2 chapters will be uploaded on daily basis i.e. 14 Chapters will be uploaded every week apart from the bonus chapters.
1 Bonus Chapter will be uploaded for every 50 Power Stones or 1000 Collections.
All interested readers can read advanced chapters on: Free Members of Patreon can read 10 Chapters ahead of Webnovel for FREE.
[email protected]/Lord_Of_Fics
×××××××××××××××
...
Tian Dou City, the lights are just coming on.
In a private room on the third floor of the city's most prestigious "Drunken Moon Pavilion," Jiang Zhen was enjoying an exquisite dinner with Bingdi, Dugu Yan, Lan Xi, and Xuedi, seated by the window.
The table was laden with delicacies, but for them, the taste was far less important than the relaxed atmosphere.
Bingdi sipped his chilled amber-colored fruit wine with elegant movements, his emerald eyes occasionally glancing out the window, carrying a hint of indifference towards the hustle and bustle of human society, yet also a sense of peace and comfort in the warmth beside him.
Dugu Yan was enthusiastically telling the quiet Lan Xi and Xue Di about the interesting stories in Tian Dou City. The three beauties with very different styles gathered together, forming a beautiful scene.
Jiang Zhen sat in the main seat, smiling as he watched them, listening to the girls' cheerful conversation and enjoying the rare tranquility.
However, when his gaze inadvertently swept across the rising, ever-full, and bright moon outside the window, the deep-seated thoughts in his heart, like dust particles illuminated by the moonlight, quietly stirred.
"I'm going out for some fresh air."
He put down his chopsticks, said something gently to the women, and then got up and walked to the private viewing balcony connected to the private room.
The night breeze was cool, carrying the unique hustle and bustle of the city and the faint fragrance of flowers in the distance.
Jiang Zhen stood by the railing, his long, light blue hair and clothes fluttering slightly in the wind.
He looked up. The night sky was clear and bright. The moon from another world was so similar in shape and radiance to the one on his blue planet that he remembered.
A sense of alienation, transcending the barriers of the world, swept over us without warning.
Under the moonlight, he seemed to be able to clearly perceive the mark of the "stranger" deep within his soul.
"...May we all live long and share the beauty of the moon, even though we are thousands of miles apart."
A low, melancholic line of poetry, carrying an ancient rhythm and endless wistfulness, escaped uncontrollably from his lips.
These lines of poetry are completely different from the language style of this world, yet they perfectly match his state of mind at this moment.
He seemed to see the lights of another world and hear the laughter of another world, but all of that was now out of reach.
His hand rested on the railing, and his tall figure, bathed in the bright moonlight, somehow conveyed a sense of loneliness and desolation befitting a scholar, quite incongruous with his actual strength.
...
Right next door, outside another more secluded and luxurious private room, there was also a viewing balcony.
Dressed in men's clothing, Qian Renxue, still maintaining the refined demeanor of "Xue Qinghe," had just finished a perfunctory dinner with several important imperial officials.
She dismissed the servants and went out onto the balcony alone, hoping the night breeze would dispel the weariness from her dealings with others and the long-accumulated coldness in her heart.
Power, scheming, and pretense... these are the main themes of her life.
Even on this night of the full moon, she did not feel the warmth of reunion, but rather the extreme loneliness of being at the center of a vortex, wearing a heavy mask.
A mother's cold gaze, a grandfather's expectant yet heavy protection, the Spirit Hall's grand plan...
All of this was like an invisible shackle, binding her tightly.
She subconsciously looked up at the moon, her golden eyes reflecting its clear light, yet filled with only a chilling coldness.
Just then, a deep and magnetic male voice, with a strange rhythm she had never heard before, clearly pierced through the not-so-distant distance between the balconies and entered her ears.
"...We share the same moon, though we are thousands of miles apart."
Qian Renxue was slightly taken aback. These verses... were so peculiar. The imagery was so beautiful, yet it contained such deep longing and helplessness.
She instinctively looked in the direction of the sound.
The moonlight, like water, clearly illuminated the figure on the neighboring balcony.
Jiang Zhen?!
At this moment, he had shed all his sharpness and imposing presence, and simply stood there quietly, gazing up at the moon.
Her profile appeared somewhat soft in the moonlight, but her deep eyes were filled with a feeling that vaguely mirrored her earlier state of mind...
A sense of alienation and loneliness, as if separated from the whole world by a thin film.
A thought flashed through Qian Renxue's mind like lightning, bringing unprecedented shock: a peak Douluo with unparalleled strength, a powerful figure who seemed to possess everything, actually... had such ordinary human sorrows?
There are also "hometowns" that can never be returned to and "relatives" that can never be seen again?
This stark contrast was like a key, instantly unlocking her tightly closed heart.
She always thought that people who stand at the top should be as hard as iron, looking down on all living beings, and would not have such weak emotions.
But the truth that Jiang Zhen revealed at this moment made her realize that strength and inner softness are not mutually exclusive.
Just then, the door to the private room was pushed open, and Dugu Yan came out.
"Ah Zhen, why have you been alone for so long? The food is almost cold."
The girl's sweet voice carried a hint of concern.
Qian Renxue subconsciously suppressed her aura, hiding herself in the shadows of the balcony, like a quiet bystander.
She saw Dugu Yan walk to Jiang Zhen's side, and she also saw Jiang Zhen quickly suppress that momentary vulnerability and return to his usual gentle demeanor.
Gradually, she heard Dugu Yan's tearful lament.
The joy of evolving my martial soul... and the deep longing for my parents who died young...
"It is only natural for people to remember the deceased on the night of the full moon."
Jiang Zhen's voice was gentle and inclusive, carrying a calming power: "I... also have a hometown I can't go back to, and those... people I can never see again."
Qian Renxue's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.
Watching that powerful and awe-inspiring man so calmly reveal his hidden wounds to a young girl, this authenticity and tenderness created an indescribable and fatal attraction.
She saw Dugu Yan become emotional because of this "shared sorrow," and she saw her muster up the courage to hug Jiang Zhen tightly.
He Jiang Zhen's inclusive and gentle comfort.
"From now on, your grandfather and I will be here."
Under the moonlight, the two embracing each other created a tranquil and warm scene.
This unreserved trust and reliance, this sense of security that can be given and received from others, is something Qian Renxue has never experienced in the cold and cruel power struggles, yet she deeply yearns for.
She felt no jealousy; instead, a more complex emotion welled up within her—curiosity, exploration, resonance, and a hint of envy and longing that even she herself was not yet fully aware of.
Jiang Zhen's image became incredibly three-dimensional and complex in her mind: powerful, mysterious, ruthless, yet gentle, lonely, and soft-hearted.
These seemingly contradictory qualities, perfectly integrated in one person, created an unprecedented attraction for her.
She quietly retreated into the shadows of the private room, leaning against the cold wall, her mind as restless as a lake with a stone thrown in.
The man's figure, the poems he recited under the moon, and the tenderness he showed to others, had silently shone into her long-frozen heart like moonlight, creating ripples that could not be ignored.
For the first time, she felt a curiosity and desire to explore in a man that transcended calculation and self-interest...