Episode 1

Chapter 1: The Bamboo Cottage

Lin Yue knelt in her family’s cottage, the bamboo walls sighing under a restless wind. Moonlight filtered through the lattice window, casting shadows on her ink-stained hands as she guided a brush across rice paper. The characters—mountain, river, solitude—danced in black ink, each stroke a tether to her late parents’ memory. Two winters had passed since their deaths, leaving the cottage near Mount Tai a hollow shell. The village beyond felt distant, its laughter muffled by her grief.

She paused, her eyes drifting to a faded scroll on the wall: her mother’s painting of the Jade River, its waters gleaming under a starlit sky. “The river holds spirits, Yue,” her mother had whispered, her voice warm with tales of yao and xian. “Seek them when your heart is lost.” Lin Yue’s chest tightened. She was lost now, her days a blur of calligraphy and silence.

“The ink flows, but my heart is still,” she murmured, setting the brush down. “Is there more beyond this village? Beyond me?”

The bamboo grove outside rustled, as if in answer. Lin Yue rose, her blue silk robe whispering against the wooden floor. She traced the scroll’s edges, her mother’s words echoing. The Jade River was not far—a day’s walk through the valley. She’d avoided the world too long, hiding in this cocoon of memory. Fear tugged at her, but so did a spark of resolve. Tomorrow, she would step beyond the cottage, seeking the river’s spirits and, perhaps, herself.

She lit a joss stick, its sandalwood scent curling toward the ceiling. “Mother, Father,” she whispered, bowing to their ancestral tablet. “Guide me. I’m ready to live again.” The smoke spiraled, and the grove’s song grew louder, urging her forward. Lin Yue clutched her sleeve, where a jade hairpin—her mother’s last gift—rested. It gleamed faintly, as if alive.

In her dreams that night, the river called, its voice a melody of water and wind. A shadow watched from the mist, its eyes golden, and she woke with a start, her heart racing. The hairpin glowed softly in the dark, and she wondered if the spirits were already near.

Chapter 2: The River’s Song

The Jade River shimmered under a dawn sky, its emerald waters weaving through mossy stones like threads of a celestial loom. Lin Yue stood at its bank, her sandals sinking into the soft earth. The air buzzed with life—cicadas trilling, reeds swaying, and a faint, ethereal melody that seemed to rise from the water itself. Her loneliness, so heavy in the cottage, felt lighter here, as if the river’s ancient song could carry it away.

She knelt, trailing her fingers through the cool current. “Mother said you hold spirits,” she whispered, half-expecting an answer. The pendant she’d worn since childhood—a simple lotus carved in jade—warmed against her chest. She’d always thought it a trinket, but now it felt alive, pulsing with the river’s rhythm.

As she rose, her foot caught on a gnarled root, and she stumbled, gasping. When she steadied herself, something glinted in the grass: a jade pendant, larger than her own, etched with a lotus and warm to the touch. She froze, scanning the willow trees. The air grew heavy, as if eyes watched from the shadows, but no one appeared.

“Who left this?” she said, voice trembling. “The river hides its secrets well.”

She tucked the pendant into her sleeve, its weight grounding her. The melody grew louder, weaving through the wind, and she felt a presence—kind, yet distant. At home, she studied the pendant by candlelight, its lotus glowing faintly. Her mother’s tales of xian—immortals who guarded sacred places—surfaced. Could this be their mark?

That night, her dreams were vivid. She stood by the river, the water reflecting stars. A voice called her name, soft as moonlight, and golden eyes gleamed from the mist. “Lin Yue,” it whispered, “you see what others cannot.” She woke clutching the pendant, her heart torn between fear and a strange, budding hope.

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