The Moon Rises Bright

Heng'e rummaged through the basket beneath the bed for a while and took out the little box.

"Brother Pang Meng, my husband and I have discussed it. Neither of us intends to become an immortal. We only want to live out our lives in peace and grow old together. Now that I think about it, you're the best person to have this Elixir of Immortality." Heng'e opened the small wooden box. The one and a half Spirit Pills lay quietly inside.

Du Yu did not take the Immortal Elixir. He kept his dagger raised.

"Brother Pang Meng?"

"Take out the whole pill," Du Yu said again.

Heng'e was utterly bewildered. This man had twice risked his life for her husband and had refused the Queen Mother's reward. Why did he seem like a completely different person now?

Heng'e took out the whole pill, then set down the half pill and the wooden box.

"Brother Pang Meng, do you only want this one?"

Du Yu gritted his teeth and said, "Eat it."

"Eat... it?" Heng'e looked at Du Yu in disbelief, then at the Immortal Elixir. "You mean you want me to eat it?!"

"Yes. Swallow the Immortal Elixir."

Heng'e still could not understand. "Brother Pang Meng, you came into my room late at night with a dagger, just to force me to swallow the Immortal Elixir and become an immortal on the spot?"

"That's right." Torn by conflicting emotions, Du Yu did not dare meet Heng'e's eyes.

"I won't." Heng'e put the Immortal Elixir straight back into the box. "Although I don't know why you're doing this, Brother Pang Meng, I sense no malice from you. You want me to become an immortal, but I don't want to. What will you do now? Stab me with that knife?"

The hand holding Du Yu's dagger trembled uncontrollably. What was he supposed to do now?

Was he really going to hurt Heng'e?

But what reason did I have to hurt her?

Dong Qianqiu sighed softly and turned her head away. The Legend Management Bureau had seen far too many scenes like this.

"Miss Heng'e, you might not believe what I'm about to say, but I swear I'm not lying."

Heng'e looked at Du Yu in confusion without answering.

"If you don't achieve Ascension to Immortality, countless people in this world will die unnatural deaths. I have no other way. I can't think of a way to resolve this without hurting anyone... If you... if you achieve Ascension to Immortality, you won't die, Brother Da Yi won't die... and those innocent people won't die either... I... I'll do everything I can to get another pill from the Queen Mother of the West... I'll do my best to help Brother Yi achieve Ascension to Immortality too, so you can be together for all eternity..."

"Brother Pang Meng," Heng'e interrupted. "You're lying. If there were two pills, why would the Queen Mother of the West have given us only one and a half?"

"I... I..." Du Yu gritted his teeth, unable to speak.

Indeed, if there really were two pills, why would the Queen Mother of the West have given them only one and a half?

"My husband once said that you're just like Brother Zhan. Both of you always know what's going to happen in the future. When I saw you help my husband shoot down the nine suns, I believed him."

"Miss Heng'e... you..." Du Yu did not know what Heng'e was trying to say.

"I only want to ask you one thing. After I swallow this pill, what kind of future will my husband and I have?"

Du Yu thought for a moment, then said, "You'll become one of the most famous immortal maidens and lead a rich, colorful life. But as for Brother Da Yi, I don't know."

"Brother Pang Meng, from the way you speak, I'm not with my husband at all in the future. Why would you say my life will be rich and colorful?"

"I..."

"Brother Pang Meng, come and sit down. Let's talk." Heng'e gave a bitter smile and sat down on a chair.

Racked with guilt, Du Yu remained where he was.

"Do you know? When I first met Da Yi in the mountains ten years ago, he looked like a wild man. He hadn't tended to his hair in half a year. Yet that filthy, disheveled wild boy bowed respectfully to me after I woke up. Can you imagine how funny that was?"

"Miss Heng'e... what are you trying to say...?"

"Later, we married and decided to stay together for the rest of our lives. We had no parents to bow to, nor did we believe in heaven and earth, so we bowed to each other three times. From that day onward, Da Yi was my whole world. He was my heaven and earth, and my family too. From then on, I had eyes only for him. When he was happy, I was happy. When he was troubled, I was troubled too."

"Miss Heng'e..."

"When I first saw ten suns appear in the sky, I had a very strange feeling-I felt that I was going to lose Da Yi. But I didn't know when I would lose him. Every time he went out to slay Demon Beasts, I would stand at the village entrance, breaking off a peach branch each day to pray for him. Fortunately, he returned safe and sound every time. But do you know, Brother Pang Meng? That feeling never went away. That feeling that I would lose him was still there."

Du Yu looked utterly desolate. All he could do was murmur, "Miss Heng'e, I'm sorry. Please don't say any more..."

