Main Characters
Li Si: One of the Four God-Catchers of the Great Shi Dynasty, known as the Ghost Catcher. His case-handling style is bold and cunning, often perceiving the truth of cases from angles others cannot imagine. His personality is persistent and resolute.
Meng Rui: One of the Four God-Catchers of the Great Shi Dynasty, known as the Green Blade Catcher. His face bears a ferocious green birthmark. He hates evil with intense passion and carries the blade ‘Death God’ on his back, which exclusively cuts down all injustices under heaven. His only weakness is his younger sister who went missing in his early years.
Lao Sitou: Li Si’s close friend and the Great Shi Dynasty’s premier coroner. Due to disappointments in his early years, he became disheartened and has spent his entire life in the company of corpses. His motto: “People may lie, but corpses will never deceive you.” His autopsy skills are exquisite, making him Li Si’s most capable assistant.
Shen Rou: Li Si’s first love. She was later abducted by the Great Shi Dynasty’s most mysterious and terrifying organization ‘Black Night.’ For many years, Li Si has been searching desperately for her, carrying guilt in his heart toward her.
‘Black Night’: The most mysterious organization in the Great Shi Dynasty for nearly a hundred years. It possesses terrifying assassins and a vast network. Its mastermind behind the scenes possesses powerful strength capable of shaking the very foundations of the Great Shi Dynasty.
Historical Background
The Great Shi Dynasty Year 146, Hongyun Year 32. Hongyun is the reign title of the current Great Shi Dynasty Emperor Shi Dezong. The Great Shi Dynasty has experienced three political reigns: the founding Imperial Ancestor Shi Taizu, Shi Hezong, and Shi Dezong.
In the tenth year of Shi Hezong’s reign, the Great Shi experienced the Three Princes’ Rebellion that shook the dynasty’s foundations. The rebellion lasted six years. The three princes were ultimately annihilated, but this also damaged the Great Shi’s national fortune and strength. Since then, external threats and internal troubles have been constant.
After Shi Dezong ascended the throne, he vigorously implemented benevolent governance. The Great Shi showed signs of recovery, and the people gradually settled into their homes and occupations. In Shi Dezong’s sixteenth year, he fell gravely ill. After his 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 appointed the original Crown Prince’s tutor Huang Liusheng as Grand Steward to assist Crown Prince Zhou Qiao.
By Hongyun Year 29, the Great Shi’s territory had been somewhat eroded by foreign barbarian tribes following the previous dynasty’s collapse and chaos. The national domain was divided into Six Provinces and One Wasteland.
The Six Provinces are: Su Province, South Immortal Province, Guiyun Province, Qing Province, You Province, and Jin Province. The One Wasteland is Tianhuan City where the imperial dynasty’s foundation lies, also called the Holy City.
The Five Sons of Shi Dezong
Eldest Son Zhou Dao: Enfeoffed as Prince Ding, residing in Tianyuan Prefecture of Jin Province.
Second Son Zhou Qiao: Shi Dezong’s personally designated Crown Prince, residing within the Holy City, accompanying the Son of Heaven.
Third Son Zhou Zhu: Enfeoffed as Prince Pingdao, residing in Muyun Prefecture of Su Province.
Fourth Son: Died young.
Fifth Son Zhou Miao: Enfeoffed as Prince Kang, residing in Tian Nan Prefecture of Qing Province.
Current Situation
Currently, Shi Dezong’s health grows increasingly frail, while Crown Prince Zhou Qiao is excessively weak. This has led the other three princes to secretly covet the imperial throne. In the Great Shi Dynasty Year 146, beneath the seemingly calm and peaceful surface of the dynastic realm, undercurrents surge turbulently.