The “Flowers of Rain” arc has come to a close, and a new chapter will begin immediately. We warmly invite everyone to continue supporting the world of Art and Tao.

A poem by the Tang poet Liu Changqing says that the distant murmur of wind through bamboo carries to the ear like a bell, and that rain-blossoms, born with tears, wet the handkerchief together.

No phrase could be more fitting for the ending of the first story in The Art of the Way.

Rain blossoms are flowers that bloom the instant raindrops strike a puddle.

That fleeting collision, that moment of impact, is the whole life of a rain blossom.

Small, brief, and beautiful.

It seems that the girl named Weiyu has gone, and the season of full bloom that belonged to her has become the past.

The past is like smoke. The past is like rain.

By now, I think you readers should have a rough sense of what the World of the Art of the Way is trying to convey to you.

After reading more than three hundred thousand words, was the first complete arc, Rain Blossom, the story you had hoped for?

If, in the course of reading, you encountered something puzzling or a few rough edges, that may well have been intentional on my part. After all, the story has only just begun.

As the opening chapter of The Art of the Way, Rain Blossom is the fuse that will ignite what comes next.

Just as in the Pear Garden theater, Weiyu said to Huasheng: “Let me help you stir up this endless profusion of blooms.”

Weiyu is the spark that lights the story to come.

Because my daily work keeps me busy, my writing can be somewhat rough around the edges. On reflection, many passages might have been written better with revision. Still, the worldview of The Art of the Way is presented to you exactly as it was meant to be.

Weiyu’s role in this book, and the mission she carries within the story, are in fact one and the same. She may need to take her leave, but Huasheng’s road must continue, and the story of The Art of the Way must continue as well.

In the first volume, having a seemingly leading heroine like Weiyu depart the stage is my own trial of the heavenly eye. As for how far this tale may be fortunate enough to go, that rests entirely on the judgment of you, the readers.

Because the point of entry is different, you should not expect this story to turn into a ghost-tale full of Taoist priests chasing demons. There are already far too many stories of exorcism; online there must be millions upon millions of them, and the same is true of film and television. The ghosts and monsters that have been hunted down may outnumber the people on Earth.

So there is no shortage of stories about hunting ghosts and capturing demons, and The Art of the Way does not need to be one more. Besides, I believe the masters of every school and style would surely write that kind of tale better than I could, so I might as well set my heart on writing something else.

So, within a framework where Taoist priests do not hunt demons or exorcise ghosts, do you still hope to see more story? To answer more questions?

For example, why did Huasheng become the Fire Phoenix? Where, in truth, is Lan Caihe? And where did the mysterious Star-Year Veil come from?

Will the path of human destiny be as irredeemable as when Netherdark arrived?

Moreover, is Saint Peace Hospital truly the Star-Year Veil’s punishment for the destroyer?

And after learning the truth, will we still have another chance to face Netherdark Weiyu?

I only want to say this: although the story’s development may not seem to favor familiar conventions, the truth is bound to be far more intricate than anyone imagines.

Finally, I thank all readers for never giving up on The Art of the Way. To have stayed with it to this point may have been even harder than writing it.

Your companionship is the author’s greatest honor.

So far, we have uncovered many mysteries together with Huasheng. Among the truths concerning Weiyu, this is only one of the things Huasheng least wishes to face. But these are only a small part of the truth. In the future, more shocks will await him, and of course await you readers as well, one by one, to be revealed.

It is precisely because truth is cruel that we often must ask ourselves: would you rather live within a kind lie, or still insist on pursuing the truth, even if you must endure its blade-like pain?

The serialization of the second chapter of The Art of the Way begins at once, and many familiar faces will return to the story. I hope you will continue reading.

For the road ahead of Huasheng is rough, and no one can walk it alone for long.

He needs your protection and your company.

Immortals of every kind will appear in turn, revealing a broader world of the Art of the Way.

From here on, the story will only grow more exciting.