Chapter Text
Deep in an unnamed forest, a group of five had set up camp for the night.
A fox-eared woman was crouched by the bonfire, her tail swishing back and forth as she held a few skewers above the crackling flames. Against the roots of a large tree lay a man with untamable hair, his eyes closed as he bathed in the fire’s warmth. In one of the makeshift tents lay a boy, midnight blue hair splayed around him as he slept.
There were two others, standing face to face with the stump of a fallen tree between them. On the stump lay a piece of parchment paper, crumpled as if it’d been hastily shoved into someone’s pocket many times before.
The white-haired woman’s brow furrowed as she read through the details of the paper presented to her. She looked up, meeting the other alpha’s cerulean gaze with doubt.
“And this… relic is supposed to keep us fed for the next ten years?”
“The numbers speak for themselves.”
A frosty breeze whistled through the surrounding foliage, as if it were a manifestation of the woman’s skepticism. “Yingxing, how do you know this isn’t just a trap for people like us?”
Yingxing shrugged. “I don’t.”
Jingliu’s eyes narrowed, “You just trust whatever you hear?”
The man picked up the paper, filled with snippets of what he’d recorded from the tales of countless villagers.
“In every version, these are the recurring attributes,” he said, pointing to three words he’d emphasized in large, bold lettering.
Powerful, beautiful, and a shit ton of $ signs.
He cocked his head, “I find it hard to believe that a trap can be set up so well that each telling corroborates the last.”
Jingliu crossed her arms, her posture straightening instinctively. “But… a fragment of the moon? Really?”
Yingxing wasn’t about to back down either.
“It’s just a name. It could be a gemstone or a well-painted rock for all I care.”
He slapped the sheet back down on the wooden stump, leaning forward defiantly, his loose silver hair framing his sharp features. “It’s in demand, and you never know what else we might find in a place like that.”
Jingliu frowned, her expression saying more than words ever could. Yingxing held her stare. He acknowledged the woman’s martial prowess and how she could probably beat him to a pulp if she so desired, but that didn’t mean he was any less capable of leading the group.
The two alphas stared each other down, their two beta members oblivious to the sharp clash of cold pine and smoky cedar.
It wasn’t until Baiheng looked up and noticed that the two were on the verge of growling at each other like children did she step in.
“Hey, no fighting!” she called, waving a handful of skewers between them as if she could diffuse the situation with the scent of perfectly charred meat.
“You’ll wake A-Ren! He needs sleep if he’s gonna grow taller.”
Baiheng handed Yingxing one of the skewers before skipping over to her partner and feeding one to her. With Jingliu’s attention shifted to her mate, the tension between them waned.
“Settled on our next big heist?” the Foxian asked, taking a bite out of her handiwork and humming in satisfaction.
Yingxing nodded in Jingliu’s direction, “Your girlfriend isn’t on board with the idea.”
It was clear Baiheng had been listening, as she immediately jumped to convincing her partner. “Oh come on, A-Liu! Loosen up a little. When have we ever failed a mission?”
She took another bite out of a skewer, her eyes sparkling as she continued with her mouth full.
“Besides, THE Dragon Palace? Even if we don’t find this little moon rock thingy, that’s still centuries of accumulated wealth! Steal a cool looking vase and we’ll be stocked for the next month!”
She chewed up and swallowed down the chunk of food in her mouth.
“Plus, breaking in there is a HECK of an achievement to put on our resume!”
Jingliu raised an eyebrow. “Why do you need a resume?”
“I’m just saying~ It’s a whole new adventure!”
Baiheng casually tossed the skewers over her shoulder, and their youngest working member’s hand shot out and caught every stick without even lifting his eyelids. With her hands now free, she looped them around Jingliu’s arm and put on her most irresistible puppy eyes.
“Please, please, please, please, please?”
Jingliu was taken aback. They all knew she could never say no to her mate, so it was only a matter of time before she finally relented.
“Fine…”
Baiheng squealed in delight.
The swordswoman’s magenta eyes turned to Yingxing, her warm gaze freezing over like a lake in the winter. “But if anything happens, I’m blaming you.”
Yingxing raised his hands in mock surrender.
“Are you guys eating or not? Food’s getting cold,” called Jing Yuan with half-lidded eyes, lazily holding out the remaining skewers that hadn’t been consumed.
Jing Yuan. Young, handsome (not as handsome as Yingxing of course), eldest disciple of the best sword master they knew, and ineffably intelligent. In Yingxing’s eyes, he was the walking definition of wasted talent. But then again, weren’t they all?
A one woman army, a top-tier markswoman, a smooth-talking craftsman capable of making all sorts of weapons and machinery, a very smart but lazy boi, and… Yingxing’s ten-year-old brother.
