Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

The door hinges turned, making a teeth-grinding sound.

There were no lights in the Moon Palace, only a faint light coming in from the windows, illuminating the frost-covered ground.

Bai Yin stood at the doorway, a pool of blood dripping from his body at his feet.

He dared not breathe, afraid that a single breath would dispel the cold silence within the hall.

In the center of the main hall stood a person.

The person was dressed in plain white clothes, with his back to the gate, and carrying an unlit palace lantern in his hand.

Bai Yin's fingers gripped the door frame tightly, his nails snapping and breaking off into the wood.

"Xiao Jiu".

He called out. His voice was hoarse, as if he had swallowed a mouthful of sand.

The person didn't move.

Bai Yin staggered forward. His leg was injured, and each step he took left a trail of blood on the ground.

But he walked very fast, and in the end he almost pounced on him.

"I am coming."

Bai Yin opened his arms, wanting to meld the figure he longed for day and night into his very bones.

however.

His hand passed through her body.

There was no temperature, no touch, and not even a breeze.

Bai Yin missed his target and crashed heavily onto the cold jade floor.

The figure swayed, like a reflection in water shattered by a pebble, turning into countless points of light that scattered before slowly gathering back together, transforming back into the woman carrying the lantern.

Bai Yin lay on the ground, staring blankly at the scene.

A fist-sized rock floated in mid-air, emitting a faint blue light.

Photo stone.

That's not her.

That was the shadow she left behind.

Bai Yin reached out his hand, wanting to touch the light and shadow, but stopped in mid-air.

The blood on my hands is too dirty; it will taint this last bit of hope.

The person in the light and shadow turned around.

That's Su Xiaojiu.

She was pale, but her makeup was very exquisite.

The floral decoration between his eyebrows was a blooming gardenia, which was Bai Yin's favorite.

She looked ahead, her eyes unfocused, yet it seemed as if she were looking into Bai Yin's eyes.

"noob."

The light and shadow spoke. The voice was soft, carrying the unique coolness of the Moon Palace.

Bai Yin's body trembled slightly.

"By the time you see this, I should already be gone."

Su Xiaojiu smiled and raised her hand to tidy up the stray hairs at her temples.

"Don't cry. Tigers look ugly when they cry."

Bai Yin gritted his teeth, letting out a wild, beast-like whimper.

"Emperor Shitian gave me a Nine-Turn Heart-Protecting Pill." Su Xiaojiu took out a jade bottle from her sleeve and shook it in her hand. "He said that this medicine can protect the heart meridian, and even if my heart blood is taken, it can keep me from dying temporarily."

"But Xiaobai, I don't want this half-dead life."

"I used this pill to exchange for this image-recording stone with the celestial official guarding it. This stone can last for a hundred years, and as long as you don't break it, I can stay here with you for a hundred years."

Bai Yin lay on the ground, his fingernails digging into the cracks between the floor tiles.

That was a life-saving medicine.

She traded her life for a shadow.

In the play of light and shadow, Su Xiaojiu sighed, put down the palace lantern in her hand, and sat down cross-legged, just like before, in the cave in Yunmengze, sitting opposite Bai Yin.

"Little White, listen to me."

Everything in this world has its destiny. I was just a drifting duckweed, wandering here. To meet you is already a blessing from heaven.

"Do not blame anyone, nor hate anyone. The fate of the demon race is coming to an end, and someone must fill it. Since I have received the destiny of the nine-tailed celestial fox, I should bear this karma."

"It's just a pity that I couldn't wait for you to come and pick me up."

Su Xiaojiu paused, a glint of light flashing in the corner of her eye.

"You said you were going to the far west to sharpen your sword, to tear a hole in the sky. I knew you would go, you silly tiger, once you've made up your mind, not even nine oxen could pull you back."

"But I don't want you to become like that."

"I remember what you used to be like. Clumsily catching fish for me, carefully combing my hair. Back then, your eyes were so clear."

"Little White, promise me."

Forget about me.

"Go back to Yunmengze, be your mountain king again. Enjoy the flowers in spring and sleep in winter. Stop killing people and stop risking your life for me."

"This world is too bitter, I don't want you to live in hatred."

The light and shadow gradually faded.

Su Xiaojiu's figure began to blur, and her voice became ethereal.

"If there is an afterlife..."

"I want to be a bird. Fly over the sandstorms of the far west, fly over the clouds of the ninth heaven, and perch on the stone where you sharpen your knife."

"Don't complain that I'm noisy when the time comes."

The light and shadow completely disappeared.

The photographic stone lost its luster, fell to the ground with a thud, and rolled to Bai Yin's side.

The main hall fell silent once more.

Bai Yin knelt there, motionless.

Two lines of bloody tears flowed down his cheeks, across his scarred face, and dripped onto the stones on the ground.

Forgot?

