Beginning Beyond The Horizon

When the three Tanzanies and others spotted Yul in the crowd, they discovered that Yul had been standing at a stall for some time.​

Abrafo frowned and said, "What is he doing there?"

Michio said, "I bet he is hungry, so he went to buy us fried donuts." 

Abrafo said, "U-ri, Lixin and Bong haven't finished talking to Ru yet, so you are not allowed to eat."

When Yul rushes to hug someone, Nayao never takes her eyes off Yul's. She continued to stare at Yul, and when Yul turned towards them, Nayao's heart was beating violently because she saw that Yul was holding a baby in his arms.

Michio looked at Nayao, then looked up and saw Yul walking towards them holding a baby, with Hajime dragging a white goat behind Yul.

"Hajime!" Michio shouted excitedly and rushed towards Yul and Hajime. 

Hearing Michio shout out Hajime's name, Abrafo, U-ri and Bong looked towards where Michio had sprinted off to and they too were as happy. 

Abrafo rushed forward, took Meiji from Yul's arms, and lifted Meiji up in the air.

"Abrafo, don't," Hajime quickly said.

Abrafo happily spun Meiji around, and just like that, Meiji that had just finished eating, posseting all over Abrafo's neck and chest. Fortunately for Abrafo, he was able to move Meiji away from him while Meiji was posseting, so Meiji's vomit didn't land in Abrafo's face.

"Oh, you little rascal," Abrafo frowned. "This is not how you greet your godfather." He handed Meiji back to Yul. "Damn, I'm going to smell like vomit before we get to the inn."

Yul wiped Meiji's mouth with his sleeve, and Meiji burped loudly.

Hajime took out a handkerchief and handed it to Abrafo. "I just finished feeding him," he said.

Abrafo took the handkerchief and began wiping the vomit from his neck and chest. "You could have told me," Abrafo frowned. "When did you get here?"

Hajime said, "Just this morning. So, you are the previous winner?" He handed a bag of donuts to Michio.

"Yes, but today is our last day in the library and we are leaving right now," Abrafo said, trying to wipe himself as clean as possible. "Do you still want to take this back?" He handed the dirty handkerchief to Hajime.

Hajime shook his head and said, "Throw it away, I still have a lot more."

When the four Tanzanies walked back to the library door, U-ri and the others had just finished talking to Ru. U-ri and Bong walked to Yul, while Ru goes straight to Hajime.

"You," Ru said looking at Hajime up and down. "Can I have a word with you?"

Hajime said, "And you are?"

Ru smiled at Hajime and said, "Someone left something for me, and someone told me that if I say this, the owner of that thing will know what I am talking about."

Hajime looked at Ru and nodded to him.

Ru said, "Alright, let's go in and have a cup of tea."

Hajime turned to Yul and said, "I'm going to talk to him for a bit."

Yul asked, "What do you need to talk to him about?"

Ru said, "Young man, if you want to enter the library again, go on and compete again. I would like to invite him to be a guest and have a cup of tea with me over a short conversation, but I refuse to let you, or your followers enter the library again unless you win again." He stared at Yul and the others angrily. "These are our rules and must be followed." He turned to Hajime. "This way."

Hajime smiled at Yul and said, "Wait for me. This won't take long."

Yul watched Hajime follow Ru into the door, and the door slowly closed. Just now he was happy to meet Hajime, but now he started to feel worried again. Since winning the game, Ru didn't take the initiative to approach them until they were sent away this morning. However, the newly arrived Hajime has never met Ru and has no chance to leave such a good impression on Ru, but Ru voluntarily approaches Hajime and invites Hajime to have a cup of tea.

U-ri looked at Yul and said, "Don't worry, Librarian Ru is not a bad person. And if Hajime doesn't want to stay, no one can stop him." He looked at Meiji. "He looks nothing like Hajime, but he looks everything like you. Ah, I remember you looked just like Meiji when you were little."

Lixin looked at the four Tanzanies and Bong and said, "We will not wait for Hajime, we are going back to the inn." He took two steps forward and looked back at Bong. "Why are you still standing there? Are you coming?"

Bong said, "You go first, I will follow later." Lixin led nine of his men away from the Tanzanies and Bong and walked towards the direction of the inn.

Abrafo said, "Dammit, I smell like fermented goat's milk. I think I'd better go back to the inn and take a bath. Thanks to you, the godfather will have to take a bath in the morning."

U-ri covered his nose and said, "You should leave quickly."

Yul said, "Actually, everyone can go back to the inn to rest. I will wait for Hajime with Meiji."

Fufu asked, "Are you sure?"

U-ri said, "Alright, let's go back to the inn. We will let them prepare a sumptuous meal for us to celebrate Hajime's safe return."

