Years later, floods once again stole the land's vitality. Murky waters spread and receded; the scorching sun b…
Years later, floods once again stole the land's vitality. Murky waters spread and receded; the scorching sun baked the mud into hardness. Hunger and death once more stripped people of their dignity.
Yet, for the first time ever, Mother steamed two white-flour buns and pressed them into Celestial Candle's hands. No matter how her little brother cried and fussed, Mother and Father only gave the buns to her.
They were the most delicious things Celestial Candle had ever eaten. She couldn't bear to eat them both and tucked one into her clothes. At the same time, a wreath of grass was placed on her head.
"From now on, learn to behave on your own." "If it hurts, don't cry out. Be obedient."
Before the bun hidden in her clothes had even cooled, Celestial Candle was led away. She watched as her parents took another girl home. Thinking they had mistaken her for someone else, she cried and struggled desperately. But her parents never looked back.
It was only many years later that she understood just how much luck was hidden within her misfortune.
Selling children, trading sons to eat—hunger and death blurred the line between human and beast.
The old man who bought her sharpened his butcher's knife again and again, then finally sighed. He dropped the knife, picked up a broken bowl and a bamboo staff, and led her west.
The old man led Celestial Candle across the creek. She was too afraid to take a step. With a stern face, he harshly urged her forward, one careful move at a time.
Once again, the icy, murky water rose over her feet, then her calves, her waist, her chest... Terrified, she struggled to steady her trembling, fragile body. But as she reached out, her hand found the old man's—quietly hovering just behind her, guarding her all along.