Time-Traveling Love

“Hand over the sword,” another hollow voice demanded. The injured man gave a cold laugh, stood up with difficulty, and swung his sword backward. Liu Bugun picked up a few pebbles from the ground and flicked them; the pebbles hit the hand of one of the black-clad men, who dropped his sword with a cry. The man then stabbed his sword into the black-clad man’s heart, killing him. Liu Bugun threw another pebble at the remaining black-clad man, and with all his strength, the injured man thrust his sword into him. Liu Bugun released Xu Cai Tong and ran to the man, who now lay with a faint breath, his body covered in wounds. “Good sir, how are you?” Liu Bugun asked. The man opened his eyes, a joyful smile on his face. “Thank you… I’ve finally… seen you.” He struggled to hand over a long box wrapped in silk from his back to Liu Bugun. “I am the guardian deity of the Mo Ye Sword from Southeast Mountain… I’ve guarded the Mo Ye Sword for countless years. Today… only the blood of the Purple Moon can unlock the seal on the sword; only Mo Ye can draw the sword from its sheath. The calamity of the world, Fu Xiu, has revived, and I return the Mo Ye Sword to you. Go to the Northern Kite Mountain; there, the Kite Fairy can help you.” The man spoke with great difficulty, his voice fading until he died. “Good sir, good sir,” Liu Bugun called out several times, but the man lay with his eyes closed, a smile on his face, as if he had fulfilled his mission. Liu Bugun set down the body of the man named Dong He and watched silently. Xu Cai Tong approached, squatting beside, the sight of the blood making her shiver. Suddenly, the corpse began to emit golden light, like gas rising slowly upward. Xu Cai Tong and Liu Bugun watched in astonishment as the corpse disappeared completely. Xu Cai Tong was dumbfounded; who said there were no legends of ghosts and gods? It was all so inexplicable. The golden specks formed the image of the man before his death. “Hurry to Kite Mountain, or all life will be extinguished, and the three realms will fall into eternal calamity. Remember, only the blood of the Purple Moon can unlock the seal on the sword.” The ethereal figure spoke before vanishing like a gust of wind. Liu Bugun, puzzled, opened the silk-wrapped box, which was made of sandalwood with floral carvings on the lid. Inside, thousands of rays of light burst forth, and in the darkness, the light was even more dazzling, revealing a sword in the box, its scabbard adorned with ancient patterns of sun, moon, mountains, and rivers. “This sword, is this the legendary Mo Ye Sword?” Liu Bugun touched the carvings on the scabbard, feeling a surge of inexplicable emotion. Legend says Mo Ye used this sword to split heaven and earth. Liu Bugun tried to draw the sword, eager to see its splendor, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t unsheathe it. Who was Mo Ye? Where to find the blood of the Purple Moon? The Northern Kite Mountain? Would delivering the sword there lead to Mo Ye and the Purple Moon? As dawn broke, they hadn’t slept all night. In the fresh morning light, Xu Cai Tong finally saw clearly the man who had been by her side, declaring his love. He was exceptionally handsome, with a dignified air. “Who are you?” She stared at him blankly, feeling a wave of dizziness, a sense of familiarity and warmth flowing through her heart. Who was he? Who was he really? “Have I met you before? Who are you?” A man from a thousand years ago, could she have met him? In dreams? In the depths of her soul? Why did she feel this way about this ancient man? Her heart was inexplicably stirred, perhaps due to last night’s tumult, or his kiss, or his declaration of love? Liu Bugun saw Xu Cai Tong looking at him with tired eyes, he smiled gently, his gaze soft. He needed to safely return Xu Cai Tong to her home before heading north to find Kite Mountain, where perhaps all mysteries would be unraveled. But the north was in turmoil, with Liu Chong proclaiming himself emperor, and the Khitan invasions causing constant warfare.