“Stupid!”

Stunned by the insult, the child did not have the chance to blink before a pair of chubby hands smacked her thin shoulders. The force behind them, despite how small those dirty fingers were, was sudden—but it was raw with overbearing strength.

Being the clumsy person that she was, little Mei Ying tumbled back and fell onto her butt, smearing dirt against her clean sky-blue outer robe. She had panicked and failed to cushion her fall with her petite moon-pearl hands.

Yes, it could be arguable that the seven-year-old child was a bit slow and stupid…

Now, both of her palms had been scraped by the rough stones and hard earth, causing one to stain with vermilion blood. In the air lingered some fresh scent of rust and salt.

With a soft ringing, the silver hairpin that decorated her high ponytail slowly rolled across the road and tall jade-green grass. The shove was so hard, it had unclipped the crown-like ornament. Not only that, it left the disciple’s shoulders feeling numb. Then, the throbbing pain stung through.

Ruby maple leaves scattered all around the girl. Gradually, the little girl raised her eyes to meet the large cousin and his two skinny friends.

“You…!”

Her small dulcet voice resembled the sweet blossoms and flowing mountain rivers of red autumn. It stopped short like water unable to trickle through the large boulders of its pathway. She clamped down her quivering red lips, feeling the hard lump in her throat. Then, hot tears blurred her vision.

Lowering her gaze, Mei Ying tried to imagine a plate of small, round crystal cakes, filled with sweet bean paste. Whenever she was sad, the late Shaman Xia used to bring them to her and say, ‘Try to think of what makes you happy. Only when you do will you realize what truly makes you stronger.’

This time though, the soft, snow-white pastries stopped working. This time, Shaman Xia did not come to her aid either. She would never again do so. Large teardrops trickled to the ground. Mei Ying was alone.

On a day when Shifu left for a mission, three of the meanest cousins disrupted the child’s meditation outside of the vast magical dome.

These boys were not well-liked by the other Song children as well. But for a long time, ever since the child could remember, they had loved picking on her because she had no friends and the various rumors that circulated around her within the clan. With no witnesses to see, the cousins were able to get away with just about anything when it came to Mei Ying.

Besides, she was small, and there was not much to do in Cheng Xiu Village aside from exploring whatever setting that the floating community decides to land in.

To be frank, Mei Ying wanted to be a good girl and simply cultivate in the natural scenery where lots of spiritual energy could be gathered. But when she had hopped off the high rock and tried to walk away, the boys chased after the small disciple with large, gnarly sticks. She ran and ran farther away from the prismatic shield as they threw twigs and just about anything into her direction.

Soon, the children stumbled across the entrance of a pitch-black, wide-reaching forest that gathered afar from Cheng Xiu Village’s reach.

“Oho! Look at this, you guys!” laughed the round-bellied boy, kicking the hairpin aside. “Cheng Xiu Village’s so-called savior is crying! How lame!”

Mei Ying’s face burned in shame. She wanted to bury herself in her little hands, shrink, or roll into a ball.

After all, she had tried to talk to the bullies again into leaving her alone. They then called her names and pushed the girl to the ground. Ah, the little disciple was naïve, thinking that she could talk her way out of the situation. Unfortunately, she did not think it was possible this time.

Her course of action aligned with the way of Shifu, who often preached that to be a righteous cultivator, violence should always be a last resort. Such actions mean accepting the punishments that comes with them. So, one should always try to negotiate peace first.

“Ha!” One the skinny boys sneered, revealing his crooked teeth. “She always acts so high and mighty with that outsider, En Lai! Her shifu isn’t as impressive as Kong, seeing that she practically begged to train this idiot!”

He was about to grab hold of Mei Ying’s black ribbon-hair when rather unexpectedly, a hand slapped his away.

“Shifu is not an outsider!” Having fended off the boy’s touch, Mei Ying quickly rose to her feet. “She was here in the Mortal realm before anyone else was! My shifu is En Lai the Wandering Immortal, someone who floated down from the Heaven realm—unlike that mean, mean man!”

Another hand flashed forward—but the girl merely tilted her head to the side, evading the strike. It was swiftly followed by two more fists, only for the child to steer clear of them with little effort. She floated back, bouncing from one foot to the other. Her blue robe’s tail rippled against the mild autumn breeze.

