"Hahahaha do you like it, kids?"

"Woah!!!"

"Look at that, mèi!!!"

"Woohoo!!! You're awesome!!"

Several kids had gathered around a frail, old magician, who was displaying his skills. He had donned a purple robe, which had various legends of the moon and the stars sewn on it with silvery thread.

The old man fished a book out of his sack. He lifted the hand in which he held the book so that everyone could see it. He opened the pages and showed it's contents to the enraptured children. It was a series of pictures sketched in black ink.

"Ge," a little girl tugged at the sleeve of her taller elder brother so that he would lean down to listen.
"Bunny!!!" she whispered into his ears.

"Bunny?" the boy began to look around, his tiny eyes glowing with excitement. "Where, mèimei?"

"Book. Book!" the girl pointed.

"Ahh... Oh," the boy said dejectedly. "Haha, yes, bunny."

The man flicked his bony wrist so fast that it cracked, and waved his hand over the book which he had just slammed shut.

"WHOOSH!" he smiled.

All the kids gasped in wonder when he reopened it. For the book was blank. Blank, as good as new, as if nothing had ever been traced on it at all.

"AIYAA!!"

"Oh gosh!!"

"Bunny!!" the little girl pouted. Her little red lips quivered, and she scrunched up her nose, a clear indication that she was on the verge of tears.
Her elder brother tried his best to quieten her, but she began to cry and was inconsolable, all the time crying, "Bunny!! Gone!!"

The old magician noticed the now sobbing girl and extended a trembling hand towards them. "Come here," he beckoned.
The boy was flustered and a bit annoyed, "Ah... Ummm... Please, Mr. Magician, I am sorry. We are sorry. We didn't mean to disturb your show."

"Come here, little girl," the man uttered. The girl waddled towards him, wobbling a bit as she was rubbing her tear-filled eyes. He perched the kid onto his lap.
"What happened, child?" he asked softly, removing the stray strands of hair away from her face.

"Bunny!" the girl sobbed. "Gone! I want the bunny!"

"Oh, you miss the bunny? Alright, I will bring it back right away."

He set the girl down on her tiny feet and slowly waved his knobbly hands over the book again.
"WELCOME BACK," he flashed a toothless grin.

Lo, behold! The pictures reappeared.
And of course, there was the picture of the bunny too, nibbling at a carrot.

"Bunny!" the girl squealed with pure joy. She waited till the magician had brought the page with the picture down to her eye level, and then she kissed it. "Bunny," she giggled. She turned to look at her amazed brother, "Gege, bunny."

"Princess, may I have the book again?" The magician asked, patting her little head.

"Heehee," the girl sweetly chirped, as she handed the book back to its owner.
The boy seized this opportunity to swoop her up into his arms, hoping that she wouldn't throw a tantrum again.

As the other children were whooping with joy and leaping about, the old man gave them a shaky bow.

He raised a hand. All of them became still and silent. He tapped his fingers on the pages. Once. Twice.
The black sketches began to glow. After the bright light had subsided, the sight which greeted their eyes, left all of them speechless. Their eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

All the pictures were filled with colours. They were no longer mere black and white drawings.

"YOU'RE SO GOOD, Mr MAGICIAN!!!"

"WOW!!! THAT'S JUST AWESOME!!"

"WHAT GOOD? HE IS THE BEST!"

All the kids began to dance in a circle around the old magician, who was now sweating profusely.
But their gaiety was soon marred, as the aged man suddenly tumbled to the ground in a dead faint.

"Aiyaa what happened to him?"

"He's not moving!"

"What are we to do now?"

The children were startled by another voice from behind them which said, "Hey, please move. Excuse me."

A figure, clad in a black hooded cloak, almost a head taller than most of them, made its way to the unconscious man on the ground.

"Please don't crowd around, give him some air. Somebody get water," the figure instructed, taking the man's head onto its lap.
It began to feel the wrist, checking the vitals, for what seemed like an age to the kids who were standing there.
"Excessive heat." The figure concluded.

One of the girls returned with a tumbler of cool water. The cloaked figure took it from her and sprinkled the water on the old magician's face.
His eyes slowly fluttered open. At the sight of his cloaked saviour, he whispered in a hoarse voice," Who are you, little one?"

The figure lowered its head to his ear and whispered, so that only he could hear, "Caihong."

She raised her right hand, which began to glow in a mystic golden hue and placed it on his forehead. She began to transfer her spiritual energy to him, as a result of which, the old man relaxed and smiled.

The kids were stunned. A few adults, who had gathered there at the commotion, stood there speechless as well, as they witnessed the feat.

"Please help him go home," Caihong requested. They instantly nodded their agreement and helped the feeble magician to his feet.

They exchanged bows, for a person with this level of Yang energy was always revered, and parted ways.

Caihong skipped her way through the market square merrily, humming random tunes. She was tall for her age, and with her cloak and weapons, anyone would easily mistake her for a twelve or thirteen-year-old.

Her keen eyes quickly scanned the items on display on the various stalls, to find something of interest.

A sudden glare of light dazzled her eyes. After her eyes had adjusted, she looked towards the direction where the light came from. To her utter delight, it was a shop selling hair ornaments. The shopkeeper had just placed a new one on the display counter. The light from the overhead lanterns had reflected from its adorning crystals.

