Everything was faint when Xiao Tian opened his eyes. It was like he was reliving his nightmare. The first time, he had been a swordsman, practising the arts in the solitude of the mountains, when they were all assaulted by a group of masked invaders. His master was nowhere to be found, and his martial brothers were massacred.
They had been murdered over gold and a few secrets. He didn’t even make out the faces of his attackers. He remembered that the masks appeared to have a golden buckle on their sides, and were made of iron. The men were dressed from head to toe in black, suggesting they were assassins.
Initially, he had lost all memories, including that of the accident. He perceived it as a blessing in disguise that he could not remember the massacre. But now, after the torment of his captors, Xiao Tian had somehow regained a portion of his memories. Much of his memories were still a blur.
The bulls had been ferocious, compelling them to swallow their experimental concoctions and later when they refused, they starved them deliberately and laced their food and drinks with venom. Their torturers had access to all kinds of poison extracted from varying herbs and plants found on the Xuancang Mountains, insects, lizard-like reptiles and small snakes.
Aside from making Xiao Tian and Ya’Xing test subjects, they would also torture them by stabbing them for their enjoyment with small knives. Although the wounds inflicted from the blades were not deep enough to cause any long-lasting damage, the fact that the men lived in terror each day they were in captivity was enough to create permanent trauma. Besides, the weapons they used were infused with demonic energy, which had the risk of interfering with Xiao Tian and Ya’Xing’s weaker states of mind.
On the other hand, it was the random side effects of the experimentation that caused Xiao Tian’s memories to return. Ya’Xing, on the other hand, was negatively affected. He was impaired to the extent that he couldn’t walk without his knees giving way. The experimentation turned out to have a side-effect on him that caused him to itch badly and develop allergic reactions to the venom. Bandages covered his lower body completely, with some ointment from Muxue Yan’s minions to alleviate the swelling. Xiao Tian found him incapable of talking because all he could make out was a few words before he burst out laughing insanely.
After finding out his real name, Xiao Tian made up his mind that he wanted to perform two things: to find out the identity of the woman of his dreams, and find his master, as well as to exact vengeance on the men in the iron masks. But before that, he had to get stronger and recover the power he had lost.
The day before, he watched his sworn brother get married to the cold proprietress, and he wondered if this would mean they would never leave the island now. Or on the other hand, maybe this union would help them depart the island since she possibly was powerful enough to. He firmly resolved to view whatever the future held, in a positive manner. Now that he was Feng Xia, not Xiao Tian, he would gradually make the distinction.
Feng Xia was a brave, tough and mature warrior, and Xiao Tian was his complete opposite. Xiao Tian was childish, weak and silly. But whether he was Feng Xia or Xiao Tian, Zhan Dongyue never ceased to be kind towards him and treated him like he was his blood brother. When they became sworn brothers in an act that required the exchange of blood, he had been indebted to Dongyue all his life.
Hearing a knock on the door, Xiao Tian opened the door to sight a young man with unusually red pupils. He realised it was Commander West, and hurriedly greeted the man to relay him his thanks. As he was still recuperating, West helped him to take a seat on his bed.
West revealed that he had come to check on Xiao Tian, taking his pulse and observing him thoughtfully for a few minutes before handing him a few elixirs. Xiao Tian immediately consumed the brews without doubting their origin. If Muxue Yan wanted him to die, he would have died long ago, he thought silently.
The commander’s eyes were kind and friendly, offering him solace. If not for his swift movements and correct anticipations of the bulls’ whereabouts, Xiao Tian and Ya’Xing could have perished. He had come to rescue them in the nick of time. To date, they had been recuperating for more than a week. However, this recovery period was significantly sped up by the different time-lapse in the Temple and with boosting medicines.
“When can we go back?” were the only words he could manage to ask, trusting West.
“Soon,” the half-celestial replied. “After my esteemed leader and master have everything taken care of, we should leave immediately.”
There was no falseness in his eyes, and every word appeared to be the truth. Did the commander also mean that Muxue Yan was bringing along an army with him? Not fathoming the ways of the magical island, Xiao Tian refrained from enquiring further questions. He decided to take a step at a time and allow things to sort out by themselves.
……………………………………………………………………
Dongyue was hovering over her when Xiyu opened her eyes to find that another day had passed.
She pulled herself up into a sitting position, stretching her arms and rubbing her eyes. Like Xiao Tian, Xiyu was impatient to get home. It had been so long since they had left Muxue and she was beginning to feel uneasy when away from the island for so long.
Xiyu shuddered as she recalled the familiar voice she had heard in the bridal chambers. It was Minami. Had she come to visit again, and why was she appearing so frequently now, instead of emerging when she was younger?
“Xiyu, we shouldn’t dally too long here,” Dongyue stated, admiring the beauty of the design of the room. She acknowledged his words with an ‘okay’ and resumed his contemplation about Minami’s visits and wondering what it would be like after her biological father returned to the island with her. How would he fare as a ruler and the master of Muxue Manor? The manor had been vacant for years after her parents had passed away. They had to be around a few hundred years old each when they died.
“Dongyue.” The iciness of her tone startled him, and he turned. “What did you think when you accepted my father’s proposal to marry me?”
He looked towards her affectionately and held her small palms in his.
“I thought that he didn’t look up highly on me,” Dongyue answered. “As much as I love you and want to dote on you, I don’t think I am that person who he perceives to be good enough to marry into the Muxue clan.”
She lost her coldness and shot back at him, enraged. “Over what, Dongyue? I told you that I don’t like weak thinking by men. If this goes on, I… I’ll put you under the Frozen Order!”
“Frozen Order? What’s that?” He eyed her curiously.
“It means that you cannot touch me, and I will ignore you.” She huffed and smiled at him, savagely. “I am Muxue Xiyu. I give the orders here.”
He moved a step closer to her, causing her heart to race wildly as he neared her ear.
“That’s what you think, Muxue Xiyu. I can show you what the powers of a husband can do.” His voice sounded a little vicious, and his dark eyes gazed at her possessively. Sensing the intimidation from him, she tried to turn away, but with one hand, he held her chin gently so that she was looking into his eyes. The other hand streaked down her back through her thin undergarments.
Still, she was not alarmed, and his masculinity only thrilled her further. He crashed his lips against hers and kissed her with the vigour he could manage, and she panted furiously, kissing him back with all her power. She felt his right hand slip under her garments, tickling her on her sensitive torso.
Dongyue secured her against the icy wall of their room with her hands above her head. Immobilised by his strength, she enjoyed the security of him overpowering her. Her gown clung loosely to her petite frame, boasting her nevertheless curvaceous figure.
She didn’t want to lose to him, kissing him harder and more mischievously as she felt the call of the full moon on her. She didn’t know how many moons were full now on Muxue and she didn’t care. She no longer needed to feel embarrassed with Dongyue now that they were one, although her trust issues meant she would be wary of him looking the other way towards another woman. She hoped she didn’t even have to be jealous over another woman.
Xiyu had never been jealous and did not wish to know the feeling. She only heard of it from the mother who had raised her, and even now, it was more of a mystery to her than something she understood.
He released her lips promptly, noticing that it was swelling slightly from the passionate kissing.
“Xiyu, I love you. Will you tell me you love me, too?” he expressed his feelings to her, continuing with his teasing.
She forgot how cold she was to him before and smiled impishly.
“I don’t want to tell you.”
He chuckled and began to pull on the strings of her gown, jolting her suddenly.
“Dongyue, what are you trying to do, early in the morning?” she demanded, but he only laughed.
“You’ll know soon, my love.”