A Portrait of the People of the Republic-Era Underworld

In the tenth year of the Republic, in Tianjin. The impoverished scholar Yun Jing's father is ruined by Zhao Laosan, the mastermind behind the swindler gang Da'an, and throws himself into the river. To pay off his debts, Yun Jing washes dishes and happens upon the blind storyteller Master Guan, from whom he learns the ways of the underworld: reading people and wielding words like a blade. The master and apprentice travel to the Beijing Overpass, witnessing the many faces of the thirteen trades, from the Jinmen and Pimen to the Caimen. Between petty tricks and bloody business, they learn to discern good and evil in the world. At last, they return to Tianjin. At a birthday banquet, Yun Jing tells a story without drawing a weapon, using his sharp tongue to ruin Zhao Laosan's reputation. With his great revenge fulfilled, Yun Jing burns the secret manual and opens a storytelling house. This underworld has never survived on trickery, but on the hearts of people.