Another hand reached for Bingwen's sinking body. It was Jinghua. Jin Si went flying and swiped the spirits away from Bingwen. Jinghua wrapped his arm around Bingwen's waist and dragged up to the surface of the water. Whilst Bingwen had been pulled down, Jinghua fought off the rest of the spirits.
The two made it to the boat, both coughing and gasping for air. They were soaking and cold and had no way to make a fire. Jinghua took the ore of the boat and started steering the boat fast. "We have to make it to Xue quickly. If we stay out here we'll either die from hyperthermia or we'll get sick." Jinghua said, shivering as he steered. Bingwen wrapped his arms around his chest, clenching his sleeves.
It was a while before the icy mountains and snowy rooftops of a city could be seen from the river. The two had made it to Xue city of the eastern Xue clan. Bingwen and Jinghua stepped out of the boat and onto the docks that led into the city. It was night and not many people were awake. This city was full of hybrids and some demons. Among the few people walking the streets, one person caught Bingwen's eye. It was a little girl. She was obviously a demon by her horns. In fact, the whole Yue family were mostly demons. Most hybrids don't have horns. But this little girl was different. She was barefoot and her sleeves were cut short. One of her eyes was pale so she was most likely blind. She was just sitting on the side of the street. Suddenly, Bingwen's eyes and hers met. She got up and started walking over to Bingwen and Jinghua. Bingwen noticed a carriage heading the girl's way, about to hit her. "Wait!" Bingwen yelled, running into the street. The girl didn't even notice. Bingwen ran right in front of the carriage and the driver stopped. The people who were once walking around had stopped and gasped. They started murmuring. Bingwen heard the words 'human' and 'circled ears'. Common words that hybrids who rarely see humans say. And these words meant that humans weren't exactly welcome in this area of civilization. The girl grabbed Bingwens sleeve. "Come with me!" She said, Bingwen looked at Jinghua and Jinghua followed. The girl led Bingwen and Jinghua down an alleyway, out of sight of other people. Suddenly voices of what sounded like royal guards were close behind them. But the girl sped up, the pads of her bare feet tapped upon the stone ground. Finally, they made a stop. The girl continued to hold onto Bingwen's sleeve. "What is it?" He asked, "What's wrong?" The girl pointed to the corpse of a cat in the corner of the alley. Bingwen hadn't even noticed the corpse. "Are you alone? Do you have a name?" Bingwen asked.
"My name is Tao Wen. I am alone. Well…now at least. I wasn't before."
"Was that cat yours?" Jinghua asked Tao Wen. Tao Wen shook her head. "That's dinner." She said with a straight face. Bingwen shook his head, hiding his disgust. "Why don't we get you a true meal?" He asked. Tao Wen looked up at him and smiled. She held out her arms then, wanting to be held. Bingwen did so and picked her up. Jinghua held a large piece of cloth. "Put this over your clothes and head, people don't want to see humans and they'll surely recognize the symbols on your robes." Jinghua said, handing Bingwen the cloth. He wrapped it around himself and the two were off to find a place to eat.
Both Jinghua and Bingwen still ignored the fact that they were freezing cold and wet and focused more on this mysterious little girl. She was the only demon the two had seen in the whole city. They found a place to eat as well as stay for the night with clean, fresh, dry clothes to wear until they were dry. It was a small inn.
"Our only room available is a one room with two beds and a small bath. Will that be alright for the three of you?" The inn keeper asked.
"That will be fine. I will be paying." Jinghua said, pouring some coins on the counter. For the first time in a while, Bingwen would have a proper meal.
When they all received their food after Bingwen and Jinghua changed into dry robes, they settled down and ate. Tao Wen was eating like she had never eaten before. And once she finally was full, Bingwen continued asking her questions. "Tao Wen, You said you were alone, right? What happened to your parents?"
"They didn't want me. My mother said I was cursed. She doesn't like demons." Tao Wen said, biting her lip. "How old are you? Surely you're not old enough to be on your own." Bingwen asked.
"I'm fourteen. Just like young lady Xue Qi!" She said Jinghua and Bingwen were confused. 'Xue Qi'? They have the courtesy name of Xue so this Xue Qi must be a kin of the Xue family. But did Xue Quan have a sibling?
"Mister, I need help." Tao Wen said. "I lost my umbrella." Bingwen was confused. Why would someone need an umbrella in cold, snowy weather? "Well, it isn't exactly mine. It belonged to Xue Qi. but she gave it to me. She saw me outside when it was snowing really bad and gave me her royal umbrella. But I woke up one day and it was gone. I wanted to give it back to her." She said,
Bingwen wanted to of course help Tao Wen in some way. Tomorrow, the three of them will visit the Xue palace. For Tao Wen's sake at least.