The star charts in rainforest hardwood intertwined with the calendar of the Maya jade pendant, like a "landscape of global civilizations coexisting with nature." Watching a replay of the Water-Town Pattern Festival through his AR glasses, Di Yun said with a smile, "Saber light on snowy mountains, shimmering water in the water towns-our heritage really has traveled across mountains and rivers!" Muhammad opened the Global Pattern Digital Platform, where the screen was playing a video of A Shun leading his fleet along the "water-network pattern." Its caption read, "We are all 'helmsmen' of the water towns, and guardians of global patterns too!" West Lake's winter snow fell on the peachwood oars, while Leifeng Pagoda stood in the distant snowfall, bearing witness to this passing down of heritage across snowy mountains and water towns, saber light and shimmering water. Muhammad knew that wherever their next stop might be, the moral principles of A Deadly Secret, the keen edge of the Hu Family Saber Technique, and the warmth of global patterns would remain forever fluid, like the water-network patterns of Jiangnan, forever guiding the way toward coexistence between human civilization and nature, and continuing to write new chapters of culture that would never end. A new chapter of A Deadly Secret: coexistence through Silk Road patterns in Dunhuang's vast desert (Hu Fei's journey alongside them). Not long after the Jiangnan Water-Town Pattern Festival closed, Muhammad received an invitation from the Dunhuang Research Academy-they hoped to bring the "Flying Apsaras Pattern" and "Silk Road Trade Route Pattern" in the Mogao Caves murals to life. These patterns painted on the inner walls of the caves held the codes of ancient Silk Road civilizations: the ribbon paths of the "Flying Apsaras Pattern" recorded the fusion of Silk Road dance and religious culture, while the "Trade Route Pattern" marked the migration routes of ancient caravans and the distribution of oases. Yet most of the younger generation merely marveled at the murals' exquisite beauty, unable to understand the deeper meaning of "civilizations mingling" behind the patterns. Muhammad immediately invited Hu Fei to join him. Stroking the Cold Moon Saber, Hu Fei said with a smile, "In the water towns, saber light reflected the shimmer of water. In the vast desert, it ought to reflect the shimmer of sand. Let's see what sparks the Flying Apsaras Pattern and saber techniques can strike together!" When the convoy drove into Dunhuang's vast desert, Professor Li, a researcher at the Mogao Caves, was already waiting in front of the Nine-Story Building. He led everyone into Cave 320 and pointed to the "Flying Apsaras Pattern" on the mural. "Look at these flying apsaras' ribbons. Every curve corresponds to a dance pose from the ancient Western Regions. In the 'Trade Route Pattern' beside them, zigzag lines represent the Gobi Desert and dots represent oases. It was the caravans' 'survival map' back then. But how can children today see dances in the ribbons or find trade routes in the lines?" Hu Fei looked up at the flying apsaras mural, the curves of its ribbons reflected in his blade. "The Hu Family Saber Technique has a move called Flowing Clouds, Flying Sleeves, which emphasizes 'the body turning with the saber, as though dancing and flying.' It has something in common with the fluid grace of this Flying Apsaras Pattern!" One, the flying-apsaras fusion of martial arts and murals: letting saber light "accompany the flying apsaras." Working with Lin Xiaowu, Hu Fei combined the nimbleness of Jiangnan's "Water-Network Boating Step" with the flowing grace of the Hu Family Saber Technique to devise the "Flying-Apsaras Saber-Dance Steps": guided by the ribbon paths of the "Flying Apsaras Pattern," the youngsters had to move their feet lightly, as in "Treading Snow Without a Trace," and extend their arms in imitation of the ribbons' curves, while incorporating the breathing methods of "A Deadly Secret" and the "Heart-Cleansing Formula" to make their movements as light as flying apsaras. Hu Fei also specially adapted Willow-Sweeping Return Wind, letting the saber light sweep along the ribbons' curves, like "a flying apsara dancing with a blade," preserving the saber technique's keen edge without losing the mural's gentle beauty. A Dunhuang, a seventeen-year-old boy from Dunhuang nicknamed "Dundun," had learned to paint murals since childhood, yet had no sense of the patterns' dynamic beauty. While practicing the "Flying-Apsaras Saber-Dance Steps" with Hu Fei, he suddenly understood. "So the flying apsaras' ribbons aren't still-they're 'dancing'! They're just as fluid as the path of a sweeping saber!" Hu Fei also adapted the "Waterborne Bodyguard Fist" into the "Silk Road Merchant-Protection Fist": punches were as light and brisk as caravan camel bells, simulating the agility needed to contend with the Gobi's wind and sand;
Before you continue