“Sir Jiang, a man of your talents should fall in with the larger factions. How come you’re alone?” Xing Hui was perplexed.

Jiang Chen smiled faintly. “I haven’t been on the island for long and I’m still getting to know the place. Are you old hats here, you and your daughter?”

“Not quite,” Xing Hui coughed out a laugh. “But we’ve been trying to eke out a life here for sixteen, seventeen years now. When I was first here, my daughter was still in the cradle. Now, Tong’er is already this tall.”

Jiang Chen glanced at the girl in question. Xing Tong’s features were elegant, her eyes filled with kindness and innocence. Clearly, she had grown up under her father’s protection. This had allowed her to remain untainted by the evils of the island.

Unfortunately, a father would find it increasingly difficult to survive on Winterdraw as his daughter grew older.

Xing Tong was developing more and more. She had already become a rather pretty girl – or perhaps young woman. If she were still a child, it wouldn’t be nearly...