Everyone sees him as a curse, , he himself might think so since wherever he went are always disasters.

    It all starts when he was only five years old, at a cold winter night when a birthday that was supposed to be a perfect harmony turn into a bloody night in the cold winter. An enemy had made his birthday a nightmare as he watch as all his twenty two family members died.

    "Remember you must live, promise me you will live and grow old, little cy" his mother held him in her bloody arms as she tuck the the Jade necklace into Cyrus hands. "Promise me ,cy you will live for me, for all of us"his mom said again. Little Cyrus nodded his little head as he watch his mother gave her last breath. Cyrus cried all night for his lost family and that was the end of the Phoenix family.

    Young Cyrus walk in the cold winter night as he look for a way to survive in his lonely life. he beg for a plate of hot noodles but was thrown out. As the little boy lay by the side of the rock waiting for death, a trader pass by him as he was crossing the mountain. The kind-hearted man took him to an inn and bought him food. " would you like to stay with me " the trader Andrew ask the boy ."yes yes" Cyrus nodded eagerly with a bright smile as Andrew smile back. Poor little Cyrus never knew what await him was another hell.

        Going back to the home of his new dad but when everyone from the Andrew family saw Cyrus natural silver like hair, they thought of him as bad luck to the family, a curse that would follow them but Andrew ignore them but took care of Cyrus as his son. That alone made him a eyesore to Andrew wife and three sons.

         Cyrus taught all was ok until when days pass and Cyrus realize he is nothing in his new family.As time goes on, soon enough, Andrew left the village to the town to do business as before but that was just the beginning of hell for Cyrus.

 "Cyrus wash the clothes", "Cyrus wash the dishes","brat mop that floor clean"- they would all say. Cyrus could only obey, or he would be tortured by his step siblings. Under the hot sun he chops all the five household firewood and all the clothes till his hand gets peeled and wounded.

Under the heavy rain,his step Brothers all stays at home while Cyrus stays in the rice farm, farming until the leeks sucks his blood. During dinner Cyrus felt like an outsider.

Months passed and the worst came. Andrew was brought home by his neighbor who said he was beaten and robbed on his way home from the mountains but that was not the worst until most of the family members saw that the business was failing and might be locked down.

    Everyone in the spring village saw Cyrus as a curse ,a witch , bad luck. when Cyrus was sent on an errand, he would get beaten up on the streets by the kids. Adults cursed him every time they see him , calling him " the cursed child" , his mate call him " the white witch " .And all this , the little boy cries quietly in the dark .😔😞

     " hmmm what a day, another busy day for me" . Cyrus said as he count the basket of peaches he havested from the family peach farm by the mountains.

 As he was about to take his rope, so he could get fire woods in the mountains, he saw a elderly man wearing a toiast clothe walking into the mountains. At first Cyrus didn't care , butthen he saw him walking into the path that people in the village says that is dangerous with mysterious and dangerous animals and herbs.

        "Mister that place is dangerous, I hope you don't go there". Cyrus said. The man turn to only see actually a cold face looking boy looking at him. he smiled and said" don't worry I know already, I'll be fine"

   "then if you knew then why do you want to go there, do u want to commit suicide, at least enjoy your old age for a while" Cyrus said clearly annoyed. ' I've never seen anyone stupid' he thought.

"Hahaha do you know why" the old man ask him. Cyrus shook his head."that's because I have been here before". Cyrus stared at him astonished and confused."isn't it dangerous and scary as I heard" Cyrus asked again.Of course it is but to me, it's a piece Of cake". " Piece of cake..." Cyrus' mouth was open . Hahaha of course it is, the old man laugh at his reaction. okay if u say so, Cyrus said to him as he was ready to leave. why don't you come with me to an adventure , the old man said again. " me? " Cyrus paused and ask .

 Yes of course you, the old man said. "Let's go on an adventure and see the extraordinary, are you willing?"

Cyrus eyes sparkled as he heard what the man says but then he thought ' stuffs like this can only be seen in movies , is this man a trafficker'

"Don't waste your time on me, my family won't even care if I'm dead , they will probably be relieved. So you can go ahead and find another kid to kidnap, that way you could extort a lot of money, I'm useless" . Cyrus said blankly without any emotions on his face.

"..........."

The old man was left speechless but then he laughed heartily and said " if I really wanted you won't even realize it" " but I can see you are a smart kid, how can you say you are not special" the old man ask again.

" well everyone calls me a witch and my white hair stands for bad luck" Cyrus said casually.

"Do you think so , do you really believe it" the old man said softly. "well from the beginning ..... everywhere I go is always a disaster. from the death of my family to the breakdown of my step dad....... I don't know..... maybe I'm a curse " Cyrus said as his turn red with his head looking down.

" But you can change your destiny " the man said again.

"Really..... i..i ..I really want to help my step dad" Cyrus eyes light up as he stared the old man with anticipation.

"Oh course young child , it's your decision, follow me and become my disciple and I will teach you" the old man said as he outstretched his to the eight years old Cyrus. Cyrus hesitated but he accepted the man as his master and that was the beginning of Cyrus training and journey.

"Master I won't disappoint you" Cyrus said cheerfully as he smiled for the first time over the years.

