True to your heart

Chapter 1

Those with clouded eyes see nothing but shadows.

Wei Ying always knew that she was nothing like her mother, no matter what others said. Mama was beautiful and bright, like the spring sun that came down to earth; her smile was dazzling, as if nothing could darken it; her voice was enchanting and cheerful, like a gurgling sapphire spring. She was so lively that all hardships were forgotten. And it was clear why people around her fell in love with her.

But still... her daughter wasn't like that.

When Wei Ying, standing by the mirror in her tiny inn room, tried to imitate her mother, to smile just like her, the girl only sighed in discouragement. Her smile was too faded, some would say unnatural. She didn't like what was reflected in the mirror so much that she simply didn't want to smile anymore.

And when people saw her again, whose face was gaping cold, they realised how wrong they had been.

Wei Ying did not look like her mother. She was exactly like her father.

All pale, with bright silvery eyes, small and thin, like a reanimated ghost. She... didn't like that people confused her with a ghost. Ghosts are emotionless, unaware of hunger and cold, while she is a living person. She just doesn't know what can bring her joy, what can make her smile as brightly as her dear mother. Looking at the boys and girls who were the same age as her, she could not understand why they laughed so loudly and gleefully, shooting kites. She was human, but she couldn't understand it.

But her parents said she was very smart.

Wei Ying knows what a golden core is, what it means to be a cultivator, and what a duty it is to the common people devoid of protection from the dark creatures. She understands why her parents leave her alone in the inns when they leave for a night hunt.

She understands... but she doesn't want to be alone. During those long nights, Wei Ying could not sleep peacefully and silently prayed to Heaven for her parents to be safe. Even though the rumors assured her that they were very strong cultivators, she was worried in her heart. Because all people are mortal. They are dying.

However, the child's plea was not heard by Heaven.

Yiling, nicknamed the ghost city in the society, was famous for being in close proximity to the deadlands. In those lands, where even the illustrious cultivators of the great sects feared to tread, there were all kinds of evil spirits, much more intimidating and powerful. The inhabitants of Yiling had some methods of avoiding encounters with them, but they were not always able to preserve what had been a hard-won gift for the past century. Most cultivators were deaf to their pleas to help at least somewhat subdue those creatures that were too close to the city's borders. A miracle happened when Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren agreed to help.

Wei Ying sensed something was wrong on the second day.

And on the third day she decided to verify her anxious thoughts.

Her parents were very frugal about money, and what they had left for their daughter would be enough to live on for more than half a year. Wei Ying found a pouch full of silver and copper coins in her parents' empty room and hid it in her qiankun. In the other qiankun she put a couple of sets of robes, her mother's weimao and her father's black flute, some scrolls, blank sheets and ink. Checking that she had packed everything she needed with her, Wei Ying headed for the exit. The innkeeper was skeptical about a child leaving the inn late at night, and in winter, but she did not force the girl to do so. Wei Ying only asked for some food for the journey, for which she gave thirty copper coins.

Even though it was pitch black outside, Wei Ying was not afraid of it. Silence enveloped the town and the lights went out in the houses. Only the stars in the sky lit her way.

Wei Ying hurriedly walked along the path her parents had taken, not looking around. A howling wind chased the little girl away, but nothing could stop her. Even when a terrifying darkness came with the wind, the girl walked along the path, feeling the nasty lump in her throat with every step.