Chapter Text

In the darkness, she opened her eyes.

The Mei are living spirits formed from the coalescence of the breaths of Heaven and Earth. They are born of nothing; in the beginning purely essence, their bodies come into being as manifestations of their will. Perhaps a bird, perhaps a tree, but more often, they hope to become a person. A person who is the embodiment of perfection.

She just so happened to be such a mei. She had never experienced childhood or youth; when she opened her eyes and emerged into this world like a freshly bloomed flower dripping with dew, she was already an exquisite young lady. The reflection of her body in the water was pure and without blemish, light glistened upon the surface of the lake, and watching fog roll across the grasslands, she thought the world a place just as beautiful as herself.

When she began to roam the land, she found herself deeply disappointed. She had never imagined that most humans would be quite so plain and unremarkable, or even downright ugly. That farmer with his sun-browned skin, that shopkeeper with his wobbling stomach, that tramp with his cold eyes and slanting brows – this world was made up of people like that. For food or for money they ran about, surrounded by the stench of sweat. The ground was not always covered in flowers, and the earth not always kept cool by light breezes. Yellow deserts, mud and bone were just as common. She began to regret coming into this world, and found a deserted mountain valley in which she hid herself away.

Yet after staying within the mountains for three months, she regretted her decision even more. Although the lake was so clear one could see to its bottom, and there were white dear and golden orioles aplenty, there was a strange feeling that did not leave her. It was a feeling she never experienced as a sprit. She desired so much to speak to another human, and to hear what they had to say in return. This was when she finally realised she could no longer return to that time when she could continue her existence comfortably on her own. She had become a human. And humans felt loneliness.

And so she returned once again to the marketplace. Unexpectedly, she felt much lonelier amongst the crowds of people. She felt no one would truly listen to what she had to say; all of them were preoccupied with her beauty, and admired it as they would a painting or wares for sale. She was frightened. She wished to integrate, yet also wanted to distance herself. She wandered aimlessly upon the minor roads outside the city, not knowing what to do. It was at this time that a man astride an exceptional horse arrived before her.

Muyun Qin was an Emperor who valued military might. This was a tradition of the Muyun Clan. The teachings of their ancestors specified that every generation of Emperor from the Muyun imperial family had to have the skill to lead the country’s army into battle. This was why Muyun Qin was a deft hand with the bow and arrow. Whenever he went on inspection tours, he would always ride fast, leaving the battalion in the dust behind him with no fear for assassinations. When he was still just a prince, he once led the charge right into the heart of the battle formation of rebel troops, making his kills surrounded by ten thousand enemy men. A few assassins would be a joke to him in comparison.

Muyun Qin had originally raced right past the lady, but he suddenly reined in his horse. He himself could not quite explain why. He turned back for a look and suddenly felt that in the past, although he held the world in his hands, he had only ever been a pitiable, poor man.

This glance determined the fate of the world.