Chapter 207 Dongxue Village Part 9

Watching the battle unfolding before him, U-ri finally understood why the Taka did not join the battle against the three Tanzanies. He said excitedly, "Hajime... Hajime... I now know why the Taka tribe didn't attack. It seems they are fighting for territory." Not hearing Hajime's answer, he turned back to see if Hajime was alright, but he found that Hajime was no longer behind him. "Hajime..." U-ri quickly looked around. "Hajime..." 

U-ri slowly walked to the corner of the tree, thinking that Hajime might suddenly want to urinate, but when he walked to the corner, he found that Hajime was not there, but instead saw a small energy butterfly floating just above the ground. Seeing Hajime's marker, U-ri's whole body was suddenly filled with worry. U-ri started running around the tree, hoping to see Hajime somewhere. 

"Hajime!" U-ri shouted. "Hajime!" U-ri continued to call Hajime while walking around the tree, but Hajime was nowhere to be seen. "Hajime!" He shouted one last time, now convinced that Hajime had been taken away by someone or something. Recalling Wen's words, U-ri's knees became weak. 

Jumping off the back of the black gorilla, Yul quickly grabbed the end of the grappling hook. The black gorilla turned around, grabbed the hook rope, and yanked the rope forward, causing Yul to fall on the ground. Yul took advantage of his fall, rolled past the black gorilla, grabbed a wooden spear dropped by the Taka, and thrust the spear into the black gorilla's calf. The black gorilla dropped to one knee in pain. Michio rushed forward and swung the three-section staff directly at the black gorilla's face. 

The black gorilla was hit hard in the face by Michio's three-section staff and fell heavily to the black gorilla's left side. Yul quickly grabbed the wooden spear stuck in the black gorilla's calf. When he saw the black gorilla stumbling towards him, he quickly stood up. Yul stabbed the black gorilla in the back of the head with a wooden spear. With a puncture wound to its head, the black gorilla fell to the ground. To ensure that the black gorilla was dead, Abrafo rushed forward with his sword and chopped off the black gorilla's head. 

The moment Abrafo cut off the black gorilla's head, the monkeys in the trees fell silent and made no sound. They started to run away. As for the Taka, before the black gorilla's head rolled on the ground, the Taka was already gone, leaving the humans and monkeys behind. 

Yul turned around to see where Hajime was, but all he saw was his sword still stuck in the dead Taka's chest, and he didn't see Hajime or U-ri anywhere. As he scanned his surroundings, he spotted U-ri rushing out from the other side of the tree base. 

"Hajime!" U-ri shouted in panic. 

Yul saw the expression on U-ri's face, and he immediately knew what might have happened, so he rushed to U-ri. 

"Where is Hajime?" Yul asked. 

"He was right behind me, and when I turned around, he...he...he disappeared," U-ri said. 

"What do you mean by disappear? How could a grown man just disappear without us noticing?" Abrafo shouted. 

"He's right here. How could he move so fast," U-ri said, feeling very frustrated. "I didn't notice he was gone until I turned around. He didn't make any noise." 

Wen said, "He must have been taken away by the Taka. They are known for taking people away without anyone noticing or leaving very little evidence behind." 

Yul pulled the sword from the dead Taka, shook off the blood, and thrust the sword back into the scabbard on his back. He turned to look at the others and said, "Brother monks, please escort Sir Wen back to the Village first. When we find Hajime, we will follow." 

Wen said, "You cannot enter the enemy's nest. It is too dangerous. No one ever return after been captured by those savages." 

Abrafo scoffed and said, "Have you ever heard of how you can get tiger cubs without walking into the tiger's den?" 

Wen said, "I have never heard of it. I only heard that you should not step into danger easily if you know that your life is in danger." 

Abrafo smiled at Wen and said, "Well, this sentence suits you very well, but it is far from our mojo." He put his hand on Wen's shoulder and patted it gently. "Good man, please go back to the village. If we break into the enemy's lair, we will try to help as many people as possible." 

Wen said, "But you don't even know where their nest is, how can you help anyone?" 

Michio said, "We'll figure it out somehow." 

Yul looked at Wen and asked, "Can the Taka enter the village?" 

Wen shook his head and replied, "No, I don't know why, the Taka never enter the village. They can only chase us so far, but when we get close to the village, they will stop chasing us." He paused for a moment. "It seems like some invisible force is preventing them from entering the village." 

Yul grabbed the floating glowing butterfly and put the glowing butterfly into Wen's palm. "Don't lose it," Yul said. "Once you reach the village, peel off the glowing butterfly and stick it on a tree or a rock." 

