Chapter 2 A Good for Nothing Daughter

Meng Ren walked towards Ai Ning and knelt beside her. She looked at her elder sister and smirked. This would be the end of Ai Ning and she would finally get rid of her for good.

"You..." Ai Ning started trembling while her body lays rigid on the cold ground. "Stay away from me you bitch!!!" she seethed, her eyes glaring at her twin sister. If she had known earlier that Meng Ren wanted to frame her for stealing the sacred mirror from the shrine of the Scarlet Dragon, she wouldn't have agreed to accompany her.

This was all because of her scheming twin sister. Why would she do this to her? She was way prettier, way more popular than her. Her looks could easily attract the princes and emperors from other countries. Why would Meng Ren seduce her betrothed instead? Meng Ren knew how she deeply loved Ma Dan Fei since childhood.

"Ai Ning! You dare to hurt your own sister?" The man she fell in love appeared behind Meng Ren and stared down at her coldly.

Meng Ren stood up and pressed her body against Ma Dan Fei, trying to calm him down. "Brother Fei, it's okay. I was the one who wronged her. It's only natural that she will despise me."

"No. This is between the two of us, " he replied, his eyes softening to his lover before brushing off the strands of hair away from her face. He turned his attention and told her coldly, "It is Meng Ren that I have always wanted and loved. I only accepted the marriage arrangements because she begged me not to hurt you."

Ai Ning could only stare at him in disbelief as he spoke of how he fell in love with Meng Ren years ago and how he intended to marry her. But because Ai Ning was the first daughter, the tradition of marrying her off before Meng Ren had to be followed. Of course, Dan Fei told her how he intended to take Meng Ren as his second wife after her. He didn't have any intention to consummate their marriage because of her twin sister.

This shameless bastard, Ai Ning thought. She now realized how people around her treated her like a trash. She was ugly with the big red patch on her face. She couldn't cultivate like Meng Ren. Her father hated her because she was a good for nothing first born daughter, and her twin sister seduced her man. What kind of life was this?

Ai Ning tried to cover her face with one of her hands. Her right shoulder was dislocated and her body felt numb from all the injuries she received from the beatings of the villagers.

"I didn't take the sacred mirror from the shrine. I'm not the thief you're looking for!" she cried as her tears overflowed from her brown eyes.

"Lies! You were the only one who came inside the shrine when it disappeared. Where did you hide it? If you wouldn't tell where it is, we have no choice but to give you to the Demon Lord." the chief of the village insisted.

While their village was still a part of the Scarlet Dragon Kingdom, their wealth and protection came from the demon lord living on the highest mountain instead.

"I swear with my life, I didn't take it! Meng Ren! Tell them the truth, you were with me!" Ai Ning exclaimed.

"What foolishness are you talking about, sister? I don't know where you were. I was with brother Fei the whole time." Meng Ren claimed.

"That she was!" Dan Fei interjected. "Why do you keep dragging Meng Ren to your lies? Do you have no shame Ai Ning?" he asked her disappointingly.

"Enough of this! Ran Ai Ning you are guilty of the crime you committed against the Scarlet Dragon God. You have taken one of his sacred items. We have given you a chance to admit and atone for your sins but you resisted. Now, you should pay it with your life as we send you to the demon lord's castle tonight." One of the elders of the village council joined the conversation.

"Do any of you disagree with this decision?" The chief asked and no one raised a hand to save Ai Ning.

Ai Ning looked up to the dark sky with the full moon at its peak. Her lifeless dark orbs stare at the moon above her. She remembered her dear mother, her youngest brother and her best friend. The three people in the world who treated her nicely. She reminisced her joyful memories with them.

She slowly blinked and noticed that her eyesight was getting blurry. Her head felt heavy. In her attempt to keep awake, she could only see silhouettes of people hovering over her body as someone lifted her body from the ground like a rag doll. She closed her eyes and felt her own blood trickling down her face. There's no escaping as she the darkness consumed her.