Li Si: 29 years old, the Ghost Catcher among the Great World Dynasty’s Four God-Catchers. His case-solving style is bold and enigmatic, often piercing through to the truth of cases from angles others could never imagine. His personality is persistent and resolute.
Meng Rui: 28 years old, the Green Blade Catcher among the Great World Dynasty’s Four God-Catchers. His face bears a ferocious green birthmark. He despises evil like an enemy, carrying behind him a blade called “Death God” that specifically cuts down all injustices under heaven. His only weakness is his younger sister who disappeared many years ago.
Lao Sitou: 60 years old, or perhaps 70—no one knows his actual age. Li Si’s close friend and the Great World Dynasty’s foremost coroner. Due to disappointments in his early years, he became disheartened and has spent all his years keeping company with corpses. His motto is: people will lie, but corpses will never deceive you. His autopsy skills are exquisite, making him Li Si’s most capable assistant.
Shen Rou: 24 years old, Li Si’s first love. She was later abducted by the Great World Dynasty’s most mysterious and terrifying organization, “Black Night.” Li Si has been desperately searching for her for many years, carrying guilt in his heart.
Bai Zhenzhu: 17 years old, Li Si’s confidante. She is innocent, lively, daring in love and hate. She dreams of living in seclusion with Li Si, enjoying a life of paradise away from the world. Clever as ice and snow, she can often help Li Si discover the subtle traces in cases.
Xuan Yuanshan: 33 years old, the Iron Catcher among the Great World Dynasty’s Four God-Catchers. His way of dealing with people is like an iron lump—meticulous and inflexible. In Li Si’s words, he is an extremely uninteresting person. However, he conducts himself honorably and forthrightly, with eyes that tolerate no grain of sand.
Yan Cheng: 50 years old, the Eagle Catcher and chief among the Great World Dynasty’s Four God-Catchers. He keeps a low profile in his dealings, not revealing his strengths. He presides over the Great World’s Six Prefectures’ Chief Catcher Bureau.
“Black Night”: The most mysterious organization in the Great World Dynasty over the past century. It possesses terrifying assassins and a vast system. Its hidden master possesses both the tremendous power to shake the foundation of the Great World Dynasty and a mysterious identity.
Historical Context
Year 146 of the Great World Dynasty, Year 32 of the Hongyun Era. Hongyun is the era name of the current Great World Dynasty Emperor, Shi Dezong. The Great World has thus far experienced three political dynasties: the founding Imperial Ancestor Shi Taizu, Shi Hezong, and Shi Dezong.
In the tenth year of Shi Hezong’s reign, the Great World experienced the Three Princes’ Rebellion that shook the foundation of the imperial dynasty. The rebellion lasted six years before the three princes were finally exterminated. However, it also damaged the Great World’s national fortune and power. Since then, external threats and internal troubles have been constant.
After Shi Dezong ascended the throne, he vigorously implemented benevolent policies. The Great World showed signs of recovery, and the citizens gradually settled into their occupations and guarded their homes.
In the sixteenth year of Shi Dezong’s reign, he fell gravely ill. After the illness, his body became frail. He subsequently prepared to establish his second imperial son, Zhou Qiao, as the crown prince. He graciously enfeoffed Zhou Qiao’s maternal uncle, Du Fanglang, as the Crown Prince’s Grand Uncle, and graciously enfeoffed the original Crown Prince’s tutor, Huang Liusheng, as Grand Preceptor to assist Crown Prince Zhou Qiao.
By the twenty-ninth year of Hongyun, after experiencing the collapse and chaos of previous dynasties, the Great World’s territory had been somewhat encroached upon by foreign barbarian tribes. The national domain was divided into Six Prefectures and One Wasteland. The Six Prefectures are: Su Prefecture, Nanxian Prefecture, Guiyun Prefecture, Qing Prefecture, You Prefecture, and Jin Prefecture. The One Wasteland refers to the Tianhuang City where the imperial dynasty’s foundation lies, also called the Holy City.
Shi Dezong’s Five Sons
Eldest Son, Zhou Dao: Enfeoffed as Prince Ding, resides in Tianyuan Prefecture of Jin Prefecture.
Second Son, Zhou Qiao: Personally designated by Shi Dezong as the crown prince heir apparent. He resides within the Holy City, keeping company with the Son of Heaven.
Third Son, Zhou Zhu: Enfeoffed as Prince Pingdao, resides in Muyun Prefecture of Su Prefecture.
Fourth Son: Died young.
Fifth Son, Zhou Miao: Enfeoffed as Prince Kang, resides in Tian Nan Prefecture of Qing Prefecture.
Current Situation
Presently, Shi Dezong’s health is declining day by day, and the crown prince Zhou Qiao is excessively weak in character. This has led the other three princes to secretly covet the imperial throne. In the year 146 of the Great World Dynasty, beneath the seemingly calm and peaceful surface of the imperial realm, turbulent undercurrents are actually surging.