Gleamy gold outlined her small figure, highlighting the white-silver ring around her neck. The intricate engraved designs of butterflies, flowers, and fireflies seemed to glow from crescent plate that hung proudly.

There was still a great deal of training to do, especially when controlling her spiritual energy and learning to use them without thinking.

“Throw your stupid talis--whatever our way then!” one of the boys urged, glowering at the small child. “You think you’re better than all of us? Show us your stuff!”

Mei Ying tightened her hands into small, quavering fists. The gold spiritual energy around her faded. Clenching her teeth together, the girl turned her gaze away. Her blood was boiling like hot water in a black kettle pot, slowly spilling over into the fire.

“This one does not want to fight her brothers!” She stammered out, despite how silly it might have sounded. “We are of the same cla—"

“Shut up, and show us what your shifu taught you then, stupid!” The round-belled cousin sneered, his obsidian eyes glinting faintly. He continued to stroll forward, cocking his head. “Maybe you’re just talking big! I bet that old hag didn’t even come from Heaven! All lies!”

There came another hard shove, nearly knocking the child off her feet again. Her small shoulders wrecked in pain, having not recovered yet from the previous blow. The girl winced.

“You fake chosen one!” yelled out the third boy, another scrawny one.

He grabbed an object from the earth around them. In one fling, the large rock launched into the air.

Quickly, Mei Ying sidestepped to miss the hit. Her heart pounded rapidly. She looked up—and saw that more huge rocks whirled right for her. Another pivot, another duck. Once more, the boys failed to hurt her.

Still, for each step forward taken toward her, the girl found herself backing away into the cool shadows of colossal trees and dreadful limbs.

While she could get past them, it would only lead to more running—more rocks and branches being thrown at her—and crying. Besides all that, the child was tired. Yet she did not want to go home.

Her parents would figure that something was amiss and report to the cousins’ parents. Then, the bullying would get much worse! Moreover, it may further strain the relationships between the three families… It would sadden Mei Ying’s mother—and she did not wish for Ai Guo, her baby brother, to not have any friends like her when he grows older.

Her sadness was one thing—but theirs, including her father’s, meant so much more.

Tall, inky trees soon encircled the disciple and the other three children. Not a stream of irradiant light could be seen from above. Overhead, there were masses of branches and leaves as well as red gleaming eyes. Mei Ying blinked. She tried to listen for the mellifluent twitters since she could barely make out the shapes of their wings—

“Stupid!” the large cousin snapped, casting another stone at her.

Several more stones were hurled toward the child’s way, along with a few thumb-sized pebbles. For what must be the fifth time, she dodged the boys’ attack again.

On the spur of a moment, the small disciple whipped around. Here was her chance! As fast as she could, the girl whished through the shadows of bushes and high walls of weeds and grass.

“Sh-She’s trying to lose us!” one of the bullies yelled out.

What was that idiot thinking? Of course, the three boys slowly came to a halt. They gulped, staring at some frightful and monstrous-appearing trees, all covered in white clusters of spider webs. They turned to look at one another.

Instead of trying to make a break for her escape, Mei Ying has made a shocking choice! That is, she disappeared deeper into the black, spooky Mingjue Forest!

Everyone knew how daunting these woods were, expanding over rolling hills and tall green mountains with white blankets of fog.

At the earliest point of history, according to the Song clan’s stories, corpses of soldiers and civilians alike—decorated these towering, black trees. No one alone would dare lay the souls to rest. Certainly, it was not wise to do it by themselves.

That was why the clan decided to land the floating Cheng Xiu Village here—to perform the annual ghost-hunting and spiritual cleansing ritual.

❁❁❁

A sudden chilly breeze swept past her dirty blue outer robe, but Mei Ying continued to sprint. Not caring in whether the bullies were still chasing her or not, the child felt that she had no choice. She would have to hide out in the forest until Shifu returns for dinner.

If the girl dares to retaliate, the woman will give her a severe beating upon coming back. On top of that, how could Mei Ying ever face her family again?

Though the disciple was a stupid child, the cousins were worse than her alone even though they had three brains together. It must be pitiful for parents to raise such empty-headed children…

The girl’s forehead burned. Pressing her palm over the area in between her brows, wetness amounted there.

