When the court painter Pei Luoqing was painting beauties for the Queen, he discovered that these beauties all had demonic spots on the backs of their necks, and they were actually painted ghosts. The Queen gave him a "mirror" that could see monsters, but he reflected his true form as a fox in the mirror. When he revealed the monsters in the palace to Prime Minister Zhang Jianzhi, he tore off the human skin to reveal the true form of the python monster, and frankly admitted that the civil and military officials of the court were not human.
During his escape, Pei Luoqing met Li Mo, the captain of the Demon Appreciation Department, and learned more palace secrets. He also accidentally discovered that his mother, who disappeared when he was young, was related to the Qingqiu Fox Clan and the demons in the palace. In order to protect him, his mother laid out a chess game for many years, leaving behind clues such as the curse-breaking cauldron and the secret passage. In the end, with the sacrifice of his mother's remnant soul and the help of Zhang Qian and others, Pei Luoqing unlocked part of the seal, awakened the power of the nine-tailed fox, escaped from Chang'an City, and embarked on the road back to Qingqiu. He also understood that there is a passionate true love under the inhuman skin.
