Din walked closer to the cage and wrapped his fat fingers around the wood. He gave Yu Lin an ugly look before letting out a huge laugh that echoed throughout the whole cave. Yu Lin grimaced as she could smell his breath however remained calm.

“Older brother, should we throw them in another jail? That child can use magic.” Xin asked nervously.

“Haha! Don’t worry Xin, this isn’t normal wood. It is Kijin wood. Resistant to anything and everything.” Din chuckled. Yu Lin kept her face straight as she heard them talk. She knew that they thought that she was only a dark elf, and didn’t know she was a dark elto or else they wouldn’t be speaking so carelessly in front of her. Din glared at her for a few more moments before turning around. “Let’s go. We need to eat too.” Din set the lantern down back on the barrel and the two left the cave, a loud sound ringing out. PS3 (Hiddenvalen8060)

Yu Lin waited a bit just to make sure they weren’t coming back before she sat back down. He Lan also got himself together as he sat up straight. Yu Lin looked at him and debated on what to tell him. After a while of thinking it over her head she decided to start off with something small.

“Hey.” She whispered and He Lan jumped not expecting her to say anything.

“Ye-yes?” He looked at her and could see the cautious look in her eyes, which made him turn serious.

“Have you… ever heard of… witches?” Yu Lin asked carefully whispering. He Lan’s eyes grew big and his jaw dropped to the ground.

“You mean the ones who uses humans as sacrifices? Or use voodoo to hunt other people?” He Lan quietly exclaimed. Yu Lin nodded her head. He Lan also nodded his. “Then, of course I know. Mr. Liao often speak of them in history class when he talks about each continent’s folklores.” He Lan recalled the gruesome things that Mr. Liao told him that witches have done. Yu Lin hesitated, not sure if she should tell him, but she knew she had to for the safety of both of them combined.

“He Lan, what if I told you that witches aren’t folklores… but they are real.” Yu Lin watched for his reaction. He Lan looked at Yu Lin before waving his hand side to side.

“Eyy, what are you talking about? Witches aren’t real. They can’t be, and besides if they are Mr. Liao told me that they can’t exist during our time because their practices were lost thousands of years ago.” He Lan replied, however he froze when he saw the dead, serious eyes of Yu Lin. He put his hands down and his mind started racing, wondering why Yu Lin suddenly brought this up. The face of the woman entered his head and a shiver ran down his spine. “You don’t mea-”

“That’s exactly what I mean.” Yu Lin whispered interrupting him for she knew what he was thinking. He Lan sat there speechless not believing what he had heard.

“That is not poss-”

“It is.” Yu Lin said sternly. He Lan furrowed his eyebrows as he thought about it for a second.

“How do you know that, that woman is a witch?” He Lan asked. Yu Lin blinked at his question for a bit before quickly producing an answer.

“It’s unusual that the trolls brought us here but haven’t eaten us already. They also seemed to be following the orders of the woman, and in the folklores they said that witches often had trolls as their servants. Trolls don’t easily listen to any random person who tries to tell them what to do. They often make pacts with witches. By working for witch they will get something in return.” Yu Lin quickly whispered. He Lan thought about it, and although he wasn’t convinced, he knew that the look Yu Lin gave him, was not a joking look.

“Alright then,” he said, “let’s say she is one. How are we going to get out of here?” He Lan’s light brown eyes stared into her red ones. Yu Lin looked around the room, checking just in case, before looking back at He Lan. She leaned into his ear, and He Lan’s face slightly flushed red at the sudden closeness.

“First things first,” Yu Lin whispered so quietly that only He Lan could hear her, “we need to change our names. We can’t use our real ones here. If she knows, she can use our names to track us down no matter where we go. At least folklores tell it that way.” Yu Lin said cautiously. He Lan nodded his head, and Yu Lin continued. “From now on, until we get far away from her, my name is Yang Yang Rou, and your name is Zu Tian Qi, understood. No matter what happens only we have to call each other by these names. You understand?” He Lan nodded his head, and Yu Lin backed away from him.

“Tian Qi.” She said as she looked at him.

“Ya- Yang Rou.” He stammered out.

“Tian Qi you are from a high class family, and I am from a middle class family. Our parents get along, and we basically grew up together. It is quite unfortunate that we are in this situation now.” Yu Lin said. He Lan knew what Yu Lin was trying to say and nodded his head.

“Yes, Yang Rou.” He Lan replied. Yu Lin smiled and nodded her head. She knew that He Lan was smart and that he would understand her quickly.

“Although I may be a full blooded elf, I do not understand the elf language because my mother never taught me the language.” Yu Lin continued. He Lan furrowed his brows when he heard her say that she was a full blooded elf, but said nothing more as he just agreed to it.

“Yes, Yang Rou.”

“Good, Tian Qi.” Yu Lin said and then got up from the ground. She walked up to a corner of the cage and started to examine the wood. “Do you know what kind of wood this is, Tian Qi?” She questioned as she felt the rough wood with her left hand. He Lan got up and walked next to her, also placing his hand onto the wood.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I’m not sure.” He Lan answered. Yu Lin frowned, as she was also not knowledgeable about the wood and she thought back about what the trolls said.

