"Are you okay Annchi?" Lanying asked.
Annchi nodded.
"Sorry Lanying." she replied as she breathed out.
"It's not your fault they're creeps. I'll be happy when Wang leaves."
"Me too. Lanying, I don't want to go back yet. I know I need to finish my chores, but . . ."
"It's okay Annchi. We'll walk for a bit."
As the girls walked they looked at their surroundings. They hardly ever saw anything green or alive. It seemed that evil sucked up all that was living. Even during spring and summer hardly anything bloomed. Winter would be approaching soon. Annchi and Lanying knew such places of life existed on Xia. Every now and then a merchant would stop by and let the children and anyone else look at the books he brought and sometimes talked about the places he been to. Time slipped by and before either of the girls knew it, nearly an hour passed. As the two walked along, Annchi stopped and felt something was wrong. Lanying noticed Annchi's hesitation and looked to see fear in her eyes.
"What's wrong Annchi?" Lanying asked.
"Oh, I just had this terrible instinct that something is going to happen. Let's go back."
When they reached the village, everything laid in ruins. No one was in sight.
"Oh no! Tell me this is only a dream!" Lanying gasped as she trembled in horror.
Next to her, Annchi dropped to her knees. Evil permeated from everywhere and Annchi found herself short of breath. Seeing her friend's reaction, Lanying knelt down next to her hugged her.
"Who would do such a thing?" Annchi gasped suddenly, feeling numb all over.
While she felt so many emotions within her, she couldn't bring herself to cry. It was like a part of her was missing something. She was very frustrated that she could never express her feelings. It was often why many people misunderstood her. Even her parents, who were wonderful, couldn't quite understand why she never expressed herself. Because of this, Annchi never felt connected to this place; maybe that's why she could not grieve now. Annchi was still lost in thought when a large number of soldiers surrounded them. They looked like living nightmares in black armor. They also smelled of dead and rot.
"Who are these guys?" shrieked Lanying as she and Annchi huddled closer together.
"The men who obviously destroyed our village."
"Somebody help us! Please!"
All of the sudden, a bright light appeared, and just like that, all of the villains vanished! Annchi and Lanying covered their eyes when the light appeared. They opened them and the first thing they saw was an old man standing by a burned down hut. He had long white hair and beard. His different colored eyes were green and blue. Both Annchi and Lanying imagined he was a wizard because of the style of dress he wore and the staff he held. Both girls gazed in amazement. His garments were crimson red and had gold trimmings, he also carried a dagger at his side. Annchi was the first to recover from her shock.
"Excuse me sir, but who are you?" she finally asked.
The elderly man walked forward and smiled before saying, "Greetings, young ones. I am Yinglong."
"The legendary Yinglong? One of the most powerful wizards! The one who was able to place three protective barriers on our world?!" asked Lanying.
Who had not heard of Yinglong? He was considered a legend in Xia. It was said he was there when the world was created. He was the great teacher and confidant to the unicorns. Whenever there was a wedding or important event, Yinglong was always there. But since the Invasion, not many saw him for the evil forces always searched for him. Yinglong laughed after Lanying's response.