He is His Highness Zhengze, son of the Heavenly Emperor. She is a luan bird from Nuchuang Mountain.
She falls in love with him at first sight and vows to follow him to her death, only for him to marry her off to someone else.
As an ice sword pierces her heart and she enters nirvana,
he says, “I’ll wait for you to come back.”
She says, “I’ve fallen prey to delusions about you, my lord. There’s no need to wait for me to return.”
As her attempt at nirvana fails and she lies dying,
she says, “Since you value my feathers so much, I’ll pluck them out and give them to you as a wedding gift.”
He says, “Afan, don’t hurt yourself. I did all of this only to keep you safe.”
