Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
Neil followed Halston closely, moved by his strong willpower. “Regardless, ask me anything you want. I’ll tell you if I know.”
The mountain path was far. The village seemed right in front of them, but it was extraordinarily difficult to get there, and night was about to fall.
Halston was exhausted. His head was heavy and throbbing, and as his vision started to blur, he slipped and rolled down the cliff.
“Be careful!” Neil quickly grabbed Halston, and tried his best to pull him up.” Mr. Guajardo, hold… hold on. I’ll pull you up now!” There was a bottomless valley beneath Halston, and if he fell, he would be dead.
Gravel rolled down the cliff, and Neil’s body started slipping down the cliff. Just as he thought all hope was lost, a light shone ahead, and a few villagers with torches rushed over. “Great! Someone’s coming!” Neil shouted for help in the direction of the light. “Help! Save us!”
When the villagers heard his cries for help, they quickly ran over. “Ah, it’s Neil! It’s Neil!” When the villagers saw Neil and Halston, they went over to help pull Halston up.
“Whew, how dangerous! If we fell, it would be over for US.” Neil lay on the ground, taking deep breaths. He glanced at the bottomless cliff anxiously, realizing just how close he had been to death.
“Thank you.” Halston dusted himself off. In comparison with the frightened Neil, he looked a lot calmer. It was as if he hadn’t almost died. “I’ll remember your kindness today and repay you with a big reward one day.” “Don’t say that. I’m your guide-l’m responsible for your safety. It’s what I should do.” Neil spoke politely, full of respect and admiration for Halston. Although Halston hadn’t revealed his identity to Neil, Neil could tell he was someone extraordinary. Besides, it was rare to see such a capable man come to such a dangerous place for his wife; it was touching and admirable.
The nearby villagers listened to their conversation. They held up their torches, surrounding Neil and Halston.
“Neil, don’t you know it’s prohibited to bring outsiders into the village? Your father-in-law is the head of the village, and as his son-in-law, you should be an example. Hurry up and drive him off!” An old man with a white beard dressed in a white and blue traditional costume ordered Neil solemnly.
“Mr. Abdon, this friend of mine is a good man. He came to our village to save his wife. He doesn’t harbor ill intentions, so I hope everyone can make an exception for him. He’ll leave after he finds what he needs.” Neil boldly tried to beg for Easton Abdon’s mercy. He knew that outsiders were prohibited from entering their village, and though he didn’t want to be Halston’s guide at first, Halston had offered him a lot of money, and he was also moved by Halston’s love for his wife. At first, he had thought of sneaking into and out of the village when it was dark, but unexpectedly, an accident had happened and blocked them on the way up the mountain.
“Hmph, he’s here for the dragon’s saliva too, isn’t he?” Easton had met many people who came to the village in search of the dragon’s saliva every year. Some people wanted to use it for research while others wanted to use it to treat illnesses and save people. Some were just curious, but they all met the same miserable end. None of them succeeded, and it wasn’t because of the villagers-it was their ancestors and the mountain deity who became displeased and ended their lives.
“Sir, may I ask, do you know where the dragon’s saliva is?”
Halston’s eyes brightened and he eagerly asked, “Can you take me there to get some? My wife has been poisoned, and I need it to save her. If you can take me there to get some, I’ll satisfy any request you and the villagers have.”
“We’re doing fine as we are. We don’t need an outsider like you trying to poke your nose into things.” Easton glared at Halston fiercely. “The dragon’s saliva is a treasure belonging to my tribe, so how can we just give some of it to an outsider? If you keep this up, you’ll be punished by our tribe’s laws. For your information, my tribe doesn’t belong to any administrative region, so we don’t have to take responsibility if we want to hack you into pieces.” Easton wasn’t just saying that to scare Halston-Dragos was a small society with a long history, and they had their own rules unbound by any laws. They were similar to the ancient cannibal tribes of Zambawi. Halston had entered the village on his own initiative, which had infuriated the villagers. Hence, he was at their mercy.
“I know that my request is very rude to you all, but I really need this. Please grant my wish!” Halston was not afraid of Easton’s warning. He kept his head bowed and begged Easton again.
