《Full Cycle》


 Chapter 1: The Beginning

    Chapter 1: The Beginning


    "There is no such thing as coincidence in this world.¡±


    Full moon hung on the sky as it glowed eerily; matching the moon was the winter breeze that was piercing cold.


    On the deserted and quite street, sounds of heels can be heard, its sound especially loud on the desolate street.


    A woman walked the eerie place without care. She has long black hair tied on a high ponytail and dressed in a business casual. She looked young that some people had often confused her to being a high school student however despite this she had a young professional aura and seriousness contrasting to how young she looked outside.


    Without fear and with steady pace, Mei Lie, the woman walked while she mumbled the words she was reading from her small note from the class she just finished.


    For normal females, to walk alone during the night on a very deserted and quite street can be really uncomfortable. However to Mei Lie nights like this was as normal as her daily routine. Being a working student, she usually works during the day but study during the night which leads her to go home late every night.


    Mei Lie had been an orphan at an early age. Being orphan from age 5 she had experienced transferring from one house of a relative to another. It was only when she was finally adopted by a distant elderly aunt on her father side when she was 8 years old that she was able to live on a stable environment.


    Since her aunt was old, they were financially challenged however she was happier to be with her Aunt Bai than living with her other relatives. So to help with the family, from early age she had already started to work small jobs that she can get. The experiences that she had was the driving force for her to work hard so she can repay the love and care that her Aunt Bai gave her.


    Her Aunt Bai was a public officer but she had once told Mei Lie how she wanted to be a lawyer but was unable to continue because of circumstances. Despite being young Mei Lie already dreamed of being a lawyer to continue her Aunt Bai¡¯s dream. Unfortunately, before she was able to repay or do anything for her aunt, she already died because of sickness when she was 15 years old.


    From then on, Mei Lie decided to live alone. Fortunately her aunt owns the small house they lived in and there were some savings left for her. So despite all the heartache and hardship Mei Lie continued to work and study to pursue her dream of becoming a lawyer.


    Now she was 2<sup>nd</sup> year Law student. She works as a part time secretary/researcher for a small firm in town during the day and continue to study during the night.


    Her life experience had tempered her to be independent and also have strong will with undying perseverance to pursue her goals. It is also these experiences that she seeks stability in her life, planning every step with goals that she wanted to achieve. That¡¯s why Mei Lie¡¯s friends usually tell her that she has a boring life since she has a monotonous routine.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    And Just like her normal routine, after class she went home immediately declining her friends invitation to go out and have fun.


    It was just another night, Mei Lie believed. Like the previous nights, she will go home to small apartment where she will then enjoy a warm bath to relieve her tired body before going to sleep on her comfortable bed.


    It was supposed to be just like the nights that Mei Lie believed to be. However today was destined to be different. It is a turning point in her life that she will always remember. Every time she will remember this time, there will be many ¡°what if¡± scenarios. Just like what if she went with her friends to go out after class than going straight home or what if she had not been so courageous as to follow the sound that led to that fateful event? Nevertheless, Regardless of all the ¡®what ifs¡¯ scenario, it was something that already happened and can¡¯t be changed.


    Mei Lie was absorbed with reading when she flinched as she heard a tragic cry that made her involuntarily shiver. Mei Lie stood dazedly for a while before she hurriedly walked towards the place where she heard the voice.


    The voice was soft but carried a tragic tone to it. It was without a doubt a cry for help. Mei Lie knew that it was a voice of a female. In the back of her mind, Mei Lie was certain that someone might have been in an accident and needed help. As she hurriedly walked towards a narrow alley she already took her phone from her bag ready to call help if needed.


    She stopped in front of the alley; the blurry light of the moon was enough to illuminate a body of a woman lying on the ground. Even though the light was dim it was enough for her to see that the woman dressed in white was soaked with blood which was pooling around her body.


    As a student, she was exposed on daily news and things happening to the society so it was not new to her to hear or know about crimes and bloody cases. In fact, she was really familiar with them since she was studying to be a lawyer and there were times that they did case digest about homicide. But studying, seeing reports and news was definitely different when she herself experienced it.


    So for Mei Lie to see a body in a pool of blood was too shocking that for her to momentarily freeze was expected, however Mei Lie was not that soft so she only froze for a while before she started to dial the emergency number.


