Eighteen years had passed since the great war.
The shrine under the plum tree remained, weathered by wind and time. And
still, Sky returned to it each spring, waiting.
Far from the capital, in the city of Linhua, another life was blooming.
Ju Xian — once the brave healer of the battlefield, now reborn as a noble
daughter of the Ju family, known for its lineage and wealth.
She was striking: dark black hair that gleamed under the sun, a round,
delicate face that turned heads at court, and eyes sharp enough to silence a
room.
To the outside world, Ju Xian was cold, proud, and untouchable.
> "Too proud for a prince," some whispered. "She thinks herself above
tradition," others said.
But they didn't see her at night, curled in her room, sketching birds in secret, dreaming of misty forests and the scent of camphor.
Her father, a calculating man, had long prepared her to marry into the royal
family, seeking to restore their name to imperial favor.
> "You were born to serve the throne," he often reminded her. "You will
obey."
She obeyed in appearance only. Inside, she longed for freedom.
---
Elsewhere, in the bustling markets of the capital, a thief named Taotao
slipped through crowds like a shadow.
He had a scar across his shoulder and dark blue hair tied in a messy knot.
His expression was always unreadable — a mask of boredom, mischief, and
apathy.
He stole out of habit, not hunger. He moved like someone chasing
distraction, not survival.
His past was a blur. Fragments came to him in dreams: fire, feathers, a girl's
voice shouting over chaos. But they meant nothing.
He lived in the alleys, laughing at nobles, evading guards, and keeping only
what he needed.
Yet some days, he woke with a strange ache in his chest, as if something had
been taken from him long ago.
---
Two lives. Two souls.
Wandering.
Until fate chose to cross their paths once more — beneath the blooming
plum tree.
And above them, Sky stirred