The boy stammered, "Angel, pretty!"
Then he picked a few blue wild chrysanthemums from his clothes and gave them to Lan Ruo.
Lan Ruo patted the boy's head and said with a smile, "Thank you. These flowers are very pretty."
Then he pulled the boy up from the ground and checked whether he had been hurt in the fall. Fortunately, the boy had only tripped and sat down. Aside from his sore backside, he had not injured himself anywhere else.
Lan Ruo dusted off the boy's trousers.
After awkwardly thanking him, the boy hugged the flowers and left reluctantly, looking back with every step.
Lan Ruo saw that the boy was heading toward the most remote part of town, where the only small wooden house stood apart from the many stone fortresses.
Lan Ruo found it somewhat strange. Why was the boy going there?
Did he live there alone?
Lan Ruo chose to trust his instincts and followed the boy from a distance.
When the boy arrived at the wooden house, he looked around cautiously. Only after seeing no one did he carefully undo the bolt on the door and slip inside sideways.
He placed the flowers in a crude vase. "Are you alright?"
Then he took out a piece of flatbread wrapped in a banana leaf from his pocket. "For you!"
Inside the dark wooden house, a beautiful blonde girl was chained to a stone pedestal.
Her body was covered in wounds, and she lay weakly half-reclined on the ground.
Carefully avoiding her injuries, the boy gave her a little water before bringing the flatbread to her lips.
"Eat something!"
A tear rolled down the girl's face. She nodded and, with difficulty, ate from the boy's hand.
The girl shifted slightly. The tattered cloth covering her slipped down, revealing