Bai Hua opened his eyes when he realised that it was dawn. The sky was starting to glow and the forest below was covered in mist. His tree was a good vantage point. He could see the mist slowly rising from the stream and gradually covering the rest of the area. It was a fine morning in the mortal world and he did not regret leaving the godly realm to experience small things like this.

He flew down from his tree and breathed in the fresh morning air. He didn’t want to walk today. He was told it would take 2 days to reach the imperial city and the sound of the stream was really enticing. So, he walked to the edge of the stream. The speed of the stream wasn’t too fast or too languid. But he could see that it was very deep even though it was not as wide as a big river. But it was big enough for a canoe to sail on its waters.

He pulled out his white jade crane and threw it into the stream. As soon as it touched the water it elongated into a white canoe with the head of a crane at the front. He jumped into the canoe and sat down without making any ripples on the surface of the water. As if the canoe understood what its rider wanted it started moving forwards and followed the course of the stream.

Bai Hua was sitting happily and was enjoying the boat ride. After a few moments, the crane canoe stopped suddenly. Bai Hua lifted his eyebrow at this sudden stop.

“Your highness, there is a human body caught by the overlying branch of a tree. It seemed to have been carried down by the stream,” said a voice that seemed to be coming from the head of the crane.

“Let me have a look at it, Xianhe.”

The canoe moved towards the body.

“It doesn’t seem to be dead. I can still feel the soul inside the body,” said Bai Hua after he took a look at it, he flicked his hand and the body flew towards the canoe and landed on his lap. Yet, Bai Hua’s clothes remained dry. And the clothes on the person’s body started to dry fast as if the air was absorbing it.

Bai Hua had not seen the face earlier. Its long hair had covered most part of the face and the body was still undeveloped, so he couldn’t say whether it was male or female. But now that it was lying on his lap he could tell that it belonged to a boy who seemed to be around 11 years old. The boy didn’t seem to come from a poor family, in fact, his clothes were of the highest quality and there was also a jade pendant hanging by the waist of his robes. His delicate face was pale and he was not even breathing.

“Xianhe, continue with the journey. I will take care of this mortal.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The canoe had become larger when Bai Hua took in the boy and now it started moving again. Bai Hua didn’t do anything but the body slowly started to regain its colour. Low breathing sounds slowly started to issue from his nose as well. And after a while, it started giving off soft snores like he was sleeping peacefully.

“Big brother Chen, I knew you would come back for me,” he mumbled as he snuggled closer to Bai Hua and continued to sleep.

Bai Hua didn’t know how to react to this but let the boy sleep on his lap with his arm as the pillow. He was initially treating the boy as he would treat a pet back at his residence. But he had seen mortal familial interactions and he had also seen how parents took care of their children. This was the first experience for him and he felt warm inside.

They travelled down the stream in silence and after a while it became noon. The boy moved to show signs of discomfort.

“Xianhe,” Bai Hua called.

“I understand, Your Highness.”

A white tent appeared over them and blocked out the sunlight. The tent looked like the wings of the crane trying to protect its riders. From afar it looked like a giant crane that was floating on the stream. The boy had remained sleeping, snuggling comfortably in Bai Hua’s bosom.

It was already evening when the stream led them near some human habitations. The stream was shallower around this part. Bai Hua could see that the imperial city was just some distance away now. The stream had swerved around the gentle slopes yet it was a faster way to reach the imperial city. The imperial city was located at another mountain and Bai Hua had travelled from Baoshan which was the nearest city to the imperial city lying on the east side of its borders.

From here the stream was going in a different direction. The crane canoe stopped by the shore as Bai Hua decided that it was time for the boy to wake up. He had slept the entire day and he would be hungry anytime soon.

He carried the boy out on the shore and the canoe returned back to his hair as a normal jade crane hair accessory. And even his dark jade dragon wristband returned to its disguise. A covered zither appeared behind his back which was tied to his chest. Both of the spirits had understood that their master had resumed his mortal role.

Bai Hua gently shook the boy and the boy yawned and opened its eyes to reveal a pair of stormy grey eyes. He looked at Bai Hua for a moment and then his surrounding and jumped down from his arm swiftly.

“Who are you?” demanded the boy, “where is big brother Chen?”

Bai Hua calmly said, “My name is Hua, I found your body floating upstream. Did you drown by any chance?”

There was shock written all over the boy’s face, “You’re trying to say that all that had happened was not a dream?! In my dream, I had sneaked away from our group to try and swim in the stream last night. But I felt a sting and before I know it I was drowning and I couldn’t even move my muscles. But I thought it was all a dream. It felt dream-like. I would have never ventured out alone at night without proper protection!”

“Hmmm... something tells me you were under a spell. Somebody tried to kill you,” Bai Hua concluded.

“Was it you?” the boy asked suspiciously.

“Little brother, I am just a travelling musician. I won’t have saved you if I wanted you dead,” Bai Hua chuckled.

“How did we end up here if you say that you saved me?” he still insisted.

“I carried you, of course, you were resting so I didn’t wake you up until now. You must be hungry. Let us go get some food first.”

“Brother Hua, don’t you want to know who I am?” asked the boy somewhat embarrassed when he heard that Bai Hua carried him all the way here. He could see that Bai Hua was carrying a zither as well. He felt like he had been a burden.

“You can tell me while we are eating. I know that you are starving” Bai Hua said with a knowing look at his stomach.

And as if on cue the boy’s stomach growled. He slightly blushed when he got found out.

“But I don’t have any money on me. I left everything in the camp.”

“Don’t worry, little brother, I am willing to feed you as well,” And seeing the awkward look in the boy’s eyes Bai Hua smiled and added, “you can pay me back later when you find your group, alright?”

“Okay, brother Hua.”

Something in the way that Bai Hua had spoken or just by being in his presence the boy had mellowed. The boy knew it was not right to completely trust strangers but something inside him believed everything Bua Hua said. Bai Hua didn’t look like a rogue and he was calm and gentle. The boy liked him.

And so they made their way towards the small habitation not very far from the stream. And some distance up the mountain, they could see the imperial city that was lined by a wall that circled the base of the mountain. The mountain wasn’t steep but it had gentle slopes just like Baoshan city but it was a lot bigger than Baoshan city. The wall wasn’t far from the habitations and Bai Hua decided to lead both of them inside it as they would be able to find a restaurant inside the wall.