Mysterious Blueprints

The series is a set of children’s novels with the theme of “The Belt and Road，” telling the exciting and interesting adventure and treasure-hunting stories of three primary school students， Sun Xiaotao， Zhuge Neng， and Sha Jingjing， in Xi’an， Hexi Corridor， Dunhuang， Tianshan， Kuqa， Hotan， Yili and other cities along the Silk Road.

Wang Liu

Wang Liu is a children’s literature writer， and his representative work is Silk Road Fantasy Series.

1948.

Under a golden-red full moon， a teenage boy， clutching his arm， runs head down and barefoot in a wild sprint. His arm has been struck by his arm， continuously bleeding out.

More than ten men in black， with torches raised high in their hands， light up half the sky in their chase.

They corner the boy at the edge of a cliff.

The boy pulls out a sheet of paper from his embrace， a sheet that is thin and translucent， filled with strange symbols. The boy sternly warns the men in black， “Don’t come any closer， or I’ll destroy it!”

“Would you really destroy what generations of your ancestors protected?” the men in black， disbelieving， sneered as they reached for the boy.

Gritting his teeth， the boy tears the paper into shreds， scattering it into the air.

“Villains， stop dreaming! We will never let the treasure fall into your hands! It belongs only to those who truly appreciate its value!”

“You insane kid! You madman!” the men in black shout， desperately scrambling to pick up the pieces of paper.

Yet， the boy smiles， arms wide open， in a slow-motion gesture， leans back and falls. Together with the fluttering paper scraps， he vanishes below the cliff.

60 years later.

The heart of the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang.

The yellow sand forms a boundless ocean. Dunes rise and fall like waves. Sections of broken walls emerge from the sand， like islands sketching the ruins of an ancient Han Dynasty city.

Deep within the ancient city， seven or eight archaeologists are at work. Some brush sand from murals， and others measure artifacts.

The stifling air distorts their figures， trembling as if in constant motion.

The archaeology team leader， Sun Fei， 38， has dark skin and a handsome appearance. He excitedly tells his colleagues， “What we’re excavating might be the palace of the ancient Kingdom of Qule， dating back over 1，800 years. We must be very careful!”

“Understood， Professor Sun!”

As everyone responds without lifting their heads， an SUV approaches from afar and parks beside them. More than ten tall， muscular men get out of the vehicle， their desert camo stretched tight over their bodies， silently surrounding all the archaeologists.

“Let’s try digging towards the west next，” Professor Sun says， flipping open his work notebook， which is marked with a big “14” on the cover and contains a scrap of paper with densely written text inside. “The locations marked on this map are incredibly precise. Who could have left this behind?”

Professor Sun adjusts his glasses， about to examine the paper’s contents， when a burly man in camo suddenly appears behind him， swinging a club at the back of his neck.

With a muffled grunt， Professor Sun collapses onto the sandy ground.

Strange Email from Dad

Sun Xiaotao wakes up sweating， screaming， and looking around -- no desert or dad， just lying in bed， with a strange smell by his nose.

Zhuge Neng’s big， stinky feet!

“Ha ha ha， looks like my 101st method to wake you up has worked!” Zhuge Neng boasts， wiggling his toes and poking Sun Xiaotao’s cheek， “This one’s called ‘Stinky Foot by the Nose.’ Enjoying the aroma， Little Monkey?”

Sun Xiaotao nearly vomits last night’s braised pork. He grabs a pillow， smacking Zhuge Neng squarely.

“Brother Pigsy， how many days have you gone without washing your feet?” Then he stretches his own feet towards Zhuge Neng’s clean face， shouting， “Time for my revenge! Behold my Monkey Palm Cannon!”

The two boys instantly tangle into a ball.

Sun Xiaotao is nine years old and sports a buzz cut and sun-kissed skin， his eyes gleaming of mischief. His mother passed away when he was three years old， and his father is an archaeology professor. According to Sun Xiaotao， his dad is either grimly writing papers in the office or leading students on bone-digging expeditions in the wilderness.

Living with his aunt， Sun Xiaotao rarely sees his dad throughout the year， but he believes his father’s work in archaeology is more heroic and grand than Superman’s， benefitting the nation and its people.

Zhuge Neng， Xiaotao’s cousin， has fair skin and features prettier than a girl’s but shares a likeness in habits to Pigsy， Zhu Bajie from Journey to the West -- sloppy and gluttonous. He can devour two buckets of fried chicken without batting an eye yet never gains weight. All the girls from class three of the fourth grade in the primary school envy and resent him.

These two boys share a bunk bed at home and sit together at the same desk in school. They are infamous for being the bottom two in the Class Three of the fourth grade. Wherever they go， chaos ensues， leaving everything in disarray. Their pranks include modifying bathroom faucets so that when turned on， they spray unsuspecting users directly in the face; catching a small snake from the roadside bushes and bringing it to class for a snake-charming show， causing the girls to scream in fright; or drawing turtles on the faces of sleeping classmates.

Beyond their mischief， the boys sometimes do good deeds， like finding lost pens or erasers， helping lost pets find their owners， etc.

Zhuge Neng， a fan of history and detective shows， declares himself China’s Sherlock Holmes， dragging Sun Xiaotao into forming the “Little Neng Detective Agency” with the slogan: “For strange and difficult cases， come to me， Little Neng， the all-powerful detective!”

At this moment， the boys’ tussle from the bunk bed to the floor ends with Sun Xiaotao， out of breath， pinning Zhuge Neng down， concluding their battle.

After begging for mercy for a while and seeing Sun Xiaotao unwilling to release him， Zhuge Neng quickly changes the subject: “Little Monkey， let me show you something.”

He pulls out his phone， revealing a photo， mysteriously asking， “Guess what I found in Dad’s study this morning?”

The photo shows a piece of mail， undoubtedly snapped by Zhuge Neng. The sender is Sun Fei. Xiaotao’s eyes light up， leaping to grab the phone， shouting joyfully， “News from Dad! Why didn’t you say so earlier!”

“That’s from your dad to mine， not to you，” Zhuge Neng gets up， leaning in， zooming in on the photo， “The mail’s content looks very strange.”