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The three statues were of terrifying beasts, each grotesque and nacing. They were the Primordial Leopard, the Double-Bright Bird, and the Flood Dragon Mastiff Turtle.
What puzzled the residents of Northern Garden City most was that these three statues had stood there long before the city was ever founded.
Their origin was lost to ti. So say the statues had been there even before Northern Garden City existed.
More strangely, they couldn’t be moved or destroyed.
A powerful cultivator in the Empyrean ridian Realm had once tried to forcibly relocate one, but suffered severe backlash and was forced to flee with grave injuries.
For generations, the legend of the Three Ferocious Beasts had circulated through the city. No one knew who started the tale, nor what the statues truly ant.
……
The Tan Clan was one of the most prestigious clans in Northern Garden City, with an illustrious ancestor known as the Sun Chaser Ancient God.
That ancestor had co alone to the city long ago, founded the Tan Clan, and brought it to prominence.
After generations of accumulation, the Tan Clan had beco a formidable powerhouse.
Yet what the people of the city loved to talk about most weren’t the clan’s roots, but the three daughters of the Patriarch, Tan Yongling.
In this generation, the Tan Clan’s direct bloodline was quite thin. Tan Yongling had always wished for a son to carry on the family legacy.
But fate denied him, his first two children were daughters.
When a concubine beca pregnant for the third ti, Tan Yongling pinned all his hopes on having a son.
Ironically, the third child was yet another daughter.
Worse, she was born mute, and had a striking birthmark on her face.
Given the Tan Clan’s resources, healing her afflictions should have been easy.
But Tan Yongling, furious over his failed hopes, saw her as a curse from the heavens, and directed all his resentnt at this unwanted third daughter.
He ordered that no one was allowed to treat her birthmark or her muteness.
……
As the three daughters grew up, they each beca famous in Northern Garden City.
Unlike their younger sister, the two elder daughters were raised in luxury and indulgence. Their fa ca mostly from being arrogant and unreasonable.
But the third daughter, Tan Jiulin, was different, kind-hearted and gentle.
Though she was of low status within the Tan Clan and often mistreated, she frequently helped the citizens of Northern Garden City without expecting anything in return.
She beca well-known and loved by the people, who affectionately called her Fairy Lin.
Despite the fierce and terrifying birthmark on her face, the nickna wasn’t about her appearance, it was to praise her pure, angelic heart.
……
Walking out of the Tan Estate, Tan Jiulin thought back to her family’s twisted faces and sneered with a helpless shake of her head.
She was naturally calm and unambitious, avoiding conflict when she could.
But in a noble clan like hers, she knew that sches and power struggles were inevitable.
“Good day, Fairy Lin!”
“Have you eaten, Fairy Lin? Want to try so of my buns? Fresh from the stear!”
As the townspeople greeted her warmly along the street, Tan Jiulin smiled and responded with sign language, for she could not speak.
She wore a light blue dress, her long hair neatly tied behind her. Her large, expressive eyes sparkled with life.
Her slender waist was cinched by a soft green sash.
From the left, she looked stunning, so much so that anyone would be struck by her beauty.
But the birthmark on the right side of her face often left people pitying her misfortune.
Tan Jiulin was never ashad of her birthmark. She never tried to hide it.
Lifting the hem of her skirt slightly, she stepped outside the city like a carefree sprite dancing in the wind.
……
At the banks of the Willow River, a young man in lavish robes held a folding fan, gazing out over the breathtaking scenery.
Quietly, a young girl crept up behind him and embraced him.
He turned with a smile and said excitedly, “Lin’er, you’re finally here.”
The girl smiled warmly, her face glowing with happiness.
“Did you bring what I asked for?” the young man asked quickly.
She nodded and took a book from her chest.
Its cover was dull yellow, with four large characters on it: Sun Chaser God Art.
“I stole this from my elder sister. It’s our family’s heirloom technique,” Tan Jiulin signed. “You can learn it, but don’t give it to anyone else.”
“Don’t worry, Lin’er,” the young man said as he embraced her tightly, speaking with deep affection. “You’ve done so much for . I don’t even know how to thank you.”
Tan Jiulin just smiled and gently shook her head.
Pfft, the sound of a sword plunging into flesh.
Her smile froze.
She slowly released him and turned to look at her back.
A long sword was buried deep in her body, clearly visible and horrifying.
“Why…” she asked silently, eyes full of confusion.
“I really didn’t know how to thank you…” the young man said, suddenly grinning maniacally. “So I’ll just send you to die.”
He stabbed her dozens of tis, then kicked her into the scenic river.
Her lifeless body sank beneath the water, drifting away with the current.
The young man then opened the book in his hand.
It still carried the faint fragrance of the girl’s body.
“If not for this cultivation technique, how could I ever pretend to like an ugly freak like you?”
……
Darkness.
Cold.
Despair.
Tan Jiulin felt her consciousness grow heavy. It was like a dream, but one where she rembered nothing.
Her body floated, guided by an unseen current.
She didn’t know how long she drifted. Her awareness dimd further and further. She wanted to sleep.
But she was afraid, if she fell asleep, she might never wake again.
Her wounds still bled. Trails of blood drifted deep through the river, attracting swarms of underwater beasts.
She didn’t know how long she floated, when suddenly, a deafening roar shattered the silence.
The world around her grew still.
A massive beast, long buried at the bottom of the sea, was bound in chains.
Its life was nearly at its end.
“If I must wait a few more centuries… and no one cos by then…”
The beast half-closed its eyes and sighed.
Just then, the scent of blood reached it.
Raising its head, it saw a corpse drifting toward it, surrounded by beasts fighting over it.
But strangely, none dared approach her directly.
They wanted to devour the corpse, but feared sothing.
They circled her… waiting.
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