When the five Tanzang men and Baishui arrived at the cabin, Jiāo was already there, with many bags laid out on the ground beside her.
"You dug the grave by yourself?" Abrafo asked, his eyes wide with surprise.
"I didn't dig the grave," Jiāo replied, a hint of amusement in her voice. "I just slid the dirt trap over and got our bags out."
"I'll help you carry the bags in," Michio offered, moving over to grab some of the items.
Inside the small cabin, Jiāo took out medicine and began applying it to the wounds of Yul and Abrafo. "It will be fine in two days," she said with a comforting smile.
Just as Jiāo was helping Abrafo tidy his clothes, Kexin rushed in, stopping abruptly outside the door. "Hey!" she called out, her voice sharp. She glared at Baishui and Jiāo. "Who the hell are you two?"
"Who are you?" Baishui countered, his head tilted.
"I asked you first!" Kexin snapped back.
"You stepped onto my land," Baishui stated calmly. "I have the right to ask you first."
"This is your home?" Kexin scoffed. Baishui nodded. "Then why didn't we see you when we first came here?"
"I just came back from a long journey," Baishui explained, his gaze unwavering.
Kexin, frustrated, threw a pheasant at Abrafo's feet, shot a wild glare at Yul, and then stormed into the woods with the rest of her hunting party.
Abrafo looked from Yul to the dead pheasant on the ground. "What's wrong with her?" he muttered, shaking his head.
"You tell me," Yul replied, a hint of a smile. "You're the one who offended her."
"If one of us offended her, it's probably you," Abrafo retorted. "Can't you tell from the way she looks at Hajime?"
Michio picked up the pheasant. "Well, at least she's being considerate. I guess we're having this pheasant for dinner." He took the bird outside to clean it.
Baishui looked at Yul. "So, where are you going next?" he asked, his tone casual.
"Why do you ask?" Yul questioned, his brow raised.
"I just want to hear it," Baishui replied. "If it's something I'm interested in, I might as well go with you."
"Why are you suddenly interested in our journey?" Hajime asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"I also like taking long trips," Baishui said with an innocent shrug.
Yul took out the map and handed it to Baishui. "We're going there," he said, pointing to a spot. "If you know the place, please lead the way."
Baishui looked at the map, then looked strangely at Yul. He then scanned the faces of the others sitting at the table. Baishui placed the map flat on the table. "You handed me a blank map. Are you trying to fool me?"
Yul, Hajime, Abrafo, and U-ri exchanged bewildered glances, then looked at the clearly drawn map in front of them, and back at Baishui.
"Didn't you see any pictures on the map?" Yul asked, perplexed.
"This map is blank," Baishui insisted. "Nothing is written on it." He then looked at Jiāo. "Jiāo, do you see anything on this map?"
"My lord is right," Jiāo confirmed, shaking her head. "This map is indeed blank; there is nothing on it."
Yul picked up the map, momentarily at a loss for words. He couldn't understand why Baishui and Jiāo couldn't see something that he and his men could clearly perceive—a map leading them to a place called Magior.
"What about the place called Magior?" Yul asked, his voice careful. "Have you ever heard of it?" He watched Baishui's expression change, a sudden flicker of recognition in his eyes. "You've heard of it?"
"Why are you going there?" Baishui asked, his casual demeanor gone.
"Well, do you know that place or not?" Abrafo pressed, impatient.
"Tell me first why you want to go there," Baishui countered. "If you don't tell me, I won't tell you."
"We're thrill-seekers," Yul replied smoothly. "We like to go to ancient places."
"Well, friends, I must disappoint you," Baishui said, a wry smile touching his lips. "A place like Magior is not where people can seek excitement."
"What if we insist on going?" Abrafo challenged, a glint in his eye. "The more dangerous, the better for us."
"Don't listen to what Abrafo just said, because his opinion doesn't matter," U-ri interjected, rolling his eyes at Abrafo. "We don't want to go into Magior blindly without knowing what we'll face when we enter the city. So, if you really have anything to help us, such good information would be greatly appreciated."
Yul looked at Baishui with a calm smile. "Whether you say it or not, we still have to go, because that is the task our king entrusted to us."
"As brothers of the four sea corners, maybe your knowledge of Magior will allow us to survive," Hajime added, appealing to Baishui's sense of connection.
Baishui laughed. "The four of you surely know how to gang up on one person! Alright, I lost. I'll tell you what I know."
"Wait!" U-ri exclaimed, rushing into the bedroom to retrieve his bag. He pulled out some paper and three charcoal pencils, then hurried back to the table and sat beside Baishui, brimming with eagerness. "I'm ready!"