The three Tanzanies, Bong, and Fufu started to leave, and Yul turned to look at Nayao who didn't speak. "Why don't you go with them?" Yul asked.

Nayao said, "I'll wait with you. Yul...can I call you by name?"

Yul said, "We are friends, of course you can call me by my name. You can go back to the inn and wait."

Nayao smiled and said, "I would rather wait here." She looked at Meiji. "He's so cute. He's just a good baby. He has not cry."

Hajime followed Ru into a small garden. On Hajime's left side, he found a small pavilion next to a tree. Ru led Hajime towards the small pavilion and walked into the pavilion with Hajime. Hajime sat on the stone stool in the small pavilion opposite Ru. Hajime noticed that the pavilion was not far from the main entrance. Although Ru invited Hajime for a cup of tea, but Hajime did not see any tea on the small stone table.

Ru said, "Let's keep it short. I have other things to deal with."

Hajime asked, "What do you need to give me?"

Ru pulled his robe aside and took out a silver chain with a locket. He opened the lid of the locket and inside the locket was a white stone crystal. The white stone crystals flowed into the air and floated in front of Ru.

"Many years ago, Goddess Gia visited me and asked me to keep this crystal. At that time, Goddess Gia did not tell me who the owner of this crystal was, but she told me that when I saw the owner of this crystal, I will know," Ru said, staring at Hajime. "The locket burned my chest when I first met you, so I believed you were the owner of the crystal."

Hajime said, "Alvalokitesvara once told me that the fourth key will be handed over to me when the time comes." He stretched out his hand and grabbed the white stone crystal. "Thanks."

Ru asked, "May I asked, what is this stone used for?"

Hajime said, "It's better not to know."

Ru said, "I should know. I kept this stone because Goddess Gia promised me that the owner would answer every question I have."

Hajime said, "This is for your own good."

Ru smiled and said, "So you are not willing to answer my questions?"

Hajime sighed and said, "I told you; this is for your own good. The less you know, the better you can sleep at night."

Ru smiled at Hajime and said, "Don't you wonder why we are sitting in this pavilion instead of in the guest hall?"

Hajime stood up quickly and wanted to walk away, but it seemed that an invisible wall prevented him from walking out of the pavilion.

Ru sighed and said, "Once the spell is cast, no one who steps into this pavilion can escape regardless of their strength. Even the Emperor of Heaven himself cannot escape from this pavilion."

Hajime suddenly felt a chill and his lips began to tremble. He saw condensation escaping from his mouth and nostrils as he breathed and looked up to find that he was in a different place. The pavilion was covered with heavy snow, and the wind blew through Hajime, which felt like corn leaves cutting his skin. He looked at the ground outside the pavilion and found that it was covered with thick snow.

Hajime looked at Ru standing in front of Hajime. It seemed that although Hajime was shaking violently, the cold weather had no effect on Ru.

Hajime asked with trembling lips, "Why do you want to know?"

"I've been keeping that stone for you for years," Ru said, "I should at least know."

Hajime said, "Okay... I'll tell you in exchange." Hajime looked down at his hands and found that a thin layer of ice had formed on them. Then when he looked at Ru, he found that they were back to where they were before. "If you tell me where to find the Bai family, I will answer all your questions."

Ru said, "There is a small peninsula called Dreake City. Most of the people in the town are named Bai. If you are looking for someone named Bai, most likely he or she will be there."

Hajime asked, "How far is it from here?"

Ru said, "It's a fifteen-day walk." He looked at Hajime. "Now, it's my turn. What's the use of this stone?"

Hajime said, "We need this stone to enter No Man's land."

Ru was shocked. "You are telling me that I have been guarding a key to No Man's Land," Ru said with his eyes wide open in surprise. "I can't believe this." He sat down on the stone bench, his legs shaking badly. "According to ancient texts, anyone who enters No Man's Land will have a wish granted. So, what is the wish?"

Hajime said, "Protect Tanzang Kingdom and it's people from destruction."

Ru smiled and said, "I thought you would wish for a golden mountain. It seems that you are not a bad person. I am sorry for what I did before. So, how many keys do you have so far?" Ru stopped and thought for a while. "As far as I know, you need five keys, so you are going to Dreake City to get the fifth key?" Ru stood up excitedly. "I have to go to Dreake City with you and see for myself how you're going to get the fifth key."

Hajime looked at Ru and said, "We already have five keys."

Ru was stunned, and the excitement in him suddenly vanished. "Then why are you going to Dreake City?"

Hajime said, "Warn the gatekeepers of the South Sea that danger is approaching."

Ru asked, "So, the stone I just gave you is the fifth key?"

Hajime looked at Ru and said, "No... I am the fifth key."