A Dream-Soul's Call

[You can read this as a collection of stories. There’s no main couple, and romance isn’t the focus.]

[Past and present lives, xianxia setting. The Penglai Immortal Island here is based on legend, but I’ve added my own ideas, so don’t take it too seriously.]

[Many elements go beyond traditional xianxia conventions. If that bothers you, feel free to leave.]

[The overall tone leans tragic, and the story spans quite a while. If you prefer sweet stories, you may want to move on.]

Background: Legend has it that overseas lies Penglai Immortal Island, where immortals dwell. If you pass their trials, they will grant you one wish. For thousands of years, countless people have journeyed to the East Sea, but none have returned alive to tell anyone where Penglai is. Throughout history, only three people have ever reached Penglai, and none of them came back. What people don’t know is that this so-called Penglai is merely an illusion. There are no immortal flowers or herbs there, only countless dreams. The true Penglai lies in the distant Ninth Heaven. The Penglai in the mortal realm is merely a place that governs dreams, the nexus between dreams and reality in the Three Realms.

The story we’re about to tell is made up of the past and present lives of those three people who reached Penglai. It unfolds in reverse chronological order, starting with the last of them...

Previously: As the end of her life draws near, Empress Mu Jingqiu of Da'an is taken into a dream by a mysterious woman...

When Mu Jingqiu wakes, she learns her true identity: Bai Changqing, the youngest daughter of General Bai Hucheng, a hostage who grew up in the imperial city...

After waking from the dream, she settles her affairs. She summons Chancellor Zheng one last time, then dies and leaves her body behind. Her soul travels to Penglai...

Chancellor Zheng will never know that the fiancée he spent years searching for was right beside him all along...

[Note: Most of the story is told in first person.]