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There’s More To Him
‘This woman…’ Qingcang pondered, his energy draining, gaze shifting from piercing to innocent, deer-like. Lina’s intense emotions rushed inside him, shocking and discomforting him. Drifting into the present, he grappled with sensations, realizing the need to pull back.
Her eyes widened, frozen and bewildered. His lips parted from hers with a soft sound of his hot breath as his eyes opened. She could not believe what she had just done with the tyrant who had hidden his true nature from her. “You! Y-you… YOU KISSED ME!”
Baffled by her sudden outburst, his eyes widened, asking, “Didn’t you make this request?”
“WHAT!” she exclaimed, blinking twice, her mouth dropping in bewilderment. The nerve!
“I healed you, didn’t I?” he sneered, growing impatient.
“No, you didn’t! You… wait…” Her voice faltered, realizing the soreness in her leg had vanished. “How?” she whispered, looking down at her leg, while he looked at her as if stating the obvious. ‘Was it that… kiss?’ she wondered, bewildered by her leg’s complete recovery. “This isn’t the first time you’ve done this to heal me, is it? You knew?”
He lowered one arm, gently placing her on the ground, his silence lingering.
“You’re not telling me?”
Qingcang scoffed, meeting her gaze with an aloof expression, panting hard. “Leave it alone.”
Puzzled by the sudden turn of events, Lina immediately noticed his diminishing health. “What’s happening to you?” she inquired as his eyes looked away. “Are you okay?”
His eyes grew wearier by the second as his body gave out. Stumbling backward, he found support against a nearby tree, his strength visibly waning.
Hurrying towards him, she observed his face for any signs of improvement. “Pretty Eyes?”
His eyes locked onto hers, sensing her worry, and gave a deep sigh. “It’s a side effect. I’ll be fine after some rest,” he whispered, though his voice hinted at fatigue, his eyelids drooping. ‘I’ve never been so weakened by it as now… Why?’ he wondered, sliding down the tree and settling on the ground.
She watched with growing concern as he leaned against the sturdy trunk, his breathing growing heavier. ‘Why would he risk it?’
Qingcang’s mysterious motivation intrigued Lina as she sat by his side. His healing kiss raised questions, and against the tree, he seemed a silent enigma. The forest held its breath, anticipating his secrets. The night wore on, and she found solace in the quiet companionship under the moonlit canopy.
Her brows furrowed, curiosity growing, and with a brief hesitation, she shattered the silence. “Pretty Eyes…” she breathed, her eyes searching for answers. “Who are you, really?”
“Is that what’s been bothering you?” he interjected, recalling the moment she first saw him tonight. Catching her nervousness, he pressed on, “So, that’s how it is… You’ve stayed long enough in Shuiyuntian and know more about me now.”
Her mouth parted as sadness welled up inside her. “So, it’s true?” she questioned, pausing briefly to regain composure, his head tilting toward her. “Are you a tyrant? Did you take so many lives without blinking an eye?”
He let out a sharp sigh. “It appears the fairies were too ignorant when you heard about me,” he retorted, wearing a mischievous smirk as he maintained eye contact. “Because I’ve done so much more.”
“So, you…” Lina whispered, breath caught, eyes fluttering in disbelief. “Killed your father to rule?”
A deep scowl formed on his face, his blood boiling.
“Are you…”
“A monster?” Qingcang sharply interrupted, completing her hesitant sentence and catching her off guard. “Why the surprise now? I told you I’m the worst in the three realms.”
“I… I didn’t think you were!” she exclaimed, feeling wrecked. “You’ve been nothing but kind to me. How could I even believe those words you said to me?”
“Kind?” he remarked in a dangerous tone, his eyes fierce. Make no mistake, Silly Little Human, I kept you alive for a purpose,” he snapped, his voice raised.
“Yes… for the portal,” she whispered as anxiety stormed within her. His words hit her like a ton of bricks.
“And be glad that I did, or you would’ve died at the hands of that mutt,” he replied with malice, his cold eyes unflinching.
Her eyes widened. “Jianmin? What happened… that day? Please, tell me…”
Qingcang narrowed his cold eyes, leaning in like a predator to prey. “I burned her to the most agonizing death,” he replied in a husky voice, noticing the alarm in her eyes. “Including those soldiers that ran after you earlier.”
