Chapter Ninety-Four

When had it begun? When had those always-bright eyes, like stars in the night sky, ceased to hold the deep dependence and earnest trust they once had when they looked at me?

And when, exactly, had your gaze stopped belonging to me alone? When had your smile no longer been mine alone? When had another man entered your eyes, your heart?

His long, nearly translucent fingers drifted over that pale face, sliding from the delicate bridge of the nose, slowly downward, until they came to rest on those pale, almost withered lips like pear blossoms at the end of their bloom. His thumb rubbed gently back and forth, warm and lingering, so comfortable that in her sleep Shadow Moon could not help but let out a faint sigh of ease.

Those sky-blue pupils stilled, and Arthur’s lips curved with indulgent tenderness.

His fingers, however, continued their mischievous caress at the corner of her mouth, then stroked toward her soft cheek. Shadow Moon’s slender brows knit, and like a spoiled kitten, she rubbed her face against the warm palm.

In the end, Arthur was bewitched. He bent down and lightly brushed those small lips with his own, the corners of his mouth filled with pleasure, his sky-blue eyes bright and gleaming like a cat that had stolen the cream.

“You will always be my kite alone. No matter how high you fly, no matter how far, in the end you will still come back to my side.”

The moment he lowered his head, Shadow Moon’s thick, curled lashes trembled faintly.

Arthur lifted his head and looked down at her deeply, his thumb once more skimming the delicate curve of her lips. With a trace of reluctance, he rose.

Arthur walked toward the door, each step painfully slow. Still, however long the road, there would come a moment when it ended; and at such a short distance, it was only a matter of a heartbeat.

His long fingers gripped the doorknob tightly, fighting with all his strength against the urge to look back. The veins on the back of his hand stood out beneath his pale skin, fierce and twisted. Just as the vessels seemed about to burst from the strain, his fingers loosened. Those long legs left Shadow Moon’s room without a trace of hesitation.

Outside the door, Arthur leaned weakly against the wooden panel, breathing a little hard. He instructed the butler, “Call Xiahou Yu.”

Inside the room, Shadow Moon’s tightly closed eyes suddenly opened. She looked calmly out the window, her lashes damp.

When Xiahou Yu received the call, a bitter smile touched his lips.

So this moment had finally come. And it had come so quickly.

He hurried to Lilith Castle in England, where Arthur was staying.

The car moved along the quiet, tree-lined road. Xiahou Yu lifted his gaze and looked ahead at the endless woods, and could not help but sigh inwardly.

Sure enough, just like that man’s thoughts, so deeply hidden that when you think you are about to arrive, you turn a corner only to discover the destination is still far away.

But feelings are not the same thing at all. If you hide them so deeply and never speak of them, how would anyone know? And if you not only keep silent but desperately conceal them, using such a cruel method to do so, are you not hurting yourself as well as others?

Why make it so hard?

He shook his head and let out a silent sigh.

At last, after passing through the dense woods like a maze, the tall and beautiful Lilith Castle, steeped in medieval atmosphere, appeared before Xiahou Yu.

The butler stood quietly beside the gate, waiting.

Xiahou Yu got out of the car and followed directly behind him, stepping briskly into Lilith Castle. The butler led him all the way to the study.

Inside, Arthur sat elegantly behind the desk, idly toying with a glass of red wine between his slender fingers. The deep crimson liquid swirled endlessly, glittering with a dazzling, almost sinister radiance beneath the sunlight spilling in behind him.

After Xiahou Yu was shown into the study, the butler withdrew with exemplary courtesy. Before leaving, he gave Xiahou Yu a grave look.

Seeing the butler’s solemn expression, Xiahou Yu’s own mood grew heavy. He turned to look at Arthur behind the desk, who had not spoken since he entered, and saw that the smoothness between his brows had disappeared into a frown.

Arthur ignored Xiahou Yu the entire time, sitting there in silence, his long, pale fingers playing with a stemmed glass, the bright red liquid within continuously turning, making Xiahou Yu’s own heart rise and fall in uneasy apprehension.

At last, unable to endure Arthur’s oppressive silence any longer, Xiahou Yu spoke in clear disapproval. “Arthur—”

He called once, and when the other man still refused to respond, he raised his voice again. “Arthur, I already told you last time that I do not agree with what you are doing. Besides, if Shadow Moon knew, she would never agree to it either. She would certainly be angry.”

Arthur’s sky-blue pupils tightened as he glanced at Xiahou Yu, yet still said nothing.

Xiahou Yu saw that and immediately sensed trouble. It seemed Arthur had already made up his mind, but still—

He felt he ought to try to persuade him. Doing this would only break both their hearts.

Arthur lifted his eyes and looked at Xiahou Yu, then parted his lips.

“I know what I am doing. Your task is to take good care of her. Leave the rest alone.”

Seeing that persuasion was useless and that Arthur had no intention of changing his mind, Xiahou Yu knew there was no point in saying more and could only agree.

“All right. Deal with your own matters as quickly as possible. When it comes to your own woman, you should be the one to care for her.”

Yes, Xiahou Yu was the person Arthur had placed by Shadow Moon’s side years ago, and also his friend. After what had happened back then, Arthur had entrusted Shadow Moon to Xiahou Yu for safekeeping. This time, once again driven by necessity, Arthur was handing her over to Xiahou Yu, because in this world, he trusted only him.

