In the Moonlight

When Yaoying awoke, she was already back at the posthouse.

The sky was pitch dark, no lamps were lit in the room, and it was utterly black. The flickering lantern light from the corridor seeped through the window into the room, accompanied by a desolate, howling wind.

Dizzily, she sat up, recalling the events before she fainted, wondering if it was a beautiful dream born of her daily longing.

The night wind gently rattled the wooden window, creaking incessantly.

Yaoying threw on her clothes, stepped down, and pulled open the door.

At the far end of the corridor, lanterns swayed. A tall, burly man sat with his back to her on a windowsill dozens of feet above the ground, his long legs resting on the narrow edge. The wind whipped his robes, and he held a leather wine pouch, drinking.

"Elder Brother, don't drink so much."

Yaoying froze for a moment, then exclaimed joyfully, hurrying over.

Hearing her voice, Li Zhongqian immediately turned, leaped down, hastily stuffed the pouch away, and reached out to steady her.

"It's not wine," he said, holding Yaoying steady and pinching her cheek. "Your elder brother has listened to Bright Moon Slave and hasn't drunk wine in a long time."

Since he woke from his injuries and learned she had been sent away for a political marriage, he hadn't touched a drop of alcohol.

Yaoying didn't believe him. She lifted his hand holding the pouch, pulled out the stopper, and sniffed it closely. Sure enough, there was no scent of wine, only a sour fragrance—he was drinking fermented milk.

Satisfied, she said, "Elder Brother, you're injured. You should drink less wine."

Her earnest, admonishing tone was just like her before they parted.

The icy night wind filled the corridor. A dim moon hung in the ink-black sky. Below the tall building was a foreign border city utterly different from Chang'an, with towering pagodas, domed roofs, and fortress-like structures everywhere. Buddhist temples stood amid flying sand and stones day and night, the walls of buildings shedding chunks of mud. From the high posthouse, one could see the tents of envoys and merchant caravans from various countries on the plain.

The customs, food, and clothing were worlds apart from the Central Plains.

She had ended up in such a distant place, enduring countless hardships.

Li Zhongqian lowered his phoenix eyes, concealing all the pain and bitterness within, a faint smile curling his lips as he patted Yaoying's head. "Such a fussbudget."

Yaoying shivered.

Li Zhongqian tensed, took off his cloak, draped it over her shoulders, and led her back to the room, his tone urgent. "You're ill. Don't get up. Go back and lie down."

Yaoying, overjoyed, hugged his arm, rubbing her slightly feverish forehead against it.

"I'm fine. I'll be better after taking medicine."

Li Zhongqian said nothing. She had been unconscious for almost a full day. He had summoned every physician in the city, watched his guards brew the medicine, and fed her himself. After a hectic day, having met all the guards and asked every question he needed to, she had finally woken.

His heart burned with anxiety, but he couldn't bear to disturb her. The guards said she hadn't slept for several nights.

Back in the room, Yaoying took off her shoes and climbed onto the couch, refusing to sleep. Though her face was still somewhat pale, she was in high spirits, her eyes bright and lively, insisting on sitting up and leaning against the cushions to talk with Li Zhongqian.

Li Zhongqian had no choice. He wrapped her in a thin blanket, called the accompanying physician to check her pulse, then went to the kitchen to fetch hot soup, baked flatbreads, assorted vegetables, and fried meatballs, urging her to eat.

Yaoying's appetite surged. She ate the soup noodles and fried meatballs, then sat cross-legged on the couch, her expression joyful. Remembering something, a shadow of worry crossed her face, and she insisted the physician check Li Zhongqian's pulse as well.

"Elder Brother, how is your injury? Have you sustained any new wounds these past few days?"

Li Zhongqian shook his head. "Don't worry. I'm a martial artist—these are just superficial wounds. I'm much better now."

Yaoying stared unblinkingly at the physician.The physician checked Li Zhongqian's pulse, then smiled and shook his head at her, indicating nothing serious had happened.

