[The Four Heavenly Kings: The Return of the Dragon King Fanfiction] Vermilion Bird's Fury

A brief summary

It's basically a couple (maybe?) solving cases together, with little Sha Tuo and the stalker Kuang Zhao along for the ride. Original plot, flying through the sky and burrowing underground (not really), happy ending, mystery-solving. [Pei Donglai's background will be explained. There may be a bonus story about Kuang Zhao raising a young Pei Donglai??]

This story seems to be going premium. Is that really okay? Thank you all for sticking with me, and thanks to my editor for giving me this opportunity. I'm going to bed now.

[Blurb]

During the Tang Dynasty, the maritime Silk Road flourished, especially the spice trade. Of all spices, those from Dashi were considered the finest. In the sixth year of the Xianqing era under Emperor Gaozong, the post of Maritime Trade Commissioner was established in Guangzhou to attract foreign ships and bring merchants bearing rare treasures and fragrant spices to the Tang. Among these treasures, agarwood was the most precious, and the finest came from Linyi.

In the second year of the Linde era, the Tang dispatched a hundred thousand naval troops to attack the kingdom of Buyeo. Di Renjie traveled from Bingzhou to take up a post as an assistant magistrate at the Court of Judicial Review. On the very day he arrived, he encountered the strange Dragon King case. Entrusted with the case at a moment of peril, he solved it just in time.

After the case was closed, Emperor Gaozong bestowed upon him the divine Kanglong Mace. He was appointed assistant magistrate at the Court of Judicial Review, a sixth-rank official and a subordinate of Yuchi Zhenjin.

A year later, the Buyeo clan of Baekje had scattered and fallen. As the summer rain sacrifice approached, the rites were to be held southwest of the capital. The Empress ordered an elaborate ceremony, and an altar was built at the Zhuque Gate in Chang'an, the western capital. But as the altar was being constructed, the sacred vermilion bird, wreathed in flames, appeared before the gate.

The next day, the Court of Judicial Review received word that a court official had been burned to death in his own residence. More officials were burned to death in their homes in the days that followed...

Were the officials burned to death in their residences victims of divine punishment, or was someone responsible?

Di Renjie and Yuchi Zhenjin were once again entrusted with a case at a moment of peril. Wu Zetian ordered them to uncover the truth before the rain sacrifice. Their investigation was fraught with danger, forcing them to take desperate risks, and they gradually discovered that the officials' fiery deaths were not as simple as they seemed...

[Before You Read]

1. The characterizations are based on Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings, not Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame. The pairing is Di Renjie/Yuchi Zhenjin.

2. In the film, the capital is Luoyang, the divine capital, after Wu Zetian ascends the throne. But when Di Renjie served as assistant magistrate at the Court of Judicial Review, the reign title was still that of Emperor Gaozong. So the capital here differs from the film: it is Chang'an, the western capital.

4. This story takes place a year after Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings and is mostly fictional...

5. This story is entirely a product of my imagination. My writing is unpolished, and I lack common knowledge, so I may often get lost while looking things up... Readers with high expectations, especially regarding history, please go easy on me. As for the plot holes, in the spirit of sharing ideas and putting discussion first, I hope you'll leave your comments and suggestions. Thank you.

#favorite_1{color:#FF3366;font-weight:bold;border-style:double;}

Theme: