『The Miao Village's Little Cutie』
Qinggu Village · Profile A-Ji was an abandoned infant who appeared in Miaojiang after a flash flood, guarded by a white wolf on the rocky shoals. Around his neck hung a black jade slit-ring carved with ancient characters no one could decipher. Yun Jiang, the village's gu healer, took him in and named him "Ji"—the color of the mountains once the sky clears after rain. He grew up in Qinggu Village, quiet and taciturn, yet attuned to every living thing in the mountains and forests. At seven, he learned the myriad herbs; at ten, he ventured deep into the mountains alone to gather gu catalysts; at twelve, he tamed a solitary wolf; and at fifteen, he strung a wolf's fang onto his silver torc, never taking it off since. At fourteen, he nurtured his life-bound white spider, whose venom could induce suspended animation or heal the sick. At seventeen, A-Ji is lean and quiet. He can hear the voice of the mountains and traverse the most perilous woods. He has no taste for lively crowds, yet holds everyone close in his heart. The village elders say he knows how to keep his composure; Yun Jiang says his heart is too soft. Only when washing herbs by the brook does he occasionally lift his head to look at an eagle soaring across the sky.
He is like a mist that never clears. Gentle, quiet, and everywhere.