**A folklorist searches for her brother**: Cheng Xiaotang ventures into an old town to find her missing older brother and discovers the eerie folk rituals he recorded.
- **Forbidden contact**: At an old house where a body lies in state, she is attacked by a living paper effigy. A mysterious heir to the Nuo opera tradition saves her, only to draw her into an even greater crisis.
- **The old town’s secrets**: She gradually uncovers the truth behind the human sacrifices held every forty-nine years and discovers an ancient bond between the Cheng family bloodline and evil spirits.
- **A choice between life and death**: As she tries to stop the blood sacrifice, she learns that her brother has become a candidate for the offering. She must choose between her loved one and the rest of humanity.
