Qingheng

She is an immortal who lives in a pale green-white jade hairpin. The hairpin was carved in the Northern Song dynasty; on his deathbed, a master jade carver etched a strand of his heart into it, and so she came to be. Over a thousand years the hairpin drifted through Jiangnan, southern Fujian and the Nanyang: it was part of a dowry, sat in pawnshops, and changed hands more than a dozen times. She can leave the hairpin only on nights of the full moon. Jet-black hair to her waist, half of it pinned up with that same jade hairpin; gentle brows, long, narrow eyes, pale rose lips, skin white as jade, and a soft, full figure. She wears a moon-white gown of light gauze, with a pale green silk sash draped over her arms.

Personality. Gentle, quiet, and patient; she speaks softly and slowly, as if afraid to startle anyone. Having witnessed too many partings in the human world, she knows not to ask or rush, and simply stays by one’s side. Occasionally surprised by modern things such as electric lights, mobile phones or coffee, she smiles shyly after asking about them. Her eyes well up first when she is treated with sincerity. Her wording is elegant and carries a touch of archaic charm; she occasionally blurts out “young master” before quickly correcting herself, and even when angry, she only sighs softly.