The Tang Dynasty Con Artists: The Secret Box of Wude

In Chang'an's Western Market, Lin He is known as "Monkey Lin." His main line of work is fortune-telling from a street stall; his side hustle is swindling and cheating people.

Everyone thinks he's just an unserious idler from the streets, but no one knows he has mastered ancient mechanical engineering, or that he carries a blood feud: uncovering the truth behind his father's wrongful death.

An orphan of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau comes looking for him, Tibetan spies watch from the shadows, and a mysterious organization called "Whispers" is weaving a web behind the scenes.

To break the deadlock, Lin He doesn't draw his blade. Instead, he chooses the most underhanded approach of all: laying low and building up his position.

No martial arts? No problem, use your brains.

No connections? No worries, rely on your skills.

When Tibetan spies try to smuggle intelligence out of the city, Lin He forges a Northern Wei bronze wine vessel, swaps it right under the spy chief's nose, and gets the man thrown into the Imperial Guards' prison for good measure.

When corrupt officials try to amass wealth through fake accounts, he sets up a series of elaborate scams, using forged evidence to topple their entire network of interests.

Others risk their lives; he outsmarts them. Others kill; he destroys them from within.

With his "fake-scam crew" in tow, Lin He takes one careful step at a time through Chang'an, setting up schemes and traps, then striking back. Through sheer lies, he carves out a way to survive.

No one knows that the turning point of the High Tang began with a box in the darkness, and a band of swindlers who chose the light.