Moonlight Mystique

Chapter Thirty-Eight

“What’s the point of keeping it? For the New Year?” A figure strode forward from the backlight, clad in fiery ancient robes, laughing wildly.

“Shh.” The drunken figure pressed a finger to their lips, squinting with a fox-like grin. “For a dowry.”

“Tsk, tsk, old stick-in-the-mud, finally came around, huh? If you don’t make a move soon, who knows when that guy might lose his mind and wander down to the Lower Realm again. If someone else catches his eye there, you’ll have plenty to worry about.”

“Who dares?” The white-robed figure straightened abruptly, eyes flashing.

“Who ticked you off this time? Even drunk, you can still throw a tantrum?” A man in purple robes twirled a small wine flask as he approached, nudging the red-clad girl. “Did you piss off this ancestor?”

“As if I’d dare. She’d flip my Moonlight Manor upside down.” The red-clad goddess brightened at the sight of the purple-robed man but seemed surprised. “Didn’t Zhi Yang send you to the Yao Realm to enlighten the Yao Race? How’d you return in just two or three days?”

“A wasteland full of savages. Only a little tiger demon was worth a glance, and even that one needs training. After a few days there, my mouth was so bored it might as well have tasted bird droppings. If I stayed any longer, forget enlightening the Yao Race—I’d have died of boredom first.”

“You’re the Demon God. If you won’t enlighten them, who will?”

“Send that icy block Bai. Isn’t he the one who loves preaching and solving mysteries?”

“Would Zhi Yang agree?”

“This venerable one must descend to reinforce the Four Desolates’ barrier. Too busy.” The purple-robed man winked and lowered his voice. “Thirty thousand years ago, Pu Hua secretly brewed a few jars of fine wine and hid them in Kunlun’s back mountains. I reckon it’s time to dig them up…”

“After thirty thousand years, aren’t you afraid the old man will throw a fit?”

“We’ll go quietly, take it quietly. With my skills, how would he notice?” The purple-robed man snorted. “Coming?”

“Yes.” The red-clad goddess answered swiftly and decisively.

“Damn, Zhi Yang’s coming. I gotta go. Get this little ancestor home. I’ll wait for you at the Bronze Bridge.” The purple-robed man glanced at the sky, summoned his Divine Power, and vanished by the stream.

The red-clad goddess sighed, looking at the half-drunk figure. “Pu Hua’s wine—you love it the most. He’s fetching it for you, isn’t he?”

She gave a bitter laugh, her expression self-mocking. Suddenly, she turned her gaze toward a spot in the Void Realm—right where Bai Shuo stood.

For some reason, the endless sorrow and longing etched in her eyes contrasted sharply with her earlier mirth. A tear slid down her cheek.

Bai Shuo met those eyes, her heart aching so fiercely she could barely breathe. Without thinking, she reached out toward the red-clad goddess…

Don’t cry…

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t touch the goddess’s face.

Before Bai Shuo, the goddess slowly faded away, and she, too, closed her eyes.

In the Profound Ice Cave, a tear rolled down Bai Shuo’s sleeping face. Her brows furrowed as she curled tightly beside the dwindling embers of the fire.

A surge of demonic energy slithered in from the cave entrance, and the temperature of the icy stones plummeted. The flickering flames snuffed out instantly, frost creeping up Bai Shuo’s feet.

Just as Bai Shuo collapsed, the cloth-clad youth caught her, pulling her tightly into his arms.

Outside the cave, dawn’s pale light crept in. Chang Xu sneezed, rubbing his hands as he eyed the rising sun with suspicion. “Senior Brother, don’t you think it’s gotten colder?”

Yi Fan frowned. “Stop being paranoid. If it’s not cold here, where would it be?”

Chang Xu, deflated, shot a worried glance toward the cave.In the stone cave of the back mountain, Chong Zhao sat with his eyes tightly shut, a pure white Spiritual Qi swirling around him. The cave stirred without wind, and scattered stones on the ground lifted into the air, forming a matrix that whipped up fierce gusts.

Er Yun landed outside the cave, his face lighting up at the sight of the dazzling white light at the entrance.

"Such powerful Spiritual Qi—has Junior Brother ascended to another Realm?"