 "Where do you think you are going, are you done with your chores" Maria his stepmom asked? "Yes" Cyrus answers coldly. " Then you better be back before sunset ". Okay, Cyrus answered as he walked away. He wanted to visit his master in the mountains to thank him as he has made his life from bitter to face the way to light. it has been eight years since Cyrus accepted the old man as his master.

 "Master" Cyrus call out cheerfully. "Oh my boy how do you do" the master ask as he saw his disciple coming up. "Hey old fox, have you figured out how to explain this to your disciple" another old man sitting beside him said. " Hahaha leave this cunning old fox he knows how to do his job" another old man sitting opposite the two old men, drinking wine, said.

 " Shhh, he is here, act natural" shifu said. " What were you guys talking about and why being suspicious" Cyrus asked as sat next to his master. " Oh ... hahaha we were talking about how handsome you are" the old man sitting at the right hand of shifu said. " How handsome I am?" Cyrus ask raising his eyebrow "yes yes, how handsome you are" the three old men nodded together as old lizards. Cyrues shook his head as he knew he can't get the truth out of these cunning old tortoises.

 "So what brings you here? " Shifu ask. "Well I came to visit you, and soon I'll be going into the mountains to get some herbs" Cyrus said.

"well now that you have come, we got something for you to do, very important".

"Really!" Cyrus exclaimed excited. ' Finally a mission for me '. "Of course I heard that your family will be sending you to the capital soon". Shifu said" yeah I heard that too but how did know" Cyrus ask.

"Of course I know, weren't you the one who said it" shifu said, his deliberately avoiding Cyrus eyes. "Okay "Cyrus say calmly. He knew his master had already investigated. Anyway you are still building up your inner energy, so your mission is to get the holy script from someone however you have to pay before doing anything" shifu said. "With.....money ? " Cyrus hesitated before asking. " Of course not, take this contract and see for yourself" shifu said before closing his eyes and drinking his wine.

Cyrus collects the contract with curiosity. ' Does master wanted to give me a business contract to get a signature from a company in the city" but what he saw made him almost spit out blood. 'A marriage contract!' his head almost blow up. "Master are you sure you are not drunk and gave me the wrong contract or mission" Cyrus calm his nerve and ask politely.

"Of course not, how can I do that, it's a favor I owe someone so get down to business and besides it could help you in the future" shifu said , pretending to be annoyed.

"..........." Cyrus was left speechless. ' You and me, who is the one to be angry'. " Ok, Ok don't be angry" he could only coax him. "And take this as my gift, remember don't open it until I I tell you to. Understood" shifu said as he gave him another file. " Yes master" Cyrus answered. " Alright we won't keep the young waiting, so you can go. " shifu said. " Ok goodbye master shifu., master Han and master LI ". " Goodbye".

As soon as Cyrus left shifu breathe a sign of relief. " Ah.... that was close , he still as cold as ever, if I weren't fast he would have caught something suspicious" shifu said. "Why didn't you tell him about the gift, sly old fox? " Master Li said. "What!" shifu exclaim" he would have rejected it and I don't want that" shifu stubbornly said as the others agreed. " You are right, you are right".

Back home Cyrus saw what he thought was a dream. Everyone in the family were gathered together and smiling which brought chills to his spine. ' Are you the witch or am I the witch' he thought as he saw that their smile were worse than animals.

"Cousin you look good today, are you feeling okay today? Don't worry I will let auntie cook for you tonight. Right auntie" Lucas, Cyrus step cousin said while holding his hands like a true brother. "Of course, of course" Maria answered politely and that alone shocked Cyrus to the bone. ' Are u sure this is my stepmom, she would never cook for me even if the sky fell, okay.' everyone was being polite to him, and he was confused, so he stared at his step dad for an explanation. 'Did the world collapse'. When Andrew saw Cyrus eyes he knew he needed an explanation. " Mr Alvin came to our house today, asking if you could follow him to the capital to help him with the family house, if willing he would pay five hundred thousand every three months to us but if you don't want to go, it's okay" Andrew explain.

"oh " Cyrus said as he thought' so that's why this horrible family were nice to him ' . he swore that with this family acting they could get an Oscar.

" So are you willing" Andrew asked again. Everyone looked at him nervously to hear his answer.

Cyrus had already wanted to go to the capital so he could get the holy script, break up the engagement and especially revenge for his family so he agreed to go. Everyone was relief when they heard that Cyrus said yes. Cyrus agreed under one condition of visiting his step dad every three months so everyone accepted that. Cyrus saw that everything is settled, he went back into his room as he search for his family heirloom. His master once told him that the Jade necklace was special and powerful so he must hide it. Cyrus himself thought he should keep it secret since that might have been what his family enemy wanted eleven years ago.

"Mom , dad , everyone, don't worry I'll never give up until revenge you all, I hope you guide me. I love you all." Cyrus said as he held the Jade necklace tightly near his heart. He stared at the sky full of stars and smile bitterly.

The next day Mr Alvin took him to the capital as the his family watch quietly as everyone thought was 'the witch is finally gone ' accept for Andrew who was sad " I hope you grow well as he wave good bye to the moving car.

😉💖💖

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