As I slid down the hill, toward the village I looked around at the blooming flowers that the moonlit sky shone upon. I racked my mind to remember the name, of the hero as I reached the bottom of the hill. Ah... This really reminds me of my homeland... At a brisk pace, I looked around the quiet village, before heading towards the center of the village. The cold wind blew against my back, as I looked around the center of the village. Tonight will be a cold ni-

"Watch where your going," I said to a cloaked person who hit my shoulder.

"S-sorry," he stuttered as his hood fell and he hit the ground.

"Zhang Lin?" I asked, "Is that, you Zhang Lin?"

"Who's Zhang Lin," he replied, "I'm just a farmer boy..."

"Haha, funny joke," I said, "It's me your best friend Cheng Li!"

"I have no friends..." he replied, "They deemed me an outcast, due to what my father did."

  Hm... From what I recall, as the outcast runs away a moon goddess tries to stop him. She offers him fine gifts such as silk and gold, but he says how he'd rather be tortured to death than live in the village a day longer. Angered by this, the goddess sends down some of the stars who attempt to drag the boy back to the village. The outcast, fighting as if his life is at stake begs the sun to help him, waking her. I can't recall what happens after that, but the ending is probably in the title. Why does the outcast have the face of Cheng Li? I thought to myself as I let out a sigh of confusion.

"So what are you doing?" I ask.

"I'm leaving this forsaken town," he replies, "I'm mistreated here merely for my father's mistakes then based on my actions."

"Why do you ask?" he finishes.

"I'm just a wandering traveler, with no place to go," I fib, "Do you mind if I follow you, so I have a new story to tell?"

"I don't," he replies, "Having company, of which I may speak too shall make the journey less lonely."

"Then let's scurry along," I say, "Before any guards notice us."

----------------------------------------

Cheng and the outcast stood at a halt in front of a large tree, as they admired it.

"Beyond this tree, is a straight path toward the next village." the outcast said, "I pray that I can live there in peace, without persecution by what my father once did."

"Here comes the moon goddess..." Cheng mumbled to himself as he looked up toward the sky.

"Halt, stay where you are!" shouted a man in armor, and a sheathed sword attached to a belt wrapped around his waist.

Two other men followed after the man with the sword, wielding long wooden staffs.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"St-stay back or else I-I'll shoot" the outcast shouted as he pulled out a short bow and loaded an arrow.

"I said halt!" exclaimed the man as he unsheathed his sword.

"When were there guards in the story?" Cheng asked himself.

"Take a step closer and I'll! I'll... shoot you in the head!" the outcast exclaimed.

"Halt!" exclaimed the guard once more as darkness glared in his eyes.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Cheng Li said, "Run farmer boy!"

"H... a... l... t..." it stuttered, as the darkness enshrouded the guard, and its shape changed into a wolf. The armor and sword slid off the wolf as it hit the ground. The other two guards, shortly after changed into the same shape, as the pack leader's eyes turned a crimson red.

"M-monster!" exclaimed the outcast as his hand slipped and the arrow pierced a paw of one of the wolves.

The wolf let out a growl, as saliva fell from between its teeth.

"Wh-what the heck just happened!" Cheng Li exclaimed as he looked at the outcast.

"Er... By any chance you don't have a spare knife or something?" he asked.

"I-In the bottom of the sack," replied the outcast as he dropped the sack.

The wolves, having finished howling at the moon, snarled at the outcast.

"Found it!" exclaimed Cheng Li as he pulled out a small dagger.

"W-what now?" the outcast asked, looking at Cheng Li.

"I have as much an idea as you," Cheng Li replied, "None."

"T-then on three I'll shoot and you try to get one of those swords," the outcast stuttered.

As he pulled back the string of the bow, the outcast load an arrow.

"Three!" the outcast shouted forgetting to count, as his arrow punctured the head of one of the wolves. The wolf let out a nightmarish scream before it faded leaving only a claw from one of its' front paws.

  Ignoring the confusion from within his head, Cheng Li ran towards the arrow as he slid past the wolves and grabbed a sword. The red eyes wolf ignoring Cheng Li charged at the outcast as the other wolf jumped at Cheng Li. Expecting the attack from the wolf, Cheng Li swung the sword as it cut the wolf in half. A small tooth fell to the ground, as Cheng Li rushed to the outcast. The wolf continued to bite farther into the outcast's bow as he lay on the ground trying to stop the wolf from biting him.

"H-help!" he said while trying to keep the wolf from breaking the bow.

"Roll!" Cheng Li shouted as he watched the outcast roll away from the wolf which just snapped the bow in half.

"Next time, don't touch Zhang Lin's books!" Cheng Li exclaimed as he plunged the sword into the wolf's back.

The wolf growled in pain as it slowly fade away. Cheng Li looked around, before pulling the outcast back up and picking up what fell from the wolves.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I-I think so," replied the outcast as he watched Cheng Li put on armor.

"I think this is where our paths split," Cheng Li said, as he sheathed the sword in his hand, "Don't forget why you left that horrible village."

"What do you mean?" the outcast asked as he watched Cheng Li begin to vanish.

"My job here is done," he replied, as he tossed the dagger back to the outcast.

----------------------------------------

"Cheng Li is that you?" came a voice from far away as it rushed over.

"Where are we?" Zhang Lin asked as he watched Cheng Li get off the floor.

"Welcome to the Aeturnus Bibliotheca," Cheng Li replied.