The sound of fighting at the foot of the mountain continued, and Meng looked at the two Tanzanies and Bong. The cold spearhead that was originally pointed at his chest became warm at this moment. He knows that Bong won't kill him now because without him, the gorillas and the bandits below will continue to fight.
"Are you sure you want to kill me?" Meng looked at Bong. "I suggest you spare my life for now, otherwise you will regret it."
"Why would we want to do that?" Bong smirked.
Meng looked at the two Tanzanies and Bong and said, "It will do you no good to kill me now."
Abrafo looked at Meng with a smile. "I thought differently. I thought killing you now would benefit us more." He reached back and grasped the hilt of his sword. "I'm going to tear the smile off your face."
"You can't get rid of my smile," Meng said with a daring smiled. "Because getting rid of my smile it's harder than you think."
"Try me," Abrafo said through gritted teeth
Seeing that Xun's spear swinging towards U-ri's head, Hajime released his whip and grabbed Xun's spear. Xun grasped the spear tightly with both hands and pulled it forward, and Hajime stumbled forward towards Xun. U-ri was afraid that Xun would hurt Hajime, so he quickly stood up and tried to break away, but as soon as he stood up, Xun's left hand grabbed U-ri's neck. At this time, Xun was surrounded by Hajime, Michio, Fufu, and Fufu's three subordinates.
"If you come any closer, I will break this old man's neck," Xun said angrily.
Hajime, Michio, Fufu, and Fufu's three subordinates slowly backed away from Xun and U-ri. Xun pointed the spear at Hajime. "You...come with me."
Michio said, "Hajime isn't going anywhere?"
Xun chuckled lightly and tightening his hand around U-ri's neck. "Follow me, or he will die. Even if I break his neck, I will probably escape unscathed." He looked at the people around him. "He is so old; do you really want me to shorten his lifespan?" Xun began to squeeze U-ri's neck hard.
Seeing that U-ri was having trouble breathing, Hajime stepped forward and said, "I'll go with you."
Xun looked at Michio and said, "You! Tie his hands with his whip." He tightened his hand around U-ri's neck again.
"Michio, do it now!" Hajime said, looking at Michio worriedly.
Michio had no choice but to quickly pick up the whip from the ground and tie Hajime's wrists.
"Now," Xun said. "Give the whip to the old man."
Michio handed the end of the whip to U-ri.
"If any of you follow us, I will kill the old man," Xun said. "Now, let us go for a short walk."
When Hajime, U-ri, and Xun reached the top of the hill, looking down at the other smaller hill down below, Hajime turned to look at Xun.
"Keep walking," Xun said. "Don't look back, or I will break this old man's neck."
"I was wondering where we were going," Hajime said as he continued walking down the hill towards the second hill.
"You'll find out when we get there," Xun said.
"Ahead of us is Maka City," Hajime said. He stopped and turned to face Xun. "We're going to Maka City, are we?"
Xun looked at Hajime with a smirk on his face.
U-ri looked at Xun said, "Are you helping Malik take over Maka City? What benefits did he offered you?"
Xun smirked and said, "I don't work for Malik."
"So, are you working for Meng?" Hajime asked.
Xun smiled. "I don't work for anyone, but like the old man said, Meng did make me a good offer that I couldn't refuse."
Hajime asked, "What kind of offer?"
"A chance to kill those who destroyed my village and become the monarch of my own kingdom," Xun said.
U-ri scoffed and said, "You are just a dreamer. Do you really believe that he will give you such a chance? You are just a pawn on his chessboard."
Xun moved his hands from U-ri's shoulder to U-ri's neck and pinched U-ri's throat. "Old man, I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself." He gritted his teeth.
Although his throat was pinched and his breathing was labored, U-ri said, "Do you think he would care about the life and death of your men and the tribe? When..." U-ri coughed. "When your purpose is achieved, he will destroy you...not just you, but the entire Taka tribe."
Xun gritted his teeth and squeezed harder. "Old man, you really do have an itchy tongue," Xun said.
Seeing that the situation was not good and fearing that U-ri would be killed by Xun, Hajime said, "If you hurt him, I will not take any step further."
