In the sixteenth year of the Apocalypse, Kyoto became a river of blood overnight, and everyone in the Duke's mansion was massacred. Only the youngest son Lu Chen was rescued by a mysterious swordsman and disappeared into the rivers and lakes. Fifteen years later, Lu Chen changed his name to Shen Du and returned to the imperial examination in the capital as a child from a poor family. However, he was accidentally involved in the dispute between the crown prince and Prince An for the throne.
He originally wanted to find out the truth behind the family's destruction, but found that every step he took was based on the chess game laid out by his ancestors. The chief minister of the dynasty, the governor of Dongchang, and the border generals, all the forces are intertwined, and the only bargaining chip in his hand is a mutilated tiger charm that his mother stuffed into his infant body before she died.
As the investigation deepens, Lu Chen is shocked to realize that the massacre of the Zhenguo Duke's family was actually related to a shocking secret of the royal family - the late emperor's edict, the bloodline of foreigners, and the treasures of the previous dynasty. The three truths intertwined into a huge web covering two generations. And he is not only the most dangerous chess piece in this game, but also the one who may overturn the chess board.
"Since the world uses me as a chess piece, then I will be a chess player."
