Chasing The Moon (Moonlight Mystique) - Chapter 87
Chapter 87
Who is she really? If she isn’t the person Fan Yue has been searching for all along…
Bai Shuo, why are you meddling so much? Whether she is the one Fan Yue is looking for or not, the one he truly cares about isn’t you.
As Bai Shuo walked away from the Extreme North, she muttered to herself.
Suddenly, she paused, her hand instinctively touching the wooden bracelet on her wrist.
“Mu Mu… I owe you, and I’ll repay this debt. Let me try one last time.”
With a stomp of her foot, Bai Shuo turned back, her small cloth bag slung over her shoulder.
Early in the morning, the palace doors were pushed open.
“Ah Yue?”
Inside the room, Ah Yue was watering the flowers.
Hearing the sound, she turned around happily, only to be startled when she saw who it was.
“It’s you?”
Bai Shuo stood at the palace door, holding a plate of pastries, smiling brightly.
“Miss Ah Yue, how is your injury?”
“Much better, thank you for your concern.”
“I made some pastries for you using the ice lotus from the back mountain. The lotus from the extreme north is rich in spiritual energy and has healing properties.”
As Bai Shuo spoke, she placed the pastries on the table.
Ah Yue smiled and thanked her, ” Fan Yue said that when I was on the brink of death, it was you who used spiritual medicine to stabilize my soul. It was also you who helped him retrieve the Demon Gathering Banner from the Jingyou Mountain. Miss Bai, thank you.”
Her words were sincere, and Bai Shuo’s hand paused.
“In the Yuanling swamp, you saved me. This is what I should do.”
“I thought you would hate me.”
“Hate?” Bai Shuo was surprised.
“Why would you think that?”
Ah Yue took a bite of the pastry and looked at Bai Shuo.
“If you didn’t care for him, why would you do so much for him? Miss Bai, thank you for staying by Fan Yue’s side when I wasn’t there.”
“He really tells you everything…” Bai Shuo muttered, then suddenly looked at Ah Yue.
“Miss Ah Yue, since you and the Lord are old acquaintances, why do you call him by his current name?”
Ah Yue paused, then smiled.
“What I call him seems to have nothing to do with you, Miss Bai Shuo.”
Bai Shuo smiled.
“I’m just curious about how you two met. He’s been looking for you all this time. Since you’ve been in the Yuanling Swamp, why haven’t you looked for him all these years?”
Bai Shuo’s gaze was intense, and Ah Yue’s gentle expression faded, replaced by a mocking tone.
“If you want to know, why don’t you ask him yourself?”
Bai Shuo was taken aback, and Ah Yue continued, “Miss Bai, you’ve only been cultivating for a few years, while he and I have spent countless years together. I don’t call him by his title because, in this lower realm, it’s unnecessary.”
As Ah Yue looked at Bai Shuo, her eyes were like stars, as if they held ancient stories.
Her emotions were genuine, as if the person standing before Bai Shuo was not the same person who had spoken to the black mist in the forest last night.
Her eyes didn’t lie. She truly had a past with the big demon.
Bai Shuo wasn’t sure if she should continue probing, but she couldn’t help but ask, “Since you’ve been back for so long, has he ever remembered the past?”
Ah Yue fell silent, frowning and pursing her lips without speaking.
“If his feelings for you are as eternal as you say, you shouldn’t be calling him by the name of the Lord of the Haoyue Palace.”
Bai Shuo spoke calmly, then turned and left.
Ah Yue watched her retreating figure, her eyes slightly cold.
That night, a figure quietly slipped into the room.
Bai Shuo stood at the foot of the bed.
The person on the bed was deep in sleep. Under the moonlight, Bai Shuo looked at Ah Yue’s peaceful face, a hint of hesitation in her eyes. After a long while, she waved her hand, sending a surge of spiritual energy toward Ah Yue’s forehead.
Ah Yue opened her eyes, staring blankly at Bai Shuo, her gaze confused.