“Hey, do you understand what I’m saying? I’m telling you that the thing you want is the treasure of my tribe. We can’t just hand over something like that to an outsider. Are you here to ruin my tribe?” 2
“Bad! Bad! Bad!” The villagers flared up in a rage. They raised their torches and shouted in their ethnic language, “Kill! Kill! Kill!”
Seeing that, Neil immediately stood between the villagers and Halston, and humbly tried to mediate the conflict. “Don’t be mad, everyone. Please calm down. My friend doesn’t know about our tribe laws, and just wants to save his wife. I’ll take him away now.” Neil tried to pacify the villagers and stared at Halston pointedly. “See? I told you-Dragos prohibits outsiders from coming in. Let’s go.”
“No, I don’t want to!” Halston stubbornly stood where he was as if he was ready to give up his life. “I won’t leave this village until I get the dragon’s saliva.”
“You’ve definitely got guts,” Neil groaned, holding his head in regret. He wouldn’t have taken such a risk for the money if he’d known Halston would be this stubborn. His good looks and pampered aura were certainly deceiving. The villagers wanted to kill him, but he insisted on staying. Neil stood on tiptoe and whispered into Halston’s ear, “Just come with me now, I’ll come up with other ways to get you there. If we don’t leave now, they’ll kill you and sacrifice you to our ancestors according to the tribe law.”
The highest punishment the tribe had for intruders was to sacrifice them to the dragon ancestors. Neil remembered an intruder who entered the village when he was six years old. The intruder failed to steal the dragon’s saliva, and the head of the village caught him and pushed him into the large pot on the sacrificial altar to cook him.
If Halston kept this up, he might end up in the same way.
“Okay, I’ll go with you.” Halston was rational enough to agree with Neil’s arrangement.
Easton waved his hand, gesturing for the villagers to put their torches down. Then, he said to Neil, “You’re the son-in-law of the head of the village -you also bear the responsibility of protecting our tribe. I hope you’ll be prudent. If not, we’ll punish you in the name of justice.”
“Mr. Abdon, don’t worry-l’m also a villager of Dragos. I want our village to be safe, I was just a little impulsive today. I’m sorry…” Neil bowed to the villagers politely, then turned and said to Halston, “Let’s go, man. I told you this wouldn’t work.”
“Okay, I understand.” Halston nodded.
The both of them turned around and walked out of the village as the villagers watched.
Halston stopped when the torches were almost out of sight and asked Neil seriously, “This show has gone on long enough. Can we go back now?”
“It isn’t a show. I really do want to take you out of the village.” Neil gave Halston an awkward look and fished out the bank card with the large sum of money that he had accepted. “I’ll return the money to you. I don’t want you to get hurt by the villagers.”
“Excuse me?” Halston frowned, his expression turning icy. He felt like Neil had fooled him. He wouldn’t have left if Neil had told him that from the beginning. On the contrary, he would have tried to persuade that elder to help him. But now, Neil wanted to leave, and it put Halston in a dilemma.
“Mr. Guajardo, don’t blame me for breaking my word. You saw it too-the villagers don’t welcome outsiders. If anyone even dares to dream of taking the dragon’s saliva, they’ll be sacrificed to our ancestors. We’ve already alerted them today, so I think they’ll increase their security for the next few days. You won’t get it,” Neil explained helplessly. If they had not alerted the villagers, they could have snuck into the village. They might have even had a chance when the guards changed their shifts, but now, it seemed like the only option was to be sacrificed to the ancestors.
“I don’t want to be sacrificed, and I don’t want you to be either. Your wife is waiting for you at home, so…” Neil looked at Halston and sighed. “You’d better give up. See if there’s any other herb to replace this.”
“Over my dead body!” Halston was firm. “I never give up. If I retreat because of my fear now, my wife will be dead. I have no choice-l have to get the dragon’s saliva.”
“Ugh… I want to help, but I really can’t be your guide any more.” Neil swallowed and turned away guiltily. He was about to return to his village.” Hurry down the mountains since it’s still early, it’s dangerous here at night. There are all kinds of beasts around.”
Halston was reluctant to force Neil since he had decided to leave. “I won’t force you if you don’t want to stay. After all, this is too risky for you. I’m doing this for my wife, but you don’t have to risk your life with me.”
