These gates were looked extremely heavy and were made by simply stacking about a dozen massive tree trunks atop each other, as everyone within the tribe kept watching Dara's troop leave the tribe on what is to be their first mission…

"It's kind of nostalgic heading back to the village after four months now, albeit on a different circumstance…" Ji Wang added…

​​

"Well, if it helps, we would not be spending much time there…"

"No that's not it, it's just that, I don't know how to confront the situation…"

"Well, you have a new tribe now, and a new home, and also several of your tribesmen whose survival depends on what we find here and how fast we can dispatch this mission…"

Dara relieved his mind off the pressure as they picked up their marching speed…

Just as they left, Uncle Min's troop led by the First Obun Elder moved out next in their task of going to the river and fishing out some beast for food…

Then lastly, was Ji Chen's group led by the Second Obun Elder, and they went to capture wild beasts within the deepest recess of the jungle where these wild beasts are as frequently seen as the sand of the ground…

Just about six hours later, Dara's group arrived at the village of Sang, as he raised his hands and instantly, several Obuns took down three massive trees that they would use to cross over the pit of fire...

Then once they crossed over, these Obuns moved out and combed every single inch of the village for any possible danger as Dara whipped out his bow and quiver and scanned the entire area with his keen and extremely sharp eyesight;

"See anything strange or out of the ordinary?" Ji Wang asked;

"No, but I can sense something coming from that area…"

Dara replied, and instantly, Ji Wang waved his hands in a circular motion as about ten Obuns followed him towards the area where Dara had just pointed at, and in less than five minutes, Ji Wang and the rest of the Obuns came out dragging two elders who had been bound by vines on the ground;

"You were right… We found these cowards hiding beneath the decayed corpse of our dead tribesmen…" Dara heard this and frowned;

"Why are you hiding beneath the corpse of your dead tribesmen instead of burying them all and allowing them to rest peacefully…" He asked;

"Eh… Why should we answer to a kid like you?"

One of these two elders spoke with a ridiculing tone and a sneering expression, but Dara simply looked over to Ji Wang and nodded…

Ji Wang took several steps backwards, whilst the Obuns in the area also retreated about three steps, then Ji Wang tucked his hands into his sleeves and pulled out a whip of vines…

He spread the whip to the back and brought it forth with immense power;

Slash!

Arrgghhh!

The other elder who hadn't said anything screamed in agonizing pain; his clothes ripped to shreds from his back to his shoulders as blood spurt out of the wound left behind by the vicious whip…

Instantly, the sneering elder broke out in cold sweat as he began to tremble from within whilst thanking his stars that Ji Wang hadn't swiped him with that whip, but before his stars could accept his thanks,

Patash!

Splurt!

A strike twice as hard as his partner landed on his head, towards the back of his neck and down his spine;

Gaaahhh!

The Elder pissed himself out of pain as he bowed his head to the ground and wept like a noisy baby;

"I don't ever want to repeat myself, and I also hate it when people waste my time…" Dara responded nonchalantly;

"Now, I would ask again and for the last time, why were you hiding beneath the corpse of your dead tribesmen?"

Dara asked once again and the Elder was still weeping and twitching from the vicious strike Ji Wang just served him, but then he saw Dara look to Ji Wang once again and he instantly bellowed in fright;

"Wait… wait, I will talk I will – ~Aah ha aah ah~"

The Elder's sentence ended with an agonizing cry because Ji Wang had struck him once again, as he began to writhe and twitch on the ground tears;

"We were both stationed within the prison ground of the village by the Village Chief…." The other Elder began;

"Prison Ground?"

Dara was surprised that his own village had a prison ground, but he thought maybe it was recently built after he had left the village, and thus, he looked to Ji Wang for confirmation, but Ji Wang simply tore another strike at the other Elder's back;

Twack!

Argghhh!

"No, I am not telling you to strike him… I was simply trying to confirm form you if what he said was true…"

Dara chuckled helplessly at Ji Wang, whilst the seemingly emotionless Obuns showed fear in their eyes when they saw the way the elders were writhing on the ground like worms in a bucket of salt;

"He is lying… We have never had a prison before, not before, and not now…"

Ji Wang replied as he spread the whip to the back once again;

"Wait, wait, wait! I am telling the truth and I can show you!"

