I had a dream

This time Xuan Yuan's eyes met the gaze of the first figure earlier. A sinister smile spread across the white figure's lips. Then saying "Next is you" without waiting any more time with lightning speed, the figure charged towards him to kill him. Xuan Yuan shouted with all his might.

"Ah..." his palms covered his face. Cold hands gripped his arms. Interestingly, open. With all his might, Xuan Yuan maintained his position and continued to shout.

"Xuan Yuan! Wake up, Xuan Yuan!" Zhi Qiang forcibly opened both of Xuan Yuan's arms.

Xuan Yuan woke up. His eyes were wide open. His eyes that he thought were the eyes of a figure he didn't recognize earlier and wanted to kill him. But the eyes before him now were eyes he had known for decades. The eyes that taught him to survive. Eyes that had taught him many things. Eyes full of love. And those eyes, those eyes that conveyed concern. "Zhi Qiang" Xuan Yuan finally said. His arm that he had been trying to hold on to cover and protect himself was now completely limp and powerless in Zhi Qiang's hand.

"What happened?" asked Zhi Qiang angrily. "I don't usually sleep like this. I woke up hearing your screams and it was morning. And I should be about to wake up for the second guard, you're screaming like hell, why didn't you wake me up?"

Xuan Yuan tried to get his breathing back to normal. Then said "I had a dream" he said "I don't know what happened either, as far as I can remember, after I saw you sleeping. My eyes feel heavy too and it puts me to sleep too."

Zhi Qiang's eyes looked at the Ice Mountain. His heart started to get restless. It could be that last night the iceberg did, or maybe he was just too tired. But it's only been a few days. He had previously been on a stressful few week of travel and had not slept and he didn't look the least bit tired. Life made Zhi Qiang strong in every condition. Only this time one condition made him angry. Not because of him, but Xuan Yuan. Whose safety is now in his protection.

"Let's get ready" Zhi Qiang shouted. "Breakfast then we will enter the mountain" he said again, pointing to the iceberg in front of them.

"Here wear it!" said Zhi Qiang when it was all over to continue the journey.

Xuan Yuan saw that what Zhi Qiang had given him was a sweater made from the skin of a polar bear. And he himself saw that Zhi Qiang was already wearing one. Thick enough to repel the cold that fell on the skin of the body, especially the North Polar Bear animal does live in an area surrounded by snow. Of course, the skin can help warm the animal's body.

"I brought it for you," said Zhi Qiang again. "Since you've never been out of the Palace, I'm sure you don't have a sweater like this. Moreover, your goal is the Iceberg. The warm clothes you are wearing now are not enough to warm your body. Let's put it on" Zhi Qiang asked again and this time held the coat closer to Xuan Yuan.

"Thank you" Xuan Yuan replied then took the coat and put it on.

"Ready!"

"Yes"

"Then let's go. Always be close to me. If there is a slight movement do not move immediately. Obey every my orders" Zhi Qiang's eyes stared intently at Xuan Yuan's.

"Yes," Xuan Yuan replied curtly.

The cliff ramp is only 10 meters away, the rest of the way is steep. Left and right full of bushes. The perfect place to hide and attack. Zhi Qiang's hunter eyes were alert. Not a single movement escaped his sight.

The Iceberg was gripping. Silent. The only sound that could be heard now was the neighing and galloping of their two horses. Advancing slowly, Xuan Yuan tightly gripped the reins. Prepare to ride a galloping horse if anything happens. Zhi Qiang did the same. They go deeper into the Iceberg, the denser the fog. The cold air pierced the plains of their faces. Wanting to break it like a mirror that is prone to breaking in the cold. One touch of a sharp object, if pressed a little then the mirror will shatter into pieces.

The fog is now very thick. Nothing can be seen more than 1 meter away. The sun was not even visible, whether it was already shining over the Mountain or still framing against the steep walls of the Mountain. A gust of wind could be heard in the distance. There was no movement at all apart from the rare sound of the feet of Xuan Yuan, Zhi Qiang and their horses. Who had from half an hour ago chose to dismount their horses because of the unfriendly fog. Each of them was on standby with a sword in their right hand and the other with grip their horse at his side. They didn't know how long they had been walking down the path.

It was Zhi Qiang who was the first to notice that they were just going round and round on the same road since earlier. "Did you notice it?" Zhi Qiang said breaking the tension.

"Notice what?" Xuan Yuan said confused. Stare at Zhi Qiang with Question look.

"We walk and turn on the same road" Zhi Qiang replied in a flat voice, but his eyes kept squinting forward.

"What! Impossible how can that be?" Xuan Yuan exclaimed, he didn't expect that all this time he had been walking without paying attention to the surroundings

"Then we will walk again and remember what you see on the left and right"

They walked down the path once more. And Xuan Yuan realized what Zhi Qiang said was true.

The atmosphere on the right and left does not resemble the previous one. But if you look more closely and it is clear that the atmosphere is the same. A standing tree may be decades old. It has strong roots, branching branches fill every space and leaves that grow tightly as if they will not give sunlight penetrating the sides of the roots. The shape of the tree is circular like an inverted bowl. A suitable place to take shelter in the hot sun and rainy days. Everything changed the second time I saw it, but there was one thing that was the same, namely a hole in the root of the tree. The hole is oval in shape. "If this is the case. We will not be able to reach the foot of the deepest mountain, where the sword is hidden. We can't even go home because we don't know the way out." Xuan Yuan said and stopped walking for a moment.

Zhi Qiang also stopped. "You noticed the hole too?" asked Zhi Qiang to which Xuan Yuan nodded. "So this is how it looks like" Zhi Qiang mused. He already knew this would happen. From the rumors he heard that the people who wanted the sword did not return home and did not know whether it was still alive or not.