Tang Detective: Sima Xiang

In 702 AD, during the twilight years of Wu Zetian’s reign, undercurrents stirred beneath the splendor of the Tang dynasty. In the prosperous capital, a string of bizarre murders unfolded: Black and White Impermanence claimed victims one after another, ghost bats swooped through the skies to drain their victims’ blood, and the statue of Weituo at Ci’en Temple appeared to “manifest its divine power” and kill people before a crowd of witnesses. The court and the people were shaken, rumors spread, and everyone blamed strange celestial omens, claiming that a woman ruling the empire had angered the gods and buddhas.

Sima Xiang, a deputy commissioner of the Imperial Guard, was an inscrutable official who could read neither easily nor clearly. Armed with extraordinary insight into traces, medicine, and human nature, he was tasked with solving a series of strange cases: the Impermanence Case, the Ghost Bat Case, the Weituo Case, the Nightmare Case, the Qujiang River Ghost Case... Each was intricately devised and full of bizarre twists, as if the work of ghosts and gods.

This story brings together hard-edged historical mystery, epic political intrigue, multiple layers of reversals, and a sweeping panorama of High Tang customs. Through Sima Xiang’s meticulous investigations, each strange case is unraveled as he gradually uncovers a shadow war involving forces both within and beyond the court. The ultimate truth will leave readers stunned, then suddenly make everything fall into place.