Curse of the Blood Moon

His eyes were bloodshot and his stare, murderous.

After being married for so long, this is the first time I have seen him this way. My heart, once icy towards him, is now shredded to pieces upon seeing his massive transformation. Every step and movement he makes now feels so foreign to me.

He looks down at the corpses trailing at my feet and singles out a female corpse. This female corpse belonged to a woman, one formerly of exceptional beauty.

She is Yining, a woman he got to know during his travels. Although I can tell there is no love between the two of them, she owes him a debt of gratitude, having saved his life once. While he cannot marry her, he sought to provide her the best. Until one deep night, when the darkness in me raged wildly and caused me to lose complete control of myself.

Why did it have to come to this? I scream frantically, recalling bit after bit what had happened.

He encircles the corpses, noting every one of them and repeating their names after him.

"Sixteen lives. SIXTEEN! Xiyu, how could you do this?" He erupts at me, his fiery pupils focused intensely on me. I, Muxue Xiyu, have committed a heinous crime.

A sea of silence fills the cave. I have no words to say in my defence.

"Xiyu, what made you turn into this .... Monster?" he interrogates me, leaving me no space for remorse. His breath is austere and this just breaks me even more to know how he now perceives me as a killer.

I don't tell him, if not for the demonic power manifesting inside me, that I would not be capable of hurting even a fly.

I don't tell him how I feel for him. I know if I do, then maybe he would be incapable of giving me my anticipated punishment.

I cry silently, accumulating inside me, tears of eternal regret.

"Slay me then, if you wish, Zhan Dongyue." I reach to him and tear the woven bracelet off his wrist, an emblem of our undying bond as husband and wife. The bracelet is red and black, symbolic to my clan members. It was not awarded upon him during our marriage, but after the first year of our union.

"From now on, we shall part ways as husband and wife," I tell him while attempting to hold back tears in my eyes. He was the one who had melted my icy heart and shown me the love of his world and brought back the feelings of trust that I had lost.

We were bonded by a ritual due to an unforeseen circumstance, which he calls the work of destiny. Furthermore, he had said that the chance encounter between us is the long-awaited love which he has been dreaming of. The bond keeps us together as mates for life, but as long as one of us stays alive, the other will also live. For this reason, he spares my life.

"Muxue Xiyu, we are done."

Every thread of fate that remains is ripped to shreds as I witness my husband walk away from me in sheer silence, his figure becoming more and more obscure as he vanishes from view.

I slump to my knees, my mouth uttering only a prayer to Goddess Minami to grant me strength.

It is all over.

In the island of Muxue...

Cold and large eyes, a striking figure and an even icier demeanour, Muxue Xiyu was not like any of the other women in Muxue. Calling her a witch was an understatement because she was a powerful enchantress by definition. But her powers came at a cost.

It was just another night where she was feeling hot. Not just hot, it was scorchingly hot, like a desert!

When the elders foretold that a female child would be born under the Blood Moon and harness the power of the eclipse, they obviously hadn't warned of the side effects of the resulting sensuality that encompassed her every time she used her magic or just practised.

Many feared her for her power, and even the young man of Han descent, Xu Hanshan, who she had grown up with, had forsaken her. First, her parents had left her, and now, Xu Hanshan was also gone, claiming that he had fallen for another. Though she hadn't experienced many feelings other than friendship with the man, it was upsetting enough to her to be deprived of his companionship. She had known him for seven years, and to lose the only friend she had, devastated her.

She fumbled with the bows of her long flowing dress, peeling off layer after layer of her clothing as she cooled off under the moonlight. The island of Muxue, founded by her forefathers, had eight moons, and under the bright moonlight, her soft snow-white skin was breathtaking. Forget the classic Chinese beauties in mythology, Xiyu was not like them at all. She stood out from them in terms of her beauty, though she was more like a snow queen rather than a classical beauty.

Fortunately, she lived deep in the wilderness, so nobody would be able to catch a glimpse of her naked body as she lay on the soft patch of grass. The night breeze swept through her, tickling her and arousing her sensitively.

"Hanshan, if not for my curse, perhaps we would still be the best of friends," she whispered as she rolled on the grass patch. "Was my curse so scary to you? Do you fear me, after what we went through all these years?"

