Chapter 1: Moon Slave



The cold wind was howling and the military flags were rustling in the wind.

Yaoying was sleeping in a daze. In her dream, she threw away the quilt and felt a little cold. She stretched out her arms, turned over, and felt something with her fingertips. There was something warm and solid beside her.

The familiar smell made her feel at ease. She hugged him tightly, leaned into his arms, and rubbed her head against his chest.

The person next to her froze slightly, gently pulled her hand away, lifted the quilt to wrap around her shoulders, and pressed down.

Yaoying mumbled a few times unconsciously, with a fierce tone.

The man stopped moving.

There was a low, faint laugh in my ears, like ripples on the calm surface of a lake under the moonlight. No sound could be heard, only the shimmering silver light could be seen.

Yaoying raised her legs, put one foot on him with a snap, and fell asleep again.

When I woke up again, it was still dark. There was a lamp lit beside the couch, and a soft glow was floating in the room.

In front of her was a face with distinct outlines, gaunt and thin, with deep features as if outlined with ink. There was a hint of cold green between the brows, and the emerald green eyes were slightly drooping, with light golden candlelight flickering gently on the tips of the eyelashes. As he breathed, his warm breath fell on her neck.

He leaned over to look at her. The quilt between them was piled in a mess at the corner of the couch. She felt cold and looked around. She found that her clothes were half-undressed, with her legs and hands exposed. She didn't know when she had taken off her socks. He was neatly dressed, even in a monk's robe. He brushed her sleeves with his fingers, slowly sat up, and reached down with his other hand to lift up her veil.

A strange, warm touch moved across Yaoying's legs. His thinly-tipped fingertips brushed the delicate skin of her legs. She felt a slight shiver running through her body. Her entire body was cold, except for the places his fingers had touched, which felt hot as if on fire. She shivered all over and her toes were stiff.

Yao Ying was stunned for a moment, a soft moan of pain escaped from between her teeth.

The person on his body stopped moving, his breathing became heavy, and he withdrew his hand.

Yao Ying was half conscious and stared at him blankly for a while. She raised her hands, hooked them around his neck and pressed them down. Her soft lips pressed against his slightly wrinkled brows. She stroked his neck with both hands and groped to hold his face.

"Master, I miss you so much."

She murmured softly, as if in a dream.

Tanmarajiva was tense, staring at the sleepy Yaoying. His eyes, which usually showed no emotion, were now filled with undercurrents, even darker than the night outside. He pressed down on her.

A blush appeared on Yaoying's face.

His soft lips fell on her forehead, slowly moved down, stayed on the tip of her nose for a while, and then kissed her lips, softly and lingeringly, the cool fragrance of agarwood invaded her cheeks, restrained but greedy to take, lips and tongue entangled, as if it was not enough, sucking.

A pool of spring water flows with gurgling sound.

Yao Ying was dizzy and hugged Tanmarajya's shoulders with her hands. Her collar slipped down and half of her chest was exposed.

Under the candlelight, the petals are snow-white and smooth, the stamens are just beginning to bloom, the branches tremble in the wind, and they are so delicate and charming.

Tanmarajiva froze for a moment, then suddenly let go of Yaoying, pulled the quilt over her, got up from the bed, and turned his back to her.

Yao Ying finally came to her senses. She sat up and rubbed her hair. Her fresh lips were moist. She glanced at Tanmarajiva, then at the hem of her skirt that was rolled up on her legs. Her eyes gradually widened and she froze.

The mage actually took advantage of her sleep...

Just as she was stunned, Tanmarajika turned around, sat back on the couch, put his hands on her bare calves, and rubbed them gently with his fingers a few times.

A wave of pain came over her and Yaoying frowned in pain.

Tanmaraka raised his eyes to look at her, his gaze had returned to its usual calmness and indifference, "Where else does it hurt?"

Yao Ying was startled and smelled a strange smell. She sniffed and found it came from her body. She looked down and saw that the place on her leg where his fingers had just touched was covered with a layer of light blue ointment, and there was also some on her arm.

It turned out that Tanmarajava was the one who was applying medicine to her...she was overthinking it.

Yao Ying was stunned for a moment, then smiled while holding the quilt: "Master, how did you know that my legs hurt?"

Tanmaraka looked at her, frowning slightly: "You said you had pain in your body in your dream."