Together, they were an unstoppable force feared by all who knew of them — so basically the entire country.
In spite of their legendary feats, there wasn’t a single accurate depiction of their visages on the countless bounty boards they found their aliases on.
It was astonishing, really. One might even say they had “plot armor”.
“Give me that,” Yingxing said, snatching a couple of skewers out of Jing Yuan’s hands as he walked past.
Having decided on their next adventure, the three settled down by the bonfire, Jing Yuan still not having moved from his original spot.
“Tomorrow night, Azure Dragon Palace?” asked Jing Yuan.
Baiheng affirmed with an excited squeak, one that earned her a grounding pat on the head by her girlfriend.
“Where do you think they’ve hidden this ‘moon fragment’?! What does it look like?! Is it even real?! Honestly I don’t care — we’re breaking into a LITERAL PALACE!” she giggled deviously, her tail wagging so hard it brushed against Jingliu’s face.
“Even if it is a false rumor, a chunk off the wall has gotta be worth something,” Yingxing shrugged, chewing off a piece of meat.
“I go wherever you all go,” Jing Yuan drawled, leaning back against the roots and closing his eyes once more.
“We’ve rarely crossed paths with Vidyadhara during our travels. I’m curious to see how well they hold up in combat,” Jingliu mumbled. It seems everyone’s excitement had ignited her initially reluctant heart as well.
Deep in an unnamed forest, spirits were high. The four friends shared a jar of fine wine that still had a price tag attached, the clink of their glasses and warm laughter filling the air. This would be one of their biggest heists yet.
Little did they know that one of their members would be lost amidst this adventure…
“Holy fuck,” was all Baiheng could manage when her eyes laid upon the legendary Azure Dragon Palace — from miles away.
The four were perched on the branches of a tree that overlooked nearly the entire forest. Yingxing’s little brother was safely tucked away in a small shelter they’d built.
At the edge of the forest was Scalegorge Waterscape, one of the five domains of the Vidyadhara. This one in particular was governed by a lineage of Vidyadhara who took on the role of High Elder, while the title “Yinyue Jun” was passed down from generation to generation. Fitting for the city rumored to hold a fragment of the moon.
“How many soldiers must they have guarding that place…?” Jingliu muttered.
Even Yingxing, who’d brought up this idea, was starting to have second thoughts. It could take hours to scour that entire building! And for all they know, it could be teeming with enemies.
The four of them, particularly the two alphas, had learned to conceal their scents. But the Vidyadhara were different from humans; who knows how well their perception was?
“I propose we search the upper floors. They’re more likely to keep valuables somewhere unreachable,” Jing Yuan said suddenly.
The other three glanced at him before nodding. Based on past experiences, they had come to trust the young man’s judgment. Honestly, it was like he had some sort of divine foresight.
“So, we going or what?” Yingxing asked.
Baiheng pulled on her hood, hiding that huge fluff of periwinkle hair — Yingxing still had absolutely no idea how she did that. She secured her mask and leapt forward onto another tree, her movements so precise the leaves barely rustled.
“Race you!” she waved, her eyes curved as she grinned beneath the mask.
The three followed closely behind.
Getting over the city’s citadel was easy enough, it’s not like the guards would expect anyone to literally leap over it. Scaling the palace walls was just another walk in the park for the experienced thieves as well.
The only minor problem they faced was Yingxing being physically unable to stop getting distracted and admiring the meticulous craftsmanship of the palace.
He was the last to climb through the open window, having been forcefully dragged away from the masterpiece of a sculpture by Jingliu.
“Can’t you just make one yourself?” she hissed.
“Can’t you appreciate art?” he retorted, his voice muffled by his mask.
Baiheng shushed them.
Both alphas took in the opulent sights, and they quickly noticed something was off.
There were no guards.
Cautiously, Jing Yuan stepped deeper into the empty hallway, his grip tightening around his glaive.
“No welcoming party,” he said, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he registered no immediate threats, yet his hold on his weapon didn’t loosen.
The four looked around skeptically, but apart from them, there were no signs of life in this particular hallway.
“How come there were so many guards stationed around the city walls, but none inside the palace?” Baiheng asked, her voice echoing slightly as she stepped deeper into the lamp-lit space.
The walls were a pristine white behind warm candlelight, filigreed with what looked to be jadeite with gold accents. The floor was carpeted sage green, with intricately woven motifs depicting dragons, lotuses, and flowing water. Being near the ocean, the palace naturally smelled of refreshing seawater.
“I say we ditch the moon fragment idea and just rip out a pillar instead,” Yingxing joked, yet his body language was still tense.
Baiheng looked back at him and rolled her eyes, “Where’s the fun in that?”
“I don’t know, Baiheng. This situation doesn’t sit well with me,” said Jingliu, manifesting her Florephemeral Sword as she walked further down the hallway.