“Yes. I will handle everything as quickly as possible.” Arthur fixed Xiahou Yu with a burning stare. “I am leaving her in your care.”

Xiahou Yu felt as if a heavy burden had been dropped onto his shoulders. Looking into Arthur’s eyes, he felt a heat in his chest and could not help but say, “Arthur, I think maybe you should let Shadow Moon know some things now. Keeping this from her may be for her sake, but it is still unfair, and it may not even be what she wants.”

Arthur’s gaze flickered. “No. Not yet.” His tone was deep and restrained.

Xiahou Yu fell silent as well.

Yes, now was not the time. Arthur had only just succeeded the Rivers family, and many things were still unresolved. They were in the middle of a struggle against their enemies, and any weakness would become a target for attack. Much less such a large weakness. It absolutely could not be allowed to reach anyone’s ears, or the consequences would be unthinkable.

“Take Shadow Moon back to China with you. The forces over here are too numerous; sooner or later there will be moments when danger cannot be guarded against. Over there, even if their hands are long, they still cannot reach as easily as they can here. Besides—” He pressed his lips together briefly. “Wenxi is there too, and can watch over her.”

Xiahou Yu remained silent. Arthur was right. China was far less complicated than this place, and Xi’s power base was also in China. Leaving Shadow Moon there was undoubtedly the best choice. But—

“Arthur,” Xiahou Yu hesitated, but in the end could not stop himself from asking, “can you bear to part with her?”

As he spoke, his eyes locked on Arthur’s, not missing the slightest change in expression.

At the words, Arthur’s fingers on his knee tightened almost imperceptibly, but he still said without expression, “Yu—” He paused. “I am leaving her to you.”

With that, he closed his eyes and leaned his tall body back against the chair.

Xiahou Yu looked at him one last time, then walked out with heavy steps. The instant the door closed, Arthur’s tightly shut eyes opened again, his gaze deep and bottomless.

Bear to part with her? And so what if he could not?!

Shadow Moon sat quietly, as though ever since returning to Lilith Castle, the thing she did most often was simply sit like this, not thinking of anything, only sitting in silence and staring blankly out at the dense woods that stretched beyond sight.

Stillness, after all, is not something everyone gets the chance to enjoy.

When Xiahou Yu entered, this was the scene he saw. Shadow Moon sat quietly on the bed, her eyes turned toward the window. Outside, the shadows of the trees were mottled, and sunlight filtered through the gaps, falling on that slender figure and making her seem especially haggard. It pained him to look at her.

With light steps, Xiahou Yu crossed to her side, opened his arms, and drew her gently into his embrace. He rested his chin on the crown of her soft hair and said nothing, only patting her thin back with his broad hand. In those gentle strokes lived feelings too many to name: pity, comfort, and, above all, words that could not be spoken aloud.

After a long while, Xiahou Yu broke the silence. “Shadow Moon, let’s go home.”

Shadow Moon’s small body gave a slight start in his arms. Go home? Home where? Did she even have a home?

She lifted her head from his embrace. In her violet eyes, Xiahou Yu’s face was reflected, yet they were full of confusion, silently asking: do I still have a home?

Xiahou Yu’s throat tightened. In a voice made rough by emotion, he said, “Yes.”

There will be one. There must be one.

He slipped one arm beneath her knees and the other around her shoulders, lifting her into his arms and carrying her toward the door. Shadow Moon nestled herself within Xiahou Yu’s broad embrace, her small hand clutching tightly at the fabric over his chest.

So, at last, she was leaving?

In Xiahou Yu’s broad arms, with not the slightest pause in his stride, they soon walked out of Lilith Castle.

Holding Shadow Moon, Xiahou Yu looked back at the castle steeped in a rich medieval aura. Arthur had not come out. Xiahou Yu thought that perhaps he was afraid that the moment he saw her, he would no longer be able to bear to let her go.

Shadow Moon gazed at the extraordinarily beautiful and luxurious castle. Every part of it proclaimed the nobility and extraordinary status of its owner. The red walls, the blue roof, the scenery so lovely it was as though one had stepped into a painting. And yet now, standing before it and looking up at it as it stood in silence, there was something indescribably lonely about it.

It was very quiet in front of the castle. Very quiet. Not a single person was there, as though their existence meant nothing to those inside. In the vast woods, before the imposing old castle, the one who stood alone was her.

Her gaze unconsciously drifted toward the room where she had been staying. The curtains were still swaying, but there was no longer that small, solitary figure at the window. Nothing remained. Only the curtains moving in the breeze, desolate and cold.

The corner of Shadow Moon’s lips curved almost imperceptibly, carrying a bitterness and irony she herself had not even noticed.

In the end, he had let go of her hand again. It seemed that every time, it was always he who let go first. Did he really not fear that she might never return? Was he that certain she could not live without him?

Though she complained inwardly, her eyes still drifted uncontrollably toward that window.

Was she hoping that man would come? Hoping he would come out to see her off, or stand somewhere in the shadows, watching her?

She shook her head faintly and withdrew her gaze from the window, looking once more at the ancient castle before her. Was it imprisoning her body, or her heart?

To all the readers, please give me some encouraging comments. I am working hard to make this story full of twists and turns, to keep everyone holding it tightly in their arms and never letting go.