-edged spear towards Fufu. Fufu once again blocked Xun's blow with her shield, letting her slide all the way back toward the three men and eight women.

Fufu looked at the large streak of dirt left by her sword. Although she barely managed to break the fall by stabbing her sword into the ground, the force released by Xun was enough to make Fufu's left arm tremble. When she tried to stand up, her knees gave out from lack of strength.

Xun looked at Fufu and the eight women and three men. He smirked and said, "She is still mine." Xun rushed forward again and pounced on Fufu, who was still kneeling on the ground a few feet away from him.

Fufu knew that another blow was coming, and if she didn't stand up now, Xun's second blow would cause a lot of damage to her. Seeing that her sword was still stuck in the ground, she gathered her last strength, used the sword as support, and slowly stood up to face Xun. Fufu held the shield ten inches away from her chest, preparing for another powerful impact when a black shadow flashed past her and went straight to Xun, leaving a trail of lightnings behind.

Standing on the top of the mountain overlooking the brightly lit small village below the valley, Meng said, "To be honest, I don't understand that Yul is the important key to freeing my master." He turned his head sharply and faced the beautiful woman standing in front of him. "Don't you think that since we are partners, maybe you can be honest with me and give me more details about the plan." Meng sighed. "I've known you for so many years, and I don't even know who you are or your origins."

Goddess of beauty smile beautifully at Meng and said, "After so many years, you still ask the same question even though you know you won't get the answer."

"You told me then that if you give the old map to Yul, my master will be free," Meng said looking at goddess of beauty. "But now... I still don't understand why an ordinary person such as him will have the ability to become part of the key to freeing my master from Kinigan Island. I began to suspect that what you told me was just a lie, and you just want to use me as your pawn."

Goddess of beauty smiled and said, "I can't find any reason to use you. I don't lack any ability. After today, you will know that what I told you seven years ago is true." She looked at Meng. "Your last step to rescue your master is only an arm's length away. If you doubt me now, you will give up your only chance to rescue your master."

Meng said, "Then please elaborate more."

Goddess of beauty smiled and said, "As I told you before, if you want to break the crystal ice imprisoning your master, you need the help of the legendary Zahog Phoenix. Only her flame has the power to melt the crystal ice created by the gatekeepers of the South Sea."

Meng said, "I have searched everywhere, every historical record, and I can't find any information about the legendary Zahog Phoenix."

Goddess of beauty said, "They said that the legendary Zahog Phoenix is in Misnix Kingdom, but they were wrong." She looked at Meng.​

Meng sneered in disbelief, "No wonder, no matter how I searched through all the books in the palace, I couldn't find any records." He turned to goddess of beauty. "Do you know where the legendary Zahog Phoenix is?"

Goddess of beauty said, "When you destroy Maka City and stand on the top of Mount Zin, you will see what the real legendary Zahog Phoenix looks like."

Meng asked, "How can I lead this legendary Zahog Phoenix to help my master?"

Goddess of beauty chuckled and said, "You don't need to take her to find your master. As long as you untie the spell that trapped her in Mount Zin, she will go find your master."

Meng asked, "How?"

Goddess of beauty looked at Meng and said, "When a woman decides to take revenge, no matter how powerful the king is, he will fall." She looked down at the lively village below the mountain and smiled.