Now that the sun had set and there was little daylight left, the five Tanzanies and Bong walked toward Gang and the others. They knew it wasn't safe to camp next to the tree line of Scattered Forest, so they decided to head to the water holes and get some sleep before heading across the hard terrain of the long trail back to Stone Valley.
"Prince Gang can't walk; his ankle is swelling. The two princes cannot walk on their own," U-ri said. "What should we do? Camping here is probably not a wise decision."
Yul said, "In this case, we have to take turns carrying them back."
Hajime said, "I still have energy. Although I can't summon my eagles, I can still summon my wolves."
Yul said, "Summoning them takes too much energy out of you."
Hajime said, "It'll be okay. I'll take us as far as I can."
Michio said, "Hajime, Yul is right. What if you faint again?"
Hajime said, "I won't let myself faint. Walking also consumes energy, but it's slower. So why not let me summon my wolves and use the same amount of energy? I promised I would do my best to lead us as far as my energy will allow me. I will not over do it."
U-ri turned around and looked at Hajime. "You sound just like Abrafo now," U-ri said. "Just do as Hajime says. Resting on a wolf's back is much better than walking."
When the five Tanzanies and Bong reached Gang and the others, Hajime took out his three wolves and the black panther. He threw the four wooden figures on the ground, and the three wolves and the panther soon came to life.
Hajime turned to Abrafo and said, "Participant Meng will ride with you and His Highness."
Shik looked at Hajime confusingly and asked, "His Highness? Prince Gang is standing here. Which Highness are you referring to?"
Hajime said, "Prince Bong."
Shik was taken aback. He said, "But Prince Bong returned to the palace after parting at the dock. Why is he here?"
Abrafo said, "He is a man with two legs and of course he came here on foot."
Shik walked quickly to Abrafo and found that the person Abrafo was carrying was indeed Prince Bong. "How? Your Highness is not allowed to come," Shik said.
Gang said, "So the participant who saved me before was indeed him. I have my suspicions." He reached his hand to Shik who had helped him up onto the wolf's back and Shik climbed on the wolf's back and sat behind Gang.
The night wind blew, and the dust carried by the wind also blew pass the five Tanzanies and the others heading towards the water holes.
Gang looked ahead and found that the wolf carrying Yul and Hajime was already leading the way, so he turned to look at Abrafo who was following him. He looked to the right and asked, "Sir U-ri, why did you agree to participate on behalf of the Lai family?"
U-ri turned to Gang and said with a smile, "Because we lost our money bags while traveling, we agreed to participate on behalf of the Lai family and make money so that we can continue our journey."
Gang asked, "How much will the Lai family give you?"
U-ri said, "Ten thousand gold leaves..." U-ri chuckled. "But I guess we're not going to get our dues."
Shik asked, " How could that be? After all, you and your friends did participate on their behalf."
Michio said, "We didn't get the pure phoenix egg."
Shik said, "Lord Lixin said that after we arrive at Stone Valley, the remaining people who enter the Phoenix Chamber will have the opportunity to compete for the pure Phoenix Egg."
U-ri said, "We'll have to wait and see what the Lai family wants us to do."
Gang said, "If it's money you want, I don't mind sponsoring your trip."
U-ri asked, "In exchange?"
Gang said, "When we get to Stone Valley, you and your friends will represent me in the competition for the pure phoenix egg."
U-ri smiled uneasily and said, "That's something I'll have to discuss with my team members."
Gang said, "I know you saved Bong, but it's very difficult to get along with Bong. He has become rebellious since his mother passed away."
U-ri said, "Is that so? I do find Prince Bong to have a carefree attitude."
Gang said, "Yes, but he is not a civilian. His careless attitude makes many people in the court dislike him."
As U-ri continued to listen to Gang's thoughts on Bong, U-ri, who had worked for three kings, fully understood what Gang was trying to do. Only in the royal family do brothers turn against each other for their own gain, and children kill their parents for the title they take for granted. He sighed and continued to listen to Gang.
Yul looked down at his waistline and found Hajime's hands tightly holding his waist. He held Hajime's hands with his left hand, then turned halfway to look at the people following him.
"We're approaching the campsite, it seems there are many survivors," Yul said, turning to look at the road ahead again. He squeezed Hajime's hand. "How are you feeling?"
Hajime said, "Fine."
