"Please help me!" A helpless child, no older than ten years old, yelled out among the villagers. "Anyone! Please help me!"
The villagers glanced at the child, sympathetically; however, none were willing to step forward to help the dirty child. Not only was the child notorious, but the child's family was infamous as well. No one saw any value in helping out someone like the child nor the child's family, especially with the rumors that surrounded the mother.
"Please..." the child kneeled in front of the people, kowtowing until blood dripped from the forehead. "I beg anyone for help!"
If anyone were to look closer, past the child's dirty exterior, they'd see that she was a young girl who was quite pretty despite her predicament. Unfortunately, no one was willing to get near here in case they would suffer misfortunes for helping out someone like her.
Among the silence, someone finally stepped forward. An old woman who didn't have long to live, no longer able to bear the guilt of ignoring a child's pleas.
"What do you need?"
The child raised her head, her eyes still glistening with tears. "My mother. Please, save my mother."
The old woman sighed.
She was not a doctor. No one here was a doctor except the stubborn Old Man Li, but he wasn't going to help someone like the little girl nor her mother.
Even if the child was young, she still understood why the old woman didn't say anything else. There was one person who could help her mother, but was he willing to help her? She had pled with him before, but he wasn't willing to help her. Now, her mother was in a critical condition. She had to offer everything she had to help her mother.
The young child stood up, feeling a bit lightheaded from the blood-loss, and ran towards the home of Old Man Li.
Her small fist banged on the door, her cries louder than before. "Old Man Li, please help me. Please save my mama. Please, help me!"
An old man with a scowl on his face opened the door. His eyes flickered to the child that was kneeling at his door, the dry blood on her forehead mixed with the dirt on her face.
"Scram off!" He lashed out, raising his leg to kick her away. She ignored his rage and scampered to grab his leg pitifully.
"Please save my mother!" Hot tears swarmed in her beautiful eyes and she held his leg with an iron grip. Despite the obvious stares in her direction, she didn't care and continued to plea.
Old Man Li was going to kick her away again but then stopped. A malicious smile spread on his face and he finally agreed, telling her to lead the way to her mother.
A breath of relief escaped her mouth and she stood up, her legs shaking from kneeling so much. The bloodloss along with her dehydration from crying so much was making her dizzy, but she knew that she couldn't afford fainting when her mother needed her.
She and Old Man Li—following her—walked towards the ends of the town, where there was a small home in terrible condition. Old Man Li glanced at it with distaste, but went inside anyway.
When the little girl saw her sickly mother on the bed, she quickly sat next to her and cried again. Her mother, once a beautiful and healthy woman, now was thin and pale due to the white plague. Even though the little girl knew that the white plague had no cure, she still stubbornly refused to allow her mother to die without an attempt to save her life.
"Old Man Li, please help her." Her mother was coughing but she didn't care and held her hand firmly in her small ones.
Old Man Li immediately recognized the disease that the wench had. He swiftly covered his mouth with his sleeve and turned to leave. "Your mother is hopeless." Even if he had an objective, he still wouldn't endanger his own life for it.
The little girl saw that he was leaving and panicked. She released her mother's hand and grabbed Old Man Li's shirt to prevent him from leaving. "You said you would help my mother! Please help her." He flung away her hand and continued to cover his face. "Please, I'll do anything!"
Old Man Li paused and glanced at the dying woman on the bed. A plan formulated in his head and he turned his attention to the small child pleading to him. "Okay, I can save your mother. But can you give me anything as valuable as her life?" The girl knew that her mother was poor and they had no money. She dejectedly averted her eyes and he shook her head. "You do." He leaned down and whispered something in her ears that made her pale. She began to visibly shiver and touched her face. "If you want me to save your mother, then you can make this small sacrifice?"
The little girl was stunned into silence and finally sighed. Her mother was her pillar of light, she couldn't be selfish. In the end, she nodded and Old Man Li grinned pervertedly. He told her to drop by in two hours and he would ready the medicine for her to give to her mother.
She nodded gratefully and kowtowed again, enthusiasm bursting in her heart. Her mother was going to be okay! She didn't mind losing something so insufficient if it meant her mother could be well and healthy. She went back to her mother, who slowly opened her eyes and stared at her daughter.
"Yun'er," she weakly raised her hand and touched her daughter's dirty face. "Did you play in the mud again?" Her eyes shifted to the blood and her eyes flashed with alarm. "Yun'er, where is this blood from!?"
