Lin Xiao, a young man from the city, wakes up one day in the body of Wang Shugen, a young Red Army soldier on the eve of the Long March. Gravely wounded, he hears Company Commander Li Tiezhu rasp out his final instructions: “The spark of revolution must never die!”
With no time to adjust, he sets out on the march. During the bloody battle at the Xiang River, he crawls across a pontoon bridge through a storm of bullets and risks his life to rescue a wounded comrade. For the first time, he feels the terrible cost in human lives behind that “spark.” Hunger, cold, and sacrifice follow him at every turn, while confusion and fear take root in his heart.
Everything changes in Zunyi. When he hears the cry, “The revolution is for the millions of poor people,” the fog in his mind lifts. Those who died had done so for the countless people on this land yearning for dignity. At that moment, his convictions are forged in fire and steel.
Yet the harshest trial awaits on Mount Jiajin. The thin air, biting wind, and waist-deep snow drain away their strength. When his comrade Old Zhao teeters on the brink of collapse, Wang Shugen pulls out the last half of the precious life-saving qingxiang flatbread he has kept close to his chest and resolutely presses it into Old Zhao’s hands.
“Eat it... keep going... don’t stop...”
His strength drains away. He sinks down onto the snowy slope, and the bone-chilling cold brings him a sense of peace. Through his fading vision, he sees the column stubbornly climbing onward through the blizzard, torches alight. Like an indomitable dragon of fire, it tears through the darkness.
With effort, the corners of his mouth lift.
This spark... has finally... set the plains ablaze...
The wind and snow gently cover his young body. He gives his life as fuel, fulfilling his oath to protect the spark and illuminating the road to dawn.
