Li Xian crawled out of the narrow, underground tunnel, gasping for breath. The air outside was heavy and putrid, a sour mix of waste and damp soil. He emerged through a narrow passage hidden behind the main market, a gap between two rickety buildings that looked like a gateway to hell. There, a stone statue of a war god stood tall and imposing, but its head was missing, leaving a headless torso facing the sky. Its right stone hand held a worn sword hilt, as if ready for action, but the lack of a head made it appear helpless. Below the statue, someone had carved a message on the wall with charcoal: "Welcome to Hollow Liang - where the sun doesn't shine." A nickname given by its inhabitants, not just a mere inscription.
As he entered the alley, Li Xian felt as if he was stepping into another dimension. Here, the sun indeed did not shine. The dim light only came from shabby lanterns hung on clotheslines. The floor was slimy, a mixture of mud, dirty water, and oil stains. Each step created a disgusting "squelch," and the ammonia stench of urine mixed with the foul smell of rotting flesh assaulted his nostrils.
Here, he saw the true hierarchy of poverty. At the lowest level, he saw beggars whose bodies were covered in stitch marks, some missing fingers, ears, or even eyes. Li Xian saw a Fingerless Old Man and a One-Eyed Auntie. Their eyes had lost the spark of life, replaced by a cold emptiness. They sat silently like broken dolls, awaiting their end. Li Xian knew their organs had been sold. This was the first level: humans valued only by the pieces of their bodies.
At the second level, there were salt factory workers. Their bodies were thin and hunched, their skin cracked and peeling from constant salt exposure. Their hands were rough and bloody, as if their skin had been ground down by salt and despair. Li Xian saw a middle-aged man, his hands trembling, counting three copper coins in his hand—a full day's wage. His eyes radiated desperation.
The third level was the most horrifying. Li Xian saw a thick-mustached man counting a pile of silver coins in front of him. A thin mother with swollen eyes knelt, tears streaming down her cheeks. She pointed at two small children hiding behind her. "Thirty silver coins per healthy child, Madam. If they're sick, the price drops," the man said in a flat voice. The woman nodded in resignation, her lips trembling soundlessly. The sound of TB coughs echoed in the darkness, accompanied by the wailing of babies too weak to cry loudly, as if Hollow Liang were the city's decaying, diseased lungs.
Li Xian moved through the narrow alleys, following the whispers he heard. In a shack with walls made of scrap wood, he saw an old woman with a face painted thick with makeup, making her look like a cracked mask. It was Mother Rong, a former courtesan who was now a child collector. She held a bowl of milk and offered it to the starving children.
"Come, my darlings, drink this. This is medicinal milk. Mother will make you feel better," she said in a gentle voice that sounded fake. "Don't be afraid, it's delicious. Just a little bitter to remove the poison from your body." The hungry children immediately scrambled for the bowl. Li Xian could smell a strange aroma from the milk, a mixture of milk and a bitter herb he knew was a sleeping poison. The modus was simple and cruel, Li Xian thought. Offer milk, poison them, then sell them to the auction warehouse.
Li Xian followed Mother Rong from a distance. He arrived in front of a large building that might have once been a warehouse. On its door, a worn wooden sign read "Duck Coop." Inside, he saw a plump man with a face full of scars, pointing at several children. That was Lao Tie, the warehouse owner. Inside the warehouse, the musty smell of children's sweat mixed with the scent of rusty iron. Cages were stacked high, creating a labyrinth of suffering.
Li Xian heard Lao Tie negotiating with a cold-faced man. "This disabled child?" the man asked, pointing to a child with a limp. "His price is only one silver coin. He'll be bait for a master's sword training."
"And this one?" the man asked again, pointing to a beautiful girl.
"That one? A healthy child. Two hundred silver coins. Can be a brothel slave or a ritual sacrifice," Lao Tie answered casually, as if discussing the price of rice.