She was exhausted and fell asleep soon after lying down. He was reluctant to let her go, so he held her quietly and listened to the howling wind outside. In the middle of the night, she suddenly turned over restlessly and kicked away the quilt. He covered her with the quilt and touched her arm, and she immediately frowned.

"It hurts."

Tanmaraka's heart trembled slightly: "Where does it hurt?"

"My legs hurt, my waist hurts, my back hurts... my whole body hurts..."

She hugged him in her dream, speaking softly and coquettishly.

At that moment, even the hardest heart became soft. He brushed aside her sleeves and skirt, revealing several bruises and red marks on her arms and legs, as well as several scabbed wounds.

She looked very tired, and he didn't want to wake her up, so he turned on the light, applied medicine to her, and massaged her wounds.

He had asked her troops about their whereabouts. In order to avoid the scouts of the Northern Rong coalition, they took a mountain road known only to herdsmen. She had to wade through mountains and climb hills just like her personal soldiers. She had hardly dismounted for days and nights in the past few days. Her body was covered with wounds, which had to be massaged, otherwise she would cry out in pain for the next half month.

Yao Ying didn't remember what she said in her sleep. She tried to move her arm and said, "It doesn't hurt too much. I'll be fine tomorrow after a night's rest."

Tanmarajiva said nothing, applied the medicine to her, put on her socks, smoothed her skirt, and continued to massage her calves through her skirt.

Yao Ying stared at him with her bright eyes, gazing intently.

Tanmaraka said softly, "Okay, go back to sleep."

Yao Ying hummed, lay down, turned her side to face him, closed her eyes, and felt sore and numb where his fingertips pressed. The force was just right and very comfortable.

She wanted to talk to him and didn't want to sleep, so she opened her eyes and looked straight into his gentle gaze.

He kept looking at her.

“Was the journey very hard?”

Seeing that she refused to sleep, Tanmaraka asked.

Yao Ying shook her head on the pillow and said lightly, "It was a bit hard to climb the mountain."

Tanmaraka remained silent.

The personal guard told him that the royal court's army had ambushed the Western Army and robbed several tribes and manors. The noble families in Gaochang were furious, but the first thing she thought of was that something had happened to him.

"As long as the Buddha is in power, the royal court will never break the covenant and attack us. Something must have happened to him. The royal court's border city garrison is out of control."

Yao Ying was extremely anxious. In just a few days, he appeased the generals of the Western Army, assembled troops, collected food and fodder, and deployed troops.

Everyone knew that Haidu Aling's 100,000-strong army was heading towards the Holy City. Any army that approached would be attacked by the coalition forces. The Western Army was blocked in the east and could not get close. She acted decisively, asked the army to continue waiting for the opportunity, and hurried to the Holy City with hundreds of troops.

These days, she argued with the generals of the Western Army, argued with Li Zhongqian, mobilized all the troops that could be mobilized, braved the wind and snow to travel for so many days, and made a feint to the east and attacked in the west under the noses of a hundred thousand troops...

How could it be just a little hard?

Tanmo Luojia closed his eyes for a moment and said, "Haidu Aling will gather his troops and regroup tomorrow. His troops are guarding all the important roads. Once a large number of reinforcements arrive, he will divide his troops to encircle and suppress them. The reinforcements cannot come, and he will be at ease. The arrows of the Holy City have been used up. If this continues, the city gate will be breached sooner or later... Tomorrow, while he has no time to react, you and your personal soldiers will lead everyone to break out."

Yao Ying was stunned, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head: "What about you?"

Tanmo Luojia said calmly: "I will hold Haidu Aling back. As long as I stay in the Holy City, he will not dare to lead his troops to pursue you. You should go directly east without stopping on the way and join Li Zhongqian and the others."

Yao Ying's face darkened: "What then? If you let the defenders and I break out, there won't be only a few people left in the city?"

Tanmo Luojia lowered his eyes and said, "The Holy City is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and it can still hold out for a while. I have already given orders that after you break out, you should join forces with Li Zhongqian's army, and then find a way to turn around and attack the Northern Rong coalition."

Yao Ying stared at him blankly, the tender smile between her brows gradually fading away.

"Luo Jia, are you going to let me go again?"

Tanmarajiva was silent, with candlelight shimmering on the side of his face and a cold expression, like a Buddha.