It worked! Bai Shuo felt a surge of joy in her heart.
She had added Heart-Revealing herb to the pastries she sent earlier. As the name suggests, this herb doesn’t harm the body but can confuse the mind and force the truth to be spoken.
Bai Shuo was truly a genius at alchemy to have figured this out.
“What is your relationship with Fan Yue?”
Bai Shuo didn’t waste any time and asked directly.
“An old friend from the god realm.”
Ah Yue murmured, and Bai Shuo was stunned.
An old friend from the god realm? How could it be the god realm? The big demon had failed to ascend to godhood back then. Could he have once been a god?
But she had never heard of a goddess named Ah Yue in the god realm…
Wait, Fan Yue was the name the big demon had given himself. Could Ah Yue also be an alias?
“What were your identities in the god realm? And… why did you come to the Haoyue Palace? Who was that person you met in the forest?”
Bai Shuo asked urgently.
Ah Yue on the bed seemed to be struggling against the control, a look of pain appearing on her face.
“I am Yue…” Her lips moved slightly, her voice low.
“Yue what?”
Bai Shuo quickly leaned down, gripping Ah Yue’s shoulders.
Suddenly, Ah Yue lifted her head and spat out a mouthful of blood, her face pale. But her eyes were no longer confused; instead, they were clear and sharp.
Bai Shuo was stunned and was about to pull back her hands, but Ah Yue grabbed her wrist.
Bai Shuo’s heart skipped a beat.
At that moment, a surge of divine power swept through from outside the palace, throwing Bai Shuo to the ground.
The wind blew, the palace doors swung open, and the candles lit up.
A figure appeared by the bed, supporting the pale Ah Yue.
Ah Yue clung to Fan Yue.
“Fan Yue!”
Seeing Ah Yue’s pale face and blood-stained lips, Fan Yue turned to Bai Shuo with a cold expression.
“What did you do?”
Bai Shuo hadn’t expected Fan Yue to appear suddenly.
Besides, she had only given Ah Yue Heart-Revealing herb, which only confuses the mind and doesn’t harm the body.
“Big demon, listen to me, I…”
Before she could finish, Ah Yue had already taken Fan Yue’s hand.
“Fan Yue, Miss Bai Shuo is just worried about you. She only wanted to know about our past…”
Ah Yue coughed up another mouthful of blood.
“I’m fine.”
“What did you give her?” Fan Yue’s deep gaze turned to Bai Shuo.
“I only gave her Heart-Revealing herb,” Bai Shuo explained urgently.
“You know it doesn’t harm the body.”
“Her body is already weak. How can you be sure something that confuses the mind wouldn’t harm her?”
Fan Yue’s voice was icy.
“I… I didn’t know it would be like this.”
“You didn’t know? Bai Shuo, she saved you in the Yuanling Swamp. I thought you were different from the other immortals, but it seems your heart is just as deceitful.”
“You!”
Bai Shuo, already feeling guilty, was furious at Fan Yue’s unfair accusation.
“Do you think I wanted to do this? I only did it because I heard her conspiring with someone to harm you! I just wanted to use the Heart-Revealing herb to find out the truth!”
“Conspiring to harm me?”
Fan Yue was stunned, narrowing his eyes.
“Yes, last night I saw her talking to a black mist in the back mountain,” Bai Shuo said urgently.
“Fan Yue, I didn’t.”
Ah Yue’s expression changed, her eyes reddening as she tightly gripped Fan Yue’s hand, on the verge of tears.
Fan Yue patted Ah Yue and looked at Bai Shuo.
“Impossible. There’s a barrier around the Haoyue Palace that I set up. No one can enter.”
Seeing that Fan Yue didn’t believe her, Bai Shuo was furious.
“You don’t believe me? Fan Yue, all your past memories come from her. If she really is the person you’ve been looking for, why haven’t you remembered anything?”
