The Fox's Eternal Star: A Tale of Love and Fate

"By the sun and moon as my witnesses, I, Bo Yikao, swear with my blood to protect you for eternity, without fail!"

"I remember you once told me that many years ago, there was someone you loved." Under the cold, glittering stars that filled the night sky, their brilliance so intense that one had to squint to gaze upon them, Shining Li reclined on a mat, watching Shou's back as he stared at the distant stars of Xiqi.

"There was," Shou's voice was softer than ever before, carrying a hint of hope and longing.

"Bo Yikao of Xiqi has long been married and has a son. Did you know that?" Shou could calculate everything, but he could never decipher the complexities of love. "He does not love you," Shining Li reminded him.

Shou remained silent, his gaze fixed on the stars.

"You've never shown mercy before. Why is it that when it comes to Bo Yikao, you change? During the rebellion of the four great lords, you spared Ji Chang, the leader, and exiled him instead of killing him. Was it because he is Bo Yikao's father? You should have killed him, along with Bo Yikao, to uproot the problem entirely. If Ji Chang ever returns to Xiqi, who's to say he won't lead an army to attack you and eliminate the threat? And that Bo Yikao—you clearly love him, yet he married and had a child, completely forgetting you. He deserves to be skinned, his bones crushed, and his flesh ground into paste!" Shining Li drank his wine, speaking to himself. Sometimes Shou would respond with a word or two, but most of the time, he remained silent.

In the vast Star-Gazing Tower, dancers twirled gracefully to the melodies of strings and flutes. Shining Li's vision blurred from the wine, and he felt overwhelmed.

So when he turned his gaze from the dancers' swaying hips to Shou, he was almost certain he was drunk. Otherwise, how could he have mistaken Shou's expression for Zheng's? In Shou's usually cold and ruthless face, he thought he saw a glimpse of deep affection.

Drunk, indeed. How could Shou ever possess such tender emotions?

"I believe in him," Shou said. "I have always believed in him and his oath. Unless he breaks his vow and turns against me, I will never harm him in this lifetime."

"How can you be sure such a man would keep his word? You only met him once, years ago. What if he was just toying with you?" Shining Li scoffed. He had kept his own promises, but the person he waited for had come too late, leaving him furious.

"Perhaps tonight, we will find out," Shou's faint smile was as fleeting as the blooming of an epiphyllum, vanishing in an instant, deeply hidden beneath his serene expression.

Shou moved closer, helping Shining Li, who had collapsed onto the table from drunkenness, to lean against his shoulder.

"They are coming," Shou said.

"What do you see?" Shining Li was always curious. Shou's eyes were clear and bright, beautiful like the stars in the sky, radiating the most dazzling light. But what exactly did Shou see? The end of the world, destruction, or catastrophe...

"I can see everything, except myself," Shou replied softly.

"What about me?" Shining Li asked.

Shou gently stroked Shining Li's hair and said quietly, "Heavenly thunder."

Shining Li laughed. "Yes, heavenly thunder. You see clearly. Once I survive this last tribulation, I will ascend to immortality. But tell me, what's so good about being a god? Half-alive, unable to love or hate—what's the point?"

As he spoke, footsteps echoed up the stairs. First came Zheng, followed by Bo Yikao.

Shining Li noticed the icy coldness in Shou's eyes slowly melting, turning into a river of spring water. Then Shou looked at Bo Yikao, the righteous man who strode confidently toward them, accompanied by Zheng. Bo Yikao bowed respectfully, greeting the most supreme emperor of the Shang dynasty.

"How long has it been since we last met?" Shou's usual air of aloofness faded. He looked at Bo Yikao, his voice softer, lacking its usual steadiness.

"I can't even count the years," Bo Yikao glanced at the Shang emperor seated above him and then lowered his head. The man before him was no longer the Shou he once knew, but the feared tyrant King Zhou. Power and lust had corrupted him, as they did all men. No one was immune, not even Shou.

What his father had written on the silk was true. Since entering Chaoge, all he had seen and heard were the cries of a suffering people. Famine plagued the land, yet Shou turned a blind eye, indulging in nightly revelries, draped in fine robes, indifferent to the plight of the Yin people.

Bo Yikao's eyes showed no trace of nostalgia. Shou noticed this and gradually, the rare emotional vulnerability in him cooled. Shou stroked Shining Li's hair, his fingers playing with the strands. The moonlight bathed his strikingly handsome face, and for the first time, Shining Li saw Shou's emotions churning violently within him.

