Two young boys were joking not far away. I didn’t quite understand everything they just said about blankets, but they were mean and rude. There was no more energy or mood for a quarrel, so I let it go.

I put down the bamboo basket, and took out the hammer and chisel, and tried to break one of the smaller rocks. It was then I realized how heavy that hammer was. The demons made it look so easy to use the tools, but it was definitely touching my human limits. I tried hard not to hit my hands, but five minutes later, I was left with a bruising and bleeding thumb. After an hour of hard work, I finally cracked open one little rock, unfortunately there was nothing inside.

I had no experience telling a useful rock from a junk one, so I gave another try, but had no luck at all. That second rock almost used up all my energy. My back was full of sweat, and my hands were shaky due to hunger and muscle fatigue.

Finding the right motivation was the only way for me to keep going, therefore I imagined the rocks were winged pearl hunters. Using the hammer, I hit the chisel real hard and each time I would picture it was a blade going into those murderers’ bodies. I tried so hard that sweat was running down my forehead, and dripped on the rocks.

Damn those Aniesian hunters!

They killed innocence without mercy! They had ruined and torn apart countless families! They had killed Grandpa Jin and Grandma Sha, my only family on this land!

I had never hated someone so much that my body started to shake, that my mind began to envision all the bloody revenge and to fight for justice in this world!

………Crack………

Under the nearby torch light, purple rays were shining from the inside of this rock. I chisel it completely open, and get all the pieces out one by one. The crystals were so beautiful and glittering that I found them very charming. Plus, if enough coins were gathered, that would mean food.

I must have worked hours because the sun had gone down, when everyone lined up to turn in the coins for food outside. This space was open to the sky, just like the one I saw not long ago - a sinkhole surrounded by mountains. The smell of steamed buns diffused in the wind, making everybody's mouth watered, and only those who had gathered up a hundred pounds got the food.

I wasn’t sufficient enough on my first day, therefore there was no food for me. I would be surprised if I collected more than five pounds. Since this was the reality, I had to accept it. There were many demons who did not make enough to turn in either, so I followed them to the other side. Right near a small field of wildflowers, there was a spring.

Green moss grew around the tiny pond, and the spring was running quietly, making soft ripples on its surface. People used their hands to take a drink. When it was my turn, I did the same thing. Despite the harsh environment, the water was indeed very refreshing and sweet.

Maybe I was just too hungry that anything would taste like heaven?

The only way to fill the stomach right now was to drink more water, so I tried to drink as much as possible, but a little of the water got onto my face. I squished my eyebrows together due to the pain, and couldn’t move for a couple of seconds. Good thing it was night time, so that I couldn’t see my reflection clearly in the water, otherwise it would be no different than seeing a ghost.

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I was recovering from the pain shock when suddenly someone pushed me off to the ground.

“Out of the way, girl!!”

A man was chewing a mouthful of buns and wanted to get a drink of water. I slowly got back to my feet, and went away from that grumpy man to avoid all the hassles. I didn’t want to argue or fight with anyone, for I had no strength to do so.

The night was dark, and the stars were so clear.

I stared into the night sky, and remembered all the good times I spent with the old couple near the bonfire. We sat there and counted the stars, and sometimes even talked about my home. They were quite curious about the human world too. We laughed and enjoyed the baked sweet potatoes. It was just so warm.

Tonight was a little cold because it was still spring time. I shivered and got away from the crowd to find myself a corner. There were huge rocks around my back, and this was the only way I could feel safe.

I sat down on the ground, and hugged the basket of coins in my chest. It was important to keep my coins safe, because that was the only way to ensure my next meal. Still, I wasn’t too optimistic I would get to my next meal before starving to death, considering my turtle speed in chiseling rocks.

That didn’t matter much, just let things happen naturally.

If whatever or whoever had sent me to this continent was to make me experience the grief of losing loved ones and then die of starvation, then let it be that way. Maybe my destiny was already plotted by someone, who knew?

As I gazed into the warm bonfires far away, I slowly fell asleep. It was the first time ever since the tragedy that I actually had no dreams at all.

So drained out…….

The silver moon shone overhead, and added a bit more visibility to the long night. Bugs were buzzing and clicking to break the quietness of the surroundings.

I was sleeping tight until a slight tug of the basket woke me up.

“Jeez, just freaking grab it!”

“But Leo, she’s waking up…..”

It was those same boys who called me ugly trying to take my basket away!

They looked a few years younger than me, but their strengths were no joke. Fine, I was a human, and they were demons. No surprise, right?

“Don’t take my coins! Hey, you two stop it! Help! Someone help!” I screamed to the top of my lungs.

No one came to my rescue.

Absolutely no one!

I was sure the other people were not far away. I could even see a few shadows just walking by with no hesitation. They were cold natured, extremely cold. Perhaps they were used to this kind of situation, therefore had no reaction at all. Perhaps they were also hungry and fighting to survive. I couldn’t blame them for this.

“Stop it guys! These are my coins!”

I wouldn’t let go of the basket no matter what because the coins inside were my life. Plus it was wrong to steal from other people!

“You go shut that mouth! She is making too much noise!” Leo told the younger boy.

With the flickering of the bonfires, I could see the younger boy kicked me right in the stomach. I fell directly on the ground, but was still holding onto the edge of the basket. If only I did not starve for days, that I wasn’t dosed with grief, I would have enough energy to fight back.

“She is a stubborn one! Give her a lesson so she knows who is the real boss in the Underground!” Leo yelled.

They kicked and beat me so hard that I could barely react to anything, even forgetting to block some of their attacks. Every part of my body hurt that I had no idea where my injuries lay. Some of the purple coins fell out of the basket and dropped onto the ground. I really tried with the last bit of strength to hold onto the rim of the basket, and to save my few pounds of hard work. I worked all day for the coins, just couldn’t let these two brats take them away.

The coins were my life!

Despite all my efforts and reluctance to let go, the basket was pulled out of my fingers. By that point, all my energy was gone, I lay on the ground panting like a dog and couldn’t even move a finger.

“What a loser, only a couple of coins? Just wasting our time!” Leo said with a grumpy voice.