Chapter Text
The streets of Yiling hustle and bustle with the energy of people and vendors walking about. Sellers call out to customers to try and sample some delicacies, even promoting whatever limited items they have while the weak winter sun still shines. Despite the cold air and puffs of white with every exhalation, the energy does not stop and until dusk takes over, Yiling’s streets will continue to thrive with motion. The scent of warm, fried food wafts in the air as cooks prepare for the lunchtime rush, knowing that people walking by would want a quick bite as they mill about and workers from shops have their breaks.
One particular street however, houses a small boy barely the age of 4 with a pair of bright silver eyes and an even brighter smile. Despite his ragged clothing and messy hair, it’s as though his face remain untouched by the dirt of the world.
If anyone were to ask the vendors selling at the street, they will say that the boy is extremely well-behaved. Never begging for food, never disturbing their business, never even made a fuss and will always politely thank whoever gave him food. Because of his quiet and gentle mannerism, the people who often pass by this particular street will almost always ask for the little boy to give him some food and drinks. No one cared enough to ask for his name, they only know him as the boy with a smile that can rival the sun.
***
“Here you go little boy, one freshly baked steam bun,” a young lady chirps happily as she hands the boy the food. Her delicately painted nails, heavy makeup and elaborately revealing clothing hints that she’s from the red-light district, but to Wei Ying, she’s a kind lady who just gave him lunch.
Accepting the still warm bun between tiny, dirtied hands, Wei Ying bows low to the lady and smiles sweetly at her. “Thank you big sister,” he says in a quiet voice. “I’ll eat this while it’s warm.”
The lady coos at how polite Wei Ying is before proceeding to pull the boy into her well-endowed bosom. “Oh if I’m well off and not having to deal with my own problems, I would have taken you in and make you my own son!” she squeals happily causing Wei Ying to almost lose his hold on the bun as his face is smothered. The boy’s voice is muffled by her skin and he would’ve started flailing for air when the lady’s companion drags her away from him.
“Don’t be ridiculous Feifei, none of us sisters can afford a child, now let’s go before the madam is angry,” she clicks her tongue chidingly at her member. The lady, Feifei, merely stuck her own tongue out at her companion in retaliation before standing to her full height and patting down her dress.
With one last but still dazzling smile, Feifei gently pats the boy’s head in goodbye before walking away, the swish of both the ladies’ robes eventually fading away the further they go. Wei Ying merely watches them leave with his polite smile still on his face, and once they’re gone, only then he starts digging into his food.
The temperature has dropped significantly now that dusk has arrived, and little Wei Ying’s mind races as he tries to figure out where he’ll be sleeping tonight. He would have gone back to his little box tucked away behind one of the shops, but a mother with a small child had taken over earlier and the boy just doesn’t have the heart to tell them that it was his home. So being the polite child he is, he gave away his home to her seeing how she needs it more.
“A-Ying can always find another box, don’t worry aunty, I’ll be okay,” he had said when the woman insisted he stay with her. She had even told him that she’d leave if he insisted on leaving, but Wei Ying had given her such a kind, dazzling smile that she just can’t help but hung her head in shame. The woman had felt bad for taking the boy’s spot, but the boy had insisted she needed it much more than he does.
As Wei Ying contemplates, he munches on his bun as slowly as possible to savour the taste since he knows he won’t get any more food until morning comes. The stores are closing and the vendors have mostly packed and went home due to the increasing cold, and the only stores that are opened usually cater for much older adults that Wei Ying would never dare step foot into.
“Oh, there’s a shed!” Wei Ying squeals happily when he notices the building looming just in front of him. Snow slowly starts to blanket the ground the later the night crawls and Wei Ying knows he’d have to make his sleeping space as warm as possible least he’d die of cold. Looking around, he sees some unused wooden boxes and scraps of papers just next to the shed, most likely used and thrown by the vendors earlier in the day. Grinning to himself, Wei Ying grabs what he can with his little hands and starts pulling them towards the shed doors, hoping that they’re unlocked and that the inside is warm enough for him to curl up for the night.
Much to his relief, the door opens and upon inspection, sees that it looks rather unused and has only piles of junk strewn all over. With his feet getting number from the cold, Wei Ying drags the papers and boxes inside towards a broken horse carriage before he then starts to meticulously arrange them neatly. Though the shed has plenty of things, Wei Ying would prefer not to touch them, assuming that whoever owns the shed might still want to use them.
It took the boy some time to be happy with his arrangement, but when he’s done, all Wei Ying can feel is warmth surging through him and he can’t help but smile at his little achievement.
“Mama, papa, look what A-Ying-…!”
He didn’t even realize he had turned around and waiting for a praise that will never come. Realization slowly dawns on the boy when he remembers that no one will stand behind him anymore, and no one will grab his hand when danger comes for him.
“-did…” Wei Ying finishes quietly, the smile that was plastered on his face just moments earlier now melted away like the snow on his toes. His normally bright silver eyes dim a little when he remembers that his mother and father are gone, their bodies torn to shreds by a beast they had tried to slay. Wei Ying would have died as well had he not stayed quiet and run when the beast was looking the opposite direction. From then, he had suffered from nightmares and crying out for his parents as their mangled bodies stay freshly burned into his memories, but eventually the nightmares disappear, and along with it, his parents’ face.
