When I was younger I used to believe in things that now I can see, were pure illusions made of ignorance and hope. I thought people were kind-hearted even if sometimes they would punch others with a handful of words covered with hatred.

Now that I look back to how my life was, I can perfectly see how much I was treasured and protected by those warm arms that I used to call home.

I dress in my late father's clothes and tie my hair in a ponytail. Mrs. Dae told me to take the day off since I had seen what had happened.

Personally, I don't think I have really internalized the horrid scenario that befell upon my eyes yesterday. Every time I close my eyes I can still see Malu laying on the floor, naked and bleeding while Qin Mue and Qian just kept on drinking their wine passionately. I keep recalling Stella and that makes it even harder to forget. No matter how long passes, I don't think I will ever be able to remove the stench of blood from the depths of my mind. That specific smell was engraved there forever, and with every passing day, it only grows stronger.

As I leave through the back gates I see a small black cat rustling through some wooden boxes lingering on the street. When he sees me he immediately runs away at an abnormal speed.

I continue walking towards the main street in town however I had a weird feeling in my gut. "Was someone following me?" I wondered as I looked back just to see the ghost-like area covered with shadows from the big buildings.

"I must be imagining things" I whisper to myself as my legs move again.

"Hey young man, would you like to buy a jewel for your beloved one?" a merchant with a big smile asks me as I pass by his small stall. His callous hands were carrying a beautiful golden necklace with some circular symbols decorating it.

As I look behind him I notice a little boy, dressed with some rags alongside several cuts on his hands. His face looked pale and he was definitely underweight. His black hair camouflaged him very well.

My lips portrait a cold smile as I slowly back away from the stall.

'Filthy' I continuously yelled in the back of my mind.

Some hours pass and I return to where the little boy was just to see him behind the wooden stall shaking while eating a small piece of bread filled with mold.

"When was your last proper meal?" I whisper after approaching him. He just looks at me dumbfounded right before shrugging. "Come with me, I will treat you," a smile appears on my lips but the little boy stayed in his place, hesitant. A sigh escapes my body. "It won't be long, I promise," I reassure him right before he decided to get up and follow me while his tiny hand grabbed my cape.

We walk for a bit and we reach a tavern filled with noisy men, yelling for more and more beer. I sit on one of the wooden tables while the little boy does the same.

Even though the tavern was filled with light the environment felt overwhelming since the majority of the customers were soldiers working for Lord Mue. They were loud and drunk and maybe that would explain why there were no female customers around.

The more I looked at the little boy, the angrier I would get. His face had some bruises, most likely made by that disgusting middle-aged man. I even wonder when was the last time he was able to properly bathe since he possessed a strong smell and he looked dirty from working on the floor all day.

"Hello lads, what will you be having today?" says a tall lady right after approaching our table. Her ginger hair had several voluminous curls that bounced alongside her uncovered pale breasts. Her jade green eyes were contrasting her bright red lipstick and right above her lips, there was a small black stamp. She was indeed a gorgeous woman.

"Is there something you want?" I ask him just to see his attention focused on one of the dishes placed on the table of an extremely drunk man. Chicken with rice. "One of those and some water please," I say politely.

"Alright, I will be back with you in a bit" she quickly leaves the table while all the men focus their attention on her, however, weirdly enough, no one dared to approach her.

"Can I know your name? I'm Ling" I ask him while he was sitting on his chair fidgeting his legs as a way of portraiting his anxiety.

"Bao" he says after coughing a couple of times. Despite his young age, his voice was harsh, almost as if it had been damaged by something or someone.

"It's nice to meet you, Bao. How old are you?"

"Seven," at this precise moment the waitress comes back with the food and places it in front of me. I remove the small piece of cloth that contained the little money I had and pay for the food. Then she leaves and I immediately turn the plate around and push it towards Bao. "Go ahead, eat so you can grow strong and healthy!" after a couple of seconds of hesitation he starts eating ruthlessly.

As he ate I couldn't help but wonder about how he reached this state. His bruised and cut body, his rough voice, and the mental scars that filled him with doubt and fear. In the back of my head, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. This poor kid must suffer, so much.

Several minutes pass and he leans back on the chair with a smile on his face after finishing his meal. Then he looks to the window and straightens himself up hurriedly right before getting up and heading towards the door.

"Bao wait!" I yell as I run after him. I finally manage to catch up to him and grab his arm as I go down to his level. "Hey... What's wrong?" I ask him while looking into his pretty dark brown eyes. His face was wandering from place to place, without having any type of focus.

