At last, when the snow outside had piled into a thick blanket and even the old tree in the courtyard had its branches bent beneath the weight, Xiao Yan's confinement ended. He pushed open his door and drew a deep breath of icy air scented with snow, feeling considerably refreshed. Almost at the same moment, Xun'er's clear voice rang out beyond the courtyard gate.
"Brother Xiao Yan, you're out!" The girl wore a pale green dress beneath a snowy-white fox-fur cloak, which made her skin seem fairer than snow and her features as lovely as a painting. Her little face was flushed from the cold, but her eyes sparkled with joy.
Xiao Yan smiled faintly, the gloom in his heart swept away. "Yes, I just came out. Xun'er, shall we take a stroll through the Market District? It's been ages since I went out."
Naturally, Xun'er agreed with delight. They walked side by side along the snow-covered streets, their footsteps crunching beneath them. The snow had left the Market District with fewer pedestrians than usual, but it was still lively. Vendors' cries and the sounds of bargaining rose and fell all around them.
Just as they passed a street corner, Xun'er suddenly stopped. She had spotted a little boy of about seven or eight curled up against a wall, shivering in the bitter wind in thin, ragged clothes. One of his legs seemed twisted at an unnatural angle, and his face was covered in chilblains.
"Brother Xiao Yan, look at him..." Pity filled Xun'er's eyes. She hurried over, took a purse containing a few silver coins from inside her clothes, and drew out several, gently placing them in the child's little hands, which had turned purple from the cold. "Little brother, take these and buy yourself something to eat and some warm clothes."
The child timidly raised his head. At the sight of Xun'er's angelic smile and the silver coins in his hands, a glimmer of light flashed through his eyes. "Thank you, big sister," he whispered.
Xiao Yan stood to one side, watching, but he did not feel the same uncomplicated sympathy as Xun'er. When he saw the child's unnaturally twisted limb, an inexplicable chill rose from the depths of his heart, as though an invisible alarm bell had sounded in his mind. A phrase appeared before him, every word dripping with blood: Child Maiming for Begging.
His memories returned to a classroom in his previous life. His teacher had explained that some utterly heartless traffickers would choose particular times of year, such as the autumn harvest, when farmers were busy and less able to watch their children, to abduct them and cripple them through brutal means-severing their hands and feet, blinding them, then forcing them to beg on the streets to win passersby's sympathy and squeeze money from them. They chose to act when the weather turned cooler because wounds were less likely to become infected, allowing those pitiful children to "live" a little longer and bring them an unending stream of profits.
He had been young then and had thought such acts outrageously cruel, enough to make one's hair stand on end. But having never encountered them himself, he had not truly felt their horror. Now, standing on a street in the Dou Qi Continent, looking at a real child whose limb was unnaturally twisted and recalling his teacher's grave words from his previous life, Xiao Yan felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. The words "Child Maiming for Begging" seared themselves deep into his mind like a brand reeking of blood.
He knew, of course, that what his teacher had said might not have been entirely true, and that the Dou Qi Continent had its own rules and cruelties. Perhaps the child had simply been born disabled or suffered some accident. Yet the numbness and fear that had flickered through the child's eyes, so at odds with his age, and that unnatural bend, so clearly inflicted after birth, made it impossible for Xiao Yan to put the matter easily out of his mind.
Seeing Xiao Yan staring at the child with a somewhat grave expression, Xun'er tugged at his sleeve and asked softly, "Brother Xiao Yan, what's wrong? Do you feel sorry for him too?"
Xiao Yan came back to himself and managed a smile. He did not want Xun'er to worry about him, nor did he want to tell her such dark suspicions and stain her pure heart. "Yes, I do. He's quite pitiful. Let's go."
The Market District remained bustling, with all manner of curious little trinkets filling the stalls. Xun'er was soon drawn to a stall selling candied fruit skewers. She happily bought two, one of bright red hawthorns and another of orange segments coated in sparkling sugar, and handed Xiao Yan the hawthorn skewer.
"Brother Xiao Yan, try this! This stall's candied fruit is delicious!" Xun'er bit into a candied orange segment, and the sweet, tart flavor made her narrow her eyes in bliss.
Xiao Yan accepted the skewer and took an absentminded bite. The tartness of the hawthorn mingled with the cloying sweetness of the sugar coating in his mouth, but he scarcely tasted it. The figure curled up against the wall still haunted his mind, along with those icy words, "Child Maiming for Begging." He began to wonder whether unknown evil and darkness lurked behind Wutan City's thriving Market District as well.
Noticing his distraction, Xun'er asked with concern, "Brother Xiao Yan, don't you like it? Or is something on your mind?"
Looking into Xun'er's clear, concerned eyes, Xiao Yan felt a faint warmth in his heart. He forcibly suppressed his tangled thoughts and mustered a smile. "It's nothing. I just think this candied fruit is a little too sour. Let's go over there and look at something else."
Xun'er was brilliantly perceptive and naturally noticed that something was wrong with Brother Xiao Yan. Several times, she wanted to ask, but seeing his tightly knitted brows, as though he were pondering something of great importance, she simply stayed quietly by his side, occasionally pointing out an unusual little trinket in an effort to distract him.
Their stroll continued, and Xun'er bought a few more little accessories that girls liked, but Xiao Yan remained distracted. His mind raced through the possibilities. This was no trivial matter. If things really were as he suspected, it was an evil stripped of all humanity. But whom could he ask for help with something like this?
Tell Father, Xiao Zhan? Although Father is upright, he is still the clan head, with countless matters to attend to every day. Besides, such a horrifying claim, made without a shred of evidence, would probably be hard for him to believe immediately, let alone devote time and effort to investigating. The family elders care even more about the clan's interests and cultivation. They probably wouldn't spare much thought for such "idle matters."
After turning it over and over, Xiao Yan found a somewhat unexpected name springing into his mind, yet one that seemed to be the only suitable choice-Xiao Yi. Though Xiao Yi usually acted like some eccentric mystic, dabbling in ghost-exorcising and fortune-telling tricks rather than any proper work, he, like Xiao Yan, came from a place called "Earth."
In that world, they had both been raised with an understanding of the rule of law. They should therefore share a deeper understanding of an evil that trampled on life and twisted human nature. Perhaps only Xiao Yi could understand the anxiety and anger he felt at that moment, and perhaps only he would be willing to accompany him in uncovering the truth behind it.
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