They all ran through the forest going back the way they came with Wu Pu in the lead, then Mei Rong and Leng Zhuang, then Yu Lin who was dragging He Lan, and the two trolls who were chasing after them. The children were fast however the trolls were not slow for each of their step was at least two strides of the kids. 

“Don’t run! Stay! Stay!” Din yelled. The kids ignored his horrible human language and continued to run.

The leaves crunched under each of their steps and beads of sweat trickled down the side of their face. Each of the kids were panting hard but they continue to run, not even looking back. The mouths of the trolls curled up as they pulled out a rope from their bag. The rope had two huge rocks tied to it at each end. Din smiled as he lifted his hand and twirled the rope in a circle. When he felt he had enough momentum he threw the rope in his hand. 

“Ah!” He Lan let out a yelped as he felt the rope wrap around his ankle and his body began to fall. Yu Lin who was pulling him along, also fell with him, and the two tumbled to the ground. Mei Rong heard the cry and turn around. 

“Lan Lan!” She screamed as she ran towards him but Leng Zhuang grabbed her wrist.

“No Mei Rong!” He shouted as he began to pull her away. 

“Let me go Leng Zhuang! Lan Lan!” She screamed, tears streaming down her face, but Leng Zhuang did not listen to her as he continued dragging her along with him. Wu Pu did not even look back at his friends as he continued running. 

Yu Lin quickly stood up and pulled He Lan up however as she looked behind him she saw the two trolls only a couple steps away from them. She knew that the both of them could not escape from the trolls anymore, and even if they started running she knew the two trolls could just throw another rope at them. ‘I would rather fight then submit!’ She thought as she pushed He Lan behind her, ready to fight. The trolls did not even flinch when they saw the blade in Yu Lin’s hand as their curls of their mouth just grew bigger. Yu Lin’s legs trembled but she did not back down. 

Yu Lin started to exert her chi energy to both of her hands. She imagined a ball of water growing bigger and bigger and soon there was two balls of water hovering out of her fingers. The two trolls stopped in their tracks when they saw the ball of water disbelief in their faces however Yu Lin took advantage of this as she smacked the two of them with the balls. The water ball broke when it hit them covering their whole body. 

“Ahh!” Xin roared as he rushed in front of him with his eyes closed. He grabbed Yu Lin with his hands however Yu Lin already had her dagger out as she stabbed his wrist and kicked his chest. The troll felt no effect whatsoever as he threw Yu Lin to the ground. 

Yu Lin felt all the air getting knocked out of her body as she let out a yelp dropping the dagger in her hand. She clenched her teeth as she exerted a small ball of fire on each of her five fingers. She dug them into the troll’s arm and the troll let out an excruciating sound as he let go of Yu Lin. Yu Lin grabbed her dagger as she crawled out from under the troll. She turned to see the other troll approaching He Lan as he tried to crawl away desperately. She ran up to him and stabbed him in the back with her dagger. 

The dagger didn’t even go in halfway due to the troll’s tough skin as he turned around with annoyed an look on his face. He lightly swung his arm, the back of his palm hitting Yu Lin’s face as sending her flying to the ground, before turning back around and giving He Lan his attention. 

“Human good. Elf bad.” He said with a gleeful smile as he reached down to grab He Lan. 

“Noo!” He Lan screamed as tears gushed out of his eyes, and something wet trailed down his legs. The troll only chuckled as he walked up to him however he suddenly stopped as his body began to trembled furiously and his eyes grew big before falling to the ground. Behind him Yu Lin was panting hard as a trace of electricity could be seen on her fingers. She had a small smile on her face but it didn’t last long as she felt thick fingers wrap around her ankle and she felt herself being lifted up. 

Xin growled angrily as he lifted his arm and was ready to slammed Yu Lin back to the ground. Yu Lin bent her torso forward and slammed the heel of her foot onto the troll’s chin as his head flew backwards and he loosened his grip on her. Electricity hovered over her five fingers as she placed them on his chest and watched as her body trembled before falling to the ground. 

