HER BEGINNING AND HER END

It was the early hours of the morning and the sky was still dark, so dark that even the chirping of the birds could not be heard, they seemed to be asleep and Xingjuan was no different, she had ran fast all night and was exhausted so she decided to rest a bit by a tree, but as she sat under the tree and leaned by its thick back, her eyes gradually fluttered shut, she was half asleep and half awake, its been long since Xingjuan had a peaceful night rest and this night was no exception.

It didn't take long for Xingjuan to drift through dreamland or perhaps more like memory lane.

For years, once she closed her eyes, she would see the images of her mother passing away before her eyes and her, unable to do anything. It kept her awake majority of the nights which led to constant sleepless nights and tiresome days, now another painful memory added into the mix. Xingjuan in her half asleep and half-awake state recalled what had happen prone to her taking her sister's place. this event happen seven days ago and it also lead to her eventual doom. Although now she was very much alive but that was the gift she had acquired after dying and time backtracked a bit.

On that particular day, nothing was different, but Xingjian was startled awake when she heard loud knocking—which was more like banging—on her dilapidated door, soon what remained of her pitiful door that barely held on until now scattered into pieces, one of those pieces made its way to her face, thereby leaving a scratch mark not that she cared, she was always so disgustingly ugly so one more scratch won't cause any damage at all. Xingjuan turned to look and what the commotion was all about and saw two hefty-looking men walking toward her with scowls on their faces.

Xingjuan was certain that these men were Earth Elemental Martial Spritus. Cultivators in this world were referred to as Elemental Martial Spritus or Elemental for short. One that had an affinity with an element were titled based on that element and their abilities.

Earth Elemental Martial Spiritus were usually bulky, masculine, hefty-looking men or women. The Earth Element that was both considered a blessing and a curse for either gender. Men prided themselves in being Earth Elementals, but women didn't because it made them look like men seeing as their appearance was very masculine.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Xingjuan questioned them. She knew that the strange men weren't here to talk with her about life but Xingjuan wasn't scared. In the face of such danger from such people, Xingjuan was never scared.

They didn't speak but grabbed her by both her two arms. The strength of their arms wasn't scarce at all, in fact, Xingjuan felt like her bones were about to be crushed at any moment, especially if they kept squeezing. Their hold was very painful, but Xingjuan refused to cry out. To her, crying out doesn't do anyone any good, it just makes one's abusers pleased and inflicts more pain.

The men dragged her all the way to the Mo Manor. Her thoughts then were how it had been long since she had set her sights on this structure, she believed until her dying day she will never get to see it again since she had been instructed to never leave the forest by her none other but her very own father, General Mo didn't want to see such abomination.

Her knees were scratched and bleeding, about to buckle, Xingjuan still didn't cry or whimper then.

By the time they stopped moving, she found herself already at her father's study. "Master, we are back." One of the guards stated. Xingjuan never thought that she would step foot in this forbidden place again but here she was kneeling before the father who never once accepted her as his own.

"Leave." General Mo strictly ordered, and the guards bowed before going out the door.

Xingjuan nervously looked at the man who was supposed to be her father and realized that General Mo did not bother to lift his head to look at his daughter even for a second.

General Mo also failed to reprimand his servants for treating his own flesh and blood in such a harsh and animalistic way. He might have been the one to give the orders for her bad treatment, Xingjuan rationalized because there was no way they did make that decision on their own

Xingjuan wondered if the man in front of her was truly her father, she quiet well knew the answers to her absurd speculations was a resounding "yes", Xingjuan could never comprehend why the General treated her like so.

"You have a chance to redeem yourself… a chance to lift my Mo household of the curse you have placed on it. Are you willing to redeem yourself?" He asked sternly. There was no warmth in his words. Xingjuan bitterly noted that the General still treated her and thought of her as a cursed existence.

"Yes father, I am willing." Xingjuan speedily responded for fear that any delay might further anger the General, it was this answer that completely sealed her fate. Even if she wasn't willing, Xingjuan would have still said yes because she was clear of the fact that the only answer she could utter was yes, any other response will not be tolerated, she didn't have the option to say no.