Zheng stood silently to the side, observing without a word.

Shining Li carefully studied Zheng's expression. He was surprised to find that when Zheng's eyes concealed unknown intentions, they were deep and mesmerizing. He couldn't fathom what Zheng was thinking, hidden behind those half-lidded eyes. Shining Li was puzzled.

Bo Yikao had come with a resolve to die. Shining Li couldn't guess Zheng's thoughts, but he could see Bo Yikao's. Bo Yikao touched the sharp object hidden in his robe, and Shining Li smiled. The grudge from that night at the Prime Minister's residence would finally be avenged.

Bo Yikao said, "I have come to beg Your Majesty to show mercy to my father, Ji Chang, for his years of loyal service to the Shang dynasty. He is an old man, nearing the end of his life, and no longer poses any threat of rebellion. I implore you to grant me this wish and allow me to take my father back to Xiqi to live out his remaining years in peace."

"That won't do!" Before Shou could speak, Shining Li interjected. "That old man incited the lords to rebel. He must die. If he lives, who's to say he won't rise again? We must eliminate him now to ensure our peace."

"As for you, Bo Yikao!" Shining Li stepped away from Shou and walked down to him. "You've come all the way from Xiqi to deliver yourself to us. I can't tell if you're a fool or just mentally deficient!"

"I said, you are not to touch him!" Shou grabbed Shining Li's sleeve, restraining him from approaching Bo Yikao further.

"How can you uproot weeds without removing the roots? Besides..." Shining Li spoke each word clearly, "He's even had a son. How can you still believe he remembers the oath you shared?" With a light laugh, Shining Li gave a signal, and the soldiers hidden within the Star-Gazing Tower rushed out, surrounding Bo Yikao.

Zheng, meanwhile, stepped back from the chaos, quietly waiting for events to unfold.

"He wouldn't!" Amid the flashing blades and clashing swords within the Star-Gazing Tower, Bo Yikao's figure struggled valiantly, but Shou still believed in the words Bo Yikao had once spoken.

Under the white epiphyllum, eternal and unchanging!

"How could he not? In matters of life and death, who remembers oaths made under the moon? If you spare him, who's to say he won't return to Xiqi and lead an army to attack Chaoge?" Shining Li sneered. Shou, usually so wise, was now blinded by love, unable to see clearly, just as Zheng had become foolish.

"He said he would never harm me!" For some reason, Shou believed Bo Yikao would keep his oath.

"Fine!" Shining Li's eerie silver eyes gleamed. He turned to Shou with a smile. "In that case, I'll let you see for yourself how he betrays you!"

With a wave of his sleeve, the wounded Bo Yikao broke through the encirclement.

"It's you!" Bo Yikao finally got a clear look at Shining Li and realized that the woman by Shou's side was the same demon from the Prime Minister's residence.

When a nation is on the brink of collapse, demons will rise!

Who was the demon? King Zhou, or this stunningly beautiful woman?

"Yes, it's me! This time, aim your blade well. Strike hard and true at my chest. But do you think you can kill me?" Shining Li stood on the red-carpeted steps, looking down at Bo Yikao with disdain.

His expression was filled with contempt, despising those who broke their oaths.

Bo Yikao, unwilling to be mocked by Shining Li, raised his dagger and thrust it toward Shining Li's chest. Shining Li neither dodged nor resisted, curious to see if Shou's prophecy of heavenly thunder was true—that no one but the final lightning strike could end his life.

He waited, shielding Shou.

But just as the blade's gleam caught his eye, someone rushed forward and pulled him away.

He looked up and saw Zheng, his face filled with panic and desperation, holding him tightly. When he turned back, he saw a scene of bloodshed.

The blade, amidst the soldiers' panicked cries, had plunged into Shou's chest. They watched as the emperor's robes were soaked with dark, terrifying blood.

Some guards immediately rushed forward to kill Bo Yikao, but Shining Li raised his hands, summoning a fierce wind that knocked them all to the ground, unable to rise. This was a spectacle worth watching, and he wasn't about to miss it.

Bo Yikao's dagger, engraved with a blue dragon, was meant to take Shining Li's life. But Shining Li's sudden evasion caused the blade to plunge deep into Shou's chest instead.

He looked at Shou, their breaths mingling in the narrow space between them. Once, he had longed for such closeness, but now that it had come true, he wished it had never happened.

Warm blood gushed from Shou's chest, staining his hands.