“At least let me explore a little…” Baiheng grumbled, approaching one of the large doors the hallway connected to.
She pulled down her hood and pressed her fluffy ear to the cool material, listening for any noise behind the door. After confirming that nobody was on the other side, she carefully pushed it open.
“Aeons, that is one heavy door…”
The other three followed quietly, Jingliu staying extra close behind to protect her partner. The hallway lead them to what seemed to be the center of the palace. Unlike the previous castles they’ve broken into, there was no golden chandelier dangling above the main hall, only a glass ceiling that allowed moonlight to spill into the palace.
Yingxing walked up to the railing and looked down — they were around seven floors high.
The four of them stood there, just staring at each other. They had been prepared for at least a little bit of a hostile reception.
“…Start searching?” Yingxing suggested.
The four stared at each other for exactly one beat, before they each turned and started sprinting their separate ways, covering as much ground as four experienced thieves possibly could.
Jingliu and Baiheng leapt onto the railing silently before effortlessly climbing to the upper floor. Jing Yuan, who wasn’t as experienced as his teammates, headed for the stairs, which too were unguarded. Yingxing stayed on the seventh floor, dashing for the nearest door.
He was already halfway through searching the level when he finally sensed movement approaching.
Two pairs of footsteps.
Yingxing quickly hid in an empty study, forcefully calming his heartbeat as the footsteps approached. The two passed right by the door he was hiding behind, and although he wasn’t sure if the secondary genders of the Vidyadhara differed in any way, his instincts told him they were both betas.
Being comrades with Baiheng and Jing Yuan, he knew that betas were just as capable as alphas. But they were… them. He’d never met anyone else like them.
So he had suspected that if such a large palace had so little guards, then the soldiers must all be top-grade alpha warriors — not people he felt wouldn’t be able to handle Jing Yuan in his teens.
Still, they could delve into the mystery of the Azure Dragon Palace’s defenses once they found the moon fragment — or at least were sure of it being nonexistent. Then they’d probably revert to his “rip out a pillar” plan.
And then it happened.
The sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the palace.
Followed by a female voice’s not-so-subtle “…Shit” rebounding off of the walls.
All hell broke loose.
Yingxing physically recoiled as the ground practically quaked. It was like a stampede was storming up the stairs — a stampede of angry, yelling soldiers. And they were all coming from downstairs.
Mystery of where the guards were?
Solved.
Yingxing had absolutely nowhere to run. There were no windows, no closets, a table too small for him to duck under, and trembling bookshelves he was too afraid to climb because they were literally shaking. All he could do was pray to whatever Aeon was watching from above that the angry mob wouldn’t barge through the door.
Luckily for him, his prayers weren’t in vain.
Nearly a minute later, the Vidyadhara-made earthquake had subsided… not really. He could feel the stomping from around two floors above. He was confident the other three could escape, so all he had to do was get himself out.
The upper floors of the palace were in such chaos that Yingxing literally couldn’t tell if there was anyone outside the door.
He unsheathed his most prized creation and mentally prepared himself before opening the door. As if fate had shone upon him on that day, the floor was completely empty. He needed to find an exit, fast.
But that was when it hit him.
If all the guards had been stationed on the lower levels… wouldn’t that mean the moon fragment might be hidden there?
He couldn’t let this be a botched heist. Not on their flawless reputation.
Without a second thought, Yingxing leapt over the railing and swung himself onto the floor below.
It was almost too obvious which door had been the most heavily guarded — the carpet outside an incredibly opulent and conspicuous door was nearly gray with footprints, and he landed right in front of it!
Fate must really favor him today!
Suddenly, the ground began trembling again. The guards were returning.
Good news? Jingliu and the others must’ve hidden or escaped.
Bad news? He was about to be cornered.
With no other choice, Yingxing pushed open one of the doors and entered. This one was very heavy, as if an extra layer of some sort had been added.
The moment Yingxing shut the door, he knew he’d made a grave, grave, grave mistake.
He didn’t even have time to look at the room he was in when the scent of something hit him like a tidal wave.
It drowned his lungs — so thick that he could barely comprehend what it was he was smelling.
It was overpowering — so strong it made his knees buckle.
His sword fell to the ground, and he had to grip the doorframe for balance.
‘Ocean… intoxicating…’
His body felt like it was suffocating beneath his clothes.
His heart rate spiked.
His breathing became ragged.
‘Lotus… so sweet… addictive…”
Instincts he once thought he’d learned to suppress clawed their way to the surface.
He heard a noise.
So soft he might’ve missed it had his body not been subconsciously searching for it specifically.
A raw, broken whimper.
Yingxing suddenly knew why most of the guards had been betas.