Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Xiao Bai, come and eat a roasted sweet potato.”
At the foot of Mount Prosperity, Aunt Xu from the sweet potato stall warmly greeted Bai Jin, the little girl who had set up a divination stall by the side.
Bai Jin had just turned into an adult this year. She was thin and weak, but her shabby clothes could not hide her beauty. Her eyes were beautiful but slightly flawed. It had a cloudy whitish shade.
She had cataracts at such a young age. The worse thing was she did not have money to treat it. It was so pitiful!
Aunt Xu looked at Xiao Bai, and her heart ached.
She had been selling sweet potatoes at the foot of Mount Prosperity for several years, so she had some understanding of the little girl’s background. The little girl lost her way when she was young. She was then adopted and brought up by the master of the Taoist temple on the mountain.
Xiao Bai had lived with her master in the past until her master passed away last year. She was left alone and got by doing fortune-telling frauds at the foot of the mountain.
The name Mount Prosperity sounded nice, but actually, there were only a few tourists who came to visit during the holidays. Aunt Xu felt that even with the proper business she was running, she could barely make a living with it. Thus, someone like Xiao Bai should have been qualified as a low-income household a long time ago.
“Thank you.” Bai Jin did not decline. She turned to look at Aunt Xu and smiled sweetly.
It made Aunt Xu feel even worse.
“Auntie, don’t worry about me.” As if she could read Aunt Xu’s mind, Xiao Bai slowly said, “My family will come and find me today. In the future, I will develop and promote our Taoist temple.”
This child was being hysterical again. She had been lost for more than ten years. If her family could find her, they would have found her long ago. Moreover, the broken Taoist temple on the mountain had been listed as a dangerous building last week. The construction team would soon be setting up scaffolding.
Aunt Xu stretched out her hand and placed it on Xiao Bai’s forehead with worry. Could it be that she had a fever and was confused?
Bai Jin’s head shrank back behind the stall and could barely avoid Aunt Xu’s caring hand. Then she sighed almost inaudibly. She took a yellow talisman paper drawn with cinnabar from the stall, folded it into a small bird with a few turns of her hand, and tied it up with a red string. She then handed it to Aunt Xu.
“Auntie, hang this little bird on the handlebar of your tricycle.”
Aunt Xu looked at the paper bird that Bai Jin handed over. The paper bird was perfectly folded and realistic as if it could fly after drawing its eyes.
She thought to herself that although Xiao Bai had cataracts and could not see clearly, her handicraft was not affected at all.
“Thank you, Xiao Bai.” Aunt Xu was afraid that if she declined, it would hurt Xiao Bai’s feelings, so she happily took the paper bird and hung it on the handlebar of her tricycle.
It was said in “The Classic of Great Peace” that “The good prospers, the evil falls ill. The good and the bad depends on one’s doings.”
There are many living beings in the world, and Xiao Bai did not want to have too much connection with the mortal world. But Aunt Xu was a kind person, so it didn’t matter. It was fate that she met her.
“Keep this address. If you encounter any difficulty in the future, you can come here to look for me.”
Xiao Bai handed Aunt Xu a piece of talisman paper. There was an unfamiliar address on it.
“How could I even trouble you! You are…” Aunt Xu swallowed the word “blind”. She thought to herself that Xiao Bai was really fastidious. Even in this state, she still did not forget to help others. She had to treat Xiao Bai better in the future.
She looked at the address that Xiao Bai handed over and asked in doubt, “If I have to look for you, can’t I just go straight to the Taoist temple? Don’t worry. The construction team will be able to repair the Taoist temple soon!”
Xiao Bai did not explain. She looked in Aunt Xu’s direction, and a bright smile appeared on her otherworldly face. It was so beautiful that Aunt Xu was stunned..