He was stunned, unable to believe he had harmed Shou. But after the initial shock, he saw the coldness in Shou's eyes, the innate ruthlessness, and suddenly, he woke from his daze.

"Tyrant!"

Hearing this from Bo Yikao, Shou's icy gaze locked onto Bo Yikao's dark eyes. He searched for the tenderness he had once seen, but found only hatred, madness, and a will to fight to the death.

"...I always believed in you..." The blade had indeed pierced his chest. Shou didn't want to believe it, but the pain was undeniable.

"For the sake of all living beings, you must die!"

"All living beings..." Hearing this, Shou suddenly threw his head back and laughed.

He pushed Bo Yikao away, allowing him to pull the dagger from his chest. His laughter was wild, echoing through the Star-Gazing Tower. It was a laugh of madness, yet filled with immense pain.

"Say it again, Bo Yikao..." Shou collapsed onto the mat, the force of his laughter causing him to cough up blood. "Say it again... that night under the white epiphyllum..." Shou coughed, blood pouring from his mouth.

"By heaven and earth as my witnesses, by the sun and moon as my guardians... I, Bo Yikao, swear with my blood to protect you for eternity... without fail..." Shou pointed at Bo Yikao, his eyes filled with disgust.

Bo Yikao was stunned. The oath he had sworn so long ago—Shou had remembered it all this time!

"What heaven and earth, what sun and moon... it was all a joke..." Shou stared at the man who had deeply wounded his heart. His pale face, stained with blood, had an eerie, grotesque beauty. His hair was wild, covering his face, and the pain had driven him to lose all reason. His demonic eyes now glowed with a bloodthirsty nature.

Shining Li laughed until his body shook. This was the lover Shou had always cherished, the one he had wanted to protect. Shou was naive, but who would have thought someone could be even more naive than him!

"Let go of me!" Shining Li broke free from Zheng.

Shou closed his eyes, unable to bear the pain in his heart and body, and collapsed onto the mat, unwilling to wake again.

"You killed him. Are you satisfied now?" Shining Li continued to tremble, his laughter mocking the so-called true love of mortals.

The bronze dagger clattered to the ground. Bo Yikao, overwhelmed with shock, fell to his knees.

Shou had never intended to harm him, yet he had ruthlessly taken his life.

"Before you came to the Star-Gazing Tower, Shou spoke of you often. He believed in you so deeply that he refused to destroy Ji Chang, all because he was your father. But you showed no regard for the past, shattering the only beautiful dream he had left. Bo Yikao, you are unworthy of being called a man!" Shining Li laughed as he spoke, witnessing the most absurd farce of his long life.

"Enough, Shining Li!" Zheng couldn't bear it. This entire tragedy was his doing. To destroy the Star of Destruction, he had used Bo Yikao.

"Fine, I'll stop." Shining Li had laughed enough. He then said, "Guards, seize the traitor Ji Bo Yikao, who attempted to assassinate the emperor, and throw him into the dungeon. At tomorrow's court session, he shall be executed by the roasting pillar, to appease the emperor's spirit in heaven!"

"Shining Li!" Zheng turned him around. "You shouldn't harm him!"

"I shouldn't harm him? Then should he harm me, or harm Shou?" Shining Li's silver eyes burned with anger, his heart unsettled. "You always defend Bo Yikao. What do you owe him? Why are you so concerned?"

"I owe him too much, more than I can ever repay. This is all my fault. Bo Yikao was merely a pawn," Zheng sighed deeply, filled with guilt.

The soldiers dragged away the unresisting Bo Yikao. All the guards stationed in the Star-Gazing Tower were dismissed by the palace maids. The emperor's death was a national tragedy, and all non-essential personnel were ordered to leave, awaiting the ministers to handle the aftermath.

"Let's go," Zheng said, taking Shining Li's hand to leave the blood-stained Star-Gazing Tower.

Then, Cui emerged from behind the curtains.

She had been hiding, watching everything unfold. Though she didn't understand why everything had descended into chaos, with killing and bloodshed, her tender heart couldn't help but feel sympathy for Shou. To be killed by the one you love—how unbearable!

"Little Li, don't get too close, or he'll eat you!" Shining Li grabbed his little plaything and dragged her along.

"Besides you, who else would want to eat me..." Cui muttered.

As Shining Li led her away, she could hear the palace maids wailing and crying around Shou. How pitiful!

"With all this crying, maybe they can actually cry Shou back to life..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she heard the maids screaming in joy, "The emperor isn't dead! He's still breathing!"