It didn't need to be love for it to be painful. Losing a friend already hurt her. On the outside, she was cold and cruel, ruthless and powerful. In the inside, she was just like any other woman, having a heart, and filled with emotion. If merely losing a companion was so painful, loving someone would be even more shattering. She had long heard of those tragic romance stories, and how the star-crossed lovers would be united with death.

Witches like her were not capable of love because of the brutality of their destiny. Living life to the end, all alone and destitute. The fate of her aunt and grandaunt was not unknown to her. They had lived a life of celibacy. And she strongly believed she was about to undergo the same.

She lay back and relaxed under the moons. It was marvellous how she seemed to feel mightier during a full moon, and besides, eight moons were better than one. She figured that the presence of the moons greatly enhanced their power and also, her sensuality.

All of a sudden, the ground under her tremored, causing her to bolt as far as she could. In her eighteen years, she had never felt an earthquake like that before, and this instilled fear in her.

"What could have happened?" she gasped, looking around her as her vision went fuzzy for a few seconds. She struggled to scramble to a safe spot below an oak, hugging its trunk as hard as she could and disregarding the pain from its sharp barks cutting deep into her soft skin. Being an enchantress did not equate to being able to escape danger.

While she was powerful in terms of enchantment and offensive magics dealing with obscuring reality with the manipulation of energy, her power did not grant her any defence from natural disasters, unless it was caused by magic which she had some degree of resistance to.

Muxue was an island that was not on a regular world map, and was like a planet existing on its own, having an individual sun and eight moons. She firmly believed that this earthquake was not a naturally occurring phenomenon. Someone or something must have upset the natural balance of the island, and though she had disappeared into the depths of the forests, she, as a Muxue, had the role of protecting the island from any possible threats.

Xiyu had to restore the balance of the island and guard it against any possible harm, at the liability of her own life. She was fearless and dauntless. Cowardly behaviour and fear of death were not in her dictionary.

Finally, the shaking came to a stop, and she released her grip on the tree trunk. Her surroundings returned to their former state, and nothing seemed to have changed. Yet, she was overcome by curiosity to find out what had happened.

Sauntering towards the scattered clothing on the ground, she picked up her garments casually and rolled them under her arm, slowly dressing under the serenity of the woods. Once she was clothed completely, she removed her sash and unfolded it to use it as a veil. It had been almost two years that she had lived secluded from others, and she wasn't keen on being recognised. Because people would just be frightened of her again and distance themselves from her. Hanshan had been an exception, but his beloved poisoned him to leave her. It was best she went unrecognised.

The long skirts of her pale pink flowing dress swished as she slipped through the depths of the forest, her eyes shimmering like pearls. She resolved to discover the source of this unnatural phenomenon and to eliminate it for once and for all. After then, she realised, the island would forever be safe from any possible menace. She would be able to rest in the calmness that the island was secured. Although she had no duty upon her as a guardian, she was unwilling to see any harm befall the very island her ancestors had founded.

HOURS AGO

"There's a turbulence, young master Dong," a low voice said, interrupting a tall and slim figure with a silvery mane, reading on the deck of the trading vessel. The young master was unusually calm, and even after how the ship was shaking, he maintained his calmness and continued reading.

"Previously, I have studied the seafarer's charts. This path should be safe to proceed, and the monsoon season won't hit till a few months after.

Hearing Zhan Dongyue's words, the younger man, Ya'Xing, relaxed and returned to his business with the mast of the ship. In his years of working in shipyards and on the vessels with different employers, he had never seen anything like this before, and he knew it was not good news. However, how the young master remained unmoved despite how the vessel was now rocking wildly was appalling!

Zhan Dongyue, being the eldest young master of the Zhans, was a humble fellow, thirsty for knowledge and exploration. It had taken him much persuasion on his part for his parents to allow him on such a risky journey. Many traders had not come back alive on the route to the city of Sanggui, but for Dongyue, it was a totally different story.

Since young, he was estranged from the very people who gave him life, Zhan Yihai and Ming Yue. The severity of his birth and horoscope made him no ordinary person, and at the same time, people shunned him like a disease. On the other hand, the young master sincerely believed that his brutal horoscope made him resilient against the hazardous journey he chose to lead.

