Blood marred the right cheek of the child's face. The white silk that covered her eyes was stained crimson, and a ghastly bruise covered the entirety of the girl's temple. The deep gash constantly spewed blood and poured onto the edges of the child's collar, simultaneously staining the white hanfu that she wore. Her clothes were ragged and her sleeves had obvious holes, similar to the sharp edges of a sword. She clutched a dagger in her right hand as she was hunched down on the floor, having lost strength in her limbs. The slender and tanned arms that poked out from the hanfu were covered in conspicuous scars and her hands had a multitude of calluses, suggesting that she was well practiced in the art of weapons. Suddenly, a shadow slowly cast over her decrepit and worn figure. The shadow wore a sleeveless black dress; she held a long sword in her right hand and towered over the small figure of the girl menacingly. Her face was stoic and heartless, and her eyes glinted with a fervent gaze. It was a gaze that promised bloodshed, violence, and despair. In the presence of the woman, the air stilled and the figure hunched on the ground became rigid. The girl clenched her left fist and struggled to rise, but to no avail. She was unable to move from her compromising position. The woman placidly looked in the girl's direction and pointed her sword towards the girl's neck; her lips slightly curved into a self-deprecating sneer. This silent provocation from the woman lingered in the air until the girl heard footsteps in the distance; at the sound, the tension between the woman and the girl came to a halt. The girl's ears slightly perked at the sound of another woman's breath. For what her body lacked in sight, it made up for in hearing. The girl had always been sensitive to sound. She had already memorized countless breaths and was able to identify each and every one. She was more familiar with this breath than she was with her dagger; she had long memorized every pitch and cadence to heart. "Sister, be gentle. It's Little Four's fifth birthday, no need to be so rough on her." Another woman languidly walked towards them. Her eyes held worry as she gazed towards the child who had almost collapsed onto the floor. A fox was lazily sprawled out in her arms and relished the feeling of being carried around. Its eyes drifted towards the child and quickly looked away, already used to the sight of the fresh wounds and scars that stained the child's skin on a daily basis. In its eyes was a quick flash of pity, but it quickly snuggled its head into the woman's bosom when it thought of the origin of the wounds. Its fur was a silky sheen of white and its eyes were a piercing shade of blue. Its condition was in direct juxtaposition to the condition of the child. The woman who held the sword clicked her tongue in annoyance and eyed the other woman sharply. She acknowledged her presence with a slight nod and tucked the sword into a spatial ring encrusted with rubies. With a flick of her wrists, she calmly walked out of the Flame Forest, disregarding the dire straits of the child. Once the other woman no longer felt the presence of her sister, she placed the fox on the ground and rushed towards the girl in a panic. She carefully cradled the girl in her arms and tears silently streamed down her face; her heart was filled with anger, helplessness, and despair. This was a girl that she had raised since the child was a mere newborn. Her heart ached for the girl every time she was subjected to these training sessions, yet she was helpless in preventing them. It was the bitter taste of helplessness that loitered on her tongue every time she was tasked with dressing the fresh bruises and scars on Little Four's skin. The girl could no longer hold onto the dagger, and it slowly dropped down onto the forest floor. She struggled to stay awake, but at the sounds of silent sobbing, she reached towards the woman's face. Her weakened arm shook as she caressed the woman's cheek and wiped away the tears. "Don't be sad, Aunt Lily. It's my birthday."
