Li Shande, who was exiled in Lingnan, struggled to rebuild his home near the miasma forest after the Anshi Rebellion. An old friend, Du Fu, suddenly arrives, bringing bad news: Chang'an has fallen. In the name of "Lychee Tribute", the court and local forces are extorting money from Lingnan, vying for the Lychee Garden, and even trying to plunder the rare "Huo Qi" ancient tree that is said to have grown in desperate circumstances and cannot be transplanted in exchange for a sky-high price.
Under the pressure of Guangzhou's strategic envoy Xu Yuan, Li Shande had no choice but to accept the post of transit judge. He witnessed the Lingnan lychee market going crazy due to heavy taxes and the suffering of fruit farmers. He also knew that all forces coveted the mysterious "Huo Qi" in the poisonous miasma of Toad Stone Valley. In order to find out, he ventured into the valley and confirmed the strange characteristics of this tree that would lead to death if it was separated from the water and fire terrestrial veins.
When the minions of Hebei warrior Tian Chengsi came to demand the "sacred tree", a Lingnan woman named Atong did something amazing - she dug up a giant tree and destroyed its veins in public! She roared and accused: "This is rotten wood! If you leave Lingnan, you will die!"
Li Shande seized the opportunity and implemented a new policy with the support of Xu Yuan: setting up a "Li Fu Gongcang" to store dried lychees and lychee paste, which could be used to offset part of the military pay assessment ("Li Ping") to alleviate the exploitation of fruit farmers. The New Deal aroused fierce resistance from the powerful, but under the intimidation of "Huo Qi" and Li Shande's iron-fisted inspection, a new balance was difficult to form, and the local crisis was temporarily relieved.
However, the imperial court was furious at the tampering with Chang Fu. A year later, Li Shande was dismissed from his post and returned to Lingnan Garden with twigs symbolizing vitality. In the bleak autumn wind, he silently guarded the fragile roots buried deep in the red soil, while the shadow of greater war in the north was sweeping over.