"Wow, I actually called it!"

Beside Shining Li's indifferent smile was Zheng's sudden anxiety.

Was this truly fate's design, something no one could change?

"Let's leave Chaoge immediately!" Zheng said urgently, holding Shining Li tightly.

"Leave? Where can we go? The world is vast, but it's all under the rule of the Shang dynasty. No matter where we flee, we'll still be under someone's control, unable to escape."

Shining Li saw Shou struggling to stand. His blood-stained, wild demeanor was terrifying, and the eerie smile on his face was like a ghost emerging from the underworld.

Bo Yikao's blade had not ended Shou's life but had severed his last shred of kindness and conscience.

Shou had gone mad.

Driven insane by this absurd era, by the person he had wanted to protect with all his heart.

Love, when doubted, could lead to such an end.

That was why he didn't want to...

Didn't want to... didn't want to...

Ghostly blue flames flickered around the Star-Gazing Tower, and the restless spirits of Chaoge's unjustly dead stirred because of Shou's blood. Some voices called for the eternal prosperity of the Shang dynasty, while others wept for the centuries of suffering buried beneath the yellow earth.

The Star-Gazing Tower was filled with eerie winds and ghostly shadows. The dim flames flickered, and the chaotic noises gradually coalesced into a single voice, chanting... destroy the Shang dynasty... destroy King Zhou...

Unless the Shang fell and the city was destroyed, these spirits would remain trapped in Chaoge forever, unable to reincarnate, enduring endless suffering.

Shou slowly stood up, blood dripping from the hem of his royal robes. He smiled, a bloody and grotesque grin.

Outside the Star-Gazing Tower, countless stars filled the night sky, their brilliance illuminating the darkness like daylight.

Then, under the mingling light of the stars and moon, Shou's cold gaze fell upon Shining Li, and then rested on Zheng. In that moment, he understood everything. The Tianxiang Star before him was the mastermind behind this tragedy, the cause of all that had transpired.

Shining Li sensed the change in Shou. A ghostly aura enveloped him, and he immediately pushed Cui toward Zheng, stepping between Shou and Zheng.

Shou's face was pale, his chest bleeding profusely, staining his royal robes. Bo Yikao had struck without mercy. An ordinary man would have died instantly, but Shou had not. Shining Li's silver eyes had seen Shou's soul nearly leave his body, but some force had pulled him back. What kind of man was Shou? His mysterious nature was terrifying.

"With your meager strength, you dare to defy the heavens?" Shou shook his head slightly, his gaze fixed on Zheng. "How could you forget that you are but a small star, forget your own fragility? Even two thousand years in Youdu couldn't teach you to accept your limits and not defy fate."

"You shouldn't have dragged Shining Li into this conflict. I will take him away, and no one will stop me!" Zheng's original intention was to protect Shining Li, but it seemed mixed with a maddening jealousy.

"He must stay. You know this."

"I won't let him stay!" Zheng's tone was firm, brooking no opposition.

"Wait!" Shining Li interjected angrily. "Who said I was going with you, Zheng?" Though he cared for Zheng, he kept his eyes on Shou, ready to react if Shou made any sudden moves. Shou was too dangerous; Zheng was no match for him.

"If Bo Yikao had killed him just now, you would have no reason to stay," Shou said. He was no ordinary man, and that was Zheng's miscalculation. If the plan had succeeded, Shou would have died, abdicating the throne. Zheng could have installed a direct descendant of the royal family, preserving the Shang dynasty and saving the Yin people. But now, everything was in chaos. Shou's life was not meant to end. Zheng had forgotten that Shou was destined by heaven to complete the six-hundred-year legacy of the Shang dynasty. How could he abandon this body and return to the heavens?

"You incited Bo Yikao!?" Shining Li finally understood why Shou was targeting Zheng. He was in disbelief, as Zheng had never been such a person. More shocking than Bo Yikao's ruthlessness, more startling than Shou's madness, he turned to Zheng and asked, "Is this true?" In his memory, Zheng was compassionate and merciful. Had he misheard in the exchange between Zheng and Shou?

However, the moment Shining Li turned his head, Shou swiftly moved past him, heading straight for Zheng.

Shou moved silently, but Shining Li immediately sensed his approach. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shou's blood-stained figure and reached out to grab his sleeve. "Go!" he shouted to Zheng.

But instead of fleeing, Zheng drew a hidden sword from his waist and, taking advantage of Shining Li restraining Shou, slashed it across Shou's throat.

