Ten years ago, he was the most dazzling Young Fate-Keeper of Baiyu Capital, known as Lord Huaizhou. But after defying an imperial decree to save the people, he was nailed to the pillar of shame, stripped of his Fate Star, and cast into the Bone-Sinking Abyss, where countless ghosts devoured him.
Ten years later, he awakens in a coffin of black iron and takes on the alias Lu Shi, a fortune-teller. He carries a blood-red paper umbrella and wraps a soul-guiding red thread around his fingers. Outwardly, he seems sickly, greedy, and cheerfully nonchalant. In truth, his soul is shattered, and he has lost all five senses.
The case of the skinning bride, the town of puppets and street performers, the Bloodwater flesh-refining furnace, the Heart-Demon Trap in the Forest of Ten Thousand Tribulations... Strange cases erupt across the Nine Provinces, each one pointing straight back to the tragedy of that year.
Only Wenren Ji, the cold-blooded director who commands the punishments of the Tianshu Court and strikes terror into every immortal clan, always locks him inside the carriage on stormy nights. With reddened eyes, he warms tea and hands for him, his voice hoarse:
"Huaizhou, I've been warming this cup of tea for ten years."
The world says the Lord of Guixu is cruel and bent on destroying it, but all he wishes is to be the one beneath that umbrella, shielding you from every storm the world has to offer.
Theme: Though trapped in a living hell, keep your heart turned toward paradise. Stand against the world's hypocrisy with solitary courage and sincerity, and hold fast to justice and redemption.
