The moon of today is not the moon of ancient times, yet this very moon once shone upon the ancients.
I only wish that when singing and raising my wine, the moonlight will long shine within the golden goblet.
——Prologue
"Alright, stop overthinking for nothing; what's meant to come will come eventually. If it's a blessing it's no disaster, if it's a disaster you can't hide from it. Go to sleep, I'm exhausted!" Alin rubbed her eyes, nodded at Xiao, stood up, and walked out of the cave with Feng Ling. She found a pine tree, leaped up, and leaned against the trunk to doze off.
Feng Ling sat beside her, watched Alin's sleeping face in a daze, and subconsciously yielded his own shoulder, hoping she could lean more comfortably—she still wore that completely defenseless expression; wasn't she afraid he would leave again while she slept?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help smiling. Even if he slipped away without a word, this girl would still find a way to make him appear willingly. He had already experienced Alin's countless clever tricks.
Alin slept very soundly. For the longest time, as long as Feng Ling was by her side, she would feel inexplicably at ease, no matter what kind of environment she was in.
Dawn was approaching. Feng Ling looked at the person sleeping sweetly in his arms and sighed. He unclasped his cloak and draped it over Alin, then leaped down from the tree to sit cross-legged on the ground, closing his eyes to rest his mind. What else could he do? He simply had no defense against this carefree girl!
Xiao had been guarding the entrance of the cave; it was his turn to keep watch tonight. Seeing that the wolf pack had fallen soundly asleep, he quietly stood up and came to the tree where Feng Ling was. He squatted down beside the man in black, keeping watch in silence. The wooden plaque around his neck had already been around for some years, bearing a faint carved mark—a traditional Chinese character for "Feng," which one would never notice without looking closely.
The name "Xiao" had also been given to him by Feng Ling: dawn breaking in the east, morning winds howling, the snowy plains and vast forests concealing infinite mysteries!
Snow, moon, and primal spirits—the day of awakening has already arrived...
Moon sets, sun rises, evening drums and morning bells; these scenes played out day after day in the sacred sanctuary of Snow Mountain, and the stories deep within those memories never faded.
The morning light spilled down lazily. Alin stretched lazily, and the black cloak slid off her shoulders. Alin paused for a fraction of a second, and a smile spontaneously curved her lips—it had been so long since she had slept this comfortably!
She looked at the man under the tree, and then—oh, why, isn't this Xiao? So they had known each other all along!
Just how many riddle-like pasts were hidden within this wind-like man?
She always felt that because she liked him, she trusted him unconditionally. She thought she understood him very well, but in reality, how much did she actually know about him?
Xiao hadn't slept all night, and now a wave of drowsiness washed over him. He raised his head, glanced at Alin, turned around, and went back into the cave.
With just that single glance, Alin knew that Xiao didn't like her.
Alin jumped down from the tree, squatted beside Feng Ling, and carefully draped her outer garment over the still-sleeping man. Then she sat down contentedly against the base of the tree, cupping her chin in her hands and foolishly smiling at Feng Ling's face. This fellow—since when had she cared about him, liked him? Could this truly be considered love?
Alin's thoughts drifted far away...
So much so that when someone woke up and smiled at her for a long time, she didn't even snap out of it.
Alin's eyes were very large, curving like two crescent moons when she smiled.
At this moment, those two crescent moons had turned into an eerie silver-blue, losing their usual vitality.
"Alin, Liner!" Feng Ling immediately sensed something was wrong; he hugged Alin and shook her.
Alin's gaze grew dazed and blank, and then, as if falling asleep, she collapsed into Feng Ling's arms.
Heaven knows how much she yearned for this embrace; even if she fell into a deep sleep from which she never woke, she would not be willing to let go.
Feng Ling picked Alin up and walked toward the cave entrance with a frown. By the look of it, Alin had been controlled by another spirit. Who could it be?
Xue Yin had just woken up and walked out upon hearing the commotion. "Oh, Big Brother Feng Ling, are you going out? What's wrong with Sister Liner? Still sleeping at this hour—she's almost a match for my brother!"
Xiao crouched at the cave entrance; the moment he saw Feng Ling carrying Alin over, he knew something was wrong.
"She's just too tired. Watch her for me; I'm going out for a bit and will be back soon." Feng Ling unclasped a bracelet strung with many hexagrams from his wrist, earnestly slipped it onto Alin's arm, kissed the sleeping woman's forehead, and turned to leave.
Xue Yin circled around Alin, completely baffled, and had no choice but to squat beside Alin along with Xiao, exchanging wide-eyed stares with the tightly-eyed woman.
