Li Xue-Ming

Bai Fei, trafficked since childhood, retains only fragmented memories of a camel-shaped mountain. During his desperate search for home, he bonds with Yao Yuan—a fellow outcast raised in rural isolation. Their connection, transcending familial, platonic, and romantic love, faces societal scorn. When Auntie Wang evicts them from her rental, she later discovers Bai Fei is her long-lost son, triggering a painful reunion. Fleeing prejudice, Yao Yuan takes Bai Fei to his ancestral Lang Mountain, only to be separated after their taboo relationship resurfaces. Bai Fei spirals into self-destruction and sexual recklessness, even bedding Wang’s daughter Weiwei. Meanwhile, Yao Yuan risks his life in a perilous dragon-head incense ritual to pray for redemption, as their fractured lives mirror China’s urban-rural divide and generational trauma.