Suddenly, Lao Tie's eyes lit up. "But I have a pearl. A special child. Left eye gold, right blue. She's being sought after by a buyer from out of town. Can be worth a thousand gold coins."
Li Xian felt his stomach churn. They treated humans like livestock. As he was about to step closer, a small hand pulled on his robe. It was a little girl of about eight, with a dirty face and hair tied with a paper ribbon. She was holding a bunch of paper flowers.
"Brother," she whispered, her voice as soft as the wind, "I am Xiao Lan. Don't go closer."
"Why?"
"Avoid the thick-mustached baker. He's the new child registrar. If you're not on the list, they'll be suspicious." She pointed toward a man in front of a bakery. "And don't drink milk from Mother Rong. I saw her inject something into it."
"How do you know all this?" Li Xian asked, surprised.
Xiao Lan just looked down. "We have to know. In this place, information is more valuable than food. If not... we will disappear." She looked into Li Xian's eyes with a wisdom that exceeded her age. "Brother, you're not from here. Your eyes aren't empty."
After the brief conversation, Xiao Lan quickly left. Her warning made Li Xian think. "A special child," Lao Tie had said. It must be The Little One, the child kidnapped from the Paper Flower Temple orphanage. She was five years old and shy because of the trauma she had experienced. However, she had strange and rare eyes—the left eye gold, the right blue. Li Xian knew the child was the main target.
He started investigating. He returned to the sewer he had used to escape, and there, he found a broken wooden horse toy carved with intricate details. On it, there was a simple carving. Xiao. It was a toy from the orphanage. Li Xian examined the toy more closely and found traces of yellowish mud, which was unusual.
He followed the mud trail. The trail did not lead to the main road, but toward the salt warehouse. There, an old scavenger was rummaging through trash, his hands full of filth.
Li Xian approached, throwing him a piece of bread. The scavenger took the bread with a tremble, his eyes shining. "Uncle, I'm looking for a shy child with strange eyes. Golden and blue eyes."
"The child with the devil's eyes?" The scavenger whispered, glancing left and right. "Someone is after her. Listen, kid, a few days ago, I saw Lao Tie giving that child candy. He said he would give her a new home. Lao Tie knew the child liked candy. He lured her, and then they kidnapped her from the orphanage." The scavenger whispered again, his voice filled with fear. "They said there's a mysterious buyer from out of town who wants the child for an ancient ritual. She's worth a thousand gold coins."
Night fell, and Li Xian crept among the shadows. He arrived in front of the "Duck Coop" warehouse. He peeked inside. The warehouse was dark, but inside there were iron cages, like old chicken coops, where children huddled in fear, their eyes reflecting the dim light from the hanging lanterns. The sounds of sobbing and whimpering were faint, creating a symphony of suffering.
The warehouse's security system was primitive but effective. Empty cans were hung around the warehouse, and any touch would create a loud noise. In the corner, there were two dogs that looked like man-eaters, their fangs protruding.
Li Xian used his skills. He mixed salt from the salt factory he had found with oil from a puddle. He threw the mixture at a hanging lantern. The mixture created a small explosion, a thick, disorienting smoke.
"What was that?! Who's there?!" one of the guards shouted.
As the smoke spread, Li Xian slipped inside. Six guards armed with meat hooks and knives emerged from the darkness. Li Xian had no weapon. He had to improvise.
He kicked the cans, creating an alarm. The dogs barked, and the guards charged. Li Xian dodged a swinging meat hook, jumped up, and gouged a guard's eye with a sharpened ceramic shard. Li Xian's hand felt hot, and he saw black lines creeping across his skin. His dark power began to leak, flooding his body like burning lava. Not only did his power increase, but so did his desire to destroy. As he broke a guard's neck, his hand turned pitch black for a moment, his veins bulging like tree roots.
He heard a sound from inside the warehouse, the crying of children accompanied by the sound of water. He saw a large tub filled with dark brown water. Next to it, several guards were forcing children to bathe. "This is acid water, brats. This bath will cleanse your sins before you're auctioned," one of the guards said, his laughter cackling.
