Hua Xianle

Chapter 1:

It had been 3 years since Wei Ying was brought to Lotus Pier by Sect Leader Jiang Fengmian with the promise of a new family. He had been so excited at that time, thinking he'd finally have a home, a roof above his head, food and clothing, and everything that he could ever ask for. But all of those fantasies shattered when he met the Madame of Lotus Pier: Yu Ziyuan.

She was a woman full of anger and jealousy. Honestly, Wei Ying believed that she was responsible for her own unhappiness, allowing her relationships with her family to crumble due to her unfounded anger towards Wei Ying's mother, Cangse Sanren. Quite stupid, if you ask him. Of all the things she could be jealous of, it just had to be to a dead woman.

They said that Wei Ying was favored by Jiang Fengmian, but he knew that wasn't true. If he did favor him, then why would he keep his mouth shut and let his wife whip Wei Ying? He said he was his baba's best friend, yet he allowed his wife to talk badly about them in front of everyone.

Jiang Fengmian even told him his courtesy name would be Wuxian, which meant "no envy". He said that Wei Ying didn't have to envy anything, that he just had to ask and it will be given to him. But Wei Ying wasn't stupid. His mother always told him how smart he was, so he knew from the beginning. It wasn't a gift but a reminder that he should never envy what wasn't his, like Jiang Cheng's position as heir. It was to remind him that he should know his place, that he was nothing but their sword and shield. He knew this because Jiang Fengmian said it himself.

Once, after Jiang Fengmian and Madame Yu had been fighting for a very long time, he walked out onto the pier and Wei Ying secretly followed him. He had planned to comfort him once they were alone until he heard his Sect Leader muttering to himself.

"San-Niang doesn't understand... Wei Ying is Jiang Cheng's shield, our son's protector. That's what Changze was supposed to do for me until he left with Cangse Sanren. That's why I took A-Ying off the streets. He's so much like his mother, with her smile and personality... If I can't get the mother, then I'll have the child. I deserve that much."

To say Wei Ying was disgusted was an understatement. He was angry, sad, and hurt, and a million more negative emotions swirled through his being. Lotus Pier wasn't home. It was never a home. It was absolute hell, one that Wei Ying was helpless to escape.

He shouldered the mistakes of the other disciples, nothing more than a scapegoat for Madame Yu to whip and abuse for every offense under the sun. Oftentimes, she didn't even bother with an excuse. She just forced him to kneel and drew Zidian. A seven-year-old child, forced to shoulder the pain of the first-class spiritual tool... It was beyond cruelty.

Today was one of those days, and the Sect Madame had truly gone too far. Normally, Wei Ying only had to suffer 20 to 30 strokes with the whip, but today the Madame had increased the number to 100. And when she grew tired of that, she turned to more brutal methods. She stomped on his frail, bleeding body over and over again, kicking him until he coughed up blood before grabbing him by his hair. Still not satisfied, she choked him, as if intent on finally ending his miserable existence. If it wasn't for his strong golden core, she would have succeeded.

(He didn't know yet that she sabotaged his cultivation. Madame Yu could not stand the idea of a servant surpassing her son, and yet even with her influence, Wei Ying grew stronger than Jiang Cheng. Perhaps that was the reason for this excessive beating. Perhaps she hoped to cripple him in another way. He would never know.)

In the end, she didn't suffocate him. Instead, she did something much worse.

Madame Yu had a kennel full of wild street dogs. She knew Wei Ying was terrified of them and had saved them specifically to torture the boy. Without a hint of remorse, she threw the boy in the kennel, ignoring the boy's screams as the ravenous mutts bit and clawed at the already bleeding child.

Because she left, Madame Yu wasn't there to witness Wei Ying's desperate bid to survive. In an act of pure desperation, he channeled his core outward, releasing a burst of energy that blew the dogs back and snapped the lock on the kennel. The dogs dropped to the ground unconscious, and Wei Ying wasted no time running for his life.

He ran and ran, and kept running long after Lotus Pier faded into the distance. Despite the blood he was losing from all the wounds, despite his sore throat from Yu Ziyuan's tight grip on it earlier, despite his raging fever, and despite the pain of moving any part of his body, he still ran. Whatever happened to him, be it bleeding out in the forest or some form of salvation, Wei Ying was determined to be free of the Jiangs.

After hours of running, his strength and his core finally gave out on him. He was still in Yunmeng, but it had been hours since his desperate bid for freedom. He found a tree stump and slumped next to it, feeling himself growing weaker by the second. He knew deep down that unless he got help soon he wouldn't last the night.

Wei Ying felt his eyes begin to close, faint memories of his parents flickering into his mind. He remembered how they told him to look to heaven whenever he felt low. They told him how The Heavenly Martial Emperor, The Flower Crowned Martial God, Taizi Dianxia, would always watch over him. Perhaps... there was a chance.

"Dianxia..." Wei Ying called out, his voice barely above a whisper. "Taizi Dianxia, please... help this humble servant. I don't want to die yet. I promised my parents I'd live for them. I want to live for them. Help me, please..."

Wei Ying begged in his hoarse voice, unable to keep his eyes open anymore. He was too tired and too weak. His breathing turned shallow, even that small movement causing agony through his shattered ribs.

Just as darkness crept across his vision, Wei Ying felt a presence approach him. Two voices whispered to each other but his muddled mind couldn't comprehend what they were talking about. However, as his mind drifted into unconsciousness, he remembered a warm voice whispering in his ear.

"Rest well my child, I've got you."