Yaoying finally felt the weight lift from her heart, releasing a sigh of relief. After the physician left, her gaze fell upon the scar between Li Zhongqian's brows.

"Brother, why were you with those horse thieves?"

Li Zhongqian replied casually, "A group of horse thieves and rebel soldiers had taken over Wuquan, blocking my path. I waited a few days, but I was anxious to see you, so I killed their leader. They followed me after that, but I couldn't be bothered with them and let them tag along."

After learning Li Yaoying's whereabouts, he had been terrified she might encounter danger while searching for him. He wished he could grow wings and fly overnight to the Royal Court to tell her to wait for him. Throughout his journey, he remained cautious, avoiding all distractions and focusing solely on reaching her. Coincidentally, the Northern Rong were in chaos, with rebel troops everywhere. For safety, he had to bypass bustling towns and take longer routes to Sand City. When he finally reached Wuquan, he found it occupied by rebel forces and horse thieves, with both sides locked in a stalemate. No one could leave, and communications were cut off.

Li Zhongqian tried to remain patient, waiting several days for an opportunity. However, when the horse thieves and rebels showed no signs of leaving, he grew worried that Li Yaoying might become anxious. In a fit of anger, he took the risk of killing the leaders of both groups. In the ensuing chaos, he seized a horse and galloped straight toward Sand City.

The horse thieves, now leaderless, shamelessly pursued him and insisted on making him their new leader, swearing loyalty to him.

He only wanted to reunite with Li Yaoying, ignoring everything else. He rode relentlessly, without stopping to eat or drink.

The horse thieves trailed behind him. When they spotted Li Yaoying and her group, they were overjoyed, clamoring to capture them to win his favor.

Li Zhongqian, intent on reaching Sand City, paid no attention and continued on his way. But when he glanced at the hillside and saw the Han Chinese guards, his heart skipped a beat. Then, noticing the fluttering banners, he immediately realized Li Yaoying had left the city to find him.

At this thought, Li Zhongqian's face darkened, his gaze stern and imposing as he looked at Yaoying. "Didn't I tell you to wait at the Royal Court? With everything in chaos outside, how could you leave the city?"

Yaoying had never been afraid of him. "I was worried something might happen to you. Wuquan isn't far, and I brought several hundred men. We could make the round trip in a day without any major risks."

Li Zhongqian frowned deeply. "What if you had run into Haidu Aling? The Northern Rong are in turmoil. The old Khan and his princes are fleeing from the Royal Court's forces, but Haidu Aling has taken his elite troops away from the battlefield. He could appear at any moment."

He had already heard from Yang Qian and the others that Haidu Aling was determined to capture her.

Yaoying shook her head. "Brother, I'm absolutely certain Haidu Aling won't appear near Sand City. That's why I dared to leave."

Li Zhongqian's expression softened slightly. "Don't take such risks again. Wait for me next time."

And... don't sacrifice yourself for him again. He had been lost and reckless, with no other desires except for her to live a safe and happy life.

Yaoying hummed in agreement, hugging her knees and resting her chin on them as she smiled, gazing intently at Li Zhongqian seated by the bed as if she couldn't get enough of looking at him.

Li Zhongqian felt a lump in his throat.

He had once thought that when he found her, he would scold her harshly and make her swear never to do such foolish things again. No matter if she cried or pleaded, he would not soften.But having truly found her again, after losing and regaining her, his heart was filled only with tenderness and affection, fearing she might suffer the slightest grievance—how could he harden his heart to scold her?

Li Zhongqian sighed, closed his eyes for a moment, and glanced at the dark circles under Yaoying's eyes.

"Be good, sleep now. Your brother won't leave; I'll stay here with you."

Yaoying hummed softly in response but remained seated, unmoving.

"Brother."

She called to him softly, a smile playing at the corners of her eyes and brows.

"Hmm?"

Li Zhongqian responded with a gentle smile, his expression tender.

Yaoying said, "Brother, you've lost so much weight. You need to nourish yourself more."

"Hmm."

"Has your martial arts recovered?"

