Chapter 220 Dongxue Village Part 22

Early the next morning, before Haneul wake up, Sukh walked out of the small tree house to prepare breakfast for Haneul. At this time, he saw Chief Keme walking towards the direction of the Four Hundred Mages Cave, so he quickly followed Chief Keme. As soon as Sukh arrived at the cave, he heard voices coming from the cave. Afraid of being seen, he hid behind a rock in the cave.

"Chief, I know our ancestors prophesied that if we left this forest, we would be harmed, but look around Chief," the old woman sobbed. "We can no longer force our children to marry each other anymore." She burst into tears.

"Yes," said another old woman. "Last month, two of my grandchildren were stillborn."

An elder man sighed and said, "There are fewer and fewer newborns and more and more old people. If this continues, one day our tribe will become extinct."

A young man said, "I would rather live alone than marry my sister or cousin." The young man looked at the people gathered around him. "This isn't right."

Chief Keme sighed and asked, "So, what do you want me to do? The price we will pay is so high, why must we gamble."

"Chief," another old man said. "You know very well that only by agreeing to him can we leave this forest. Only with his determination can he lead us out of here." He looked around at the people gathered in the cave. "We have spoken to each other. We are prepared to pay the price to free our children and our children's children from this forest."

"Chief, we don't have our own home anymore. After our elders leave, the new generation will have to find a new place and start from scratch." An old woman cried. "You do understand how difficult it is to start over."

"No shelter. No food," another elder said with tears. "It's unbearable to see our children following in our footsteps because we've been down the same road before."

"We can't speak freely for fear that others will know our secrets," a man wiped his tears. 

"Feeling ashamed that the father of my children is the brother whom I once share the same womb with," a middle-aged woman burst into tears and buried her head in her husband's arms.

"We, the younger generation, want to be able to walk among people without being ashamed of ourselves," said one young man.

"That's why we want to leave this place and create a future for our descendants and their children," said a young woman.

Chief Keme understands the tribe's reasons because he had the same idea in his youth. "You do understand what your ancestors meant; leaving whole, but only half remain," Chief Keme's voice trembled as he spoke. 

Everyone nodded.

Another elder man said, "He seems to be a decent and reasonable man. One can train horses to be their legs, and one can train buffaloes to plow fields. I believe that under the guidance and training of the chief, the chief will train him to have a kind heart."

"It seems most of you have made up your mind," Chief Keme said.

Everyone in the cave nodded.

Chief Keme sighed with a heavy heart. He knew that by making a promise to Haneul, he was leading his people to death in accordance with the prophecies of their ancestors, but since the people had already made their choice, he could not say more. He looked at the people gathered and said, "I think I have nothing to say. Now that everyone has made their decision, I will try my best, but I will not agree to him for the time being. If he has enough patience to practice for three years, after three years, if everyone's decision has not changed, I will reconsider."

Chief Keme stood in the middle of the cave waiting for everyone to leave the cave. Just as Sukh was about to leave, the voice of Chief Keme stopped Sukh.

Chief Keme said, "You heard it all, right?"

Sukh came out of his hiding place and walked towards Chief Keme. "Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop on the tribe's conversation. I followed you to persuade you to change your mind." Facing Chief Keme, Sukh felt very embarrassed. "So, is the 'him' the tribe refers to, is this person Haneul?"

 Chief Keme said, "That person is indeed His Highness."

Sukh said, "If you can help His Highness, His Highness will not let you down. He will do his best to protect the Kukungaa people."

Chief Keme looked at Sukh and said, "If you ask me to help you regain the kingdom and let you inherit the throne, I will not hesitate."

Sukh asked, "What's the difference between helping His Highness and me? The throne is rightfully his."

Chief Keme said, "Young man, you should know him best. He is a man of calculation, only looking out for his own interests."

Sukh said, "He is still young. If we give him good advice, he will become a very good king. His Majesty, although he is usually crusty, but deep down inside, he is very gentle."

Chief Keme said, "If he is a good of a King as you say, why should he be exiled from his own kingdom."

Sukh said, "He was young, and he had no support in court. His position was passed to him and that's why he didn't win the minister's support in court." He looked at Chief Keme. "With the help of you and your mages, His Majesty can regain his throne. Besides, your tribe has moved from one place to another and has no home of its own; make Tanzang your new home and the future home of your descendants."

Chief Keme said, "I am afraid that one day when your king no longer needs us; he will get rid of us without hesitation."

Sukh said, "I swore I would not allow this to happen as long as I was alive."

Chief Keme said, "Promises are empty words, I need effective security."

Sukh asked, "Which effective securities are you referring to?"

Chief Keme said, "You will become a member of the Kakungga tribe through marriage. Only then can I have peace of mind and dedicate my time and energy to your king." He sighed and stared at Sukh. "So, what is your decision, young man?"

Sukh looked at Chief Keme and said, "As long as Chief is willing to help His Majesty regain the throne, I can agree to anything, even if it means sacrificing my life."

Chief Keme sighed, "Tell me, why do you treat such a person with so much respect?"

Sukh smiled brightly and said, "Because of a bowl of rice."

Chief Keme said, "Go and bring your king here."

Sukh asked, "Chief, does this mean that you agree to help His Highness?"

Chief Keme nodded.

Chief Keme watched Sukh happily stormed out of the cave. He closed his eyes and recalled his grandfather's last words, tears welling up in his eyes.

After waiting and coming to terms with the tribe's unforeseeable future, he sees Haneul and Sukh entering the cave.

Haneul looked at Chief Keme and asked, "Are you willing to help me, now?"

Chief Keme said, "Yes, but there are three conditions."

Haneul asked, "What are the conditions?"

