The Tang Dynasty's Greatest Detective: From the Start, I Examine the Dead

Lu Chen was a modern major-crimes police officer. While pursuing a serial killer, he was caught in an explosion. When he wakes, he has transmigrated to the Tang Dynasty as a county constable implicated in a family massacre.

To survive, he starts by examining the bodies. He discovers that the victims were poisoned before being killed with a blade, and that the crime scene was tampered with. Using simple methods such as burning paper to determine the wind's direction, applying lime to reveal bloodstains, and measuring footprints to estimate height, he proves that the apparent culprit, a cart driver, was forced to take the blame.

The case exposes a mole within the county yamen. Lu Chen earns the respect of County Commandant Pei Yanqing and is transferred to the Clean Cases Office, a unit that handles difficult investigations. He goes on to solve a string of cases involving an inn murder, a hidden corpse in a temple, stolen government grain, a body in a canal, and forged military orders.

As black sandalwood chess pieces keep appearing, he discovers that all the victims had been connected to a cache of missing weapons. A secret organization is using local officials, merchants, and temples to move the weapons, then silencing witnesses through murder.

In the later chapters, Lu Chen is framed by powerful nobles and forced to go to Chang'an, where he must navigate the rival factions at the Dali Temple. Before the imperial banquet, he must identify the true mastermind and stop a shocking conspiracy concealed behind a murder case.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.