Legend of the Lord of Clouds

Part I: Brightness Without End Beyond the Nine Heavens, so the tale goes, there lay a shadowed land, dim and unformed. No bright stars guided it, and no sun or moon cast down their light. High and low, the whole realm lay sunk in murk and confusion. One day, a wandering immortal came down from the clouds beyond the heavens. With skin as smooth as jade and dark hair cascading like a waterfall, the immortal wore a robe adorned with flowers and stars, with constellations draped across the shoulders. The radiant glow of the Dragonfinder Lantern shimmered and shifted, bedazzling and seemingly shining without end. The immortal looked out across the land and asked, "What place is this? Why are there no stars here?" The people, fearful and bewildered, asked in return, "What are stars?" The immortal sighed. "Can there truly be a place in this world that does not even know what stars are?" With that, the immortal plucked a single star from the starry harness and gifted it to the people. In an instant, bright stars blazed forth, chaos split apart, and the darkened land beheld the light of heaven. The people marveled, fell to the ground in worship, and hailed the immortal as the Lord of Clouds. Seeing how remote, bleak, and pitiable the place was in its ignorance, the immortal took pity on it. Yet the immortal had a duty to fulfill and could not linger long in this wandering. Thus, the immortal removed the starry cloak and bestowed it upon the people, saying, "May this starlight light your way." The immortal hung the cloak high above the Heaven's Threshold. At once the stars spread across the sky, glittering in boundless splendor. Then, the immortal vanished back into the clouds, leaving no trace behind. But the weight of the stars was no burden ordinary people could bear. This treasure of the immortal was beyond any mortal's power to command. And so, for hundreds upon hundreds of years, the starry cloak remained hanging high in the heavens, waiting for the one fated to claim it. ... Part XIX: Drifting Far in Restless Flight The Wang family's youngest daughter was only nineteen, yet already highly accomplished in martial arts, her movements swift and spirited. On water, she could steer a boat a hundred li. On land, she could ride the clear wind and chase the bright moon. She roamed the world, righting wrongs and sweeping away injustice wherever she found it. One day, she heard that the starry cloak still hung aloft, where it had waited for a thousand years. At once, she swore that she would climb the Heaven's Threshold, seize the stars, and bring their light to all under heaven. But the road to the Heaven's Threshold was perilous beyond measure. One had to cross ten thousand ridges, ford a thousand li of rivers and marshes, gather flower seeds from Driftseed Moor, water them with heavenly water from Alkaid Pool, and tend them with care in harmony with the seasons of Heaven and Earth. Only then could the road to the sky be laid. Though she knew how hard it would be, the Wang daughter did not hesitate. That very day, she set out, wandering far in restless flight. ... Part XXVI: Shining with Sun and Moon Seven years passed in this endeavor. She endured hardship on the road, crossed mountains and rivers, and overcame countless trials until at last she reached the Heaven's Threshold. The starry cloak had weathered centuries of wind, frost, rain, and snow. Its brilliance had faded, and little remained. Yet at last, it had found one willing to bear its weight and rekindle the light of heaven. For the stars were nothing less than the truths hidden within Heaven and Earth: the ways of farming and weaving, of fishing and hunting, the arts of craft, the principles of thought. There was nothing they did not contain, nothing they did not embrace. Yet even with the immortal's treasure in hand, the search for its true meaning was still a long road ahead. From that day on, the Wang daughter wore the stars upon her back and followed their guiding light across the world, planting wisdom far and wide and easing the sufferings of the people. Thus, did she too gain a name in the jianghu: Lord of Clouds.