"Hee hee, you broke the rules," the voice said. It was thin, somewhat like a woman's, but not entirely.
The instant he heard it, Li Huowang was suddenly reminded of the tiny-footed woman who had called out to the God of Happiness; she had a voice just like this.
As Li Huowang and the others walked out of the house into the courtyard, their faces grim with vigilance, they saw a small head peeking over the top of the wall on the left side of the house.
A flaxen-haired little girl, looking no more than five or six years old, was perched atop the high wall, grinning down at them. Her hair was tied up in high, sprightly pigtails with red rope.
"Red!" The moment Li Huowang saw the red rope in her hair, his heart suddenly gave a violent jolt.
Could this child be the eighteenth of the twelfth lunar month?
