Yao Ying never met her parents, never even knew what they looked like. An orphan, that's what she was, and people didn't let go any chance of reminding her about it. She had survived by eating rotten food of nobles, then by stealing, and then by robbing.
The darkness never terrified her like many others, it excited her instead. It was her domain, her turf. It belonged to her and no one else. They could snatch anything they wanted, but they could not take away the darkness from her. The darkness of the forest reminded her of her time in the shadowy streets, where she fought, killed, and survived.
When no one cared about her, it was darkness who embraced her and all her shortcomings, before Yueyan came into her life—if it wasn't for Yueyan she might still be struggling amidst the thieves and cutthroats and streets full of shit and rotten food. Or someone might have already slit her throat, as she did of many.
