The mountain clan all whispered stories about Mingzhu’s mother and father. Bai Ruiling appeared like a rose among thorns. Her femininity outshone most mountain clan women, as her fragile appearance remained intact despite the gruelling work she underwent every day. Ever since childhood, everyone spoke of her gift in appearance and fighting, so when she blossomed into womanhood, no one seemed surprised by her development of a new style of ‘Ma’ to suit her slender frame. Apparently, the technique derived from her observations of a fight between a small bird and larger bird of prey. Fa Biming, Dragon and leader of the masters, foresaw the potential in this creation and gave Ruiling a position as the new Masked Master, the Pheasant.

Meanwhile, Hou Shing, son of a strict farmer, did not find the same fortune. He sought the life of a Masked Master and pushed himself harder than anyone to obtain this dream. Yet, his efforts went unrewarded. Biming saw the greed and anger hidden behind his determined eyes and refused to grant him access into the master council. However, Ruiling only saw a passionate man.

The attraction between them ignited during their combat training. The love, filled with passion and yearning, glowed brightly for years until the birth of their children. The Bai sisters – originally taking their father’s name Hou until the incident – entered the world in the early hours of morning, panicking villagers. Never, in the mountain clan history, had there been twins and Ruiling only expected a large son due to the size of her pregnant stomach. The labour turned complicated and Juan, the first born, came out tiny and weak. Everyone doubted her survival. Left to rest on her mother’s bare skin, she recovered from the warmth and love surrounding her or at least, that was what Ruiling told her daughters. In contrast, Mingzhu entered the world chubby and strong, like a warrior.

The twin sisters grew up differently from the very beginning. Juan, adored by her mother and raised to be free, acted like an empress’s reincarnation. Birds flew hurriedly down to sing along with her sweet voice on spring days and fluttered their wings to dance with the melody. The villagers complimented, that just like her mother, Juan could stop birds migrating in one single song. In contrast, Mingzhu acted like a snarky general who saw too many battles. By the age of four, she learnt to fight and displayed her father’s displeasing temper. No one told her she looked pretty or was a delight to meet.

“Only if you were a boy! Our family would have good prospects! You are unwanted! May the spirits pity me and bring me a son!” Shing repeated whenever his daughter messed up a ‘Ma’ combination. The words felt venomous and the poison slowly marched towards Mingzhu’s heart but still, she endured. During most of her childhood, she wanted to please him; Juan had their mother, so Mingzhu needed to have her father.

After two years of despising fighting because of the verbal abuse, Mingzhu twisted the training to be an outlet for her anger. Then, during her first year in the official teaching of combat, she met her master, Liu Hanxiong. The Fox was not a master in any specific ‘Ma’ style like the other masked men and women, but gained a position due to competence in all techniques. The ability to switch styles at a rapid rate and fight unpredictably against enemies made him nearly unrivalled. Hence, since he was a position below the Dragon and understood each Masked Master’s traits, he trained the children until they showed specific talents.

He always kept an eye on Mingzhu. At the time, she assumed it came from his friendship with her mother and did not realise her own appearance – bruised, thin and wearing constant dark circles – raised concerns among a few villagers. Consequentially for Mingzhu, keeping her master’s company meant sharing it with his son, Liu Disung.

The children loathed each other since the day they met. No one knew the real reason for their rivalry. Some joked it stemmed from jealousy over Hanxiong, others commented the pressure to get along from parents caused it and many women toyed with the idea of young love. This did not matter to Mingzhu, who remained focused on how to insult Disung using childish words and beating him other during sparring. In her mind, she didn’t, and would never, love her master’s immature son.

However, a dramatic shift in their relationship occurred because of Peizhi’s development. Years before their training, a poverty-stricken, pregnant woman wandered into the mountains in search of safety after a gambling debt. The mountain clan took her in with open arms, following their sacred tradition of welcome. A few days later, she died during childbirth and her baby girl opened her eyes as an orphan. The Liu family adopted Peizhi and adored their new daughter.

During her toddler years, Peizhi took a shine to Mingzhu – a young child – and followed her around everywhere. The village created the nickname ‘duckling’ due to this imprinted behaviour and eventually, Mingzhu warmed up to the toddler. This little happiness slowly encouraged her to be more pleasant to Disung, since he shadowed Peizhi like an overprotective brother should. Then, as time went by and he matured into a teenager, the hatred dwindled tremendously. By the age of ten, Mingzhu found a strange happiness sprinkled in their friendship-rivalry and clung to it in an attempt to forget the dismal reality of her home life. Unfortunately, this did not last.

The Wolf died. It left a Masked Master position available for the villagers and true natures unmasked themselves, especially for Shing. The harder he trained, the more certain he became he would succeed and his arrogance grew. Nevertheless, the Dragon still denied him the title and gave it to a quiet man in charge of the rice fields. This drove Shing mad and he vented his frustration on Mingzhu. Their extra training was relentless and physical punishment became integrated into the routine, which roused the villagers’ initial suspicion of abuse. In contrast, Ruiling remained ignorant to this and cast aside her distraught for Mingzhu; so blinded by love for Shing, she couldn’t see the monster he turned into or perhaps, was from the very beginning.

