Staring at Bailong and his eight son who has white hair and dress in white robe, Michio was stunted. When Bailong's second son turned back into a human form, Michio discovered that the people standing in front of him were not human beings, but dragons disguised as human beings. He wanted to know more about these people, but he was afraid of asking the wrong question, because Bailong was already angry because his son was imprisoned by the person who controlled this realm.
Bailong looked at Michio and asked, " Do you know a man named Baishui?"
Michio was taken aback. "You know Baishui? What's your relationship with him?" he asked.
Bailong sighed and said, "I am his father, he is in danger, so we come to rescue him."
Michio stared at the eight people in front of him and said, "I suppose Baishui is not an ordinary human being like us?"
Baiwen said, "You got that right. We are gatekeepers of Kinigan Island."
Michio didn't quite know what the young man said, so he asked, "The gatekeeper?"
Bailong said, " Then do you know Baishui?"
Michio said, "I know Baishui, but after we woke up, we didn't see him, nor his maid."
Bailong looked at his sons and said, "If you can't find your brothers, then burn this place to ashes."
Hearing Bailong's words, Michio was very worried about his friends. "You can't burn this forest. What if there are still people trapped here? If you burn this forest, those trapped inside will not be able to escape, including Baishui."
Bailong said, "Baishui will escape unharmed."
Michio asked, "What about the others?"
Bailong said, " The rest has nothing to do with me."
Michio knows that if he does nothing, his friends will die here, unaware that the forest will soon be engulfed in flames. "Give me three hours to find my friend and find the key," Michio said. "Just three hours, please."
Bailong looked at Michio and asked, "What key are you talking about?"
Up to now, it is impossible for Michio to hide his true intention of coming to this forest. "The key to No Man's Land," he said.
Bailong sneered, and said lightly, "You want to enter No Man's Land? The reason why this place is called No Man's Land is because no mortal has ever successfully entered."
Michio said, "Many people have told us this, but the fate of our kingdom depends on the white dragon tail."
Bailong looked at Michio and suddenly laughed.
Michio looked at Bailong and asked, "Does this dear sir find it funny?"
Bailong said, "No Man's Land is the gate between our world and the Land of Chaos, and the Land of Chaos is the prison of the legendary Eldrys. The white dragon's tail is what prevents Eldrys from escaping from the Land of Chaos. Removing the white dragon tail from No Man's Land means releasing Eldrys into this world. Freeing Eldrys, destruction and loss of life will follow."
Michio asked, "Is there a way to kill Eldrys?"
Bailong said, " If there was a way, it would have been done long ago, don't you think?"
Michio asked, "So there is no other way to Kill Eldrys?"
Bailong shook his head and said, "Thousands of years ago, with the help of Avalokitesvara, the kings of the mortal world and the Nine Dragons Clan leaders merged their powers and created No Man's Land. The leaders of the Nine Dragons Clans sacrificed themselves to create the white dragon tail to imprison Eldrys in No Man's Land. Eighteen great leaders sacrificed themselves to bring peace to this world, why would you want to destroy this peace?"
Michio sighed, "I... I want to save my kingdom from perishing."
Michio's words made Bailong even more angry. Bailong said, "The perishing of one kingdom is better than the perishing of the whole world. Will this great monk agree?"
Michio said, "I would rather not let any kingdom perish."
Bailong said, "Where there is gain, there must be loss." He looked at his son. "Burn down this mountain, when the time is up."
Michio asked, "If you were to burn down the forest, what would happen to the souls trapped here?"
Bailong said, " Things trapped here will also disappear."
Michio said, " You can't do that. There are innocent souls trapped in this forest unwillingly."
Bailong asked, "What advice does the holy monk have?"
Michio said, " Given me three hours to convince those who trapped these souls to release those innocent souls, I need time to find my friend."
Bailong asked, "What will happen if you don't succeed within the stipulated time?"
Michio said, "If I can't convince that person, or fail to find my friends, then you can just burn the mountain down."
Bailong smirked, "Are you willing to take the risk?"
Michio said, "Amitabha... If I don't go to hell, who will be willing to go? My friends' lives and the lives of trapped innocent souls are worth my risk."
Bailong sighed and said, "Fine... I will wait for the shadow of that mountain to move to the left, if you don't come back, I will let my sons burn this forest down."
Michio looked at Bailong and nodded. "Thank you," he said and walked away from Bailong and his sons.
The three eagles stood on top of a hill overlooking the ruins of stone buildings in a small valley, and standing beside the three eagles were the three wolves and the black panther. The little boy pointed to the stone buildings below.
Hajime asked, "Is he down there?"
The little boy nodded and tugged on Hajime's left sleeve. Hajime looked down at the boy, and the boy said, "Big sister won't give the key to anyone."
Yul asked, "Why not?"
The boy said, "Because without the power of the key, Prince Wei's physical body cannot be preserved. You must leave here quickly with the kind monk."
Abrafo asked, "Prince Wei, who is this, Prince Wei?"
The boy said, "Prince Wei is Magior's last emperor."
Lixin asked, "Then why not call him Emperor Wei?"
The boy said, " Because the night before Prince Wei ascended the throne, the King of the North came to destroy Magior City, so Prince Wei has not been canonized as emperor yet."
Yul asked, "What's your big sister's name?"
