Both felt a heavy weight on their hearts, wanting to speed up, but their legs seemed to be filled with lead.
Owen Bertram constantly reminded himself: I have to survive, I still have my sister. He forced himself not to look, not to think...
But those things had happened, they were etched in his memory, whether he wanted to remember them or not.
After their parents passed away, someone tried to take away the little food left for the siblings. It was Master Basil who waved his walking stick to drive them off. Seeing the children in distress, he even wanted to pass on the martial arts he had practiced for decades to Owen.
The first time the boy went to the river, he was caught by a vicious clam and nearly drowned. Uncle Yao smashed the clam to save him and patiently told him about the various taboos of pearl divers.