The fifth year of the Yonghui era, Kucha in Anxi.
A frontier soldier's son is born on the eve of his father's death in battle. His mother names him Qianli: a thousand miles away lie Chang'an, his home, and a road he will never finish traveling in his lifetime.
At twelve, he goes alone to Chang'an and becomes an apprentice in the western market. A single blow from Su Dingfang's grandson knocks the dream of military strategy into him.
At seventeen, he enlists and returns to Anxi, becoming the lowest-ranking scout. Amid the mountains of corpses and rivers of blood at Dafeichuan, he learns his first lesson: survive, and there may be a future.
Over the next sixty years, he travels from the Western Regions to Chang'an and climbs from the bottom to the imperial court. He lives through the reigns of Gaozong, Wu Zhou, Zhongzong, Ruizong, and Xuanzong, experiences the Shenlong, Tanglong, and Xiantian coups, and witnesses a great empire fall from its peak before struggling back to its feet.
He sees Di Renjie’s integrity, receives Shangguan Wan'er’s kindness, persuades Princess Taiping’s generals to surrender, and politely declines Li Longji’s plea for him to stay.
He loves two women in his life: one dies for him, and the other waits for him until her death.
He never takes sides, never joins a faction, and never sends his daughter to the imperial palace in exchange for a future. Over sixty years, he learns three things: stay alive, hold fast to your principles, and then go home.
In the first year of the Kaiyuan era, he resigns his post and heads west, returning to Kucha to open a private school.
The last lamp is still lit.
The road through the world is long, and home lies behind him.
