Violet was tending the wounded when she heard the shouts and clamoring of people from afar. She was curious as to what all the commotion was about.
"Don't get distracted, you still need to clean that wound"
"Y..yes, mother"
However, she could not even take a peek as her mother reprimanded her before she could even stand up. The shouts, however, only grew louder.
"Tch. If they have the energy to dance around like monkeys, then they should be helping us", Violet's mother wiped the sweat on her face as she continued to clean the wounds of the unconscious person in front of her.
Violet could only sigh as she continued to wipe down the pus that was flowing from a patient's wound.
"You golden haired freak!"
It was then that Violet became alarmed and instinctively stood up. As soon as she heard someone shouting those slurs, her curiosity became worry.
"What are you doing!? Tend that man's wound!", Violet's mother shouted in frustration.
However, like she was not hearing her mother at all, Violet quickly ran away towards the angry shouts of the people, not even glancing back at her perturbed mother.
She squeezed herself into the swarm of people in order to reach the center. And once she made her way through the crowd, her eyes widened in shock.
Although the face of the child could no longer clearly be seen because of all the sorts of trash and food that was covering him, Violet was sure that the child currently being ostracized was none other than Viel.
Violet looked at the faces of the people around her. They all looked desperate to the point that one could consider them crazy.
"S-stop!"
Violet tried to stop the people from throwing any further, but her efforts were in vain as the people were already engrossed in their frenzy.
Still, Violet did her best to stop the people, even pushing some to the ground. It was then that Violet heard a familiar voice.
"Just try throwing one more. And I'll beat you to death myself!"
"W-what? Why are you siding with that western demon!?"
"Who said that!? Try saying that to my face!"
Violet turned to the source of the voice, only to see Wei Song standing in front of Viel with his arms crossed. She also saw a little girl and a woman trying to remove the mess from Viel's body. If she recalls correctly, these two were Wei Song's mother and sister.
"Why are you protecting that demon child!? Are you demon worshippers!?"
Once again, the people started to throw various stuff towards Viel's position, but this time, the things were not only thrown towards him. It was also thrown at Wei Song and his family.
"Kyaa!"
A small high pitch sound resounded in the air as Wei Song's sister got hit by a small rock.
"What the… Who threw that!? I'll kill you all!", a ball of fire started to wrap around Wei Song's hand as he waved his fist towards the people that were circling them.
Violet rushed to the center to check on Wei Song's sister. And although there were obvious signs of bleeding on her forehead, she could be considered as lucky, as the stone only seemed to graze her skin. Violet calmly consoled the mother that her daughter will be fine, it was only a scratch.
But as soon as Violet was done cleaning Wei Song's sister's wound, the calm expression on her face disappeared as she stood up and faced the people.
"What is wrong with you people!?", Violet waved her hand as her composure disappeared.
"W-wait, look at her robes… it's covered in blood!", one of the people shouted.
"Y-you're right! S-she must also be a demon!"
"What!? No! This is from tending-"
"Shut up you demon!"
Once again, the people threw all the things they could get their hands on. They have, in the truest sense, gone completely crazy.
Seeing that the situation was not getting any better, and it would seem that reasoning with these people was no longer possible, Wei Song was truly thinking of going wild on them.
And to think that they would throw a rock at his sister? Unforgivable!
The flame on Wei Song's hand started to get bigger as he slowly stepped towards the crowd. "You will all pay for-"
But before Wei Song can even go near the crowd, a person suddenly jumped out towards the center. Or perhaps, flew was the better word as the man rolled on the ground a couple of times before he stopped moving, presumably unconscious.
"That guy was the one who threw a rock at your sister"
A voice then came from where the man was flung from. A boy slowly revealed himself from the crowd, dusting his hands and pants.
"Xiao… Xiao Pei!", Violet was surprised to see Xiao Pei. This was the first time that she saw Xiao Pei ever since the attack of those flying beasts. She even thought that he was already dead. But here he was, alive and kicking, literally.
As Xiao Pei slowly walked towards the center, his and Wei Song's eye met.
"I almost forgot you existed, Pei Pei"
Hearing Wei Song's jeer, Xiao Pei could only scoff and smile sarcastically as he passed by him.
"…Thank you", said Wei Song without looking at Xiao Pei.
"Tch. Stop trying to act cool"
Although there was a hint of annoyance in Xiao Pei's voice, the small smile on his face could not be hidden.
Xiao Pei then stood behind Viel, covering his back. While Wei Song went back to his original position, right in front of Viel.
And with Violet on the right side trying to protect Wei Song's sister, the only one that was missing in their group was Diao Mei.