Yu Lin landed on her feet and turned around. She pulled her dagger out of the the other troll’s body before she walked up to He Lan. 

“Can you still run?” Yu Lin asked as she sliced the rope on his ankle and saw how big his ankle was swelling. 

“Somewhat.” He Lan said. Yu Lin felt bad however she knew she could not carry him back as she was not strong enough. She pulled him up.

“We need to hurry, they may wake up soon.” She said as she swung his arm over his shoulder to support him as they began running. 

They did not get far however, as Yu Lin suddenly felt a stinging pain on her back. 

“Ah!” She let out a yelp as she fell forward pulling He Lan down with her. Her body trembled as her eyes rolled backwards. He Lan quickly turned his head to see a woman with dark grey skin, slanted blue eyes, and short white hair approaching them. Her mouth was curled up with an evil glint in her eyes. 

“You reap what you sow.” She mumbled as she glided towards them her feet not touching the ground. When she saw the two trolls she sigh before two balls of water hovered over her finger and splashed each of them on the face. The two of them shook their heads before getting up. 

“Where’s that damn brat?!” They both shouted in unison however when their eyes laid on the woman they lowered their heads immediately. 

“Master!” They both bowed their heads at her. 

“Collect them. I already got rid of the annoying one.” She ordered as then let out a low chuckle. 

“Yes, Master!” They quickly ran towards the two kids. 

“No!” He Lan screamed as he tried to crawl away, however Yu Lin’s lifeless body stopped him, laying on him, stopped him from moving far. 

The two trolls let out a happy laugh as they ran towards the two child. 

“Gotchu!” Xin exclaimed when he bent down to pick them up. At that moment Yu Lin suddenly turned her body around and with her a small ball of fire hovering over her pointer finger she pushed it onto Xin’s forehead. He let out a painful scream as he fell backwards. With her other hands five flames hovered over her fingers and she dug them into Din’s calf. Din let out a scream before falling backwards. 

“Run!” Yu Lin yelled as she picked up He Lan. The woman twitched her eyebrow before she smiled.

“Interesting.” She said as she flew towards them. She sent a ball of electricity towards Yu Lin, however Yu Lin assumed this would happen so she created a wood dart and threw it back behind her. The dart and the ball electricity hit each other before the dart fell to the ground. The woman gaped at Yu Lin before her lips curled up, her eyebrows slanting inward. The woman increased her speed and flew faster than the two. Yu Lin glanced behind them and she furrowed her eyebrows as she did not see the woman anymore. 

“Ah!” He Lan screamed and she turned her head around. She saw the woman hovering there in front of them and she stopped running. The woman cocked her head to one side and she smiled at them, however the smile did not touch her eyes. 

“Are you two going to come with older sister quietly, or do I have force you guys to come?” She said in a sing song voice. He Lan trembled in fear as Yu Lin glared at her, and the two did not move from their spot. A while passed before one of the woman’s eyebrow rose and the smile disappeared from her face. “Force it is then.” She said and then walked up to them. 

Yu Lin pushed He Lan behind her and put her hands up to defend herself and He Lan. The woman kept walking up the them, and when she was one step away from them, Yu Lin swung her right fist at her. The woman grabbed her arm and the curls of her mouth went up before she took Yu Lin’s arm and twisted backwards. 

Yu Lin let out a yelp as she felt her elbow ligament tearing apart. Sweat trickled down her face and she clenched her teeth. She was ready to lift up her other arm, but before she could the woman dug her fingernails into Yu Lin’s shoulder. Yu in’s feet left the ground as the woman picked her up. The woman then lifted her other arm and punched Yu Lin’s abdomen. Yu Lin puked out blood as she felt the pain radiating throughout her body. She then felt her chi center go from purple chi, to fighting red and blue chi, to purple chi again causing her immense pain. It continued to switch as the woman continued to punch her. One punch, two punch, three punch, each punch felt worse than the last and soon her eyes rolled back before shutting closed as she passed out from the pain, blood trailing out of her mouth. 

