Their bodies wither rapidly, but their heads remain eerily lifelike, dying with serene, contented smiles. A string of bizarre deaths plunges the peaceful, prosperous city of Huai'an into a state of panic. Number Thirty-Six, Yun Mie, a rebel from the Yun clan, is ordered by his organization to investigate. Just as the answers begin to emerge, the case takes an unexpected turn, drawing in several tangled forces: the legendary Longyuan Pavilion, an underworld organization that suddenly intervenes, a vast and meticulously organized assassins' guild, mysterious visitors from a remote land, and the ambitious Yun clan... The truth grows ever more elusive as undercurrents surge. And then there is the unknown variable, Feng Yiyu: a young woman so weak that she is a disgrace to her family, and so hopeless at helping that she leaves everyone speechless. Yet she is the one person who can leave Yun Mie, a man of outstanding ability, cold reason, and ruthless logic, utterly helpless. Even the ending is impossible to predict. Beyond the Clouds, in a difficult struggle between life and death, duty and gain, love and conspiracy, the veil of mystery slowly lifts...