Lina gasped, terrified, as she swiftly stood up, her jaw trembling. It all made sense. He remained the same person he had been in his past. ‘I get that he killed them to save me, but it’s the way he said it… it’s… like…’
His intense gaze flickered, losing sharpness. The tension in his face softened, giving way to weariness hidden beneath his stoic exterior. He surrendered to the darkness with a deep sigh, finding solace in unconsciousness.
“Hey… hey! Don’t you dare pass out on me!” she exclaimed and sighed as she saw no motion from him. Her eyes darted between the unconscious tyrant and the escape route with hesitation.
The forest held its breath, waiting for her decision as the rustling leaves whispered a lullaby. The moonlight cast a soft glow on Qingcang’s features, revealing surfaced vulnerability in his rest. Her heart pounded with conflicting emotions. On one hand, an opportunity to escape from the tyrant presented itself. On the other hand, looking at his vulnerable state, compassion tugged at her.
In the end, compassion won.
“I can’t leave him like this,” Lina whispered as she knelt beside him. Her hand hesitantly touched his forehead. The heat surprised her. ‘Strange… how can he have a fever? Do demons get sick like this?’ she pondered, conflicting emotions swirling in her as she monitored his shallow breathing. ‘Why am I doing this?’ she thought, pity intertwined with fear as she scolded herself for caring about a man stained with darkness. ‘He could’ve explained himself, but he… only went with it.’
His features softened in sleep. In those moments, she grappled with conflicting feelings, torn between loyalty to her beliefs and tending to a ruthless man she had married.
.
.
.
As Shangque soared through the air, thoughts of his ruined home raced through his mind. Understanding that the Moon Supreme had urgent reasons to search for a woman instead of returning to Cangyan Sea, he could not shake the unease.
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Shangque’s Flashback
On the day that Dongfang Qingcang disappeared, moonlight bathed Cangyan Sea, casting a silvery glow over the Xuanxu desert. Shangque, ever loyal to the Moon Supreme, felt a deep foreboding. Convinced his wise and steadfast lord would never abandon his people in crises, urgency gripped Shangque—something must have happened.
He summoned and directed the soldiers swiftly. “Their soldiers are heading our way,” he stated, turmoil hidden beneath a steady voice. Realizing victory hinged on their absent lord, he dispatched a unit to scour the mountain. We need to search for any clues to understand why our lord has gone missing,” he commanded, blending soft authority with urgency.
As the soldiers fanned out, a silence settled over the rocky terrain. Each step echoed through the night, their armor softly clinking. Time passed without answers, and anxiety tested their resolve. Yet, duty propelled them forward.
Shangque, sharp-eyed, spotted the fairy army on the horizon, outnumbering Moon Tribe soldiers. “The fairy troops have arrived!” he urgently warned.
Qingcang remained elusive, and the hope of finding him waned. Facing the fairy threat leaderless, beneath the moonlight, Moon Tribe soldiers descended from the mountains, their hearts burdened by the despair of failing to safeguard their realm.
End Flashback
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The first light of dawn painted the forest in soft orange and pink. Qingcang stirred, gradually regaining consciousness. His eyes fluttered open and saw Lina, who sat close and silently kept watch.
His brows furrowed, and confusion etched across his face. “Why are you still here?” he rasped, curiosity and suspicion tingeing his voice.
She met his gaze with determination and vulnerability and said, “I couldn’t just walk away and leave you like this.”
His searching gaze lingered on her, probing for sincerity. “I’ve given you plenty of reasons to,” he muttered, a shadow crossing his face as he gave a sharp sigh, averting his gaze.
A heavy silence settled, broken by rustling leaves and the distant sounds of the waking forest.
Her expression softened, eyes reflecting sympathy, and she whispered, “Maybe you have, but I’ve seen something more in you.”
Qingcang studied her face, and his gaze intensified, a flicker of vulnerability escaping his stoic facade. “You’re foolish to think so,” he retorted with bitterness.
“No, I’m not,” Lina retorted, her gaze unwavering. “I know what I saw, whether you believe it or not.”
A heavy silence hung, filled with unspoken words. As the sun climbed, casting a warm glow over the forest, their eyes communicating.
He broke the silence, his voice low as he tore his eyes away. “Whatever you think you’ve seen, I’m not that man.”
Another heavy silence settled. Pain gripped her heart at the harsh reality and his self-aware confession. “If that’s what you want me to believe, then I will,” she sighed, steadying against the emotional storm, a single tear tracing down her cheek.
