She, Shang Wuxin, was a child from a branch family. At a family gathering, the then-head of the Shang clan had taken notice of her and adopted her as his daughter. She had been overjoyed, but her parents’ faces had hardened, their eyes filled with a strange pity. They had still allowed her to move into the envied Shang mansion. Young Shang Wuxin hadn't understood their expressions then, but she would later learn the truth.
On her eighth birthday, her adoptive father had taken her from the training grounds and thrown a lavish party, her parents among the guests. After the festivities, he had led her to a room. It was a memory etched in shame, a scar that would never fade. He, her adoptive father, had r*ped her. She was just a child.
The pain… she hadn't understood what was happening, only the searing agony and the overwhelming shame. She had screamed for her parents, desperate for rescue, but they had stood just outside the door, deaf to her cries. For their own ambitions, their reputation, they had sacrificed their young daughter to a man more than three times her age.
Pain, taken to its extreme, becomes numbness. Shang Wuxin had suffered many injuries since that day, but none compared to the agony of that night. Had she considered death? No. As she crawled from the blood-soaked bed, a single thought consumed her: revenge. She would kill her adoptive father. She would kill her parents. She would become powerful, a figure to be feared.
It took her five years to master the secret martial arts of the Shang family, to become a true force to be reckoned with. She had openly killed her adoptive father, seizing control of the entire Shang family. She watched as her parents, driven from the family and left destitute, chose suicide. She had become powerful, the feared sorceress.
But her heart remained a stagnant pool, her body slowly failing. Ironic, that a girl barely in her teens should be facing death. Her adoptive father, fearing her potential, had been slowly poisoning her all along. Even with the advancements of modern medicine, she was beyond saving.
Then she had met Du Xingfeng. She was drawn to him because, unlike other men, he hadn't feared her. He knew how to charm her, to offer the warmth she craved. She had never known love, but she yearned for connection. So they began their secret affair. She had thought, since she wouldn't live much longer, she would leave half of the Shang empire to Du Xingfeng, and the other half to Wuwei. But reality had dealt her a cruel blow, mocking her naiveté. She was Shang Wuxin. How could she afford to have a heart?
Du Xingfeng didn't know that even without his poison, she had only months to live. But the outcome had still been unexpected. She had indeed been poisoned, but he, unaware of her martial arts prowess, had underestimated her. She hadn't told him because there hadn't seemed to be a need. Now, she saw the true face of the man she had loved. She knew she wouldn't survive the day. So be it. Let it all end.
The fire raged around Shang Wuxin, the orange flames reflecting off her crimson dress, a scene of tragic beauty.
Burn, consume all the filth, including herself… As the flames licked at her skin, as the agonizing pain tore through her, a beautiful smile graced her lips, as pure and innocent as it had been when she was five years old…