"You and my husband both hold the whole world in your hearts. There's nothing I can do to help. If swallowing this pill can save tens of thousands of lives, as you say, then I believe you. I believe my husband would make the same choice." Heng'e slowly picked up the pill, but a closer look revealed that her eyes were brimming with tears too. "Brother Pang Meng, I've told you all this only because I want you to know that I can't live without Da Yi. If there's even the slightest possibility, I hope you'll let him meet me again in the future. That is my only request."

"I... I promise..." Du Yu's voice trembled. He still did not dare meet Heng'e's eyes.

Heng'e smiled faintly and swallowed the whole pill. "I've finally finished mending this garment for Da Yi. Please give it to him."

As Du Yu took the garment, Heng'e slowly began to float.

"Sister-in-law Heng'e, Brother Pang Meng, are you there?"

Youqiong suddenly pushed the door open and entered. The sight before him left him dumbstruck. Pang Meng was holding a dagger pointed at Heng'e, who floated in midair with the open medicine box in her hand. Only half a pill remained inside.

"P-Pang Meng! What are you doing?!" Youqiong froze for a moment before reacting. With a roar, he charged over and knocked Du Yu down, seizing the opportunity to snatch the dagger from his hand. Afraid of hurting Youqiong, Du Yu hurriedly let go.

"Youqiong, don't be rude. I willingly swallowed this pill to achieve Ascension to Immortality." Heng'e slowly rose into the air, breathtakingly beautiful beneath the moon. "From now on, both of you must take good care of Da Yi for me."

Before either man could react, Heng'e broke through the roof and flew straight into the sky.

The night was especially cool, and many people were still outside enjoying the breeze. They happened to witness that stunning scene: a girl of heart-stopping beauty ascending on the night of the full moon. Her clothes were far from magnificent, yet they could not conceal her extraordinary beauty.

"Ah! It's Heng'e!"

A villager shouted, "Heng'e is flying into the heavens!"

Soon, the villagers' cries alerted more people. Everyone in the nearby villages came out to watch Heng'e ascend to immortality. She flew straight toward the moon, as though she had always belonged among the immortal maidens in the heavens.

Her gaze was like a wind that had never visited the mortal world, taking in half a lifetime's sorrow in a single glance.

Inside the house, Youqiong came to his senses and glared viciously at Du Yu.

"Pang Meng! You!" Youqiong pointed the dagger at Du Yu. "You must have tried to steal the Immortal Elixir! Sister-in-law Heng'e had no choice but to swallow it herself!"

"I... I didn't..." Du Yu shook his head in anguish.

"You didn't?!" Youqiong shouted. "Then why were you holding a dagger?"

Du Yu did not know how to answer. With tears in his eyes, he could only look at Da Yi's garment in his hands. Ever since he first met Heng'e, she had been mending it. Every stitch and thread held her love for Da Yi. Du Yu looked at the collar, where the words "The Moon Rises Bright" were embroidered. In an instant, countless memories surged into his heart. He tossed the garment aside and began to cry.

"Don't stand here pretending to care! You're the reason I'll never see Sister-in-law Heng'e again! You're the reason Brother Da Yi will never see his wife again!"

With an enraged roar, Youqiong thrust the dagger at Du Yu. Unable to dodge in time, Du Yu was stabbed in the lower abdomen. He screamed, shoved Youqiong away, then stumbled out of the house.

"Du Yu!" Dong Qianqiu cried out and hurriedly turned to examine Du Yu's physical body. A wound had appeared in his lower abdomen as well, and blood poured out like water from an open faucet.

"Hurry and treat his wound!" Dong Qianqiu shouted.

Du Yu ran down the road in a wretched state.

What was going on?

Why had it ended like this?

Clutching his lower abdomen, Du Yu felt the whole world slipping away from him. He headed away from the village. Only one thought remained in his mind: to leave this place.

The next day, news of Heng'e's Moon Ascension spread like wildfire. Some said she could no longer endure a life of poverty and had stolen the Immortal Elixir while Da Yi was away, achieving Ascension to Immortality alone. Others said Da Yi's disciple Pang Meng had tried to steal the Immortal Elixir under cover of night, leaving Heng'e no choice but to swallow it herself.

Whatever the truth, Heng'e had flown away. She had left Da Yi forever.

Da Yi sat alone at home. He believed neither version of the story.

Neither Heng'e nor Pang Meng would steal the Immortal Elixir. But why had Pang Meng disappeared on the very night Heng'e flew to the moon?

Da Yi only wanted an answer. Even though Youqiong swore that Pang Meng had indeed tried to steal the Immortal Elixir, Da Yi still refused to believe it. The pills had been set before Pang Meng many times, and he had never so much as glanced at them. Why would he suddenly try to steal them at knifepoint that night?

Da Yi walked on as he thought. By the time he came to his senses, he had reached the mountaintop where he had shot down the suns.

