After passing through the front door of the Lai Family's guest house, Yul, Abrafo, and Michio sat down inside at the table as Hajime and U-ri walked into the room.
"We didn't find anything suspicious in the house," Hajime said, sitting on a stool across from the others.
Yul said, " I looked behind the house and didn't see anything."
Abrafo said, "Michio and I found nothing outside to indicate that anyone might be hiding."
Michio poured himself a cup of water, and after drinking it, he placed the cup on the table. He looked at his friends beside him and asked, "Are we thinking too much?"
U-ri asked, "What do you mean? We didn't think too much, we were just being cautious."
Michio said, " We may have misunderstood Lady Lai's good intentions. Why would she want to hurt us when she needs us to fight on behalf of her family."
Hajime said, "Michio has a point. If I were Lady Lai, I wouldn't want to hurt the person I hired to defend my good name."
Yul said, " It's good for us to be cautious. Now let's talk about what Lady Lai's job opportunities offered to us today." He took out the old map from his robe and put it on the table. "Our next destination is Chanyi. Listening to Lady Lai's story, I really wonder if our next key is in the Phoenix Chamber." He looked at the four people sitting at the table. "What do you think?"
Hajime said, "Actually, I feel the same way."
U-ri said, "I learned from talking to locals that they said Chanyi had the smallest population because it was located in the south and the land was not suitable for crops. The residents of Chanyi were either fishermen or pottery makers."
Yul said, " I would have thought that since Chanyi is in the south, the soil would be more suitable for growing crops than those living in the north."
U-ri said, "On the contrary, that is not the case in this case. They said that Chanyi's location is indeed close to the South Sea, close to a volcanic island. There, they share the South Sea with the people of Dreake Kingdom."
Michio said excitedly, "Hey...hey that's Baishui's home."
Abrafo looked at U-ri and said, "No wonder you did all the research. You did not do it for free, right? You wanted to find out everything about Chanyi and its borders to have a chance to get closer to the grand library Baishui mentioned."
U-ri chuckled and said, "I just want to kill two birds with one stone. You get what you want, and I get what I want. I gained knowledge, and we got another key to No Man's Land."
Hajime said, "What's the hurry? We promised you that when we save Tangzang, we would take you back to Dreake."
U-ri said, "I want to see what books are in that library. After listening to Michio's story, I was worried that these old bones might not be able to reach the end of the journey. If Eldrys is very unkillable, then it is highly likely We're going to die. So... I just want to taste these ancient books before I die."
Yul said, "If we have time, we will stop by and say hello to Baishui." He looked at the people sitting around him. "So, do you all agree that we accept Lady Lai's invitation to enter the Phoenix Chamber." The people sitting around him nodded in agreement. "Well, I know this mission is going to be dangerous, so if any of you don't want to go, now is the time to speak your mind."
Abrafo laughed, "Let this be the last conversation we have about asking for personal opinions on a mission. The purpose of us embarking on this journey in the first place is to bring the dragon tail back home to save our Kingdom. As for whether the mission is dangerous or not, we will still go. If there is a task before us that will bring us closer to getting the key to No Man's Land, none of us will back off." He sighed. "I know I won't, are any of you willing to back down?"
Hajime said, "Abrafo is right. We will stay and face whatever dangerous mission is ahead of us."
Michio said, " You are our captain, and we trust you to make the best decisions so that we can achieve the best results for any mission we undertake in the future."
Yul said, "From the first day we walked out of Tangzang, we no longer have any noble titles. We are just five ordinary people trying to achieve something extraordinary." He looked at Hajime. "Except Hajime." The men chuckled. "Day after day, absolute trust between the five of us continues to build. I trust that you have my back, and I also have your back. In the future, if you have anything to say Just say it. Feel free to speak your mind, or if you feel like I am not making the right decision, please speak up and tell me. Important decisions do not have to be mine. Every action involves the safety of everyone, so the decisions made must be for the best outcome." It suddenly dawned on Yul that the four people sitting next to him trusted him. Now he knew that the friends sitting next to him had entrusted their life to him, from now on, his decision must be carefully planned before being put into action. "If you have something to say, now is the time to speak your mind." He waited for some time, but everyone remained silent. "Alright, we will participate in this competition. In addition to wanting to know the identity of the person who kidnapped U-ri, we will also take this opportunity to get our third key."
U-ri said, "Tomorrow, when Lady Lai comes back, we will tell her that we will represent her family in the competition."
