A mark of suffering.

*******

"Now, will you look at this poor little kitten! Aww!" The man said with fake sympathy, looking at the woman curled up against the wall. "How pitiful!"

"Hey little kitty! Do you want something? Tell me and I will cross seas to get it for you!" Shen Yifeng's low, cold laughter rang throughout the entire basement, as he ridiculed the woman. His laughter made one feel like a serpent was crawling over their body and might end them with its venom at any moment.

It was laced with downright craziness and sadism; and that could be seen in his eyes as well.

The basement reeked of blood and burned flesh. The floor and the walls were all witnesses to the cruelty that was endured by Shen Yifeng's victims. It was a place where Shen Yifeng wrote the fates of his prisoners. And so, it was his favorite place to spend his spare time.

"Yi-Yifeng, please let me go! P-please!" Qi Mingxia croaked. All her grace was gone. She was covered in blood and dirt and looked nothing like a lady of high-standing. She was in this basement for three days now. Shen Yifeng was starving her and would also ask his men to give her a beating, atleast once everyday.

She barely had any strength left now. Qi Mingxia felt she should rather die than live like this for the rest of her life. As his pet animal. But he wouldn't even let her die! He wouldn't kill her.

Waves of desperation washed over her. He wouldn't let her go. He would never let her go... This was her fate. Endless agony.

Her heart was so heavy with pain and anger, that she could barely breathe. However, she stopped herself from lashing out. She did not have the right or power to do so anymore. Any sign of defiance, and Shen Yifeng would call his men to beat her, again.

She hid all her anger and defiance from him. She must not provoke him. She, Qi Mingxia, must endure.

"Huh! Why do you keep making me repeat myself? I dislike that!" Shen Yifeng said slowly, loathing evident on his face. The disgust and rage he felt looking at her knew no bounds. She dared to harm what was his.

"You remember what I did to your parents, right? Do you want me to do the same to your grandmother?"

Qi Mingxia's heart skipped a beat. Her grandmother..? No! Not her grandmother too!

Watching her expression, Shen Yifeng's cold laughter rang out again. "Exactly!" Shen Yifeng walked to Qi Mingxia and bent down to take a look at her face. Still pretty.

"You would have been just fine- you had the inheritance, Matriarch Zhao's backing. A pretty face. You had to screw it all up." Shen Yifeng's face was deathly calm as he said this to her face.

"You dared to order a hit on my woman. How can you walk away, unscarred?"

*******

Sitting in her condo, Qi Mingxia felt pure liquid hatred surge through her veins. With every passing day, her hatred for Shen Yifeng grew. As he lived one more day, her thirst for his blood grew.

Maybe I'll flay him alive, Qi Mingxia thought to her herself. That's after all his favorite method of torture. Very old school.

Qi Mingxia's eyes glowed with a manic energy as she started thinking of ways to torture Shen Yifeng. What would cause him the most pain? Burning his body parts one by one, maybe?

'But I won't let him die. That would be mercy'. She thought to herself.

Qi Mingxia blinked. No. She could not let herself get carried away. She had to stay focused. Shen Yifeng would come later. To destroy him, she would first need to take down the people around him, that gave him power.

First on the list was her uncle Qi Feng's family. Qi Feng, that traitorous bastard had to die first.

*******

Qi Mingxia somehow pulled herself together. She had to get ready for the banquet. She needed allies.

Whatever she wanted to do, it would all need support of powerful people. Shen Yifeng was powerful because of his connections. Many people in power believed him to be capable and backed him.

To get to him, she must alienate him. She would give his backers a choice. Either cut off connections with him and support her, or face her wrath. She might not yet be powerful enough to attack Shen Yifeng, but she sure as hell could step on his allies.

However, that would only be the first step. A lone Shen Yifeng was still one of the most powerful men in the country. She needed a lot of power to take him down.

With these thoughts, Qi Mingxia stepped into the shower. The warm water tingled her skin. As the water wet her entire body, her hand moved to the scar at her belly, out of habit. A mark of her suffering.

Shen Yifeng had himself made this mark on her. He wanted her to remember how he tortured her. He wanted her to forever live under the burden of those painful memories. Always remember the pain.

All the other scars in her body vanished. This remained.