Chapter 109 Broke

As far as the eye can see, buttercup meadows stretch for miles. The blooming buttercup flowers exude a faint fragrance, and the air is filled with a faint sweet fragrance. Hundreds of monarch butterflies fly around, looking for landing spots to collect nectar. 

Although summer has not yet completely entered, it is only the late spring, but the wind blowing across their faces is hot and humid. The more they sweat, the thirstier they become. They looked everywhere but found nothing but miles of buttercups in bloom.  With no shade, the sun's heat and thirst took their toll on the five Tanzanies riding on the backs of three big grey wolves as they walked along a long dirt road mixed with yellow and orange dirt. 

"Does anyone have water?" U-ri asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead. 

Hajime said, "You drank the last drop of our water half an hour ago." 

U-ri tapped Michio's hand gently, and he asked, "What about you?" 

Michio shook his head. "Mine is empty too," Michio said. "Now I wish I were a monarch butterfly." 

U-ri asked, "Why?" 

Michio said, "I want to drink some nectar." 

Abrafo said, "We should be flying over here instead of riding the grey wolf and baking in the sun like this. Why is it so hot? It's not summer yet." 

Hajime said, "Maybe it's because we're heading south." 

Yul said, "Let's find a place to rest first." He looked back at Hajime. "How's your injuries?" 

Hajime said, "It's better now. I think my arm is almost back to normal. I can't see the wound on my back, but U-ri said it's starting to heal." 

Yul said, "I remember that your injury didn't take so long to heal. Has anything changed?" 

Hajime said, "I don't know. Maybe it's because the wound was too big, or maybe it's because the person who inflicted the wound on me is stronger." He sighed. "Or maybe it's because I'm just broken." 

U-ri turned around and said, "Hey, I think I saw someone in front of us." 

Abrafo drove his wolf past Hajime and Yul to U-ri.  He looked forward and found that there were some people not far away from him. He looked at Michio and U-ri and said, "I'm going to ask if there is a village nearby." 

U-ri said, "Be careful." 

Abrafo charged with his wolf towards the people walking in front of him. When he got closer to everyone, he was afraid that the grey wolf would scare them, so he jumped down from the wolf's back and said, "Wait for me here." 

Abrafo quickly rushed forward and came to the crowd. He found that these people were dressed in different clothes and seemed to have a higher social status. He caught up with a man and asked, "Do you know how far it is from here to Misnix Kingdom?" 

The young man looked at Abrafo and said, "You are walking on Misnix Kingdom's soil." 

Abrafo was shocked. "I am?" he asked doubtfully. "I thought we hadn't reached  Misnix Kingdom yet." 

The young man smiled and said, "Dear sir, you are in Misnix Kingdom, dear sir. You are not from here, are you?" 

Abrafo said, "Oh no, I'm a traveler, so I'm not sure if I've reached Misnix Kingdom or not." 

The young man smiled and said, "You are in Misnix Kingdom." 

Abrafo looked at the people, they all seemed to be young people. He asked, "Are you all from the same kingdom?" 

The young man said, "No, my master and I are both from Hargione Kingdom." He pointed to the three people in front of him. "They are from Naramunz Kingdom. I believe the rest are from the four major cities of Misnix." 

Abrafo asked, "So, everyone here is from a different city and kingdom?" 

The young man asked, "Do you have a place to stay?" 

Abrafo said, "Not yet.  What are the cities again?" 

The young man said, "There are five large cities in Misnix Kingdom. There are Shanyi in the north, Xingyi in the east, Hanyi in the west, and Chanyi in the south.  The central part of Misnix Kingdom is the capital city, Menyi." 

Abrafo looked at everyone and nodded. "So, where does this road take us?" 

The young man said, "This road leads to Menyi, the capital of Misnix." 

Abrafo asked, "Why do you want to go there?" 

The young man said, "Didn't you hear?" 

Abrafo asked, "Hear what?" 

The young man approached Abrafo and whispered. "Lai Manor announced that if anyone can make their daughter speak, they will let that person marry her." 

Abrafo said, "Oh, is that why there are so many young people here?" 

The young man nodded and said, "My master is also here to treat Lady Lai and see if Lady Lai can speak." 

Abrafo thanked the young man and walked slowly back to his friends, but the young man soon shouted, "Sir, don't you want to go to Menyi and try to treat Lady Lai?" 

Abrafo said, "No, thank you." 

When Abrafo returned to the grey wolf, the others had caught up with him and were waiting for his return.  Abrafo jumped on the back of the gray wolf and said, "We have arrived in Misnix Kingdom.  Those people are heading to Menyi, the capital of Misnix Kingdom, looking for an opportunity to win Lady Lai's hand in marriage." 

