A wisp of smoke rises over the desert, and the sun sinks beyond the long river.
In the distance, camel bells ring out. The sleeping golden desert is like a lone song, slowly telling an extraordinary legend.
One old dream, one cycle of reincarnation: she does not know where she came from or where she is going.
She is only a wandering soul stripped of its memories, searching for a figure among the desolate dunes of the Gobi.
Even though the cities are gone, the grasslands are gone, the cattle and sheep are gone, all swallowed up like a mirage,
she still cannot forget those deep brown eyes, or the commanding words that warmed her heart.
Bearing a promise that has endured for millions of years, she crosses the river of time and returns to the homeland of old, where she meets him, sealed away in her memories: the King of Loulan.
Twilight fields and morning clouds, seas turned to mulberry fields.
In the blink of an eye, it has all vanished. The endless wilderness has swallowed the road home, and the dried-up riverbed can never return to last night’s splendor.
The shadows of the desert poplars sway, a lone swan comes to rest beside its mate, and once more the song that has echoed through the ages rings out.
“My beloved, now I stand before you, gazing at you in silence. Whose image is it that I can never forget?
Beautiful Kongque River, I entrust to you the love that will bind us for all our lives, to heal the sorrow that has lingered for a thousand years.
Whether in a past life or this one, I will always be your one and only bride.
Let the gods of Loulan bear witness: we swear to love each other for all eternity, to live and travel side by side, like a pair of butterflies flying together, bound by a love like that of mandarin ducks...”
P.S. There are very few historical records about ancient Loulan, especially in its early period, so most of this is fictional, including the names of the gods. Forgive me!