“That’s my business. If she really wanted to harm me, she’s had countless opportunities. Why hasn’t she acted yet?” Fan Yue said indifferently.
“Besides, whether I remember the past or whether she is the person I’m looking for has nothing to do with you.”
“You!” Seeing the unwavering trust in Fan Yue’s eyes, Bai Shuo was utterly disappointed.
“The Haoyue Palace has no place for those with ulterior motives. Bai Shuo, leave.”
“You’re kicking me out?” Bai Shuo was both shocked and angry.
Seeing that Fan Yue only had eyes for Ah Yue, a sour feeling welled up in her heart.
“Fine, I’m the bad one. I’m the scheming one.”
Bai Shuo turned and left.
After a few steps, she took out a small cloth bag from her sleeve and threw it on the ground.
“I shouldn’t have left Nanhai City to come back to the Haoyue Palace with you!”
On the ground, the bag spilled out a few withered flower petals.
Fan Yue’s eyes flickered, and his hand hidden in his sleeve twitched, but he said nothing as he watched Bai Shuo leave.
Ah Yue hadn’t expected Fan Yue to directly drive Bai Shuo away.
When Fan Yue turned back to her with a worried expression to heal her wounds, she couldn’t help but say, ” I…..”
“I trust you,” Fan Yue interrupted her, looking into her eyes.
“I won’t let anything happen to you in front of me. No one can hurt you.”
Ah Yue was stunned, lowering her eyes.
“Don’t you doubt me at all? Bai Shuo wasn’t wrong. The story between us is all from my side. What if I really am here to harm you, to hurt you?”
“I recognize your eyes. If it’s my life you want, I’ll give it to you,” Fan Yue brushed Ah Yue’s eyes.
“As long as you can live.”
Ah Yue trembled, gripping Fan Yue’s hand as if she had made a decision.
“No, Fan Yue, there will be no more life and death between us.”
The next day, Hua Hong returned to the Haoyue Palace with the severely injured Mu Jiu.
Unable to find Bai Shuo, she learned from Long Yi pig that Bai Shuo had been driven away by Fan Yue.
She hurried to the main hall.
“Lord, Mu Jiu, he…”
Hua Hong placed Mu Jiu in the hall, her expression anxious.
Fan Yue waved his hand, sending a surge of divine power into Mu Jiu’s chest.
Mu Jiu’s breathing immediately stabilized.
“Don’t worry. The spirit of the Yiwang’s sword blocked the fatal blow. He’ll be fine.”
Hua Hong sighed in relief.
“Lord, although Bai Shuo is usually carefree, she’s not the type to make baseless accusations. Do you really not doubt miss Ah Yue at all?”
Fan Yue lightly tapped the armrest of his throne, then waved his hand over Mu Jiu’s chest.
A faint black mist seeped out from his chest, and Hua Hong was startled.
“evil energy! Mu Jiu was injured by a demon? Could it be Zhen Yu…”
Fan Yue looked at Hua Hong, who immediately fell silent.
She had followed Fan Yue for years and rarely saw him so solemn.
“Once Mu Jiu wakes up, have him do something for me.”
On the streets of Nanhai City, Bai Shuo’s tattered banner was hung up again.
Bai Shuo wandered aimlessly, living day by day.
The once cheerful and sarcastic little immortal no longer had a smile on her face.
Life in the Haoyue Palace remained cold and peaceful, but the lively presence in the palace had shifted from Bai Shuo to Ah Yue.
Although demigods didn’t need to eat, Ah Yue still found ways to prepare food for Fan Yue, accompanying him in playing the zither and playing chess.
Fan Yue was unusually patient with her.
He didn’t remember anything, but Ah Yue recounted their past together in the god realm.
She said he had once been the Bodhi Tree in the god realm, who fell during his ascension, while she was a morning star under the Moon Goddess in the god realm. When the god realm was sealed, she fell into a deep sleep in the Yuanling swamp until Fan Yue appeared before her again.
Fan Yue listened to Ah Yue’s stories without asking for details.
