The child was the product of a Lord and a concubine. Every day that the mother was bound to her master was a day filled with dread. His cruelty, coupled with his indulgence of alcohol, gave her the incentive to run away from it all. She didn't want her child to end up like the many others thrown out on to the street by his decree. Their mothers wept, but there was little to be done about it.
She begged for sanctuary in villagers' homes. She didn't need food or water. All she needed was two hours until she moved onwards. Anything for the baby to be raised in a better environment than what Lord Zhang Xi offered.
The baby was now a month old. His nourishment consisted only of mother's milk. He was a parasite, living at the mother's expense. She didn't care about that, and pampered the child as only she could. When she could afford to eat, she gulped down without hesitation. There was no time to waste; to savor the taste of a handful of berries or the remaining meat on animal bones were just luxuries for her. She raced for her food before the flies could beat her to it. Her feet grew wearier by the day, calloused and nearly broken. It was only a few more miles until her journey bore fruit.
"Do you see that up ahead?" Her finger pointed to a gargantuan, stone building. It was where boys grew into men, and men into future soldiers for the Emperor. A juxtaposition of religion and education, the Ling Sheung Su Temple seemed of heavenly stature in her eyes. "It's your new home."
She shed tears of joy for achieved what her colleagues thought impossible. Yet the pain she suffered in the process; the accumulating hunger which could tear a stomach in half. This is what brought her tears into hysterical sobs. The massive building only a mile away, she sprinted towards it.
Minutes flew by. Time was irrelevant to her now. Sight of the heavy wooden doors that would lead them to a new life brought her heart to a racing speed, inclined to burst out of her chest. She banged her fists heavily upon then, knowing that someone would come and rescue the two of them that night.
But no one ever did.
In grief and disbelief, the mother laid her baby to rest. Her two-week struggle for survival had been in vain. She kissed the child one last time, and her breath ceased. She was dead.
In response, the child bawled until the sun rose. An old man opened the doors, leading to the child's future, and saw what had been the results of the night watch's neglect. He carried the boy inside, and left the mother's corpse be. Seven or so monks came and ushered her inside, where she was buried among fellow fallen soldiers.