The next day, when the five Tanzanies were preparing to go to the market, they met Yun, Bi and five maids at the door of the house.
Yul said, "We didn't know you were coming?"
Bi said, "You are your guests, so my lady is here to do her part as your host." She turned to the five maids. "Bring the food into the reception hall, and the five of you will leave."
"Yes." The servant responded and walked into the guest room.
Bi turned to the five Tanzanies and said, " Please join us for breakfast."
The five Tanzanies followed Yun and Bi to the guest room. When they came in, the maids had already set a table full of food. The maids bowed to Yun and then left the guest room with Bi. Bi closed the door and stood outside the room guarding the door.
Yun looked at the five people, then smiled at Yul and asked, "Have you come to a conclusion?"
The other four had already started eating, leaving Yul to speak for them. Yul said, "We did."
Yun asked, "What decision have you made?"
Yul replied, "We decided to help you."
Yun said, "This is good news, then please follow me to Peace Keep building tomorrow to report your names and meet the other competitors."
Yul asked, "How many people are participating in this competition?"
Yun said, " Because the risk is high, very few people participate."
Abrafo asked, "How few are we talking about?"
Yun said, "At least more than a thousand. You will know when you see them tomorrow."
Abrafo choked on his food. He cleared his throat and said, "My lady, these are not just a few people, a thousand people are a lot of people."
Yun said, "Don't worry, you don't have to compete with anyone tomorrow. The people you will meet tomorrow are the finalists."
U-ri asked, "How do we earn a secured spot when we have not even competed?"
Yun said, "Members of the royal family never compete for a place. Anyway, once they enter the Scattered Forest, many of these participants will not be able to reach the entrance of the Phoenix Chamber within the limited time."
Hajime asked, "How are you sure they can't reach the Phoenix Chamber?"
Yun said, "Because finding the correct path will be difficult and it takes time." She put down her bowl of rice on the table. " Although I want the golden egg, you must bring it to me secretly. No one can know that you have the golden egg."
Abrafo asked, "Why keep it a secret? Don't you want everyone to know that your family got the golden egg?
"No, I don't want anyone to know you have the golden egg, because if anyone knew, your life would be in danger. If the poison doesn't kill you, then your fellow participants will kill you. Now everyone must listen carefully." She sighed. "Remember what I told you yesterday, there are five people in each team. Once you enter Scattered Forest, there are no rules that the participants must follow. You should not show mercy to those people because they will show you none. Also, you must remember that you must leave the Phoenix Chamber before the twentieth day of the month. If you are trapped in the Phoenix Chamber, you will not be able to leave until the seventh month of the following year."
"So, you mean we'll be stuck there for a whole year?" Hajime asked.
Yun nodded. "So, you must come back before the twentieth day, because after that, the poisonous gas in the forest will become thick again. If you inhale the poisonous gas, you will die within five days."
By the time Yun finished explaining to the five Tanzanies, Abrafo had already finished eating. He asked, "So, you were saying that we don't have to compete to earn our spot... how do you know we have the ability."
Yun said, "Before I came to you, I had already checked your ability."
Hajime said, "It sounds unfair because ordinary people have to fight for a place, while members of the royal family are guaranteed."
Yun said, "Every royal family participating in this competition is well-trained and possesses powerful spells. So, don't underestimate anyone who enters Scattered Forest." She stood up. "I'm leaving first to prepare the things you need to enter Scattered Forest. I will send Bi to pick you up tomorrow morning."
After Yun left, U-ri continued to look at the doorway. Yun's actions and the way she spoke made U-ri feel uncomfortable.
"U-ri, what's wrong?" Michio asked. "U-ri... Earth to u-ri."
"I may be old, but I'm not deaf," U-ri said, turning to face the people sitting at the table. "Why do I feel that this Lady Lai is different from the Lady Lai we met a few days ago."
Yul said, "I feel the same way."
Michio asked, "I don't see any difference?"
Yul said, "The Lady Lai we met asked us to make hairpins for her, her voice was softer and sweeter. The Lady Lai we met recently had a tougher tone. When we gave her the hairpins, she didn't even look at it."
"She got right to the point and expressed what she expected from us," Abrafo said, setting the empty bowl of food on the table. "It's like we're talking to two different people who look identical."
U-ri said, "I did hear that the Lai family has two daughters. The younger one is mute."
Abrafo said, "This is not true, the first Lady Lai we met spoke to us. I mean Yul."
Hajime looked at the men who were as confused as he was. He asked, "Then which Lady Lai hired us to enter Scattered Forest?"