“Have… you ever heard of Kijin wood?”

“Kijin wood?” He Lan thought about it for a while and then shook his head, “It sounds familiar, but nothing comes to mind.”

Yu Lin let out a sigh. ‘How are we going to get out now?’ She thought and then sat back down. ‘I’m sure that the other three probably told Chief Chu already, but they don’t even know where we are. They may not even find us. Unless we somehow make it out by ourselves, we are most likely going to die.’

He Lan limped around the cage as if trying to find its weak spot. He touched each of the bars and when he reached the other end, he found a lock. ‘So this is where the door is.’ He thought to himself. He turned around to tell Yu Lin, but suddenly a bright light lit up the room.

Yu Lin and He Lan quickly shut their eyes from the blinding light, before slowly opening them to adjust. Yu Lin looked up to see the light coming from the huge rock. She got up and walked over until she touched the end of the cage. She looked at the rock trying to find out the source when she the light started to fade dark, and then back to light, to dark, and then back to light again as if it had a pulse of its own.

“What is this?” Yu Lin breathed out. She pushed her face up against the wooden bars to get a closer look. She squinted her eyes and when she did, she saw a round, white ro-, no orb in the rock. ‘What is that?’ She thought.

“Ahem!” She suddenly heard a voice not belonging to her or He Lan cough out. She backed away from the wooden bars. She looked at He Lan however he seemed to not have noticed the voice as he was still looking at the rock. She quickly looked around the room, but saw no one. ‘Did I imagine it?’

“You didn’t imagine anything!” A rough voice called out. Yu Lin fell backwards as she felt a terrifying pressure overwhelm her. He Lan looked over and saw sweat trailing down Yu Lin’s face. Her mouth was open and fear was in her wide eyes.

“Y-Yang Rou?” He Lan called out. Yu Lin turned to look at him, and she furrowed her eyebrows confused.

“Yo-yo-you didn’t hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“A voice!”

“What voice? I didn’t hear anything.” He Lan answered back. Yu Lin stared at him in disbelief.

“Then… does that mean only I heard the vo-”

“That right!” The voice called out causing Yu Lin to jump. “I am only focusing my chi energy towards you, that’s why you can hear me. Hahaha!” The voice laughed. Yu Lin breathed in slowly trying to calm down, as she tried to figure out if this voice was a friend or a foe. After a while she stood up, trembling from the pressure but she did not fall down.

“Who are you?” She asked.

“Who are you talk-”

“Shh!” Yu Lin hushed He Lan before he could finish. He Lan didn’t know what was going on but he kept his mouth shut. Yu Lin swallowed hard before asking again.

“Who… are… you?” Yu Lin said slowly with force behind each word.

“Haha! Why should I tell you who I am?” The voice mocked her, laughing, and she suddenly felt more pressure weighing on her. Yu Lin hands closed tightly, balling into a fist and her legs shook uncontrollably as she tried fighting against the pressure.

“You… started to talk to us… first… Didn’t you… know that it’s… rude not to introduce… oneself… first… when one… begins a conv...ersation?” Yu Lin said through clenched teeth. The voice stopped laughing. Yu Lin wondered what had happened however the next moment she flew from where she was standing and her back smacked into the end of the cage. “Augh!” She coughed up blood. Her chi center started to feel as if it was being stretched beyond its limits, as she wrapped her arms around her stomach.

“What did you just say to me?” The voice roared out, “Rude? Am I being rude?” Yu Lin let out a scream as she felt the pain grow bigger and bigger, as if it was tearing her whole body apart. Every nerve within her body was trembling with pain as her body shook uncontrollably as her head hit the ground and her eyes rolled backwards.

“Yu-ya-yah!” He Lan exclaimed as he ran up to her, however as he got near Yu Lin he suddenly felt a force pull him back, and his body hit the ground. He let out a surprised yelp before the back of his head hit the wood, knocking him out cold.

“Haha!” The voice laughed out loud. Yu Lin shut her eyes and her hands trembled as she pulled her shirt into her mouth, and bit down hard. “As expected, no matter how many years passed, I Chang Sheng Huo, will always be powerful. Hahaha!”

Yu Lin’s eyes widened as she heard what the voice said. ‘Chang Sheng Huo. The same... Chang Sheng Huo from... those legends? He’s… still alive?’ Yu Lin’s face scrunched up and she curled her body into a fetal position. ‘I thought… he was suppose to be kind... and carin-’ Yu Lin felt blood travel up her esophagus, as it exited her mouth to soak into her shirt. The pressure seemed to increase, as her eyes rolled backwards before they shut closed.

Author's Note: So sorry this one took so long! (Rewrote it like three times, but decided to go with the one I wrote first... -_-) Anyways, I'm trying to update at least once or twice a week, however it will be hard as school is ending soon and I have a lot of stuff to do. [th_015_orz-v2.gif]  Thanks for reading! :)