    As Mei Lie was waiting for someone to answer she was side-tracked when a small but audible sound came from the woman. Originally she thought that the woman was already dead, but fortunately she was still alive.


    ¡°Hello. This is 911 what is your emergency? ¡±


    The answer from the phone was enough to make her feel relieved. ¡°I think someone was assaulted.¡± She hurriedly answered as she anxiously and uncertainly went near the body. This was the very first time Mei Lie encountered a situation like this so she did not know what to do. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do but there is lot of blood.¡±


    ¡°Is he or she conscious and is he or she breathing?¡±


    ¡°She seemed to be breathing but I¡¯m not sure if she is conscious.¡± Mei Lie answered anxiously. Since she went near the body, Mei Lie was distinctly aware of the sticky liquid she step on was the blood coming from the body. She uncomfortably thought that the person might die or already dead because of excessive blood loss.


    The body was position where the woman was lying down so Mei Lie can¡¯t seem to see how she looked. She crouched down to hold her shoulder to check if she will respond when the woman suddenly caught her wrist.


    The sudden pulling motion and the shock was enough to make Mei Lie scream so loud that the operator she was talking to even heard it before it was cut off because the phone fell down on the ground with impact destroying it.


    Everything happened so suddenly that Mei Lie just remembered she saw a glimpse of the woman¡¯s face before she was struck by pain and lost consciousness.


    ¡°¡­..Sorry¡±


    Somewhere in her hazy consciousness before everything turned black, Mei Lie heard the last words she heard from the woman.

 Chapter 2: Death

    Chapter 2: Death


    Pain, this was the first thing that came to Mei Lie¡¯s mind as she gradually became conscious. Her breath was heavy and painful; with little movement her body shivered and trembled from the pain, intense pain that would have made her want to die right there and then. This was the situation that Mei Lie found herself in.


    Despite the pain and dizziness Mei Lie felt, she tried to move. Her first reaction to relieve the pain was to move but with this came another realization; she cannot move. A horrifying thought crossed her mind but stubbornly rejected the worst scenario that seemed to nag at her.


    Before Mei Lie can even adjust to the pain she felt, a sudden force pulled her body. This force was too strong that she can¡¯t help put scream. But to her shock, even her throat was dry and painful that she can only release a soft whimper to convey the pain she felt. She nearly passed out from pain of being jostled around.


    Mei Lie¡¯s was mind clouded by pain but was able to vaguely have an idea that she was currently being drag by two people on both sides. It seems like she was being escorted somewhere. During the time she was being dragged by her ¡®escorts¡¯ the memory of finding a woman in a pool of blood flickered in her mind. This was the last thing that she remembered that happened before she found herself on this situation.


    The sick thought of her being abducted and been made as prisoner played on her mind.


    Aside from the pain that racked Mei Lie¡¯s whole body, her eye was also painful. She tried to open them just moments after she was dragged but she was stung by the pain that felt her eyes was being pricked by a needle so she decided to close her eyes until the pain subsides.


    Mei Lie didn¡¯t know how long she was ¡®escorted¡¯ before a bright light caught her attention. Despite the sudden flood of bright light that overwhelmed her senses. Mei Lie wanted to find out what was happening so with only her will that was disregarding the pain, she opened her eyes.


    Mei Lie¡¯s vision was fuzzy when she opened her eyes however after a few more moment Mei Lie¡¯s fuzzy vision cleared.


    The first thought that Mei Lie thought as she saw the scene in front of her was she was dreaming, however this was proven to be fails as the pain she felt was too real to be just a dream.


    In front of Mei Lie was a sea of people. So many that she can¡¯t see the end. It was like she was on a high stage. ¡®Is this what a superstar see when they go up the stage and preform in a worldwide stage for their concert?¡¯ Unwittingly, this thoughts floated on her head as she faced the large crowd.


    Mei Lie was in a daze state because of the surreal situation she was in. In this state she was escorted near the edge of the platform and without regard they uncaringly pushed her forward. The force of which they used was not strong, however in her current state it was enough to stumble and fall down in a sorry state.


    Mei Lie¡¯s cry of shock and pain was drowned by the explosive noise that suddenly erupted as she was tossed forward near the crowd. Only two more steps was needed for her to fall down the stage which seemed so high. A fall from this height in her current state was definitely a death sentence.


