Chapter 1
Tale of Zi Qing
Chapter 1: The Girl Under the Peach Tree
The peach blossoms of Qinghe Village were said to bloom even when winter refused to leave. Zi Qing had always loved the oldest tree in the village. Its branches stretched over the quiet hillside, covering the ground with pale pink petals.
But that evening, something was different.
As Zi Qing gathered fallen flowers beneath the tree, she heard a faint sound.
A breath.
She froze.
Behind the thick roots lay a young man dressed in torn white robes. His long hair was scattered across the grass, and a dark stain covered his sleeve.
He was injured.
Zi Qing hurried toward him.
“Are you alive?”
His eyes suddenly opened.
They were cold—unnaturally cold.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Zi Qing noticed something strange.
A golden mark glowed faintly around his wrist.
“You shouldn't be here,” he whispered.
“Neither should you,” Zi Qing replied.
Something almost like amusement flickered in his eyes.
Then his expression changed.
“They found me.”
“Who?”
He pushed himself up, struggling against the pain.
“Forget that you ever saw me.”
Before Zi Qing could answer, a strange wind swept through the peach blossoms.
She blinked.
The man was gone.
Only a single white feather remained on the ground.
Zi Qing stared at it, confused.
She didn't know who he was.
She didn't know what had been chasing him.
But before sunrise, someone would come looking for him.
And they would come to Qinghe Village.