He listened to everything about their past in the god realm, his eyes filled with tenderness as he looked at her.
The more peaceful their days became, the more Ah Yue couldn’t bear to lose them.
In the room, a black mist appeared.
“Luminous Heart Grass, don’t forget who allowed you to take human form,” a voice interrupted Ah Yue’s thoughts.
“You only gained a few fragments of her memories because of a single tear she shed. You don’t really think you’re Yue Mi, do you?”
From the black mist, Zhen Yu’s mocking face slowly emerged.
Ah Yue was furious.
“Zhen Yu!”
Zhen Yu suddenly reached out and grabbed Ah Yue’s throat.
Ah Yue’s face showed pain.
“Tomorrow is the end of the month. You know what will happen if you break our agreement.”
“I’ve already gained his trust. Tomorrow, when he refines the Demon Gathering Banner, he won’t be on guard. I… I will definitely infuse the banner with evil energy…” Ah Yue struggled to speak, her eyes pleading.
Zhen Yu smiled in satisfaction and released her.
Ah Yue fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
“Since you can kill Chang Mei, why do you need me to tamper with the Demon Gathering Banner?”
“You have Yue Mi’s memories, so you should know his true identity. The world doesn’t know that the Demon Gathering Banner is a fragment of the Demon God’s divine essence. Only the Demon God can reforge it, and only the Demon Gathering Banner can kill him.”
“But if you kill the Demon God, the gods in the god realm will surely notice. What chance will you have to enter the Purple Moon Mountain and open the Nine Nether Purgatory?”
“That’s why where we kill him matters. The Crystal Palace already carries the Demon God’s aura. Killing him there will temporarily hide it from the god realm. After you infuse the banner with evil energy, lead him to the Crystal Palace.”
“He’s so wary of you now. How will I get him to leave the Haoyue Palace?”
“You know his weakness, don’t you? The seventh piece of the Bodhi Tree is in the Crystal Palace. You know what to do.”
The black mist dissipated in the room.
Ah Yue looked at the words “Third Heaven, Crystal Palace” floating in the air, her lips pressed tightly together.
Sixty thousand years ago, the Chaos Calamity descended. The Demon God Tianqi set up a world-annihilating formation in the Yuanling swamp. The Moon Goddess died in the formation, turning into a stone statue.
Ah Yue was just a Luminous Heart Grass clinging to the base of the statue. The statue contained a remnant of the Moon Goddess’s soul, and it was this faint trace of soul power that allowed Ah Yue to develop spiritual energy and gain sentience. But for a plant spirit to take human form is incredibly difficult. She had no innate wisdom, and though she was born from the Moon Goddess’s soul power, she was also trapped beneath the statue, unable to see the light of day for millions of years, until Zhen Yu appeared.
“Kill the master of the Haoyue Palace for me, and I will grant you freedom.”
This was the deal she made with Zhen Yu.
She came to Fan Yue’s side with the Moon Goddess’s memories, originally as part of a trap.
But after just a month together, she no longer wanted to kill him.
But she only had one month of freedom.
She had made a contract with Zhen Yu.
If Fan Yue wasn’t dead by the end of the month, she would revert to being a Luminous Heart Grass.
Ah Yue pushed open the window. The Extreme North was cold, and the chilly wind blew in, landing on her body, sharp but pleasant.
She could only choose one: freedom or Fan Yue.
She had already lived millions of years in solitude. Those feelings of love and gratitude belonged to Yue Mi, not her, the Luminous Heart Grass.
In Nanhai City, Bai Shuo was bored as she packed up her stall. Just as she was about to wander back to her rundown little courtyard, she saw a familiar figure passing by.
Ah Yue? Wasn’t she in the Haoyue Palace? Why was she in Nanhai City?
None of her business, Bai Shuo thought, slapping her butt as she prepared to leave.
But as if possessed, she followed Ah Yue.