Inside the cave, Chong Zhao, enveloped in Immortal Qi, suddenly grimaced. A vision flashed across his spiritual consciousness—the entire Chong family kneeling at an execution ground, executioners mercilessly beheading the kneeling figures.

"Father! Mother!"

At the critical moment of refining a first-grade Spirit Pill, the image of his family's massacre manifested in Chong Zhao's mind. His eyes snapped open, bloodshot, and the Immortal Qi around him instantly turned chaotic.

"Kill! Kill!"

Chong Zhao muttered unconsciously, his gaze descending into madness.

Outside the cave, the Spiritual Qi ran wild, carving deep gashes into the cave entrance with saber-like force. Er Yun was forced back several steps by the surging energy, his expression shifting in alarm.

"Not good—Junior Brother is experiencing Qi Deviation!" Without hesitation, Er Yun rushed toward the cave but was repelled by the turbulent Spiritual Qi.

Inside, just as the swirling stones, drawn by the chaotic Immortal Qi, were about to strike Chong Zhao, a figure suddenly appeared. With a wave of her hand, the stones froze midair. She pressed a finger to Chong Zhao's forehead, and clarity returned to his eyes.

Startled by her presence, he stiffened.

"Do you have a death wish? Focus—clear your spiritual consciousness," Fu Ling said coldly.

Chong Zhao's expression hardened. He reined in his Immortal Qi and, under Fu Ling's protection, closed his eyes to stabilize his mind.

Moments later, his complexion normalized, and the Immortal Qi around him grew even denser.

Fu Ling withdrew her hand, a smirk playing on her lips. "To remain unshaken under the protection of Yao Race energy—Chong Zhao, Chong Zhao, are you truly blessed with profound immortal fate, or is there some connection between you and our Yao Race?"

"A-Shuo! A-Shuo!" Bai Shuo was shaken awake abruptly. The moment she opened her eyes, Bai Xi's enormous face loomed over her, startling her into scrambling upright.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Father and Mother have gone out. It's the Lantern Festival today—let's sneak out and have some fun."

"Sneak out? How?"

"Have you forgotten? There's that dog hole you dug at the back gate."

Bai Shuo stared blankly at Bai Xi's flushed, excited face, momentarily stunned. A-Xi was always the rule-follower—wasn't sneaking around something only she would do?

"Are you coming or not? If not, I'm going alone."

"Coming, coming—hey, wait for me!" Bai Shuo hastily clambered out of bed, fumbling into her clothes.

The two slipped out through the dog hole with practiced ease, only to find Chong Zhao already waiting by the back gate with a cheerful smile.

Seeing the boy's bright, gentle expression, Bai Shuo froze for a moment. "A-Zhao?"

"Hurry, hurry—the temple fair is about to start!" Chong Zhao eagerly pulled the two sisters along. Bai Shuo felt an odd unease, as though something was off, but before she could dwell on it, the boy had already whisked them away.

The imperial capital's streets were bustling and lively. The trio ate and wandered, enjoying the temple fair and watching street performances. As the sun set, they joined the crowd by the riverbank. Bai Shuo munched on a candied hawthorn stick, her mouth sticky, while Chong Zhao reached over to wipe the syrup from her lips.

Bai Xi, releasing a river lantern, turned just in time to catch the scene and smiled knowingly.

Bai Shuo looked up—fireworks filled the sky, yet a sudden chill gripped her, making her shiver.

"A-Shuo, what's wrong?"

"Cold..."

"Cold?"

"So cold."Bai Shuo's entire body began to tremble as she half-knelt on the ground, a layer of frost slowly spreading across her skin. In her eyes, the figures of Chong Zhao and Bai Xi gradually blurred, as if the entire world had turned to ice.

"So this is what you and he did most often."

Outside the Profound Ice Cave, Fu Ling stood beneath a tree, a wisp of demonic power flickering at her fingertips as it silently infiltrated the cave. Yet Yifan and Chang Xu, who stood guard outside, remained completely unaware.

"Even as a half-immortal, she's still trash. To fantasize about something so mundane at death's door..." Fu Ling murmured with a cold snort, then suddenly paused.

