Bickering sweethearts + geographical exploration + layers of history + cultural roots + historical fantasy
The eighth year of the Republic of China, Beijing.
Leng Qingqiu, a female lecturer in Peking University’s archaeology department, believes in evidence, not ghosts or gods. To prove her theory of “historical layering,” she shoulders a geological hammer and ventures into the Kunlun Mountains in search of the legendary “source of civilization.”
Then she smashes a stone stele to pieces with one swing.
A young man steps out from behind it, dressed in ancient robes and handsome of face, but with “socially anxious” practically written all over him. He calls himself Murong Yun Que, gatekeeper of Kunlun Ruins, and says he has lived there alone for three thousand years.
Leng Qingqiu: “Three thousand years old? Do you think I’m stupid?”
Murong Yun Que: “The stele you broke seals the dragon veins of Huaxia. If it isn’t repaired within three days, the Yellow River will change course and the Yangtze will run dry. Do as you please.”
Leng Qingqiu: “...”
And so, an archaeologist who doesn’t believe in ghosts or gods, a gatekeeper who doesn’t understand human relationships, and a thousand-year-old alligator who speaks in regional dialects and loves sneaking drinks set off on an incredible journey. They travel from the North China Plain to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and from the early years of the Republic of China all the way back to the age of myth.
They venture into the caves of Peking Man and discover Yuan dynasty dragon veins beneath the Forbidden City;
They tumble into a dreamscape woven from Li Yu’s lyrics and solve the mystery of Shen Wansan’s treasure-gathering basin in the waterways of Jiangnan;
They dance with flying apsaras in Dunhuang’s murals and are rescued in the Hexi Corridor by the spirits of Han dynasty frontier soldiers;
At last, they stand atop Kunlun, facing a “stone book” that records every memory of five thousand years of Huaxia history,
and a group of enemies bent on erasing that history.
Leng Qingqiu asks, “What can we use to protect it?”
Murong Yun Que looks at the land stretching out below...