How could I forget?

That's a name etched into the bones, an obsession ingrained in the flesh and blood.

She traded her life for a shadow, just to persuade him to let go of his hatred and live a wretched life.

"Oh……"

Bai Yin chuckled.

The laughter was low and hoarse, like a broken bellows being pulled.

Tianpeng appeared at the doorway at some unknown time.

She looked at Bai Yin kneeling on the ground, and at the rolled-down photographic stone, a hint of reluctance flashing in her eyes.

"She's a good girl."

Tianpeng spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse.

"She knew she wasn't going to survive. Taking her heart's blood was a near-certain death. Even with that heart-protecting pill, she would only be able to prolong her life and become a cripple."

"She doesn't want you to see her like that."

Tianpeng walked into the main hall and stopped three steps behind Bai Yin.

"Bai Yin, listen to her."

"She died for the demon race. Her blood saved my master and restored the demon race's destiny. All the billions of beings in the Nine Heavens will remember her kindness."

"We will erect a monument for her and write a book in her honor. She will become a holy maiden of the demon race, receiving offerings for eternity."

"You are alive, and you can watch over this peaceful and prosperous world for her; that is what she hoped for."

Bai Yin did not turn back.

He reached out and picked up the photo stone from the ground.

The stone was cold and hurt his palms. He carefully wiped away the dust, then tucked it into his bosom and placed it close to his heart.

There's also a straw man there.

Now, there's an extra stone.

This is all she left him.

"A peaceful and prosperous era?"

Bai Yin spoke.

He slowly stood up. His kneecaps cracked, and his wounds reopened, blood trickling down his trouser legs.

But he stood very straight.

It's like an unbreakable gun.

"That was your golden age."

Bai Yin turned around and looked at Tian Peng.

The lifelessness that had filled those eyes was gone. In their place was a chilling madness. It wasn't fire, it was ice. It was ancient, frozen ice that had extinguished all life.

"The prosperous era that was bought with her life is filthy to me."

Tianpeng frowned.

"Bai Yin, don't get stuck on this. This is about the greater good..."

"To hell with righteousness!"

Bai Yin suddenly roared.

The roar shattered the eternal lamps in the hall. Darkness instantly swallowed everything, leaving only the pale moonlight streaming in from the window, illuminating his狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) face.

"I'm just a tiger!"

"I don't understand anything about fate or the common people! All I know is that my fox is gone!"

"You captured her, drained her blood, and now you tell me it's for the greater good? To let me live? To make me happy for her?"

Bai Yin laughed.

He was laughing while shedding tears of blood.

"Tianpeng".

"You're a pathetic wretch too."

Tell me, can this sense of righteousness fill the void in your heart?

Tianpeng's expression changed.

She gripped the nine-toothed rake tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"Bai Yin, you've gone mad."

"Yeah, I'm crazy."

Bai Yin raised his hand.

hum-

A piercing screech of a blade echoed through the sky.

The three-pointed, double-edged sword that had been thrown outside the hall transformed into a black streak of light, smashed through the hall door, and flew into Bai Yin's hand.

I have the knife handle.

A terrifying aura erupted from Bai Yin.

That's not demonic energy.

That was pure killing intent. It was the murderous aura of Asura that he had accumulated over nine years of killing in the far west.

Originally, this murderous aura was suppressed by his longing for Su Xiaojiu.

Now, Su Xiaojiu is gone.

This malevolent energy has completely spiraled out of control.

The demonic runes on Bai Yin's body began to burn, turning a blinding blood red. His hair danced wildly behind him, each strand like a sharp needle.

"Xiao Jiu is dead."

Bai Yin gripped his knife, the tip pointing at Tianpeng, pointing at the majestic Nine Heavens Palace.

"I have no desire to argue about right and wrong."

"Since Heaven requires her life to make amends."

"Then I'll kill everyone in the sky and rip the sky to shreds."

"Let's see how it's going to be repaired!"

boom!

Bai Yin's figure disappeared from the spot.

The next moment, the black blade light, like an ink dragon, roared and slashed towards Tianpeng.

The roof of the Moon Palace shattered with a deafening roar under this single strike.

Debris flew everywhere.

The moonlight shone down without obstruction, illuminating the madman's figure.

He's got a death wish.

He doesn't want this world anymore.

He only wanted all the gods and Buddhas in the sky to be buried with her.

Tang Duo Ling: Blood and Tears in the Moon Palace

A solitary figure stands by the cold window, a flickering lamp illuminating a broken heart.

As the years pass, a desolate stone remains.

Do not say that our love is not over in this life, for you are leaving, and we are separated by vast distances.

My clothes are soaked with blood and tears, so what if I go mad?

Who, then, controls the rise and fall of dynasties?

I will not regret shattering the heavens, for the blade is cold and the moon is like frost.