1 Plum Blossoms Under the Moonlight
A long time ago, there lived a plum-tree spirit in the ever-abundant Wildlands. In winter, she stood strong and grew amongst the chilling frost. In spring, she cultivated the most vibrant and fragrant plum blossoms. In summer, her branches bore the sweetest plums. And in autumn, she would lay to rest only to prepare for a more bountiful yield the following year.
Hearing of her diligence and famed fruits, the Sky Emperor invited the plum-tree spirit to share her gifts for all the Sky Nation to taste. At the Hall of Floating Clouds, she served tea, wine, and pastries made from the plums of her very own branches to all the revered Gods, Goddesses, and Immortals.
Awed by her beauty and culinary skills, the Sky Emperor offered for her to stay in the palace to continue serving the immortals of the esteemed Sky Nation with the promise she would be promoted to a higher status once she finished her self-cultivation and reached the fairy level.
To everyone's surprise, the plum-tree spirit declined. She did not wish to have a luxurious life. She only yearned for a life of simplicity—dedicated only to cultivating and producing the most delicious plum fruits in all the Five Realms.
Taking her wish into consideration, the Sky Emperor gave the plum-tree spirit a span of three lunar moons to contemplate the offer before deciding. However, as headstrong as the spirit was, she planned to stay only one night.
But who would have known that one night could change her fate forever?
That night, as the plum-tree spirit prepared her belongings before heading to bed, she heard the melancholic melody of a flute. The tenderness and sorrow of the song touched her heart of solitude.
Entranced, she searched for the lost soul behind the lonesome tune and came upon the Palace of Red Strings. There, she met the Moon Keeper.
The stars that night are said to have glowed brilliantly at their encounter. Midnight cicadas sang harmoniously in euphony as they basked in the luminous moonlight.
The two quickly grew fond of each other—passing their time by appreciating music, drinking tea, and simply enjoying each other's company.
One night turned into two nights. Two nights turned into the passing of ten suns. And before they knew it, the third lunar moon had arrived. It was time for the plum-tree spirit to decide whether to stay in the Sky Nation or to return to the Wildlands.
She chose to stay.
As a hundred years flew by like the birds of spring too quickly flown away, the plum-tree spirit and Moon Keeper eventually realized that in their years of companionship, they both had fallen in love with each other. Unfortunately, their love could never be.
Although charged with the duty to matchmake and guide mortals to their destined partner, the Moon Keeper himself has never known love. Born from a stone of the Moon, he has been preordained to be void of romantic affections, only to give love to others but never to have love.
Despite this, the plum-tree spirit and Moon Keeper chose to nurture their feelings for one another. For once, they allowed themselves to be selfish and tasted the passions of love.
But with the sweetness of love also came the bitterness of sorrow.
Rumors of the affair spread quickly. From a maid who witnessed an exchange of intimate gestures, the whole realm grew abuzz. Everyone knew that the Moon Keeper was to never love. As the last remnant of a celestial being—the late Moon Deity—it was expected that he did not dwell in worldly affairs and emotions. Their love would go against the natural order of the world.
When word of the scandal reached the Sky Emperor, he summoned an audience to investigate the truth—the people of the Sky Nation needed to be appeased. He believed that the Moon Keeper would not be so foolish as to break an age-old code and fall in love with a mere spirit from the Wildlands.
The Sky Emperor, however, did not receive the answer he predicted.
At the Hall of Floating Clouds, in front of all the revered Gods and Goddesses of the Sky Nation, the Moon Keeper proclaimed his love for the humble plum-tree spirit.
Outraged that the Moon Keeper could break a fundamental understanding of the Five Realms, the Sky Emperor decreed that the Moon Keeper would be under house arrest for the next hundred years. No one would be able to see him and him no other. The plum-tree spirit would be exiled to spend the rest of her life in the Mortal Realm, stripped of her years of cultivation and prohibited to further cultivate. No one was to speak of the affair less they want their soul to cease existence, burnt to ashes by the Phoenix Flame.
With their separation, the natural order was restored. No one would uncover the Moon Keeper's disgrace, and the people of the Five Realms would be at ease.
Unbeknownst to everyone though, inside the plum-tree spirit's womb carried a child of the Moon and Earth. Born from the fruition of forbidden love, the child would be destined to shake the foundations of the Five Realms.
