Chapter 74 - Blue Moon

"What help?" Li Ming asked.

"What kind of help do you need at the time, Little one?" Rather than answering her question, the Deity replied with a question of his own.

"You don't need to worry about my problems. I can take care of them by myself." Li Ming said with a frown.

Maybe she was looking like a drunk and her mind was on break for the time being, but she was still the stubborn and self-dependent girl who was not going to take help from any stranger whose intentions were still not clear.

Of course, the same rules didn't apply as she rested in the same stranger's warm embrace, whose intentions were not clear yet. Talk about double standards!

The Deity chuckled softly as he saw the frustrated expression on her face and the little pout adorning her beautiful face.

"Look at the Moon." He whispered softly in her ear.

Li Ming confusedly looked up at the sky and her breath caught in her throat as her eyes took in the most beautiful sight that she had ever come across in both of her lives.

A deep blue ring was closing in around the shining moon. Just in a blink of an eye, it already merged with the outline of the moon, which turned bright blue.

A large blue dot like thing emerged from the blue outline of the Moon and started circling around the moon.

It took Li Ming a few seconds to realize that with each round, the dot was moving closer to the center of the Moon.

The area in which the blue dot already had passed circling around, was slowly starting to turn blue and with each passing moment, it was turning into deep blue.

It was barely after five minutes when the blue dot completed it's last circle and reached the center of the Moon. It shone brightly for a mere second and then disappeared inside the Moon.

The very next second, a bright and slightly bigger than before, Blue Moon was illuminating the land of Xiao Tiantang.

"H-How.....? It's beautiful !" Li Ming wasn't sure exactly how she should react. Her half working mind was suddenly filled with so many questions but at the same time, she was too mesmerized by the Moon to pay attention to anything else.

It was like watching a magic which was forbidden to be seen by anyone, just so it could be kept from being tainted by the curious and mesmerized eyes.

A sparkling glint appeared in the Deity's eyes as he took in the awed expression of Li Ming.

"Let's go!"

Before she could even take her next breath, the man tightened his arm around her waist and launched into the air.

They flew towards the direction of the pond. Li Ming barely got the time to enjoy her first-ever experience of flying without the help of any airplane, chopper, hot air balloon, or parachute.

They were soon standing at the bank of the pond, facing towards the Moonstone sitting on the newly made scepter.

Since they were no longer near the poisonous vines, their effect was wearing off and Li Ming felt her sleeping brain cells trying to wake up.

Li Ming took out a small vial full of silver-colored liquid and drank it in one go. The rotten taste almost made her gag but she succeeded in keeping the potion inside and not vomit it out.

She wasn't sure if it would work or not but she needed to take control over her mind and body before it was too late.

After a few seconds, she realized that the potion was actually working.

The Deity observed her as the drowsiness slowly started disappearing from her eyes. He hugged her from behind and once again tucked her against his chest.

"It's good to see that you stay prepared for unexpected surprises. Now look, it's almost the time." He said as he pointed one of his hand towards the Moonstone before once again wrapping it around her waist.

Li Ming looked at the Moonstone, the Blue Moon was now shining exactly above it. That's when it hit her. (When the rays of Blue Harvest Moon falls on the Moonstone at 90°, it creates Blue Pixie Dust.) That's what the Pixie Book said.

With a flick of his sleeve, two large jars were placed beside the Moonstone. It barely took a few minutes before a bright blue ray of moonlight fell on the Moonstone and penetrated through its hard crystal body.

Tiny blue-colored sparkling particles started appearing, surrounding the Moonstone and after circling around it for a few seconds they settled inside either one of the two jars.

Not a single particle dropped on the ground. And little by little, the two large jars started filling with that blue shiny particles.

"Every year on this exact day, the Moon of the Xiao Tiantang will turn Bright Blue at midnight. Make sure that you will be prepared to collect your Blue dust at that time. Otherwise, you will need to wait for another entire year to get another chance." The Deity told her as he looked at the beautiful sight in front of his eyes.

"Every year?" Li Ming asked surprisingly. The Blue Harvest Moon of Pixie Hollow could only be seen once every eight years but now they could get a Blue Moon every year?

"En! Every year." The Deity confirmed.

"Exactly who are you?" Li Ming asked as a dreadful feeling settled in her heart. As she was getting more and more hold on her body and mind with each passing minute, the reality was settling in.

Though the man didn't try to harm her or her Xiao Tiantang, but the fact that he's aware of the secrets of the Moonstone, Blue Moon, and the Pixie Dust, didn't seem right to her.

A stranger who's taking interest in her life and helping her out, how could anything like this lead to something good?

Li Ming tried to get away from the warm embrace, but of course, she failed. Though she had gotten her mind to focus again but her body was still out of energy due to losing almost all the spiritual energy.

She elbowed the man in his ribs but before her elbow could meet it's target, an iron-like grip stopped it. Though the hold on her arm was tight somehow it didn't hurt her in any way.

Li Ming acted like she was trying to get her arm out of the tight grip but at the same time, she struck her right leg backward with all the force that her body could muster, her target was his knee this time but to her disappointment, due to her lack of energy and the fact that the man was quick to evade her attack without losing his grip on her arm, she ended up losing her balance.

"Shit!" Li Ming cursed under her breath as her body was pulled downwards thanks to the God of Gravity.

But before she could face plant herself and probably broke her nose, she was once again pulled back in the same embrace. Just this time the hold around her waist was much tighter than before.

"Stop struggling!" The man whispered in her ear but rather than the soft and comfortable tone, this one came out as cold and demanding.

It was not like she was going to but her body stiffened at the direct command. Goosebumps appeared on her body and cold shivers ran down her spine. But the reactions of her body were not due to fear but due to a completely different reason. Her 14-year body was sharing the same thoughts as her 28 years old mind.

But the Deity mistook her reaction as fear and his cerulean eyes lost their sparkle as he was overpowered by the feelings of guilt.

"This Lord didn't mean to scare you, Little one. I'm not going to harm you. Please trust me." Lord Yueliang whispered softly as he snuggled his face in the crook of her neck.

"The jars are full." Li Ming softly said as she lightly patted his arms around her waist.

The Blue Moon once again had returned to its original form. The Moonstone was resting on the scepter just like before.

The two jars which were now full with Blue Pixie Dust to the brim we're floating in the air around the Moonstone.

"I'll be always here to help you out if you need it. Keep practicing the sword arts, it will come handy in the future. But if you are not comfortable with handling a sword, there are other choices of weapons. Find something that you think you can wield perfectly. I'll suggest you to keep your eyes on Prime Minister Zhu." The Deity told her softly but in a firm tone.

"Why?" Li Ming asked as she kept staring at the floating jars. Her heart and mind were struggling to win over each other.

One was feeling warmth and happiness because of the man who was holding her protectively in his embrace like she was the most precious jewel. While the other one was suspicious of his actions.

Lord Yueliang knew what was the question his Little One was trying to ask.