Xun turned to look at Hajime angrily. At this moment, he wanted to end U-ri's life, but he knew that his task was to bring U-ri to Meng as instructed, so he released his squeezed and put his hand on U-ri's left shoulder.
"Move," Xun sneered.
Hajime began walking down the hill towards Maka City, U-ri and Xun following closely behind.
Watching Hajime's back walking towards the one-way path leading to the south gate of Maka City, Xun turned to look at U-ri. U-ri's words had some impact on Xun, and as he walked down the hill, he asked himself why Meng would want U-ri. U-ri is over sixty years old. He has no special powers other than his clever tongue. He thought for a while but couldn't answer his question.
The two sides are still standing on the top of the hill, refusing to give in to each other. The war of words continues, and Bong begins to lose his patience with Meng.
"I'm giving you one last chance to call back your gorillas," Bong said.
Meng looked up and saw Xun coming down from the hill, Meng smiled at Bong. He calmly said, "If I were you, I would not give such an order."
"Yeah," Bong said. "Try me."
"Maybe it's not you, it's them," Meng said. He looked at Yul then rolled his eyes at Abrafo.
Abrafo scoffed. "Whether you are dead or alive, what does it have to do with us?" He rolled his eyes at Meng.
"Mmm... let me guess..." Meng paused suddenly and moved his eyes towards the hill, realizing that he could no longer see Xun. It seemed that his plan to delay time was successful. He knew that in just a minute, Xun would arrive with the hostage, and with this hostage, the Zahog Phoenix will be released, and his master would soon be free. "You are right. I guess my life or death has nothing to do with you."
Bong had seen this side of Meng before, so he wouldn't let Meng hold the leash to their neck and dragged them around. Bong said angrily, "Don't waste any more time. On the count of ten, if you don't recall your troops, my spear will not be merciful to you."
Meng said, "Time is something I cannot afford to waste. I just wanted to enlighten you three."
Bong said, "Well, please enlighten me. The reason why I let you go is because I believe you will run away with Lady Lai and abandon your rescue plan. So, why are you still here and not with Lady Lai?"
Meng said, "I did run away with Lady Lai, and I did spare the lives of many innocent citizens of Misnix Kingdom."
Yul said, "That's because your plan failed."
Abrafo said, "You are now in our hands. We have spent enough time talking to you. There is no need to continue talking to you. Call back your gorillas now or die. Choose one."
Meng said, looking at the two Tanzanies arrogantly, "Have you ever thought about why among so many people who participated in the tournament, I was the only one who chose to stay and hold on to your sleeves tightly?"
Abrafo shook his head irritably and said, "Oh, please enlighten me."
Yul said, "It didn't cross our mind at that time. You hid your identity really well."
Meng looked at Yul with a smile and said, "Yeah... indeed, my identity is well hidden." He turned his attention to Yul. "I hid it so well that when we met for the second time, you didn't recognize me at all. When I saw you, I thought you might recognize me, but you didn't." He smiled at the two Tanzanies and Bong.
Abrafo looked at Meng and said, "I don't remember meeting you before we entered the Phoenix Chamber."
Yul looked at Abrafo and Bong and then at Meng. "You said we have met before, then tell me, when did we meet?" He asked.
At this time, Meng could smell Xun's strong scent in the air. He smiled at Yul knowing the time had come. He smiled, raised the left corner of his mouth, and said, "This is the difference between us and you mortals. You can't do what we can do. You can't see what we can see. We have more abilities that superior to yours, that's why you don't remember me."
Bong said, "Don't believe him. He is very good at talking. He made me believe that he would not cause trouble but look at him now. If I remember correctly, I believe I once told you, if we meet again, I will kill you."
Meng looked at Yul and said with a smile, "If I remember correctly, we first met a few years ago in a lively market. Ah, thinking about it, I can still hear the hackers' voices in my ears."
Yul looked at Meng and thought for a while, but he couldn't remember when he met Meng. Although he went as far back as to the time when they enter Skeleton Desert, the people they met along the way, were regular town people, except for one person.
Thinking of this man sent a shiver down Yul's spine. When he finally stared into Meng's eyes, his whole body suddenly felt light and airy, as if he could float in the air. His lips trembled as he said, "The dirty merchant in the market with the map to No Man's Land."
Meng smiled and said, "I think you still owe me two silver leaves."