Moon Shadow Sacrifice Chapter 1 of *Moonlight Sacrifice*: The First Encounter on a Foggy Night
1290 Words
Moon Shadow Sacrifice
Chapter 1 of *Moonlight Sacrifice*: The First Encounter on a Foggy Night
Winter nights in Moonshadow Town were never pleasant. The thick fog seemed to have no limits, carrying a biting, damp chill that blurred the town's lights into mere shadows. Even the wind blowing through the trees carried a stifling, itchy feeling.
Lin Yi crouched on the broken wall of the abandoned clock tower, his silver-black hair plastered to his forehead by the night wind, obscuring half his face except for a pair of deep golden pupils—a mark that only appeared when the werewolf blood boiled, but for him, it was a curse etched into his very bones. He pressed his fingertips tightly against his burning forehead, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. The power within him was like a mad dog, relentlessly ramming against the cage of reason.
The chieftain had warned him long ago that on nights of alternating moon phases, he must remain in the deepest part of the cave, or he would lose control and go berserk in an instant. But these past few days, a strange aura had been lingering deep in the forest, like a gentle stream, somehow managing to calm the restlessness in his blood. In his eighteen years of life, this was the first time he'd tasted "peace," even if only for a moment, it was enough for him to risk venturing to the edge of this werewolf-infested forbidden zone.
The aura was exceptionally clean, lacking the chilling, sweet-smelling scent of vampires, and the wild stench of werewolves. It was soft, like the morning sun, enticing him to draw closer, to grasp this rare sense of peace in his hands.
As he jumped from the clock tower, his movements were as light as a falling leaf. The moment his toes touched the ground, his ears perked up—footsteps not belonging to the forest, mixed with the frantic, human heartbeat, emerged from the mist.
"What the hell?" Lin Yi frowned, cursing inwardly. This forest was werewolf territory; humans always kept their distance, especially in this pitch-black fog. He followed the scent into the shadows, skirting around thorny bushes, when the sight before him made him abruptly stop.
A girl stood in the fog, carrying an old brown canvas bag. Her light-colored coat was damp with the fog, and strands of hair clung to her cheeks, making her look like a deer that had wandered into the jungle. She gripped the bag straps tightly, her breathing rapid, but instead of screaming in fear like most people would, she stared with strikingly bright eyes, looking around frantically, a hint of persistent curiosity hidden in her panic.
It was her. Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat. That comforting aura was slowly emanating from the girl. He instinctively wanted to hide in the shadows—he was a half-werewolf ostracized by his tribe, an unacknowledged "bastard," and shouldn't be appearing before humans at all. Before he could back away, the girl slipped, tripped over a protruding tree root, and her forehead slammed into a nearby rock.
"Watch out!" Lin Yi rushed forward almost instinctively, his long arm outstretched, and before she hit the ground, he scooped her into his arms. His movements were so fast he didn't even have time to react; his nose brushed against the girl's hair, her warm breath instantly enveloping him, and the restlessness within him strangely subsided.
Li Xue was completely stunned. She looked up and met a pair of deep golden eyes, a color like flowing moonlight, mysterious and eerie, yet strangely not frightening. She stood there stunned for a long time before finally speaking softly, her voice trembling slightly, but not from fear: "You...who are you?"
Lin Yi's Adam's apple bobbed. He released his hands from her waist and took a half-step back. He was used to the cold stares of his tribesmen and to hiding himself; he had never been stared at with such innocent yet curious eyes. "This isn't a place for you," his voice was a little hoarse, as if roughened by the night wind, "It's dangerous."
"I'm lost..." Li Xue steadied herself, rubbing her aching knees, and explained softly, "I just arrived in town today. I was planning to stroll around and familiarize myself with the area this evening, but who knew the fog would come so quickly." As she spoke, her gaze returned to Lin Yi's face, and she frowned. "Are you feeling unwell? You look terrible, and your forehead is burning." Lin Yi was completely stunned. In his eighteen years of life, no one had ever truly cared whether he was in pain or suffering. Everyone feared he would lose control, and considered him a "bastard" of impure blood. He wanted to back away, but the moment he moved, the "mad dog" within him began to struggle again. The moment that warm, soft breath faded, a piercing pain surged up. He uncontrollably took another step forward, biting his lower lip hard to suppress a muffled groan.
Li Xue noticed something was wrong with him. She mustered her courage and moved forward slightly, her red, frozen fingertips trembling slightly, yet she still wanted to reach out: "Don't be afraid, I'm not a bad person. I have some band-aids in my bag, or… I can put one on you?"
"Don't touch me!" Lin Yi suddenly grabbed her wrist, his strength faltering. Seeing the girl frown, he hurriedly loosened his grip. His voice trembled without him even realizing it: "I told you, I'm dangerous, I'll hurt you." "
Li Xue didn't pull her hand away. Instead, she looked up at him, her eyes full of worry: "But you see, you need help more than I do."
Just then, a cold wind whistled past, carrying an air of superiority, like an icy knife, instantly shattering the forest's silence. "The real danger has never been him." A clear, cold, and arrogant female voice emerged from the mist, each word carrying an unyielding pressure.
Lin Yi reacted swiftly, pulling Li Xue behind him protectively, his eyes warily fixed on the thicker fog. A woman in a long black coat slowly emerged, her skin as white as fine jade, her crimson pupils gleaming coldly in the mist. Her chin was slightly raised; her arrogance was exactly the same as the vampire nobles the clan leader had cursed.
Wei Ya's gaze swept over Lin Yi, finally settling on Li Xue behind him. Her crimson pupils narrowed slightly, a cold smile playing on her lips: "The dangerous one is her—the key to the Awakened One is hidden on a human. How interesting."
"An Awakened One?" Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat, a chill running down his spine. He'd heard from the elders of his tribe that the legendary Awakened Ones would disrupt the balance between the two races, but what did that have to do with the human girl before him?
Viya completely ignored his shock, her steps light and deliberate, each step feeling like a tap on a heartbeat. Her gaze fell on Lin Yi and Li Xue's clasped hands, a strange glint in her red eyes: "It seems I haven't come too late." She paused, each word piercing Lin Yi's most sensitive spot, "Child of the Forbidden, your awakening is finally about to begin."
Lin Yi gripped Li Xue's hand tightly, his knuckles turning white. Child of the Forbidden—the title he desperately wanted to escape—had been revealed by this strange vampire. He glared at Viya, his golden pupils filled with wariness, while behind him, Li Xue's fingertips inexplicably burned upon hearing "the key to the Awakened," a blurry, intangible image flashing through her mind, impossible to grasp.
- Writer