Yul asked, "Are you sure?"
"Hmm..."
When the group reaches the campsite near the water holes, they find many people making it out alive. Judging from the conversations of the surviving participants, most of the people who are still alive are those who have not found the entrance to the Phoenix Chamber, so they decided to get out of Scattered Forest when they are near the three-hour mark and continued to search every day until today.
When U-ri looked back in the direction of Scattered Forest, he saw that the poisonous mist was thick enough to form fog. U-ri sighed and said, "With such a thick poisonous mist, I don't believe there are any living people in the forest."
Yul stopped and jumped off the wolf's back. "The other side of the water holes has been surrounded by others, so we have to camp here," as he said that he reached out and grabbed Hajime's waist and helped Hajime down.
Michio grabbed three water bags and said, "I'll get some water."
Meng jumped off the black panther's back. He smiled and said, "Thank you for giving me a ride. I'm going to find my brothers." Meng quickly disappeared into the crowd.
Abrafo rode the black panther through the crowded participants looking for Lixin and his men. When Abrafo finally spotted Lixin and his men, the five of them were sitting around a campfire eating dinner. He looked at Lixin, who was sitting a few yards away by a small campfire.
"Hey, Lixin," Abrafo said loudly.
Lixin looked up and saw Abrafo and Bong riding on the back of the black panther.
Jin turned and stood up. "Sir Abrafo, you guys made it," Jin said with a smile. "Prince Bong..."
Abrafo jumped off the black panther's back, picked up Bong, and walked towards Lixin. He placed Bong's motionless body next to Lixin and said sternly, "I returned him to you. Don't leave him again." He glanced at Shi sitting next to Lixin and nodded gently. He stood up, walked to the panther, climbed on the panther's back, and headed toward his friends who were camping in the distance.
When Michio and U-ri returned with water, Yul had already made a small fire and Hajime had fallen asleep.
U-ri asked, "Where is Abrafo?"
Yul said, "He's returning prince Bong to Lixin."
U-ri shook his head. "Why? Prince Bong gets along well with us," he said, placing the small, lumpy pot over the open flame.
Michio handed Yul a water bag. "Is Hajime, okay?" Michio asked, looking over Yul's shoulders.
Yul took the water bag and said, "He is resting to regain his strength."
U-ri took out a bag of purple fruits and handed a purple fruit to Yul. "Don't throw away the seeds," U-ri said, grabbing another purple fruit and handing it to Michio.
"How did you get these?" Michio took the purple fruit from U-ri's hand and said with a smile.
U-ri said, "On the way back, at the entrance of Phoenix Chamber, I picked some. I thought I would like to try growing this fruit when we return to Tanzang."
Michio said, "You are too old to be a farmer."
Two dead pheasants were thrown in front of Michio. "When you have a dream, the sky is the limit," Abrafo said. "I caught these two on my way back."
Michio said, "I'll cook them." He walked back to the bonfire. "U-ri, has the water boiled?"
U-ri frowned, "Not yet."
Later that night, the five Tanzanies sat around a small campfire eating. Michio handed Hajime a roasted pheasant.
"Here, you work harder than any of us, so you get the whole bird," Michio said with a smile.
Hajime took the roasted pheasant and said, "If I remember correctly, you were the one who rushed us out of that forest carrying me on your back. If you are talking about working hard, I believe you work harder than me." He took the roasted pheasant, split the roasted pheasant in half and handed half of the roasted pheasant to Abrafo.
Michio tore off a piece of roasted pheasant and handed the remaining roasted pheasant to U-ri. "Nah," he said. "Imagine, without you, we would be dead in that man eater forest."
"So, the place is no longer the Phoenix Chamber?" Abrafo chuckled, reaching out to take the half-roasted pheasant from Hajime.
U-ri said as he chewed his food, "Man Eater Forest sounds more accurate now."
Abrafo tore the half-roasted pheasant in half and was about to take the first bite when someone took the roasted pheasant away from his hand. "Hey!" he shouted. Abrafo turned left in surprise and suddenly moved his body to the right, bumping into Hajime. His eyes were still on the man sitting an arm's length away from him. Seeing this man, he suddenly felt a little irritable. "You..."
Bong took a big bite of the drumstick, wiped the grease from his mouth, and said, "You eat the other half. I like dark meat."