Surprised, Mei Ying lowered her hand in the dim environment. It was nearly impossible to see anything due to her night-blindness—but she caught a whiff of salt. Blood.

Blood had been accidentally smeared upon her forehead.

Ever since the disciple could remember, the floral birthmark always seems to appear whenever Mei Ying is upset. Now, she has made the spot even more noticeable!

“Hey!” It was one of the cousins, and despite them bickering among themselves, they sounded closer than ever before—unfortunately. “Mei Ying!”

They all seemed about ten trees away. Though her peers were only a few years older, the child thought that their squeaky voices carried far for their age, which both surprised and amused her. She nearly fell over her own feet, soon realizing how dirty her new blue silk shoes were…

Shifu was definitely going to scold her no matter what now.

“HEY!” There was another yell, louder than before. “WE’RE GOING TO LEAVE YOU HERE THEN!”

The child jolted, startled by the sudden sharp volume of the bickering bunch.

With her little heart racing, the girl thought about her last course of action. On the double, she scrambled around a large boulder and shuffled onward. She darted across some waist-high grass and weeds, looping behind a broad tree trunk. A few twigs snapped, scratching the child’s pale ankles. Mei Ying hid, pressing her back against the knobby bark. She slowed her breathing.

“Found you!” Suddenly—a chubby hand seized hold of the child’s long blue sleeve, pulling her out into the open path of twisted roots.

With a hard slap against the small girl’s back, she stumbled forward into a snarled mess of unknown. Once more, the palms of her small hands stung, having not recovered from the earlier fall. More than that, the clumsy child fell to her knees, probably bruising both kneecaps.

“You guys, there’s something on her forehead!” It was one of the skinny boys, squatting down next to Mei Ying. He pressed his finger against the girl’s face—hard. “Ew!”

Quickly, the child slapped his hand away. She tried to scoot back, only to find that all three bullies had her surrounded. The large cousin grabbed one of her shoulders and pressed down against it, keeping Mei Ying still for them.

“I bet it’s her curse mark—like what my father told me about!” laughed the other. “He said that Mei Ying is bad luck!”

Hearing this, the girl turned to the bully—“That’s not true!”

Burning tears filled her eyes. In a place so dark and strange, surrounded by cruel laughter and those who only wished to bring her harm—Mei Ying wished for someone to help her. Anyone. Even a ghost.

For some unknown reason when she tried to get up—her ankle felt rather wet. Rust and salt filled the air. Ah, the pain was searing—and the dumb child could not understand how she had injured herself. In resignation, the disciple plopped down in the darkness and braced one hand over where she could feel the blood.

“Oh, yeah?” The large, round-bellied cousin recalled, snickering. “Didn’t your birth open the Netherworld’s portal for demons to come attack us?” He squeezed the child’s shoulder harder, causing her to wince quietly.

Mei Ying raised her head, sealing her lips tightly together. Tears began to well up in her eyes once more. How her heart quavered from the shrouds of venomous rumors that surrounded her birth! She did not wish for such a bad and scary event to happen at all! No, she was not responsible for that sky of raining fire!

“No, stupid!” One of the scrawny boys shook his head. “Worse than that! When she was born, the demon king himself unleashed a large storm of raining fire on Cheng Xiu Village—to exterminate us all!”

“Yeah, and then, a crazy lady gave out a stupid prophecy about this idiot becoming an Immortal or a god in the future!” laughed the chubby cousin. “That’s why that fake Heaven-something came to live with the Song clan, so she could train the dumb girl to become a cultivator…”

Suddenly, there came the steady sounds of loud clapping amid the black void before them.

An unfamiliar soft but impish chuckle broke out of the overstretch of twilight. It was accompanied by a chilly draft and cluster of vermilion maple leaves, circulating the group.

The abrupt moment caused Mei Ying’s hair to stand at its end. An icy shiver ran down her neck and spine! More so, the other children dropped their conversation, stiffening like a cold trio of walking corpses.

“Wow, did it really have to take three older children to beat down one?” asked the disembodied silvery and boyish voice. “How righteous indeed!”

The round of satirical applause stopped.

Everyone, including Mei Ying, became still.