Surrounded by the same grasslands where the wind rustles through the grass and the mountains stretch endlessly, I felt lost in this enchanting night view of the grasslands.
Suddenly, the horse's front legs buckled inward, and I lost my balance and fell off.
The night was very quiet; the only sound was the rustling of the wind through the grass.
There seemed to be rustling sounds all around, and the hairs on my body stood on end.
Suddenly someone leaped over, tackled me to the ground, and whispered, "Don't move, there are wolves."
I was trapped by Lou Xiyue and dared not move.
Her head rested against his chest, and all was silent, the moon high in the sky.
I don't know how much time passed, but he braced himself against my sides, barely managing to sit up, his forehead touching mine, his deep, unfathomable eyes gazing at me. Quietly, his dark hair brushed against my neck, and Lou Xiyue softly asked, "Do you remember me?"
He blocked out the moonlight, so I couldn't see his expression clearly, but I felt that he was asking the question cautiously this time, which was very different from how he usually spoke.
I lowered my voice and asked, "Lou Xiyue, has the wolf left?"
He paused slightly, then pressed down, rolled over, and laid me sideways in the grass. The moonlight cast faint silver lines on his face, and he whispered, "No, don't make a sound, let me hold you."
I stood frozen, too stiff to move. Lou Xiyue watched me quietly, her eyes sparkling with starlight.
I was too embarrassed to look him in the eye, lest I appear tender and affectionate, so I closed my eyes. I refused to look.
I closed my eyes like that and eventually fell asleep.
A cool breeze blew, and the starry sky was brilliant. In my dream, I seemed to hear the melodious long song of the grassland.
In my hazy state, I felt a rough texture on my lips.
I opened my eyes, and Zixia gently caressed my lips with his fingertips. Seeing that I was awake, he leaned closer and said with lingering desire, "Qi Xiang, you are so beautiful. May I kiss you?"
I was instantly jolted.
I asked, "Where is Lou Xiyue?"
Zixia said, "He drove away the wolves for us last night, and I want to thank him."
That's when I noticed the scratches on Zixia's robe sleeves and the wounds on his face.
Lou Xiyue lay down not far away with her hands behind her head, a blade of grass in her mouth, and her eyes half-closed as if she were catching up on sleep.
I asked Zixia, "Who won the fight between you two yesterday?"
"The wolf pack came halfway through the fight, so we didn't finish."
I said, "And then?"
He gazed at me. "You've disappeared. We'll split up to look for you. Lou Xiyue and I made a deal: whoever finds you first will have you."
Zixia's eyes dimmed. "The moon didn't guide me to find you..."
I glanced at Zixia silently and said politely, "Ahem, the moon is doing the right thing. You should trust it. The moon will guide you to find the girl you love."
He suddenly stood up, knelt on one knee, took my hand, and said gently, "You are the girl I love. I want to take you to Lishan Sangmo. I want to marry you."
I withdrew my hand and said to Zixia with a heavy heart, “There are three reasons: First, I have someone I love and I only want to marry him; second, you are from the East, and long-distance relationships are really hard to maintain; third, and most importantly, your Moon Goddess did not appear last night, so you lost.”
Zixia slammed his fist heavily on the ground without saying a word.
I turned my face away and saw Lou Xiyue lying on her side with a smile in her eyes, looking at us with a mix of laziness and contentment.
I walked over and praised, "I heard you defeated the wolf pack and became a hero of the grasslands. Congratulations! I am very pleased."
He sat up abruptly and asked with a faint smile, "You only want to marry the person you love?"
I sighed with regret, "Yes, but that's yet another poignant and long love story."
Lou Xiyue said, "Ji Jiu came to ask me today, 'Xiao Die, Yun Shuang...you're the one who told her this, right?'"
I said, "No, no, I didn't say anything. If you walk by the river often, you're bound to get your shoes wet. You've been to several rivers, it's normal to get mixed up."
Lou Xiyue smiled, "That's quite normal. But who are Xiaomeng, Taohong, and Baige? Tell me about them."
I said, "It's to symbolize your other secret lovers."
Lou Xiyue was silent for a moment, then suddenly said to me, "Xiao Xiang, the person you love is Xia Jingnan."
His tone was flat, without any rising intonation at the end of his sentence, as if he had known this for a long time.
I was taken aback. I thought I was very meticulous and discreet in my actions, and also very reserved and low-key. I had always kept my feelings for my master to myself, and rarely showed them on the surface.
I said, "How did you know?"
Lou Xiyue played with her fan and casually asked, "You've been in Medicine King Valley for four years?"
I said, "Three years."
He said, "So, you fell in love with Xia Jingnan three years ago?"
I twisted my clothes. "Don't call him by his name. He's your grandmaster. And I'm your master. Don't tell anyone about this. A master-disciple relationship is still very taboo."
Lou Xiyue reached out and picked a strand of my hair, twirling it around his fingertip and playing with it. After a long while, he slowly said, "What you saw last night wasn't a wolf."
I was surprised. "No?"
He said calmly, "The wolves are all busy stealing meat from the caravans, who's going to chase you?"