Due to Xiao Pei's sudden entrance and with one of them being rendered unconscious, the frenzied crowd turned silent. But this silence did not last long, as the people, once again started to throw whatever they could get their hands on towards the group.
But this time, no response was returned from Wei Song and the group. They firmly stood there, without even budging from the rocks that are being thrown at them.
But it would seem that them being passive made things worse, as the crowd only got worse. But still, they did not move.
Violet could only furrow her brows, were this the people that she and her mother were trying their best to save? If so, then she only wasted her time. She could only look to the side as the disappointment inside of her grew bigger and bigger.
It was then that she noticed that Viel's hand was shaking.
Of course, of course he was afraid. He was sad… angry- that was what Violet thought.
At first, she was surprised that Viel was taking this so calmly, he was not even budging one bit even with all the slurs and rocks that were thrown at him. But now, she realized that it was the opposite.
"We're here, Viel", Violet said as she held Viel's shaking hand. And as soon as she did so, the shaking stopped.
Viel slowly lifted his head and turned to look at Violet.
And although it looked kind of creepy, as there were tomato juices and eggs covering Viel's face, Violet did not forget to smile as soon as her and Viel's eyes met.
It was a good thing that Violet was so focused on comforting Viel, that she did not notice the unusually sharp fingernails that were starting to recede back to normal from Viel's hand.
"Stop this at once!"
It was then that the guards finally arrived, leading them was Diao Mei who immediately ran towards the side of Viel, wiping the mess on his face with the sleeve of her clean robes, "Viel…".
She was followed by her mother, Diao Chan, who had a very angry expression on her face. Her face, red beyond belief, seething with anger.
Xing Cai was also with them, carrying who seemed to be a drunken Guard Leader Bai by the neck.
With the guards and Diao Chan arriving, the frenzied crowd was immediately shut down. Some people even tried to escape through the crowd sneakily.
"No one moves!"
Diao Chan's shout easily froze the people on their tracks. None of them dared to even move a muscle.
Diao Chan's eyes wandered back and forth. From the frenzied crowd, to the sorry state of Viel and his friends. There were food scattered all over the ground…a little girl, wounded.
Diao Chan's body began to shake as she could no longer contain her anger, "Our city is in ruins, and you throw the food that was handed to you!?", Diao Mei started to stare down the people on the crowd one by one. But the people could only avoid her gaze.
"And to a little child!? You all should be ashamed of yourselves! Where was this strength when we were being attacked!?"
Diao Chan's voice started to get louder and louder.
"This little boy that you call a demon spawn is the one people who saved all of your sorry ass! If it was not for him, then most of you will probably not even be standing right here!"
"All of you…are no citizens of Taizhou", Diao Chan's last words no longer contained anger. No, only disappointment could be found there.
She then waved her hand, signaling the guards to disperse the crowd. Some people tried to talk and plead, but Diao Chan was not hearing any of it.
"I… I'm sorry we were not able to arrive earlier", Diao Chan sincerely bowed down towards Viel and the rest of the group.
"Hehe. We are fine, Lady Diao. Nothing we can't handle!", Wei Song thumped his chest confidently.
"Pft. If I didn't intervene, you might actually have killed someone"
"You-!"
Diao Chan could only wryly smile as she watched as the two started to bicker with each other. It seems she didn't have to worry about the two, as they were their normal selves.
She then looked at Wei Song's mother and sister, "How is your daughter?"
"S-she is fine, madame Diao. Thanks to Miss Violet"
"N-no, I didn't do anything"
Violet tried to deny as she waved her hand. Nevertheless, Diao Chan patted her head and thanked her for her good deeds.
And finally, she turned her attention to Viel, who has not spoken a word since she got here.
"I am really sorry, Viel. This shouldn't have happened", said Diao Chan as she helped her daughter to clean up Viel. "Do you want to clean up? We have a huge bath in our house you can play in."
But the only response she got from Viel was a shake of his head. Viel then slowly walked away towards Xing Cai.
"V…Viel…", Diao Mei was about to chase after Viel, but her mother stopped her.
"He'll talk when he is ready", said Diao Chan.
With that, Diao Mei and the rest of the group could only look at Viel as he walked away.
As Viel got near to Xing Cai, Xing Cai raised Guard Leader Bai and pointed at him, as if asking Viel what to do with him. But Viel, once again, only shook his head.
Xing Cai then nonchalantly dropped the drunk Guard Leader Bai on the ground and shrugged her shoulders.
She then held Viel's hand as they left, walking towards outside the city.
"I thought you wanted to say goodbye?", Xing Cai asked Viel.
And still, Viel did not utter a word.
"It's fine, we still have a few hours before night. You can tell them your goodbyes then…
But first, you really do need to wash up, you smell like fried rice"
"…"