When U-ri, Baishui and others approached Bailong and his eight sons, the eagle just landed. Hajime jumped off the eagle, and he spotted U-ri and Baishui immediately, so he ran across the yard towards them.
Hajime waved his hand and shouted happily, "U-ri! Baishui!"
As soon as Bailong and his sons heard Baishui's name, they turned around and saw Baishui and Jiāo walking towards them.
Baian looked at Bailong and said politely, "Father, please save the lecturing for later."
Baigang said, "Father, I agree with my brother on this matter."
Bailong frowned, "I won't do anything to him until we leave here."
Baidu asked, "Since the ninth brother is safe, does father still want to burn this mountain?"
Bailong replied, "As I said, if the mountain shadow moves to the left, we will burn the mountain down."
Baishui smiled and Hajime and said, "Thank you for saving me."
Hajime asked, "Save you? I don't remember that I saved you but thank you for saving us from that evil chief."
Baishui raised his head and met Bailong's pricing blue eyes. He sighed and said, "Sooner or later we have to face reality. Pardon me for a moment." He walked towards Bailong and the others.
Kexin asked, "What about my brother? Where is he?"
Hajime said, "He entered the city with the others."
Kexin looked at Hajime and asked, "Why don't we follow them in?"
Hajime said, "Because the elder over there threatened that if the person who controls this magic domain doesn't return his son back to him, he will burn down this mountain."
Jiāo smiled and said, "Don't worry, Master Baishui is here, Master Bailong will not burn down this mountain."
Baishui knelt before Bailong and said, "Father, I admit my mistake."
Bailong said, "Get up. I'll deal with you when we get home."
Baide said, "Baishui now is not the time to reflect on your mistakes."
Baishui got up slowly, and said, "I understand, sixth brother."
Bailong turned his head to look at the stone city and said, "Burn this place down. I won't be able to sleep knowing that there is such an evil place in the domain I protect."
Hajime rushed over and said, "Yul and the others are still inside. Please don't burn this place down."
Bailong said, "You want me to go back on my word?"
Hajime looked at Baishui and then at Bailong, he asked, "Baishui, is this your father?"
Baishui nodded and said, "Yes."
Hajime said, "You said it yourself that if your son is not released, you will burn down the mountain, but since your son is safe, you should abide by your words."
Bailong said, "I am the gatekeeper between the demon world and the mortal world. I will not let this kind of place go unnoticed." He sighed. "I've given your friend three hours to do what they need to do." He looked at the shadow of the mountain. "I believe they have less than an hour left."
Baishui said, "Father, do you have to burn this place to ashes?"
Bailong said, "I must prevent further chaos in the mortal domain."
Hajime looked at Bailong frantically, then walked back to Uri. He said, "Uri..."
U-ri said, "Did you see the fairy ring circles outside of the stone wall?"
Hajime nodded. I want your opinion," he said, holding out a small white cloth with circles and dots on it. He handed the cloth to U-ri. "I surveyed the city just now, and there are four huge fairy ring circles formations in the north, east, west, and south of the city."
U-ri said, "The intentional placement of the fairy ring circles in these four directions around the city must have meant that they had to serve a deeper purpose than the eye could see."
Hajime said, "There are incantations engraved on the stones that mark the fairy ring circles, and I can't pick up the stones to destroy the formation. Moreover, above the sky, I found that everything from the fairy ring circles to the city walls and inside the city walls has turned into stones. Everything outside of the fairy ring circles is unaffected."
U-ri said, "I am sure that this King of the North is indeed the Tenth King, but I do not know why he came here and was able to disappear without a trace in the morning."
Hajime said, "Michio is inside trying to persuade the person who controls it to release the trap spirits. And this is also a no-fly zone, therefore, I can't not fly over the city to help look for Michio."
U-ri said, "The purpose of the fairy ring circle is to isolate everything away, but since it covers the four directions of the city, of course you can't get in. The person who cast the spell is only allowed one escape corridor." He pointed to the gate into the capital city. "I guess that door is the only corridor in and out of the capital."
Hajime asked, "Do you think these four fairy ring circles are also the reason for trapping these souls?"
U-ri said, "It's possible."
Hajime said, "Then, if we break these four fairy ring circles, can we also release the souls trapped within those walls?"
U-ri said, "We can, but how to break it?" He thought for a while. "Ah... Since the defensive formation of the fairy ring circles are very strong, what if we find someone even stronger to destroy it."
Hajime asked, "What do you mean?"
U-ri said, "You think about it. If we try to attack one of the rings, the other rings will act as a defense and provide protection for the attacking ring, but what if we destroy them all at once?" He sighed.
Hajime said, "It makes sense, then why do you have a long face?"
