SEAL OF EVIL

mother, Cai Lian, was a skilled hunter in her own right and found
Huan Qi lying half-dead in the river reeds while hunting deer. They
fell deeply in love and married not long after he made a full recovery.
The union, however, was forbidden by the village elders of Giant
Keep. Huan Qi was exiled, and Cai Lian did her best to raise Cai Xin
on her own. She died a few years later from a wasting sickness and Cai
Xin was adopted by her aunt.
Cai Xin had a hard life growing up. The Baiyun of Giant Keep made
their distaste for her Qin heritage apparent every chance they got. As a
child, the village bullies constantly picked on her. Nevertheless, she
managed to kept her chin and spirits up. With the encouragement of
her aunt, she secretly studied martial arts with which to defend herself.
While the villagers were distrustful of her because of her parents and
often refused her even the simplest of courtesies, she formed easy
friendships with merchants who often visited from the Central Plains in
order to sell their wares to the Baiyun. One such friend was Gao Suo,
ostensibly a merchant from Chengdu City but in truth a mercenary spy
who sold secrets between the villages to the highest bidder. He and Cai
Xin became quite close and he eventually taught her more subtle uses
for her considerable martial prowess. It was through him she learned
the assassin’s trade. A few years ago, he went off by himself to find the
mythical land of Xi Zhang, leaving Cai Xin to her own devices. During
his short stay at the village, he was the closest thing to a father she had
ever had.
Cai Xin yearns to see the world and, more importantly, to find her real
father.
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