chapter 4

The Li family had gathered in the old study that morning — a room lined with floor-to-ceiling shelves of books, manuscripts, and relics collected over generations. Sunlight filtered through tall lattice windows, catching dust motes that danced in the still air. On the wide oak table lay open scrolls, photocopied documents, and transcribed notes — fragments of a forgotten world scattered across polished wood.

For the first time in months, Li Yuren was there too, sitting quietly in a wheelchair by the window. His face was calm, but his eyes betrayed the storm beneath — grief, resignation, and a thread of fragile hope.

“Here,” said his father, Li Zhenghua, adjusting his glasses as he read aloud from an ancient text, the paper yellowed and fraying at the edges. “‘The ritual of union shall be performed with the one blessed by the moon. The bond must be honored in loyalty until death, regardless of the sick’s fate.’”

The words hung heavy in the room.

“It means,” his grandmother said softly, “that once the marriage is done, it cannot be broken. Whether Yuren survives or not… they must remain husband and wife.”

“And this part,” Shen Lian added, pointing to another line, “‘Love may wander, but loyalty must not. No matter whom the heart yearns for, the vow to the Moon One must remain unbroken.’”

Zhenghua sighed. “So even if Yuren… is ..in.. love with someone else, he must still protect and care for the Moon person for life.”

A silence fell over them all.

Yuren said nothing. His gaze remained fixed on the pale rectangle of sky beyond the window, as though searching for something far beyond his reach.

Across the room, a stack of notes lay neatly arranged — the work of a girl far too young to carry so much responsibility.

Li Yueqi, barely fourteen, stood beside them. Her hands were ink-stained, her eyes ringed with exhaustion, but there was a fierce determination in the way she held herself.

“I found more,” she said softly.

Her family turned to her. “More?” her grandfather asked gently.

Yueqi nodded. “About the legend. And the truth behind it.”

She told them everything — about the remote mountains she had traveled to with only a translator and a local guide, and bodyguard ,about the village where the legend of the Moon of Heart was said to have begun.the legend is about a long, long ago, when the stars still spoke and the rivers still remembered the names of gods, there was a great empire — vast as the horizon, glorious as the rising sun. Yet even the brightest light may falter, and so did the empire, cursed by its own greed and sins. Famine devoured the fields, betrayal brewed within palaces, and the blood of innocents stained the throne.

It was then the old seers spoke of an ancient prophecy:

“When darkness devours the land, only the Moon of Heart — born with the blessing of heaven — shall cleanse the blood and restore the balance of fate.”the young emperor who finally had become the emperor after long scheming and war finally had became the emperor first few after his accession it was a smooth life he had countless lovers wives,concubines ,empress but it doesn't take for his downfall he become sick he don't have time to live.when he hear this prophecy talk by previous generation he suddenly had a hope and start searching for next few years the moon of heart crazly and when he really found one he take it the places and made him his concubine , the moon of heart— a being so beautiful that mortals wept at the sight, skin pale as moonlight, eyes like still water reflecting the heavens. Upon his wrist shone the mark of the moon, a silver crescent etched by destiny itself.

The emperor called him “Yuexin” — the Moon of Heart

At first, the emperor sought Yuexin only as salvation — a divine tool to save his life But as days became nights, and nights became years, admiration rotted into obsession. The emperor could not bear the thought of losing Yuexinb. He showered him with palaces, jewels, and titles — yet Yuexin was caged, never free. The emperor who is afraid of losing him scared his own life will end with yuexin start stopping other from looking at him if anyone talk to him even a sec to long he will take their eyes out Even his sweetheart whom he swore to protect all his life was not spared once she tried to kill yuexin out of jealously he killed her slowly, tortuous death. Later he become so paranoid he Even kill his wives and concubine and send other wives and empress away from palace and made yuexin The empress .some says yuexin bore the emperor a miraculous child, whose cry silenced the storms. But fear is a cruel master. The emperor slaughtered his own concubines, wives, even children — terrified they would harm Yuexin or the moon-born heir.When the moon-born child took his first steps, the emperor vanished. He abandoned his throne, his armies, his golden halls, and disappeared into the mountains with Yuexin and their child.

No one knows where they went. But it's said that the moon of heart people are still alive on Earth and which can save a sick person and bring them back to life and change sick person fate , but overtime in past the people who are desperate wants to save their children start a strange ritual , let their sick child merrying the people who had similar mark as moon of heart and said to bring goodluck and make sick healthy again no one if it's a coincidence or something else but sick people really become alright and over the next generation this just become a superstitious thing. in modern world and not many people know about it but in some rural areas this ritual is still done

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The elders had not wanted to see yueqi, let alone speak to her. Outsiders were forbidden to step into their sacred grounds.

“They said I wasn’t pure enough,” Yueqi whispered. “That I shouldn’t even touch the soil there.”

“And yet you went,” Zhenghua said quietly, pride and fear warring in his voice.

“I begged,” Yueqi admitted. “And when they still refused, I offered donations — one million yuan, gold offerings to their temple, anything they asked. Only then did they agree to tell me what they remembered.”

She spread out several sheets of handwritten notes across the table. “The story everyone knows — about the emperor and the Moon of Heart — it’s only part of it. There are three ranks of those touched by the moon.”

Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke, but she pressed on:

> “First, the Fox of Blessing — the original Moon of Heart, the one whose beauty was said to drive the emperor mad. He bore the mark on his wrist, and his presence could draw illness away. He was called ‘blessing’ — the divine fox who changes fate.”

“Second, the Lesser Moon born — people with a diluted trace of that bloodline. They, too, could bless, though their power was weaker. They appeared rarely, but their marks were also usually on the wrist or hand.”

“And third…” Her voice lowered. “…the most sacred of all. The Heart of the Moon.”

The room stilled.

“This is the part they never tell outsiders,” Yueqi continued. “The Heart of the Moon isn’t marked on the wrist. The mark is hidden… at the nape of the neck. It’s said that even the original Moon of Heart couldn’t compare to them.”

Her fingers tightened around the paper. “They’re rarer than anything. Pure beyond words. Their energy doesn’t just heal — it brings prosperity, happiness, and abundance into the home. They’re said to change the entire course of a family’s fate.”

“And the conditions?” Shen Lian asked, her voice barely audible.

Yueqi nodded slowly. “Strict. Ancient. No compromises allowed. Once the union is made, the bond cannot be broken — not by death, not by distance, not by love. The Moon One must be cherished and protected until the end of life.”

For a long time, no one spoke. The gravity of it pressed on them like the weight of centuries.

Yuren closed his eyes. The silence stretched until it was almost unbearable.

“Then…” he said at last, his voice hoarse, “…if such a person exists… we must find them but only if....” he smiled but his smile did not reach his eyes

Yueqi swallowed hard. “I’m trying, Gege. I really am. But they’re so rare. Even the tribe said they hadn’t seen one in decades.”

Shen Lian’s eyes filled with tears again. “Then we’ll keep searching. We’ll search every corner of the world if we have to.”

“Yes,” Zhenghua said firmly. “We will find them.”

Li yuren wants to tell them ma ,pa everyone it's a superstitious thing don't fall for it ,but he doesn't have energy to make them so sad early.

And beneath the heavy silence of the Li family’s vow, the world outside continued on — unaware that fate was quietly stitching together two lives that could not have been more different.

One, in a golden room beneath a heavy sky.

The other, in a small sunlit kitchen, laughing over gossip and stew.

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