Yao Ying looked at him, her expression becoming colder and colder.

He had already arranged it... When she was bathing and eating, he disappeared for a while to arrange the breakout. She had just arrived in the Holy City, and he was planning to send her away. He kissed her in front of thousands of troops, and pulled her hand without hesitation under the gaze of the believers, but in his heart he was actually thinking about how to send her away from the Holy City!

Just like last time, she was so happy, thinking that Mundadeva could cure him, but in fact, it was all a lie!

He ordered Mundadeva and the doctor to deceive her and not let her take off the blindfold, so that she would think that he was getting better.

He secretly confessed his identity to Li Zhongqian, which angered Li Zhongqian, who could not wait to urge her to leave the Holy City.

He also let Yuanjue write so many "everything goes well" letters to her, keeping her in the dark.

Ever since that night when he chased her out of the Holy City late at night and rescued her from Li De's men, she no longer doubted him. She naively thought that everything was getting better. She dealt with the affairs of the Western Army and enthusiastically went to the inter-tribal gathering, buying a lot of things to give to him.

The resentment and helplessness of this period of time suddenly surged up, like a tsunami, one wave after another.

Yao Ying was so angry that she gritted her teeth. She also felt sad and her eyes ached, and tears suddenly filled her eyes.

"Luo Jia, do you know that when I excitedly packed my boxes and prepared to come back to see you, I heard that something happened to you... I rushed to find you, and the people in the royal court said that you were abandoned by your relatives and friends, and your whereabouts were unknown. It is very likely that you died in the turmoil caused by the aristocratic family..."

That day, it was snowing heavily. She stood on the avenue outside the Sand City, her heart aching.

He left alone, and she would never see him again.

Yao Ying's face was tense. When she recalled the moment when she confirmed that he was in trouble, she still felt a chill all over her body and tears welled up in her eyes.

"You lied to me again and again. Have you ever thought about my feelings?"

"I don't want you to be alone..."

There was a hint of tears in her voice.

The room became quiet and the candlelight dimmed.

Yaoying suddenly sat up, pushed Tanmaragha away, turned over on the bed, and smiled.

"Okay, I'll leave now..."

She was shaking with anger. She reached out to open the door, and a cold wind rushed in, extinguishing the candlelight. She shivered and raised her voice to call for help.

Two quick, heavy footsteps were heard behind her, and his tall figure caught up with her. His momentum suddenly exploded, and his strong arms went around her shoulders, hugging her tightly.

He hugged her tightly, as if she was afraid of something. She pressed her back against his chest and struggled a few times. He hugged her even tighter, holding her wrists tightly to prevent her from moving.

"Ming Yue Nu."

There was a soft sigh in her ear, and cool lips fell on Yao Ying's neck.

She was stunned.

Tanmaraka hugged her from behind, lowered his head, and rubbed his lips against her cheeks and neck.

He wanted to call her like this many times. There were so many princesses in the world, but to him, only she was different.

"Ming Yue Nu, I will never lie to you again."

He whispered in her ear, his lips rubbing against her earlobe as he spoke.

Yaoying's body softened.

Tanmaraka pinched her chin with his fingers, made her raise her head, and kissed her curled eyelashes to kiss away her tears.

"No matter what happens in the future, I will not hide it from you."

Yaoying looked at him, turned around in his arms, and put her arms around his waist.

"You are a senior monk, you must keep your word."

Tanmarajiva lowered his eyes to look at her, hummed, then bent his head to kiss the top of her head.

The two hugged each other quietly for a while, the wind rushed in, Yao Yingse shrank a little, Tanmarajya picked her up, put her back on the couch, turned around, closed the door, and returned to the inner room.

Yao Ying pulled his sleeve and said, "Luo Jia, I have to stay. Haidu Aling is afraid of you and wants to get me. We should all stay in the Holy City to hold him back. In the next few days, we can keep sending people to try to break through and attract Haidu Aling's attention so that he can't guess our true intentions."

Tanmarajiva frowned, pondered for a long time, and nodded.

In the past, once she made up her mind to do something, he had no way to change her mind and could only hide it from her. Now he could no longer hide it from her, and he could not lie to her.

Yao Ying's anger vanished, she smiled, hugged the quilt and lay down, closing her eyes: "I feel much better. You should get some sleep, don't get tired, you still have to guard the city tomorrow."

