Chapter 2 (2/2)

“Awake?” his voice was clear and melodious like cool spring water, but also gentle and soft like a woman’s. The sound was a bit low but extremely pleasing to hear.

“Un.” I faintly broke out of a trance, realizing I’d never looked at him so closely before. As I looked once again, I really had trouble figuring out whether he was male or female.

The old beggar said that my mother had a teardrop-shaped birthmark below her eye.

That there would come a day when she came for me.

Looking at his face, I dazedly gave out a silly giggle.

“Behind the house, there’s a clear spring, while your change of clothes is at the head of the bed. After cleaning yourself, come to the front room to eat.” He raised himself up with his hands and walked to the door, where he paused. “That smell on your body, if you can’t get rid of it… don’t come inside the house.”

I stared as he walked away, those white robes elegant and graceful, that fine, beautiful figure like the demeanor of a transcendent being. My head hung, and my heart trembled. Could it be…? Is it possible that I’ve met an Immortal?

It really was strange. Why did he pick me out of all those people?

Could it be that his compa.s.sion was like a Bodhisattva’s, and he couldn’t bear to see a group of grown-ups picking on a child? But he clearly treated that starving, dying beggar child on the streets with indifference and didn’t give him half a penny.

Unless…

He really wanted to foster a catamite or eat a child?

But the urchin that blocked his path on the way was much smarter, and looked much better than me. He even offered himself up, so it just wasn’t logical to pick me and not him.

My face was full of doubts.

After changing into my clothes, I observed my reflection in the mirror. There stood a thin and weak under-grown child wrapped up in oversized, draping clothing. No matter how much I washed, my face still looked a little dirty, and my hair was like withered and sallow like gra.s.s. It looked like I had a head full of feathers. No wonder that he left me a boy’s robe, but no matter… since they were new clothes, I was content.

When I arrived in the front room, the beautiful person was already sitting there waiting with a bowl of white rice, fresh greens, tofu and a big bowl of red braised pork.

“Eat,” he raised a finger to point at the dishes on the table.

Meat…

Meatmeatmeatmeatmeat.

Too busy to care about him, I picked up my chopsticks and swooped over, right hand trembling as I picked up the food to scarf it down like wolves and tigers. Vaguely I muttered, “You… aren’t eating.”

He only smiled at me but remained motionless, not picking up any chopsticks.

“I’m not used to eating these type of things.” So speaking, he rose to take a basin of fresh water and soaked his hand inside before leaving the room.

A strange person.

What kind of person wasn’t used to eating food? Unless all of this was… especially cooked for me?

I smiled so much that my eyes turned into crescents.

It looked like this place wasn’t bad.

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