When Bong opened his eyes, the burning sensation swirling inside his body had subsided, although his left shoulder still hurt. He raised his head and stared into the clear, dark starlit sky.
Bong blinked and saw a campfire burning a few feet away from him. He blinked again and found that the people sitting in front of him were Lixin and his men. They were eating and talking in low voices. Lying on the small blanket that was not long enough, he began to sort out his memories. The last thing he remembered was sitting on the back of a peacock. He remembers nothing after that. He quickly checked his right hand, which was a normal color. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Bong doesn't understand why he's with Lixin instead of Abrafo and his team. The feeling of being abandoned made him furious, and he quickly got up to look for Abrafo.
"Your Highness," Shi said, stood up and walked towards Bong. "Where are you going?"
" Where's that jerk?" Bong asked angrily.
"Jerk? May I ask who you are referring to, Your Highness?" Jin asked.
"Abrafo! That jerk! Who the hell does he think he is to leave me here," Bong said angrily.
"He left you after putting you there," Lixin said. "Now that you are safe, there is no need to look for trouble anymore. Have a good night's rest and we will go to Stone Valley early tomorrow morning."
Bong looked at Lixin and felt a lot of emotion in his heart. He stood there, listening to Lixin lecture him on what he should and shouldn't do, feeling angry and sad at the same time. Bong decides he doesn't want to deal with Lixin right now, so he starts to walk away.
"Stop!" Lixin shouted. "Now is not the time for you to be running around looking for trouble."
Bong stopped and turned to look at Lixin. Suppressing the anger and sadness in his heart. He sneered, and then said, "It's like you care if I live or die." He stubbornly left Lixin and others and walked towards the participating crowd.
After searching for an hour, he finally found Abrafo and his team sitting around a small bonfire not far from Gang and Shik. He got angrier when he saw Abrafo chatting happily, as if leaving him with Lixin was a great relief for Abrafo. He quickly rushed towards the five Tanzanies, went straight to Abrafo, snatched the piece of meat from Abrafo's hand, and sat next to Abrafo.
"Hey," Abrafo shouted, turning to look at Bong. Abrafo was startled when he saw Bong and scooched himself away from Bong. "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."
The early moon and stars shine brightly, and the darkness of night envelopes the people sitting below. Despite the warm wind blowing through Abrafo, Abrafo still shuddered under Bong's gaze. Abrafo sat next to the warm small bonfire, looking at Bong sitting next to him and his friends sitting around him, he felt suffocated, as if there was a heavy stone on his chest.
Abrafo looked at Bong and asked unhappily, "What are you doing here?"
Bong turned to look at Abrafo madly, then continued eating without answering Abrafo's question.
Abrafo took a bit of the piece of meat in his hand and said, "I spent a long time trying to find Lixin among these participants."
Bong looked at Abrafo madly and asked, "Why?"
Abrafo didn't look at Bong. "Why what?" he asked, taking another bite of meat.
Bong reached out and grabbed Abrafo's collar, pulled Abrafo closer, and said frantically, "Why did you leave me with Lixin?"
Abrafo pulled Bong's hand away and said, "Obviously, I don't want you to be with us."
Bong asked, "Why not? What's wrong with me?"
Abrafo looked at Bong and said sarcastically, "Oh, where do I start? I should start with when we first met, and you acted like I owe you the whole world? Or should I start when you were trying to kill me onboard? Or after we rescued you, you decided to take U-ri hostage and stab us in the back? You tell me."
Bong threw the bone fragments on the ground, wiped his hands, and then grabbed the water bag next to Abrafo and took a sip. Then he wiped his mouth and said, "I've really hated you from the beginning."
Abrafo snatched the water bag from Bong's hand. "Don't use my stuff casually, as it's yours," he said, wiping the top of the water bag and taking a sip of water.
Bong chuckled and said, "Why wipe it, when we have done more than just sharing..."
"Shut up," Abrafo said, quickly covering Bong's mouth.
After hearing Bong's confirmation, Michio choked on his food and started coughing. U-ri cleared his throat several times, and Hajime and Yul turned to look at Abrafo and Bong.
"Do you want the world to know?" Abrafo whispered.
Bong looked at the people sitting around the small bonfire and pulled Abrafo's hand away. "It's like these people sitting here don't know what's going on between you and me," he said.
Abrafo turned to look at his four friends, their eyes focused on him and Bong. He coughed twice and cleared his throat. "Even if... I mean, if they knew, it doesn't mean you can sit around with us in this group," he said. "I know very well that no one on this team likes you."
"Alright, if any of you don't like me, please say it out loud," Bong said, looking at the four Tanzanies sitting around the small bonfire. "Start with you." He looked at Hajime.