"Mama, please don't worry. Old Man Li said that he'll save you." She smiled and ignored her mother's questions.
"Yun'er..." her sentence faltered and she began to cough violently like always. Blood spat out of her mouth and her complexion worsened.
"Mother!" As much as she wanted to wait for two more hours, she needed medicine from Old Man Li now! "I'll go get the medicine right now." She stood up to leave but her mother stopped her by grabbing her wrist. Albeit she was sick, she still mustered enough strength to do so.
"Yun'er..." She pulled out a small and rusted key that she had hidden underneath the bed and forced it in her hands.
The little girl looked at the key with shock. "Mother what is this?" This was the key that was possibly the key to the little box her mother treasured so much. The same little box that she was forbidden to get close to and ask about.
"Open it." Her mother was giving her most prized possession to her because she believed she was dying?
"No!" She flung the key away. "I don't want it! Mother, please continue to protect the key after you're healthy again." She didn't give her mother a chance to refute and left, looking for Old Man Li.
As she was running, she quickly arrived at Old Man Li's home and banged on the door again. "You're early." He opened the door and grumbled.
"Old Man Li, I need the medicine now!"
Old Man Li glanced at her and nodded, ushering her inside. He told her that he was almost done with it and she watched him crush a few other herbs and add to his current mix.
She didn't know that she was randomly mixing herbs and was making a basic recipe. She didn't know that the white plague was impossible to treat, even if it was a godly doctor. She didn't know that she was walking into a trap.
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Ten minutes later, he finished and turned around. "It's ready. Let's go." He grabbed the medicine and she flinched. She knew that he was going to collect his payment immediately afterwards. Even though she was scared, she was even more scared of losing her mother. Hence, she averted her eyes and ignored it. They walked towards the small home again and her mother was still lying on the bed. She had her eyes closed but opened them when she overheard their footsteps.
She saw Old Man Li and her eyes narrowed. She opened her mouth to say something but was forced to drink the medicine instead. She coughed violently and he covered his face again so he wouldn't be infected.
The little girl watched as color returned to her mother's face and she cried again; although tears of joy. Her mother's complexion was healthier than the last couple of years. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Old Man Li nodded. He told her that he would collect his payment by tomorrow and that she could nurse her mother back to full health. She sighed in relief and he left them alone.
She kissed her mother's cheeks that were gradually returning to color. An hour later, she helped her mother sit up and brought out the only bread they had. "Mama, please eat this."
Her mother raised her hand and stopped her from bringing the bread to her mouth. "Yun'er—" her words were interrupted by a fit of bloody coughs and the color on her face dissipated. In fact, she looked even worse than before taking the medicine.
"Why is this happening?" She was in shock. She couldn't fathom why the medicine was having the opposite effect. Shouldn't her mother be okay now?
"Yun'er...the key...give me the key..." the little girl scampered around their small home and found the key that she had childishly flung away earlier. She gently placed it in her mother's hands but her mother urged her to keep it. "Open the box."
She hesitated, but in the end, she couldn't ignore her mother's wish for a second time. She brought out the little box and with shaking hands, used the key to open it. Inside, there was a small, jade pendant with the surname Qi (齐) engraved on it. "This...is my family pendant." The jade pendant was easily the most expensive thing the little girl had seen in her life and to find out that it belonged to mother, it confused her. Did her mother come from a wealthy family?
"Where are they?" She blinked innocently and her mother's eyes glazed with unshed tears.
"They're all dead." Her attention turned to the pendant. "I thought I could keep it for the rest of my life as a memory of my sins...but I will be selfish." Her mother's voice turned hoarse. "Yun'er, I want you to sell it and live a good life."
"Mama, we'll live a good life together!"
Her mother felt her vision blurring and she shook her head. "Yun'er...I don't have long to live...please...be healthy...and live a good life..."
"Mother!" She began to sob when she saw her mother closing her eyes. "Please, please don't leave me!"
"Yun'er..." her eyes were completely closed now and she coughed and her breath ceased. Her pale face was now lifeless.
"Mother?" She shook her body gently. Seeing no reaction, she shook her body more violently and it didn't wake her up at all. "Mother I'm sorry I won't play in the dirt anymore. I won't run off when you're talking...I won't be unfilial, so please open your eyes!" What answered her was a dreadful silence.