He was seriously exhausted and no longer wanted to continue living like a disabled person, locked at home, so he decided he would do what his other male cousins were incapable of; taking the trading vessel and loading it with merchandise for travel through the dangerous seas of the Puying en route to Sanggui, ten thousands of 'li' away from Yilong, where such materials such as cotton, silk, saffron and spices were scarce. He was overly ambitious in his plans that no words from his soft and gentle mother would dissuade him.

"I will bring honour to the Zhan family and return victorious," he had announced. Lady Ming Yue responded with not a single word as he returned and packed his belongings. It was going to be a long journey.

Other than Ya'Xing, he had another loyal companion, one who was willing to fight the odds by his side! This man owed him a debt of gratitude, but other than his servitude, he had no other ways to repay Dongyue's kindness: because he had amnesia, and no longer remembered who he was!

However, when Dongyue found him months ago, collapsed and unconscious on the shores of the city of Yilong, he was adamant about saving his life. He had even given him a name: Xiao Tian.

..........

"Young Master, there's a ripple in the water, and it looks like the vessel will be sucked inside," Ya'Xing told Dongyue his thoughts, to which the young master replied with a serene nod.

Dongyue's calmness spooked the younger Ya'Xing during such a state. As poor as he was, he wasn't keen on dying with the young master! He wondered what he should do, and if he should jump ship before the three of them, all perished aboard. Without realising it, he was prancing up and down so much that Dongyue broke the silence abruptly.

"Ya'Xing, fret not. There are no storms, and everything is just an illusion. In time, the ship should steer clear of anything, and move calmly ahead. Just close your eyes and take a rest, like what Xiao Tian is doing."

Xiao Tian was calm? That man was nuts, Ya'Xing thought. Nobody knew what had happened to Xiao Tian before his salvation, but the man was undoubtedly traumatised, shaking from time to time throughout the day. He turned and took a closer look at the man, realising the man had his eyes closed and his palms clasped together as if making a deep prayer.

He took a deep breath. Perhaps he should pray as well, for their safety. Then, the real terror struck. The ship shook wildly, turning so rapidly that the men were flung across the ship, grabbing on whatever they could for dear life.

Then, all of a sudden, everything went calm, and the trading vessel resumed its journey smoothly as if nothing had occurred. Ya'Xing focused, peering curiously around him. Dongyue was sitting again with his book at the deck, and Xiao Tian in a far corner of the ship, engrossed in silent prayer.

Was everything just an illusion, as the young master had said? Ya'Xing thought. He resumed working with the mast of the ship as he had been before the turbulence.

Dongyue retrieved the magical compass from his pocket and flipped it around in his palm.

"That's strange, we should have been hearing northeast, but it appears we are now in the southwest." Again, he seemed unbothered. But then, a further movement from the compass caused him to halt momentarily. The needle of the compass was jerking so fervently that he no longer knew where they were!

Dongyue's smug grin transformed into that of turmoil. Before his very eyes, he witnessed himself the calm waters and clear sky abruptly fading away and being replaced immediately with the sparkling snow-covered earth of the island of Muxue. The chilly winds blowing from the north swept up his silky smooth tresses and undid the strap that bound his hair. His silvery mane swept up behind him in waves, blending with the white of the snow.

It was the first time he had ever seen actual snow. How beautiful it was, he thought silently. His mother had never allowed him out of the house during a snowy season, fearing he would catch a cold. When he reached the tender age of eleven, the prediction of a fortune-teller had ended badly with him being banished to the western wing of the mansion. He had never got the chance to creep up close to the snow or to touch and smell it at all.

The vessel finally came to a sudden stop upon touching the ground of the island. Without further thought, the normally calm young master disembarked, running crazily across the snow. Much to the disbelief of the two men, their companion and young master had turned insane and was now not just touching the snow, but kissing and tasting it as he went. Was he out of his mind?

Dongyue stopped as he heard footsteps, but the audience that assembled before their ship was not just a few men, but a crowd of the entire residents of the island! An elderly, amiable voice greeted them kindly.

"Welcome to the island of Muxue, young travellers."