I Came from the Qilian Mountains

In 2026, photographer Shen Mo is caught in an avalanche in the Qilian Mountains. When he wakes, he finds himself lying in a pool of blood beside a Han army scout who has just fallen in battle. He is taken to Shule City, where he meets its defending general, Geng Gong. Using his modern knowledge, he helps the garrison find water and build siege defenses, even using his camera’s flash to scare off a Xiongnu shaman. When the siege ends and the thirteen survivors return to Yumen Pass, Shen Mo discovers that touching certain “tokens of the mountains and rivers” lets him travel through time. He witnesses nineteen-year-old Huo Qubing at the height of his triumph, accompanies Xuanzang through eight hundred li of treacherous desert, shares Zuo Zongtang’s solemn expedition beyond the pass with a coffin in tow, sees Emperor Yang of Sui struggle through a blizzard in the mountains, and guards the sealing of the sutra cave at the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang... With every journey, he forges a bond of life and death with someone from history; with every return, his life grows shorter. The mountain spirit tells him that collecting all seven tokens will let him become a guardian of the land. He can either return to an ordinary life and forget everything, or become a lamp in the endless night, shining on this land forever. As Shen Mo stands before Yumen Pass, figures from seven eras appear one after another, all waiting for his answer. He chooses to stay. From then on, another lamp shines through the long night atop Yumen Pass’s beacon tower. Now and then, visitors see a figure at sunset, camera in hand, smiling at the mountains and rivers. He met Geng Gong, who defended Shule City; nineteen-year-old Huo Qubing; Xuanzang, who slipped across the border; and Zuo Zongtang, who set out beyond the pass with a coffin... Seven tokens of the mountains and rivers, seven eras that changed history, and one final choice with no turning back. The mountains and rivers never age, and I shall shine forever.