“Kai-er”

A girl barely above her tenth year came running over from behind a corner of an old thatched hut. The girl had a cute appearance, with little dimples in her cheeks and bright cheery, innocent eyes, her twin black pony tails bouncing of her back as she ran. Her skin was a soft white and gave the impression of being like soft wool. She smiled, revealing her small white milk teeth, and making her small pink lips curve cutely. It could be said that she was like a lively, cute little rabbit.

“Mei-er”

A boy of around 11 years turned around as he heard the cute girl’s voice. He was tall for his age and quite well fed and well built. His black eyes followed the girls as she came running to him. He had black hair and a tanned light brown colour to his skin, which added to his appearance of an honest, hardworking boy. His handsome but childish face broke into a grin and he waved at her; his grin had a free and unrestrained quality to it that only children with peaceful lives could produce. He was a little tired and worn out, as his clothes showed, but he was happy.

It would not be wrong to think he would be chased by many girls for his looks and his hard working temperament, in a few short years’ time.

“Kai-er, I came as soon as I heard from the others” said the little girl. Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked down at her sandals, avoiding looking at the boy all of a sudden. A slight red blush crept up her soft, white cheeks, which the boy noticed. It was very touching and truly gave the impression of softness and warmth.

“Ahh, ehm...thanks” he said flustered. He kicked at the ground with his shoe tip. “The others should be coming soon.” He twisted his fingers behind his back and looked at the girl’s lowered head.

They both stood quite close, but yet noticeably apart. The timid girl sneaked glances at the boy’s face and slightly defined arms and chest. The boy felt his cheeks warming and kicked at the ground with his worn out shoe tips. He couldn’t help smiling even wider and feeling really warm inside.

“I just came back from the farm with my dad...so I’m...you know” he started hesitantly, as he moved his arms and picked at the dirt on his shirt. The girl stepped back, as he turned to show her, and raised her hands up in front of her as if fearing he would do something. Her eyes flashed with a little fear and nervousness at the same time.

“Ohh...it’s fine, hehe it’s good that your so hard working” she replied quickly, waving her cute little hands at him. She glanced at his dirty shirt, seeing through the loose threads of his shirt and at patches of his chest’s tanned skin. She clutched at a small cloth at her waist.

“If you want I can help you wipe some of the dirt off” she said quietly. Her cheeks reddened further with embarrassment but she shuffled forward shyly towards him. Her eyes levelled with the boy’s lips and she could feel his slightly hurried breath on her head. The boy was just about to raise his hand to her fragile shoulder when...

All of a sudden cheers and shouting could be heard from around the corner of the hut. The girl immediately stepped back and placed her hand behind her back. The small cloth she hid behind her back was tied again around her dainty rope belt. She appeared slightly relieved but annoyed as she looked behind her.

Two boys and a girl, around the same age as the boy and girl, appeared. The boys were average in most aspects, except one of them was brawnier than others of his age by quite a bit, while the other was noticeably shorter and sharp eyed. The girl who came with them was slightly chubby and had fewer fingers on one of her hands. Otherwise her appearance was quite average, like most of the village girls. She was quite unremarkable, other than her deformity.

“Look Mei-er is already here” cheered the brawnier boy. The other two nodded their heads and their smiles widened. He seemed the oldest out of the 5 children, and was muscular, quite defined for his age, but his face was quite simple and gave the impression of an amiable giant.

“Mei-er, will your mommy let you come out this late?” asked the chubby girl. Her round little face was scrunched up with concern. The other 2 boys also frowned and appeared worried for the cute ponytailed girl.

“Ohh yeah, Mei-er I never asked” said the handsome boy in surprise. “You won’t get into trouble again like last time right?” he asked suddenly. His brows drew together and he really felt like slapping himself, to clear his mind. “I’m really sorry if—"

“No no it’s ok Kai-er, don’t worry” interrupted the cute little girl. Her cheeks brightened further like little tomatoes, as she looked at the boy. She gestured at him and the others to relax, while feeling happy that they cared for her. She was asked by the other village children to play excessively, and she would get into trouble with her mom for being out too long.

