Reborn

Gu Xialing was woken up by a warm embrace. She knew it was not real; she knew she was dead. Gu Xialing could still feel the white-hot pain in her eyes, but the feeling of her cold son hurt more than any physical injury was the feeling of her son; Gu Xialing did not know that a person could be that cold.

"My child, awaken. The Gods have given you a second chance. Grasp it with all of your strength." When Gu Xialing finally seemed able to open her eyes, she saw the face of a beautiful woman. A sense of familiarity came over her, but before she was able to open her mouth to speak, she felt herself fading away again.

"No– I can't go back yet. Let me stay! I'm begging you." In the warmth of this woman, the pain in her chest was lessened. She couldn't bear to feel something like it again, so she fought desperately for even a second more of this relief.

"You know you cannot stay. Good luck, child." Once again, Gu Xialing felt her soul moving, like the waves and ripples of the ocean.

***

"Xialing-jiejie, get up! I didn't hit you too hard, don't be such a baby." The sun shone so brightly upon Gu Xialing's eyes that she did not recognize the silhouetted figure that appeared above her. Blinking, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. When her vision cleared, she realized that the one in front of her was Gu Xuang, but 12 years younger. Gu Xialing's eyes filled with tears as she remembered the horrifying image of Gu Xuang's last moments. She leapt forward and hugged him as tightly as she could, to the confusion of Gu Xuang.

"Meimei? Did I hit you too hard on the head?" Gu Xuang asked, embracing his sister with a startled look on his face.

"No, Xuang-didi. I'm sorry, I just had… a bad dream." Gu Xialing tries to gather herself to the best of her abilities. Gu Xialing knew immediately what time in her life she was sent back to: the day she met Heng Delun. In her past life, after she had been done sparring with Gu Xuang, she had run directly to the Third Prince to greet him, not paying attention to her unkempt appearance or the peculiar mark that fell down the middle of her face. In her first life, Heng Delun had been so disgusted by her that he refused to talk to her, and instead paid his attention to her older sister, Gu Meixing. Gu Beicheng, her father, had been more than happy to scold her in front of everybody, ruining her image in front of countless important officials.

Upon seeing the sour and hurt look that formed on Gu Xialing's face, Gu Xuang felt his heart clench. He did not know what his sister had been dreaming about, but he knew it had to have been bad in order to have affected a strong one like his sister. Gu Xuang offers his tiny hand to help Gu Xialing off of the ground. Gu Xialing felt touched after seeing his tiny form offer her help, and she brings herself to a fighting position.

The Gu family was a martial arts family, one where the men were trained from birth how to be strong cultivators and warriors. Gu Xialing, although deemed ugly and unlikeable, bore the "Mark of Gu". This mark was a once-in-a-generation trait of the Gu family line, and the bearer of this mark would be considered a sign of great potential and power. When one bears this mark, he or she would be trained to the height of their capabilities. The Gu name was infamous due to this mark– those that bore its colors were war heroes, leaders, and powerful spearheads for the dynasties they served. In her past life, Xialing had forgone the training and cultivation offered to her as the bearer after meeting the Third Prince. She instead tried to conceal the mark using concoctions that eventually burnt and marred her skin. Her sisters were beautiful– in order to win Heng Delun's heart, she needed to be beautiful as well.

In this life, Xialing was not so naive as to throw away a gift given to her. While she and Gu Xuang sparred playfully, she would always let him win. This time, she would not stand to lose ever again.

Her and Xuang began to continue to spar, as their dull blades clashed between the two. Even though she was younger than Gu Xuang, he was much bigger than her; she struggled to casually continue to counter his moves. As Xialing began to pick up the pace and increase her effort, so did Gu Xuang. The result was a captivating and intense fight that led to more diverse weaponry. Xuang began to swipe at her with his kunai, while Xialing picked up a chakram and discarded her sword.

"Xialing-jiejie, what has happened to you? I have never fought this hard with you." Xuang was confused but pleased at her change. Sweat rolled down his forehead, and before he knew it, Xialing was already there to swipe it away with her sleeve. He was startled at how quickly and silently she moved– as someone who never used their qi, he was in awe of how easily his sister made it look. Gu Xialing stared at him with a strange look on her face. In this life, she had just turned seven years old. Gu Xuang was only five, and his face was painfully reminiscent of her lost child's face. She swiped at her tears before Xuang could notice, and started to spar again. Soon enough, she heard voices from behind her. Turning around, she saw the Third Prince Heng Delun with the rest of her family. Xialing's sisters clung to his sides like parasites, and Gu Xialing gritted her teeth at the sight. The ones who killed her, who killed Xuang, who killed her child looked so youthful and happy.

She was determined to take it all away from them.