The Immortals of Spring and Autumn

In the late Spring and Autumn period, Xi Heng, an apprentice historian of the Sui state, lost his parents at fourteen and was taken in by the Grand Historian Zuoqiu Lang. His first lesson was not writing, but 'seeing'—seeing the origins and destinations of things. The master said: A historian's duty is not to judge, but to record. Seven years later, at a banquet, he noticed a man with eyes that did not belong to a young person. That winter, the master died, leaving behind a black jade pendant and an ancient bamboo slip inscribed: 'Once there were two, blessed by heaven, neither born nor extinguished.' Three years later, the Sui state fell, and Xi Heng fled to the Song state, living incognito. Then he found he stopped aging. Twenty years later, the man from the banquet reappeared, calling himself Wu Zhu. He told Xi Heng: The immortals are more than two; some have lurked in power centers for centuries, some choose alliance, some choose confrontation. The prophecy on the ancient slip was clear: 'The two swore an oath, and one day, they shall settle it between heaven and earth.' Xi Heng chose to go south, seeking the cause of immortality and the truth of the oath. That journey lasted two thousand four hundred years. He saw the flames of book burning, heard the hooves of rebellion, walked the splendor of Bianjing, watched dynasties crumble one by one. Until the 21st century, an archaeology professor discovered the same name in three batches of unearthed documents separated by centuries.