The bright ray painted the nearby soil white. Feiyun dug out a little flower with only three petals the size of a palm. It wasn’t dirtied by the dirt, still as white as jade. It had milky roots coming out of the soil.
It was a flower named “Moon Mud”, a common ingredient used in alchemy.
“That’s a machilus! Machilus!” The tribe members rushed over. All had a wide smile on their face.
The children celebrated while a few older men began to tremble.
“Machilus is a sign of luck, the god of fortune is looking down upon us.”
“It’s an auspicious sign!”
“C’mon now, put it on Big Sister’s hair, it’ll be very pretty!” The big-eyed girl pulled Feiyun’s hand and urged.
“Put it on, put it on!” The crowd cheered.
Feiyun held the flower, feeling that it was a hot potato. He admired their openness and excitement. However, they wanted him to put this flower on top of the empress’ head?
The head of an empress couldn’t be touched.
Though he wasn’t afraid of her, he didn’t want to court death early either.
“Do it.” She let out a smile but Feiyun noticed the coldness beneath.
He chuckled and came closer. An aura spread from her body. She clearly didn’t trust anyone, afraid of an ambush by Feiyun.
The others became quiet and surrounded the two, staring intensely at them.
He could feel her heat on top of a faint fragrance. He also noticed a sharp glint in the corner of her eyes, seemingly warning him not to do anything stupid.
He smirked and lifted up some of her hair.
“Big Bro, putting flowers in a girl’s hair means a lot, don’t you have something to say to Big Sis?” The little girl smiled.
Feiyun was very close to the empress now, able to see her exquisite facial features and delicate eyelashes and pink lips.
She became slightly unnatural. No man has ever gotten this close to her, let alone touching her head.
“Say what?” Feiyun furrowed his brows.
“Say romantic stuff!”
“What does a little girl like you know about romance?”
“I know it’ll make her feel very nice inside. Plus, if you don’t do it, why would she want to marry you?” The girl tilted her head and said seriously.
Feiyun was very impressed at her expertise, clearly more knowledgeable than him.
“Hurry!”
“Yes!”
He then looked at the empress and saw her lowering her head, looking impatient as if waiting.
He coughed twice before speaking: “I’ll… grant all your desires. I’ll even pluck the moon down for you.”
He became nauseous after spilling out these words.
The empress snorted, clearly not amused by these naive words. This wasn’t romantic at all.
“No, no, this doesn’t count, Big Bro. You can’t carry out these words since you can’t touch the moon, not sincere at all.” The girl said while others protested.
“Yes, not sincere at all.”
“You have to be earnest here.”
“Who says I can’t get it? Just watch, I’ll pluck it down for her. Little girl, know that it’ll be as easy as pie.” Feiyun turned red and retorted.
The empress watched him argue with the group and smiled. “He can’t.” She smiled, revealing her perfect teeth.
“See? See?! Even Big Sis says that you can’t do it. You can’t!” The little girl said loudly.
“That’s it, I hate it when people say I can’t the most… Okay, open your eyes soon.” He pulled up his sleeves as if he was about to pluck the moon down.
The tribe members focused their attention, naive enough to think that he might actually be able to do it. The little girl also shut her mouth.
“Big Bro, how are you going to fly up there to get it?” A snot-nosed kid opened his eyes wide.
“A ship.” Feiyun said.
“A ship?”
“A lunar ship, okay?” Feiyun elaborated.
“Can you take us along too?” The kids jumped up and believed him.
“No, it’s very dangerous and offends the gods, a big crime. Let me shoulder this burden alone, just watch from below.” Feiyun summoned his vessel.
The runes looked ancient, brimming with an aura of vicissitudes. He jumped on it and commanded to float upward.
He looked down and waved: “I’m going now!”
The kids were astounded as if they were watching a fairy tale unraveling before them.
“Whoosh!” The ship flew towards the moon.
“Big Sis, can Big Bro really pluck the moon?” The little girl asked with curiosity in her eyes.
“Maybe.” She said.
“Big Sis, doing so will anger the gods?” Another kid asked.
“Well…”
Suddenly, the sky turned dark since the moon was nowhere to be found.
Many tribe members got on their knees and started bowing. The children’s jaw nearly dropped to the ground.
This was a scene only existing in the fairy tales – a massive ship slowly descended from the horizon with the moon on the deck, still squirming back and forth.
Light returned to the sky.
“This moon is too mischievous, took a lot of effort to catch it.” Feiyun smiled at the children.
The little ones stared at the moon on the ship. It was as big as a mountain; white from top to bottom. It exuded a gentle light that illuminated the plain.
“Big Sis, the moon is taken down for you, take it!”
“Idiot, how can Big Sis take it? It’s so big!”
“Yeah! It’s gigantic!”
“Right, this big moon belongs to the night sky. I have to return it or the heaven will punish me.” Feiyun smiled.
“It’s a gift for me and it’s here, no point in returning it.” The empress looked up, revealing her snow-white neck and letting out a beautiful smile.
She raised her hand and the moon on the vessel became smaller and smaller, eventually becoming the size of an egg. It landed on her palm with a crescent shape.
“Wow!” The children applauded.
Feiyun furrowed his brows, slightly annoyed. He recalled his vessel and landed.
The crowd kept on cheering so Feiyun attempted to put the flower on her hair for the second time. This was much harder than plucking the moon.
Finally, he used a strand of her hair and wrapped it around the flower before gently letting go. The flower draped down to around her neck and issued a gentle glow.
However, someone realized it and said: “Why is there still moonlight if the moon is gone? Plus, shouldn’t the gods be angry right now?”
Coincidentally enough, the black clouds dispersed and another moon showed up.
“Why are there two moons?”
“No, Big Bro lied to us, he’s a liar!”
“He’s a liar!”
Feiyun didn’t turn red at all after being exposed. He was quite pleased that the children got a good memory from this.
***
Tonight was a sleepless night.
On the second day, the two of them left quietly at dawn, heading for the tomb.
They no longer had a smile on their face, only coldness. The flower on her hair was gone now, most likely thrown away.
“Return my weapon essence!” Feiyun spoke first.
“Weapon essence?” The empress glided in the air like the wind.
It was a little cold with mist and dewdrops so her dress became wet.
“It’s the moon from last night.” Feiyun only wanted to please the children, not her.
“Oh? I’ve thrown it away.” She casually responded.
He hastily stopped in his tracks.
