A spring rain soaked through the cultivation sects' final verdict on Jin Guangyao, the Lord of Lianfang. After he died before Nie Mingjue's coffin, his soul scattered beyond recovery, Lan Xichen discovered a note among his old friend's belongings:
"Second Brother, if I leave, be careful of him."
Who was "he"?
Was it the vengeful spirit of Nie Mingjue, still lingering? A rival clan, ready to make its move? Or... Nie Huaisang, who had grieved inconsolably before his elder brother's spirit tablet and earned everyone's sympathy?
With a copy of A Song of Turmoil, a message concealed in rice broth, and a clue pointing to the Burial Mounds, Lan Xichen steps into a carefully woven web of intrigue. He discovers that Nie Mingjue had once flown into a rage over "Yin Iron," and that Jin Guangyao had looked terrified before his death. When every piece of evidence quietly points to the seemingly harmless Nie clan leader, who appears to know nothing but calligraphy and painting, Lan Xichen finally realizes what lies beneath that mild-mannered facade: a horribly twisted hunger for power.
Once, the three sworn brothers shared a bond worth a thousand catties. Now one is dead, his soul extinguished, and one has given his life for the Way. The last, the one moving the pieces, stands in the shadows, smiling as he waits for his final Second Brother to step into the deadly trap he has long prepared, a trap called "the truth."
This is not merely an effort to clear the name of a "sinner," but a search for a long-overdue answer to a bond buried beneath lies.