Li Zhongqian replied calmly, "There's more than one cultivation method in this world. Without the golden hammers, I can practice something else…"

He had once abandoned martial arts for scholarly pursuits, then given up scholarship to return to martial arts. He wasn't afraid to start over. Though years of martial training were wasted, his foundation remained. Knowing he could never wield twin hammers again in this lifetime, he had resolutely switched to swords.

"…Bright Moon Slave, don’t worry about me."

Yaoying acknowledged and then asked curiously, "Brother, when you were in Northern Rong, how did you provoke Wahan Khan and The First Prince? Did you nearly shoot the old Khan with an arrow? When you were injured, how were you healed? Did it really leave no internal damage?"

She looked at Li Zhongqian, just as she had when he returned from campaigns in her childhood, firing off a rapid series of questions.

As if she had never suffered any hardship.

Li Zhongqian lowered his gaze and stroked her hair. "The day I found Yi Province, Yiqing Grand Princess detained us…"

Outside, the wind howled fiercely; inside, the lamplight cast a hazy glow.

Li Zhongqian softened his tone and recounted his experiences since leaving the capital. The numerous perils he had faced now seemed like trivial matters in retrospect.

Yaoying listened, occasionally gasping softly, her face flickering with tension and concern.

After an unknown length of time, the candle wick crackled twice, a wisp of blue smoke curling upward.

Li Zhongqian looked down.

Yaoying had curled into a small ball, leaning against him, fast asleep, clutching a silk cushion in her arms.

Just like when she was little.

He had raised her single-handedly. No matter how old she grew, in his eyes, she would always be a child.

"Bright Moon Slave…" His fingers gently brushed her hair. "Were you afraid when you were sent to the Yelu Tribe?"

Yaoying murmured drowsily, "A little afraid."

Li Zhongqian slowly closed his eyes.

During his convalescence in Northern Rong, Tali had told him everything.

Yaoying said she was only a little afraid.

Tali said she dared not close her eyes all night, clutching a sharp blade in her hand.

"Did The First Prince frighten you every day?"

Yaoying mumbled vaguely, "Brother, it's fine… I had my personal guards protecting me. He didn’t dare act recklessly."

Tali had said: The First Prince was unrestrained, openly dragging female slaves into his tent in broad daylight, their voices echoing throughout the camp. Several times, he drunkenly barged into her tent, once even grabbing the hem of her skirt.

"Did you suffer greatly on the journey to the Yelu Tribe?"

Yaoying instinctively denied it: "No…"

Tali had told him she was unaccustomed to riding horses on treacherous mountain paths, her legs bleeding profusely. When she dismounted, the pain left her immobile, requiring two maids to support her to stand.

"Did Haidu Aling torment you?"

Yaoying shook her head. "Brother, I'm fine… He imprisoned me, but I found a way to escape…"Tali: "At first, the prince was courteous, but the princess remained unmoved. So the prince ordered her to brand the foals... Every spring, the foals in the tribe are branded to mark which tribe's property they are. The herders round up all the horses, and the most skilled and experienced rider in the tribe brands the foals..."

"The red-hot iron brand pressed against the horse's flesh—the horse would struggle and could easily kick and injure someone. So branding was always men's work. The prince ordered the princess to do it, thinking he could intimidate her. But she just rolled up her sleeves and went to work. Every day, there were the foals' agonized whinnies, and the princess's hands were covered in burns and bruises..."

"After the branding ended, the princess still refused to yield. The prince grew furious and forbade her from riding with the army, forcing her to walk alongside the slaves. Her shoes wore out, and the soles of her feet became raw and bloody..."

"The guards gave her no food. She was so hungry she dug up roots with the slaves... Whenever she found something edible, she would be overjoyed and try to hide some on her person..."

"The prince had no patience with women. Those he liked, he kept in his tent; those he didn't, he gave to his subordinates. The princess never bowed her head... and even managed to escape once..."

Every word, every sentence Tali spoke, Li Zhongqian remembered clearly.

Countless nights, he saw her in his dreams.

