Dark Knights

Jiejie

Jiang Yanli had always felt the need to protect and defend her brothers from the cruel world that they were born in. Unfortunately it also included her parents.

She was born weak and sickly. Her golden core was already exhausted to its brim trying to keep her heart beating. Albeit all that shortcomings her spirit still yearned to fight to live.

She was a woman with a strong spirit and a kind heart. She appeared to be soft spoken and kind like her father or that's how many described her to be. "Like her father" However if you ask her, she's more like her mother than any other.

Her father was more of a coward than he let's on. Instead of facing his actions head on he just runs away. She, Jiang Yanli is more than that. If her mother wasn't clinging onto her resentment and jealousy, if she didn't love a man who runs away from the sight of her wrath, Yu Ziyuan is a formidable woman herself.

Her parents are such strange match. Her mother who carries the rage of thousand storm clouds and then there's her father. Truthfully she doesn't know how to describe that man other than a heartless man. She knows not of his affections for Cangse Sanren or of his friendship with the Wei patriarch but the rumours surround them and her father's ignorance only fueled her anger. She knows not if her father is actually aware and is keeping silent or he is not aware. However that latter is very unlikely.

There is no way he does not know it. Imagine her suprise when he brought in their son. If she were to be honest, he had treated A-xian with more love than he treated her and A-cheng. A-xian is a lovely child albeit mischievous. She loves him too. But her father had no excuse to ignore A-cheng all his life and suddenly show all his affection to a child that just appeared.

If she were to count how many times he had ever lifted A-cheng up and showered him with his love, it wouldn't even exceed her first five fingers. The favouritism was so blatant that she knew it was affecting A-cheng mentally. He grew up too fast right infront of her eyes. Her mother did not help with her snide comments and harsh punishments. She knew her mother, she knew that her mother was trying to make A-cheng compete with A-xian. She knew that she was trying to project herself onto A-cheng and it wasn't right. A-cheng is after all a child. He did not need to excell at everything he does at first try. He has years to learn everything but did it matter to her mother?
No, it didn't. Her mother's logic was "If that wretched street rat can do it, why can't you the sect leader's son who had all these luxuries?"

Honestly it was disgusting. If she wants her father's attention so badly why don't she go and slap some sense to him? Why must she torment her A-cheng's sweet sou/? Why must she embed those deep scars on A-xian's back? Just to soothe her hatred.

Jiang Yanli had respected her parents all her life but the moment she had to comfort her A-cheng's cries in the middle of the night because he couldn't get his sword formation right or the time she had to pluck out the broken skin from A-xian's back, all she felt was the gut wrenching disgust she had for her parents.

Father, mother. You've both have disappointed me enough. I beg of you to not disappoint our sect at least. If you can't be proper parents, At least be the benevolent leaders. I truly hope that our ancestors up above that have passed are rolling in their tombstones in shame upon your actions towards your own children.

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Sect Leader been in the ancestral hall ever since it has been hasn't rebuilt. She knelt down at her ancestors bowing to show respect. Then glanced at her parents' shrines in sorrow.

"I haven't been in here in ages. I hope that you can forgive me for my negligence. To be completely honest, I still don't want to be here. I am here to get this off my chest and after that, I will close this hall for good. There are so many words I want to say but I do not have the time. Ever since I was a child, I think it was made clear that A-cheng would be the sect leader and that I will be married off for good. You might not have said it out loud but it was obvious.
At one point I had just accepted it as fate. While father did say that A-cheng will be the sect leader, his actions proved otherwise. We all knew that deep in your heart that if you could you would've made A-xian the sect leader. I think I have fulfilled all my duties as a daughter but both of you failed as parents.
At least in your next life, please treat your children better than how you've treated us, if not I hope you don't receive children. It might sound harsh, cruel even but no child in this world deserve to be hated and abused to just exist. As a mother I know it can be hard to raise a child. My A-ling himself is quite a troublemaker but never in my life I have held any resentment towards him. So, until now I could not decipher why would you hold your own flesh and blood as a target to release your own frustrations. Not only that I don't understand why must you both use us for your own goals and ideals. Why, I can't imagine doing it to my A-ling. So, how can you do it?"

She took a deep breath and continued.

"As a sect leader I have learned many things. But as a mother I have learned more. I do hope you made it to heaven but considering your actions it must be highly unlikely"

She stood and left never to return again.