The boy said, " I can't tell."
Abrafo asked, "Why?"
The boy said, " I've heard people call her Prophetess Lan, but I don't know her name."
Abrafo asked, "She is your sister, how could you not know her name?"
The boy said, "She is just my elder sister behind closed doors. In front of others, we have different titles. Also, she said never to tell anyone her name. I don't want to get in trouble. "
"We'll stand right here, and if she comes, I'll protect you," Abrafo said, smiling at the little boy. "So, tell this big brother, what's her name?"
The boy said, "I remembered everyone calls her Prophetess Lan, but as far as her full name, most people dare not call her by her name directly, for fear that big sister will curse them. There are only two people who dare to call big sister's name are Emperor Wei and Prince Wei."
Hajime looked at the little boy and asked, "So, who is the witch who caused the downfall of Magior?"
The boy said, "Witch? I've never heard of a witch."
The ground under their feet began to move towards the stone city below the hill, and a vine grew from the ground, wrapping the boy tightly. The boy grabbed Hajime's hand.
The boy said frighteningly, " Please get out of here as soon as possible."
The vines quickly pulled the boy underground.
"What's going on?"
"What is moving underneath us?"
Lixin's subordinates watched as the ground began to move towards the stone palace down the mountain.
Yul sighed and said, "If my guess is correct, those who control these vines are already ready to attack the intruder who wants to enter the capital."
Hajime looked at Yul. " Could that intruder be Michio?"
Abrafo jumped back on the Panther's back and said, "Let's go and have a look, that kid did say he was in trouble."
Yul started walking back to the eagle with Hajime, saying, "We will approach the city cautiously."
The loud sound made Jin look up at the mountain. The ground slid toward them. He grabbed U-ri's hand and shouted, "Everyone runs."
U-ri and the soldiers started fleeing up the hill as hundreds of vines rushed towards them. They thought they were bound to be pinned down by vines and buried by landslides, but the landslide and vines stopped a few feet away from them, and the vines rushed to their right, leaving them unscathed.
Jin and the four soldiers put away their weapons and breathed a sigh of relief.
U-ri looked at the vines and said, " I don't know why it doesn't attack us?"
Jin said, " Maybe it's because it's going in the direction of the others."
U-ri took a deep breath and said, "Let's pray for the safety of our friends."
Jin said, " Let's retreat to the tree line and wait for them there. I am confident that Lord Lixin and your friends will come back safely."
Following behind Baishui, Kexin walked towards the bright light, but her feet hurt. She didn't understand why she continued to follow behind these two strangers, after all, they were not familiar with each other. She hesitated to stop following them, but at the same time she didn't want to be alone in this forest.
Kexin stomped on the ground frantically, her eyes frantically staring at Baishui's back, not looking at where she stepped, and fell to the ground suddenly. "Ah..." Kexin fell forward and scratched her right hand when she braced herself.
Jiāo rushed back and helped Kexin up. "Be careful," she said worriedly.
Kexin complained, "How far do we have to go?"
"It's not far now, we're almost at the tree line", Jiāo said, pointing ahead.
Baishui, who was walking in front of Jiāo and Kexin, approached the forest line first, and Baishui stared at the backs of six men overlooking the mountain peak. Baishui knew at first glance that the other party must be U-ri, but the clothes of the other five people seemed strange to him. He turned around and walked quickly back to Jiāo and Kexin.
Jiāo whispered, "What's the matter?"
Baishui said, "There are six people standing in front of us, looking at their backs, one of them is U-ri."
Jiāo asked, "Are you sure?"
Baishui said, "I'm sure, I recognized him just by looking at his clothes."
Jiāo asked, "What about the others?"
Baishui said, "I don't know the others."
Kexin pushed Baishui away and walked out of the forest line. When she saw the five men, she ran to them and yelled, "Jin!"
Jin turned his head and was surprised to see Kexin running towards him. He quickly rushed up with the others. "Lady Kexin," he said happily. "We thought we lost you." He looked around Kexin. "What happened to the men?"
Kexin said sadly, "They are all dead."
When U-ri saw Baishui, he was also surprised. "Baishui... we thought we lost you. The others are looking for you and Michio." He saw Jiāo walking towards him, and he smiled at Jiāo. "And I'm happy to see you too." He turned to Baishui. "What happened to the two of you?"
Baishui said, "As soon as we entered this forest, Jiāo was taken away. I took Yul's sword with me, but I lost it when the vines attacked."
U-ri said, "Yul won't mind. Swords can be changed, but true friends can't."
Kexin held onto Jin's hands and asked, "What about my brother? Where is he?"
Jin said, "Lord Lixin led ten people and headed for the capital together with the other three friends of Sir U-ri."
Kexin asked, "Then why didn't you go with him?"
Jin said, "Because there weren't enough eagles, panthers, or wolves left. I was ordered to bring Sir U-ri back and wait with the others, but when we got back here, we encountered some strange things."
Baishui asked, "What?"
Jin said, "It seems that all the vines in this forest are heading towards the capital."
Baishui said, "Then we will save them." He looked to his left. "We will start from there and keep going toward that light."
U-ri asked, "Is this safe?"
Baishui said, "There is no other pathway that is safer than the pathway created by the Gatekeeper of the Southern Sea."