She wears a thousand faces. He keeps his eyes hidden.
Li Ye, the Holy Maiden of the Netherworld Cult, becomes a wanted criminal overnight, accused of murdering her father and seizing power. Wearing mask upon mask, she flees through the martial world. Her Ninefold Nether Threads can kill from three zhang away, but as she investigates her father's death, she begins to realize that the name at the end of the ledger belongs to someone she cannot afford to provoke.
The blind swordsman Xuan Qing wears a cloth that seals spiritual power over his eyes and carries an ancient sword etched with thunder patterns, named Uncontested. Twelve years ago, all thirty-seven members of the Xuan family were slaughtered in a single night. He was the only survivor. For twelve years, he has pursued the killer by following a wax seal, and his trail has led him to a masked woman.
A case involving a ghost marriage and a demand for someone's life brings two people with their own hidden agendas together "by chance." Painted paper figures brought to life, death delivered by Nuo masks, flowers blooming in Bell Village, shadow puppets aboard a ghost ship, a silent play in the imperial tombs... Every case seems haunted, and every case is the work of people. Behind every deadly trap stands the same white tower: when the White Tower's notice arrives, it is as good as a coffin being delivered.
They travel with a motley crew: a disgraced veteran constable, a young monk who can smell resentment, and a sharp-tongued physician from Miao territory. Together, they turn ghost stories into investigations of the human heart.
At last, the final page of the ledger is revealed: the father she wants to bring down is among the people he seeks revenge on, and buried in the scheme she wants to dismantle are his eyes. That night twelve years ago, it turns out, the two of them have spent half their lives chasing their own fates.
Theme: Ghosts are often made by people. The most frightening thing has never been the supernatural, but the human heart. A mask can protect you for a time, but only by showing your true face and trusting others with a true heart can you break a deadly trap that seems destined to close. Justice comes before revenge, and that is...
