In 1900 AD, on the eve of the discovery of the Dunhuang Scripture Cave. The British explorer Arthur Stein has not yet arrived, and the French sinologist Pelliot is still on the way. Near the Mogao Grottoes, Shen Moxuan, a down-and-out scholar who was exiled, unexpectedly obtained half a mysterious Xixia fragment, which recorded the true location of Genghis Khan's mausoleum and a secret that could change history. At the same time, many forces have taken action: the Russian Orientalist Kozlov disguised himself as a scientific expedition team and went deep into the Hexi Corridor; the Japanese Ronin group was secretly ordered by the Army General Staff Headquarters to search for "imperial treasures"; the Qing government's spies sent by the Shaanxi-Gansu Governor's Yamen; as well as the local Ma family forces and the guardians of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. Shen Moxuan must decipher the fragments and protect secrets in the cracks of all parties, while at the same time facing his family's tragic past and historical responsibility.
