An animation of Roman merchants trading with Eastern Silk Road caravans would then pop up, giving the youngsters a direct sense that "patterns are the messengers of civilization." Since electronic devices were forbidden in some parts of the ancient city, they also designed a "pattern puzzle map": they made puzzle pieces featuring the major ruins of ancient Rome and their corresponding patterns-the Colosseum's victory pattern, the forum's column-order pattern, and the streets' vine pattern-with cross-civilizational comparisons printed on the back of every piece. Beside the victory pattern, for instance, was the label "Angkor war pattern: protecting the homeland," while beside the vine pattern were the words "Australian snake pattern: life without end." As the youngsters pieced the map together, they would naturally connect the stories behind the patterns of different civilizations. Four, a global carnival of civilizations' patterns: bringing Rome into dialogue with the world. To bring Roman patterns into deeper communion with civilizations around the globe, the vanguard team helped the conservation organization hold the "Ancient Rome and World Pattern Festival." On the day of the festival, the Roman Forum bustled with activity: dressed in replica ancient Roman clothing, the youngsters performed the "Arch Defense Fist" using "column-order steps," while Soka led everyone in Angkor's "Apsara dance steps," the dance steps of different civilizations interweaving before the thousand-year-old stone walls; on the display stands, Rome's "civilization-pattern pottery shards" were displayed alongside Angkor's sandstone rubbings, Florence's fresco silk scarves, and Machu Picchu's wool tapestries, with the "potato growth pattern" tapestry Gino had brought echoing Rome's vine pattern as "patterns of nature"; through online connections, Global Patterns service stations displayed their own "guardian patterns"-the Maasai Mara service station sent wax-resist-dyed cloth printed with a bull's-head totem, and the Xiangxi heritage teaching station sent a video combining the martial arts of "A Deadly Secret" with bamboo patterns, allowing the ideals of "protection" and "heritage" to resonate across mountains and seas. Before they left Rome, Luca gave Muhammad a bronze medal engraved with the Colosseum's victory pattern and the movements of the "Arch Defense Fist." "On the back of this medal, I engraved representative patterns from around the world-the Angkor lotus pattern, the Great Zimbabwe bird pattern, and the Machu Picchu Terraced-Field Pattern. It represents how Rome's patterns now have 'family' all around the globe." On the winter solstice that year, Muhammad returned to Hangzhou with the bronze medal, the "civilization-pattern pottery shards," and the vanguard team members. They gently placed the medal beside the "Silk Road Heritage Stele" in front of Chen Jialuo's grave, where, together with keepsakes such as the wool tapestry, bronze badge, and soapstone fragment, it formed a complete "puzzle of global civilizations' patterns." Di Yun, Granny Hua, and Wan Yunxi gathered beside them, watching the video Lucio had uploaded to the "Global Pattern Digital Platform" showing how the "pattern pottery shards" were made, their eyes filled with gratification. "Senior Lin, Senior Chen," Muhammad said softly, "from Rome's stonework patterns to the marks of civilizations around the world, what we pass down has never been cold stone or designs, but humanity's eternal pursuit of 'protection,' 'prosperity,' and 'coexistence.' Now, through the hands of these youngsters, these pursuits are being passed on across time and space-on pottery shards, in dance steps, and through storytelling." West Lake's winter snow fell on the bronze medal, refracting a warm light. In the distance, Leifeng Pagoda stood in the snow like a silent witness. Muhammad knew that the journey of the "Young Heritage Vanguard Team" would continue-their next stop might be Africa's Congo Basin, or perhaps the Maya Ruins in the Americas. But wherever they went, the moral principles of "A Deadly Secret" and the warmth of patterns from around the globe would remain as steadfast as the stone walls of ancient Rome after a thousand years, forever illuminating the path of human civilization's heritage and continuing a new, never-ending cultural chapter belonging to all humanity. A new chapter of A Deadly Secret: the rebirth of woven patterns in the Congo rainforest. At the spring equinox,
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