o_rm_cindy
In the vibrant heart of Tang Dynasty Chang'an, a mystical cloud named Qingxiao, having absorbed centuries of human wishes for love, fortune, and immortality, transforms into a human-a strikingly beautiful youth with eyes like the sky. Drawn to the mortal world, Qingxiao navigates the bustling markets and poetic culture of the capital, his ethereal presence earning him the name "Cloud Immortal." Yet, as a being of impermanent wish-power, he knows his human form is fleeting, destined to dissolve back into the sky.
By the historic Ba Bridge, Qingxiao meets Li Wan'er, the eldest daughter of the prestigious Li clan, bound by strict Confucian duties and an impending arranged marriage. Their chance encounter sparks a forbidden love, as Wan'er's yearning for freedom finds solace in Qingxiao's tales of the boundless clouds, and he discovers the fire of human emotion through her courage and poetry. Despite his attempts to shield her from his transient fate, their secret meetings-under cherry blossoms, in moonlit groves, and atop Mount Zhongnan-deepen their bond, defying her family's expectations and the ticking clock of his existence.
As Wan'er's father tightens his grip, threatening disownment, and Qingxiao's body begins to fade, the lovers face an impossible choice: cling to their fleeting moments or sacrifice their love for her future. Their romance, woven with Tang-era poetry, tea rituals, and lantern festivals, reaches a bittersweet climax under the Mid-Autumn moon, where Qingxiao dissolves into a wisp of cloud, leaving Wan'er with a jade bead and a heart transformed by love.
Inspired by Qingxiao's strength, Wan'er defies her family, becoming a renowned poet whose cloud-filled verses inspire generations. Years later, as an old woman teaching in a village near Mount Zhongnan, she passes peacefully, her spirit joining Qingxiao in the sky. Their legend endures in Chang'an, a tale of love that transcends mortality, carried on lanterns and whispers to the clouds.