"Go" he says while trying to run towards the stall. Then a shadow appears behind me and he freezes. His expression suddenly changes, his complexion turns pale and his eyes were filled with fear.

Slowly I get up and turn around to see the middle-aged man with a vengeful aura around him.

"You stupid kid! Where were you?! This is not what I'm paying you to do!" he yells at him as he moves past me quickly and grabs him by the arm strongly. "I should just end you. Useless piece of shit!" he states as his hand hits Bao's face abruptly making his small body fall right onto the floor. His lips were cut and tears rolled down his eyes as he remained silent.

My body moves and I place myself between Bao and the merchant.

"Stay out of this young man," he warns me as he tried to push me away.

"How pitiful your life must be to beat up a child" I state as I focus on the pathetic man standing right in front of me.

"Kids shouldn't meddle in other's people businesses!" he screams as he throws a punch on my right cheek. Since I wasn't expecting him to be physical with someone other than Bao I didn't dodge it but for this man, we're all the same unless we buy something from him. The pain was running up and down my face while my brain sends warning signs through my nerves. 'Run' it said constantly. 'You'll be killed' it yelled inside me.

I didn't run. I didn't move from the spot I was.

Back then I was too weak to help my family but right now, I can help this poor kid since it is just one man.

"Tell me the truth..." I spit some blood on the floor as I gather my composure again. "Do you beat up kids because you can't beat one yourself?" I question him sarcastically as his face turns red with anger and his fist tries to find his way right into my face again. This time I already knew so I just ducked and swept one of my feet against his unbalanced legs making him fall straight onto the floor next to us.

Hurriedly I pick up Bao and start running away as he looked at me dumbfounded. I couldn't stay there, I can't fight so this the only thing I can do.

I feel my body getting heavier so I put him down and lean back against one wooden wall in a sketchy alley. We've run far enough, he can't find us now. Soon my legs give in and I sit down while trying to catch up my breath.

"Are you alright?" Bao asks me as a feeling of guilt and concern covered his mind while he approached me. His small and frail hands rip a bit of his clothing, one of the few somewhat clean pieces, as he cautiously cleans the area around my mouth that was bleeding.

"Dying is a lot worse, don't worry," I state as I let out a small giggle. Bao just smiled kindly and sat down, leaning his body against mine. He must have thought I was joking but honestly, I wasn't.

The humming hammer beating my head right now as the aftermath of the punch is nothing compared to the pain I was feeling as my blood sank onto the wooden planks that night. This pain is nothing.

My eyes started to feel heavy and I feel my conscience fading away as my heavy head, unconsciously, leans on top of Bao's head.

------

"Mom, I just finished packing the carrots. Do you need help with lunch?" I ask as I reach the kitchen.

"Oh Eri, done already? You sure are fast." my mom giggles as she finishes setting up the table. "Kids, lunch is ready" she yells and then, a couple of seconds after, Stella appears holding our baby brother in her arms followed by my little sister Nai.

The table was lively and filled with happiness. Stella was laughing as Nai would throw a tantrum for not wanting to eat her carrots. My mother would feed my baby brother as he happily sucked the milk from her pearly white breasts.

------

I wake up to the constant growth of silence as the sun started to set. Bao was by my side, jiggling his feet without moving too much. His hands were also moving as he played with them softly and silently.

'He was trying not to wake me up' I realized as I slowly got up. "Where do you live? I will take you home," he nods with a smile as he grabs my hand and leads the way.

After some minutes of walking deeper into the sketchy alley, we reach a poorly built house made of wood that was starting to rotten. The intense smell of decay was filling up my nostrils while the floors were a mixture of mud and most likely, feces.

This must be the part of the town that everyone pretends it's not real.

In town everything is so bright and shiny, everyone is always filled with deceitful smiles but in here, the streets were empty and you could barely hear or see any living soul. Here lived the renegades, the beings that held no status, no power, and no money, the people that weren't even considered humans.

"Mom! I'm home!" Bao yells as he opens the rusty front door. I am shocked by what I see. The small house only had two divisions, in one there was a room and the other a small kitchen. The floor was filled with wholes and rats wandered around as if this was their turf.

"Who might this young man be?" a tall and thin lady with beautiful straight black hair appears while carrying words as comfortable as an embrace.

"Ling!" he says excitedly as the lady picks him up. "He bought me chicken!" the mother's dark eyes turn dull and worried.

"What did I tell you about accepting things from strangers?!" she yells while putting him down. "I'm sorry, we don't have much to repay you with so take anything you'd like" she states as slightly bowing down her head.