Without realizing it, Wei Ying’s tears prickle his eyes and drip hotly down his cheeks at the thought of his parents, but he remembers what his mother had said; to only remember the good in the world. Because of that, his parents had bestowed upon him his courtesy name long before he came of age.
Wuxian; to have no envies.
He will not envy the world, and he will not envy the people living in this world because he will make do with what he has. That’s how he had survived thus far. Wei Ying was a mess the first few weeks after his parents’ death, simply walking around with no aim through Yiling and picking up scraps of food wherever he sees. That is, until someone took pity on him and handed him a piece of bread, and Wei Ying flashed his first, genuine smile at him and figured that he’d have to pull himself together if he wants to continue on living.
As much as he wants to see his parents again, he knows this isn’t what they had wanted for him, not when his mother had told him of her powerful master; Baoshan Sanren.
Perhaps one day when he’s strong enough, he’d go up the mountains of Yiling and find his mother’s master, and perhaps she’d be kind enough to take him in as a disciple. Until that time comes however, Wei Ying first must survive the cold night, and what better way to do that than to curl up in his makeshift home and sleep away. It’s warm enough after all, and no one seems to be using the shed, so he’ll be fine for the night.
Until he hears growling nearby.
Eyes widening in fear, Wei Ying curls up even tighter into a ball and prays that whatever made the growls will disappear, but it seems to be getting closer so the boy decides to gather whatever remaining courage he has and sit up to look around.
With the shed being so dark, his eyes had a hard time adjusting and telling the shapes apart. “Who’s there?” he asks timidly and pulls his legs closer to his chest. Wei Ying can feel his heart racing and his blood pumping in his ears, but his fear had made him frozen on the spot when the growls eventually turn to barks.
“Dogs…” Wei Ying whimpers as quietly as possible. The wounds on his arms and legs have yet to heal properly, if he’s attacked again so soon, his limbs might not work properly anymore. He had seen what serious injuries had done to some of the other homeless people, and he hopes he won’t end up like that so soon in his life. Shuffling deeper into his nest of boxes, Wei Ying tries to calm his frantic breathing and hopes that the shadows of the night are enough to conceal his presence from the dogs now roaming around.
Unfortunately luck isn’t on his side when he sees a silhouette of a dog stopping right in front of him, and proceeds to bark as viciously as possible. Not thinking much, Wei Ying screams in fright and runs out of his makeshift home as fast as his little legs can carry him as the dog chases close behind, its companion not following long after.
“Stay away, stay away!” the boy screams out and hoping for an adult’s help only to no avail. The night is late and no one is out on the streets where the snow had piled up high enough to make walking a difficulty. The dogs continue their relentless pursuit as Wei Ying ducks behind pillars and carts as he tries to shake the animals off. “I won’t use the shed anymore, go away!” Wei Ying continues to plead and throw what little stones he can gather in his run.
His legs continue to carry him as far and as fast as it possibly can, but because of his exhaustion and the cold, Wei Ying eventually collapses and is backed to a wall as the dogs close in on him. Desperate, the boy scoops up some snow into his palms and throws them at the dogs who only continue to growl at him menacingly. Wei Ying had felt hopeless before after his parents had died, but at the very least he managed to get away. Now though, he sees no way out and close his eyes for the inevitable bites that will come.
But it never did, and he can hear the dogs whimpering and running away.
Slowly opening his eyes, he sees a figure in white shielding him from the dogs, and another figure in black standing even further with a sword drawn out. The figure huffs in what Wei Ying thought was annoyance before sheathing the weapon and facing him.
“Thank goodness you’re alright,” the figure in white says. Wei Ying finally takes in the man’s look and is dazzled by how pretty he is; his eyes are a pair of soft brown and his smile is the kindest that Wei Ying has ever seen. Perhaps as kind as his mother if his memory isn’t failing him. “You didn’t get bitten did you?” the man asks as his companion comes to a stand behind him. That man’s face, Wei Ying notes, is much sharper and his eyes look cold, but Wei Ying can also see warmth behind them and wonder how someone can be both warm and cold at the same time.
“I’m okay, A-Ying thank both gege for saving my life,” the boy shyly shows his gratitude. He would have bowed to them as well had the figure in white not embrace him in his arms.
Chuckling, the man in white merely shakes his head and pulls out a small dumpling from his sleeves to present to the boy. “Wei Ying, how would you like to come with me and my friend here? You’ll no longer have to live on the streets if you do.”
Wei Ying eyes the treat hungrily, but first he needs to know who this man is to show proper gratitude. “Who are you, gege?” he asks and the man smiles softly at him, even his companion seems to grow a little less cold and kneels down so that he’s eye-level with Wei Ying.
“I am called Xiao Xingchen, and I’m your mother’s shidi, and this here is my companion Song Zichen. Come Wei Ying, we’ll take care of you from here on.” The figure in white says. Hearing that this man knows his mother, Wei Ying knows he can trust him and warmth bubbles in his chest.
Smiling happily, Wei Ying grasps the man’s hand and the three went off into the night.