19 Chapter 19: "Social Business"

Yaoyao: Yaoyao is a five-year-old little girl who lived with her mother in the slums of the capital. Her mother passed away last week. She is very poor and no longer has any living relatives that she knows of. Just before her mother passed away, they met a wandering monk who took care of her mother during her last breath. After her mother died, the wandering monk took her under his wing.

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At first, they looked like they would be the worst enemies but after a few minutes, Yaoyao and Xiu'er became playmates. Not to mention what she was teaching the kid.

Beetle fighting.

They dug their hands into the ground until their faces were smudged with dirt, then made the beetles fight with one another under the hot sun. When they had the final champion, they took the beetle and scared the local kids, chasing them like it was a game. After they were done, Yaoyao taught Xiu'er how to make a flower crown that she learned from her Monk Adoptive Father.

Xiu'er and Xiaogua learned that Yaoyao was an orphan whose mother had just passed away recently. She met a wandering monk who took care of her mother's funeral, as well as taking the obligation to raise her. After knowing this, they're hearts grew heavy and they wanted to do more for this child. The flower crown that Yaoyao made for her had few flowers and mostly grass. It was crooked with loose ends and roots sticking out from different places. Even then, Xiu'er loved it with all her heart.

She taught her where A'Li's ticklish spots were and how to use her hand to whistle call so that A'Li comes running. The monkey and the little girl also seemed to be getting along very well, they even found out they shared a common love for sweets. Xiu'er promised that tomorrow she would bring many treats for her: cookies, cakes, pastries, and sweet buns.

Xiaogua watched everything from the side and didn't allow himself to participate. He was never good with children, especially the ones in his village who were brainwashed that he was a water demon. However, there was a boy who he saved from drowning on the day Kun Shang came back from the Palace. The boy was one of the children who would spat at him whenever he walked past, but after saving his life, the boy was reluctant to continue with the habit and no longer harbor unnecessary hatred towards him. It was on that day that Kun Shang saw his powers and decided to take Xiaogua with him, promising to find a way to extract his powers or suppress it all.

Yaoyao and Xiu'er were chasing A'Li when the monkey ran up Xiaogua to take refuge. The little girl stopped in front of him with puckered lips and watery puppy eyes, asking him to get A'Li for her. He looked at her, couldn't resist the shining in her eyes and the pink chubby cheeks that filled up most of her face. Pretty soon, he had no choice but to join in their little tag game. A'Li was sad that he no longer had sanctuary, but also glad that he was no longer the center of attention. Xiu'er and Yaoyao took turns chasing after Xiaogua and tickling him.

Xiaogua had never had this much fun before, for the longest he could remember.

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When Xiaogua dropped her off in the marketplace after the slums, Xiu'er insisted he explore the rest of the city by himself because she had some business to attend to. With that being said, she nearly had to kidnap A'Li off his shoulders, who screamed for help.

"Come along, A'Li. Don't be a hard head. We still have business to do, remember?"

Xiu'er found a good spot for them to overlook the market. They were nestled on top of a roof that had a perfect view of the busiest street. While eating some buns Xiu'er had sneaked from under the eyes of a plumb grandma, who would've been more than happy to feed a starving beggar and her monkey for free, she checked for her next available target. Within a short amount of time, she spotted her first victim.

It was a young man wearing cheap linen clothes, straw-sewned shoes, and carrying a traveler's backpack: the wooden type with a white shade over his head. He looked like a novice who had never been to the capital before by the look of his astonished face at everything that smelled delicious. He wasn't truly handsome, maybe due to the fact that he hasn't fully matured yet; he was shorter, a stout body and probably around 15 or 16 years old. He had his hands clenched tightly onto a bun, his only form of ration.

Xiu'er decided to approach him with the plan "My younger brother is sick, we need food!". She jumped off the roof and landed gracefully on the other side of the street, then ran around the corner and threw a limp A'Li onto his arms. This plan was going to call for her victim to play pity on her dying 'younger brother',A'Li, so they will either give her money, or distract them long enough so she can steal it instead.

She wailed in loud cries and fell onto her knees. She squeezed her eyes for fake tears, sniffed then wiped her invisible tears away. A'Li acted as though he was ailing and coughed, then stuck his tongue out as far as possible. His head rolled back, his tongue stuck to the top of his head. For a second, she wasn't sure if her plan was going to work because she was no longer dressed as a beggar. However, her acting had never failed her before so she gave it a try.

"Mister! Please save us, we're starving! My younger brother and I hadn't eaten for days. Look how skinny he is. He's going to turn into a live prune."

The boy was frightened and taken aback when she threw the primate onto his arms. He was both alarmed and disgusted by the baby monkey, afraid of unknown diseases it might carry. He tried to brush the monkey off his arms but she kept pushing it back onto and trying to embrace him. He gave the half-eaten bun he was holding to her and dusted the monkey off, practically having to shove him over, before quickly walking away in dismay.

She smiled when he left her on the ground. Taking a deep breath and flipping her locks of hair back, she stood up with the money pouch that he didn't realize was taken from him. As she straightened her clothes and patted A'Li's head on her shoulder, she turned around to count the coins.

Satisfied with the results, she turned back to see the young boy had stepped into the one place where her stealing sins were deeply against the one principle she swore her life on.

Her eyes widened with a gasp. "Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it, A'Li!"

Xiu'er stood on the street, debating with the monkey if she should return the money this one time. It's only one time.

A'Li scolded her for even having second thoughts. Does she really want to go against her own morals, the only principle she set up for herself, the one she solemnly swore she would protect? She could steal from anyone, anybody at all, but today was her bad luck to steal from a person going to that place.

Finally, she surrendered her hands in the air and followed him into the building.