Liu Cheng, a modern-day fragrance enthusiast, accidentally resonated with a strange, ancient dragon scent and crossed through time and space, transmigrating to a remote mountain outside Jinling in the Southern Tang. He had nothing but a twenty-tael silver ingot passed down through his family, no support and no connections, alone in a thousand-year-old capital. At his most desperate, he rescued a homeless boy named A He. The two made their way into the city together, and with Liu Cheng’s unparalleled skill in perfumery, he built a business from scratch in bustling Jinling, opening a shop called Clear Dew Fragrance Hall.
The incense of the past was heavy and somber, made with outdated methods. Liu Cheng alone distilled the natural essence of herbs and plants to create a new kind of floral fragrance: light, fresh, and elegant. The moment it appeared, it quietly captivated the streets and markets of Jinling. From everyday use among the common people, to the appreciation of literati aboard painted boats on the Qinhuai River, to the fervent admiration of noble young ladies, the delicate fragrance from his incense burner slowly permeated the entire city.
He had no interest in business rivalries or chasing extravagance. He sought only to make his way through life with fragrance and treat others with kindness. As he earned a living in the bustling city, he met an upright patrol officer and the refined Yu Niang, and found the simple warmth of ordinary people.
Liu Cheng knew that this sojourn in another world would last only a year, and that all this splendor was but a dream. He devoted himself to perfecting every wisp of fragrance and treated every encounter with sincerity. He sought no fame and never spurned kindness. One year of fragrant dreams, a city of tender, everyday warmth: in the end, all the astonishing renown would fade, but the fragrance would remain in the world. He would honor both time and the heart he had begun with.