The breaking point came when the Masked Masters requested Mingzhu. There, she nervously waited and felt uneasy about the reason for her audience. Beside her, Disung – also called upon – tried to soothe her worry through teasing. Inside the temple, the Masked Masters offered warm smiles to the children and explained their summoning. The Dragon decided the two children were fated to be Masked Masters; he gave them the opportunity to be his disciples, then he would choose their masks — either Fox or Dragon — once they reached adulthood.

Most parents would’ve been honoured about their child achieving greatness so young. Mingzhu imagined her father’s proud expression at her news as she exceeded his expectations. Maybe he would hug her. Maybe she could eat herbed rice saved for special occasions. Maybe he would not beat her today. The thoughts made her leap with joy but these foolish ideas remained chained to her dreams.

Shing saw the very person he morphed from a clay heap into a sculpture outshine and surpass him. All praise went to her instead of him and he hated how the family fawned over the child. He could not stand it and so, took her out to train that very day. Each move she did, he criticised and sparred with her at his full strength. When she did land a few punches on his body, he became blinded by rage and jealousy.

“Ungrateful child! You take what is mine and spit on my face!”

For some reason, Mingzhu changed that day. She did not keep her lips shut nor cower from him. Instead, she met his eye with an internal fire making hers alight. “I can spit in your face because I did beat you! I won, father! I won!”

Shing lost control. The force of the punch from him caused by Mingzhu’s tiny body to fly across the field. A pop, followed by excruciating pain, indicated her shoulder dislocated during the contact with the ground. It scared her but she had no time to recover; Shing stormed over and kicked, making her roll in the dirt.

“How dare you insult me!”

No one, not even Mingzhu, knew how she managed to run away. All of a sudden, she entered the village, hobbling and holding her disfigured shoulder. In the distance, she heard, as did the clan, Shing shout like a beast wanting blood. The villagers seemed to await this day and needed no explanation to act. The community bond strengthened in this time of need, their values shining in the moment, and created a wall to stop Shing. Any spare people ran to inform the Masked Masters of trouble or ushered Mingzhu away into the safety of homes made from fallen ruins. When Shing arrived, the crazed eyes melded his friends and foes as one. He fought anyone in his way and killed the new masked Wolf. As a trophy, he took his mask and place it on his head.

Meanwhile, Mingzhu reached the Liu family home first and dove inside. Subconsciously, she sought Hanxiong for protection, however, met his son instead. At the age of fourteen, his child body began to grow into a man, one part at a time. The dangly limbs looked like a misshapen tree and disproportionate.

Disung stared at the dislocated shoulder in bewilderment. Then, he snapped into action just like his father would. “I will fix it! Stay still. This is going to hurt… Now, twist away from me.”

He pulled the arm gradually and Mingzhu sobbed at the twinge of pain rooting in her shoulder. The bone popped back into the socket joint and Disung wrapped the arm against her body with any material he mustered.

“Do not use it,” he said in a steady voice. “Stay here for now and explain what happened.”

“I—”

“Mingzhu! Mingzhu!” Juan cried out in the street. Without a second thought, Mingzhu shut her mouth and ran outside, leaving Disung in a cloud of dust.

For the first time in years, the twin girls ran hand in hand and never exchanged a word. They cried as they took hidden routes out of the village, which turned into a blood bath, into the forest. During this escape, Shing almost caught them but Mingzhu swore she heard someone yell her name, which cued Hanxiong to intervene wearing his fox mask. Mingzhu did not wait to see the outcome and headed for the abandoned watch shack.

The half-rotted wood creaked and swayed along with the wind on the edge of a cliff. Many children participated in role play games in here while teenagers dared each other to spend the night in the spooky place. The twins hid under the broken, wooden crates near the walls and panted. Mingzhu prayed Master stopped her father. Please, she begged. Please. Please. Please! The floorboards groaned under the weight on a stranger. Mingzhu forgot to breath as her body trembled in terror. Please don't let him get us!

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” Shing taunted and searched the shack.

Three masks hung around his neck from the masters he defeated, the colourful threads soaked in red. The grin on his face chilled Mingzhu to the depths of her soul. This fear skyrocketed when he grabbed hold of Juan’s hair – poking out of the wood – and tugged at it, forcing her out of hiding. Mingzhu tried biting the hairy arm taking Juan but her protective instinct made her fall into her father’s cruel embrace.

He immediately attacked and, although she tried to defend herself, Mingzhu’s wrapped arm protested. No matter her efforts, she kept getting hit or falling to the floor. Shing laughed at every injury, mocking her ability; it reminded her of training sessions. It was hopeless. Splayed on her back, exhausted, she watched Shing raise his foot above her chest. He was going to crush her heart. Hope fleeted; she gave up.

The physical pain from combat felt miniscule compared to the emotional wound caused by the intended action to reap death. Mingzhu stared at the man she spent her whole life trying to please in sorrow. Why did he detest her? It felt unfair and cruel that she was hated for being his dream creation. She did everything he wanted. At least in death, she had no duty to be his daughter.