"Ahhh!" After a moment of stunned silence, Cui screamed, unable to bear the sight of someone's throat being slit before her eyes. She fainted on the spot.

It was the first time Zheng had ever taken a life. The blood gushed from Shou's throat, splattering onto Zheng's face. The metallic smell filled the air, and the guilt of taking a life struck his ancient, untainted heart. His hands trembled, and he felt nauseous.

But in that moment of killing, he saw the madness in Shou's eyes and realized his true desire. Removing Shou and taking Shining Li away from this chaos was merely an excuse. His ultimate wish was to keep Shining Li by his side, to prevent him from being with anyone else.

From below the Star-Gazing Tower, chaotic noises erupted. Someone rushed up the stairs, shouting, "Ji Bo Yikao has committed suicide in his cell!"

Zheng saw the madness in Shou's eyes, now mixed with pain.

It was his own selfishness, his foolish actions, that had led to this destruction.

This shouldn't have happened... it shouldn't have...

Shou coughed, blood staining his lips, and let out a bitter laugh.

"Go, don't just stand there!" Shining Li grabbed Shou's sleeve, trying to pull him away from Zheng. But the luxurious silk robe tore under Shou's forceful movement, and Shining Li was thrown to the ground.

In an instant, the sword stained with Shou's blood emitted a crisp sound, as if struck by an invisible force. The blade shattered, and Zheng was flung backward. The hilt flew from his hand, and the broken blade pierced his right shoulder from behind, embedding itself into a pillar with a sickening thud, blood splattering everywhere.

"How dare you harm him!" Shining Li, furious, scrambled to his feet. He picked up Bo Yikao's dagger and lunged at Shou, showing no mercy. No one was allowed to hurt Zheng, not even Shou!

Shou merely sidestepped, catching Shining Li's wrist. With a sickening crunch, he crushed the jade-like arm, rendering it useless.

Shining Li glared at him, his eyes filled with hatred. They could have coexisted peacefully, but now things had changed.

"I forgot you were born of stone, without blood or tears. Such a minor injury means nothing to you," Shou laughed, a terrifying sound.

Under his gaze, Shining Li's wrist, unable to withstand the immense force, began to crumble, scattering jade dust onto the stone floor.

"Let him go. This is all my doing. Shining Li had no part in it!" Zheng pulled the broken blade from the pillar and hurled it at Shou's hand, which still gripped Shining Li. The blade pierced Shou's flesh, forcing him to release his hold.

"You are too troublesome, Tianxiang Star! Do you know the price you must pay for your mistakes?" Shou's voice was devoid of emotion, filled only with cold ruthlessness.

"This has nothing to do with Shining Li. Don't harm him!" Zheng repeated.

"He is your most cherished person, just as Bo Yikao was my anchor," Shou said. "Even if I kill you, it would only mean your soul returns to the heavens. But if I torment him, will you feel the same pain?" Just as Zheng had manipulated Bo Yikao.

"My sins should not be borne by Shining Li!" Zheng lunged at Shou, determined to kill him even at the cost of his own life.

But the guards, who had been scattered earlier, now swarmed the Star-Gazing Tower, easily subduing the mortal, powerless Zheng.

"I have no blood, no tears. I feel no pain, no attachment to people or things. You'll need to try harder to torment me!" Shining Li sneered.

"Whether I have the ability, you'll soon find out," Shou said, twirling a strand of Shining Li's hair, as if reminiscing about the past. His grip on Shining Li loosened, and his hand slowly covered Shining Li's face.

Shining Li felt the coldness of Shou's skin, as icy as his heart. Through the gaps in Shou's fingers, he saw Zheng's frantic, desperate expression for the last time, heard Zheng's panicked voice for the final time.

"Shining Li!" Zheng screamed.

Zheng was the name of an ancient instrument, its sound warm and enchanting, just like the tone Zheng used when speaking to him, the smile Zheng wore when thinking of him—so tender.

Gradually, Shining Li felt his consciousness slipping away. Darkness enveloped him, and a cold, icy force froze him, sealing his body and trapping him within, rendering him immobile.

Shou had given him the cruelest punishment—the silence and emptiness he had always feared.

Then, Shou laughed.

Shining Li's eyes went blank as he collapsed onto the jade floor. Shou grabbed a handful of Shining Li's beautiful hair and, as the noble emperor of Chaoge, mercilessly mocked Zheng's arrogance in defying the heavens.