Moonlight Mystique

Listening to the increasingly isolated creaking of wheels outside the swill bucket, both girls gradually grew anxious and helpless. No matter how fearless they usually were, they were still just two seven- or eight-year-old girls, pampered since childhood and never subjected to such hardship.

"It's all your fault! Instead of watching the lanterns, you had to go see some street performance. Now we’re kidnapped—what do we do?" The cold, stern voice belonged to the elder sister, Bai Xi.

"You wanted to eat Suzhou Hundun, and that’s in the southern part of the city too. Why blame only me?" The indignant retort came from Bai Shuo, her eyes darting around, clearly guilty but refusing to admit it.

Born from the same mother, the two had been inseparable since birth. They could read each other’s thoughts with just a glance. Even with rags stuffed in their mouths, it didn’t stop them from "bickering" in their minds.

Suddenly, the oxcart jolted to a stop, and their foreheads simultaneously thudded against the swill bucket, eliciting muffled groans. The stench and pain made them wince. The sisters quickly looked at each other, seeing the concern in each other’s eyes, and turned away, ceasing their silent quarrel.

The oxcart no longer headed south but turned and continued in another direction.

Hadn’t they just left the city gates? Were they going back into the city? Bai Xi’s eyes lit up momentarily before she sensed something amiss, her small face paling.

They weren’t continuing south but were now circling the city wall toward the north. Their kidnappers had intended to take them north all along—the detour through the southern district had been a ruse.

What lay beyond the northern city wall? Nothing but the imperial mausoleum. Would their father find them? Would their mother worry?

Bai Xi and Bai Shuo exchanged glances. Suddenly, Bai Shuo leaned over and nuzzled Bai Xi’s forehead.

"A-Xi, don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you. If there’s a chance, you run first!"

Bai Xi understood the meaning in Bai Shuo’s eyes instantly. A flicker of anger crossed her gaze, and she shook her head.

Bai Shuo grew frantic, letting out muffled whimpers.

A sharp knock echoed against the swill bucket, followed by a menacing growl: "Listen up, brats! If you don’t behave, I’ll sell you to the brothels!"

The heavy blow reverberated through the bucket, sending a numbing shock through their scalps and making their hearts race. The sisters froze, huddling closer together in silence.

At the mention of the brothels, Bai Shuo finally felt real fear. She glanced at her composed elder sister, terrified that Bai Xi might be sold into such a place.

A-Xi was destined to become empress one day. It didn’t matter if she herself was sold, but A-Xi must not come to harm.

If only she hadn’t listened to the street gossip and insisted on going to the southern district to watch the performance, or persuaded A-Xi to ditch their hidden guards. Then they wouldn’t have been kidnapped.

Why had these men taken her and A-Xi? Were they their father’s enemies, or did they just want to sell them for money?

Bai Shuo lowered her head in guilt, dizzy from the jostling inside the dark swill bucket, but she forced herself to stay still.

"Boss, these two girls are real prizes—you can tell they’re brimming with Spiritual Qi."

Outside the oxcart, Qian Er, a scrawny, hunched figure, rubbed the dark Qi swirling around his wrist and glanced back at the swill bucket, his grip on the reins trembling with excitement. "This time, we can last a good while longer, eh?"

Qian Da, far calmer, recalled the appearance and demeanor of the two girls. Despite their young age, they carried an air of nobility. He frowned. "Goods with such strong Spiritual Qi—could they be from noble families? The capital is under the emperor’s nose. If we’ve taken noble children and alerted the Dali Temple, we’ll never set foot in the city again.""How could that be, big brother? Though these two girls look plump and well-off, I recognize the fabric of their clothes—just ordinary Jiangnan cloth. They only have one guard with them, at most they're children from a wealthy family, definitely not nobility. Besides, which noble family's Young Miss would be allowed out to play at such a young age?"

Bai Xi and Bai Shuo in the slop bucket nearly wept in frustration. In Dajing, there was indeed one noble family whose daughters had been raised with unusual freedom since childhood.

