Chi Yu's Journey West

The Yellow River stretches up between the white clouds; a solitary fortress stands amid towering mountains. Why should the Qiang flute lament the willows? The spring breeze never crosses Yumen Pass.

The Central Plains have been torn apart by years of war and strife. With the royal house beset by troubles at home and abroad, the princess is reluctantly sent to marry into a foreign tribe in hopes that their iron-hooved warriors will cease their invasion of the Central Plains.

Chi Yu is ordered to accompany the ruler and escort the princess beyond the pass for her political marriage. Along the way, he plans to retrieve the senior members and fellow disciples from his pavilion who have been stranded in the Western Regions. But who could have imagined that, leaving their homeland behind and venturing deep into the desert and Gobi, once they set out west, they would have no idea when, if ever, they would see Chuyun Mountain again in this lifetime?

Chi Yu: "Master, when can we return to the Central Plains?"

The kind-faced master, his phoenix eyes glimmering, smiles with his palms pressed together. "Never again!"

Theme: Retracing the westward journey along the Silk Road