A flicker of mystery passed through Qingcang’s eyes as he processed Lina’s words. Although her tears caused it to well up in his own eyes, his hand moved up to wipe her tears instead but halted a mere fraction of an inch, leaving it unnoticed by her. Bewildered by his unusual display of kindness, he furrowed his brows, wondering if she referred to the small gestures he might have made in her world. Why else would she doubt his claim of being the worst in the three realms?
“You know what? I take back what I said about you!” Lina exclaimed in anger. “Because you’re acting like a jerk!”
Caught off guard, Qingcang’s eyes widened at her sudden shift in tone. “You dare?”
“Yes, I do!” she snapped, noticing his tense jaw. “I’m sick of everything! I’m tired of getting stabbed in the back—right where it hurts me the most!”
His expression remained stoic, yet a hint of complexity danced in his eyes. Despite his usual aloof demeanor, a subtle vulnerability lingered beneath the surface.
“I’m hurt that, after everything we’ve been through, you’d rather I believe the rumors and shut me out when I never really believed them!” her frustration poured out. “That, to me, is the worst thing you could do!”
“In this case, they’re right about me, woman. And yes, I am a jerk,” he sneered, his cold eyes locked onto hers, leaning closer with a detrimental expression. “You think you know everything about me? You’re naive, little human,” he whispered in a husky voice, catching her off guard.
“Don’t dismiss my feelings as naivety. I’ve been through enough to know when someone’s toying with my emotions.”
Qingcang’s expression turned stern, yet a hint of mystery lingered. “Toying with emotions? You have yet to grasp the complications of being the Moon Supreme. This is my reality, and it has always been so. I didn’t hesitate to kill my father for the throne, and anyone who dared oppose me would meet the same fate without a second thought. I’ve left a trail of corpses throughout my life, and I’ll continue to do so indefinitely. If you can’t accept this, then, well, so be it.”
Her heart sank at his cold revelation, and her gaze lowered to the ground. The man she thought she knew turned out to be capable of unspeakable cruelty without remorse. Sorrow and anger surged through her veins as she felt the chilling truth behind his words. Clenching her fists, she stepped back, trying to make sense of the harsh reality. “Why?” her trembling voice whispered.
Sensing her emotions, he sighed. “I’ve been honest about who I am from the start, Lina,” he murmured, a rare hint of weariness in his eyes.
“I know now,” she whispered, her voice choked with sorrow. “But I can’t be a part of this… a part of… you.”
Their eyes locked, and she glimpsed past his guarded demeanor, revealing a man momentarily caught off guard by her revelation. A brief vulnerability flashed in his eyes, a rarity for a man adept at control before his stern expression returned. Her words ignited questions that sliced through his walls.
She sighed in disappointment, thinking, ‘Of course, he has nothing to say to that… I knew it.’
“My Lord!”
Qingcang and Lina turned their heads, observing a man draped in a long leather jacket running toward them.
The young man, entrusted by Dongfang Qingcang to find Dai Lina, rushed through the sunny landscape. “I see you found her first. I’m relieved she’s safe,” he declared.
Lina looked up as the stranger approached. Her eyes met his, and for the first time, they exchanged glances. ‘Why should he be glad that I’m safe? Unless…’ her thoughts trailed off, her gaze shifting to the tyrant. ‘So that dimwit has some sense? I don’t buy it.’
Qingcang turned to the man with a stern expression. “Shangque, inform me about what happened in Cangyan Sea during my absence.”
Shangque’s face grew grave. “My Lord, there’s dire news from our lands.”
Qingcang’s face remained stoic. “Speak.”
Shangque hesitated for a moment. “My Lord, the fairies attacked our territories and targeted the essentials. They destroyed the fields that sustain us with food and the hospitals where our injured people were treated. It wasn’t just a strike; they attempted to wipe us out. Half of our population, especially women and children, have died. Only roughly ten million of the Moon Tribe remain alive.”
Qingcang’s eyes darkened as he absorbed the impact of the news. His fists clenched, his jaw tightened, but he said nothing. The ruthless Moon Supreme, who had just declared his commitment to a path of violence, now faced the grim reality of loss.
Lina could not help but feel sympathy for the man who, for all his coldness, had just received news of his people’s decimation. “I… I’m so sorry for your losses,” she said in a gentle voice.