    ¡°Silence!!¡± This one word was shouted in a loud voice, loud enough to overpower the commotion of countless people below.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Either it was the unbelievably loud voice or was the person who spoke it word, the people suddenly calmed down. The silence reign, not a sound can be heard.


    ¡°Today the gods and the common people are here to witness the execution of the former empress. The tyrant that has disgraced our empire.¡±


    Mei Lie who was confused suddenly got a very dreadful idea as she continued to listen to the words this person was shouting. At first she didn¡¯t know who that person was talking about however as he spoke, the nagging feeling that she was the one he was talking about enough to make her body tremble with fear.


    As her thoughts wander, she was hauled once again.


    She was pulled until she was forced to kneel. As she was kneeling on the hard floor, she noticed the silence was on a different level when the man that had a loud voice spoke. Right now there seemed to be something in the atmosphere.


    Moments later, as Mei Lie begun to doubt what was happening, soft footsteps neared her and stopped just above her head which was already kissing the hard ground.


    Mei Lie sneaked a peek only to see a pair of intricately made dragon shoes. Unable to resist to look at the figure that stopped in front of her, she lifted her head and looked at the person.


    Handsome. No, the man in front of him was devilishly handsome. Putting a side his looks, he also an air of power and majesty that made him all the more dignified and powerful.


    Time seemed to stop for Mei Lie as she looked at the man in front of her. Mei Lie will never forget this moment in her entire life. The first time she met this man.


    She really can¡¯t understand but as this man look at her in a cold and indifferent manner she felt a stinging pain in her chest.


    ¡°This emperor can only accompany you until here.¡± The man said in a cold manner matching his cold and indifferent attitude.


    Mei Lie didn¡¯t understand anything that was happening but she definitely know that something inside her broke upon hearing those words. Tears uncontrollable fell down her face.


    Mei Lie was strong. She lived with determination and perseverance. During her whole life, she can only remember 2 times she let herself freely cry. The first was on her parent¡¯s death and the second was on her Aunt Bai¡¯s death. Aside from those times, she had steeled her heart to never cry. Even when she was assaulted by unbelievable pain since a while ago, she never let herself cry.


    The sudden outburst of unbelievable pain that nearly chocked her from suffocation got Mei Lie unprepared. It was not a physical pain but more on emotionally.


    As tears flow, memories she never had also came flowing out as well. Memories of Mei Lie, not her own but the memories of Mei Lie Xi Feng.


    Memories of their first meeting at age 10.


    ¡®Ah Mei, this is Shi Xuan Liu ¡¯


    Memories of when they swore their love to each other.


    ¡®Take my hand and I will never let it go.¡¯


    Memories of when they married.


    ¡®Staring today, we are bound to each other. I am yours and you are mine until end of time.¡¯


    And many more memories that they shared.


    Finish speaking the emperor Shi Xuan Liu turned his back and left Mei Lie.


    ¡°Ah Shi¡­¡± Mei Lie¡¯s hoarse voice lingered as she called his name. The emperor stilled for a while but never looked back at her and continued to move away. The feelings that Mei Lie was experiencing was so overwhelming so much so that she continued to look at the retreating figure despite the blurring of her vision because of the tears that continued to flow.


    Mei Lie was in emotional turmoil that she was unable to notice that the man with loud voice started to speak one by one the ¡®crimes¡¯ that she had done.


    Everything around Mei Lie became a blur as she only looked at the person not far away from her position. He sat up in his thrown together with the new empress. Despite him being far away, she knew that his gaze locked on her just as she was.


    Even until death descent on Mei Lie, she never remove her gaze on that man. And as she closed her eyes to embrace death, the face of that man and his words appeared in her mind.


    In one part of her heart, the Mei Lie that died just after meeting the man, wished to never meet that man in the next life.


    On the other hand, the Mei Lie that loved the man wished to have him a fruitful life.


    The man who was sitting on the dragon chair continued to look at the body of the woman that was just executed.


    Blood dripped on the blade used to kill the woman. Cheers of the people resounded as the body of the woman slowly fell down. Blood pooled on her body, dying the white cloth she wore in red. The man who was sitting on the dragon chair continued to look at the body of the woman that was just executed. As if in trance, he sat motionless on the chair just like a statue.


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