In the twenty-third year of the Republic of China, Shanghai.
Three bizarre murders occurred in the French Concession: a banker died violently in a secret room with strange pinholes all over his body; a famous Peking Opera actress hanged on the stage with exquisite makeup; and a director of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce drowned in a dry courtyard. Next to the three corpses, there was a bronze "Xie Zhi" badge - a legendary beast that can distinguish right from wrong.
Shen Muzhi discovered that all the deceased were related to an unjust case of "Literary Prison" fifteen years ago, and the judge presiding over that case was his father who had been missing for many years. At the same time, Lu Zhaoran traced and found that the murderer seemed to be carrying out some kind of "lynching trial", and the next target was directly at the leader of the Qing Gang.
"The law is nothing more than human feelings, or is the human relationship nothing more than the law?"
When Western criminal investigation techniques encounter the rules of the Orient, when procedural justice collides with the outcome of justice, the two of them strip away their cocoons on the foggy Shanghai beach, but gradually discover that each other's life experiences are actually connected to this serial murder case. When the Haechi opens its eyes, it is difficult to distinguish between good and evil; when the two explore together, black and white are intertwined.
When the truth finally emerges, they must make a choice - let the law try the murderer, or let justice be paid with blood?
Purpose: "When the law becomes a shield for the wicked, and when lynching becomes a mob carnival, where does justice live?"