“Thank you for understanding. I just got married and don’t have a child yet. I don’t want to be cooked; I don’t care if you call me a coward.” Neil bowed at Halston, grateful that he didn’t force him. He felt that he had wronged Halston. If he had a right to speak, he could have helped to beg for mercy on Halston’s behalf. Unfortunately, he was merely a live-in son-in-law, so nobody took his words seriously.
“I can go up the mountain on my own.” Halston looked up at the dark mountains. He had made up his mind long ago-he wouldn’t turn around until he got the dragon’s saliva regardless of how dangerous this journey was.
“What? You… Are you still going up the mountains?” Neil’s eyes widened, and he said in awe, “You’re fearless!”
“I’ve made myself very clear.” Halston twisted the towel around his head that was drenched in sweat, and after taking a deep breath, he was about to set off again.
Neil watched as Halston walked away, feeling guilty. “Hey, wait!”
Halston stopped and turned around. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to be your guide, but I can give you a map.” Neil took out a notebook and drew something on a page, then tore it off and gave it to Halston.
“The terrains in Dragos are very complicated. This is a rough map of the village, and I’m guessing the dragon’s saliva you want is in the memorial chamber. However, that place is at the highest point of the mountain, and it’s also in the most complex cave. Our legends say that the ancestral dragon met his beloved woman there, and that was also where they built their family. That’s how Dragos came along.”
“Really?” Halston was overjoyed and accepted Neil’s map excitedly. “So you know that the dragon’s saliva is in the village’s memorial chamber! Why didn’t you tell me? I thought I’d have to search for it. This is great! It means I can get the dragon’s saliva once I find the memorial chamber!”
“Don’t get too excited. It’s a memorial chamber, so it won’t be easy to enter. Its location is very dangerous, and villagers guard it every day.
They’ll catch you before you can even get close to it.” Neil was not trying to frighten Halston-it was the truth. Trespassers had been caught there many times.
“I understand, but I’m not afraid.” Halston clutched the map tightly. “You’re considerate. I’ll thank you later.”
The night was getting darker. Halston bade Neil goodbye halfway up the mountain, then walked along another mountain path in the direction of the memorial chamber. He walked so fast that the eight-hour journey was shortened to only four hours.
It was nearly three o’clock in the morning when he reached the top. He never rested as he hiked up the mountain all night. It was a horrible night— he could hear animals crying out, and there were even ghastly wails echoing in the valley. It was very frightening, but thankfully, Halston arrived at his destination safe and sound.
In the dim light, he could see mist engulfing the forests. It was hard to see, but it also made it easier to hide. He hid behind a giant boulder and looked at the entrance of the cave ahead of him. Six people were guarding it, and Halston guessed that it was the memorial chamber with the dragon’s saliva mentioned by Neil. He stood there quietly, waiting for a chance to sneak into the memorial chamber.
Suddenly, a crow cawed loudly from the mountains.
“It’s the crow’s call-time to change shifts.” A tall man in a traditional costume walked to the entrance of the memorial chamber and informed the six people who were guarding the place.
Halston hid behind a rock, waiting for them to change shifts. He knew the security would be the weakest at that time. He’d heard from Neil that their guards had a ritual-they would perform a Dragon Dance, their ethnic dance, when they wanted to change shifts.
Soon, the six guards at the cave and the other six guards who were taking over started dancing, and Halston took that opportunity to sneak into the cave through a side door.
The cave was small but deep, and there was only one lamp in the dark cave. It was a karst cave with unique stalactites that were shaped like the 12 zodiac animals-pig, dog, chicken, goat, tiger, and so on.
“I’m sure there must be a dragon here since it’s one of the twelve zodiacs.” Halston eagerly walked into the deepest part of the cave. He could hear the sound of running water from time to time, and it sounded like the cry of a dragon.
The deepest part of the cave was the highest part of it, and there was a stalactite there more than ten meters high. It was shaped like a dragon, and it was poised over a stone pillar. The dragon was gold in colour, and its scales, beard, and claws looked like it belonged to the dragons of fairy tales. It looked like a flying dragon that had been cursed into stone-it was amazing.