What! A Woman Disguised as a Man Investigates Bizarre Cases at the Dali Temple

Reborn as a fake younger sister who had tampered with someone’s memories, I entered the Dali Temple under the identity of Sun Bao’s elder brother. The catlike eyes of Deputy Minister Li Bing swept over my gold-embroidered waist token. “A new dismemberment case just came into the autopsy room. Sun, you’re on duty tonight.”

My fingertips brushed across the light screen of the Dali Temple Insight System, and the timeline of the bloody case exploded across my retinas, counting down.

When witnesses lie, their heartbeats sound like a pipa string played out of tune. Persian silver coin fragments are hidden between the corpse’s teeth. And the chancellor in purple robes seated on high is slowly wiping his bloodstained ring with a silk handkerchief.

“Warning: In three breaths, a poisoned crossbow bolt will pierce the western window.”

I spun around and kicked over the candle stand. Flames swallowed half the autopsy record.

Tiles shattered in the darkness. Li Bing’s white jade tablet was already at my throat. “Sun, do you know what the Dali Temple fears most?”

“Betraying the emperor,” I said with a smile, loosening my chest bindings. “And women.”