It's with great joy and relief that I announce the end of the second arc. The second arc was much harder to write than the first arc, but perhaps it was also ultimately more fulfilling. It answered some of the questions of the first arc and provided the foundation we needed as we go towards the final arc. Thank you for following me on this journey and trusting me with where I would like to bring you.
Hope you will enjoy the end of the second arc!
Chapter 12: The sunset though
beautiful is brief
Little Moon/Yue
(i)
Hsiao’s eyes crinkled into a deep smile, the deepest I
had ever seen on his face, “I’m not allowed to say no, am I?”
I laughed as he followed me into the circle of
dancers, “No, you are not. It is the woman’s prerogative tonight!”
We danced all night, we drank all night. I had
many envious glances from the other tribal women but Princess Bai Ying had
secretly decreed that Hsiao was all mine.
With a wine gourd each, we went out
to the balcony at the Grand Hall again and watched the full moon. In the
silence, Hsiao held my right hand, the palm of which had two black dots and one
red dot.
Hsiao never asked why I had lied about my gender or dressed up as a male, he didn’t even asked if I was really a
Fortune Teller. That is why I like him, I
thought out loud to the moon.
And that is why I am willing to bet my life on him.
(ii)
In the morning, before we
departed, Princess Bai Ying came to my bed chambers and she brought a huge
pile of female clothing, “Yue, it’s a travesty that you are wearing male
clothing. Bring this with you.”
I gave an embarrassed chuckle, “Elder sister (though I
was older than Princess Bai Ying), in truth, I find female clothing very
inconvenient to wear.”
“Preposterous,” Princess Bai Ying said as she
instructed Xiao Shuang to start helping me wear one of the garments, “Aren’t
you worried Hsiao will be attracted away?”
I sighed as I let myself be dolled up by Princess Bai Ying and Xiao Shuang. I couldn’t even bear to tell Princess Bai
Ying that I was technically supposed to marry Hsiao off to her and his
childhood sweetheart back in the palace.
When we were done, Princess Bai Ying gave me a pleased
smile and a tight hug, “Little sister, you must take care of yourself and come
to me if Hsiao ever bullies you.”
I returned her hug, “Elder Sister, if Hsiao ever needs your
help, please help him. He is a good man.”
After we left the bedchambers, I noticed that some of
the male guards would look at me strangely. I guessed I really wasn’t suited
for female clothing.
I smiled at Hsiao who paused for a moment before he
nodded in reply. He didn’t seem very happy. I felt a faint pang of
disappointment.
“I wanted to wear male robes but Princess Bai Ying
insisted that I must wear female robes when I left. I know I look quite
awful but let’s bear with it till we leave,” I said apologetically, as if
ugliness was my sin.
Hsiao’s eyes twinkled at my words then he smiled, “I agree
you shouldn’t wear male robes when we are out. But not because you look awful,
rather it’s quite the opposite and I got annoyed at the stares of all the male
soldiers.”
My eyes widened in surprised as Hsiao patted my head, “It’s
alright. I have enough brains for the two of us.”
I gave Hsiao an annoyed glance and Hsiao leaned towards my
right ear and whispered, “You look beautiful.”
I flushed as Hsiao walked off nonchalantly. I remembered the
older Moon Maidens saying that in a relationship, there will be one party that eats
and the other party that gets eaten. Was I the pig who got eaten?
(iii)
Even the Great King Xue sent us off at the
fortress gates, when Hsiao and I left on Black Beauty and Brown Beauty.
What struck me most were the rays of sunlight
that fell on us as we rode down the Xue mountains and left the eternal
winter of Xue. I was reminded that Xi Yang was looking for me, and
suddenly felt guilty for I knew despite Big Brother Xi Yang’s harsh words that he
had always cared for me. He must have been worried over these last few moons.
At the base of the Xue Mountain, Hsiao was strangely silent.