Lily's lighthearted smile had long turned into a frown. Oftentimes, Lily seemed like a deity, unfettered by human affairs, but she would only show her vulnerability towards the child she had picked up. Even her sister, who she had recently held with contempt and fear, had never been witness to the sight of her tears. Shortly after Little Four comforted Lily, she passed out in her arms. Helpless, Lily could only forlornly stroll back towards Melody's Pavillion. The most dangerous place was the safest place, Lily solemnly chanted these words in her heart. Her expensive dress was stained by the child's blood, yet she did not show an ounce of disgust. Having been forgotten, the little white fox snorted at the air and scurried in Lily's direction, annoyed at being abandoned by its owner. Compared to Little Four, the fox held almost no importance to the woman, it was very clear of this point in its heart. It was only an interesting trinket that Lily had brought back on a whim. Its conditions were dependent on her mood. The fox slightly shivered; it was certain that Lily would be in a very bad mood after today's practice session. Lian had been particularly harsh today, and it would take a while for the child to recover. As Lily walked through the corridors of Melody's Pavillion, her face was grim; she constantly checked upon the child nestled within her arms and the atmosphere was especially dreary, but the sight of a timid white fox following closely behind made the originally solemn scene quite comical. The servants who hurried about quickly stopped at the sight of the woman and bowed their heads in reverence. Rather than being afraid of the mysterious owner, Lian, they were more fearful of Lily, the smiling devil who had an inclination towards violence. Before she had brought back a waste and adopted her, her temper had already been volatile and dangerous. She was quick to reap the lives of the servants at the slightest mistake, but what was most terrifying was the fact that she would do so with a smile. Ever since she had brought back the child, her temper had become even more erratic and the number of servants who had fallen victim to her ire had increased drastically. Despite the child being a waste, no one dared to slight her, deeply afraid of inciting that woman's wrath. "Bring Physician Li!" Lily coldly spat out. She rushed towards Little Four's room and carefully placed the child on the bed. The unconscious child squirmed in pain; her eyelashes fluttered weakly and she moaned in pain. Lily sat on the edge of the bed; her eyes were tinged with rage and pain. The fox that was trailing behind her silently cowered in the corner and away from sight.
Little Four's room could be said to be that of a princess's. Lily spared no expense to arrange the room of the girl that she favored. Taking the girl's blindness into account, she had all of the furniture lined with fox fur. What was special about this fox fur was that it was sourced from a Rank Four illusion fox. Illusion foxes were known to be exceedingly difficult to catch, as they were capable of dragging even the most seasoned of cultivators into an never-ending illusion. Despite their fighting prowess being quite weak, many were wary of them. But these foxes were prized for their exceptionally soft fur. Many rulers lusted for their fur, but the amount of people powerful enough to catch an illusion fox were few and far between. Even the recently declining Western Empire, the most powerful nation in the world, was only able to acquire a few pelts every five years. The bed was especially large and could hold about three adult men, and the figure of the child was tiny in contrast to the size of the bed. The room was decorated with baby blue ornaments and the walls were a pale shade of white. Sunlight streamed in from the window and poured onto the child's visage. Lily gently wiped the caked blood with a white handkerchief; the red splotches were especially glaring in contrast to its creamy white shade. "Are you here? Come take a look." Lily whispered. A thin man of short stature clumsily walked through the door. His face was downtrodden and gaunt and his eyes were an eerily bright shade of yellow. He silently walked to Little Four's bedside and took her pulse. His eyes widened as he looked towards the slumbering child in pity. "I'm afraid that she will be disfigured. The bruise on her face was inflicted with the attacker's inner qi. If it was a regular bruise, it would naturally fade with time, but since it was inflicted with qi, there is nothing I am able to do. I can only prescribe medicine to alleviate the damage to her meridians." The doctor went on to skillfully bandage the child's wounds and left the room as quietly as he came, oblivious to the gradually darkening look on Lily's face. Lily gnashed her teeth as the doctor left the room. Her sister had been excessively cruel whilst training Little Four. Now she would be disfigured for the rest of her life. As she was a child, it was especially hard to remedy bruises caused by inner qi. But she was also a woman; Lily was especially afraid that she would be shunned once she grew up and explored the world. Her blindness was also another worrying factor. This world did not take kindly to disabilities of any kind, especially a disability as ominous as blindness. Lily silently sobbed as she peered at the large bandage on Little Four's face and stroked her hair tenderly. In the end, was it a mistake to take the child in? Maybe she would have been happier in a normal family. They would have provided her with safety, while safety was not something that she could provide.
