On her sixteenth birthday, Chu Ling happily set off for her childhood friend Yun Suizhi's home. But when she arrived at the Yun residence, all she saw were raging flames and bodies strewn across the ground. Yun Suizhi lay buried beneath the rubble, blood running from his eyes, barely clinging to life.
That night, Chu Ling carried Yun Suizhi on her back for a thousand miles, fleeing their pursuers. They survived, against all odds, but someone planted the Twin Gu of Flourishing and Decline in them.
The Gu were just as their name suggested: when one flourished, the other withered. Their lives were bound together, so that they would live and die as one. It was a particularly vicious curse.
For the next few years, Chu Ling stayed by Yun Suizhi's side, studying and cultivating with him day and night, seeking enlightenment and watching him scheme and endure as he navigated one perilous step after another. He survived countless brushes with death to claim the title of Dao Lord of Penglai, seized power across the Four Realms, and began plotting his revenge.
Yun Suizhi was gifted and clever, adept at manipulating people. There were many things only he could do. But because of the Twin Gu, as he rose to wealth and prestige, Chu Ling became a frail little bird in his golden palace.
That had never really bothered her. After all, once Yun Suizhi had made his fortune, she had never wanted for anything.
Until one day, a woman of noble station joined them, seeking a powerful alliance.
And that same year, Chu Ling finally found a way to break the Twin Gu.
Legend spoke of a celestial mountain called Ji Mountain, standing amid the most mysterious Shanhai Marshes. Ji Mountain held a supreme treasure capable of overcoming any obstacle in the world.
After much thought, Chu Ling had no choice but to turn her attention to the Lord of Ji Mountain, who had secretly visited Penglai and was being honored as a distinguished guest.
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The Lord of Ji Mountain had descended from his mountain only twice in a thousand years, and both times he had passed through Penglai.
On his first visit, he came in disguise and passed by Penglai's outer island.
Beneath a brilliant river of stars, he saw flames soaring into the sky. A girl, drenched in sweat, carried a boy on her back. Her eyes shone, alert as a young leopard. Exhausted from fighting her way through a deadly pursuit, she nevertheless fled a thousand miles without a hint of fear or retreat. With nothing but a mortal's strength, she carved out a narrow path to survival for her companion.
The Tongling Pearl, the treasure of Ji Mountain, stirred. The Lord suppressed its reaction.
The second time, he visited Penglai in person. A jeweled carriage drawn by five auspicious beasts rolled forth to a sky filled with celestial music, welcomed by a thousand attendants. And once again, from atop the palace wall, the Lord of Ji Mountain caught sight of the young man and woman from that night.
The young man wore the robes of a Penglai Dao Lord, a bejeweled crown on his head and cloud-patterned boots on his feet. He had become a rising young Dao Lord of Penglai, famous throughout the region. He had changed completely and was now the center of attention. Behind him, the girl looked just as she had before, lifting her skirts as she walked, her eyes curved in a smile. The two chatted as they disappeared from view.
The perceptive welcoming official followed the Lord's gaze and offered an introduction. "That is one of our island's newly promoted young Dao Lords. The girl behind him is his childhood... playmate. They are close and are often together, inseparable."
Childhood sweethearts, innocent companions. Bound together through life and death, sharing every hardship.
The Lord of Ji Mountain suppressed the Tongling Pearl and lowered his lashes in silence, unable to make sense of it:
How could the all-knowing, all-seeing, spirit-sensitive pearl he carried insist that this woman, whose heart was wholly devoted to someone else and whose affections seemed so steadfast,
would one day become his queen?
Theme: Love and peace
