There was a tension so heavy in the courtroom in Burlington, Vermont, you could almost choke the air with it. A row of onlookers strained forward across the gallery, their whispers a soft droning chorus, as 5-year-old Lily Mitchell, whose green eyes were full of terror but shone with possibility, ran to Judge Catherine Westbrook.
Lily wore a pink frock that had been washed so many times it was faded, and she clutched a small stuffed bear; on the hard stone of the silent hall, her little feet sounded.
Catherine, 42, was seated in her wheelchair wearing a judicial robe that served as a cloak of authority to obscure the pain and loss she has felt during nearly three years paralyzed from a crippling car accident.
Lily’s little voice cut through the silence. “If you release my daddy,” she said, in earnest and unbending tones, “I will heal your legs.” The courtroom erupted in gasps, laughs rippling from skeptics, and chaos when attorneys objected and spectators whispered. Catherine’s gavel crashed, and the storm was hushed… and all at once she was staring into that child’s face whose promise would break both logic and law.
Lily’s father, Robert Mitchell, 34, appeared in the dock with a face like a desperate map. A dedicated single father, Robert had been forced to make a painful decision when Lily’s life-threatening asthma spun out of control: An affirmation for a family haunted by tragedy.
But when the aunt had a miscarriage, accusing fingers were pointed to Xing’er’s innocent form as a harbinger of misfortune. “She’s brought death upon us!” her uncle shouted, his face twisted with grief. Xing’er’s heart broke; she gripped the pendant on her neck.
It seemed to occasionally throb with an unknown force, a trace from her previous celestial existence.
Xing’er’s life had been a series of abandonment and longing. Created when a celestial koi was made into a child, she longed for her mother, who was imprisoned in a secret chamber by evil.
Her uncles drove her to safety, shielding her from the anger of the family, who accused them of allowing Amitabh to die. “You’re no jinx, Xing’er,” Uncle Li whispered, the sound a balm. “You’re a blessing.”
But the bitterness took root, the Ye family’s avarice and fear alchemizing goodness into poison. Determined to prove herself and restore balance, Xing’er set out on a mission to find pendants of mystical power that would release her mother’s prison, enabling a family reunion.
At school, the cruelty continued. Jiang Lele, the scrooge of a classmate who would curse at Xing’er and wander through the corridors yelling, “Jinx! You’ll curse us all!” The bullying crescendoed in a fiery altercation, with Lele’s parents and teachers dragged into the mix.
Lele accused Xing’er of stirring up trouble and lying, slippery as oil. Xing’er, firelight reflecting in her eyes, defended herself. “I didn’t do anything! You started it!” The principal, looking to resolve the conflict, suggested a painting contest. Lele, smirking, staked her pride: “If I lose, you get to stay.
But if I win, you will be gone for good.” With Xing’er’s heart throbbing, she agreed with her magical intuition and painted.
The competition was a showdown of moral authority. Lele sabotaged Xing’er’s paintbrush, breaking its tip, but Xing’er’s resilience showed. With a broken tool, she painted a masterpiece—a brilliant koi fish leaping above a tempestuous sea, signalling hope in the face of adversity.
Xing’er took the victory because her performance was deeper, and moved by its depth, the judges awarded her a win. Lele’s mother, furious, wanted heads to roll, her threats toxic.
But powerful allies of Xing’er—her uncles, players in high social circles—intervened, quashing the bullying. Lele’s family slunk away, humbled, and the school was a safer sanctuary; Xing’er’s victory stood as an affirmation of kindness over cruelty.
Yet the family’s shadows loomed. Xing’er had found the secret room where her mother was locked up, with her ailment being a product of a curse by the Lin family, who were enemies of the Ye clan.
The heartless businessman, Lin patriarch, manipulated his way in his quest to ruin the Ye family panicle. Xing’er used her koi powers to hunt for the pendants, and each quest tested her courage—a bit of luck here, some healing there.
The prior love of one uncle, a spy for Lin, betrayed them, but Xing’er’s empathy won her a friend after all—and a clue to the kidnapper’s lair room.
The crescendo came in a face-off with Chen Qianqian, Xing’er’s evil aunt, who had locked up her mother after falling into desirous envy of her. “You’re a curse!” Qianqian snarled, her face twisted. But Xing’er, her voice steady, fought back and called on uncles and allies.
The police, spurred by evidence of Qianqian’s crimes, crashed the estate; her malice was revealed. Qianqian’s arrest was a pot of boiling water with justice served on the installment plan as Xing’er freed her mother, her healing touch bringing her out of the curse.
In the wake, the Ye household is decked in joy as family members bask in their relationships. Xing’er, who is praised for her achievements, can feel the attraction of her celestial identity. “Do I deserve a place in heaven, or am I just a girl?” she pondered, her heart torn.
Opting for humanity so she could remain with her mother, she then turned her corporeal lifelines, her warmth knitting the family back together. Uncles who had doubted her were the ones to shield her fiercely, protecting her with their love against the cruelties of the world.
Its storylines were about grit and kindness; Xing’er was a testament to the power of being kind. Even in betrayal, her spirit was so strong; she showed us that real family is more than just blood and bone. Formed in sacrifice and love.
Where was Willow Creek’s shadow of separation? It grew lush with cohesion, as Xing’er’s bravery lit the road for them to follow.
