In the spring of Zhengping Year One, a strange disappearance took place at Mengjin Ferry on the Yellow River. Lu Xiuzhi, a scholar on his way to sit the imperial examinations, crossed the river by moonlight. When his boat reached midstream, he vanished into thin air, leaving only an eerie, sweet scent hanging over the water. That same night in Pingcheng, Chao Chong, the Grand Historian, died suddenly in his home. Blood streamed from all seven orifices, yet a smile remained on his face. His death was identical to that of Cui Hao, the former Minister over the Masses, who had been executed several months earlier.
Young Shen Che heads south at his mother’s command to investigate, only to discover that both Lu Xiuzhi’s disappearance and Chao Chong’s death point to a secret from the imperial court twenty years ago: the true cause of the death of Consort Du, mother of Emperor Taiwu. As his investigation deepens, he encounters mysterious assassins posing as imperial guards and receives guidance from Lu Xuan, a survivor of the Fan Yang Lu clan. In Wuyi Lane in Jiankang, he also meets Wang Hui, a cool and proud young lady of the Wang clan. Following the trail of the “Soul Ferrying Incense,” the two eventually...
When the truth finally comes to light, Shen Che must choose: reveal the secret to the world, or let the old feud sink forever beneath the Yellow River. Beneath the moonlight, the Soul Ferrying Incense burns once more, and shadowy figures flicker in the mist. Are they the resentment of the dead, or the obsession of the living?