Seeing Ah Yue enter a familiar shop, Bai Shuo transformed into a withered leaf and perched on a branch outside the shop.
The branch reached into the window, just enough to see inside.
“Miss, here’s the information you asked for.”
The shopkeeper tapped his pipe, and the smoke formed into a piece of paper, which landed in Ah Yue’s hand.
“This is your payment.”
Ah Yue tossed a bag of spirit beads onto the table and turned to leave.
“I heard that the Haoyue Palace in the demon realm is also looking for the Bodhi Tree. I wonder how many spirit beads I could get if I sent this information to the Haoyue Palace,” the shopkeeper’s slow voice came from behind the counter.
Ah Yue, who was about to leave, paused and turned back, narrowing her eyes.
The withered leaf on the branch trembled, leaning closer to the window.
“Are you breaking our agreement?”
“Of course not, of course not. The information shop has its rules. Since I’ve accepted your deposit, I’ll only work for you. It’s just that I didn’t know this information was so valuable earlier. A hundred spirit beads might be a bit too little,” the shopkeeper said with a smile, ready to raise the price.
Suddenly, a hand gripped his throat.
“Ah!”
The shopkeeper was lifted into the air, a spiritual herb planted in his forehead.
His face twisted in pain as he screamed.
Ah Yue coldly stared at him.
“I’m afraid you’ll have the spirit beads but no life to spend them. If a third person knows about this information, you know what will happen.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll keep my mouth shut,” the shopkeeper, terrified, quickly promised.
Ah Yue snorted coldly and disappeared.
Outside the window, Bai Shuo returned to her human form, her expression grave.
Ah Yue was also looking for the Bodhi Tree? But why was she hiding it from the great demon?
Bai Shuo’s eyes flickered, and she threw a bag of fragrant powder into the shop.
The shopkeeper was still patting his chest in fear behind the counter when a strange fragrance wafted over.
His eyes gradually glazed over, and Bai Shuo slipped in front of him.
“Where is the Bodhi Tree?”
“In the demon realm, the Third Heaven, Crystal Palace,” the shopkeeper mumbled.
Bai Shuo’s eyes darkened, and she turned to leave the shop.
Just as she turned, the faint spiritual herb mark on the shopkeeper’s forehead, tainted with black energy, silently flew into Bai Shuo’s spiritual sea of consciousness.
A black light flashed in Bai Shuo’s eyes, but the black energy disappeared so quickly that she didn’t notice.
Don’t go.
Bai Shuo initially wanted to immediately tell Fan Yue about the information and Ah Yue’s strange behavior, but when she remembered how heartlessly Fan Yue had driven her out of the Haoyue Palace, she hesitated.
“If he trusted you, he wouldn’t have driven you away,” Bai Shuo laughed bitterly, a look of despair on her face.
Unless she could get the seventh piece of the Bodhi Tree from the Crystal Palace… But the Crystal Palace was protected by a barrier left by the previous demon emperor, Hong Yi.
With her spiritual energy, she couldn’t enter.
Just as Bai Shuo was frowning in thought, a familiar figure walked toward her.
“Mu Jiu?”
Bai Shuo’s eyes lit up, and she had an idea.
In the Haoyue Palace, Fan Yue meditated, holding three fragments of the Demon Gathering Banner in his palm.
He channeled his divine power to reforge the banner, and as the divine power poured in, the three fragments slowly came together.
Hua Hong guarded the outside of the hall, fully focused.
Just as the Demon Gathering Banner was reforged, a black energy seeped into Hua Hong’s eyes, and she lost consciousness.
Ah Yue suddenly appeared, hesitating for a moment before biting her lip and infusing a strand of evil energy into the banner.
The evil energy entered the banner and disappeared in an instant.
Ah Yue vanished, and Hua Hong regained consciousness, as if nothing had happened.
A divine light shot out from the hall into the sky, and the vast demonic power shook the heavens.
Fan Yue, holding the Demon Gathering Banner, walked out of the hall.
