Baiyu opened the door as if stepping into another world, leaving her pain behind. Outside, Nezumi was standing in the light of last night mixed with the first fragments of dawn.
The moment Nezumi saw her beloved priestess with the blindfold, she felt an ache in her heart, as if many pins were piercing her.
"I can't imagine how my lady is feeling now, "she thought.
"But I am certain she will not tell me. She is doing all this to protect me, otherwise I would become the next pawn of that old cadger."
Baiyu moved toward her, but Nezumi saw a pebble in her lady's path and thought she would fall.
She hurried forward to help, but stopped herself, for the way Baiyu moved left no chance of falling. She stepped over the pebble perfectly, without stumbling.
The priestess gently wrapped the little rat in her robes, holding her close like a mother comforting her child.
Nezumi's face grew warm, her cheeks blushing, as she remembered" How long I had waited for my lady."
This time, instead of fainting, she started to cry softly.
Last night, when the old cadger came out of the shrine, she had hidden behind a stone and watched.
She saw how everyone bowed before him and respected , yet still how he ignored the old couple who had come
perhaps they wanted the priestess's help. Instead of meeting them, the cadger stepped into a carriage brought by a man who did not appear to be from here(Yueji)instead of Prahavia.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a voice. 'Didn't you wait for me? Actually, I was to tiered and feel it too… I was sleepy, so I just sat there, and I don't remember when I fell asleep… Hehe…' Baiyu returned to her hopping, fish-like self, making excuses to comfort the little rat.
The little rat stepped back, lifting her face toward those fish-like eyes, though they remained veiled.
"Lady, how could you sleep when I waited for you the whole night?" she lied, not wishing Baiyu to sense that she already knew the truth.
Nezumi puffed out her cheeks and crossed her tiny arms in stubborn defiance.
Baiyu rested a hand upon her shoulder.
"Do not be angry over such small matters. Next time, go to your own room and rest. If this ever happens again, do not wait for me."
The priestess took a long step and moved forward like a fish crossing the whole river by hopping when nobody was watching them.
Nezumi followed her fish-like lady, unwilling to let her fall.
They both entered the place where the priestess usually worshipped God, met people, and helped them with their troubles. Here, the priestess never differentiated between rich or poor, old or young she treated everyone the same.
Baiyu always fulfilled her duties with her whole heart, yet even now people whispered that she had failed as a priestess.
"Now I have to prove to everyone that I am carrying out my duties well ,if I want to protect Nezumi and keep her from being forced to replace me in the future."
This place was actually smaller than the main shrine and behind it.
The sweet smell of incense filled the room, and just a small breath of it could bring peace of mind. It was specially made by Baiyu and Nezumi, using hidden herbs from the mountains with blue blossoms and white flowers .
Outside, a wooden mechanical bamboo watering system added the final touch, making this place feel sacred and calming for the mind.
Baiyu entered gracefully, followed by her little rat, and went into the small main hall with wooden mats. She sat down smoothly on the floor, carefully hiding Nezumi behind her.
People came to meet her one by one in a steady line. While listening to their prayers and problems, she tried her best to keep Nezumi out of sight.
Whenever anyone's eyes drifted toward little Nezumi, who carefully watched her lady in order to learn the duties, knowing that if the worst came, she might have to take them on herself for hiding her.
Baiyu would gently move her fan or her sleeve to distract them, as gracefully as a koi flicking its tail.
Baiyu kept her true reason for hiding the little rat locked within her heart. "Remembering a time when a girl was far too young to be a full-fledged priestess, yet she was forced to take on the duties as After the last priestess was declared dead, an eleven-year-old child was prepared to replace her."
"Sometimes she was beaten harshly for failing to learn quickly. Her parents abandoned her at the shrine when they discovered she bore the blessing of the gods. They sold her as if she were nothing more than an offering."
Her serene face paled with sadness. "That eleven-year-old girl was none other than me the current priestess, Baiyu. The years when I should have lived in innocence and joy were destroyed by my parents' greed."
Baiyu was still surrounded by the voices of wandering souls, whispering to free her from her mortal body.
One soul sat beside the priestess, begging forgiveness for leaving an eleven-year-old child behind, and asking her to follow them into the other world.
Yet Baiyu did not listen.
She had forgotten them and left them behind. Now she wished only to listen to God and the demi-spirits, and to protect Nezumi from the same suffering she herself had endured.
Meanwhile, the old cadger arrived at a long-stretched palace with golden-embroidered pillars, well-kept gardens, perfectly designed sand ponds, and rare stones placed with care.
He stepped into a chamber hung with red tapestries.
Behind them sat a man hidden from view, his presence marked only by his voice. At his command, one of his men handed a pouch of gold to the old cadger.
A strong, unrestrained desire for gold shone clearly in the cadger's eyes.