In a world where humans and demons have long been tangled in a deep-rooted conflict and skepticism towards each other, Wei Wuxian - a child born from an unheard union of the two races, an anomaly to the world - was forced to live on the streets afte...
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Winter fell upon the water town of Caiyi. Just as any other places in the Gusu region, the bustling streets were quickly covered in white crystals of snow, piling up little by little from end to end, onto the roofs of people's houses and the bridges connecting one side of the town with the others. Some of the smaller river paths were beginning to freeze, yet those that didn't remain busy just as any other day, with boats carrying goods and passengers passing by one after another, and the traders busily selling various kinds of foods, drinks, and trinkets on the riverbanks.
At the corner of a street, sitting all by himself on the snow-covered ground was a little boy. His long black hair was unkempt. He was wearing a tattered, dirty rag that clearly did not protect his small figure from the cold. On the visible surface of his delicate skin, there were a few cuts and wounds although most already dried. Whether he was beaten by others, dragged into a fight, or suffered from some sort of physical accident, one could only wonder. The citizens of Caiyi Town passing by the said street did not seem to pay him any attention at all, and the boy, too, despite his pitiful state, paid no mind to his surroundings for his big, round eyes were entirely focused on something else.
On the ground near his feet, there was a pile of dirty short straws. The boy was so engrossed in tampering with the straws, putting a handful of them together and tying them up into what looks like small human-shaped dolls. He made three of them, one is about half the size of the other two. Once he was done, he placed them next to each other on the ground; the smaller one he put in the middle between the two bigger dolls. And then with his index finger, he pointed at the straw figures.
"Dad. Mom," he murmured, then his finger moved towards the smaller doll, "And A-Xian."
A smile of satisfaction bloomed into his little face, but it did not take long for a visible streak of sadness to dye his endearing smile. It was at that time, however, that a shadow was cast upon the three straw dolls all of a sudden. The boy involuntarily looked up. And there, he saw a small figure as tall as he was standing only a few steps away from him.
White forehead ribbon flowing in the air, adorned with patterns of cloud. That figure was apparently a boy about the same age as him. He was clad entirely in white; his fine, delicate features carried with them an air of chill and frost. In his hand, he was carrying a small toy, a pretty little rattle drum painted in bright colors. The tramp thought he was the most beautiful person he had ever seen, and yet before he could speak a word, the boy in white took a step forward.
He held out the toy in his hand towards him.
The little boy was dumbstruck. His round eyes were staring at the toy for a while, but then once again, his face bloomed into a bright smile. He, too, held out his hand, and accepted the rattle drum from the boy in white.
