A sudden accident sends the modern young man Jiang Chen's soul into the Ming Dynasty, where he becomes an apprentice at a struggling village school. With no title or position, no money or power, and stuck in an insignificant mountain town, he nevertheless has modern knowledge and a heart that refuses to accept its fate. Using a little ingenuity and a touch of deductive reasoning, he starts by helping a neighbor find a missing chicken, then gradually gets swept into a whirlpool of murder, corruption, and greed.
From burning account books and pursuing killers to taking on local officials and digging up buried cases, he uses his knowledge and courage to expose one dark secret after another. Amid the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs, he makes corrupt officials and wealthy merchants bow their heads and confess, while giving the people new hope. But as rumors begin to swirl, Jiang Chen gradually realizes that this is only the prelude to a far greater storm. The hidden hand behind it all, the wariness of those in power, the tests of human nature... His true opponent may still be a hundred li away, waiting for his next move.
Can a mere apprentice break through the old laws of the Ming Dynasty and carve out a path through the cracks of his era? Can he uphold justice while shouldering the burden of fate?
