Suddenly, A-Mu turned and asked, “You’ve been confined to Dong Xia Kingdom for ninety-seven years. Do you want to see the outside world?”
The question made Qilin’s heart skip a beat.
The Dong Xia Kingdom was hidden deep beneath Wang Bai Mountain, where it had remained for three thousand years. A-Mu, as the king of Dong Xia, had ruled this small kingdom of fewer than ten thousand people for three millennia. No one knew his exact surname or origins—he seemed to be named Zhou but was also rumored to be named Ji. Except for the Sacred Infant Zhang Qiling, all Dong Xia citizens referred to him as “King Mu” or “Your Majesty” in public, but privately, they called him the “Wan Nu King” (“King of Ten Thousand Slaves”).
This nickname came from an iron rule that everyone in Dong Xia knew: all beings, whether human, beast, plant, bird, insect, or fish, were bound to obey King Mu and serve him faithfully. Those who dared to rebel would lose their souls and become walking corpses.
Furthermore, all Dong Xia citizens were forbidden from leaving Wang Bai Mountain or revealing the kingdom’s secrets. Most of all, the Sacred Infant Zhang Qiling bore the sacred duty of guarding the deepest secret within the Cloud Palace of the Summit, and was strictly prohibited from leaving King Mu’s side.
Seeing Qilin’s silence, A-Mu seemed to understand his thoughts. “Qilin, would you leave Dong Xia temporarily and go to Da Yong Kingdom to do something for me?”
Qilin snapped out of his thoughts and asked, “What is it?”
“Find someone to repair the Cloud Palace of the Summit for me,” A-Mu replied.
Qilin was surprised. “The Cloud Palace is an ancient divine relic. For ten thousand years, no one has been able to alter a single brick or tile of it. Could there really be someone in Da Yong with the extraordinary ability to repair the palace?”
A-Mu nodded. “An ordinary mortal would indeed be incapable of restoring a divine palace, but I’ve thought of someone who might be able to.”
Qilin’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Who? I’ll go find him and bring him here to repair the palace.”
A-Mu slowly uttered a name: “The Minister of Public Works, Minister of War, Vice Minister of Revenue, and Grand Scholar of Da Yong Kingdom—Wang Cang Hai.”
Qilin heard this name for the first time and asked with some confusion, “Wang Cang Hai is a minister of Da Yong Kingdom? You’re actually considering letting a high-ranking court official from Da Yong set foot in Dong Xia Kingdom? And even having him repair the Cloud Palace of the Summit?”
A-Mu extended his hand, pointing toward the southern sky. “Look. Wang Cang Hai’s destiny is tied to that star—Tian Yue Er De. It represents compassion and salvation. Right now, he resides in the capital of Da Yong, Ying Jing City, where he is a trusted minister of the Da Yong emperor. The heavens have long written Wang Cang Hai’s fate; his mission is to save those suffering under the heavens.”
Following A-Mu’s finger, Qilin gazed at the sky. The stars twinkled in abundance, some shining brightly, while others were faint and unclear. Qilin couldn’t distinguish the names or trajectories of the stars, but he knew A-Mu could read the constellations and decipher their destinies.
Qilin frowned. “This is too risky. It will surely draw the Da Yong emperor’s attention to our Dong Xia Kingdom. If the secrets of the Cloud Palace of the Summit and the Bronze Gate are exposed, it would undoubtedly plunge the world into chaos and bloodshed.”
A-Mu continued to stare at the starry sky, his words seeming to respond to Qilin yet also like a monologue. “Human strength cannot defy the destiny written in the stars. ‘Four spirits clash with the earth, meteors shatter the clouds.’ The first half of this fate has already been fulfilled in the celestial phenomena and the earth’s veins. ‘The Qilin Star aligns with Tian Yue Er De.’ The second half of this destiny will manifest in the fates of people. If we are destined to face fate, the only thing we can do is seize it—take control of our own destinies.”
Qilin looked at A-Mu with a mixture of understanding and confusion.
For the first time, Qilin saw an expression of deep determination on A-Mu’s face. A-Mu looked into the distance and said, “The Cloud Palace of the Summit must be repaired as soon as possible because in a few years, the Bronze Gate will open.”
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