“Oh, ok then” he said, appearing greatly relieved.

“Come on Kai-er, show us what you found then” said the shorter boy with monkey like eyes. He bounced about constantly as if he couldn’t stay still. He appeared very excitable and intelligent, with energy just leaking out of him in excitement.

“Alright Wei-er haha”

They followed the handsome boy, making guesses at what he was going to show them, as they went. They walked out of the small, cosy village they lived in and went through some of the nearby farmlands. It was evening now, so nobody was on the farms, not even the livestock, except for the 5 friends. The sound of their laughter filled the calm air as they entered a wooded area, near the village fringes.

“Ping-er do you want me to carry you? It’s quite a long way until we reach the spot I want to show you” said the handsome boy. His dark eyes and hair blended him into the darkening forest quite well.

“It’s fine” said the chubby girl. Her forehead was a little damp and her face a little pale. She clenched her pudgy hands onto the hem of her dress.

“Don’t be silly, look I’ll carry you” said the brawnier boy. He hopped over and placed her chubby short arms around his strong neck and gave her a piggyback.

“Ahh” she squealed in surprise. Her round cheeks turned red and she hugged the boy’s neck tightly. “Only for a little while ok Zhang Lei-er?” She held on tightly and smiled shyly.

They laughed as they heard what she said, and carried on walking while throwing stones and stamping on leaves, each talking about their day.

Soon they reached a small, hidden clearing with a small blue pond surrounded by large arcing trees. There was a small blue bird with a bent wing lying beside the water. The blue bird had little black eyes and made soft chirping sounds. It struggled to move away from the children, and cried out little chirps.

“Ahh the poor little birdy” cried the cute little girl. She ran forward and sat down beside it. The bundles of twigs and grasses that were placed around the bird roughly, were gathered together by the girl and bundled together much tighter. The bird struggled a little but quietened down quickly, as it felt the girl’s soft touches. She was very good with handling animals.

“I found it out on the farm. My dad wouldn’t let me take it home since he thinks it will die anyways so I tried to find a quick safe place to hide it. That’s how I found this place” said the handsome boy. He smiled apologetically and shrugged his shoulders a little.

“Xing Kai your dad is too mean” said the chubbier girl. She pouted and slide off of Zhang Lei’s back. “It’s so pretty and small.” She crept over and sat beside the bird and stroked it while making soft, soothing sounds.

“Your dada was probably right Kai-er, but we can take care of it for a while right?” said the brawnier boy. He hopped over and squatted beside the girls as they stroked its wings. The sun had set and made the woods seem dark but yet strangely safe. The long branches seemed to stretch out and embrace the space around them, like a mother would her child. They all sat around the bird and the blue glowing pond.

“Have you fed it yet Kai-er?”

The cute girl looked over at the dark eyed, handsome boy shyly.

“Yeah, I gave it some bread and water from the pool. The pool seems to have some small healing properties like the village healer’s one.”

“Hey, let me stroke it”

The short boy pushed Zhang Lei over, who then fell onto the ground. Zhang Lei got up and grinned. He pushed back at the short boy, who then fell even further away.

“How do you like it Gang Wei?” The brawnier boy laughed as Gang Wei got up and frowned. The small boy jumped onto Zhang Lei and they wrestled on the ground beside the pond. Xing Kai grinned and jumped on top of both of them, pushing leaves onto their faces.

“Hey be careful, you’ll hurt the birdy” said the cute girl. She started laughing as she watched the boys rolling around on the ground. “Let me play” she said. She crawled over and started throwing leaves at all three of them. The chubbier girl carefully placed the bird to the side and grabbed a hand full of leaves with her good hand and threw them.

The 5 children rolled about the ground, laughing and throwing leaves and splashing water at each other, until they were completely exhausted. It was completely the kind of scene that would make even a warrior warm hearted. They lay down, exhausted, besides the little blue bird again and took turns stroking it gently.

“It sucks none of us know how to cultivate otherwise we might have saved the poor bird” said Xing Kai. He rested his chin on his hands and looked at the little bird’s broken wing. The bird had settled down quite a bit and seemed to be recovering.

