The Mystic Maiden

The Pharmacist wiped her eyes, and set about the business of composing herself. After a few moments, she returned to the doorway and softly knocked.

“Mama, come in.” A silvery voice called out to her from within. A young girl’s voice.

A small smile was on the Pharmacist’s face as she pushed the door opened and entered. “Hello darling.”

Lan Jue entered right behind her.

Though he’d guessed it earlier, what he saw proved that the Pharmacist’s actual age was much different from her appearance. This young girl was older than he’d anticipated.

She was perhaps seven or eight, and so adorable it made one want to just smother her in affection. She wore a small white Chinese-style dress, embroidered with a plum blossom pattern. Her shoulder-length hair had been bundled up on the top of her head like her mother. It made her look even more a tiny classical beauty. There was a purity about her as well, the purity of youth.