After a moment of heavy silence, Qingcang’s sneer deepened, and his voice became a menacing growl. “Take her away.”
Shangque, obedient to his Lord’s command, acknowledged with a respectful nod. “As you command, My Lord.”
Lina, however, refused to comply quietly. “Wait a minute! What is this? Take me where? Don’t you da—”
“Dare?” Qingcang’s eyes gleamed with a lethal intensity, sending shivers down her spine. “You underestimate the consequences of defiance, woman.”
Shangque, looking dumbfounded at the dynamics, witnessed a rare sight. Was the most powerful man in the three realms being talked back to? “Should I take her to the dungeon then, my Lord?”
“What dungeon?” she inquired, panicking.
Qingcang arched an eyebrow, scoffing at her reaction. “The dungeon will undoubtedly teach her obedience,” he declared, witnessing her widened eyes in horror. “Howev—”
“The Hell you won’t!”
With an irritated sigh, Qingcang dismissed her with a wave of his hand and decided her fate. “Shangque, take her to the Fairy Slayer Wing.”
Shangque looked surprised at the mention of the Fairy Slayer Wing. “She? Yes, but, about that place—”
‘Is that place a fairy torture chamber? A graveyard?’ Lina contemplated. The weight of unspoken miseries pressed down on her. ‘What has my life become?’ she thought. While confronting the looming darkness of her future, her tears became the painful release of a life marked by extreme suffering.
Feeling uneasy, Qingcang attempted to compose himself. “Stop crying,” he ordered, interrupting her pleas with a sigh of annoyance.
Shangque witnessed an unexpected scene. Much to his astonishment, Dongfang Qingcang, the most fearsome being in the three realms, was in tears—an expression entirely out of character for the tyrant. “My Lord,” he whispered, only to be met with the Supreme Lord’s cold, murderous glare. Instantly gripped by fear, he bowed in submission.
She continued her tirade, leaving Qingcang momentarily speechless as he faced her barrage of complaints. He wiped away his tears, scoffing at the absurdity of her theatrical performance. “Silly Little Human, are you done?” he asked, annoyed.
Shangque, striving to maintain his composure, pondered, ‘Could my Lord’s tears be connected to hers?’
She stopped and took a deep breath. “This is abuse,” she wailed.
“Abuse?” Qingcang raised an eyebrow, delivering a stern scowl. “I believe you’re the first guest to experience such ‘abuse’ from a non-existent dungeon.”
Lina felt confused. “First… what? Didn’t you say he should take me to the Fairy Slayer Wing? And that the dungeon would teach me to be obedient?”
Qingcang sighed. “Yes, it would teach you obedience. You caused me a lot of trouble, little human,” he paused, crossing his arms over his chest. “However, you interrupted me as I was about to instruct him to take you to where I reside.”
‘Where does he reside?’ she wondered as she gave Qingcang a hesitant look. “Is that Fairy Slayer Wing your bedroom?”
“It’s nearby. Not exactly my chamber,” Qingcang replied.
“Oh… Well, I, uh,” she mumbled as her hand moved up to scratch the back of her head, giving the Moon Supreme an awkward grin.
Qingcang sighed.
Shangque, shocked at how she tried to negotiate her way out of a dungeon with such flair, decided to address, “My Lord, about the Silent Moon Palace…”
“Speak, Shangque,” Qingcang commanded.
“It’s… no longer safe there,” Shangque began, catching the Supreme Lord’s attention. “I’m afraid she might not survive there. Soldiers from the Fairy Tribe are swarming the Ninth You, and we’ve lost most of our staff.”
“You were unable to bring this up sooner?” Qingcang snapped.
“Forgive me, my Lord. I was distracted,” Shangque replied.
Qingcang glanced at Lina and scoffed in response. “No matter. Both of you are allowed to stay here while I unleash such torment on the fairies that Hell will seem like mere child’s play,” he announced with a sinister smirk.
Lina felt disturbed, noticing Qingcang’s brutal expression. ‘So… this is my life now,’ she contemplated, lowering her gaze.
Unbeknownst to her, aside from crushing the Fairy Realm, she had left Qincang to ponder her earlier words, “I can’t be a part of this… a part of… you.”
“A part of… you,” Qingcang recalled, with her words echoing within his thoughts.
All original additions in “The Moon Supreme, Dongfang Qingcang” are copyright © 2022 by Aurora Luxi. All rights reserved.
Aurora Luxi 