There was a wariness about him that seemed unnatural. He lifted up his head and
seemed to survey our surroundings before he said, “Yue, I shall scout ahead
first. You wait here, ok?”
Although Hsiao smiled at me, I felt unease in my heart. I
nodded and gave my usual happy grin, “Don’t take too long.”
I watched as Hsiao entered the forest ahead, and I could
feel the heaviness of each anxious thud in my heart. Hsiao did not know any
martial arts… what if he had sensed the assassins ahead?
I tried to stay calm and wait patiently. I strained my ears
to hear anything. After all, Hsiao had always been proven right in the end?
Suddenly, I heard the metal clashing of swords. I did
not even think and pushed Brown Beauty to move ahead.
When I entered the thick forest, I saw Black Beauty in
the middle while there were at least a dozen black-robed figures surrounding the centre just like when
I first met Hsiao. However, these black figurines seemed even faster and more
ferocious than the previous time and I could smell the bloodlust.
My heart rose to my throat when I saw a white figure dancing through the trees with a slim bladed sword. I recognized that figure; I knew
that sword. He was like the lone star careening through the River of Stars,
boldly dashing forth towards his destiny, a champion star that was its own
unstoppable force of nature.
I felt tears of relief and anger rush to my eyes, I
did not know if I should be angry at Hsiao for never telling me he knew martial
arts and letting me foolishly protect him, or relieved that he knew and was safe.
I was transfixed by Hsiao’s movements, even the
way he sliced through the black robed men had a certain refinement and grace. I could
see that even while he defended himself, he calculated how to minimize the
damage on the men while ensuring they would be immobilized.
I was so mesmerized that I did not even sense when someone placed
a blade on my neck.
“Stop,” the masked man declared as he pressed the blade into
my neck.
Hsiao froze and his eyes blazed at the man with an ice cold
anger that I did not know Hsiao could possess, “Try it and I will kill you a
thousand times over.”
Before the masked man could say anything, Hsiao dashed
forth faster than any of us could react and plunged his sword into the man
while pulling me away. But, in order to do so, Hsiao had bared his chest
towards the man’s blade such that it pierced into his chest instead of my neck.
I cried in alarm when I saw the blood gushing out of Hsiao’s
chest, “Hsiao!”
“Stay behind me,” Hsiao said in one sharp breath, as he took
out the foreign blade from his chest and now sparred with two swords in both
hands. There was no more mercy or grace, as he slaughtered the rest of the
black robed men quickly and efficiently.
When the last black robed men fell, Hsiao’s figure collapsed
in a pool of black blood. I ran worriedly towards Hsiao, his face was deathly
white and his lips were slightly green, “There was poison on the blade.”
“It’s all my fault,” I cried as large tears dropped down my
cheeks on to his face.
“Don’t cry, Yue,” Hsiao said as he leaned in my embrace and
his eyes started to close.
“I won’t let you die,” I said. With great determination, I
vomited out my divine heartstone, the source of my divine essence. I broke the
heartstone into two, and forced one half into Hsiao.
I quickly swallowed back the other half, and broke the magic sun
bead in my other hand before I completely blacked out.
In a while, I felt a familiar warm energy course through my veins and I opened my eyes. It was the same handsome face I had always
seen after I had created a disaster. Though, this time was probably the worst.
I croaked, “Xi Yang Ge Ge (哥哥 – Big Brother), you
must save Hsiao, his fate is my fate.”
And then I really blacked
out.
Prince Sun/Xi Yang
(iv)
I was a legend even
before I was born. The longed for Crown Prince, the legendary ruler of Heavens,
the Promised One. The list of accolades went on and on, I was famous before I
knew, great before I started.
Even before I knew
my name, I knew I was called the Glorious One. It was said that the day I was
born, ten suns rose and from then on, I was titled Crown Prince Sun.