Their eyes met, and they both glanced in the direction where Ah Yue had disappeared.
Since the previous demon emperor, Hong Yi, ascended to the divine realm, the Crystal Palace in the Third Heaven had been sealed.
(T/N: the heavenly palace where Jinyao resides is in the Nine Heavens)
In just over a decade, it had become much quieter.
In a corner outside the palace, two figures suddenly appeared.
Mu Jiu, as usual, was dressed in fiery red, but his expression was cold and somber, no longer the youthful boy he once was.
The death of Chang Mei was no secret.
Seeing Mu Jiu like this, Bai Shuo sighed inwardly.
“It’s up to you.”
Before Hong Yi ascended, he had set up a barrier around the Crystal Palace that only gods could pass through.
But Mu Jiu, being from the fox clan, could use his bloodline power to open the barrier.
Mu Jiu nodded.
“Now, only the master of the Haoyue Palace can fight Zhen Yu. Don’t worry, I’ll help you get the Bodhi Tree.”
With a flick of his finger, a few drops of blood fell onto the thin barrier, and a small opening appeared.
“Let’s go!”
Mu Jiu grabbed Bai Shuo, and they disappeared in an instant.
Mist filled the air, and in the center of the lake was a reflection of a purple moon, exuding an air of mystery.
“I came to the Crystal Palace once when I was young, but I didn’t see the Bodhi Tree you mentioned. Only this place, I’ve never been to. Maybe it’s here.”
Mu Jiu and Bai Shuo landed by the lake.
“The Purple Moon Lake is where the Purple Moon Demon Lord cultivated. It’s a forbidden area of the Crystal Palace.”
A thousand years ago, the Demon God Tianqi awakened, took the name Demon Lord Ziyue, and hid in the Crystal Palace, living here.
“Bai Shuo, look over there!”
By the stone pavilion in the center of the lake stood a Bodhi Tree.
Bai Shuo had seen many Bodhi Trees before, but none were as vibrant and spiritually rich as this one.
“I’ll get the tree’s heart!” Bai Shuo leaped up and landed by the Bodhi Tree. Just as she touched the tree, a black mist suddenly emerged from it, trapping her.
“Be careful!” Mu Jiu’s expression changed, and he threw out his Wheel of Destruction, but it was deflected by a surge of evil energy from the black mist.
“A demigod? Zhen Yu!”
Mu Jiu roared in anger.
From the black mist emerged a figure—it was Zhen Yu.
“How did you get here?” Bai Shuo’s face changed.
“It’s a trap! The person conspiring with Ah Yue is you!”
“Smart. As expected of someone Fan Yue values,” Zhen Yu laughed.
“Don’t waste your energy. I’ve already been driven out of the Moon Palace by Fan Yue. Even if you capture me, you can’t harm him.”
Zhen Yu smiled playfully.
“Do you think I went through all this trouble to lure you to the Crystal Palace for nothing? You’re bound by a blood contract. Once you’re trapped, Fan Yue will sense it. Bai Shuo, why don’t you guess whether he’ll come or not?”
Zhen Yu walked toward Bai Shuo, his palm moving slightly, and Bai Shuo was suspended in mid-air.
“You’re quite clever. To be honest, I quite admire you. But alas, you’re someone Fan Yue values.”
A surge of evil energy slashed out from the side. Mu Jiu threw Bai Shuo toward the lake.
“Bai Shuo, run!”
Mu Jiu charged at Zhen Yu with his Wheel of Destruction.
“Overestimating yourself!” Zhen Yu snorted, sending out a surge of divine power.
Bai Shuo turned and saw Mu Jiu being struck down by Zhen Yu.
Without hesitation, she turned back.
“Mu Jiu!” Bai Shuo created a protective barrier in front of Mu Jiu.
Just as the evil energy was about to strike Bai Shuo, a pair of hands reached out and pulled her into an embrace, dodging Zhen Yu’s attack.
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NOVEL DISCUSSION
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