Idly stroking her hair, Ling Yun began to recount his day. Well, he tried to. There wasn't much to tell about his monotone life.

  Waking up before dawn. Running through his daily set of exercises. Cultivating for a few hours after breakfast. Cooking lessons from Granny Sha filled the afternoon. Playing with Yaoyao until dinner and then cultivating again. He continued till midnight before finally collapsing on his bed.

  Among the youngsters in the clan, Ling Yun spent the most time cultivating. Not because he was particularly diligent, but because he had nothing else to do. Others had to split their time between cultivation and mastering the Rock Spear Art, their clan's signature martial art.

  Also they have friends. To laugh and play with. Unlike me.

  Ling Yun smiled bitterly. Well, it's not like he was completely unwanted. Once in a blue moon, some of the female disciples invited him out secretly under the nose of their parents.

  Ling Yun is not a narcissist but even he had to admit he was the pretty boy of the village. His beauty was unlike that of a rugged warrior, victor of hundred battles but that of a pampered, delicate prince- one who never had to lift a finger in his entire life.

  Silky black hair that reached his shoulders, blue eyes that seemed to contain the depth of the ocean, a fair complexion and his handsome face- as if carved by a master craftsman from the finest jade.

  The thought had occurred to him many times that heavens blessed him in looks to compensate for his crippled. But this only earned him further ire of his male cousins. Back then when he wasn't shunned, they used to mock him by calling him "Little Princess" and other such names.

  Trouble of his isolation, Ling Yun had accepted such invitation once. He had fun in the little time they played together, but upon returning, he found Yaoyao sulking. She refused to speak to him for the rest of the week, yet kept clinging to him the entire time. From then on, he had reluctantly declined any future invitations.

  Seems like my dream of being surrounded by beauties while playing the flute is quite far.

  Seeing that Yaoyao had remained silent for a long time, Ling Yun nudged her. "Yaoyao, is something bothering you? Tell your big brother."

  After deliberating while still clutching that doll, Yaoyao whispered, "Big brother, Yaoyao burned her partner so this one will be lonely. Will ... will Yaoyao be like her in the future?"

  A pang of sorrow tightened in his chest. Yaoyao had been living in this hut like a recluse for the last four years, only interacting with him, not even Granny Sha. If Ling Yun was ignored by the clan, Yaoyao was outright cursed and hated by nearly everyone.

  "Cursed child". "Harbinger of doom". "Evil spirit."

  These were the words they used to describe Yaoyao.

  He was three years old when his mother passed away during giving birth to Yaoyao. His father loved his mother deeply. Stricken by grief, his father never found joy in his new born daughter. In the quiet corners of his heart, his father blamed Yaoyao for his wife's death but he kept it down, treating Yaoyao fairly.

  Everything changed on Yaoyao's fifth birthday. While playing with a servant girl, Yaoyao accidentally burned her. Hearing the cries, everyone rushed to find Yaoyao crying while smoke and the smell of burning flesh permeated the air. The clan's healer tried his best but the girl's injuries were too severe. The servant died before the next sunrise.

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  The whole clan was horrified. Humans begin cultivating at the age of ten so a five year old girl burning a servant was incomprehensible. The elders tried to investigate about it but the Ling clan was just a small, remote clan. Lacking both in knowledge and foundation, they couldn't find anything.

  Since only a mortal servant girl died, people didn't dwell on it too much. Everyone tried to move past the incident, treating it as a freak accident. But it was only the beginning of a series of incidents.

  Yaoyao's hands would suddenly sprout flames, destroying everything nearby. Nannies refused to hold Yaoyao. Children started to avoid her. Frequently her toys and bed would catch fire and had to be replaced. Many times she had unintentionally ruined precious belongings of others.

  Ling Yun didn't know when it started but one day, all the other children started mocking and bullying her.

  "Get away from the evil spirit, she will burn you."

  "Aaah, the evil spirit is coming! Don't let her touch you."

  Sometimes, they used to chase her all over the courtyard, throwing pebbles at her. Lost in the joy of their mean childish games, no one cared about the fragile heart of the little girl.

  Frequently, Yaoyao would fall to the ground, covered in tears. Stretching out her tiny hands, she tried to reach out but no one- out of fear or anger, offered help, leaving the little girl on the floor sobbing silently.

  During that time, Ling Yun was busy receiving personal lessons from his father so had little time to look after Yaoyao. And his father remained strangely silent on all of this.

  One day, she accidentally set the herbal garden on fire. The Fourth uncle, the clan's herbalist, exploded in rage. Watching his years of painstaking work turn to ash right before his eyes was too much for him.

  He kicked the little child, sending her crashing to the ground. He started cursing her loudly, "You evil spirit! I should snap your neck this instant!"

  The commotion drew a crowd. They saw a little girl lying on the floor, blood dripping from her lips. But no one stepped forward to help her, everyone just watched silently.

  The fourth uncle wasn't finished. He raised his foot to stomp her, but before he could do so, Ling Yun leapt in front of her, arms wide open, shielding her from his uncle- and perhaps from the rest of the world.

  "Stop, Uncle! Have you lost your mind? She is just a child."

  "A child?!" His uncle roared, "She is not a little child but an evil spirit! She would bring doom to this clan! The evil spirit must be killed immediately!"

  Facing his uncle's murderous intent, Ling Yun refused to falter. He held his gaze steady, unflinching. How could he waver now, his sister was behind him.

  His uncle kept glaring at him then looked at Yaoyao for one last time. Finally, he spat on the ground, turned around and stormed off. Ling Yun scooped her into his arms and carried her to the healer. The onlookers dispersed silently, each with the same thought in their minds.

  She would bring doom to the clan. We should kill her as soon as possible.

  From that day, every misfortune was blamed on Yaoyao. One of the elder's grandchild became sick? Yaoyao's fault. Third uncle's horse died from being attacked by beasts? Yaoyao's fault.

  A disciple got slightly injured during training?

  It was Yaoyao's fault.

  Ling Meiyao, the clan's princess, who should be coddled and cherished was shunned, ignored, disdained and hated.

  Tensions reached a boiling point when Ling Yun's inadequacy was revealed. His father, the patriarch, went insane and he too started blaming Yaoyao, both for his wife's death and his son's failure.

  One day, he was about to kill her, but after Ling Yun's repeated pleas, he sort of exiled her from the clan's mansion, making it clear that he never wanted to see her again. Ling Yun joined his sister and they started living on the outskirts in an abandoned servant's quarter.

  "Big brother." Yaoyao tugged his sleeve, shaking him free from unnecessary thoughts.

  "Don't worry Yaoyao. Big brother will always be with you."

  "Then Big brother must marry Yaoyao," she added earnestly.

  Hearing this, Ling Yun was momentarily stunned before bursting into laughter.

  Talking about marrying her big brother, Yaoyao is so cute. People would think she's eight not twelve.

  Not amused by his laughter, she glared at him. Ling Yun cleared his throat and said, "Of course, Big brother will marry Yaoyao. I wouldn't give Yaoyao to anyone."

  "Promise?"

  "Yes, yes. Promise. Do I look like someone who breaks his word?"

  A radiant smile lit her face as Yaoyao buried it in his chest. Ling Yun started to think about how he would tease her when she got older, reminding her of this silly childhood promise.

  Oh, she would be so embarrassed. She would definitely pout and deny ever saying that.

  This won't come back to bite me, right?