The elder spoke faster than the fastest rapper on earth when he saw Ji Wang getting ready to serve them another dose of his whip…

Dara held up his hand to stop Ji Wang as he looked to elders and spoke emotionlessly;

"Take me there…"

The Obuns in the area walked forward and grabbed the bleeding elders hoisting them to their feet, before pushing them in the back as the two elders wept and walked towards the back of the village, where Dara, Ji Wang, Ji Chen and the First Obun Elder had discussed previously…

Ji Wang looked to Dara, whilst Dara simply gave him a facial expression to wait till they reach wherever they were going…

The Elders walked to the endpoint of the village backyard, and just as Dara was about to tell Ji Wang to give them another dose, he saw a shocking sight; There on the ground was a massive gaping hole that led underground…

This hole was at least ten feet wide and tall, and there were two broken wooden door frames which signified that the door that was here before had been destroyed;

"Move on…"

Dara spoke as the Obuns shoved the elders forward, and they began to move underground…

Dara had two of the ten Obuns stand guard at the entrance whilst he and Ji Wang went with the remaining eight Obuns to ensure that they were at least ten man strong going into this underground which they knew nothing about…

They eventually reached the end of the underground tunnel and came into an open area where two cages with broken cage doors could be seen…

There were chains within this cage and from the corner where they were tied to, it was obvious that whoever the people who were in here was, they were either people who the Village Chief didn't want to ever see the light of day…

"When did this happen?"

Dara asked about the destruction of the underground, because if it was already destroyed before they were here, they was no way they would have missed such a gaping hole in the ground, when they were having a chat with the First Obun Elder…

"It happened two days ago, and it was caused by the Obuns…"

"We were stationed here to torture the prisoners in this cages because they refused to give the Village Chief what he wanted…" The Elder began;

"Who were they?" Ji Wang asked;

"They are the parents of the dead Ji Dai and Ji Dara…"

Boom!

Ji Wang's mind was blown to pieces by the shocking news, and if Ji Wang's brain could be blown to bits, there was no metaphor that could explain what Dara was currently feeling…

Ji Wang looked over to Dara and simply saw him staring at the cage with not only red eyes glazed with rage, but also dripping with intense loss;

"Don't think about it, they might be lying…"

Ji Wang tried to placate Dara, but he knew it wasn't going to work, because the way these Elders spoke just now signified that they didn't know it was the same Dara who they thought was dead that had been questioning them since…

"We do not have any reason to lie and that is the truth…"

The sneering elder contributed after several minutes of adjusting his mind to the intense pain his back was burning with…

Ji Wang tried to whip him for speaking at such a sensitive moment;

"Ji Wang!"

Dara bellowed at Ji Wang who froze in shock by the level of energy within that bellow and fear gripped him instantly as Dara was now looking like someone who would snap his neck if he went out of line once again;

"Unh? Ji Wang?"

"Are you all members of our tribes?"

"What are you doing with these disgusting Obuns?"

"You two are a shame to-ahk!"

The sneering elder began to rant when he realized that Ji Wang and Dara were from the village of sang, but before he could continue ranting on, two arrowheads popped out of both of his eye balls, as Dara retuned his quiver, before looking to the other elder who had finally begun to shit himself and spoke solemnly;

"I would advise you to choose your next words carefully…"

The elder bobbed his head up and down like a scared kid;

"Now tell me… Why were these people in here?"

Dara spoke slowly and like the growl of a prowling monster…

The elder began to shiver when he saw Dara looking down at him from the bridge of his nose with a menacing gaze;

"It was the village chief; he wanted a meridian opening technique that was in their possession and thus he told us to torture and starve them until they give it up…"

"But even after 5 years, they still refused to give it up, until the village chief realized that their daughter; Ji Dai, had cultivated and used the technique, because when she had only unlocked her 8 Great and 2 Principal meridians, she could already defeat, others 6 Principal Meridians stronger than her…" The Elder revealed as teardrops filled Dara's eyes…