Mornings on the border of the Northern Wei Dynasty always come very early.
As soon as the sky turned white, the rooster at the entrance of the village crowed loudly, waking up the sleeping village.
I, Li Yan, rubbed my sleepy eyes and got up from the simple wooden bed.
Outside the window, the early summer wind blew against my face with the fragrance of wheat fields.
"Yan'er, go and call Mulan over for dinner!"
Mother shouted from the kitchen, the clatter of pots and pans accompanied by her usual loud voice.
"I got it, mother!" I quickly walked out of the house while fastening the buttons of my coarse clothes.
Hua Mulan's home is right next door to mine, and Hua Mulan and I grew up together. She is two years younger than me, but she always takes care of me like a sister. I climbed over the low wall between the two houses with ease and landed in her yard.
"Mulan! Get up!" I shouted in a low voice, for fear of waking up her elderly parents.
But no response.
I frowned. Normally at this time, Hua Mulan would have been practicing swordplay in the yard. I tiptoed to her window and knocked lightly.
"Mulan?"
Still no movement.
An ominous premonition immediately came to my mind. I tried to push the window, but it was unlocked. I hesitated for a moment, then climbed in.
Hua Mulan's room was empty, and the bed was so neat that no one had slept on it. My eyes fell on a piece of paper on the table. In the morning light, I saw the familiar handwriting on it:
"Father and Mother: My daughter is unfilial and has decided to join the army on her father's behalf. My father is old and sick, and he will definitely die if he is drafted into the army. My daughter has been practicing martial arts since she was a child and will definitely be able to return with her life saved. Please don't miss her. --- Mulan"...