He dreamed of her sitting on horseback, wiping away tears.

He dreamed of her huddled in a corner of a tent, trembling.

He dreamed of her disheveled and filthy, squatting in the wilderness with a group of slaves, digging for roots.

He dreamed of her hands bound, tied to the back of the procession, the soles of her feet torn and bloody.

In his dreams, she was tormented in every way, crying out to him: "Elder Brother, I'm scared."

Every time he woke, Li Zhongqian suffered more than the version of himself in the dreams who witnessed her suffering, because he knew that everything Tali told him had truly happened.

Yaoying had been sensible and well-behaved since childhood, never committing a single wrong, saving countless lives—yet she had to endure such trials.

Tang Shi died by self-immolation, and Li De and Li Xuanzhen held grudges. He knew the resentment ran deep and was willing to give up everything, asking only to live in seclusion with his mother and sister, but Li De refused to let them go.

If he had known it would come to this, that year when he was eleven, he should have ended it all by perishing together with the father and son.

Only by killing Li De and Li Xuanzhen would she not be dragged into the vortex again.

Li Zhongqian opened his eyes. In the dark of night, his gaze gleamed with a chilling, fierce light.

He pulled up the thin blanket, covering Yaoying as she slept on her side, and tucked a pillow under her neck to make her more comfortable.

Yaoying's eyelashes fluttered slightly. She lifted her gaze, half-asleep, and grasped Li Zhongqian's sleeve.

"Elder Brother... I later met someone..."

Li Zhongqian leaned closer. "Who?"

"A very good person..." Yaoying's tone was gentle. "He was a monk, and he treated me well."

Li Zhongqian gave a faint hum of acknowledgment.

The monk she spoke of was undoubtedly the Buddha Prince of the Royal Court.In the Northern Rong territory, the language barrier prevented him from understanding the Hu people's speech. But in Gaochang, it was different—there were many local Han Chinese, and he heard too many rumors. When Hu merchants gathered to chat idly, they most enjoyed gossiping about the romantic affairs between the Buddha Prince and the Han princess, using lurid, vulgar, and obscene language, portraying Yaoying as a shameless and promiscuous woman. He endured it repeatedly, but on several occasions, he could no longer restrain himself—overturning tables and punching those spouting nonsense to the ground, which caused him trouble.

Later, whenever he heard merchants discussing the Buddha Prince, he would avoid them to prevent losing control and harming others again, lest it delay their journey.

Today, he had asked his guards, and they all said that the Buddha Prince had been quite caring toward Yaoying. Moreover, as a highly attained monk who abstained from women, the Buddha Prince had shown no disrespectful behavior toward her. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, those who have left the secular world are different.

"Elder Brother... the Dharma Master knows I've found you... he will surely be happy for me..."

Yaoying's voice was hoarse. "Shall we go to the Holy City to see him?"

"Alright. The Buddha Prince saved you—both in emotion and reason, I should thank him in person."

A faint smile appeared on Li Zhongqian's face.

Then, he could take Bright Moon Slave home.

Li Zhongqian tucked the thin blanket around Yaoying and slipped her arm underneath. His fingers brushed against something hard, like a string of Buddhist beads.

He didn’t think much of it, stood up, and went to sleep on the couch in the adjoining room.

...

The next morning, Li Zhongqian woke first.

Having roamed outside for so long, he had developed a habit of waking at the slightest sound. He quickly threw on his clothes and went to check on Li Yaoying in the adjoining room.

She was sleeping soundly, her brow relaxed.

Li Zhongqian pulled the blanket higher over her, then left the room and went downstairs. Frowning, he asked the guards, "What’s that noise outside?"

The guards replied, "Sir, the bandits who traveled with you have all surrendered... They’re clamoring to see you."

When those bandits saw Li Zhongqian returning to the city with Yaoying, they immediately laid down their weapons and surrendered, following them into the city—unable to be driven away.

Li Zhongqian said coldly, "If anyone comes up to pester us, don’t be polite—drive them off directly."

The guards acknowledged the order.

...

