Modern forensic pathologist Shen Yan opens his eyes to find himself a junior coroner in Qingshi County of the Great Liang Dynasty. At his father's funeral, everyone says his father died suddenly of an illness, but Shen Yan alone sees the truth: purplish nails and a blackened tongue mean poison. The killer is among the mourners, weeping.
The moment he touches a corpse, information about its death appears before his eyes. With his skillful hands, Shen Yan investigates wrongful deaths from the borderlands to the capital's prisons, only to discover that his father's death was just the tip of the iceberg. The enemy nation of Beidi has long had a spy network called the "Sleeping Dragon" buried deep within the court. Seven hidden agents, every one of them threatening the very foundations of the state.
From a low-ranking clerk to the Chief Judicial Commissioner, he examines corpses, poisons, and the human heart, removing the agents one by one. He makes the dead speak and exposes the treacherous. He has never wanted an official title. All he wants is to clear his father's name and bring justice back to the Great Liang.
