On calm, clear nights, the palace’s reflection in the mirror-like lake would occasionally reveal faint, glowing lights. On rare occasions, several brilliant red lanterns would illuminate simultaneously, only to fade away before dawn.
Could immortals still reside in the Cloud Palace above the unreachable clouds?
On this very night, as meteors rained down, burning fragments of stone fell like giant fireballs. With the force of a roaring tempest, they shattered the centuries-old silence, leaving the once-perfect palace riddled with cracks and scars. The flames spread violently, lighting up the ancient, snow-covered summit of Wang Bai Mountain.
A handsome young man dressed in black burst into the blazing Cloud Palace, shouting as he ran. “King Mu! A-Mu! It’s on fire! Come out quickly! A-Mu, are you awake yet?” Distracted by his urgency, he didn’t notice when someone suddenly grabbed the back of his collar, causing him to stumble. Thankfully, he managed to regain his balance before falling.
“A-Mu, you came out early. I knew it—you could never get hit by a meteor.”
The man called A-Mu, who was holding the youth by the collar, saw his innocent smile and couldn’t help but smile as well. “Qilin, you’re nearly a hundred years old now. Stop being so reckless all the time.”
Qilin pushed away A-Mu’s hand, refusing to admit fault. “You can’t blame me for being reckless. You’ve lived in the Cloud Palace of the Summit for three thousand years, but have you ever seen such a strange meteor shower?”
A-Mu’s smile remained calm. “What’s so strange about it? Tell me.”
“These meteors,” Qilin said, “seem to have eyes. They came directly for Wang Bai Mountain—more specifically, they aimed precisely to destroy your Cloud Palace of the Summit.”
A-Mu didn’t respond. Instead, he waved his sleeve toward the empty sky.
The flames that had engulfed the entire palace suddenly disappeared. A glowing array lit up on the ground, and a barrier rose into the air. All subsequent meteors were blocked by the barrier, burning out and falling to the ground as ash.
Qilin stared, dumbfounded. “A-Mu, I didn’t know you were this powerful. I always thought you were just a mortal with a long lifespan. I’ve never seen you use such divine abilities before.”
A-Mu sighed softly. “This isn’t divine magic. I just set up an array in the Cloud Palace earlier to ward off the meteors. I’ve been a fallen god for three thousand years. I am neither a deity nor a mortal. My name no longer exists on the celestial star chart, and my fate is not recorded in the underworld.”
“Don’t be sad, A-Mu,” Qilin said, tilting his head slightly to comfort him. “Not being a god is even better—you’re free. As long as you live happily, that’s all that matters.”
A-Mu smiled faintly again. “I’ve lived for three thousand one hundred and twenty years. Now, the heavens want me to die. That’s why divine punishment has descended—meteors to destroy the Cloud Palace of the Summit. It’s a warning. The next time divine punishment comes, my lifespan will end.”
Qilin clenched his fists. “It’s those heavenly gods who made the mistake—why should you suffer their punishment? Don’t worry, A-Mu. Qilin will protect you.”
A-Mu reached out his left hand and gently patted Qilin’s hair, a soft smile appearing on his face. “Qilin is A-Mu’s only family.”
Qilin squinted and smiled. “Every Zhang clan leader named Zhang Qiling has been A-Mu’s family.”
But A-Mu withdrew his hand, sighed, and said, “You are not yet qualified to be Zhang Qiling.”
“Why am I not qualified?” Qilin asked.
A-Mu lowered his head slightly, his long eyelashes casting shadows along the edges of his eyes. “Because you haven’t faced the tribulation that every Zhang Qiling must endure.”
“What tribulation?” This was the first time Qilin had heard that becoming the Zhang clan leader required a tribulation. Until now, he had always believed that being born the Sacred Infant of Qilin Blood and reaching the age of one hundred would automatically make him the clan leader and successor to the name Zhang Qiling.
A-Mu remained silent for a long time.
Realizing A-Mu was in low spirits, Qilin didn’t press further and quietly accompanied him in silence.
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