Hajime was sitting on a low wooden bench milking a white goat when he suddenly heard the sound of bamboo chimes in the distance. He knew that the afternoon breeze would hit him at any moment, so he raised his head and took a deep breath as the afternoon breeze whizzed past him. As the afternoon breeze blew, he lowered his head and continued milking. After milking the little white goat, Hajime put two bamboo pipes filled with goat milk into a jar of water to prevent the goat milk from spoiling. Hajime patted the white goat gently.
"Thank you so much for feeding my child," Hajime said with a smile. "I promised that I would take good care of you, bathe you and feed you every day." He grabbed more pasture and started feeding the goats.
"I noticed you didn't get kicked in the chest today," Kaizen said, approaching Hajime. "Typically, you'll have a few bruises after each milking session."
Hajime wiped his hands on his apron and stood up from the stool. As he walked towards Kaizen, he said, "We have become very good friends, and I know how to be gentler. I must have hurt her before, so she kept kicking me, but in the past few months, my skills have gotten better, and we have become friends." He quickly went to grab the jar with two bamboo pipes inside. "You must be here for the milk. "
Kaizen looked at Hajime and said, "I'm here to take you to meet your son."
Hajime was surprised that Kaizen was taking him to meet his son today. "You mean...I can see him today?" Hajime asked still in disbelief. "Master Budi and Master Yuuto agreed for me to see my son?"
Kaizen nodded.
Hajime smiled excitedly. From the day Meiji was born to now, he has not held Meiji in his arms. As long as Master Yuuto is present, he can only see Meiji once a month. Over the past few months, Master Yuuto had seemed more like a father figure to Meiji than Hajime. However, he would be happy as long as he could see Meiji.
When Hajime saw Meiji for the first time, he thought Meiji would be like him, with white hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes, but he was wrong. His Meiji looks nothing like him, his Meiji has dark hair, brown eyes and a tan complexion. At first, he doubted whether Master Yuuto and Master Budi hid his son and brought other people's children to pretend to be his, but then everything about little Meiji reminded him of Yul, so he made a peace agreement with himself. Even though his little Meiji looks nothing like him, at least his Meiji looks a lot like his father. With such a resemblance to Yul, he knew his Meiji would be loved by every family member in the future. He is also happy that Meiji doesn't look like him because when his little Meiji returns to Tanzang with the others, his little Meiji won't be bully or looked at strangely, so looking like Yul is a good thing.
Kaizen asked, "Are you still in your body, or has your soul traveled somewhere else?"
Hajime smiled and shook his head. "My soul will never travel again. I have made peace with myself and them. I said goodbye." He sighed. "Actually, I'm very happy here."
Kaizen looked at Hajime and said, "If you are happy here, you just stay here with Meiji."
Hajime said, "I would love to, but I have a task entrusted to me by others."
"If they end up dead, it's their own doing," Kaizen said. "Why bother when you know you can't defeat fate."
Hajime said, "You also tried to defeat fate." He looked at Kaizen.
"I failed, that's why I know, and am now trying to convince you to leave the delegated tasks to others," Kaizen said.
Hajime said, "If anyone can complete this task, Alvalokitesvara would not have brought me from another world. We can't defeat fate, why bother, so let's not worry about this, concentrate on the things in front of us and live each day to the fullest as it were our last."
Kaizen stopped walking and turned to Hajime, he asked, "You believe that fool?"
Hajime said, "I don't think he's a fool. I think he understands the concept of life better than I do."
Kaizen sneered and continued walking towards the prayer hall, Hajime following closely behind.
When Hajime and Kaizen arrived at the prayer hall, the monks had just finished praying and left the prayer hall to prepare dinner. As soon as he entered the room, Hajime saw Meiji sitting alone next to Budi. Hajime looked around and found no trace of Yuuto, so he continued walking towards Meiji and Budi.
Budi bow two more times in front of the large statue of Buddha and then slowly getting up. "You're here," Budi said, turning around to face Hajime and Kaizen. "Kaizen may have already told you, but according to our three-month observation of Meiji, there doesn't seem to be a trace of dark energy in his body. So..." He looked at Meiji and then at Hajime. "I know that the journey that awaits you will be full of dangers, and that a safer place for Meiji is right here, but the decision is still yours. You can leave with him, or you can choose to keep him here."