"Hundreds of years ago," Baishui began, his voice taking on a more serious tone, "the lost city of Magior was called the magic city of warriors. It is said that every man and woman living in Magior was good at sword and archery. They could shoot and kill enemies from a distance. Magiori were nine feet taller than an ordinary mortal. A fully grown Magiori could reach a height of ten feet."
U-ri, diligently taking notes, looked up at Baishui. "Is the city still there?" he asked.
"No, Magior City has long since ceased to exist," Baishui explained. "Now the land is covered with lush mountains and forests. There are several villages nearby, but I don't know if anyone still knows the exact location of Magior City."
"Since it is not known to the outside world, it is possible that no one has set foot in this lost city," Yul mused aloud.
"You can say that," Baishui agreed, "but no one knows the way to Magior City."
"If no one knows, how can you know?" Abrafo challenged, suspicion in his voice.
"Dreake has a very large library with thousands of ancient books," Baishui revealed.
The mention of "ancient book" made U-ri's eyes light up. His heart began to beat faster, already imagining himself immersed in such a library. "How many books are you referring to?" he asked, his voice trembling with excitement.
"There are thousands of different kinds of ancient books, since the beginning of men," Jiāo interjected, her voice filled with pride.
U-ri's jaw dropped wide open. He clenched his charcoal pencil tightly. "Before I go back to Tanzang, I have to visit Dreake…"
"U-ri, you're missing the point," Hajime reminded him, pulling him back to reality. "We're not going to Dreake; our destination is Magior."
"I'm useless to you," U-ri mumbled, his gaze distant. "Why don't you just leave me in Dreake City and pick me up after you get the key?"
"Not an option," Yul stated firmly. He then looked at Baishui. "Can you at least give us directions to Magior?"
"If you take me, I will gladly be your guide," Baishui offered, a glint in his eye. "I can take you to the village. I don't know the way into Magior."
"Then, is it written in the ancient book how Magior became the lost city?" Hajime pressed, sensing more to the story.
"The King of Magior was deceived by the Eastern Witch and lured him to fight with mortals," Baishui explained, his voice becoming more serious. "According to ancient books, a king in the north heard the voice of the people, so he came to Magior alone, destroyed the city, and barricaded the Magiori warriors within their own city walls."
U-ri suddenly stopped writing and stared at the man beside him, his face pale. "Does the king of the north have a name?" he asked tremblingly.
Baishui shook his head. "According to ancient books, the Northern King suddenly appeared at dawn. He destroyed Magior City overnight and disappeared without a trace the following morning. Therefore, no one knows his identity."
"Is that all the records?" Yul asked, clearly disappointed.
Baishui nodded. "Not much is known about Magior and its people, and maybe when we get to the village, the villagers may give us some new clues that haven't been documented," he said with a smile. "In fact, I'm excited to be on this expedition with everyone!"
Jiāo abruptly pulled Baishui up from the table. "May I talk to you in private?" She dragged Baishui out of the cabin, her voice low.
Abrafo looked at the other three people sitting at the table. "I don't know if the Northern King is the same person as the Tenth King."
"The tenth king is a mortal man; it's impossible to suddenly appear and disappear without a trace," U-ri countered, shaking his head.
Yul looked at Hajime. "Didn't you say that Avalokitesvara once told you that a mage can travel through time and space twice in a lifetime, right?"
Hajime nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"What if the Tenth King can also rift through time and space like other mages?" Yul posited.
"Or the Northern King could be someone else," Hajime suggested, "Maybe the villagers crowned him king because he saved them."
"You once asked why those mages couldn't travel through time and space to take the Kukungga people away, so they would not be killed by the soldiers," Yul said, his gaze fixed on Hajime.
"It's just my opinion," Hajime replied, "but who knows if they truly can rift through time and space or not."
Yul looked at Hajime, Abrafo, and U-ri. "What if, even though those mages wanted to rift through time and space at that time, they couldn't do it? It's not that they didn't reach the highest enlightenment, but because they no longer have this ability?"
"You mean, the Tenth King somehow stole their abilities?" Hajime asked, his eyes wide.
"Ability cannot be stolen," U-ri asserted firmly.
Michio walked into the cabin, having finished cleaning the pheasant. "A person can take another person's ability in two ways," he stated, his voice calm and knowledgeable. "The first way is to devour their souls and take away all their accumulation of merit. The other is that this person is willing to transfer his ability."
"So, if the King of the North is the Tenth King, which way do you think he took?" Abrafo asked, leaning forward.
"If we want to get the real answer," Michio replied, a faint smile on his lips, "we can rift through time and space and ask him in person."