“Can cultivators do that?”

Xing Kai shrugged with uncertainty at Zhang Lei.

“If I was a cultivator then I would become a hero and marry a beautiful princess” said Gang Wei. His bright impish eyes were glazed over as he dreamed. His sharp nose and chin did not seem like the kind that heroes might have.

“Who would want to be a cultivator? They’re scary people...I even heard my mom say they drank blood” whispered the chubbier girl. The woods creaked under a slightly cold breeze.

“No way, that’s crazy” said Zhang Wei. “I wish I could be a cultivator. My dad used to be the metal smith for a big city and he said cultivators are brave warriors who train and fight for their country.”

The 2 boys nodded their heads thoughtfully, with admiration shining in their eyes. They both dreamed about great exploits and heroism, and the vast, outside world.

“What's so bad about cultivators, Song Ping?” asked Gang Wei.

“They have to leave and fight all the time. They get hurt and some even...you know” said the chubbier girl. She rested her head on her disfigured hand, as she petted the little bird.

“But don’t you think that’s heroic?” said Gang Wei, frowning at the plump girl.

“Cultivators are scary people, they hurt all sorts of innocent people” she said adamantly. Gang Wei pouted in thought for a while. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to tying a stick to the bird’s bent wing, with a thread from his shirt.

“Would you leave to go to war Kai-er?” asked the cute girl. She blushed slightly as she looked over at Xing Kai who was lying opposite to her.

“Maybe...heroes that old man Fu speaks about sound really cool, but ...I don’t really care about the outside world. I like this place; it’s fun here. Safe” he said. His dark eyes followed the girl’s and his heart thumped when he saw her smile happily at these words. However he had to lie a little; he often dreamed of the vast world, and wished deep down he could travel to all sorts of lands, gaining enough experiences to fill 3 lifetimes. One for each parent and himself.

“Good” she muttered shyly. She looked back down at the bird and couldn’t help her sweet smile broadening, her fingers making little circles in the dirt. It was easy to see why she was so good with animals, as she was so honest and pure hearted, that nothing about her could make someone feel uncomfortable around her. Very few children were still like that at 11 years of age.

The poor blue bird eventually fell to sleep, and they gathered some more soft leaves and covered it to hide it from predators. They then made a little hole beside the bird and poured some pond water into it, if it needed a drink.

“That should do it” said Xing Kai, as he clapped his hands together. He wiped his hands on his dirty shirt and they headed back to the village. Zhang Lei carried Song Ping back again, and they laughed and joked as they left the woods. The sky was dark and the bright full moon could be seen over the brow of the hills and farmland.

A night with a full moon was always considered an auspicious night, ever since stories of the moon’s creation spread around the world.

“Hey can you hear that?” said Gang Wei. His ears twitched as he turned his head to better hear.

“What?...hey...I can see a black tinge near Xuan’s land” said Xing Kai. The other’s immediately turned serious and strained to see this forbidding sign.

“I can see the same black layer in the sky above the village” exclaimed Song Ping. She

lifted up off of Zhang Lei’s shoulders to see further. The boy’s faces dropped and the girls both stifled their sobs.

“If it’s a fire we need to get there fast, before the winter stocks are destroyed” shouted

Xing Kai. His figure bolted forwards followed closely by the others.

“Lo Yanmei hold my hand” said Xing Kai. He grabbed the cute girl’s hand and pulled her along as they sped forwards over the farm land.

“Look, it really is a fire” shouted out Song Ping. The village was coming into view in

the distance. A giant dirty black smoke cloud hung over the village, in the dark night sky.

“I can hear them shouting” agreed Gang Wei. His small, agile feet let him race forward past

Xing Kai as he ran at the front. “Th-this doesn’t s-sound g-good” he stuttered, as he ran.

“What’s wrong?” said Lo Yanmei. Her face was bone white, except for the redness on her

cheeks. Her hands were sweaty and she gripped tightly to Xing Kai’s hands. Both she and Xing Kai’s knuckles were completely white and their hands had become numb from gripping so tight.

