The sweet potato was cold and clumpy in her hands. It also was dry to swallow. The ashy peel was still difficult to separate from the flesh and tiny bits were sticking to her fingers and under her nails. Though, the hint of sweetness made the meal slightly more bearable. She stopped peeling the sweet potato just to get a little bit of flesh exposed. She was no longer hungry, but she was getting tired and the sadness was creeping in again. She was young and did not have enough vocabularies at her deposal to describe what she was feeling but she felt like crying. Something did not feel right around here and there was this awful smell lingering the air, like something rotten.

Most importantly, where was her Nanny Bai? Nanny Bai had hidden her in that dark, damp hole and told her to keep quiet until she come back for her. There were a lot of screaming outside and gradually, less and less voices outside. Then, all of a sudden, she could hear and feel the rain hitting forcefully on the ground, as if it was coming to get her. Even then, Nanny Bai never came back. She didn’t see her mama either. Didn’t Nanny Bai say that mama would meet up with them shortly? Where were they?

“Mama…” she murmured with a pitiful longing for her mama’s warm embrace. She hugged her knees close.

Her whisper did not escape Talu. He went over and patted on her head in an attempt to comfort her, taking on the role of a big brother like he had always wanted.

She looked up to him, puzzled. Her eyes were so clear that he could practically see the waterwork rowing about back and forth, pushing down her cheeks at any moment.

“Don’t worry, I will bring you to your mama.” he promised thoughtlessly. By the time he realized that he had no idea how to accomplish that, especially when there was a good chance that her mother might not even be alive anymore, it was too late.

Her eyes were sparking with excitement now. “Really?” she asked.

He smiled awkwardly. “Well, I will try…” His heart sinking when he said that. Then he asked, “why did you come to this village? Did you come here with your mama?”

She looked troubled at the questions. She shook her head, “Nanny Bai brought me here. She said that ma—my mother will be here shortly…”

Well, that was not helpful. “Hmm…where is your hometown?”

“My hometown…?” she scratched her head. Then, she shook her head again.

He sighed. “Then, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack.”

Just as her hope was waning, she remembered, “there are a lot of flowery trees there! Mama told me they’re called plum blossoms!”

He nodded. “I suppose that is a useful clue.” Then, he decided on their next designation – the land of plum blossoms, wherever that might be. “Don’t worry, Yun’er, I will bring you home!”

When the night sky arrived, he tucked her in bed, humming the soft melody that his mother used to hum to him. When he was sure that she was asleep, he took a deep breath and headed to the main entrance. He started pushing and dragging the two corpses to the space between the staircase and the foundation of the house. He felt bad for the set-up, but his limited strength dictated that was the best he could do given the circumstance. He quickly transported the dirt from the crop patch and started covering up the space. After he was done, he piled up some rocks to substitute as a memorial tablet. He clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. ‘Candied hawthorn sister and sister’s father, sorry. This is all I can do with the time I have. Thank you for always giving me candied hawthorns. Please rest in peace,’ he voiced sincerely in his mind.

Now that he had a peace of mind knowing Yun’er won’t suddenly wake up to see dead bodies in the house, he took two baskets and searched around the neighbouring houses for any food that they could take on their journey. He thought about the girl’s outfit. Although, it looked nice on her, he was worried that it might bring too much unwanted attention and so, he looked for some clothes around her size. On a similar line of thought, he decided to find something fitting for himself as well.

They set off early in the morning. As the gates to Qingnan City were all closed, despite the absence of any potential intruders nearby, Talu and Yun’er travelled a little more than a day around the city. Talu looked back. It was curious why the invaders did not proceed to invade Qingnan. Though, it was none of his business as the top priority on his mind was to find the next place to settle. He doubted the girl’s parents were alive, but he thought it was important to give her hope. Perhaps, when she became a little older, she would understand.

At first, he was worried that she might not adapt to the travelling, but she proved him wrong when she even volunteered to gather fruits from nearby bushes for meals just the second day of travelling. Then, slowly throughout the trip, he noticed that she was copying him, though he was uncertain if it was simply a childish behaviour or that she was trying to be helpful.

It took a little more than half a month until they reached the next closest city, Black Feather City, a city rumoured to be found by the half-demon, the Raven General, when he fled the land of riddled with feuds between demons and gods in order to search for the woman who unintentionally stole his heart. This city, unlike many others in Huaxian, had a history that went back as far as two thousand years ago. Maybe due to its historic ties with a half-demon, or maybe it was situated close to the desert, the city was a magnet, seemingly attracting all the loners, outcasts, eccentrics, and those merely with a particularly rebellious streak. Outsiders were still judged and measured upon the first glance when walking into the city, however, there was an unwritten rule that no questions shall be asked. Other than this, it was a surprisingly lively city at night. Some would wonder if it was deliberate for those who prefer to drown out their past.

Slightly nervous and afraid, Yun’er held tightly on Talu’s arm. Though, her eyes were still unmistakably twinkled in awe at the lanterns hung up high like stars and the various stands and shows on both sides of the road.

Unlike Yun’er, despite how lively the city was, Talu was unimpressed. To him, it was far from rivaling the variety of acts that his hometown had to offer…at least that was the case when his family was alive. He was not sure how the place was now.

“Talu, Talu!” she shook his arm and pointed excitedly at the building ahead. “What’s that?”

“Gege or Talu gege,” he corrected her.

She pouted.

Amused, he got down to level to her height and pinched her chubby face affectionately. “So, you want to be pinched, huh?” he teased.

She quickly jumped back after he caught her off guard the first time. She put up her hands and covered her face. “Alright, alright…” she sneaked a peek at him, making sure that he was not going to pinch her again, and then said reluctantly, “Talu gege.”

“Good girl,” he patted her head just before she tried to dodge.

She rolled her eyes when he looked away. When she saw that his eyes were still fixated on what was ahead, she took a step further and started making faces behind his back.

He was busy looking at where she was pointing at. There were many women stood by the entrance to the building, dressed in a variety of colours, waving their hands to the men passing by, beckoning them to come closer. The colours on the faces were particularly intense, especially with the white base that contrasted the red rouge on their lips and cheeks. He looked up to the name, “Flower Gathering Place?”

He turned to Yun’er, wanting to confirm if that was what she was curious about, but found her giving him a big foolish and awkward looking grin instead. He narrowed his eyes, certain that she was doing something weird behind his back again. “Is that what you were pointing at?” he asked, wary of what she was doing earlier.

She nodded excitedly, as if he would bring her there.

“It’s a restaurant,” he did not give out that he was merely assuming, ‘likely an expensive one too from the way they dress…’

“Can we go there?” she asked, and before he could outright refuse her, she begged, “I just want to have a look. Please, Talu gege?”

He wished that he could bring her to visit, but he got the sense, from the looks of those people, they would unlikely to have any mercy on them should they break anything by accident. Therefore, although unwilling to disappoint her, he told her no but followed up with a promise to take her there someday. Little did he realized that years from now, he would be embarrassed to know that, once upon time, he had promised a girl that he would take her to visit a brothel.