Bai Xi had been betrothed as the Crown Princess since infancy and was required to master all the feminine arts—music, chess, calligraphy, painting, embroidery, and etiquette. General Bai, pitying his eldest daughter who would enter the palace at fifteen and rarely leave thereafter, made it a habit to take both daughters out on excursions every first and fifteenth day of the month. Even when busy, he'd send guards to accompany them. Though one sister was serene and refined while the other lively and active, both possessed extraordinary boldness, making these outings routine. Still, given their special status, they always wore simple clothes brought by their wet nurses to avoid attention—ironically leading to their current predicament of being kidnapped for appearing too ordinary.

Spiritual Qi? What did the kidnappers mean by saying they had abundant Spiritual Qi? The sisters shivered, exchanging worried glances.

If this was just about selling them, Father would eventually find them. But if not... why were they taken?

After half an hour of bumping along winding paths outside the capital, the oxcart stopped. The slop bucket lid lifted, revealing two pairs of sickly, sunken eyes.

"Prime merchandise indeed." Qian Da held up a candle, scanning them before hauling Bai Xi out by the arm.

Bai Shuo panicked, kicking to intercept, but Qian Er grabbed her collar from behind.

"Patience, little one. You're not escaping either." The scrawnier Qian brother struggled to drag Bai Shuo out with both hands.

Dumped on the ground, they spat out their gags, coughing violently before raising dust-covered faces to survey their surroundings.

They stood in a vast mountain clearing, behind which loomed a dragon-shaped ridge—a hundred-meter serpentine body culminating in a majestic, roaring head facing the nine directions.

North of the city? Dragon's Head? This was the imperial mausoleum's back mountain!

"The royal tombs!" Bai Xi gasped.

Though young, Bai Xi was far more worldly than her naive sister. The usually solemn mausoleum seemed especially sinister at night, making both girls shudder.

The Qian brothers exchanged startled looks at Bai Xi's instant recognition. Qian Da frowned—how would common girls identify this place?

Hearing "royal tombs," Bai Shuo sensed danger too. Suppressing fear, she shielded her sister and shouted, "Who are you? How dare you take us here! What do you want?"

"Sharp-eyed brats," Qian Er sneered. "Consider yourselves lucky we brought you here for your great Opportunity." He reached to pinch Bai Shuo's cheek, but Qian Da stopped him.

"No complications. These girls might be more than they seem. Finish the job quickly and return to the city before anyone notices."Qian Er regretfully withdrew his hand, but then seemed to think of something that excited him greatly. Turning away from the two sisters, he knelt in the center of the clearing, facing the direction of the imperial mausoleum.

He pulled out a dagger from his robe—a pitch-black blade engraved with a nine-headed serpent pattern, emitting faint wisps of dark Qi. Drawing it from its sheath, he slashed his left wrist without hesitation.

Bai Xi and Bai Shuo screamed, only to witness an even more horrifying sight.

Qian Er's slit wrist revealed nothing but bare white bone, devoid of even a drop of flesh or blood. The dark Qi coiled around the bone emitted a putrid stench. The dark energy from the dagger and the bone intertwined eagerly, letting out eerie cries before merging into one and burrowing into the ground.

Qian Er continued muttering incantations, pressing his forehead to the ground in devout anticipation, as if waiting for something.

"W-what are you people?" Bai Shuo's lips trembled, yet she stubbornly shielded Bai Xi.

"People?" Qian Da sneered coldly, wiping his lips, which oozed dark Qi. "We are merely the ones sending you to meet the Immortals."

Even without cutting open his flesh, one could see the murky dark Qi swirling around Qian Da's wrist. It was clear that beneath his skin lay nothing but skeletal remains.

Bai Xi and Bai Shuo had heard many tales of Immortals and demons in operas, but they had never imagined these stories were real—that beings other than "humans" truly existed in this world.