"Good." General Mo finally lifted his head to look at her, his cold eyes stared at his forgotten daughter like she was a disgusting insect he wanted away from. "You will take your sister's place. You will pose as her and become the Emperor's Empress." Xingjuan become dizzy instantly, it was like thunder struck her brain, she believed she imagined the General saying those words, she must be hearing things, there is no way she could understand or believe what her father was saying.

"But father, I am disfigured, a trash that can't cultivate so how could I dare to take sister's place." Xingjuan added quickly, she didn't want her father to think that she was refusing to follow his orders, but wanted her father to understand why she wasn't a good choice and making a grievous mistake.

"Shut up, do you think I don't know what a worthless piece of trash you are? Moreover no one has ever seen your sister's face since she always wears on a veil. Although your sister is disfigured like you as long as you put on a veil while staying in the palace, there will be no problems." General Mo said strictly.

"But father-" General Mo furiously banged his fists on the wooden table in front of himself which then resulted in the splitting of some ink on a few important petitions written in brown paper. Xingjuan guessed they were important seeing as how her father's eyes looked even more angry, then he bellowed, "See what you have done!? Whenever you are around, bad things happen… And stop calling me father, I am not your father… I will never be your father."

Xingjuan felt her heart break to pieces as she watched her father raise his right hand towards her in a dangerous motion. The sweat that had formed on Xingjuan's forehead gathered together mixing with the dried blood that was on his knees to create a rope-like liquid. Its color was scarlet red and with a grasping motion with his hands, General Mo used the liquid rope to wrap itself ruthlessly around Xingjuan's neck.

Xingjuan never expected for water or any type of liquid to be used in such a deadly manner. She couldn't breath and moved her hands to the liquid formed rope, she needed to get it off her neck, it was so painful, her eyes began to lose light gradually, she clawed at the rope more desperately thereby leaving scratch wounds on whichever area her fingers held too tightly on. Despite her struggle to free herself, it was of no use as the liquid-rope was too strong and tight for her to conquer.

Xingjuan gathered that her father was probably a Water Elemental. General Mo raised his hands upwards, and Xingjuan following his hand motions began to gradually rise from the floor. General Mo moved his hand forward, rapidly and furiously, this action resulted in Xingjuan back been slammed against the wall some feet behind her, she then slumped the teen to the ground, her back now a bloody mess. Xingjuan wondered how many bowls of medicine she'd have to drink to get well, before that she also have to worry about scavenging the forest to find the herbs needed to treat herself.

"You dare defy me!" General Mo slowly walked towards Xingjuan in a menacing manner and kicked her on her stomach which slammed her into the wall some more.

"Fa-exalted General Mo, I would never defy you, but my hair color is different from my sister's" Xingjuan struggled to explain through clenched teeth.

"Oh, that's true. Your hair is white, the color that signifies misfortune while Mo Yue's hair is black. Hmm, we will have to do something about that before you depart for Yang Province." General Mo muttered as he walked back to his seat.

"Remember to never get caught by the Emperor or anyone else since our family is on the line, but if you are caught, you must take the blame alone. Blame it on your greed and hatred towards your sister. Say that is the reason that you chose to hide your sister and take her place unbeknown to the rest of the family. We, the General's manor, do not know anything about this, do you understand me?" He demanded to which Xingjuan nodded weakly.

General Mo didn't care that Xingjuan was almost bleeding to death, he didn't call for anyone to assist his daughter as he ordered "You may leave.".

Xingjuan struggled to get up and drag her bloody form outside General Mo's study room. Once outside, a servant immediately looked scornfully at her. "Master has ordered me to take you to where you will be staying. We also need to get you to put on some fat. You should be grateful to Master for his consideration and benevolence." She announced to which Xingjuan had no words and just nodded in agreement with whatever the servant girl said and expected her to do. Xingjuan took note of the fact that even the servants treated her like dirt, they scorned and avoided wherever she stepped her foot on like she had a deadly virus on her person and had infected the areas she passed through.

Xingjuan wanted to ask her father earlier for the reason her sister couldn't be the Emperor's Empress, but she well aware she wouldn't get an answer. The most she'd get would be another beating. It wasn't until later that she heard from the servants that the Eldest Young Miss Mo Yue has eloped with her lover after receiving the royal decree.

