Qiu’yue’s felt as if her entire innards had been chewed away by hunger. She walked and walked through the woods, yet all she ever saw were trees. There was no variety in the trees either: all were of the simple oak variety. No animals could be seen either, or heard for that matter. It was complete silence save for the constant crunch of the autumn-dried leaves as the girl walked.

The girl moaned and complained as she walked. She was so tired and sore, she did not even care to hum a tune to entertain herself.

Under such heavy monotony, the girl hardly realized the scenery finally shifted until loud hisses like steam came rushing forth from the thickets of the woods.

“Who’s there,” the girl squeaked as she fell onto her bum from shock. Her lovely face contorted into terror as the hissing approached with every second from all directions. She picked up a stray branch and began to swing it in front of her. “Stay back! Mama, Papa, save me! Save me!”

“Oi! Brat, you calling for your ma and pa?” A figure dashed in front of Qiu’yue in a single step. One moment, the boy was hidden perhaps ten meters away judging by the projection of his voice. The very next moment, the boy was in front of Qiu’yue crouched on one knee with a prominent scowl. 

His eyes like the openings of a bamboo flute gleamed with deep anger. A boy as young as seven should not possess such hate. “No one can save you here. Except yourself.”

“Junior Brother Cai, are you not being too harsh on the girl?” A figure admonished gently as he appeared from underneath the earth from behind Qiu’yue. The girl gasped in surprise with a tinge of disgust and scooted toward the mean-spirited boy.

The reason for Qiu’yue’s rudeness was understandable. Senior Brother Sha had a face which would make ghosts flee. One eye drooped toward hell; the other eye never moved from staring straight forward. The young man, perhaps only ten, was already bald in several places on his scalp. It was as if he decided to become a monk, but backed out of the ritual midway through. And when he spoke, an odor which would put to shame foul-mouth-ghosts was emitted. Worse of all, the boy had a stomach which bulged and hung.

“Hmph, Senior Brother Sha, this brat clearly does not deserve our help. How can a maiden do something as unsightly as gasp from meeting your eyes?” The boy named Cai growled as he spat at Qiu’yue. The spittle landed pompously in her hair.

The girl gingerly touched her hair. A clump of spit was trapped in her beautiful brown hair. She wiped her hand on one of the leaves on the ground. Her expression was unreadable.

Senior Brother Sha smartly chose to burrow back into the earth.

The girl rushed at Cai. The boy simply rolled his eyes and sidestepped the charge, and, in the process, trip the girl. The girl screamed pitifully as she tumbled into a tree. Qiu’yue hit her head rather hard on the trunk and rubbed her head with tears in her eyes.

“This brat, this brat!” Cai mumbled as he pounded the air with his fists. “I didn’t even have to use qi to defeat you. Oi, brat, listen closely. This is the Village of Lost Orphans, and we do not need baggage.”

“Brother Cai, aren’t you being mean?” A pair of tired voices called out from the distance. A pair of twins emerged from the thickets. One was a young bald boy around eight years old who wore glasses; the other was a girl with long hair which reached her shins.

“You know we can’t travel as quickly or as often as you. Look at Meili, she’s out of breath now. If she catches a fever from tonight’s events, I am going to beat you up. I don’t care if you’re at the 3rd condensation stage — I will paint you black and blue.” The boy muttered as he hugged his sister’s neck.

The girl, Meili, tried to remove her brother’s arms from her body. Her veins pulsed on her hands as she tried to use qi to force the boy’s arms from her. “Ge-ge [brother], stop hugging me!”

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“Oh, Meili, you’re so adorable. Don’t overexert yourself though,” the boy chuckled. “Oh, you’re biting me? Aww, I just want to eat you up.”

Meili munched angrily on her twin brother’s arms.

“Ah, Meili and Jang Guo! You two are finally here,” Senior Brother Sha appeared behind the two. Immediately, his face was met with Jang Guo’s fist. The senior brother stumbled backwards and clutched his nose.

“Senior Brother Sha, how many times have we told you not to sneak up on us? What if Meili got scared and died? Where would I be then? You would certainly be dead though.” The bald boy said with a frown as he pushed up his glasses.

“Ge-ge, stop hitting Senior Brother Sha. We don’t want him to get even more deformed. I already have nightmares every night.”

“Hoho, nevermind that now. Who has the new clothes for our new friend?” Senior Brother Sha laughed, albeit the sound of crying could be heard mixed-in.

The twins walked toward Qiu’yue as one and threw the clothes onto her head.

The clothes were drab grey robes. On the back, there was a large white circle with the character for “service” drawn in it.

“She’s the new girl?” Jang Guo asked.

“She looks spoiled. And weak. And short and sickly pale and —”

“Yes, yes, and she is our new friend,” Senior Brother Sha interrupted. Qiu’yue’s face got more and more dismayed with each word spoken.

“I just want to go home,” Qiu’yue muttered.

Senior Brother Sha crouched down in front of Qiu’yue. The girl recoiled from the older boy’s crooked yellowed teeth. “Now, now. This is your new home now. You’ll come to like it. Stand, stand. It is getting much too late now. You are tired, right? For now, just follow us, and we can talk tomorrow.”

Qiu’yue nodded with hesitation. She went around the tree to change.

Cai and the twins already left by the time Qiu’yue finished changing.

“You should leave those clothes there.”

Qiu’yue shook her head and hugged her clothes close.

Senior Brother Sha extended his hand, only to be met with disgust. Still, Senior Brother Sha laughed it off and began to walk slowly, making sure the young girl behind him would not fall too behind.

Qiu’yue followed from a distance behind the older boy. The senior brother constantly hummed and joked and laughed. It did not take long for Qiu’yue to feel ashamed for not holding senior brother’s hands and ran toward him.

Qiu’yue felt shivers as she saw Senior Brother Sha smile up close once more, but she also felt very happy. The two of them walked toward the homes of the Village of Lost Orphans.

When the pair got to there, Qiu’yue gasped and widened her eyes in amazement. It was a spectacular scene which she never found in the palaces or her family mansion. 

Author's Note: Late upload. Personal life is a pain. What are your thoughts on this chapter? Thanks for reading.