Wen asked, "What can this do?" 

Yul said, "This will help us find our way to the village." 

Wen nodded. 

Abrafo said, "If we happen to bring the enemy home, be ready to fight." 

Wen hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I may not have fighting skills, but the other villagers do, and I will tell them to be prepared." 

Abrafo smiled, "Good man." 

A monk walked up to the three Tanzanies and said, "Remember the words of Master Budi." 

Yul said, "We will try to avoid any fighting if we can." 

The young monk said, "A peace agreement is better than a bloodshed agreement." 

Yul said, "I understand, brother monk." 

The young monk turned to Wen and said, "Let's make our way back to the village." 

Yul watched the three monks and Wen slowly disappear into the woods. He looked into the woods and saw that this small patch of woods would lead to a forest. He knew that without direction, it would be impossible to find Hajime in this forest. 

"Where do we start?" Michio asked, scanning the forest. "It would be almost impossible to find Hajime if no one points us in the right direction." 

"Ah..." Abrafo frowned in annoyance. "We shouldn't kill all the Taka." 

U-ri looked down and saw that the four Taka knocked down by the monks were not bleeding. U-ri smiled and said, "Maybe there is a way to enter the Taka's lair." 

Abrafo looked at U-ri, "Old man, are you sure?" 

"Look at those," U-ri said, pointing to four Takas lying motionless on the ground. "The Takas you put down is different from the one the monks put down." He walked towards the four Takas. "Look at them... no open wounds." 

Michio asked, "What do you suggest?" 

Yul said, "We will follow them back to their lair." 

U-ri smiled at Yul and said, "However, your thinking is exactly the same as mine." U-ri took out a bottle from the medicine bag and poured some white powder into his hand. Then, U-ri quickly sprinkled the powder on the four Takas. "Now, all we have to do is wait until dark." 

When the sun began to dip over the horizon, the four unconscious Takas began to wake up. The four Takas sat up and looked around. They were the only ones alive among the dead. They scanned the area to see if the humans were still among them, but to their relief, they found no one. Knowing they were safe, they each grabbed a wooden spear and quickly rushed into the woods. 

Yul stood on a branch high above the ground and watched the four Takas quickly rush into the woods. He turned to the left, and on another branch, he found Abrafo sitting there eating a piece of bread, dangling his feet, staring in the direction where the four Takas were running. 

Michio sat with U-ri on another branch above Yul, looked at U-ri and asked, "Should we go after them now?" 

U-ri said, "We will chase them before sunset." 

Michio asked, "What on earth did you sprinkle on them?" 

U-ri said, "Dyeing powder that glows in the dark." 

Michio's mouth dropped open. "Oh, I see, now" he said with a surprised look on his face. "You wait until nightfall to track them down." 

U-ri took a sip of water, then closed the lid of the water bag and nodded to Michio. "Let's finish our meal and get enough rest before we chase them," U-ri said. "Hajime is not in danger for the time being." 

Abrafo looked up and asked, "How do you know?" 

U-ri said, "According to my calculations." 

Michio asked, "What if your calculations are wrong? Then what?" 

U-ri argued, "My calculations are never wrong. I don't expect them to hurt Hajime for the time being. Hajime's appearance will surprise them because Hajime looks different from us. They would most likely have a talk before taking any action against Hajime. Therefore, during this period, it is very likely that he will be temporarily imprisoned." 

Abrafo turned to look at Yul, and seeing Yul's facial expression, Abrafo knew that Yul must be terribly worried. 

"Hey Yul," Abrafo said, tossing a piece of bread to Yul. "I know you're worried, but let's eat something before we leave. Don't worry too much, Hajime and my godson will be fine. I believe Hajime will do everything he can to prevent them from getting hurt." 

Yul held the piece of bread in his hand and knew that Abrafo was telling the truth. Hajime wouldn't let any harm come to them. He looked toward the horizon and saw that the sun had begun to set. He quickly ate the bread in his hand. 

As the setting sun and the red horizon meet the tops of the tree line, nocturnal animals begin to make noise. The woods below were darkened by the shadow of the trees. The four Tanzanies stood on the last branch, staring at the glowing trail left by the four Takas. 

Yul felt the adrenaline in his heart reaching its peak. He looked directly at the glowing path and said, "Let's go." He jumped down from the last branch of the tree and started walking towards the illuminated path, with the other three Tanzanies following closely behind him as they walked into the dimly shadowed woods.