The story is set in the fictional Yue Dynasty, an era in which the realm is divided among rival states. The Liao, Jin, and Xia regimes, ruled by ethnic minorities, surround Yue, alongside the Liang Dynasty, another Han Chinese regime. Ling Nanqi was born into a prominent family in Jiangnan. His father, Ling Xuanxing, is a great general of the court, and his elder brother, Ling Nanyuan, serves in the army. When a joint Liao and Jin force launches a surprise attack on the border, his father and brother are dispatched there. Ling Nanqi thinks things will be just as they were before, and that he will soon hear of his father’s victory. But one day, he suddenly receives his father’s farewell letter. He rushes to the battlefield, only to find that the war is already over. In Liang, Zhou Heng’s life as a banner officer also takes an unexpected turn.