She ran to the stall. It was overflowing with striking pieces of hair jewellery. Some of them were graceful, vintage-inspired with a slight candlelit glamour. Some were luscious and magnetic, while others were delightful, sparkling and charming.

Caihong's attention was drawn to a classic, shapely hairpin, which reminded one of traditional jewellery with the grandma's pearls. 'Jiejie,' she decided.

Intricate designs engraved on gold, and gemstones adorning the top, whose rarity caught the eye. It was truly spellbinding to see the spectacular change of colours in them.

'This was made for Jie.'

"How much is this?" she inquired, holding the elegant craft in her hand.

"Fifteen silver pieces," the stout little woman replied.

Caihong nodded and turned to her money pouch, while the woman kept on rambling over this and that, her interest piqued by the mysterious hooded figure in front of her.

"Whom are you buying this for?"

"My sister."

"Oh, she must be pretty then," she remarked, her awed eyes checking out the arrows in the quiver, and the fearsome dagger sheathed to her waist.

"No."

"Huh?!" the shopkeeper exclaimed in shock from such a blatant answer.

"I mean, she is pretty, but she is the most beautiful person, after my mother," Caihong explained, counting the money.

"Ah... Hahaha yes," the woman stammered, totally baffled.

"Pretty... Handsome... These are just on the exterior. And transient too, for no one in this world stays like that. Everyone gets wrinkles someday, every tree shrivels up. We all will be old and weak. We will die and rot. Dig up a corpse, you will be the first person to cringe and gag at the stench. Will you still call the corpse of a pretty woman, pretty?"

The woman didn't know what to say. Caihong placed a few silver pieces on the counter and began to rummage for more.

"Dad says that if you have done good things in life, big or small, we will always be beautiful, in life, in death, and even after death. He says, look at the heart, the actions, and try to decipher their meaning, visible and hidden."

A clink startled the woman out of her daze.
"Fourteen... Fifteen... Here you go, fifteen silver pieces."

She just stared at her, amazed, for she hadn't expected something like this to come from a hooded figure, who was just a few inches shorter than her.

"Can I see your face?" she asked.

"You can... But you may not," Caihong answered sternly, pocketing the hairpin. She spun on her heel, placed the money pouch back inside the pocket of her inner robes, and began to walk away.

Just then, a strong chilly damp breeze blew, making the hood almost fly off her head. She quickly caught hold of it and was about to pull it back on, when she saw something that, for some unknown reason, made tears pool in her tea tinted eyes.

Or rather, someone.

It was a boy, who looked roughly about her age, and also quite good looking, if not for his battered and bruised countenance. His body was covered with just a tattered undershirt and dirty trousers. He was shivering under the assault of the draught.

Both pairs of eyes met, two twin pools, one of the colour of tea and the other the colour of hazel, gazed at each other. The boy's hazel orbs which were lifeless just a moment back were now overcome by an onslaught of emotions. He sank to his knees as if he was too weak to bear the weight of those innumerable feelings coursing through him.
'Are you real? Please don't disappear...'

Caihong swayed a little and squeezed her eyes shut at the all familiar throb at the base of her head which was slowly rising to a pointed peak.
'Not now,' she breathed. 'Please, not now...'

When the splitting ache somewhat diminished after several deep breaths, she looked at him again. The sight made her vision blurry again, for the boy was heaving painful sobs, and shaking like a fledgeling; his fingers stretched towards her in a silent plea for help.
'Please... Don't go... Help me... please...'

She took a few steps towards him, her fingers subconsciously yearning to hold the outstretched hand.

Just then a rowdy man appeared from nowhere, right behind him. He yanked up the helpless, shivering boy roughly by the arm.

Caihong's eyebrows almost shot up into her hairline with dismay.

"FIGHT BACK!!" She yelled. But her cry was drowned amid all the noise around her.

The huge man began to pull the boy away. The boy could barely stand; he stumbled after him and fell down a couple of times. Each time he fell, he was savagely hauled up.

He threw a helpless, despairing look towards her, trying to free his arm, which was surely aching in that grasp.
Tears flowed down his grimy face.

He had no more strength left. He couldn't fight any longer.

"NOOO!!" Caihong shouted.

Her scream was drowned again.

She pushed her way through the crowds, not caring that her hood had fallen off her head.

"LEAVE HIM!! LET HIM GO!!"

She gripped her bow tightly.

The boy kept throwing agonizing glances at her, which were tugging at her very heartstrings. She didn't know why, but she felt a frantic urge to go and help him. She just couldn't afford to sit back calm, and yet know that he was in danger.

'I will save him.'

With that, she brought out four of her "piercingly beautiful babies" from the pouch that hung from her waist.

'If I can't, then no one else will.'

She followed them.
Her plan to save him then and there went to the foil, as she was constantly falling back due to the hustle and bustle of the people.

Yet she was thankful for them, for she knew that their constant influx and efflux was the sole reason why the brute hadn't spotted her yet.

Caihong watched as the boy was dragged into a pitch-black alley, and crouched down near a wall, her face all cloudy. Luckily, she knew this alley. She knew that it had a dead end.

She deeply contemplated the four "piercingly beautiful babies" on the milky white palm of her hand.

' Time to formulate a concrete plan.'