Moonlit Hearts

Chapter 73: Under the Hunter's Moon

The mountains beyond the Cloud Recesses stretched quiet under the moon, their ridges sharp against the silver sky. Crickets hummed in the grass. An owl called once, then silence returned.

Lanterns swayed in a line along the stone path, their light brushing against the juniors' swords and robes. Their voices carried in low bursts — teasing, restless, edged with the excitement of a night hunt.

Xuanyu walked among them. The borrowed robes felt unfamiliar on him, as did the space at their side. It was the first time in centuries he had walked in the open, not as a secret hidden in Wangji's body, but as himself. The thought made his steps falter more than once.

"You walk like you're chasing ghosts, Xuanyu-qianbei," Jingyi muttered, quick to notice. "If you're nervous, just admit it. It's only a night hunt."

"Only?" Ouyang Zizhen snorted. "Last time you said that, we nearly ended up in a corpse nest."

Xuanyu blinked at their bickering, uncertain how to answer. The sound of young voices trading jokes so freely felt strange, almost distant.

"Don't mind them," Sizhui said, moving closer until his lantern lit Xuanyu's face. "Everyone talks like that their first few times. Even if you've fought battles, a hunt is different. The dark doesn't hide behind walls."

"And you don't fear it?" Xuanyu asked quietly.

"I respect it," Sizhui replied.

That, Xuanyu understood. Still, his voice caught. "I've never been on such a hunt. I'd rather not slow you down."

"If I thought you would, I wouldn't have asked," Sizhui said simply. His tone left no room for doubt.

Inside, Wangji's voice stirred, steady and calm: Go. You belong here.

It struck him then — how the roles had shifted. Once, he had been the shadow in Wangji's silence, but now it was Wangji's voice that echoed in his mind, steady and reassuring, while he walked the world in Wangji's place.

Xuanyu drew a breath, shoulders straightening. "Then I will come," he said.

They had not walked long before the air shifted. The forest grew close around them, the pines whispering sharply in the night breeze. Lantern light stretched only so far, their glow swallowed by shadows.

"Here we go," Jingyi muttered, tightening his grip on his sword. "I can feel it."

"You 'feel' it every time the wind blows," Jin Ling shot back.

Before Jingyi could retort, the sound came — a low, guttural groan. The juniors froze, lanterns swaying. From between the trees, the first spirit stumbled into view, its face twisted, its body half-rotted and jerking like a broken puppet.

"Form up!" Sizhui ordered, voice sharp.

Steel hissed free in the dark. Xuanyu moved instinctively, his body remembering battle in a way his heart still struggled to accept. He cut down the first spirit in a single strike — quick, efficient — but two more surged from the shadows.

"Not bad, Xuanyu-qianbei!" Ouyang Zizhen called over the clash, his tone almost cheerful despite the fight.

"Careful!" Jin Ling barked, loosing a talisman that burned one spirit to ash. "Don't leave gaps—"

"I wasn't leaving a gap!" Jingyi snapped, parrying hard. "I was giving you a chance to show off!"

"You always say that when you miss your swing—"

The bickering carried even as they fought, and Xuanyu blinked at the absurdity of it. Their blades struck true, but their voices were sharp as well, sparking off one another as if the fight itself wasn't enough.