Li Xian saw The Little One, the child with the gold-blue eyes, locked in a hanging cage tied above a pool of waste. The Little One wasn't crying, just staring at Li Xian with frightened eyes.
"Brother!" Suddenly, Xiao Lan appeared from the shadows. She threw paper flowers at one of the guards. "Look! A traitor!"
The guard turned, and Li Xian used the moment to throw a meat hook at the cage. The hook hit the rope, and The Little One's cage broke.
Li Xian grabbed the child, carrying her to the underground tunnel that was a former mining shaft. Three guards followed from behind. "He escaped! Chase him!"
"This way!" Xiao Lan shouted, pointing to a narrower tunnel. "Hurry!" Li Xian carried The Little One, while Xiao Lan led the way.
Suddenly, a "click" sound was heard, and the floor in front of them collapsed. Below it, there was a trap hole filled with poisonous bamboo thorns that emitted a fishy smell.
"Watch out!" Xiao Lan shouted, pushing Li Xian to the side. But as she pushed Li Xian, a poisonous arrow shot from the darkness, hitting her back.
Xiao Lan fell. She whispered, blood dripping from her lips. "Take her to the Paper Flower Temple... the shack under the Goddess statue..."
Li Xian lifted Xiao Lan, but the girl shook her head. "No... too far... I can't." Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Protect her. Save her." She extended her thin hand to touch Li Xian's face. "Don't... don't let them take her..."
"I promise," Li Xian said, his voice trembling with anger. "I will destroy them all. Everyone involved."
Xiao Lan smiled faintly, a smile so genuine amidst the suffering. "Now... you have eyes that aren't empty like mine..." She breathed her last, her eyes open, staring at the dark tunnel ceiling.
Li Xian carried The Little One through the streets, past Xiao Lan's body which he left with a heavy heart. He arrived at a rickety shack that looked like it would collapse at any moment. On it, there was a sign: "Paper Flower Temple." Inside, there were 15 blind orphans making origami birds and flowers, creating a peaceful atmosphere. The air inside the temple felt cleaner and more serene.
"Who is that?" a child asked, their voice innocent. "There's a smell of smoke... and salt... and blood."
A blind old grandmother with an iron cane emerged from the darkness. She approached Li Xian, touching his face with her wrinkled hand. "You... bring a shadow from hell," she said in a calm voice. "I can feel it. But inside... I can still feel a light."
Li Xian bowed his head, unable to answer.
The Little One, who was mute, grabbed his hand and placed an origami dragon in his palm. Then, she gave him a silent hug, strengthening their bond. She pointed to the altar. "There's a box under the Goddess statue there," The Little One whispered, surprising Li Xian. "That box... is a clue for you."
Li Xian approached the statue and found a locked wooden box. He opened it, and inside, he found a small book full of codes and suspicious names. It was a human trafficking codebook.
Li Xian sat on the roof of the Paper Flower Temple, staring at the sleeping slum district. He felt the darkness within him, which now felt more familiar. Here, becoming a monster is anecessity, a dark voice whispered in Li Xian's ear. He stared at his palm. Black smoke danced on his skin, forming claws, red eyes, and bat wings, as if it were the embodiment of his suppressed desires.
Li Xian stared at the shadow. A faint smile was etched on his face—a smile he had never had before, a smile that felt cold and sharp like a sword he had honed and was ready to unsheathe at any moment. He no longer resisted the darkness.
"Alright... let's play, Hei Ye Ting," he whispered, his voice full of cold determination. The black smoke swallowed the shining full moon, and Li Xian felt the power envelop him. In the darkness, he found his ally.
NOTE:
THE MUTE GIRL DOESN'T MEAN SHE CAN'T SPEAK, SHE IS JUST SHY, SO I'LL SIMPLY CALL HER THE MUTE GIRL.