During the Dayong dynasty, the capital hides a century-old Crimson Tower. It collects endangered traditional crafts from across the land and preserves the secrets of craftsmen from every era. The tower’s skills are almost supernatural, yet they come with a mysterious curse. Anyone who masters one of its unparalleled traditional arts is inexplicably haunted by strange phenomena and loses their memories. Rumor has it that the Crimson Tower holds an ancient artistic secret capable of defying fate itself. Shen Yan, a restorer of traditional craft artifacts, has borne an incomplete craftsman’s destiny since childhood. He can perceive the spirit of ancient objects and understand secret traditional arts, but has long been plagued by nameless nightmares. To uncover the truth behind his family’s massacre when he was young and the loss of their craft, he ventures alone into the eerie and inscrutable Crimson Tower.
After entering the tower, Shen Yan encounters one strange phenomenon after another, born from lost traditional crafts: ancient embroidery that suppresses souls, ancient ink that binds them, and bamboo weaving that summons spirits. With every step, he sinks deeper into layers of mystery. Along the way, he meets Su Qingyuan, a reserved inheritor of ancient music, and Lu Shiheng, the tower’s record keeper, who bears a mysterious destiny. The three join forces to solve a series of strange cases involving traditional crafts. They discover that the frequent supernatural incidents surrounding traditional crafts and the disappearance of craftsmen are all part of a plot by evil artisans from a former dynasty. These artisans seek to alter the ancient artistic tradition, nourish their dark arts with the ingenuity of living craftsmen, steal the source of power behind traditional crafts, and control the spirit of ancient arts throughout the world.
As their investigation deepens, the secrets sealed away in the Crimson Tower for a century are revealed. Shen Yan’s family’s destruction and the intertwined destinies of everyone involved are all bound to this conspiracy surrounding ancient arts. Moving between reality and illusion, they use orthodox traditional crafts to break dark spells, lift curses, and lay vengeful spirits to rest. Amid the struggle between the elegance of Chinese traditional arts and sinister forbidden paths, they remain true to the spirit of craftsmanship. In the end, they uncover the Crimson Tower’s ultimate secret, purge the world of evil arts, and protect China’s cultural heritage, passed down through a thousand years.
