At the age of nine, Shen Chaosheng was stuffed into the hold of a ship.
Twelve years later, under the name Shen Du, he returned to his hometown of Linchao with secret orders from two countries that directly contradicted each other.
Dongqi wanted him to count the harbor cannons. Dayan wanted him to recover a register of abducted people.
On his first night home, two rival delegations both presented what they claimed was genuine proof.
Judge one of them wrong, and an entire ship's crew would go from tribute envoys to smugglers.
Shen Du changed just one character in the translation, saving both ships' crews.
The next moment, the chief envoy died of poison, and a secret document bearing Shen Du's old name rolled from his sleeve.
From then on, Dongqi wanted his eyes, Dayan wanted his ears, and a third country across the sea wanted his pen.
All three countries waited for him to send back an intelligence report that favored them alone.
But Shen Du had returned home for just one reason: to write the name that had been dead for twelve years back into the world.
