--- (POV – Ding Chin) ---
She looked around at the surroundings with indifference, as she doesn't care much for the location the trial, she was meant to undertake took place. Memories within her head where forcibly stoked as she looked at the darkness around her, causing her some confusion as to why she would think of her past.
Matching the memories, the surroundings change, making her more serious and alert but due to the forcefulness of the memories within her head, it slightly clouded her thinking.
The surroundings change to a large fancy courtyard filled with youths happily talking with each other and older people at the edges talking amongst themselves. In the middle of the courtyard was a beautiful young girl only 7 years old getting the attention of everyone as they all surrounded her and spoke words of praise.
Even the adults were talking about her as they constantly pointed and looked at her. The girl in the middle had long black hair which matched perfectly with her dark eyes and round face.
She had nothing but smiles on her face as she was the centre of attention of everyone but she wasn't arrogant at all, and was interacting with many of the youngsters.
Ding Chin walked over to the young girl, all the youngers surrounding her providing no resistance as they fazed through her like smoke. She bent down and looked at the girl with a complex expression of sadness, longing and pity.
The scene changed, this time Chin was now in a bedroom with a large bed in the middle with the same young girl from before laying down. Something wasn't right however, as unlike her previous appearance of being healthy and happy, her expression was now one of pain and discomfort as her whole body was covered in sweat.
A spontaneous change happened within the young girl while Chin was looking at her. Her expression eased up and rapid changes started to happen to her body. Her beautiful black hair, turned mossy green. Her unstained white skin started to get weird purple clumps and her body giving off an intoxicating but deadly smell.
After the changes where done the girl opened her eyes in confusion as to what happened and why her bed was covered in sweat. Maids came rushing in after she called out, touching all over her body to make sure she is alright. These maids where quickly followed by a man and a woman dressed in fancy clothes.
Unexpectedly the maids who touched the young girl suddenly stopped, before dropping to the floor. Their skin turning purple and hair falling out. Within only seconds froth started to come out their mouth and blood dripping from all their orifice before they became still and lied dead on the floor.
The young girl screamed in fright while the old man's expression became severe and quickly issued a command. "Quick guards, lock down this place and capture anyone who looks suspicious. Someone tried to poison my daughter. I want them found immediately."
The old man, who was the girl's father instantly assumes that what killed the maids was a failed attempt at assassination but when the next set of maids come in and touch her, it happens again.
The father instantly realised something was wrong and looked over his daughter's appearance. The green hair, purple spots and the deadly smell made him realise something. It was his daughter causing the maids the be poisoned.
The young girl was frightened as all these maids she has known for a long time suddenly collapsed and died. She called out "Father, mother what's going on? I'm scared"
There was no reply though, and guards surrounded her making her even more frightened and made her start to cry. Ding Chin looks at this scene with sadness and pity.
Again, the scene changed, this time the young girl was sitting on the floor surrounded by guards and many people looking at her with a scornful look. It looked almost as if this 7-year-old girl was on trial, and the person in the middle was her father looking at her with a disgusted face.
The adults started talking to each other, with one word being repeated in each sentence. "Cursed". Suddenly the father raises his hand, to symbolise people to be quiet after he had enough time to think.
"I Ding Zhi announce the disownment of my daughter Ding Chin from the Ding Family. She is a cursed child who has already killed many of the maids and guards.
She will be confined to the back of the estate, so she cannot shame the Ding family. Her title as Young Mistress will be stripped and be given to elder Yijun's grandson, Ding Guo. From now on he will be the young master of the Ding family and gain all the resources along with that title."
A young man standing to the right of an elder stepped forward with and arrogant and cocky expression and knelt down showing his gratitude. "Thank you, uncle Zhi. I swear on my name to not disgrace the Ding family, unlike this cursed witch who disgraces the Ding family."
"Father! What do you mean? What's happening?" The young Ding Chin cry's out in sadness for an answer as to why this is happening.
"Quiet! You are no longer my daughter. You are a cursed child who poisons those around them. Guards escort her to her new home. Make sure not to touch her unless you want death. Not even her clothes are safe, her curse seeps into them as well."
With the tips of spears pointed at her she could only move away from them with tears as she is escorted to the deepest part of the family compound. Isolated from the rest of the family.
The older Ding Chin watches with sadness and even she had a few tears, remembering the feelings she had when her life came crumbling down. The scene changes again, going back in time to just before the young Ding Chin became "cursed".
She had confusion as to why the scene would go back, but as she looked her face started to change. It showed the scene of a young Ding Chin sleeping peacefully with a beautiful middle-aged woman standing over her with a small vial in hand.
The woman was the same person who came into the room with her father, and the one siting next to him in the main hall. This was the wife of Ding Chins father and her mother, Ding Ah.
Ding Chin could only watch in horror as her own mother poured the contents of the vial down her younger versions throat while she was sleeping, before quickly leaving.
Moments after she left, what was showed previously started happening and the young Ding Chin started to sweat and had a painful expression.
"Why? Why would mother do this?" was the only thing Ding Chin could think of. The surroundings change, this time it returned to the darkness and in front of her was the younger version of her looking directly at her.
