"Are you Lin Xu?" a soft voice asked as a woman with a child strapped to her back pushed through the bustling crowds of the Yingmu City Street Market. Lin Xu was out shopping with Xinshan, having him pull a small cart that she placed their food bundles in.
Lin Xu wiped the sweat dripping down her face as she looked at the woman. This lady had her hair covered up by a large bonnet, and her clothes looked battered and dirty. The state of her child's clothes weren't much better. The child even looked skinny and pale, as if he hasn't eaten in days.
"I am," Lin Xu said. "And you are?"
"Please take good care of my Haoming. Make him into a strong cultivator," the woman said, unstrapping the sleeping child from her back and handing him to Lin Xu. She then turned and left without a word, causing Lin Xu to stare after her in confusion.
"Ma'am!" Lin Xu shouted, but the woman ignored her and darted into an alleyway. Lin Xu couldn't just drop the child or even leave him and her own son standing in the middle of a crowded street. She could only sigh and look at the boy now in her arms.
"He's got to be six years old," she said softly, glancing over at Xinshan. "Not much younger than you."
"I'll take care of him, Mom!" Xinshan said with a bright grin as he stared at the young boy. "Are we going to bring him home?"
"I have no choice," she said told her son, nodding towards the cart Xinshan seemed to have forgotten about. He was too busy jumping around her to get a look of the boy named Haoming. "Come on, grab the food. Let's get him home and get him some food. It seems like he hasn't eaten in days."
"Are you going to go looking for his mother?" Xinshan asked, taking a hold of the cart and pushing it as the two of them and the sleeping child started to walk away from the market. Lin Xu let out a low hum, glancing back towards the alleyway the woman had escaped to.
"After we get Haoming settled in, I will try to," Lin Xu decided. "I don't know if we'll actually find her. But it's worth a try. We need to get answers."
"Then let's go make a very yummy meal for Haoming!" Xinshan cried out in excitement. He loved the idea of having a new friend. Lin Xu slowly nodded her head in agreement. She didn't know what was the right thing to do. But the child's safety came first. So with that in mind, she made her way home, one child in tow and one in her arms.