Chapter 227: The Missing Element

What else could he be?

Moon’s mind went blank as his body finally toppled sideways into nothingness...

Just as he was about to fall into the deep ravine, a white figure darted through the air and caught him.

Moon was still in a daze when they both tumbled down the mountainside.

A warm embrace surrounded him from all sides.

And suddenly, Moon found his answer.

His eyes snapped open.

"I know!" he shouted.

The man shifted, leaving him on a patch of grass before leaning against a nearby rock. He looked at Moon with ice-cold eyes.

His white, furry ears swayed in the wind, while his fluffy tail lay stretched out on the grass.

His brows were deeply furrowed.

But he didn’t say anything.

Moon sat up and looked at Rio, whom he hadn’t seen all morning.

As they stared at each other, a silent current flowed between them.

"I knew it! I’ll never have peace as long as I’m around you!" Moon gritted his teeth.

Rio’s frown deepened.

"I couldn’t be water," Moon said.

"..."

"Because my water core is barren."

"..."

Moon gritted his teeth again, shooting a dagger look at the man sitting so calmly.

One hand rested on his knee while the other was placed on the grass.

He looked like an ice sculpture.

Moon suddenly felt a surge of anger.

He should have known.

Ever since he contracted Rio, his mind had constantly wandered down the wrong path, as if it were the end of the world.

As if there were nothing left to live for.

A deep depression.

An unbearable loneliness.

The same feeling he had experienced in the witch’s cavern.

And now...

His palm touched his lower abdomen, which was beginning to ache.

He knew why. He also knew he couldn’t delay it any longer.

When his other four cores had fused, they had left the barren water core isolated.

This had caused an imbalance in his dantian, creating a disturbance within it.

Sooner or later, as his cultivation advanced, the imbalance would backfire. His dantian would fall into chaos.

He had to merge all five cores, or everything would eventually collapse when he broke through into a major realm.

This was a hidden risk that could cost him his life.

Not to mention the four little buds inside him.

But this man had been avoiding him.

Even during his rut, Rio had never come close.

Moon’s fingers clenched tightly.

Why was that?

Why did it suddenly seem as though he had to beg for intimacy?

It was clearly this man who had forced himself on him before.

How, and just how, was he supposed to approach him and ask for intimacy now?

Yet here he was...

He must have been following him all along. Otherwise, how could he have appeared at precisely the right moment?

And yet, he still wouldn’t touch him.

Moon’s blood ran colder and colder.

The thought of having to ask Rio for intimacy made his stomach churn. His face darkened.

’I’m giving up. I can’t do it.’ Moon said in his mind.

Even inside his consciousness, his voice sounded low and depressed.

[My child. Ah, my child! Don’t be so hard on yourself.] The Moon Goddess spoke gently.

’Just kill me, or send me away to the heavenly Saquea realm.’

[You can still live!]

"..."

The sudden information left Moon utterly stupefied.

’I can live? Even without them?’ His voice trembled with disbelief.

A soft sigh left the goddess’s mouth.

[Sigh! Remember? I told you that your task was to awaken their bloodlines. This counts as a half-awakening. Although their bloodlines are still hidden and their wolf spirits are weak, from this point onward, they can seek their own luck and fortune. Your task is almost complete, my child.]

She paused.

Then she continued, her voice becoming slightly upset and distant.

[You have two options. First, you can destroy your cultivation and live an ordinary human life here in Monalis for the rest of your days. You will be free from all your shackles. The other option is the one you already know... Stay with them and become an immortal, albeit at the cost of your freedom.]

The Moon Goddess fell silent.

So did Moon.

And the man sitting in front of him had closed his eyes long ago. He had shown no reaction other than his deeply furrowed brows.

[Don’t let his emotions affect your judgment, Moon. What you’re feeling right now may not belong to you. It could be coming from any of the five of them. You must distinguish your own feelings first.]

’How? How am I supposed to do that? They’re irritating me. They’re annoying!’

Moon mumbled inwardly.

His gaze fell on the man before slowly drifting down to his crotch.

He didn’t want to look there at all.

But he couldn’t help wondering how Rio had managed to pass blood moon without sex from the beginning until now, while the others seemed almost crazy about mating.

His breath hitched when he saw Rio’s perfectly still manhood, pointing upward.

’Fuck! This annoying man!’

Moon lay back on the grass, closed his eyes, and tried to feel his own feelings.

Did he really want to become an ordinary human?

Could he give up all the hard work he had put into his cultivation?

"Go back."

The ever-silent ice man finally spoke.

Moon looked at Rio, narrowing his eyes.

"No."

He refused immediately.

Not for any particular reason. He simply wanted to go against him.

After what had happened with Leo, his mind had settled on one thing: opposing them, no matter what they did.

Rio frowned. Then he stood up and sat farther away.

"..."

’Was he just giving me attitude?’

Moon almost screamed inside his head.

’What the hell?’

He sprang to his feet, closed the distance between them, grabbed the man’s collar, and shook him hard.

"AAAH! You bastard! Are you giving me attitude now?" Moon shouted, gritting his teeth so hard they nearly clattered together.

"..."

Rio, who had just settled on another rock, intending to be left alone, froze stiffly.