Abrafo turned to Hajime and said, "Don't be afraid, speak your mind."
"I... I like you as a person," Hajime said.
"What about your husband?" Bong asked, looking at Yul.
"I have no problem with you," Yul said.
"Look, they don't have any problem with me, and they don't dislike me in any way," Bong said, looking at Abrafo. "So, that means I can sit here and talk to everyone."
Abrafo turned to Hajime and Yul with the corners of his mouth raised. He looked back at Bong and said, "Well, Michio and U-ri haven't shared their feelings for you yet."
Micho said, "I don't have a problem with Prince Bong. When we were in those tunnels together against those scorpions, and I thought he was just as brave as you. I mean... we're going to be on this journey for a long time. When we encounter danger, it would be great to have someone like Prince Bong with us. And..."
Abrafo said with a dissatisfied look, "That's enough...Michio..."
Bong looked at Abrafo's expression and he started to giggle. "Do you still want to hear what Sir U-ri thinks of me?"
Abrafo sighed and said, "No."
Although Abrafo was not dissatisfied with the situation and feeling irritated, he was relieved that Bong was recovering well.
Bong looked at Abrafo and then at U-ri. He knew that if he wanted to befriend and gain the trust of the five Tanzanies, he would have to come clean about keeping any secrets.
"Sir U-ri," Bong said.
"Your Highness, what can I do for you?" U-ri said, looking at Bong.
"I have something to confess," Bong said.
Abrafo said, "I told you not here."
Bong rolled his eyes at Abrafo and said, "What are you thinking? This has nothing to do with our relationship."
Abrafo's jaw dropped. He bit his lower lip and said, "Relationship? When did you and I establish a relationship? If there is a relationship between you and me, it was established unilaterally."
Bong ignored Abrafo and turned his attention back to U-ri. "I want to apologize for trying to hold you hostage, not once, but twice," he said feeling a bit shameful.
"Twice?" The five Tanzanies said in unison.
Abrafo grabbed onto Bong's right arm with his left hand. Abrafo squeezed Bong's right arm. He asked, "When was the first time you took U-ri hostage? Speak!"
Bong sighed and pulled his arm away from Abrafo's hand. "It was me and my men who burned down your hut and took you hostage."
"Why?" U-ri asked.
Bong said, "Because you five are want to enter No Man's Land."
Abrafo asked angrily, "What does this have to do with you?"
Bong looked at Abrafo and said, "It has everything to do with me. Not just me, but every citizen of Misnix. It's our job to make sure no one goes into No Man's Land. We must stop those who want to enter No Man's Land at all costs, even if it means we...we have to kill them."
U-ri asked, "Your Highness, please help us understand?"
Bong said, " My ancestor was one of the eight mortal kings who helped the Nine Dragon Clans bring peace to the world. During that chaotic period, Avalokitesvara created a gap between our world and the Land of Chaos known as No Man's Land." He started into the flickering flames a few feet away from him. "Eight mortal kings sacrificed their own strength and lives to seal the gate to No Man's Land. The leaders of the Nine Dragon Clans turned themselves into ashes to form the White Dragon Tail, locking Eldrys in the Land of Chaos. If we remove the White Dragon Tail from No Man's Land means freeing Eldrys, and freeing Eldrys will be the end of our existence. Therefore, we, the descendants of the eight mortal kings, must ensure that no one can enter No Man's Land at all costs. So, when I heard that there were five people who wanted to enter No Man's Land, I gathered my men to stop them." Bong looked at the people sitting around him. "And those people are the five of you."
"Are you the one fighting me?" Abrafo asked angrily, looking at Bong.
Bong said, " My intention at the time was to kill and get rid of the five of you, but I'm glad it didn't turn out that way."
"No more words need to be said. I have decided alone that this poisonous man, more deadly than the poison in Scattered Forest, will not be a part of our team or someone we should admit to knowing," Abrafo said angrily as he distanced himself away from Bong.
"I confessed, what's your problem?" Bong said, grabbing Abrafo's pants.
In the distance, a participant starts walking away, and one of his teammates quickly follows him.
"Senior brother, where are you going?" the young participant asked.
"I... I... look over there..." the older participant said, pointing into the darkness.
"What's that over there?" the young participants asked again.
"Master is walking towards us." The participant looked at the younger participant, then he looked on the ground, and smiled. He bent down and picked up a stone. "Pure phoenix eggs...hehe...hehe...pure phoenix eggs." He began to cough and gasp. He suddenly fell to his knees, clutching his chest, and fell to the ground.
"Senior brother... senior brother. What's wrong with you? Senior brother..." The young participant turned to his teammates. "Come here, there is something wrong with senior brother."