She finally realized that her mother was gone, so her cries grew louder as she buried her face against her mother's chest. The full depth of loneliness hit her harder than any pain she had ever endured.
Her target of resentment turned towards Old Man Li, who told her that her mother would get better with the medicine he made. However, her current goal was to give her mother a proper burial. Even though her mother was larger than her seven year old frame, she still held her carefully and placed her outside their little home. She noticed the ditch that she had always disregarded and placed her mother inside. She gathered dirt and tree barks and placed them on top until they formed a cluster big enough to hide the deceased. Then, she found rocks and formed a pyramid on top of the cluster. She went back into the home and found the bread that her mother had rejected earlier. She placed the bread in front of the pile and went back inside to scavenge for anything else to honor her mother.
Finally, she noticed something deeply hidden in her mother's things which consisted of cheap cloth and such. She pushed aside everything and her sight fell on a white jade bracelet with the character Xiang (想) engraved on it.
To miss?
Was this another thing that belonged to her family? She decided to keep it with the jade pendant and went back outside with a small bowl. She filled it with water from the nearby and broken well and placed it next to the bread. She looked at the pile of rocks and the bread in front of it and felt like something was missing. Even though she did not know how to read or write, she still wished that her mother wasn't easily forgotten. Hence, she grabbed a stick and copied the engraving of Qi onto the large rock.
All of this took her two hours, so by the time she had finished, she kowtowed and cried again.
May your next life be filled with happiness, she prayed sincerely, ignoring the throbbing pain in her heart.
She glanced at the sky and noticed that it was already dark. She still wanted to go ask Old Man Li why he lied to her. Quickly, she made her way back to the center of the village and noticed Old Man Li drunk with his friends coming out of somewhere with red lights. She hid and overheard them talking about her.
"Old Man, why did you help that dirty child earlier? You know her mother is..."
Old Man Li chuckled and drunkenly waved his hand to dismiss his friend's concern. "I only gave her some minor medicine. Her mother was suffering from the white plague...even the Gods wouldn't be able to save her. I think with the unharmonious medicine and the plague... she might as well be dead by now!"
"But why did you waste your medicine?"
A perverted smile spread on Old Man Li's face. "Her daughter... she's a little small, but she's pretty beyond that filth. I told her that I would treat her mother if she became my concubine!" A wave of laughter erupted in the air following his words. "With such a burdensome mother, I'll take care of her from now on!"
"Old Man, you're so kind!"
"Mhm, now it's pretty late. I outta get going so I can wake up early tomorrow to greet my new wife." His friends waved him off and he disappeared into his home.
Meanwhile she had overheard everything and her small fists were so clenched that they turned white. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks...
She was angry.
Old Man Li had lied to her, but she had also caused the death of her own mother. Her heard clenched and she felt so stupid. Her mother could've lived longer if she didn't bring her the medicine!
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The little girl waited until she saw no one in the village and ran towards Old Man Li's home. She knocked and waited politely. The old man, rubbing his eyes and raged on who was disturbing him so late at night. His head was aching from the alcohol he had drank earlier, so his mood wasn't the best. Yet when he saw who was on the other side of the door, a creepy smile grew on his face.
"Little girl, what can I do for you?"
"Old Man Li... my mother died!" She meekly wiped away her pouring tears and pitifully looked at him. "I have nowhere to go. Please help me!"
He chuckled and opened the door wider. "Might as well let you come in here one day sooner!" She nodded and followed him inside, where he grabbed some bread for her to eat. Since Old Man Li was the only doctor in the village, he was one of the wealthier folks living there. Hence, he could easily give away bread that the little girl and her mother couldn't afford.
She munched on the bread as her eyes darted around until they landed on a sharp knife close by. Old Man Li didn't notice her sweat drenched forehead and turned to her. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you." He reached over and she fell back, scampering backwards until she hit the wall. One of his arms extended and he savagely ripped her thin clothes, exposing her chest.
She screamed and as he was taking off his own clothes, she grabbed the knife and dug it deeply in his chest. He yelled in pain and released her, allowing her to jump back. Blood quickly soaked his clothes but he stood up to catch her from running away. She noticed another knife and grabbed it, slashing his incoming arm from touching her.