U-ri said, "Except you...no one here has such ability. If we can find four mages to attack those fairy ring circles at the same time, the chance of breaking the spell will be much higher." He sighed. "But in such a short period of time, where can we find such a person…"
Hajime looked at Baishui and the others. "If they help, we might be able to destroy it." He walked towards Bailong and the others, but U-ri quickly grabbed his arm.
U-ri asked, "What if you actually irritated him more by asking him?"
Hajime sighed with a heavy heart and said, "I must seize this opportunity. Our friends are running out of time." He walked in front of Bailong and his son. "I'm asking for your help."
Bailong rolled his eyes at Hajime, "Why should I be helping you?"
Hajime said, " You say you are the gatekeeper who protects the mortal world from harm, but no mortal has ever witnessed or acknowledged that you are their protector. Now is your chance to prove to these mortals who stand before you that you are indeed their protector."
Baidu said coldly, "You are doubting my father's words?"
Hajime said, "No, I'm not because I know your abilities, but because I know these mortals." He pointed at U-ri, Kexin, and Lixin's men. "They will not believe you."
Kexin stepped forward and said, "I didn't see it with my own eyes, I don't believe it." She gestured to Jin and the others with her eyes.
Lixin's men said in unison, "Yes, we don't believe it."
Baiming said, "What is that you need our help?" He looked at Hajime.
Hajime said, "I hope you can help me destroy those fairy ring circles that traps the souls inside the city."
Bailong laughed loudly, and the laughter resounded through the mountains. "Mortals are indeed full of tricks up their sleeves. You are tricking me into helping you knowingly that I will not help you. That's why you asked these mortals to help you. If I don't agree, I will be labeled as a liar."
Baishui said, "Father, those who stand here and those who entered the city are my friends. I want to help them."
Bailong looked at Baishui, frowned and asked, "Do you really want to help them?"
Baishui said with confident, "Yes, I want to help them. Because of today's help, I believe that one day, if I need their help, they will help me."
Bailong sighed then looked at Hajime, "What exactly do you want us to do?"
Hajime said, "Use your strength to destroy the fairy ring circles and the barrier guarding the city."
Bailong stepped forward and said, "Baiwen, Baian, Baiming… you three take the south circle. Baichao, Baishan, Baide, you three take the west circle. Baigang, Baidu, Baishui, you three take the east circle, and I will take the north circle."
The nine sons said in unisons, "Yes father."
When the brothers turned to the designated circle, Baishui looked at Hajime and smiled. I may not have told you who I really am, but deep down I know you probably have your doubts too."
Hajime said, "I don't care who or what you are. To me, I value your friendship through your actions, not what race you are."
Baishui smiled and said, "I am very happy to have a friend like you."
Hajime smiled, "Me too."
Baishui smiled at Hajime and flew towards the sky. Baishui quickly transformed into a big white dragon, and he quickly followed his two brothers.
U-ri looked at Baishui and scoffed surprisingly, "So that's what he meant when he said we saved him."
Hajime felt both pain and happiness in his heart. "The white dragon we rescued from the vines..."
Kexin was stunned, seeing ten white dragons rushed into the city roaring, and thunder and lightning bloomed in the distance. She turned to look at Jiāo and wondering if Jiāo was also a dragon.
Jiāo chuckled and said, "Don't look at me like that. I'm not a dragon."
Kexin's lips trembled, and she asked, "What are you?"
Jiāo smiled and said, "I'm just a small fish..." She looked at Kexin's frightening complex and joked. "Scared? Huh?"
Jin was taken aback by the sight of ten white dragons flying over the city. He whispered, "This is unbelievable. I actually witnessed the white dragon in the South Sea with my own eyes."
Walking under the city, when the roar of the white ten dragons resounded throughout the city, Yul, Abrafo, Lixin, and Lixin's men looked up to the sky. They saw ten dragons slowly separating their way. The white shiny scales were like diamonds shining in the night.
One of the soldiers said out loud, "Are those the mythical white dragon of the south sea?"
"I can't believe it…"
"They are, indeed, the mythical dragon of the south sea," Lixin murmured.
Yul said, "We'd better find Michio as soon as possible."
Abrafo asked, "What do you mean?"
Yul said, "I believe we are going to be in danger any time now."
Abrafo looked around and looked at the stone palace. "You mean the old man and his sons are going to burn down this place?" He looked at Yul. "Damn it...we have to find Michio."
Yul points to the only palace that hasn't turned to stone. "We'll meet at that place in half an hour," Yul said.
Lixin said, "Let's spread out here. If you get into trouble, you know what to do."
Abrafo rode the black panther to the left street. Down the street, Lixin and his men rode the three wolves down the street to the right, while Yul heads straight for the palace.
Standing alone on the street, Lan Huan finally opened her eyes. She was breathing heavily, full of anger. She gritted her teeth. "You ugly monk, how dare you use your dirty spells to hypnotize me..."