Tanmarajiva nodded softly and continued to massage her calves. When she closed her eyes and fell asleep, he half leaned on the couch railing, stared at her with his eyes lowered, and gently turned the Buddhist beads in his sleeves.

His Tao, his Mingyue Nu.

Everything he cares about is by his side.

The next morning, Haidu Aling was busy gathering the exhausted soldiers from various tribes and reorganizing the army, and did not attack the city immediately.

Yaoying woke up in the early morning. She had applied medicine last night, and Tanmo Luojia had massaged and cleared the blockages in her body, which relieved a lot of the pain.

She went out with Tanmaragha. When the people saw Tanmaragha, they surrounded her with food in their hands that they were reluctant to eat. Their eyes fell on her, and they hesitated for a moment, not daring to come forward.

The two of them climbed up to the top of the city wall together. Tanmo Luojia summoned the generals, and Yao Ying led the Xizhou soldiers to discuss how to assemble weapons with the equipment that could still be used in the Holy City to make the fire bombs more powerful.

Hearing that Tanmarajya was going to send someone to pretend to break out, Bisa stepped out without a second thought and asked for a fight. He knelt on one knee and said, "King, let me go."

Tanmo Luojia said: "The team that breaks out will be surrounded and wiped out by Haidu Aling at any time. After failing once, we must keep trying to break out in order to deceive Haidu Aling."

Bi Suo nodded, her eyes firm.

He was the Lieutenant General of the Imperial Guards, the son of Tanmo and Ashina, and the closest guard of the Buddha. It was his duty to resist foreign enemies and protect the holy city. He was willing to sacrifice his life for this, and his blood was his honor. If the price was his life, he would not hesitate.

As long as Tanmarajya was alive, the people in the city would not despair, and the defenders could continue to hold on. He was just a general, and his life or death would not change the overall situation.

Before daybreak, Bi Suo led a group of men out of the city and rushed towards the east. The scouts of the Northern Rong coalition discovered the military situation and immediately blew the horn. A team of cavalry quickly rushed out from the direction of the main camp. They rushed over like lightning and surrounded Bi Suo and his men in the blink of an eye.

Yao Ying stood on the top of the city wall, watching Bi Sa and his men being dispersed by the Northern Rong cavalry. The two sides fought in one place, and Bi Sa's felt robe was stained red with blood. When he heard the dense drumbeats, he immediately led his men back to the city.

That afternoon, perhaps fearing that Yao Ying and his men would break out, the Northern Rong coalition quickly gathered their troops and attacked the city again.

In the front were the Northern Rong Iron Cavalry, followed by soldiers from other tribes and several small affiliated tribes. The defenders fought a bloody battle for a whole day, and when dusk fell, the Northern Rong coalition retreated, leaving behind a mountain of corpses at the foot of the city gate.

The next day, Tanmaraj continued to send people to break out, still heading east. The Northern Rong coalition sent out cavalry to pursue them, and the team suffered heavy losses. Emperor Cang fled back to the Holy City.

At the same time, the Western Army, which was blocked in the east, was also trying to break through the defense of the Northern Rong coalition and rush to the Holy City for rescue. However, Haidu Aling was well prepared and sent a troop to guard a pass where one man could block a thousand. Although the Western Army had more people than that troop, it could not move forward even a single step.

The battle was at a stalemate, and the morale in the city was gradually declining. The Northern Rong coalition had been unable to capture the city for a long time, and they were getting impatient and increasingly anxious. The soldiers rushed to the top of the city like locusts, and they could not be killed no matter how hard they tried.

Every time the two armies withdrew, Yao Ying, dressed in military uniform, patrolled the battlefield with his personal guards, comforted the injured soldiers, and bandaged their wounds.

On this day, Bisha led his subordinates to break out, but failed again. When he was rescued and brought back to the Holy City by his personal soldiers, his back was full of arrows.

The next morning, at daybreak, Haidu Aling led the cavalry to the city gate, drew their bows and arrows, and delivered a letter to the top of the city wall.

There was only one sentence in the letter: As long as the Buddhist handed over Princess Wen Zhao, he would withdraw his troops.

Tanmarajiva and Yaoying looked at each other, and a bright light flashed in Yaoying's eyes.

Haidu Aling also began to get anxious.


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