Chapter 124 Into The Phoenix Chamber Part 4

In the early morning, when most people were asleep, in a cold and dark room, Yue walked into the room holding a small oil lamp. A few feet away from her lay an ice bed. Yue continued to walk to the ice bed, sat on the edge of the bed, reached to the headboard, and put down the dim oil lamp. 

Yue looked down at a well-dressed woman lying on the ice bed. The woman's face was covered with a red handkerchief, but she looked well-dressed. Yue sat on the edge of the bed, picked up the young woman's hand, and kissed it, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks. 

Yue sobbed softly and said, "I'm sorry...sister, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to hurt you...will you forgive elder sister from hurting you?" She continued to cry. "Since the day you left me, a part of me has died with you, but you won't sleep here for long. Elder sister will bring you the pure phoenix egg and help you wake up from your nightmare. Elder sister promise." She continued to cry in the dark room, where the dim oil lamp continued to burn faintly.

Yue cried until she heard soft footsteps coming towards her. She wiped away her tears but continued to hold the young woman's hand. The footsteps are getting louder and louder, getting closer and closer to Yue. Then the footsteps stopped. 

Yue asked, "What's the matter?" 

Bi said, "My lady, Lord Lai and Madame Lai are waiting for you. In addition, the guard has gone to get the five gentlemen." 

Yue put down the woman's hand and stood up. "You just sleep here for a while. When I get the pure phoenix egg, I'll come see you again."

After saying that, she stood up and walked out of the cold room with Bi. 

Early in the morning, as soon as the five Tanzanies finished their meal, a guard came to the Lai guesthouse. 

The guard met U-ri and Michio at the front gate. The guard said, "Dear sir, I am here to take you to the arena to register your name." 

U-ri said, "Oh, as you can see, we're not quite ready yet. We just finished our meal. Please give us a few minutes to do a final check of our belongings." 

The guard said, "I'll wait for you at the door, but please don't take too long." 

U-ri smiled and thanked the guard. After the guard disappeared, he turned to look at Michio. He asked, "Is everything ready?" 

Michio said, "My stuff is ready." 

U-ri said, "I'm getting my bags, can you get the others?" 

"No need to get us," Abrafo said, walking towards Michio and U-ri. He lifts U-ri's bag up. "Old man, I got your bag." 

U-ri said, "What about my other bag?" 

Hajime smiled and said, "Here you go." He handed the small bag to U-ri. 

U-ri took the bag from Hajime and said, "This is the bag we can't leave behind." He put the cross bag on his shoulder and then grabbed the backpack from Abrafo. 

Yul saw the guard standing at the door. "He's here for us, right?" 

Michio said, "Yep… that man is here to take us to the competition ground." 

When the five Tanzanies arrived at the competition venue, they met many people participating in the competition. They were sizing up the men to see who was more competitive than the others, when the guard stopped them. 

The guard said, "Dear gentlemen, this way please." 

Hajime asked, "Aren't we standing here with these people?" 

The guard said, "You represent the Lai family, so you sit in the seats arranged for the Lai family. Our Lord and and our lady are already waiting for you." 

Abrafo said, "It's better to sit and wait than to stand in the sun with these people." 

The guard looked at Abrafo and said, "When Emperor Khai arrives, you will have to stand together with the other participants, but now, everyone can go to greet Lord Lai and the first lady." 

The five Tanzanies followed the guards to a tent. Master Lai and Yue stepped forward to greet the five Tanzanies. 

Master Lai smiled and said, "When Yue said she found people to present our family, I was delighted, but when I saw the five of you standing in front of me, I knew that the five of you must be extraordinary for Yue to choose you five out of the hundreds of people who came to us." 

Yue smiled and said, "Please go in, take a rest and drink some water before Emperor Khai and other royals arrive." 

Yul looked at Yue who had dressed a little differently than when he first saw her. Just as Yul was about to ask her, U-ri grabbed his arm. "Save it. It doesn't make any difference if you ask her now or later," U-ri said. 

The five Tanzanies were sitting enjoying their desserts when Emperor Khai and other members of the royal family entered the arena. As many members of the royal family passed by and headed to their designated tents to rest, one stopped in front of Abrafo.

"Abrafo! You!" Kexin said angrily. 

Abrafo looked up and saw Kexin looking down at him angrily, as if she wanted to tear him apart. "Hey, Kexin... it's a small world...uh..." he said, holding a cookie in his hand. 