Even after committing such an offense his father didn't seem angry at the Eldest Young Miss. After all, she was the most beloved, cherished and doted, yet she didn't mind selfishly sentencing nine generations of the General's manor because of her supposed elopement.

The difference in how both daughters of General Mo was treated was like heaven and earth, General Mo was willing to move mountains and journey through the desert for Mo Yue but never for Xingjuan who he didn't even acknowledge as part of the family until he needed her to replace his precious daughter.

How her father wasn't angry at Mo Yue's actions baffled Xingjuan but what baffled her the most was the fact that Mo Yue wouldn't want to be with the emperor, Xingjuan didn't know much about the man except for the fact that he was powerful, that should be enough reason for any girl to want him right? Xingjuan wasn't one to dwell on matters that she couldn't discern so she let it go.

Xingjuan's hair was eventually dyed black despite how difficult it was to change hair color. somehow, General Mo has managed this and Xingjuan knew she wasn't privileged enough to know the details. She was also forced to start bearing his sister's name—Mo Yue.

As time when on, Xingjuan noticed servants and guards that knew about her taking her sister's place disappeared into thin air. the more she thought about it, the more she realized that they were probably killed to keep her identity a secret. Xingjuan although mostly behaved foolish was smart to an extent. Even the servant that showed her to the courtyard she now resided and was the first maid she had encountered on coming to the manor was nowhere to be seen.

After staying at the General's manor for some time, Xingjuan added a bit of weight. She was like a cow been fatten in other to be sent to the slaughter house but all this was unknown to her, in short this process of fattening her up wasn't necessary as the General never had any plans of letting her enter the palace, General Mo only did this for two reasons, he believed that these few days of her living a supposed luxurious life was enough payment to Xingjuan for her sacrifice also more importantly the time for her to depart to the palace haven't reached yet so he might as well accommodate her by letting her stay.

Now, Xingjuan wasn't all skin and bones anymore, but her disfigured features were still there. The long gown she now always wore hid black marks on her skin, but her face was the same. It was truly disfigured in every sense—her mouth bended sideways, her nose was extremely large and her eyes so very tiny… so tiny that she could barely see. To Xingjuan, she was a beast in human skin, so she wasn't surprised that her father hated her. Her father was an extremely handsome man and her mother was just as beautiful as an angel. Xingjuan admitted that she was indeed an abomination, no matter how much she wanted to change such a fact…

***

The day to leave the General's manor had finally arrived for Xingjuan. No one from the General's manor came to see her off except the guards and servants that were assigned to go with her on her trip.

She wore a thick veil that was made especially for her. The veil was called the Ice Jewel, and it could be both thin and thick depending on her preference, but of course, she was only allowed to wear it thick. The General spent a lot to get this veil made because he didn't want anyone seeing Xingjuan's hideous face. She had to drip her blood and personalize it before she could use it.

In the Tang Qin Shang Dynasty, there are so many treasures, jewels and weapons that need to be personalized to use. Such artifacts are really valuable and tend to cost a lot.

The Ice Jewel could not come off unless Xingjuan permitted it to. Although a very powerful Elemental could force it off, Xingjuan would have to make sure nobody has the chance to do so. She didn't even know where she'd even have a chance to meet such a powerful person who would even force a lady's veil off. Such an idea and person were ridiculous.

Later on, Xingjuan found out the only reason her father spent so much on the Ice Jewel was because he didn't want those guarding her to see her true face, He felt it was degrading of his status also when she was killed and they were called as witness, they would be able to say that their mistress was killed by bandit without them knowing that wasn't even their real mistress. Even if a Seer Elemental were to search through their memories, they won't find any fault in their story.

The hired assassins let the servants run off because they were needed as witnesses although some were killed in other to make the assassination seem more like an unplanned occurrence done by bandits also such servants would eventually be killed by the Emperor for abandoning their Mistress.

Xingjuan remembered how on that faithful silent night that she lost her little life, her carriage turned over and she was dragged out of the carriage and she recalled how the Earth Elemental chanted a spell which lead to her foot been stuck to the ground with the aid of the earth as her prison, XingJuan couldn't move. The Earth Elemental looked at her with disdain, and although the assassins were wearing mask, they somewhat felt familiar.

