Introduction to the novel
In the late autumn of the 26th year of the Republic of China, Shen Yanzhi, who had returned from studying abroad, returned to the Shen family's old house in the French Concession in Shanghai because of a telegram saying "Return quickly, there is something old about the old house." Five years ago, his father Shen Jingting disappeared mysteriously, making this old house a forbidden area that he dared not touch. But at this moment, the rosewood box handed over by the old housekeeper completely opened up the dust-covered secrets - the rusty "Iron-Blooded Rape" copper badge in the box and the secret diary with strong handwriting revealed another layer of his father's past as an "ordinary businessman".
As words such as "Xingzhonghui stronghold", "list" and "patrol room" appeared in the diary, Shen Yanzhi realized that his father's disappearance was no accident. He followed the clues, but encountered a mysterious shadow in the dark alley of the alley. The cyan birthmark under the other person's collar and the half-word copper button left behind all pointed to Gu Mingyuan, the inspector of the French Concession patrol room - the man who made light of the investigation of his father's disappearance five years ago. What's even more surprising is that in a yellowed old photo, the father and the detective were called "brothers" when he was young.
In Shanghai, shrouded in rain and fog, undercurrents are surging at the boundary between the concession and the Chinese community. The secrets of the anti-rape organization, the protection of the patrol house, and the pursuit of unknown forces have drawn Shen Yanzhi into the unsolved crisis ten years ago. He must not only uncover the truth behind his father's disappearance and protect the "list" in the diary that concerns many lives, but also protect himself in the game of forces from all sides. When the fragments of the past were gradually pieced together, he discovered that his father's "disappearance" was a carefully planned protection, and he had already become the most critical pawn in this secret chess game that spanned many years.
