Keep It Secret

A Ning held Yuen's hand tightly, leading him to walk down the increasingly steep path. A Ning then stopped when they arrived at the flat ground below, pulling Yuen closer to the horse.

"Come on, Yuen, let's get on the horse, we still have a long way to go, hopefully, we can go back at the time your teacher prepares dinner for us"

"Yes, Brother," Yuen complied, accepting A Ning's hand who helped him get into the saddle, then A Ning jumped after him. The big horse walked back, along a small path in the middle of the forest towards the sunset. The air began to get colder, A Ning pulled Yuen's fur coat closer and hugged him from behind.

"Are you cold?"

Yuen shook his head.

"No, Brother, this is warm enough"

A Ning held Yuen's hands while he was also busy pulling the horse's reins.

"Tell me if it, I bring an extra blanket with me."

Yuen nodded, with a big smile on his face.

"Yeah Brother"

A Ning looked at his father and returned the plaque, identification, and all documents to him.

"Father, this cannot be spread out. It's best to destroy all these things before anyone finds out that Uncle is the Black Crow of the Black Heavens. I come from the Moon Lotus clan, and our clan exterminates people from clans like this. If my teacher finds out that uncle is one of the right-hand men of that organization, then there is a big possibility that I will be expelled from the clan, that, can't happen."

Bei Cang Ku looked at his son, took the plaque and letter from A Ning's hand, he nodded.

"That's right, heh, I don't know what made your uncle, to be able to join the black clan like that, this is a disgrace for the big Bei family. If the Bei family's business relations find out about this matter, then our family will also be shunned by businessmen, and this must not happen."

.....

"Fire! Fire!" The sound of the guard's screams could be heard far away. Flames were seen rising high in the large archives building located in the complex behind the imperial palace. The guards and workers worked together to try to extinguish the fire which spread and burned the entire building. The head guard shouted to mobilize the crowd.

"Hurry up, get water, put out the fire"

Meanwhile, in the Golden Dragon pavilion, in the Emperor's private room. The old advisor, FuLu hurriedly entered the room when he heard the Emperor summon him.

"Greeting, Your Majesty," the old advisor lowered his body to his knees low to the floor.

"Insolent! What are you guys doing all these time? Why even after all the rituals I still have nightmares! That devil is still roaming around the palace, quickly find it and finish it off!"

The old advisor looked behind him, where several people had just run in hastily. Around three old people in magnificent clothes immediately lowered their knees to bodies on the floor.

"Greeting, Your Highness"

The Emperor sat on his couch. After screaming awake from his sleep due to a nightmare, the old man couldn't fall back asleep.

"That golden dragon is still chasing and eating me, the same dream every night for the past sixteen years. Why can't you guys do anything about it, what useless people! Guard!" exclaimed the Emperor.

Several special palace guards immediately rushed in, the Emperor's head of Guard, Gao, and his men.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The emperor pointed to some people who were powerful palace shamans.

"Drag them out and cut off their heads, throw their bodies into the crocodile cage!" exclaimed the old Emperor. The head guard nodded.

"Ready, Your Majesty!"

The three old shamans lowered their bodies deeply, bowing their heads a couple of times.

"Beg for mercy, Your Majesty, please give us a chance! Please listen to our explanation. The only way for Your Majesty's nightmare to disappear is to bring the dragon pearl back to the palace." exclaimed the old man who was the head of the powerful shaman.

The Emperor raised his hand, stopping Gao from pulling the shamans away.

"Stop! Let him finish talking."

The old shaman lowered his body. His body trembled after several of the guards pulled his hand. This time the Emperor might behead him.

The Emperor waved his hand, asking his guards to step back and exit. The Emperor saw three powerful shamans who had been spiritual advisors for decades. The advisor nodded, ordering the three shamans to stand and speak.

The old shaman lowered his head deeply.

"Report, Your Highness, I got a hint this afternoon, and will now pass it on to Your Highness, that the only way to quell your nightmares and restore Your Highness's success is to bring home the lost golden pearl. Prince Jing Yun"

The Emperor stroked his beard. Looking towards his old advisor.

"Then, what are you waiting for?"

"Guard Gao! Listen to my orders!" exclaimed the Emperor.

Guard Gao lowered his body in front of the Emperor.

"Ready Your Majesty!"

"Pass on my orders, find Prince Jing Yun, and bring him back here as soon as possible!"

The Emperor's advisors and personal guards answered in unison.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

 ...

Bruhhhh.

The sighs of the big horses stopped on the hill.

A valley with sharp rocks sticking out of the ground covered the entire plain as far as the eye could see below the high hills. Arid, with very little greenery, hot and dry. The wind blows from the top of the valley sending dust throughout the valley where there is no visible life. It was too quiet and you can hear the wind sound quite clearly.

The three largest horses were in front with several more men clad in palace soldier's armor behind them. Everyone stopped for a moment to see the path they would take next. Thorns Valley, or it's another popular name as, the Ghost Valley. It is located three days' journey from the Golden Clouds. But in just two days, the group led by Tan Lao and DaiYang arrived there quickly.

After a long, non-stop journey, they finally arrived there.

Dai Yang didn't want to spend a lot of time there, better finish everything as soon as possible and return to the valley to meet Yuen, as he had promised.

Tan Lao pulled the horse's reins.

"Come on, Valley King, we'd better find a place to rest and gather our strength before going down there. The valley is called the Valley of Ghosts not without reason, once we enter it will be very difficult to get out of there. So we should make preparations first before facing great danger. You guys, set up a tent over there!" shouted TanLao ordering his men.

Dai Yang still stayed where he was, looking at the vast valley. The ghost cave is on the inside, according to legend, after passing through a thorn forest full of traps and wild creatures. One of the most dangerous is living mud which can swallow many people at once. It wasn't a safe place, but, for DaiYang, it was nothing. He glanced at Pai who was following him beside him. Then pulled the horse's reins towards the flat field. No matter what, he also had to think about Pai who came with him.

"Come on Pai, let's rest."

Pai nodded.

"Yes, my King"

 …..

The sound of the water flowing in the small river that separated old man Oei's hut from the rest of the valley could be heard quite clearly. Cold air blew throughout the valley, thick mists could still be seen hovering above the ground above waist height. Yuen and AHe have just finished filling the water barrel for cooking and daily needs. AHe brought water from the well while Yuen put it into large barrels in the kitchen. Soon the water barrel which had been almost empty started to fill again. Safe for several days of use. Previously, A He also cut firewood which had been arranged neatly near the stove and back wall. Some of them were also stacked outside due to limited space.

Winter disrupts the work of collecting firewood. For this reason, A He needs to work hard to collect as much wood as he can before the snow starts to fall.

Yuen lights a fire on the stove. Apart from cooking, they will also use the stove to keep the air temperature warm as it decreases. Yuen's clean face was a bit dirty from the ash from the black stove, which looked very contrasting on his cheeks and chin.

AHe had caught a wild chicken yesterday, slaughtered it, and was ready to cook it into medicinal wine for Yuen to drink. He himself had also cut the lamb he had bought in town and was going to make it for everyone to eat. He's very busy. But the tall, thin man with all his muscular body parts looks like he's used to it and enjoys his role. Apart from being good at doing heavy work, this twenty-five-year-old young man can do anything, from cooking and taking care of plants to sewing. He is an orphan who survived after his entire family died due to a disease outbreak. Looking closely, AHe's face quite handsome with a firm jaw, even though he is a bit rough with black skin from hard work. If he cleans himself and wear beautiful clothes he is not inferior to any young master.

......