The Night Breeze Whispers Your Name

1. How It Began

"Don't mess it up, show your gratitude to us for saving your worthless life."

I pretended not to hear Li Huo as he didn't even deserve a reply. He was the oldest son of the clan leader and like the others, he hated me. As he couldn't beat me at anything, he kept bringing up this tasteless topic to make me angry.

For the newcomers, let me summarise:

Almost twenty years ago, the wife of the clan leader, who wasn't a leader by that time, was washing some clothes at the riverside. Then she heard the voice of a crying baby and checked around until she found the unwanted child in a wicker basket, drifting with the water. She saved him and declared him as her third son. Her husband was so in love with her, so he never denied her anything. However, when the baby opened his eyes, they saw one of his eyes was crimson red. The husband understood the baby was half-demon, so he wanted to kill him. The wife protected the baby and convinced her husband to keep him as their son. Who knew, maybe the baby could help them in case of a Demon Valley attack?

The husband thought about it and decided to keep the baby, but the risk was too much. Therefore, he called the elders and together they put a flame-shaped curse mark on the baby's chest. The husband could control the baby's body in case he was more demon than human. Although the people in the clan regarded it as a smart move, it didn't help them any with their fear of the baby. Other than the wife, nobody wanted to get close to the poor creature and he grew up in solitude until he was six.

When he was six, the wife died suddenly and the boy lost his only shelter. The husband was now free to do whatever he wanted with the boy. He beat him so hard after accusing him for the sudden death of his wife and the poor boy lied unconscious for a week. If the elders didn't prevent the husband, he could even kill him.

Well, maybe death would be more merciful...

The day the miserable boy woke up, his hell began. He was an outcast, and although he continued to live in his old house, he was treated worse than a dog. Gradually, he lost his humane side and his heart was filled with rage and hate. Many times he tried to escape, but the curse mark on his chest painfully pinned him on the ground.

As you can guess by now, that poor creature is me.

After being forced to live like a lowly creature, now the clan demanded me to go the that stupid competition to represent them as if I was a part of Huo Clan.

Ironic, isn't it?

Well, at least it would provide my freedom ticket. Whoever the other four representatives would be, none of them could stand a chance in front of me. Therefore, all I had to do was to endure the stupid training-competition for two months, beat those four pests and be the commander of the Five Alliance's army for a year.

Nothing hard...

With a content smile, I packed the necessary items which were given by the hypocrite elders and spurred my horse towards ShenShan where the competition would take place.

Now it was the beginning of my era...