"How dare you lie to me?" She said angrily, reaching out to grab Abrafo's front collar, but was stopped by Lixin. "Brother..." 

Lixin said, "You are a woman, so act like a woman. It is inappropriate to grab Sir Abrafo's collar in public." 

Bong looked at Abrafo with a smirk and said, "Oh, so you are Abrafo...." He looked at Abrafo up and down. 

Abrafo stood up and stared at Bong. He didn't know why a person he had never met looked at him like he owed them money. "Have we met?" Abrafo asked. 

Bong scoffed and said, "Why should I waste my time meeting a lowlife like you? I would rather spend my time talking to dogs than waste my energy on people like you." 

Abrafo cracked his knuckles and said, "Ah... no wonder my knuckles feel so itchy today." 

Lixin said, "Bong, these are my acquaintances, give me some face." 

Yue stepped forward and bowed to Bong. "Your Highness," she said, then turned to Lixin and bowed. "My lord... Your Highness, these five are here to participate in this competition on behalf of the Lai family. Please forgive me if I offended Your Highness." 

Bong turned to Lixin and smiled. "Alright, I'll give you face since this lowlife is an acquaintance of yours. Lady Lai, tsk... tsk... tsk... your vision is not grand." He walked away. 

Lixin stared at Yul and said, "See you in the arena." 

Abrafo clenched his fists. U-ri grabbed Abrafo's hand and said, "Abrafo, think about the big picture." 

Abrafo gritted his teeth. "I really want to knock some teeth out of his face," Abrafo said, turning to look at Yul. "Yul, I..." 

Yul said, "This time, you lead." 

"Thank you, brother," Abrafo said with a smile. 

Emperor Kai stood before the line of participants, royals, and citizens who gathered to see the heroes who will enter Scattered Forest. 

"Today is the day when these brave young men and women will enter Scattered Forest. The last time the title Phoenix General annouced was three hundred years ago. Today, I sincerely hope that one of you can be awarded this title. Normally, Princes and Princess will not participate, but this year, Prince Gang decided to participate," Emperor Khai said looking at Gang. 

Hearing Emperor Khai's announcement, everyone gasped and started talking. 

"How is this going?" 

"Yes, if Prince Gang participates, who dares to defeat him?" 

"I think this is a fair competition, but since Prince Gang is participating, who dares to compete with Prince Gang for the pure phoenix egg.

"The efforts we put in before to compete for the position to enter Scattered Forest have all been in vain." 

"We'd better withdraw to avoid any trouble later." 

"Me too." 

"Yes, me too." 

"Since the prince is competing, what's the point?" 

Emperor Khai said loudly, "Listen, everyone. I know that each of you doubts that Prince Gang will have the upper hand because he is a prince, but you don't have to worry. Since Prince Gang has decided to participate in this game, treat him like other opponents. Although he is a prince, once he enters Scattered Forest, he is no longer a prince, but a participant like everyone else. I don't want you to show mercy to him when you face him once you are inside Scattered Forest and the Phoenix Chamber. If you do, you are looking down on him and your emperor. Life or death depends on your own ability. Your life is in your hands, protect it. Do your best. Wish you all good luck." Emperor Khai sat back in his chair. 

A guard stood up and said loudly, "Now is the last chance to withdraw from the competition." Since Prince Gang suddenly decided to participate in the competition, many groups that won the fighting competition championship decided to withdraw. "Does anyone still want to back down?" He waited for a while, but no one seemed willing to retreat. "Now pack your belongings and we'll head to the port to board the ship first thing tomorrow morning."

Yue walked up to the five Tanzanies, handed the five golden badges to Abrafo and said, "This is my father's token of appreciation to the five of you for representing our family in this competition. I have asked my servants to prepare a sleeping tent for the five of you. I should arrive in Chanyi on the tenth day. I'll wait for you on the outskirts of Stone Valley. Remember our agreement." She sighed and looked at the five Tanzanies. "Good luck and stay alive." 

Abrafo took the five golden badges from Yue and said, "We plan to come out alive. You also remember your promise." 

Yue said, "Remember what I told you, if you can't find the entrance to the Phoenix Chamber within the three hours, you will die, so use your time wisely." 

Abrafo said with a smile, "It would be nice if you could give us a map." He turned to look at the four people standing behind him. "Let's go to the port." 

Yue watched as the five Tanzanies slowly disappeared along with the other participants. She sighed and murmured in her heart: Yun... bless these five people to get that pure phoenix egg.