"My father is Bai Xun." A voice, slightly trembling yet forcibly composed, suddenly spoke up. Bai Xi struggled to her feet, subtly positioning herself to shield Bai Shuo as she glared fiercely at Qian Da. "My father is Bai Xun, the Supreme General of the Pillar State. I am the Crown Prince's principal consort, personally appointed by His Majesty. Whether you are man, demon, or ghost—if you dare lay a hand on us, neither His Majesty nor my father will let you go."

Hearing Bai Xi's words, Qian Da frowned. He had indeed brought back two troublesome figures. He had guessed the girls weren't ordinary, but he hadn't expected them to be the daughters of Supreme General Bai Xun. With Bai Xun's daughters missing, the capital must be in chaos by now. Escaping unscathed would be difficult, let alone continuing to capture tributes in the future.

Qian Da shot a furious glare at Qian Er, who was still kneeling, his mind wavering. If the Divine Lord erased their memories and they were quietly returned to the city, no one would know what had happened. Nowhere else in the world had as many high-grade Spiritual Root children as the capital. If he and Qian Er wanted to prolong their lives, they couldn't afford to cut off their master's supply of tributes.

Just as Qian Da hesitated, a chilling wind swept through, carrying a stench ten times more rotten than before. A three-foot-wide fissure split the ground, and a figure cloaked in black robes appeared above the crack.

At the sight of this figure, the Qian brothers' faces lit up with joy as they prostrated themselves, shouting, "Divine Lord!"

Divine Lord? The sisters exchanged glances. Could this demon actually be an Immortal?

The figure lifted his hood, revealing a face twisted with malice and cruelty.

Bai Shuo was almost entirely hidden behind Bai Xi.

The robed man's gaze lingered on Bai Xi, his eyes brimming with greed.

"Little girl, you're the Emperor's chosen Crown Princess?"

The stench of decay clung to the robed man, his blood-red eyes unmistakably inhuman.

Bai Xi's hidden hands trembled slightly, but she met the robed man's crimson, predatory gaze with composure. "Yes, I am the Crown Princess appointed by His Majesty. You'd better—""Release you?" The black-robed man laughed wildly as a foul demonic wind swept through. "Not even the exalted ones of the Nine Heavens Palace daunt me. What can a mere mortal emperor do to this lord?" He licked his lips, revealing sharp fangs, his gaze fixed greedily on Bai Xi. "As expected of a child born under the Star of the Empress—truly a natural spiritual vessel. Once I devour you, my wounds will heal by more than half!"

"Congratulations, Divine Lord!" The Qian Brothers, hearing this, immediately forgot their fear of having kidnapped the emperor's future daughter-in-law. Qian Da fawned obsequiously, "As long as Your Lordship regains your health, our perilous journey to abduct these spiritual vessels from the capital will not have been in vain." He shuffled forward on his knees, extending a wrist wreathed in dark energy. "Divine Lord, we—"

"Impatient fools!" The black-robed man snorted coldly. "Once I have feasted, do you think I would neglect your reward?"

"We dare not, we dare not!" Cowed by the Divine Lord's roar, Qian Da immediately fell silent, pulling Qian Er back with him as they cowered to the side.

"Monster, don’t you dare eat my sister!" A clear voice rang out from behind Bai Xi. Bai Shuo had somehow slipped out from the shadow where Bai Xi had been shielding her. She spread her arms protectively in front of Bai Xi and shouted at the black-robed man, "I am Bai Xi, the Crown Princess chosen by His Majesty! She is my younger sister, Bai Shuo. Take me instead—let her go. If you release her, my father and His Majesty will surely not seek vengeance against you!"

"A-Shuo! What nonsense are you saying? I’m the one who—" Bai Xi’s face paled as she tried to pull Bai Shuo back, but this time, she couldn’t budge her sister’s stubbornly protective stance.

"It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t insisted on going to the southern city, I wouldn’t have been dragged to this cursed place! Bai Shuo, you’re nothing but trouble—I hate you the most!"

Bai Shuo glared at Bai Xi, her eyes red as she yelled, pressing down firmly to keep her sister in place.

Bai Xi’s lips trembled, her eyes instantly brimming with tears.