“...”

“Gang Wei what can you hear?” shouted Xing Kai. He gripped tighter onto Lo Yanmei’s hand

as his heart dropped even further. His heart felt like it was a heavy boulder sinking into a deep, dark sea.

“Th-they’re s-screaming” he said, as his voice quivered. Lo Yanmei almost tripped as she

ran and Song Ping whimpered. Tears formed in their eyes and they clenched their hands tightly.

“Keep going, w-we don’t know what’s happened yet” said Xing Kai. He pressed his lips

together tight and wiped quickly at this eyes, with his dirty, torn sleeve.

“Mei-er hop onto my back, I’ll carry you.” In an instant she grabbed his neck and he held her delicate little ankles. He ran on, gasping for air.

They could now clearly see the raging tips of the flames, and the black, evil smoke was

swamping out onto farmlands. It was the worst fire their village had seen in generations.

“I can hear them” agreed Zhang Lei soon after. His eyes were red and but he stayed firm. He

continued running as he grunted and sucked in air through his teeth, like a thrashed horse.

The burning village was soon in clear sight and they ran through a small alley, around a burning hut and saw what explained everything for them, in an instance.

A group of fierce, nefarious men appeared carrying burning sticks and throwing them at the straw thatched roofs of their homes. All the houses around them were burning, creating a world of flames and fire that licked the night sky above them.

Dogs were running around yelping and barking, with fur burnt, and the flesh cooked on their paws and backs. Cats screeched into the night sky, as they ran from the flames. No dog even gave the cats a second look, and no cat could even care about the mice that were burrowing into the ground. They all scrambled for their lives.

Sobs could be heard from all of them except Zhang Lei, Song Ping and Xing Kai. Zhang Lei

put the frozen Song Ping down, and slapped her cheek. Song Ping twitched and tears fell down her cheeks.

“Waaahh” she wailed all of a sudden and hugged Zhang Lei fiercely, hoping to shield herself

from the horrors she saw around them. She bawled loudly and clutched tightly onto Zhang Lei’s shirt with her little chubby fingers.

“Everybody come on, we need to find our parents” shouted Zhang Lei above the crackling fire. He pulled Song Ping and the crying Gang Wei with him, through another ally. Xing Kai followed, his eyes wide open and his mouth gaping. Tears swelled up in his eyes and ran down his face, as he looked around at his village being destroyed. Lo Yanmei tightly wrapped her arms around Xing Kai’s necks and sobbed into his back. Her face had completely scrunched up and she pressed her head into Xing Kai, soaking his shirt in tears.

They continued through more alleys, hearing the haunting screams of those who couldn’t

make it out of their homes and were banging on their burning roofs and walls to get out. Some couldn’t get out fast enough and suffocated, while others succeeded but were scorched by the flames that rushed up into the hole they made to escape.

Babies, children, women and men, young and old alike howled in their homes.

“T-this is h-h-he-hell” cried Song Ping. She covered her eyes refusing to look anymore

as she was pulled along by Zhang Lei.

They continued through the town, unconsciously heading towards the village square.

The screams were more intense here and other wild, bloodthirsty, savage men appeared setting fires. They were covered in blood, roaring with laughter and clapping each other on the backs.

“Bastards” cursed Gang Wei, between his sobs. He clenched his hands tightly into fists and

trembled. They all hid around the corner of a burning hut, waiting for the men to leave.

'How did this happen? Who is doing this to our small village?'

Xing Kai felt wildly confused and it was as if he was running through a nightmare. He was gripping Lo Yanmei's ankles so tight his nails dug into her skin, but she didn't even notice herself.

They neared the village square where Gang Wei’s, Zhang Lei’s and Song Ping’s homes were.

It was there that most of the villagers were gathered.

The village square was a big patch of grass and stones, where people would set up stalls

for trading, or relax under the huge trees. It was a popular place as in the hot summers many old men and children gathered in the shade and played with the other villagers together.

“...”

There Xing Kai, Zhang Lei, too finally broke. They howled and fell to their knees with the others beside them.

The village square was a pool of blood.