He looked up at the single sun remaining in the sky, his heart twisting as though cut by a knife.

"Queen Mother of the West! Please show yourself!"

Da Yi shouted into the sky, but received no response.

"Queen Mother of the West! I know that whenever you immortals come to the mortal world, you must sever every tie you make here. You haven't satisfied me yet! If you don't appear, I'll come here and call for you every day!"

Da Yi shouted toward the heavens, his voice almost breaking into sobs.

Before long, a brilliant light flashed, and the Queen Mother of the West appeared.

"What is wrong with you, mortal? I gave you all the Immortal Elixir, yet here you are, calling for This Dowager again. What are you still dissatisfied with?"

"I..." At the sight of the Queen Mother of the West, Da Yi found himself unable to speak.

"Where is he?" The Queen Mother of the West looked around and asked.

"He?"

"That talkative fellow who was with you."

"I... I don't know..."

"Hmph." The Queen Mother of the West snorted coldly. "Speak. What else do you want?"

"I... I want to achieve Ascension to Immortality!"

"Ridiculous," the Queen Mother of the West said irritably. "I've already given you the Immortal Elixir. If you want to achieve Ascension to Immortality, simply swallow it. Why call for This Dowager?!"

Da Yi shook his head. "I only have half a pill left. Please, Queen Mother, grant me another half so I can reunite with my wife..."

"Reunite with your wife?" The Queen Mother of the West paused. "So Fairy Chang'e, who ascended last night, is your wife?"

"Fairy... Chang'e?"

"Indeed. She ascended last night, and Haotian has already bestowed upon her the title of Fairy Chang'e. She resides on the full moon and has been granted the Moon Palace."

"Queen Mother!" Da Yi fell to his knees with a thud. "Please, grant me another half pill! Let me fly to the moon and reunite with my wife!"

"Ridiculous! Would you abandon even your dignity as a man just to achieve Ascension to Immortality?!" The Queen Mother of the West felt some contempt for the man before her, who was actually crying and begging to become an immortal. She mocked him. "That half pill you have left can only allow livestock like cattle and sheep to ascend. It cannot allow a human to ascend."

"Then I'll become cattle or sheep!" Da Yi said without hesitation. "As long as I can reunite with my wife, I don't mind becoming livestock!"

"You!" The Queen Mother of the West looked at the man before her, at a loss for words. Would he rather become livestock just to achieve Ascension to Immortality?

Perhaps he and his wife shared a love ordinary people had never experienced?

"If I'm not by my wife's side, I can't imagine how she'll live... Queen Mother, could you help me this once?"

"People have called upon This Dowager tens of thousands of times, asking either for fame and gain or wealth and status. You're the first to ask to become livestock." The Queen Mother of the West shook her head. "Very well, very well. Tell me, what animal do you want to become?"

"I..." Da Yi thought for a while, then murmured, "For nearly a year now, my wife has always looked worried, lost in thought all day long. Whatever animal I become, I hope to have red eyes that can see through to her thoughts, and long ears that can hear what fills her heart. My wife loves the pure, flawless moon most of all. Please let me become a white animal."

"Have you truly decided?" The Queen Mother of the West asked Da Yi one final time.

"I have." Da Yi answered without a moment's hesitation.

"Ah..." With a sigh, the Queen Mother of the West waved her hand, and Da Yi's entire body slumped to the ground. "May all lovers beneath heaven be united at last."

For several days after her ascension, Heng'e sat miserably in the Moon Palace all day long. Though the place was spacious and splendid, it lacked Da Yi, who always returned from hunting with a cheerful smile. Heng'e often gazed into the distance, tears streaming down her face.

"I wonder whether Da Yi has put on the garment I mended for him?"

While she was missing Da Yi, a pure white rabbit appeared from somewhere and hopped over to her, nuzzling affectionately against her leg.

"Oh?" Heng'e was a little surprised. She had never seen a white rabbit so friendly toward people. She picked him up. His eyes were remarkably intelligent, as though they could speak. For some reason, Heng'e took an immediate liking to this white rabbit, so she placed him on her lap and stroked him.

"How lovely. Now I have someone to keep me company, a white rabbit as flawless as jade." Heng'e smiled bitterly. "From now on, you can miss my husband with me."

The white rabbit twitched his nose, as though he understood.

Unless they looked closely, no one would notice the little words on the white rabbit's neck.

"The Moon Rises Bright."

As the Book of Songs said:

The moon rises bright; the lovely one is fair. Graceful and slender, she moves with ease; my troubled heart aches with longing.

The moon rises white; the lovely one is enchanting. Graceful and gentle, she moves with ease; my troubled heart stirs in unrest.

The moon rises shining; the lovely one is radiant. Graceful and delicate, she moves with ease; my troubled heart is steeped in sorrow.