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Hahahahaha!” The woman laughed before dropping Yu Lin to the ground. She then looked at He Lan and He Lan shook his head as tears streamed down his face. 

“If… if… if you do anything… to me, then my.... grandpa is going... to kill you.” He Lan stammered out. The woman bent down to his eye level and frowned.

“Oh really little boy? You’re grandpa is going to kill me?” Her frowned slowly disappeared as it turned into a smile. “But he’s not here, is he?” She hissed before punching He Lan in the abdomen as well. He Lan gasped feeling the air escape his body before his eyes fluttered closed. 

Din and Xin stood there with big smiles showing their crooked yellow teeth. 

“As expected of master!” The two of them bowed to her in unison. Din walked up to them and then bent down and picked up He Lan. He slung He Lan over his shoulder and he casted a dirty glance towards Yu Lin. 

“Were these two the only ones?” The woman asked as she fixed her hair. 

“No, there were three more however we were not able to catch them.” Din answered. 

“Is that so,” the woman thought about something and then smiled, “it will be fine. By the time they come back, we will be long gone.” She said as she started to walk away from them.

“What do we do with the elf?” Xin asked through clenched teeth. 

“We have no use for elves. Kill her.” The woman said coldly before walking past them. Din smiled before nodding his head to Xin and then to Yu Lin. Xin nodded his head and he bent down as he raised his fist in the air. ‘You’re dead.’ He thought as his fist flew down. 

“Wait!” The woman shouted and Xin’s fist stopped inches away from Yu Lin’s face. 

“Yes master?” Xin looked at her confused. The woman thought about something for a moment before she turned around and looked at Yu Lin carefully. After a moment she smiled. 

“Take her with us. She may be of some use.” The woman ordered. Xin frowned however did as she said as he slung Yu Lin over his shoulder. The woman then raised her hand and the metallic bracelet shined and a carpet suddenly appeared in front of them. The three of them stepped on the carpet, and then the carpet lifted off the ground and began flying towards their destination.

Chief Chu was leapt all over town for the last thirty minutes looking for Yu Lin. The other four were searching for her on foot, and looking around the household. ‘Where are you, Yu Lin?’ He thought as he continued to look around. 

“Chief Chu!” A guard called out, and Chief Chu stopped. He looked at the guard and saw urgency on his sweaty face. 

“What is it?” Chief Chu asked. 

“We… found… some people.” The guard responded panting. Chief Chu furrowed his eyebrows. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Come.” The guard said before he started running somewhere. Chief Chu followed closely behind him. The guard led him to a hut just on the outside of the village’s perimeters. Chief Chu entered the hut and saw a group of people huddled together. They were filthy with dirt smeared all over their bodies and their bones could be seen through their thin layer of skin. Chief Chu looked at them in disbelief. 

“What is this? Who are these people?” He asked the guard. 

“We are not sure yet because none of them are willing to talk, however assuming from their clothes they are from the village next to us.” The guard replied. Chief Cu frowned before he looked at them with gentle eyes.

 “Are you guys okay?” He asked. The people looked up at him with fear in their eyes, not saying anything. “I need to know what happened to you guys so I could get you guys home.” Chief Chu said. They still did not utter a word. After a while Chief Chu let out a sigh. “Get them some water to bathe in, food, and new clothes.” He said getting ready to leave however a voice stopped him.

“Trolls. We were captured by two trolls and barely escaped after behind after three months in captivity.” A man said. Chief Chu gasped. ‘It couldn’t be.’ Chief Chu thought as Yu Lin’s face flashed across his head. He turned on his heel however the man quickly gasped his sleeve. “No!” The man shouted as tears streamed down his face. “There is something worse than the trolls.”

“What do you mean?” Chief Chu looked at the man’s scared expression. The man swallowed hard. 