Xiao had once encountered great trouble and nearly lost his life before being rescued by Feng Ling. He was brought to Snow Ridge Mountain and, after numerous twists and turns, became a member of the Snow Wolf pack, finally finding a place to settle down. Therefore, he regarded Feng Ling as his savior and had always hoped to repay that life-saving grace one day. He never expected that someone as powerful as Feng Ling would truly need his help one day.
It seemed that a girl like Alin was Feng Ling's destined nemesis, because anyone could see that Feng Ling cared more about her than about himself.
Alin was immersed in a dream, one so beautiful that she did not want to wake up.
In the dream, a girl with long red hair called her sister. The girl was as cute as Xue Yin and liked to wear a red dance dress, spinning around her in dance.
There was also a mysterious woman with a ponytail who liked to dance along with the girl. Upon her, there was high-spirited drive and deep, calculated forbearance, but not a single trace of tender gentleness when facing the one she loved. As for herself, she lightly plucked the zither strings to accompany them. That zither looked so familiar—it seemed to be, oh, unexpectedly Master's Nine-Tone Zither!
Master loved this Nine-Tone Zither best, and later bestowed it upon Senior Sister Qian, who was a Sound Spirit.
If the zither was with her, then where had Senior Sister gone?
Alin played the zither, watching the two dancing women, yet no matter how hard she tried, she could not remember: what was her younger sister's name, and who was this mysterious woman?
The moment Feng Ling picked up Alin, he felt a massive fluctuation of spiritual power. He had to find the source of this power and locate its owner in order to awaken Alin from her dream. Strangely enough, the further he tracked the spiritual power, the stronger it became. This wasn't normal; could they be intentionally exposing themselves?
At that moment, Xiao had already caught the scent of danger—a diversion to lure the tiger away from the mountain. What on earth was the opponent's purpose in intentionally drawing Feng Ling away?
Alin had been unconscious for a day and a night without the slightest sign of waking, yet her expression was very peaceful, as if she were having a dream without a camera angle...
The full moon was approaching once again. The entire wolf pack began to grow restless, and Xue Langxing became agitated as well. With Feng Ling away on the night of the full moon, and both he and his sister forced to leave the cave, would something happen to Alin?
Sister, sleep soundly. When the night of the full moon arrives, I will be able to come out to see you. You want to see me too, right!
Feng Ling, Xiao, just wait and see. Do you really think you can stop me with just the two of you? What a joke!
For three consecutive days, Alin lay quietly in Huanxin Cave. Xue Yin and Xiao took turns guarding her side, while Xue Langxing led the wolf pack out early and returned late, patrolling everywhere.
On the night before the full moon, Feng Ling finally found Huanyue Cave. A powerful spiritual power was sealed within the cave, and the seal at the entrance had already begun to change—it was a crescent-shaped carving interwoven with iron chain patterns. The patterns had transformed from deep to shallow, and the crescent moon was gradually filling out, already forming a half-circle.
Crescent moon, seal, full moon—Feng Ling stood at the cave entrance with a heavy sense of ominous foreboding. Tomorrow is the night of the full moon; Alin, you must not let anything happen. Xiao, I'm counting on you. Make sure you take good care of her for me!
The next day, Alin still had not woken up. By the time darkness fell, only Xiao remained in the cave guarding her.
Xue Langxing and Xue Yin took the wolf pack to the Sacred Spring—Lanyue Spring, the sacred sanctuary guarded by the Snow Wolf Clan for generations.
When the moon rose into the sky, Alin suddenly opened her eyes, looking at the snow wolf beside her with an eerie smile.
Xiao saw that the figure of a strange woman had actually appeared within her eyes. His mind shook in a daze, and before he could even close his eyes, his consciousness was already controlled. Alin lightly leaped onto the wolf's back and galloped toward Lanyue Spring. A good show was about to begin!
Seeing Alin riding in on the galloping snow wolf, the entire wolf pack fell into a brief commotion. Xue Langxing glanced at his sister, nodded, and let out a howl, causing the pack of wolves to part and yield a path.
Xiao's gaze was somewhat unfocused. He carried the woman on his back right up to the edge of the spring. Alin jumped off the wolf's back, looked up at the moon in the sky, and waited.
Xue Yin simply assumed that Sister Liner had woken up and wanted to watch the sacred spring baptism ceremony, harboring not the slightest suspicion.
The moon was nearly full, and Xue Yin stepped into the spring water along with her brother. Xiao, standing beside Alin, suddenly clamped his jaws onto Alin's arm, dragging her with him as he leaped into the spring water. Alin was pulled along yet felt no pain; she wore a blank expression even in the spring water, without struggling in the slightest.
The very second the spring water went over his head, Xiao finally snapped back to consciousness, struggling as he shouted, "Quick, stop her!" But the spring water rushed violently into his mouth, choking back his words.
The moon was full, the water surface emitted a silver glow, and a drastic change occurred within the spring.