Xingjuan was hit in the face by a Metal Elemental, his bare hands were as hard as iron but looked so fragile and soft. Xingjuan jaws dislocated, her cheeks shook and her teeth shattered due to the force of the fist attack, she was then just a mortal who didn't cultivate so such an attack by an elemental was truly not something she could withstand.

She could taste her blood in her mouth and even mistakenly swollen some pieces of her broken teeth, Xingjuan was beginning to lose her consciousness when she heard the Metal Elemental say, "This way, the General's manor would never be caught. The Empress-to-be was killed on her way to Yang Province by some mountain bandits and even if it is perceived to be an assassination then it could have been done by any of the Emperor's enemies, No one would trace it back to the General's manor, As you visit the yellow river, don't hold any grudges because it's just your horrible luck to lead this kind of life,"

The Metal Elemental continued, "We are helping her anyways, I mean with her current strength, there is no way she would be able to hold the Empress' crown for long and that is still up for debate, also if we were to let her go she wouldn't be able to hide for long and if caught, the consequences can't be imagined!"

The Earth Elemental agreed and added, "She would be killed the moment she haves her first challenger anyways, so we just sniffed her out much earlier".

"She is privileged to have been chosen to save the General's manor from a tricky situation." The Metal Elemental laughed wickedly.

Xingjuan wondered why the metal elemental sounded so much like her Eldest Brother, although she hadn't seen him for a while, but while she stayed at the General's manor, she heard him speak to their father in the study at one point. Xingjuan didn't bother to continue this train of thought in as much as she wanted to because right at that moment the Fire Elemental, without warning, raised his right hand toward her face. Xingjuan couldn't escape the blazing fire that burned her face to a crisp; the pain she experienced then was inched to her soul, it was unbearable and unimaginable. The Fire Elemental made sure to control his fire well so that only Xingjuan's face was burned. If Xingjuan at that moment was still alive and facing her body, she will be able to see that her head was cleanly burnt off her body and just her headless body with no blood gushing out of her neck remained and she will be able to hear the fire elemental say "What a fine piece of art", the mental elemental who she had thought sounded like her brother will begin to applaud the fire elemental while praising him "Truly a piece of art"

Anyway, what Xingjuan understands is that she never wants to die like that a second time.

Xingjuan's father didn't care if his daughter was burned. That was what he wanted so that when her body was found, the Emperor's people wouldn't be able to see her hideous face and wouldn't know she was not her sister, the one expected at the palace. Her body could still be identified since she had the General's blood, all they needed was to test Xingjuan's blood with the family seal that the General gave her when she left Yin province. On the seal, the name Mo Yue was visible, but it was given to Xingjuan since she was to take Mo Yue place as the Emperor's Empress.

Xingjuan could also be identified by the seal mark that was on her left ankle, it was almost invisible, but it was still there.

The assassins knew Xingjuan was not the rightful Mo Yue. They knew that she wasn't the General's favorite daughter. From the very beginning, Xingjuan wasn't supposed to make it to Yang Province at all… She was a pawn in a game the Mo family orchestrated, a game her supposed family designed. She was to be used thoroughly and then discarded.

***

Xingjuan woke up from her half sleeping state, her eyes were red and depressed, she hated remembering that event but it had become something together with the memory of her mother that kept her half awake at nights sometimes completely awake, she regretted her decision to rest because she ended up having a nightmare about the events that happen in her previous life. Xingjuan sighed deeply rubbed at her eyes to clear it up a bit then she began to run again, she looked towards the sky, it wasn't dark anymore, Xingjuan thought that just as how the sky can turn from dark to light maybe someday her life that is shrouded in darkness will also become bright, it will also shine.

As Xingjuan ran through the forest with her Air Magic, she felt that the night she was dragged to the General's manor to take her sister's place really marked her end... It marked the end of her past life and her past self. It was her end as well as her beginning because if she didn't die due to the events that unfolded from then on, then how could she have been given this second life, she wouldn't have such powers if all that have happened didn't.

Xingjuan was sad that she was killed by her family, but she was also glad that such misfortune brought her this present fortune...