“Don’t cry like that! You are weak! This is your fault! You do not deserve to cry! I didn’t kill everyone, you did! If you just died, none of this would have happened! You are my curse!”

The tears overflowed in for once, Mingzhu did not care if her father saw. How many people got hurt because of her? Was Duckling safe? Did Disung get away? She saw him running when the Fox saved them. How was her master? How many died? How many families were destroyed?

Spirits, hear me, she thought in desperation. My name is Bai Mingzhu. I am no longer Hou Mingzhu. My name is Bai Mingzhu. Please forgive me. My name is Bai Mingzhu. I did not want anyone to die. My name is Bai Mingzhu. I am a curse. My name is Bai Mingzhu. I am a curse. My name is Bai Mingzhu. I am a curse. Please forgive me.

The foot came down. Mingzhu held her breath. Just as she felt the padding of his boot, something whistled through the air. A blade, shaped like an odd diamond, sunk into Shing’s foot. Blood gushed out from the sliced shoe. He withdrew his injured leg and crouched into his fighting stance. Mingzhu saw him flinch as he looked at his new opponent.

“Ruiling? Why are you doing this?” Shing asked, pain breaking his voice.

“I should ask you that question,” Ruiling replied with tears streaming down her face. She wore her combat costume; the red, puffy pants and train moved like living creatures, while her top, swirled in black and orange, remained skin-tight. Auburn wisps of hair fell from her braided Mohawk, making her look like an unhinged goddess. “Why do you want to hurt your own child?! You love Mingzhu!”

Shing dropped his guard and limped over to his wife, the menacing expression replaced by a look of pure, unconditional love. In this light, he appeared to be a kind and wholesome man, if not for the blood splattered on his face. Despair consumed Mingzhu. Why did he never look at me like that?

“I never meant for anyone else to get hurt. They didn’t understand. Mingzhu is the problem! She ruined everything! It’s all her fault! She took what was mine! If only we had a son—”

“She is our child!” Ruiling shrieked and her mask – designed to blend blue and greens around a crown of reds, oranges and yellows – dropped over her sepia eyes.

“She is a curse!”

The Pheasant attacked. Her movements showed her remarkable agility and balance through acrobatic tricks used in offence and defence. Blades, strapped between two fingers, added lethal punctures to her jabs. Yet, she restrained her strength to only cause small inflictions of pain. Shing did the same and to Mingzhu, it looked like a sparring session rather than deadly combat.

They couldn’t kill each other; their love still remained more powerful than anything. Ruiling seemed to be continuously lost in happy and sweet memories; their first kiss, the wedding, building their house and the birth of their daughters. Mingzhu saw her emotions flicker under the mask. It felt like betrayal. Her own mother didn’t want to protect her. My name is Bai Mingzhu. I am a curse. My name is Bai Mingzhu. I am unwanted. My name is Bai Mingzhu. They are dead because of me.

“Stop this, please!” Shing cried. “I cannot kill you!”

“But I can.” Suddenly, Ruiling stabbed herself.

The fight ended. Shing dropped his raised fists and stumbled over to his dying wife. He cradled her neck tenderly and used his other hand to pull out her own small, finger blade. The blood rushed out from her wound, staining her top. Shing tried to stop the bleeding by putting pressure on her chest but it was pointless. The infliction had been deep and beyond repair.

“Y-y-you have to be fine. S-stay with me. Don’t look at me like that. Y-you will live. We can run away. We can be together. This is all their fault! If we never had children, then it would be perfect! I’ll kill Mingzhu! It will fix everything! Just don’t leave me!”

“I loved you too much,” Ruiling whispered as she hugged him a final time. Then, she stabbed in multiple times in the back. Life drained from his body, as did hers. The lovers died together, tightly wrapped in each other’s embrace.

The death of Shing did not erase the terror left in the village. Although Juan and Mingzhu became orphans, most people refused to sympathise. The clan isolated the twins, refusing their help to rebuild the village or reconstruct the past life. They came to believe the children would jeopardise the rehabilitation. Finally, Biming gave the girls an order to leave the mountain clan for their own protection, supplying them with money and information to last another season. Mingzhu and Juan, at the young age of ten, left their only home to fend for themselves.

The village recommended by Biming was a known travellers town. To earn a living, many people sold trinkets and odd items. At first, the twins struggled, for they had no valuables or craftsmanship to give away. Juan’s knowledge of herbs and medicinal plants saved them, which they gathered and sold. By the following year, the twins thrived especially after Juan saved a small child who ate toxic berries.

The best discovery in this new life was the abandoned house. Mingzhu kept the memory of watching the old farmhouse transform into their new home close to her heart. She used all her strength to make it sustainable for Juan, who became her only reason to live. Freshly cut trunks replaced rotted, wooden beams, and Mingzhu collected whatever her sister desired. Their new home became filled with hope. It seemed like the curse lifted.

Then, five years later, Zhao Cheng ruined everything.