Chief Keme said, "We must swear a blood oath and ask the emperor of heaven and the gods to bear witness to our alliance. Secondly, you must swear on your life that if you harm any innocent Kakungga, your kingdom will perish with them. Third, you must show forgiveness and hold no grudge against yours or your ancestors' enemies."

Haneul looked at Chief Keme and said without hesitation, "I promised that I will fulfill your conditions."

Chief Keme looked at Haneul and said, "Swearing a blood oath with me is different from any blood oath you have made in the past. Taking a blood oath with me is equivalent to signing a conditional contract. If you violate the contract, there will be consequences. Do you want to reconsider?"

Haneul shook his head and said, "No... if I violate the blood oath, I am willing to bear the consequences."

Chief Keme raised his right hand and drew a clean line across his left palm with his right pointing finger. Blood seeped out from the fresh wound. He looked at Haneul and said, "Your blood."

Haneul took out a dagger and cut his left palm.

Chief Keme grabbed Haneul's left palm with his blood-stained palm and said, "Haneul King of Tanzang and I invite the emperor and the gods to witness our alliance. When the mages opened their eyes, Haneul, the king of Tanzang, agreed to never harm any innocent Kakungga and will show forgiveness to his and his ancestors' enemies. With this blood oath, if Haneul king of Tanzang, violated any of these conditions, he and his kingdom would perish. He looked at Haneul. "Do you agree?"

Haneul said, "I, Haneul, King of Tanzang, agree." Right after Haneul finished speaking, Haneul suddenly groaned in pain, and his left hand began to burn. A strong burning sensation quickly spread from his left palm throughout his body, but the burning pain didn't last long.

Chief Keme said, "Now that we have formed an alliance, when you are ready, I will lead the mages to Tanzang with you."

Season after season, in the fourth year, Haneul, Sukh and Chief Keme met again in the cave, looking at the four hundred skeletons still sitting cross-legged inside the cave.

Chief Keme looked at Haneul and said, "Your blood." He held out his left palm.

Haneul took out a dagger and cut the palm of his left hand. He placed his hand over Chief Keme's left palm and let his blood drip onto Chief Keme's palm. When Haneul's blood filled Chief Keme's palm, Chief Keme withdrew his hand, and Sukh quickly wrapped Haneul's left palm with a handkerchief.

Chief Keme closed his eyes and began to chant, while his right hand began to swirl the blood in his left palm. After Chief Keme finished reciting, he clapped his hands three times, and Haneul's blood stained on Chief Keme's hands began to float toward the four hundred skeletons. Where Haneul's blood touched the bones, flesh began to form. After a while, all four hundred mages opened their eyes and looked at Chief Keme and Haneul.

Chief Keme said, "Your Highness." Chief Keme turned to Haneul. "With them and the warriors of my tribe, you now have the most powerful army in the land."

Haneul was so excited that his heart was trembling. He realized that the day to take revenge and regain his own kingdom had finally arrived. "Chief, I will do what I promise," Haneul said.

Chief Keme said, "Your Highness, it is time to fulfill your third promise."

Haneul was confused by what the chief had just said. He asked, "Chief, my second promise has not been fulfilled, so how can I fulfill the third promise?"

Chief Keme said, "The second and the third promises are life-long commitments. Also, we are going that way anyway. Why not do it on our way to Tanzang."

Sukh asked, "Chief, His Highness's third promise; His Highness must show forgiveness to his and his ancestors' enemies...may I asked who does chief refer to?"

Chief Keme said sadly, "The descendants of the Cutlass Exiles Clan have suffered enough, and it is time to set them free."

Haneul said, "The Cutlass Exiles Clan?"

Chief Keme sighed and explained, "The Cutlass Exiles Clan and the Kakungga Tribe, our ancestors helped the Evil King establish his kingdom."

Sukh said, "That's why you refused to help His Highness."

Chief Keme nodded and said, "Yes, it is also because of the prophecies of our ancestors. The misjudgments of our ancestors led to the death of millions of innocent people. But we are more fortunate, with the protection of the mages, we suffered less than the Cutlass Exiles Clan." He sighed sadly. "At least our hands and feet are not shackled, and we are not led by a leash."

"Show forgiveness to my enemies," Haneul murmured. "Chief, I understand now... you are trying to tell me that only a true ruler can learn from history and avoid making the same mistakes through forgiveness." He smiled at Chief Keme. "Let us fulfill this promise and mark it as the beginning of my kingdom of diversity."

Chief Keme smiled and nodded. "Oh, by the way, after we leave the forest, you should help the villagers who buried the monkey's clan to thank him for bringing you here."

"Well... let's go to Dongxue Village to repay the monkey's kindness," Haneul said.

Chief Keme said, "I'm going to see how prepared the villagers are." He walked out of the cave with the four hundred mages.

Haneul glanced at Sukh, then began to carve on the cave wall with his bloody dagger.

"Haneul... it's inappropriate for you to do this," Sukh said in shock after realizing what Haneul had done, and looked at the cave entrance, worried that Chief Keme might be back.

Haneul smiled and said, "We will not come back here again. I will leave traces of our coming here." After a few more cuts, Haneul smiled at Sukh. "Done."

Sukh looked at the carvings on the cave wall, and he saw two carvings of two stick figures standing side by side. It says, 'We and our Great Grand General of Tanzang'. "Haneul... this," Sukh said.

"My love, only you are worthy of this title," Haneul said with a smiled.

Sukh chuckled, cleared his throat, and said, "I'm not complaining about the title, I'm complaining about the drawing." He began to walk away. "You desperately need drawing lessons."

Haneul chuckled and said, "I think so too."

Haneul and Sukh continued to talk and laugh as they walked out of the cave and into the light.