Yaoying, having been unable to sleep peacefully for several nights, enjoyed a deep slumber that night and didn’t wake until the sun was high in the sky. When she opened her door and saw Li Zhongqian practicing swordplay in the courtyard below, her face lit up with a smile.

But thinking of the pair of golden maces he had wielded since childhood, the smile on her face faded slightly.

When they were young, Li Zhongqian practiced with his maces while she watched. Out of curiosity, she wanted to try too. Li Zhongqian lifted one golden mace and handed it to her. As she reached out to take it, she fell face-first with a thud.

The golden mace was too heavy—she couldn’t even lift it with both hands.

Li Zhongqian laughed heartily. Later, he had someone make her a pair of cloth maces stuffed with chaff. She played with them for a few days but soon lost interest, using them to scratch her back instead.

His golden maces were gone.

Yaoying lost herself in thought for a while.

A guard came to report that more and more people were gathering outside the gate—not just the bandits, but also a large number of refugees who had entered the city in recent days.

"They recognize you, Sir, and wish to follow you."

It turned out that along the way, Li Zhongqian had killed several bandit leaders and bullies who took advantage of the chaos to commit evil deeds. Riding alone and unmatched in bravery, his fierce and solitary courage left an impression on the refugees, who remembered the scar between his eyebrows. He spoke little each day, dressed in tattered clothes, so the refugees didn’t know his identity. Hearing from the bandits that he was acquainted with the Western Army, they concluded he must be an important figure and came to seek his patronage.

These refugees were not from the Royal Court. The Royal Court allowed them to enter the city for refuge, but afterward, they would return to their original tribes. They hoped Li Zhongqian would lead them to fight their way back.Yaoying's eyes sparkled with thought. After Li Zhongqian finished practicing sword, she brought him a cup of tea and said, "Brother, once matters here are settled, we'll reunite with Aqing. He'll have many things to consult you about."

Li Zhongqian wiped his sweat and replied, "We'll see. With Northern Rong in chaos now, it's the perfect opportunity for us to return to the Central Plains. After meeting the Buddha Prince, we'll set off immediately."

Yaoying was taken aback. "Brother, we can't return to the Central Plains now."

Li Zhongqian's sword-like eyebrows furrowed deeply. "What did you say?"

Yaoying said earnestly, "Brother, I am now the leader of the Western Army. I can't just abandon them."

Li Zhongqian's brows tightened further. "These burdens shouldn't fall on you. How can you take on the Western Army's heavy responsibility so lightly? I'll take you back."

With a serious expression, Yaoying responded, "Brother, I've already shouldered this responsibility. Since I started this, I must fulfill my promises and duties. I can't just walk away... Moreover, the Xie family has long lost their military power. If you and I return like this, wouldn't we be at others' mercy? We can't go back like this."

Li Zhongqian's temples throbbed. "Where is the Western Army now? You're alone at the Royal Court, Yang Qian is in Gaochang, and the troops from Guazhou and Shazhou are even farther away."

Yaoying shook her head. "Brother, the Western Army isn't with me now because they are where they should be."

She picked up Li Zhongqian's sword scabbard and drew several lines on the ground.

"In the east, Li Xuanzhen leads troops to intercept Northern Rong reinforcements. In the west, Yang Qian guards Gaochang."

"Aqing is guarding an even more important place for me..."

"The Royal Court forces are pursuing Wahan Khan and other remnants, while Northern Rong is too preoccupied with their own troubles..."

Yaoying's scabbard drew a large circle in the sand, encompassing vast territories.

"Brother, now isn't the best time for us to return to the Central Plains. Instead, it's a great opportunity for us to reclaim lost territories!"

"These lands will be filled with the Western Army's battle flags."

She spoke softly, her tone steady.

Several beams of morning light showered down, enveloping her in golden radiance. Her calm expression showed she had grown accustomed to planning such matters.

Li Zhongqian gazed at her in silence, his palms growing numb.

He used to fear she would be like their mother.

Now he realized he feared even more that she would be like their uncle.