A moment ago, another scene had flashed through Bai Shuo's consciousness. But whether it was because Bai Shuo was currently protecting Chong Zhao, the image was shrouded in mist, and Fu Ling couldn't make it out clearly.

With her demonic power, there was no way she shouldn't be able to see Bai Shuo's thoughts—especially since Bai Shuo was now trapped in the demonic curse of "Drunken Life, Dreaming Death."

Drunken Life, Dreaming Death was a secret technique of the Yao Realm, capable of clouding one's mind and trapping their Divine Soul in a slumbering illusion. Once the consciousness could no longer be awakened, the victim would exhaust their Spiritual Qi within the illusion and perish.

Given Fu Ling's status, if not for her curiosity about Bai Shuo and Chong Zhao's past, she could have simply struck Bai Shuo down with a single palm strike, sparing herself this effort. Though the illusions of Bai Shuo and Chong Zhao were dull to the point of boredom, when she saw the way the white-robed youth gazed at Bai Shuo in the illusion, Fu Ling couldn't suppress the fury rising in her heart.

Could Bai Shuo be more than just a half-immortal? Fu Ling's eyes narrowed, but she quickly scoffed at the thought.

If she truly were an Immortal Lord descending to endure tribulations, she wouldn't still be a mere half-immortal by now.

"Considering you once knew him, this lord shall bestow upon you 'Drunken Life, Dreaming Death.'" Fu Ling's lips curled into a smirk, her expression indifferent.

Inside the cave, the ice had already crept up to Bai Shuo's chest. She seemed to have stopped breathing entirely, only her lips trembling faintly.

Fan Yue held her tightly, frantically rubbing her hands as he called out in desperation, "M-Master...!"

But no matter how much he called, Bai Shuo remained unresponsive. Just as the frost reached her lips, the boy instinctively leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

He remembered waking up in the medicine hut that night—this was how Bai Shuo had saved him.

In the illusion, Bai Shuo's vision was pitch black. She curled up on her knees, shivering violently from the cold.

She knew she was going to die—frozen to death. What she had seen earlier was merely a hallucination before death.

She was probably the first immortal in history to freeze to death. The Profound Ice Cave was so cold—the Sect Leader had truly found her a fine place to perish...

Suddenly, a faint warmth seemed to knock at her spiritual core. Who? Who was trying to save her?

Bai Shuo was too frozen to speak, her entire body stiff as an icicle.

After what felt like an eternity, she realized the warmth was coming from the corner of her lips. Driven by the instinct to survive, she forced her mouth open and bit down hard.

In the Profound Ice Cave, Fan Yue, who had been desperately kissing Bai Shuo in panic, felt a sharp pain at the corner of his mouth. Blood seeped out—whether it was Bai Shuo's or his own, he couldn't tell. But the moment the blood dripped onto his lips, his gaze sharpened, the confusion in his eyes vanishing. He abruptly lifted his head toward the cave entrance and spat out a single, icy word.

"Leave!"

A surge of immense Soul Power pierced through the barrier and struck Fu Ling's spiritual core. Her face paled instantly as she coughed up blood, her eyes widening in disbelief as she stared into the cave.

A Demi-Divine Might?! The Lord of Haoyue Palace?!

"How could he be here?! That's impossible!"Before Fu Ling could regain her senses, another surge of Soul Power struck towards her spiritual platform. Not daring to linger any longer, she instantly vanished from the spot.

Outside the Profound Ice Cave, the branches and leaves trembled violently despite the absence of wind. Chang Xu shivered and couldn't help but whisper, "Senior Brother, do you think there are ghosts on our Misty Isle?"

Yi Fan didn't even glance at him. "The wise do not speak of uncanny forces and chaotic spirits."

"Senior Brother, why are you spouting the pedantic words of mortals? We are immortals."

"Shut up."

"Oh."

Inside the Profound Ice Cave, the cold light in Fan Yue's eyes faded as he collapsed to the ground, still clutching Bai Shuo tightly in his arms.

The frost receded from Bai Shuo's body, and a wisp of Spiritual Qi began to revive within her.

Two days later, the stone door of the mountain cave slowly opened, and Chong Zhao stepped out into the morning sun.