Hajime looked at Meiji and said with a smile, "I know there will be danger waiting for us, but I can't help but make my own decision. I decided that if Meiji is clear, I will take him to see the others. I thank you. I really appreciated the wonderful hospitality and everything you and others have done for me and my friends, if we make it through this we will definitely be back and thank you all properly. "
Budi didn't want to say any more, Hajime had already decided. He sighed and said, "Then you and your son can leave."
Hajime fell to his knees and bowed until his forehead touched the floor. "Thank you, Master," he said. Hajime raised his head and watched Budi Walk out of the prayer hall and disappear into the stairwell. He turned to Meiji and held Meiji in his arms for the first time. "Meiji...it's time to go see your father."
Kaizen looked at Hajime and asked, "How do you plan to go see them?"
Hajime said, "I will summon my eagle and take us to Maka City."
Kaizen said, "They are no longer in Maka City."
Hajime looked at Kaizen and asked, "Where are they? How do you know?"
"They summoned me, but I refused to accept their invitation," Kaizen said, looking at Hajime. "It seems that it is already very late today. I will see you off early tomorrow morning."
The next morning, when the monks began their morning prayers, Hajime was waiting for Kaizen. He looked at the table, which was covered with all the items he had packed the night before. He went into Abrafo, Michio, and U-ri's room and packed up the extra belongings he thought they wanted to take with them. Meiji hadn't woken up yet, so Hajime patiently waited for Kaizen to see him off. It wasn't until after the morning prayers, when the monks left to prepare breakfast, that he saw Kaizen dragging the white goat towards him. He saw two baskets, one on each side of the white goat.
Hajime stood up and walked towards Kaizen and the white goat. "What is this? Is he coming with us?" Hajime asked.
Kaizen said, "You going to need her for the next two months because now Meiji is still unable to eat solid food."
Hajime said, "But this is Master Yuuto's white goat."
Kaizen said, "Master Yuuto asked me to bring you the goat."
Hajime looked at Kaizen and asked, "What should I do with her when Meiji no longer needs her? Will you come get her?"
Kaizen said, "Sell her or give her to someone who needs her." He looked at the table, then at the goat. "At least now you need her to carry those bags for you."
Hajime said, "These are belongings that I believe the others still wants it."
Kaizen walked over to the table and started grabbing three backpacks. He asked, "Which side do you want Meiji to be on?"
Hajime looked at the baskets and then at Meiji, he said, "It doesn't matter."
Kaizen put two backpacks in the basket on the right and one in the basket on the left. He grabbed a blanket, folded it neatly, and placed the blanket on top of the backpack. He looked at Hajime and said, "Give me your hand." Hajime stretched out his hand to Kaizen. Kaizen placed the folded amulet on Hajime's palm. "If you need me, use this. I'll come to you wherever you are."
Hajime smiled and said, "Thank you. Although I know you are doing this because you are worried about this body, I want you to know that I will remember everything you have done for me."
Kaizen smiled and said, "It's time to go. If we set off at this time, you might be able to have a hearty breakfast."
Hajime asked, "You are going with us?"
Kaizen smiled and said, "I told you; I send you off." He raised his index finger and drew a square in the air. The small square expanded, and the faint chirping of cicadas could be heard. "They are in Zans City. The last time they summoned me, they were somewhere in the center of the city. If you go there, you might be able to find them."
Hajime smiled and said to Kaizen, "Thank you." He walked to the bed and picked up Meiji. He put Meiji into the basket and covered Meiji with a blanket. He grabbed the reins and took three steps towards the portal. "So, I guess this is goodbye."
"Hajime!" Kaizen said suddenly. "If...if you complete your mission, if possible, can you send him back."
Hajime looked at Kaizen and knew that what Kaizen asked him to do was an impossible task. He drew the dagger from his belt and cut off a lock of his hair. He put the hair in Kaizen's hand. He said sadly, "I'm sorry... I can't promise you. I know that cutting hair is a bad omen, but his hair is what I can give you. Although I can't promise you that I will bring him back. I can assure you that if I could, I would do everything in my power to let you see him one last time."
Kaizen watched Hajime turn around, grab the reins, and slowly walk into the portal. He continued to watch until the portal slowly closed, and Hajime's back slowly disappeared. Tears wet his eyes. He clenched the white hair in his right hand and whispered, "Goodbye Xian..."