“A dark witch.” The man said barely audible. Chief Chu’s jaw dropped as he could not believe what he had just heard. ‘No. It couldn’t be... Yu Lin!’ He left the hut and began leaping towards his home. 

“Yu Lin!” Ju Hua called out as she looked around the garden.

“Oiii! Brat! Where are you?!” Sen Feng called out next to her. The two were walking closed to the fence when they suddenly heard a sound of something moving. They turned their heads to see Wu Pu run through the fence with Leng Zhuang dragging Mei Rong behind him, with horrifed expressions on their faces. The two of them ran up to the kids.

“What’s wrong?” Ju Hua called out. The three kids looked at her shocked however Mei Rong kicked Leng Zhuang away as she ran towards her.

“Help Lan Lan! Help Lan Lan!” She cried out as she hugged Ju Hua’s leg. Ju Hua bent down and pushed her gently away so she could see Mei Rong’s face. 

“What do you mean? What happened to Xiao Lan?” Ju Hua asked. 

“Lan Lan… and Yu Lin…” Mei Rong sniffled. 

“What is it? What’s going on?” Sen Feng yelled.

“Lan Lan… and Yu Lin…” Mei Rong could not finish her sentence. 

“We were being chased by two trolls. He Lan and Yu Lin were the last one trailing behind. They… probably got caught.” Wu Pu calmly stated. 

“What?! Trolls?!” Sen Feng blurted out. Wu Pu nodded his head and so did Leng Zhuang. Sen Feng gaped at them and Ju Hua bit her trembling lips. 

“We have to tell the others!” Ju Hua said after a moment. She got up and ran back towards Yo Mei and Chou. 

Chief Chu arrived at his home and he saw Chou looking around at the gate. 

“Mr. Du!” He called out and leapt towards him. Chou looked up with worried eyes.

“What is it? Did you find Yu Lin?” Chou asked hopeful. Chief Chu swallowed hard before shaking his head. Chou’s shoulders slumped down as he looked at the ground.

“But Mr. Du,” Chief Chu said and Chou looked back up, “the guards found some villagers from another village and they said they… were captured by trolls and escaped here.” Chou eyes widened and then his body began trembling.

“No… no… not Yu Lin. Please not Yu Lin!” Chou mumbled.

“Mr. Du we don’t know if she was take-”

“Father-in-law!” Ju Hua called out breaking Chief Chu’s sentence. The two watched as she ran up to their side. “We just met with the kids and they said that Yu Lin and He Lan could’ve taken away… by two trolls.” She said. 

“From where?” Chou quickly asked. 

“The east side of the fence.” Ju Hua replied. Chou clenched his teeth as he started heading towards there however a hand landed on his shoulder stopping him. 

“We need to approach this carefully.” Chief Chu said. 

“Why? My daughter is in danger! I need to get her back!” Chou yelled. 

“I understand Mr. Du, however if these trolls are the same trolls that the villagers were captured by then they are not alone… they are with a dark witch.” The last two words of Chief Chu’s sentence seemed to echo through the siheyuan. Ju Hua and Chou stood there frozen by his words however another figure ran up to them and slammed their hand on Chief Chu’s shoulder, turning him back. 

“What did you say? Yu Lin was taken by trolls? Dark witch?!” Yo Mei shouted. 

“We do not know that for sure Mrs. Du… but that could be a possible case.” Chief Chu said looking at her. Yo Mei stood there with lifeless eyes as she heard this. “Anyways I need the both of you two to stay calm…” Chief Chu’s voice faded out of Yo Mei’s head as she thought about her daughter, and her eyes grew cold. ‘If, I don’t get my daughter back alive, then everyone who hurt her will die!’ 

Author's Note: Extremely exhausted after this four hour long chapter [th_015_orz-v2.gif] ... Will try to put up the next one soon [th_059_.gif] ... Thanks for reading and see you guys next time! :)