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The wheels clattered as the cart jolted over the yellow clay road. Inside the carriage, sixteen children were crammed together, six boys and ten girls.
Some of the girls were crying softly. Others rubbed their eyes while mumbling for their mothers or older brothers.
It was clear enough. In this world, boys were far more valuable than girls. If a family had both, the daughter would often be the one cast out, sent away to become a so-called immortal offering child. And if there weren’t such a fate waiting, then in harder times, the girl would still be sold off. That was what human traffickers were for. Where those girls ended up? No one liked to talk about it.
That was why there were more girls than boys in the cart.
Li Yuan sat quietly, watching one of the crying girls beside him.
She looked about nine years old, small and thin like a squirrel, her skin sallow and waxy. Her sobs were full of heartbreak.
Li Yuan gave her a nudge. When she turned toward him in surprise, he pulled a funny face.
The girl blinked. Her crying stopped immediately as she stared at him, bewildered.
“My name’s Li Yu.” He grinned.
Just a few simple words, but somehow they wrapped the girl in a fragile sense of comfort.
She wiped her eyes and said, “I’m Xiao Zhen.”
Li Yuan gently soothed her, then started chatting idly. Where they were from, who was in their families, how they ended up in this cart.
As it turned out, most of the children...
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