Tao Sheng met an orphan named Wu Mi during an operation. The seemingly innocent and naive boy felt an instant connection with him. After several twists and turns, Tao Sheng couldn't bear to leave the homeless Wu Mi on his own, so he took him in and let him live with him.
At the time, a string of serial murders was taking place, and the victims had died horrific deaths. New to the job and full of righteous zeal, Tao Sheng swore to catch the killer, but was powerless to do so. Under the strain of his heavy workload, he gradually fell for Wu Mi, whose thoughtfulness comforted him. But as he came to know Wu Mi better, he began to realize that the boy's appearance in his life was no coincidence. It was tied to a blood debt from a past life, one that had grown impossible to repay.
Upright, principled gong x sweet-looking but ruthless ghost shou (intersex).
Inspired by and borrowing elements from the 2008 film Painted Skin, starring Zhou Xun, and Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, "Painted Skin."
Content warnings: Horror and graphic violence; the shou is not a virgin, eats people, is psychologically twisted and may kill innocents; the gong has unrequited feelings throughout; bad ending.
Theme: Past and present lives.