Even as a baby, my temper
and powers were boundless. I was once so angry that the sun did not rise for
two days. It was an eclipse that sent the Heavens into anxiety and the Earth
into terror. I remember my father, my mother and all the maidservants coo-ing
and cajoling me to no avail. My father got so annoyed that he threatened to
dash a bolt of lightning at me. At that point, the Moon God had rose to give
light to the citizens, and had came to me.
The Moon God
carried me away and brought me up to the moon. He smiled at me, and said, “When
your father and I were young, we used to create chaos in nature all the time
too. Indeed, you have inherited that power.”
He laughed as I
watched the stars dance around us, “Because you are still young, I will protect
you.”
I could not
recall why I was upset in the first place. But, the next morning, the Moon God
returned me to the Jade Heavenly Palace and the sun rose.
The Jade Emperor
shook his head at me, his first-born son, “Too powerful for his own good.”
The Moon God had shook his head too with a quiet smile. Perhaps, he knew then that everything
would have its own balancing force.
Born
into such greatness and power, I was more arrogant than anyone and everyone
allowed it. The only one I feared and respected besides my father, was my
uncle, the Moon God. So, you could only imagine the anger I felt when the Moon
God announced the birth of his niece.
When I arrived at
the Temple of Matrimonial Bliss, I saw Uncle looked towards the cot with such
love and doting that my heart raged. There was always more heat in my body than
I could contain.
I peered over the
cot to see what creature deserved such adoration and came face to face with a
scrawny shriveled looking… baby. My hand reached out to poke this baby to see
if it was alive. My face was filled with quiet revulsion, when the baby reached
out to me. Its little fingers curled over my little finger. Somehow in that
moment, I decided not to burn the cot.
Uncle told me that the
baby was called Yue, though I had laughed because this ugly wrinkled thing was
as far as could be from the beautiful moon.
I had largely
ignored Yue as she grew up around Uncle. A more ugly and annoying thing I could
not find, I could not see how she bore any resemblance to my great Uncle. She
would always call after me, “Xi Yang Ge Ge” and I would disappear. She could never follow me because
she did not have much powers of her own.
I did not know when things changed. Perhaps, it was my
sixteenth birthday, and Yue was about eight. Gods and goddesses came from near and far with the most rare and magical of gifts. The divine sacred orb of the
east, the magical sand from the lava fields, the purple cloak of doom… there
were more gifts than my eyes could see. Yue had arrived with Uncle Moon. She
had gotten rounder over the years and was no longer shriveled. She had beamed
at me like a young cherubic moon as she passed me her present. It was two clay
dolls, one young boy and one young girl, similar to the figurines that were in
Uncle’s Temple… but somewhat rougher and more raw.
“I had made these dolls for you myself,” Yue chirped,
“You always seemed to look so wistful in Uncle’s Temple…”
A young goddess from the flower tribe laughed
coquettishly at Yue’s gift, “Mud dolls for the Crown Prince?”
I kept the clay dolls carefully into my robes and
glared at the young goddess, “Do you have something to say against my little
sister?”
The young goddess’ eyes quickly fell down in apology
and she excused herself. Yue beamed at me, “Xi Yang Ge Ge, do you like them?”
Slowly but surely, Yue and her Xi Yang Ge Ge spiraled around me like the planets that revolved
around the sun. When a spider demon hurt Yue, I was so infuriated that I
exterminated the entire spider demon tribe.
I had fallen for the moon at such a young age. Perhaps,
Uncle had always known I would love the moon when he first carried me up to
cool my first anger.
Perhaps, I was always afraid of my own anger and
powers. Perhaps, I still often thought of Yue as that shriveled little baby and
was waiting for her to grow up.
Father had thought I would break many people’s hearts,
but it turned out that my heart was broken even before it had the chance to
love.
I watched as the girl I had been searching for the
past few moons, laid on the forest ground with a bloodied man in her arms. I
quickly transferred my internal energy into her body, and she regained a little
of her consciousness.
Yue looked at me beseechingly, “Xi Yang Ge
Ge, you must
save Hsiao, his fate is my fate.”
And
then, she fainted.
Yue Er, in a few
moons, you have grown up already – but all for another man.
At last!! New chapter!! I really look forward to the update everyday.. thanks a lot, Ms. Decembi... :)
ReplyDeleteWow! Thanks for such a warm response, it makes me very happy that people enjoy and look forward to this story :)
DeleteOh God, that was such a sad fate for Xi Yang. My heart pours out for him.
ReplyDeleteXi Yang is really getting a lot of reader love! <3
DeleteIts a sad but beautiful love...
DeleteDecembi! I like the OTP but I feel sorry for Xi Yang because he met her first and loved her first. And she has no clue about his feelings :(
ReplyDeleteYue Er, in a few moons, you have grown up already – but all for another man.
Sigh Xi Yang...
What an ending to the second arc ! I am really anticipating the third arc although it would be sad to part with the characters.
- lemonsalt
I love Xi Yang in his own right but I think Yue can only love him as her Xi Yang Ge Ge and it's just different haha.
DeleteThank you! *wipes sweat off brows* I think the final arc will be the hardest.
Sort of like how Xiao Yao only thinks of Zhuan Xu as her ge ge ... =/
DeleteFor Xiao Yao and Zhuan Xu, I haven't read Book 2 but some readers said they were so clearly soulmates when they were young, so I think they had that chance if Zhuan Xu didn't push Xiao Yao to the other guys :(. But for Xi Yang, he really didn't ever have the chance. More in the third arc!
Delete"I remembered the older Moon Maidens saying that in a relationship, there will be one party that eats and the other party that gets eaten. Was I the pig who got eaten?" - LOL I always admire Yue Er's sense of humor, comparing herself to a pig.. what can I say? hahaha
ReplyDeleteAnd so Prince Sun/Xi Yang finally makes his grand appearance. I already feel empathy for the poor guy, Yue Er and Hsiao obviously have feelings for each other, while his the third wheel.
Hahahah! I see Yue as a pig and Hsiao as a quiet tiger. Hahahaha.
DeleteAlthough many wanted Xi Yang to appear earlier, I had always planned for him to make his entrance this way. <3
You have just made me cry.
ReplyDeleteRiley, let me give you a big big big hug! I promise this is a romantic comedy, after we cross some big truths and hurdles! <3
Deleteno.... now my heart ache for Xi Yang. i think i'm starting to get 2nd male lead syndrome anytime now :'(
ReplyDeleteWow, I am surprised by all the Xi Yang love haha. <3
DeleteAw I'm s...sstilllll for Hsiao-Yue ship but poor xi yang my heart cries for you. so painful when your childhood friend you've been with all your life suddenly falls for a stranger T_T. i'm torn apart.
ReplyDeleteI agree :( that feeling when your childhood friend found someone else when you thought she was still too young for love.
DeleteHehe Xiyang Gege reminds me of Dao Mingsi! The one who is so arrogant and has everything, but crumbles apart in front of his loved one.
ReplyDeleteOh I never noticed that! Interesting comparison :)
Deletethank you ms. decembi, you've given us so much fun and entertainment, this is my first time to comment but know that i'm always checking your post all the time i'm a great fan of yours.......marie st claire
ReplyDeleteHello marie st claire, thank you so much for your sweet comment. It brings me great joy and encouragement to carry on <3
DeleteThe moment I saw the illustration of a man in yellow robes, in my head was screaming, Prince Sun is appearing in this chapter! ahhhh~ *sobs* Although I'm Hsiao-Yue Shipper, I hope at the end of the story, Xi Yang will find his happiness too! ;.; he is too hot to be left alone~~~ haha
ReplyDeleteTeehee, so wise Elaine! I was saving that picture of Prince Sun for ages! Hahaha.
