The Last Light of Youth

Peach blossoms bloom and fade beneath Qiyun Mountain. --At seventeen, Princess Jiyang flees an arranged marriage and escapes into the mountains. Beneath a peach tree, she meets the white-clad Liu Buwang, who carries a sword and a qin and shields her from bandits. Just as affection begins to grow between them, soldiers close in. Liu Buwang promises to return for her in three days, but his master traps him in a formation. His junior sister leaks the secret, and the princess is found and taken back, only to be married off to another man. Liu Buwang breaks through the formation and descends the mountain, only to find that his master has died and she is already someone’s wife. For years afterward, he secretly visits her every year, watching as her hair gradually grays at the temples. As the years pass, her husband dies and her son passes away, leaving only her granddaughter. When Jiyang is attacked by enemies, he appears and saves the entire city, using his life to form an array that holds them back. Mu Hongjin stands atop the city wall, holding the score to “A Slow Passage of Time.” The breeze turns its pages like the notes of a qin.