Episode 4

Chapter 7: A Mortal’s Heart

Lin Yue and Cai Shen sat under a willow by the festival’s edge, lanterns casting a golden glow. Jasmine tea steamed between them, its fragrance mingling with the night’s warmth. Lin Yue traced the rim of her cup, her heart unsteady. “The cottage is too quiet now,” she said, voice low. “Since my parents died, I feel I’m fading, like ink on old paper.”

Cai Shen’s golden eyes softened, reflecting the lanterns. “I know silence too well,” he said. “It lingers in places time cannot touch.”

She tilted her head, curious. “You speak like a poet, not a scholar. Do you ever tire of wandering?”

“I tire of endings I cannot change,” he said, his voice heavy with unspoken years. He sipped his tea, his gaze distant, as if seeing centuries unfold. “But you, Lin Yue—you make endings feel… distant.”

Her cheeks warmed, the pendant pulsing against her chest. “How can a village girl make a scholar feel so?” she asked, half-teasing.

“You see the world’s soul,” he said, leaning closer. “A flower’s fall, a river’s song—they live in you.”

She looked away, overwhelmed. The festival’s music swelled, but all she heard was his voice. As they rose, he pressed a peach blossom into her hand, his fingers brushing hers. “Keep this,” he said. “A mortal’s gift for an immortal heart.”

“Immortal?” she echoed, but he only smiled, stepping back. “Until we meet again, Lin Yue,” he said, vanishing into the crowd. She clutched the blossom, its scent lingering, and knew her world had shifted.

Chapter 8: The Immortal’s Truth

Lin Yue met Cai Shen at the Jade River, where he stood by a willow, his scholar’s robe too perfect for a mortal. The pendant burned against her chest, and she stepped forward, resolute. “You’re no scholar,” she said, voice steady. “The lotus petal, the jade—who are you, truly?”

Cai Shen sighed, his golden eyes meeting hers. “I am Cai Shen, a xian of the Nine Heavens,” he said. “Immortal, bound to guard this world’s sacred places—rivers, mountains, groves.”

Lin Yue’s breath caught, her hand clutching the pendant. “An immortal?” she whispered. “Why seek me, a village girl?”

He stepped closer, the air humming with his presence. “You see the world’s soul, Yue,” he said. “I’ve watched you—at the river, in the grove—and I cannot look away. Your heart… it calls to mine.”

She should have fled, but curiosity bloomed. “You’ve seen the celestial court?” she asked, eyes wide. “Tell me!”

He smiled wryly, a shadow crossing his face. “It’s a cage of jade and starlight,” he said. “Palaces of cloud, rivers of light, but cold. Empty. I guard the mortal world to feel its warmth, but you—you are its heart.”

Lin Yue’s pulse raced, the chasm between them clear: her fleeting life, his endless one. “What do you want from me?” she asked, voice trembling.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, his voice raw. “Only that I cannot stay away.” He reached for her hand, then stopped, as if fearing his touch would break her. The river sang, its melody weaving their silence, and she felt the weight of a love that might defy the heavens.

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