Deletehaha so this is the answer from my last question:) haha still wear woman clothes:) decembi thanks . hope next chapter come soon:)
ReplyDeleteTeehee, yes, princess baiying is not going to let her sister wear men clothings! ♡
DeleteXi Yang shipper onboard! *Me with my super imaginary qinggong, dance gracefully to the ship* lalala..
ReplyDeleteHello bingu! Wow, a Xi Yang shipper? Hahaha. I love your imaginary qinggong! Hahahaha.
DeleteGlad you love it decembi, this special qinggong only activated when a
Deletehandsome, cool, perfect, powerful, have one sided love toward female lead, the kind of "I can own everything except you, but I will still silently protecting your happiness" character showed up, LOL..
Hahaha i love love your description of the character ♡
DeleteReally great chapter! It's really hard when you think you will both end up together one day only to realize that the person you cherish most in your heart has got her sight somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteSo sad for Xi Yang. I hope there he finds a good match before the story ends.
The angst was beautifully written. It was swift like the cut of a sharp knife Xi Yang has no time to dilly dally about it. He's precised with his feelings and acknowledged early on his affection for Yue Er.
Keep it up Decembi! You are doing a mighty job here of stimulating our senses with each chapter that you bring us. Am thirsty for more!!! (^_^)
Hello Peachie,
DeleteI recognised you from your way of writing! <3 Thank you so much for your heartfelt comment and feedback. I learn a lot from my readers as well, and I'm glad that the angst seemed to be just right - wasn't aiming to wring anyone's heart out haha. <3
I'm really happy you are enjoying this! *wipes sweat from brow* will try even harder for the final arc
Ooops, it's Peachie by the way. Too excited to post my thoughts. Stay healthy Decembi!!!
ReplyDeletehi decembi,,
ReplyDeletefinally xi yang is out
i like xi yang pov here.. so sad!!
Hello Kamila,
DeleteThanks for leaving a comment! It is heartbreaking for xi yang, hence the title <3
i love the last line of this chapter!! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! :) Really glad you like the last line.
DeleteOh... Xi Yang.. come here.. I'll give you a hug. =D
ReplyDeletelooking forward to the next chapter...
thanks Ms. Decembi for your wonderful story.
-aimey
Hello aimey, haha thanks for the support! Xi yang will probably blush ;)
DeleteI like how the plot quickly moves on and how feelings between the OTP intensify as the story progresses. With 2 childhood sweethearts in the next arc, can't wait for it.
ReplyDeleteCan there be more arcs? or several epilogues on the OTP and other chracters? Can't believe Little Moon is heading into its last leg so soon.
Thank you, Moonblossom! Hahaha. Since this is my maiden attempt at ancient c-novel in English, I just had a very simple idea and sketch and it's been incredible filling out this sketch and sharing what I had in mind! It was supposed to be 16 chapters, but I think it will probably end at 18 chapters now.
DeleteThere will only be three arcs for Hsiao and Yue's story. If readers are interested, I will write epilogues for Xi Yang (since I thought out his arc) and the Moon God :) <3
I am definitely interested in the epilogues :)
DeleteHeehee ok! Still editing chpt 13 ;(
DeleteYey! 拭目以待. Will anticipate the epilogues too.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the support! <3
DeleteThis is a really interesting and well written story!!! Can't wait for more! Thank you very much for your awesome story!!!! On the side note (and I hate to be such a bother/annoying), when will you be able to post a translation for once promised? I really do love that story and have been checking your blog religiously for new posts!
ReplyDeleteHello! Big squish to the once promised fan! Thank you for enjoying my story, it makes me so happy :). I am translating at a much slower pace! There will be an update in july ♡
Deletefinally....xi yang made his appearance...i feel sorry for him, his narration shows how deep he feels for yue. i hope he finds his happiness.
ReplyDeleteHello uw_maulida, the first cut is always the deepest? :) Thanks for reading <3
Delete