[Note 1]
I have always enjoyed reading the Taiping Guangji (Extensive Records of the Taiping Era), particularly the chapter on Yuan Guan, which recounts the story of the “Three Lives Stone.” Later, Su Shi attributed its origins to India and renamed Yuan Guan to Yuan Ze Zhuan, telling the tale of Tang dynasty figure Li Yuan and the monk Yuan Ze. In this story, the song sung by Ming Yu’er is the same one sung by the shepherd boy in the Three Lives Stone tale, expressing the fateful bonds of love in the mortal world.
Recently, while reading Wang Xu Feng’s Peerless Hangzhou, I was reminded of how Zhan Zhao first met Ding Zhao Hui at West Lake and later formed a lifelong bond with Ding Ye Hua. Their love, transcending lifetimes, evokes bittersweet admiration. As the saying goes, “Love, mysterious in origin, grows endlessly deep. The living may die for it, and the dead may live again. But those who cannot live without dying or die without truly living have yet to experience love’s fullest depths.”
[Note 2]
In Duan An Jie’s Records of Music in the Tang Dynasty, it is recorded: “‘Rain Bell’ came into being when Emperor Xuanzong of Tang heard raindrops falling on bronze bells as his procession passed through Luo Valley. He then ordered Zhang Ye Fu to compose a tune with this name.” Naturally, the music carries a melancholic air.
This story of Rain Bell ends here. The narrative was written from the perspective of a young girl, newly venturing into the world, observing Zhan Zhao. Their fateful encounter in the rain sparks a series of events. Huo Ling Long and Zhan Zhao’s relationship, from meeting to parting, spans only two or three days.
While she is clever, Huo Ling Long is immature, often hindering Zhan Zhao despite her good intentions. In the end, she falls into Shao Ji Zu’s trap, losing the alliance document Zhan Zhao painstakingly obtained. Thus, everything circles back to the starting point. But life itself is inherently imperfect. Good intentions often lead to unintended disasters.
If Zhan Zhao had fully understood Huo Ling Long’s feelings for him, he might not have entrusted her with the alliance document. Would he have foreseen such an outcome? Though Zhan Zhao lost the document, he gained Huo Ling Long’s love—albeit a blind and one-sided love—making the story one of both gains and losses.
The final chapter is titled Wasted Yearning, borrowing its name from a song card. Perhaps everything is left unsaid but understood.
[Note 3]
The true protagonist of this story is Huo Ling Long. Her emotions are complex, and I am unsure if I successfully conveyed them. Pursued by both Shao Ji Zu and Tang Tian Hao, she initially harbored feelings for the young Prince Zhao of Nan Qing Palace.
When Chang Hong Bi first met Huo Ling Long, she was dressed in men’s clothing. His natural intuition allowed him to sense something unique about her, leading to a faint affection, though he was still too young to comprehend it fully.
Huo Ling Long’s feelings for Shao Ji Zu and Tang Tian Hao were likely a vague fondness (not necessarily love). If not for the pressure from her father to marry one of them, she might have grown to love one of them instead of running away from home.
Her attraction to Prince Zhao was perhaps due to their natural compatibility and also because he was unconnected to the burdens of her family’s “Ling Long Eye.” It may even reflect a rebellious impulse.
After meeting Zhan Zhao, she ultimately realized he was the one she truly loved. This kind of love was immediate—something she liked from the start. (As the author, I believe love can arise subconsciously but cannot be cultivated from nothing; it either exists or it does not.)
Zhan Zhao’s feelings were not directly explored in this story because I know my portrayal of romance tends to invite criticism. I’ll save those details for Flying Sky.
[Note 4]
Readers should be familiar with the characters and details from the original Three Heroes and Five Gallants to fully appreciate this story. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to those unfamiliar with the source material.
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