During the Jinghe period of the Dayin Dynasty, Ling Yue (the heroine), the first painter in the south of the Yangtze River, was famous for her "wonderful brushwork for producing flowers". However, due to an old family case ten years ago, she was forced to hide her talents and hibernate in the "Drunken Flower Yin" of Yangzhou Painting Boat. She is good at drawing "spiritual pictures" - it is said that she can see into people's hearts through her brushstrokes. However, she was unexpectedly involved in the treacherous "battle for the legitimate son" in the court because of a portrait she made of the son of a powerful official in the court.
At the same time, Xiao Jue (the male protagonist), the Zhenbei general known as the "cold-faced Yama", is following a secret order to go south to investigate a major corruption case involving imperial merchants and vassal kings. He has a cold temperament and ruthless methods, but he meets Ling Yue many times while tracing clues. One is a "painting fairy" who is good at depicting the truth with a brush, and the other is a "iron-blooded general" who is accustomed to splitting the fog with a sword. The two are entangled in cases, from testing each other to supporting each other, and gradually discover that the Ling family's murder case ten years ago is inextricably linked to the current power struggle. And Ling Yue's hidden special ability "Painting Soul" - the secret of being able to draw memories into paintings and even awaken the remnant souls of the dead, has also become the focus of all forces. When the moonlight on Qingya Mountain once again illuminates the footprints of the old friend, can they uncover the layers of disguise in the turbulent court and murderous rivers and lakes, find the lost truth, and at the same time protect each other's precarious love?