***
"Mom…mom…mom!" The child uttered sheepishly. The child's face was flushed, but her facial features were blurred and indistinguishable. The only thing that set the child apart was the black necklace that hung around her neck. A gentle breeze flitted by and brushed against the hem of her dress. The child lazily lied in the grass meadows by the woods. The grass swayed along with the breeze and tickled the child teasingly. Her little tanned arms weaved through the grass as she hummed a silly tune, awaiting the woman's arrival. Suddenly a crack appeared in this perfect scenery and the world splintered and shattered. The girl was holding a kitchen knife stained in blood. Her lips were drawn into an eerie grin, and she quietly walked towards an opened door. 'Mother,' she silently mouthed as tears streamed down her face. A fire engulfed her world into flames and the picture fractured yet again. As the flames licked the girl and burned her alive, she fell into a pool of deep water. Her legs instinctively flailed about as she struggled to swim to the surface but she was tied down and slowly fell into the abyss. Her lungs caught fire and her eyes were forced shut as she welcomed death. "Mother!" A little girl cried. It was the girl yet again, but this time it was a bright summer's day. The girl ran in the soft sand happily; her lips were curved in pure ecstasy, but this picture did not last for long. The girl looked towards the sky in shock as a knife was plunged deep into her gut. Her eyes frosted over like a lake and seemed to say: 'How could it be you?' The picture warped and shattered. The girl was thrown into the abyss. Eyes peeked out from the abyss and looked towards the girl mockingly; this time, the girl donned bright orange prison attire and was in a pair of metal handcuffs. "Do you see now? Answer me girl!" The voices said angrily. But the girl did not respond. Her eyes were unseen. It seemed that the girl was now blind. Slowly but surely, the image of the woman slowly warped into a small child, a little over five years of age. She wore a white hanfu and her eyes were covered with a blindfold. "Amirah." The voices called. "Did she forget?" the voices continued with a sigh. "My child, sleep. You were born alone and destined to die alone. Do not trust. Do not love…maybe if it were him…no…those who are near you are destined to meet an early end." They whispered. The words materialized and branded themselves onto the girl's chest, but the girl did not respond.
***
The birds chirped in harmony and flew by the sunlit room. In the room was a young girl of about five years in a deep sleep. Her eyes were creased and she shifted about in her slumber, as if trapped by a nightmare. Slowly but surely she awoke and a pair of deep purple eyes were revealed, but these eyes were glossed over and lacked clarity. Tears slowly fell down her cheeks as she felt a large bandage over her face. "Mom." she whispered in a daze. Slowly she recovered from her stupor and confusedly sat up; she felt that she had remembered something important, but like a dream it had slipped away. And who was mom? She didn't have a mother. She only knew Aunt Lily and Master Lian; her world was hopelessly narrow, but out of fear of the public's condemnation, her aunt had confined her to Melody's Pavillion. In the land of Immortals, blind people were seen as the omens of death. It was rumored that they had the ability to peek into heaven's will, and as punishment, the heavens had robbed them of their sight and luck. Having no luck was tantamount to bringing misfortune upon their loved ones. The blind ones, the children abandoned by the heaven's themselves. Little Four silently scoffed at the thought; it was no wonder she had been abandoned. She slowly shifted and felt an ache in her limbs; with a slight sense of trepidation, she unraveled the bandage on her temple and allowed her fingers to linger on the bruise. She felt that the once smooth skin was ragged and rough. The healed scar trailed down to her cheek. She could only imagine the ghastly sight. The door opened abruptly, and a maidservant slowly walked into the room, ready to change her bandages. At the sight of the awakened child, she halted in fear. The owner of the eyes of an eerie purple shade picked up on the sound and they drifted in her direction. The maidservant shrieked and covered her eyes with her hands before running out of the room. Mildly annoyed, Little Four activated her powers and felt it course through her veins. Her mouth widened in shock. "Rank Seven Level One," she whispered with fear.