The Beggining of a Journey

A night passed when Yan Yan woke up. She looked around her and found nothing but then her nose was able to smell the aroma of food. She followed the scent and saw Lander cooking. She watched her for a while when Lander felt someone was looking at him. He turned his back and saw Yan Yan drooling, "The food's ready in a minute so you should wait for a while."

Yan Yan went out of the kitchen and wandered around the house. She entered the room where the man was kept and tied, "Wah! Elder Shing, are you alright?"

Hearing Yan Yan's shout, Lander strode out of the kitchen and found her untying the rope from the man's hand. "Don't! He will only hurt you."

"He won't hurt me, he's so nice to me. He always gives me food when I'm hungry." Yan Yan said as she continued untying the rope.

The man woke up and heard everything, "Yes, tell her Yan. Tell her how I took care of you. And I will take care of you even better if you remove those ties."

"You are indeed innocent and young," Lander went to Yan Yan and grabbed her hand. He then took her away from the room and closed it.

"Please big brother, he's not bad! He can help us if you want, I will talk to him. Please!" Yan Yan pleaded. And they can hear the man shouting from inside persuading Yan Yan to tell Lander that he's a good man.

"If you enter again in that room then I will hurt the two of you so you better behave." Lander threatened as she glared at Yan Yan which made her shudder.

"Let's go eat and we will leave this place afterward," Lander said with a poker face.

After they had eaten, Lander turned to Yan Yan, "Go and pack things you need before we leave this place."

Then he entered the room where the man was kept, "Tell me where is the nearest place where people gather?"

"Hmmph!" The man scoffed not even answering.

"So you want it the hard way?" Lander then brought out again the knife and pointed it to the man's manliness.

The man shuddered seeing the knife and told him about the Sunny Village and how to go there. It would take them a day to travel by foot. After that, Lander then hit him again which made him unconscious and he untied him.

Lander went back to the stable and took his bag as he also brought some meat and vegetables they needed on their journey. Then he called Yan Yan and went to their destination, the Sunny Village.

"Big brother, are we just going to leave Elder Shing tied?" Yan Yan asked as she was worried about the man she called Elder Shing. She was carrying a small pouch that contained clothes.

"Anymore question and I will tie you too." Lander was not in the mood to entertain Yan Yan as he was thinking of how to get back to his uncle and cousin. He didn't even tell her that he untied the man before leaving.

Leading the way, Lander followed the path that the man told him. The path was actually in the middle of a forest. And from time to time they would hear growlings of animals.

After walking straight for three hours, Lander noticed that Yan Yan was keeping up with him. She didn't show any sign of tiredness. "Just tell me if you're tired so we can rest."

"For a slave like me, walking shouldn't hinder me." Yan Yan replied while looking at her surroundings amused.

Lander stopped and then looked at Yan Yan with fierce, "Slave? Who the hell said you're a slave huh?"

Yan Yan was shocked when he heard those words, at the same time she felt like crying, "But.. but.."

"But what? Was it because of the tattoo that you have? Does that represent your identity? The hell with it!" Lander interrupted as he became angry about this matter. He was a calm person but he hated if people looked down on their self especially because of a tattoo that would determine their status in life.

"You know why I changed your name, the other meaning behind it was to forget your past because of this tattoo, you and me are the present. And we will not let anybody treat us like slaves. I will never allow it!" He continued showing his tattoo to her as he looked at Yan Yan with resolution and confidence in his eyes.

Yan Yan was shocked while tears rolled down her eyes. She always made mistakes during her slavery days and they would often shout at her or scold her. Even though she's used to being scolded, it felt different when this young man scolded her - terrifying.

Looking at Yan Yan, Lander sighed and hugged her, "I'm sorry! But you should always remember that we will never let others treat us like slaves. We will stand up and prove to them that we can also practice magic."

Although Lander has the confidence to practice magic, he has no idea how to start. But for Yan Yan? She felt happiness, comfort, and desire especially since the young man in front of her was just like her - an outcast. She never noticed it when he was around her or when they had their meal. And despite being scolded by him, she nodded and felt the warmth of his hug.

While Lander was hugging Yan Yan, they both heard a lot of growlings not far from them. And when they looked at the area where the sound came from they were shocked to see a pack of wolves and two grizzlies fighting with each other.

Lander grabbed Yan Yan's hand as they went further away and hid behind a big tree. And from time to time, Lander peeked at the area where the animals were fighting. He saw how the alpha of the wolf pack protected its pack from the grizzlies.

The alpha was colored white but its belly was colored black and also the tip of its tail. It fought against the biggest grizzly while the others fought the other one. It was an equal battle until a wolf cub entered the battlefield. And upon hearing the cub's cry, the alpha turned its head towards the cub. This gave the biggest grizzly a chance to injure the alpha.

When the alpha saw that the cub was okay, it fought back savagely and was also able to graze the bear. The other wolves were also able to injure the other bear while a white wolf stood beside the cub as if protecting it. The two groups fought neck to neck with each other, but the alpha of the wolf pack grew weaker and weaker because of its heavy injury.

Upon seeing their alpha getting weaker and weaker, the other wolves dispersed and left the battlefield and only three wolves remained: the alpha, the cub, and a white wolf.

Lander knew that the three wolves were a family and he knew that they were on the brink of death so he suddenly rushed up to the battlefields carrying the knives he got at Slave Town. While running towards the battlefield, he picked up a stone and threw it towards the bears to attract their attention.

Even though he knew some martial arts, he wasn't foolish enough to deal with all the two bears at once. When the bears saw him, the bear who was the opponent of the packs rushed towards him.

Seeing that only one bear was rushing towards him, he felt a little scared, still his blood boiled out of excitement. Using his agile movements, he stepped beside the bear that was injured and added a slash to its injury. He never stopped moving as he gave another stab at its back. Although he wasn't proficient in using a knife in battle, he could still maneuver like an agile monkey. Then the injured bear let out a howl of weakness.

As time passed by, the bear who was fighting with Lander got injured so Lander stopped. While fighting with the white wolf, the biggest bear heard the growls of the other bear so it stopped fighting and became wary of the human it was facing - Lander.

As the battle was at a standstill, Yan Yan who was still behind the tree gasped when she saw how Lander fought against two bears without even using magic. She couldn't believe how Lander was able to beat the bear.

Lander pointed his blade to the biggest bear. Seeing the man in front of him, the bear felt conflicted about whether to attack him or leave the battlefield. In the end, he chose the latter and left and the other bear followed it.

The alpha wolf then limped down, its breathing getting heavier and heavier but he still looked at Lander with wariness.