"There's no need for such a thing, please lift your head, I'm no one." I place my hand on her shoulder as she smiles kindly.

"At least let me treat the wound on your face" she places her warm hand on my swollen right cheek but I instantly refuse. I cannot bear the thought of taking something from this family as precious as medicine.

"Who's this mom?" a deep voice echoes as the door creaks open and when I turn around I see a boy that looked a couple of years older than me holding the hand of a four-year-old girl. His black eyes and extremely black hair were somewhat intimidating even though they only made his defined jawline and tanned skin contrast. On the other hand, the little girl had bright brown eyes that contrasted her pale skin and dark straight hair.

"I'm Ling but I was about to leave. Well then..." I state as I cover my head with my hood and head towards the door however my feet stop when I hear a moan from inside the other room.

"Fen..." I heard a low voice say from far away. Then Bao's mother heads towards the room as the young boy and her sister start removing things from a small cloth bag.

For some reason, I couldn't stop myself from approaching the room and end up seeing an old lady laying on a wooden bed. Her small hands trembled as Fen caressed her white hair.

"Ling do you want to eat with us?" Bao asks me however I instantly nod. I couldn't take something from this family, they have nothing to make it through the day.

"I'm sorry Bao but I can't." I pat his charcoal hair softly as his expression saddens. "Fen, can I talk with you for a minute?" I say while placing my hand on the broken wooden frame. She nods and then I proceed.

"Leave this place and go to my house" I state seriously as the older brother approaches the room hurriedly.

"What are you talking about? We don't even know you" he places his rough hand on my shoulder and tightens it making my hood drop. I look at him seriously as his face widens as he sees me. I had my head low ever since he entered, I had a feeling that someone like him would be very suspicious of his surroundings so that's why I intended to leave right away.

"He protected me! So he is not a bad person Jin!" Bao steps in as the grip lightens. The older brother continuously looked at me as I felt this overwhelming aura disappear slowly.

"I'm serious. The house is empty and it's big enough for all of you to be there. You have a river nearby so you can bathe every day and you can use our farm to grow crops. In fact, there should still be some crops left from..." I stop my words from flowing. I got too comfortable and almost said something I shouldn't. "Either way, it is better for all of you. Stay there for as long as you'd like. No one will ever come to complain."

"Ling that is... We can't accept it, something like that..." Fen was overwhelmed and could barely speak.

"How do we know you are telling the truth?" Jin asks politely.

I mean, I completely understand his side. He looks extremely suspicious of this situation but who wouldn't be? A random person appeared with an unusual proposition.

"What other option do you have? Your grandmother is sick, this is no environment for her." I state as I remove my small cloth wallet. "Fen take this, use it to buy medicine and a ride to the house" she nods hesitantly as Jin gives up and goes back into the kitchen. I start explaining the way to my house while Fen listened attentively. "That's about it. I just have one favor to ask of you" I lean on the door frame. "Take care of the graves that are beside the house, please," as I bow down my head politely I hear the old lady's rough and trembling voice.

"We will take care of them as if they were from our own," she states with a kind smile on her face. I felt a little bit more at ease since part of me was worried about their resting beds.

Usually when farmers and other people like us disappear the houses are either abandoned and end up decaying or they are used by mercenaries and travelers that end up making a mess of things. Lord Mue doesn't care about such small properties, in fact, the only thing he cares about is large sums of money.

I had left out the farm only a couple of days ago if that much. Hopefully, no one will have discovered about it yet.

"I have to go now. Take care." I head towards the door just so that my wrist is grabbed by Jin tightly. I let out a small groan of pain.

"If you're lying to us I will come for your head kid" he states while looking at me. He didn't look mad but I think he was still suspicious of me.

"I know" a kind smile is formed on my face as I place my cold hand on top of Jin's as he slowly loosens his grip. Bao was throwing a tantrum, he didn't want me to leave but I couldn't stay there any longer. The sun had set and now the streets were filled with darkness.

My hands pull the hood over my head once again and I head back towards the mansion, however, I keep on feeling someone behind me, watching me from the shadows.

"Who's there?" I ask as I turn around swiftly just to be greeted by never-ending darkness conjugated with an overwhelming silence.

"Jump!" I hear a deep assertive voice say as my body moves on its own and I jump back right before a big flower pot falls right in front of me.

Without understanding anything I look around but the side street was empty. Scared, I start running back towards the mansion. I don't think I could stay any longer outside.