"Mother did this because she was jealous. Jealous of our talent and beauty, but also because since we showed off our talent. Father stopped paying attention to mother." Said the young Chin.
Ding Chin was confused by what her younger self was saying thinking about what she just heard. 'Why would mother be jealous of me. She was my mother. Did she really try to kill her own daughter in spite and to get revenge? How could she do this to me? No, how dare she do this to me. Her own daughter, her own blood.'
Rage and anguish started to build up within her. The scene of the person she considered her only true family betrayed her and caused her the pain she had to live with for most of her life.
When she finally focused again on what's around her, she found her younger self gone and the surrounds changed again. In front of her was a room she was all too familiar with, with a handsome young man lying on the bed.
Her mind still upset she rushed towards him crying, wanting comfort from her love, Fen Chang. Before she could reach the bed however, a fist appeared from in front of her, sending her backwards as she got punched.
She could only widen her eyes in shock as a bunch of woman stood in between her and Fen Chang.
"Sister Yin why did you punch me? Why are you blocking me from seeing master?"
She was tearing up again, on the verge of breaking. Her hope for comfort stopped in its tracks by the people she called sisters.
"You cursed bitch. How dare you still call him master. Not after what you did to him." Yan Yin said in a furious voice.
Confused she could only ask what she did. "What… what do you mean? What did I do to master?"
"Hmph, bitch stop acting like your innocent. All this time you acted like you where nice and loved master but the moment he let his guard down for you, you repaid his kindness by poisoning him and trying to kill him. How dare you try to act innocent here."
Unable to hold back Sing Wei who was the most aggressing of the group rushed forward and started to beat Ding Chin, till she was bruised and battered.
During her beating, she was able to catch a glimpse of Fen Chang lying on the bed. Her heart trembled as she saw his skin was purple, with small trails of blood seeping from his body and his face in constant pain.
Her mind stopped as she just let be beating happen while trying to comprehend what she's seeing. Memories flooded into her head, depicting how when master and her went to show their love in bed, she accidentally poisoned him.
She screams out in pain. Pain for poisoning her loved one. Her mind blanks and her eyes become dull. All of a sudden, her younger self appears again, and the surroundings seem to have lost some colour while time seemed to have been frozen.
"Mother betrayed us and poisoned us, condemning us to a life of hell. The first person who didn't care about our curse and cared and loved us, we ended up betraying and poisoning instead. Like mother, like daughter I suppose."
She didn't register what was being said as her mind was shut down, locked within herself. The words said after however, gave her some hope.
"Do you wish to save the young man lying dead on this bed? I can save him, but only with your permission."
Her eyes became less dull with small parts of hope was shown within her mess of a face. "yes, please save him. I will do anything. Please save, him and take me away from him. I don't disserve to be near him after what I did."
Although she didn't know who she answered, a black shadowy figure with a creepy smile appeared behind her and entered inside her. Her eyes quickly blanked before being rekindled with an evil light to them.
Her smile became creepy, filled with malice and evil thoughts. Her voice down dark and horse spoke out in glee. "Finally, I took over this bitch. Such a pathetic woman, loosing herself over a simple illusion. Finally, I am free, free from the shackles of her heart.
Now she will experience what its like to be supressed and when I kill her lover for real, I can't wait to hear her squeal in anguish."
The heart demon won. She had lost her trial and the heart demon now has full control over her body while she is locked away. Never to see the light of day again.
…
Back in the real world, Ding Chin opened her eyes and darkness started to spread around her.
"So, she lost huh. Well, I had backups in place in case any of them failed anyways."
A sudden bright light came out from the walls and chains wrapped around Ding Chin as she struggled. "Damn you Fen Chang. Let me out right now so I can slaughter you. I need to make this woman feel true pain so I can feed off her negative emotions and grow ever stronger. I will be invin….ci…b…"
The sentence got cut off as something started to change within Ding Chins body. The poison within her flared up, purple spots once again appearing all over her body. Unlike normal however they started to move along her skin, conglomerating around her heart.
It didn't take long before the purple spot started turning black, and a malicious face started to form within the mark on her body. Although Fen Chang was unable to see this, he could still sense it due to his connection to everything that happens within the internal world.
Black smoke started to come out from the mark, seeping through her clothes with no resistance. Soon all the blackness was gone and what's left was the normal purple colour. The conglomeration of purple once again spread out before disappearing.
With everything back as if nothing happened. Ding Chin once again opened her eyes. This time, the malice was gone and she was back to her normal self.
Fen Chang was very surprised at what he just witnessed and started to think about what just happened. 'It seems her special physique registered the heart demon as a threat and poisoned it? No, it was more like it poisoned the heart to be the opposite of what the demon can stay in, in tern casting it out. Guess her physique isn't called the Omnipotent Poison Body without reason. Even the database has limited knowledge about it due to its unique trait of being personalised in uses to the user.'
He swiftly deactivated the chains binding her and she unsteadily got up before pouncing at him. She suddenly realised something and quickly tried to run away, and get far from him.
He stopped her however comforting her. "Its fine, you cannot poison me so be a good girl and let out your feelings."
She stopped hesitating and cried, expressing how bad the experience she went though was. A few of the other woman also joined in, with the hug and letting out their pent-up emotions.