"You damned little bitch!" He growled, feeling another the burn of slashes on his arms from the knife. She swung it mindlessly, protecting herself. Blood dripped everywhere and he felt himself losing focus from the blood loss. She took notice of the opportunity and used the knife in her hand to stab him again. He froze, then suddenly coughed out blood and fell to the ground. Silence followed except the sound of her ragged breaths and her thumping heart.
I...killed him? Her face paled at the realization. She had only intended to steal some money from him and then leave since she didn't want to sell her mother's keepsake, yet the moment that he tore her clothes, she had lost all reason and wanted to defend herself. But to think that she had killed him... it was traumatizing. She had no further motivation to take his money even if he offered it to her. She bent next to him to see if he was still breathing when suddenly he pulled out one of the knifes and slashed her. She managed to dodge but not fully as he slashed her eyes.
She screamed in pain and covered her eyes as darkness was beginning to overwhelm her. She pushed open the door and ran outside and away from him. She didn't stop running even once she reached her home because she was so scared. In the end, she had been running for what seemed like hours and found herself in the forest that bordered the current Xi Country and the Kang Country. It was already dark, plus her eyes had sustained damage, so she couldn't see.
She sat down and tears were unintentionally pouring from her eyes. She wanted to yell for help but knew that it would only lead to her death with the wild animals. She desperately yearned for her mother or anyone...the eerie feeling of the forest was beginning to impact her and make her seven year old frame conscious about it.
Yet despite the desire to stay awake and protect herself, the fatigue was finally starting to hit her. She had endured so much, even getting her eyes hurt. She began to shiver at the cold and chilly air in the forest, yet she had nothing to cover herself except the thin clothes that belonged to her.
In the end, she closed her eyes for a second but ended up falling asleep.
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She woke up to the sound of something growling, but she couldn't see what. Her surroundings were almost fully dark, except a very blurry figure in front of her. She stood up, her legs wobbly, and ran with her stuff in her arms. The little girl had exhausted the energy she received from sleeping, her legs giving out and she falling.
She tried to get up again; however, her ankle had twisted and she couldn't. "Help me!" She yelled out with panic of the creature getting closer to her. "Someone help me!" Her cries for help were met with no replies except the animal's growling that was increasing in volume. She scooted backwards the closer the sound got until her back hit a tree.
This is the end... a bitter feeling overwhelmed her heart. Sorry mother, I couldn't live more than a day without you.
The animal had etched completely close to her and she raised her arms to shield herself from the impact when a sudden whoosh sound was heard and the animal fell on top of her. She pushed it away and felt an arrow pierced in its body. It was heavier than she expected, meaning it was probably bigger than she expected.
A large figure stood in front of her and pulled the animal away from her. "Little girl, why are you here?" She recognized the kind voice belonging to a man in his twenties. She opened her mouth to respond but couldn't utter a word.
He stared at her, trying to decipher her, but couldn't see anything more than a wounded child. He noticed the dry blood around her eyes that required immediate medical attention.
"Help...me..." her throat was dry. Be it from the earlier fear or from not drinking any water for so long, her hoarse voice invoked pity from him despite being a stranger. He extended his hand and noticed that she wasn't budging, most likely because she couldn't see his hand that was offered for help.
He bend over and suddenly picked her up, startling her. Yet despite the sudden contact, she didn't feel uncomfortable at all like with Old Man Li. She closed her eyes again and unknowingly fell asleep while he carried her.
She didn't know that this encounter was the start of her long and bittersweet fate.
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Phew, the prologue was much longer than expected! 3.7K words, completely unintentional lmao
I hoped you enjoyed it! Updates are 2x per week eastern time zone with long chapters so it balances out not being able to update every day :P
Next update will be Tuesday! The prologue was meant to be posted during the weekend but I wasn't completely finished with it and needed to keep adding parts so it made sense in the future.
Some notes:
White plague: essentially tuberculosis; however, it wasn't called tuberculosis until the 1800s I think. Although this book isn't fully historically accurate, I did discover that tuberculosis was called many names (such as white plague) in history. It might not be regionally correct, but I still wanted to use white plague because it seemed periodically correct (with the fear of plagues and such).
Er: It's added at the end of a name for endearment. So Ying Yun (Ying being her surname 应) and Yun being her name (cloud 云), her endearment was Yun'er.
Xiang: Is a surname, but in this case, (想) means to miss (feeling wistful about an absence). So don't let it confuse you in the future if you see Xiang again (it'll be a surname and a different character).
That should be everything, but let me know if you have any questions.
- Scarlettt