Set in 1652 during the Qing dynasty in China, an impoverished, illiterate thirteen-year-old boy named Wu Wei (which means Fearless in Chinese), son of a legendary freedom fighter, is plucked from anonymity in the highland of Ningxia by a revered Tibetan lama and recognized as his reincarnated master. Wu Wei has an unfinished quest, as told by the lama: he must escort a scroll containing the scripture of an ancient Buddhist lineage to a monastery in Mongolia to preserve the Tibetan religion. Wu Wei is sceptical and reluctant until he realizes that the journey will also lead him to information about his father, who was assumed to be dead. With the company of Liang Kang, a renowned pugilist with a burdened past, Lobsang, a young Tibetan warrior monk and Ruyi, a twelve-year-old runaway bride, Wu Wei sets out, a reluctant hero protecting the scroll and seeking the truth about his father. The journey leads him, through many treacherous encounters, to the truth about his father and a transformation from a timid boy to a fearless warrior. The story is inspired by a historical event. The fifth Dalai Lama of Tibet, an influential figure in Tibetan history, traveled from his country to Beijing to meet with the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Shun Zhi, in 1652. Along the way, he visited Hui Islamic leaders in Yinchuan, Ningxia to discuss philosophical and religious issues.