When she was five years old, the family's small pharmacy closed because her father started a reselling business with wealthy shippers in a small port outside Smokytown.

One summer afternoon, my mother took Sha Ting all the way up the mountain road, which was the first time that Sha Ting walked to the end of this winding mountain road. The dirt road ends in front of a flat clearing paved with red bricks, and in the open space sits an imposing two-story red brick building, much more beautiful than the stucco brick and wooden spire house of the Satines.

"This is Granny Laude's home." The mother squatted down, pulled her hair for her daughter, and wiped the sweaty forehead, "You have to be obedient for a while, don't speak." But whatever your mother-in-law tells you to do, you have to do it, and if she asks you to speak, you can speak, okay daughter? ”

Sha Ting nodded obediently.

Mom gently knocked on the brass bell in front of the screen door, and the two waited silently. It took a long time for a hoarse inquiry to come from the room, "Luqi mourns, is that you?" ”

Mom whispered, "It's me, Auntie." ”

"You still have the face to come to me, stupid girl?!" There was a cold anger in his voice.

"Auntie, I brought my baby."

A low laugh like sandpaper rubbing came out of the room, "Your child's disability is nothing to treat. Doesn't he think it's actually convenient sometimes? ”

Sha Ting frowned angrily, and she felt her mother holding her hand tightly, "It's not my son, Aunt Tuo Dai," her mother replied, and she couldn't hear the ups and downs of her emotions in her voice, "It's my daughter." ”

After a moment of silence, the voice in the room said, "Bring her in." ”

Sha Ting followed her mother into the dimly lit antechamber of the small forest building and met the owner with a hoarse voice.

That person was young compared to her "mother-in-law" title, but it didn't match the beautiful name "Fendai". Her long, gray hair hung down like seaweed to cover most of her face, but Sha Ting could clearly see the twisted red burns on her left and right cheeks. Under the scar, the original appearance of that face is unknown, but Sha Ting feels that she should have been a beauty a long time ago, because she has a pair of stunning eyes, under the thick eyelashes, the big dark eyes seem to have no pupils.

Being stared at by such a pair of eyes made little Sha Ting panic and overwhelmed, and she lowered her head to look at her toes.

"Aunt Dai Dai, please show my daughter the future. She was a smart and healthy child, far better than I was back then. ”

"Do you think there's something so great about you back then? Stupid girl! "I want to see what is left of my sister's poor blood after being mixed up by your stupid father and inferior husband." ”

She ordered Sha Ting to go to her. Angered by her contemptuous tone, Sha Ting forgot her fears and walked up to her in a huff to stand still. The woman grabbed Sha Ting's right hand and made her fall forward with great strength. She picked her up without mercy, and Sha Ting was forced to stand on tiptoe and raise her palm in front of the woman's eyes. Sha Ting could feel her hot snort on her palm, but the hand that grabbed her palm was cold, and the sharp nails pressed hard into her delicate palm, Sha Ting felt that she did it on purpose, so she gritted her teeth and said nothing.

For a long time, Granny Dai didn't say a word.

Sha Ting felt that it had really been a long time. Because whenever she felt that her toes were numb and she wanted to put down her heels to slow down, she would be pulled hard. After being dragged about three or four times, her hand was thrown away.

Granny Lai Dai sat with her eyes closed, her brows furrowed and her breath short. Then she jerked to her feet, a muffled voice coming out of her throat, and Sha Ting couldn't make out what she was saying.

But the mother behind her quickly stepped forward and hugged Sha Ting, and said in a cheerful tone, "Okay auntie, please have a good rest." Satene and I will be here until you come out. ”

Granny Dai snorted reluctantly and turned to leave.

"Shall we go?" Sha Ting turned back to her mother.

"No, Daughter Bao. We're here waiting. Mom said to her gently, gently rubbing her little hand that had been held so hard just now, "You can sleep for a while." ”

Mom seemed to be familiar with the room. She picked up Sha Ting, turned and walked towards the screen door they had entered, there was a bench in the shadow behind the door, the chair was covered with soft cushions and linen mats, and Sha Ting felt very comfortable when her mother gently lowered the little girl. She saw a young woman she had never seen crept up to her mother, and she was laughing quietly with her.

The summer heat blew through the screen door, and soon the little girl fell asleep to the sound of small conversations.

By the time Sha Ting woke up, it was already evening, and the dimly lit antechamber was empty under the slanting sunset. She climbed down from the bench and looked around the strange room she was in.

Twelve brass chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and the unlit candles in the holders emitted a strong sandalwood fragrance. In the middle of the room, against the wall, was the soft collapse where Granny Dai had just sit, and on top of it was a brocade blanket that did not match the summer, and the fluffy animal skin cushions were piled up on top of each other. There is a large box on the left and right sides of the soft collapse, and the corners of the box are wrapped in shiny metal.

"It's not going to be gold, is it?!" Sha Ting rubbed the yellow and cool silk edging and thought, "If it's gold, how much is this box worth?!" ”。

She climbed up the soft floor, and there were many interesting things on the surface of the box that she had never seen before. A stack of beautiful blue and gold feathers, a whole set of glass bottles with droppers, small pendants carved into the teeth of unknown animals, birds with outstretched wings engraved in small characters around a copper ring, "Golden crow is light, we wish to be light", white gauze neatly arranged in a bright glass box, six or seven large and small bone knives and a pair of scissors in a carved silver plate, all sharpened very sharp, and oiled. A three-stringed instrument as long as Satin's arm, the case is perfectly round, and the neck is long, which is completely different from the short-necked oval three-stringed instrument commonly found on Poseidon Island. Sha Ting tried to pluck the strings, and it made a "rustle~~~ hum" sound, like rain falling leaves.

Satene loved it!

In the black-purple lace handkerchief, a small mirror that was extremely beautiful caught Satine's attention. A round mirror like a full moon is bordered by shiny brass. The wooden handle of the mirror is covered with a fine texture like tiger stripes, and Sha Ting holds it in her hand, feeling that the curves are warm and fit in the palm of her hand.

The mirror surface is flat and smooth, without a trace of ripples or bubbles.

In the mirror, Sha Ting's immature face is reflected.

Under the pale gray curved eyebrows, the blue-gray eyes are inherited from the mother, and the small and straight nose and full rose lips are very similar to the father. Sha Ting wanted to smile, but she felt as if she had seen a little soul trapped in a mirror, and the confused look on her face was not suitable for a smile.

Her fingers touched the back of the mirror, which was a completely different material, and the uneven touch aroused Sha Ting's curiosity, and she turned the mirror around.

On the back of the mirror is an ebony carved color print, which Sha Ting caresses and examines from the bottom up. The base of the painting is painted with black, brown and dark green paints, and the tangled forest is depicted with sharp knife work. Upwards was the bare snow-white belly of a young woman, her upper half leaning back, covered with long black curly hair. Thorns grew from the long hair, and a gorgeous face appeared in the thorns. His lips were slightly open and his cheeks were red.

The eyes should be slightly closed with the fingers upward, but Sha Ting was suddenly glared at by a pair of eyes that are not human—the protruding eyeballs bulge from the plane to show a strange roundness, and the whites of the eyes are cloudy and blurry because they want to express the effect of congestion or simply because of wear. The part equivalent to a black eyeball was just a deep black dot, but it seemed to send a vicious curse to Sha Ting.

The little girl trembled, threw away the mirror and screamed.