U-ri said, "That sounded interesting."  He looked at Abrafo.  "Don't you want to try?" 

Abrafo said, "No, I'm not interested." 

Michio teased Abrafo, "You've always shown interest in things like this, but what about this time?" 

Abrafo said, "The difference is that we are here for the next key. Oh, by the way,  Misnix Kingdom has five cities.  The cities are Shanyi, Xingyi, Hanyi, Chanyi, and the capital city Menyi." 

Yul took out the old map and looked at it.  He said, "The map showed the city name Chanyi, but we have to go through Menyi." 

U-ri said, "I know that saving Tangzang is important, but our fighting spirit is equally important. Let us rest until everyone recovers, and then continue our journey." 

Michio said, "I agreed with U-ri." 

Hajime looked at Yul and said, "I..." 

"Let's take a break until everyone is healed and strong enough to move forward," Yul said. "Is a month enough?" 

"A month is more than enough," Abrafo said, sighing happily. "Finally, I can eat something delicious." 

U-ri reached into his bag to look for their money bag, but he couldn't find it. He continued to search and found that there was no money bag in his personal bag. He looked at Abrafo and said, "You might want to hold your thoughts." 

Abrafo turned to U-ri and asked, "What do you mean?" 

U-ri sighed with a heavy heart and said, "Boys... we're broke." 

Michio asked, "What do you mean broke?" 

"I mean we are now penniless," U-ri said. "I lost my money bag. The bag full of gold leaves. When we escaped that deadly forest, the box full of gold leaves was left behind with the other items." 

Abrafo said, "Why didn't you gather that money chest onto the eagle's back?  You were on guard."

U-ri madly pointing his finger at Abrafo and said, "Well, at that time, it is better to escape alive than to be eaten by those hungry wolves." 

Abrafo looked around and asked, "Who else has money?" 

Michio said, "I gave all my money to U-ri." 

Abrafo said, "What about you?"  He looked at Yul. 

Yul said, "Since we left Magior, I have been using my money to pay for our food and necessities. I only have two gold leaves left." 

Abrafo said, "I think I lost my money bag while we were in the palace." 

Everyone turned to look at Hajime.  "What about you?"  Everyone asked in unison.

Hajime said, "I walked into the palace of Tangzang Kingdom as a penniless mage and walked out of Tangzang Kingdom as a penniless mage.  Does any of you see me paying for anything?" 

Yul said, "Let's continue down this road and find a place to stay first." 

The five Tanzanies continued walking along the dirt road, and towards noon they arrived at the outskirts of Menyi. Except for the five Tanzanies who now cannot afford food, the citizens are happy and lively. 

When the noise in the street rang in the ears of the five Tanzanies, they spotted a middle-aged woman walking towards them. Because the middle-aged woman was well dressed, U-ri quickly chased after the middle-aged woman for some questions. 

U-ri asked, "My lady, we are travelers, and our friend is injured. Do you know any temple here where we can stay for a few days?" 

The middle-aged woman looked at U-ri and said, "There is no temple here. The only temple is in the palace." 

U-ri was surprised to hear the middle-aged woman's answer. "So, if travelers lost their money bags, where would they stay," U-ri asked. 

The middle-aged woman said, "They usually work for money. There are a lot of jobs here. If their money bags are stolen, they need to report the crime to the court in the city center." The woman looked at U-ri and the others.  "Or go and stay in the haunted house at the foot of the mountain."

She pointed to the left. 

U-ri saw a mountain towering into the clouds. "How haunted do you mean?" 

The middle-aged woman said, "The locals told us that many years ago, a woman lived there with her husband. When her husband went to war, she became pregnant with her first child. Seven months later, she died during childbirth. Since her death, locals have seen the mother and child wandering around, still waiting for her husband to return home. Local hunters say that sometimes when they walk through the area, they see the woman and her child." The woman lowered her voice.  "For this reason, people who live near the haunted house slowly moved away."

U-ri asked, "So no one is there?" 

The middle-aged woman said, "No one go close to that place now, not even hunters. It was abandoned many years ago." The woman looked at U-ri. "You don't want to go there, do you?" 

U-ri said, "Why do you think I will go there?" 

The middle-aged woman said, "You seem to be very interested in this story." 

U-ri said, "The story was interesting, so I showed interest, but I'm not young anymore and don't have the energy to try this kind of thrill-seeking adventure." 

The middle-aged woman said, "Good." 

U-ri thanked the woman and walked back to his friend. "Well, I found a place to stay, but..." U-ri said. 

Abrafo asked, "But what?" 

U-ri said, "But it is haunted."