From the day she was confirmed as the sacrifice, her life underwent a world-shaking change.
She no longer had to submerge her hands in the bone-chilling river water during the dead of winter to scrub coarse linen clothes; she no longer had to carry a bamboo basket taller than herself to cut pigweed on steep, thorn-covered slopes.
Every day, the dining table was set with the finest ingredients the villagers could scrape together.
No matter where she went, everyone would stop what they were doing, gather around, and speak to her in the gentlest of voices.
“Little Yue is so well-behaved. These clothes look truly beautiful on you.”
“Little Yue’s smile today is so sweet, just like a flower.”
“Oh, Little Yue, when you grow up, you will surely be the most beautiful and wonderful fairy.”
Praise after praise, smiling face after smiling face.
Miaoyue listened to these words, behaving with the utmost docility.
It wasn't that she truly believed wings would sprout from her back at the edge of a cliff, allowing her to fly toward that high-and-mighty moon.
She simply, purely wanted to believe in those who showed her kindness.
Everyone must have had their own unavoidable hardships and reasons for making such a choice.
What was the truth, and what was a lie? Such a distinction was too heavy for a child.
As long as the initial intent was born of “need,” and as long as the outcome was good for everyone in the village, then such an arrangement was the best one.
Miaoyue took this as her faith.
Only the village head, when looking at her, could not hide the coldness in the depths of his eyes—the look of someone appraising merchandise. Thus, Miaoyue never gave any response to the village head's words.
She really wasn't stupid.
Facing those profound, complex, and blood-stained adult rules, she was simply too lazy to look deeper.
There were too many incomprehensible things in the world. If one had to dismantle everything clearly and see through the calculations behind every smiling face, how exhausting would life be?
—Later, after Teacher learned of this past, he once made a bet with her.
Teacher bet that she was a complete and utter idiot, betting that every single villager in New Moon Village knew the cruel truth of the sacrifice perfectly well, and that those smiling faces were all a facade.
But when the final investigation results came out, Teacher fell silent, helplessly rubbing his nose as he admitted defeat.
In the entire village, truly only the village head knew the secret of the Lord of the Moon eating people. The other villagers sincerely believed that the sacrifice really went to become a fairy by the deity's side.
That time, she won.
Teacher was so smart, his plans always flawless.
Since she had won against the smart Teacher, she was naturally smart too.
Hehe.
The logic of this world was just that simple.
Since she couldn't figure it out, she wouldn't think about it.
Believe in those who hold kindness toward you.
It was enough to accept and believe in those who genuinely gave her kindness.
Distinguishing between good and evil was much easier than distinguishing between truth and falsehood.
For the lame stray cat wandering and starving at the edge of the village, she would save her rations to feed it.
For the child who slipped in a mud puddle after the rain, she would unhesitatingly dirty her new dress to help them up.
She did so much, not because she wanted any reward, or because she believed in karma, or because she wanted some kind of reputation.
It was simply because, as an ordinary girl with nothing to her name, she had received far too much from everyone during those days when her life was frozen as a sacrifice.
That excess of tenderness and kindness was about to fill her heart to the brim.
Therefore, she ought to distribute these things back to the village.
In this way, everyone would feel happy.
Every time she finished doing these things, the watching villagers would always sigh in admiration: “Such a kind and pure child. No wonder the Lord of the Moon took a liking to her at first glance.”
At times like these, the village head would also say: “It seems we’ll have a good harvest this time.”
...
What did the Lord of the Moon look like?
When the full moon finally climbed over the mountain peaks, drenching the ancient altar built of bluestone in cold silver radiance.
She sat alone on the cold stone slab, hugging her knees, staring blankly up at the night sky, repeatedly chewing on this question in her mind.
The wind on the mountain was very cold.
It pierced through the thin linen dress she wore.
Having always been surrounded by laughter and crowds, at this moment, she truly experienced what loneliness was.
From the dark, deep forest came the sound of snapping branches; a massive and rank presence was slowly approaching.
She buried her face in the crook of her arm.
It was fine.
Just a little longer, and the Lord of the Moon would come to take her away.
When that time came, once she reached the moon, she wouldn't feel lonely anymore.
There were many other girls from before there too...
The rank-smelling wind grew stronger and stronger.
She gripped her thin linen dress tightly, shivering uncontrollably.
She silently counted her own heartbeats to distract herself.
And then.
The wind stopped.
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