The training continued day in and day out, but the good news was Song Qian slowly began to teach me new aspects to my "power" like compulsion. She taught me how to compel people to my will with my eyes by maintaining a calm composure and the extent to which I need to do it for. Guilty as charged, I did try to use it against her to sneakily steal animals' blood she used to train me with. If I was going to be tortured into submission with animals' blood, then I have a right to steal some while she's not looking. Of course, my compulsion didn't work on her; figures. Instead it only made her agitated and I ended up with a nice beating by her with a ladle of all things.

I was getting better at handling my powers and determined with gaining as much control as I could, I meticulously nitpicked every session and trained secretly while Song Qian slept. I couldn't sleep anyways, why waste time.

Months flew by quickly, and summer soon turned to autumn; it would be almost a year since I stayed and trained with Song Qian. She had become somewhat of a mentor and mother figure that I never experienced. Of course I never voiced such thoughts. Since that night of our little story time, we never really spoke more about what she knew and was going to tell me; we sort of lost track of that considering the amount of training we focused on and my lack of respondent because she would always try to pry information out of me about my past in the hopes she could get me to open up and release the emotions that I had so wittily buried ten feet under. I wasn't ready to tell and she knew it and let it slide, but now she was beginning to push harder to get information out of me.

Honestly, I think I made her wait long enough and decided that later tonight I would tell her my side of the story because I owed her at least that much. Surprisingly, I was not the only one in the mood to share some news.

"I have something to tell you," I said to Song Qian. She turned to me with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, go on." She encouraged.

I rubbed my neck nervously unsure of where to start. "Well, I know you have been patiently waiting for me to open up about my past. And I'm sure you already have an inkling that what I have told you was only the half of it."

Song Qian nodded silently, waiting for me to continue.

"Well the truth is I actually had a brother. He died trying to protect me from the thing that turned me into this and my parents are nothing more than the title."

I recounted my story from the beginning of how my brother was the best brother the heavens could ever offer to how my parents basically sold me like a commodity just because I was a girl and they could profit from that. By the time I was finish with the story, the only sound that could be heard around us was the crackling of the fire and the chirps of the crickets. The look of shock and disgust on her face was evident. She tried to say something but nothing came out of . Silently, she rose and made her from across the fire to occupying the seat next to me and throwing her arms around me like a warm cocoon.

"I am so sorry to hear that, Yiyun. You deserve so much better." She pulled away but still kept a firm gentle grip on my shoulders. "Your brother is in the heavens watching over you now; his sacrifice is not in vain. And your parents, how dare they do something like that to such a loving person like you. You are their flesh and blood for gods' sake!"

I smiled wearily at her. "I know. But I can't change that. I might have been better as a son. I wouldn't have to go through that ordeal."