Chapter 57: The Instant Between Kindness and Malice
Today, as always, was an exceedingly uneventful day.
Early in the morning, the northern streets of the Imperial Capital were already bustling. The dazzling array of goods was overwhelming, the calls of vendors echoed through the street, and during breakfast time, the enticing aroma in the air was unforgettable.
But a few hours later, the commercial street grew quiet.
Students went off to school, workers to their jobs, and breakfast vendors began to pack up their stalls. The only sounds left were the clattering of carriage wheels rolling over the pavement.
The commercial street now appeared peaceful and relaxing.
The patrolling soldier had been on night duty all through the evening. The replacement hadn’t shown up—perhaps due to some unexpected mishap.
This left the soldier helpless. With no one to take over, he could only continue standing guard to ensure the safety of the citizens of the Imperial Capital.
He hadn’t eaten all night. His face was worn out, and his eyelids felt heavy as if filled with lead.
Even so, he remained standing at the edge of the street, back straight, dutifully guarding everyone.
“Mister, this is for you.”
Just as the soldier was enduring hunger and cold, the voice of a young child rang out.
A little boy held out a steaming hot meat bun in front of him.
Seeing the meat bun still emitting heat, the weary soldier instantly felt a bit more energized. Without refusing, he calmly accepted the bun and gave a formal salute to the boy.
“Thank you, kind child. May the gods always watch over you.”
The boy nodded happily and skipped away.
Walking along the street, he forced a smile onto his face.
He wanted to be happy.
He dreamed of becoming a warrior who could protect others one day.
His mother often told him to help those in need. And just now, he had helped the tired soldier.
“Watch out!”
As the boy walked down the street, a sharp shout rang out.
Looking up, he saw a flowerpot falling rapidly from above.
The pot was less than a meter from him when a man dressed in tattered rags dashed over.
Grabbing the boy around the waist, he quickly leapt aside, pulling the child away from the clutches of death.
A voice called out from above.
It was a couple arguing from within a nearby residence.
“Damn it, woman, I told you not to put flowerpots on the window ledge! That’s the street below—what if it fell and hit someone?!”
“Why are you yelling? It didn’t hit anyone, did it?!”
...
“Pant… pant…”
Gasping as he looked at the broken ceramic on the ground, the boy stood frozen. He had just nearly been hit on the head by the flowerpot.
Looking at the homeless man who had saved him, he instinctively said:
“Th-thank you, mister.”
“No problem.”
The vagrant stood and patted the dust from his body. Though he looked haggard, he still forced a smile for the boy.
“Be more careful next time.”
With that, the vagrant shuffled away.
His face was bitter. He had been a homeless wanderer in the capital for a long time—barely scraping by, never knowing where his next meal would come from.
A cold wind blew, and he rubbed his filthy hands over his shoulders to stay warm.
He didn’t know why he had saved the boy.
Maybe… guilt?
...
In life, there are always moments where kindness shines through—a small act, a few words, or even a tender gaze.
The little boy’s actions, and the vagrant’s rescue, had been witnessed by an old lady passing by.
Cough cough…
Wearing a sunhat and leaning on a cane, she walked slowly along the street. Her eyes squinted, her back hunched, and her sagging facial skin reflected the years she had lived. Yet her expression was unexpectedly gentle.
As the vagrant passed her, she suddenly spoke.
“Young man, take this.”
She pulled out a wool coat from her coat. Her face still kind, she said, “This was meant for my son, but I think… you may need it more right now.”
“Uh…”
The vagrant blinked, dumbfounded, as he instinctively accepted the wool coat and nodded.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The old woman’s raspy voice replied with a smile.
The vagrant walked off in the coat.
She was left alone.
Now with nothing to do, she hobbled to a bench at the side of the street and sat down to rest.
Her weathered eyes watched the people of the capital go about their lives, absorbing every detail.
“What a beautiful country…”
Her raspy voice murmured, and her mind drifted back to her days serving in the military during her youth.
But just then, another gust of wind swept past.
Whoosh—!
She hadn’t had time to hold her hat.
The wind snatched it, sending it flying two meters away.
Her legs were weak, and she had just sat down—it was hard to stand up again.
But then she noticed a little girl standing where the hat had landed.
The girl’s head was lowered, making her face impossible to see.
“Little girl?”
She called out tentatively.
The girl turned her head slightly at the sound but said nothing. Her face remained hidden.
“Um… could you please pick up my sunhat?”
The old woman asked.
Then…
There was no movement…
...
The girl seemed to hear the request, but even with the hat at her feet, she remained motionless.
The scene lingered in awkward silence…
Eventually, with no other choice, the old lady sighed and slowly pushed herself off the bench with her cane and aged hands.
If anyone else had seen it, they would surely condemn the indifferent little girl.
Step by step, the old lady finally left the bench. She struggled to squat down and reach for the hat.
“Move! Get out of the way!”
Suddenly, a shout came from behind her.
A carriage bolted down the street in a frenzy. Clearly, the horse had been spooked and was now completely out of the driver’s control.
Crash!
The sudden noise made the old lady collapse back onto the ground.
But when she looked back, her elderly face froze.
Her squinted eyes widened in horror.
The bench she had just been sitting on was now shattered—crushed by the panicked horse.
The entire carriage had crashed into a hay shed behind it…
...
“Damn! What kind of idiot drives a carriage like that? It’s way too dangerous!”
“Good thing no one got hit. Otherwise he’d be thrown in prison!”
“Heh, even smashing that hay shed means he’ll have to pay up.”
...
The crowd began to murmur.
But the old lady didn’t pay them any attention.
What mattered was… if she hadn’t gone to pick up the hat, she would’ve been hit by that runaway carriage.
Looking back in shock, the old woman stared at the silent little girl—her face still hidden.
Was this… coincidence? Luck?
She had survived because of the girl’s indifference.
All she could say now was:
“Th-thank you…”
She didn’t know why she was thanking the girl. After all, the girl had done nothing…
But she knew that if the girl hadn’t been so cold, she might be dead now…
“Jie jie jie…”
The girl suddenly laughed.
The laugh was disturbingly eerie—completely unlike a little girl’s voice.
Or rather…
Not even a human’s voice!
The street fell into long silence…
...
...
The little girl looked up.
She had no face!
Just a mouth curved in a wicked grin, and a pair of blood-hued glowing eyes!
“Humans shed their elegant masks~♬They release the malice within~♬Endless greed, ah~♬ You all unleash your desires~♬Oh glorious Greed~♬Faith begins to shine~♬…”
The girl slowly walked away from the old lady, singing a haunting melody.
Her voice was strange, carrying an eerie rhythm that chilled the air to the bone.
...
...
The old lady sat on the ground, staring blankly at the girl’s retreating figure, utterly terrified. She had never seen such a horrific face, and the dread in her heart would not fade…
Maybe…
That little girl… wasn’t even human…
The old woman thought.
But what she didn’t know was this—
The first soldier? The reason no one came to relieve him was because he often skipped shifts, having forced others to cover his nights.
The little boy? He was an orphan. That meat bun he gave away… was stolen.
And the vagrant? The reason he saved the boy was because some time ago, during a burglary gone wrong, he killed two people—and on their bedside was a child’s oil painting of that very boy.
All of this, perfectly linked together, in that fleeting instant between kindness and malice.