In late Qing northern Guizhou, the Chishui River flows strong.
Beneath the prosperity of the thousand-mile salt route, dark currents surge. Eighteen gangs hold sway over the river valleys, as smugglers collude with corrupt officials to transport mysterious black-gold ore. Poisonous water seeps through mountains and villages, and riverside residents have long suffered from strange illnesses, enduring unbearable hardship.
Hua Mingxuan, a young doctor from Yishang Town, inherited the family text, Fragments from the Green Satchel. He knows how to identify poisons and ores. He only wanted to heal the sick, but stumbled upon disaster while treating patients. He meets Song Yu, a daring river runner, and together they travel between ferry crossings and salt depots, dealing with all kinds of figures from the eighteen gangs.
Secrets lie hidden on the riverbanks; ancient caves hold terrors.
Bandits and blades block the road ahead, while a net of officials and merchants closes in from behind. In these troubled times, the powerful rule and justice is hard to find. Making medicine his weapon, Hua Mingxuan pursues the source of the black gold with nothing but his courage, seeking evidence and breaking through the deadlock amid the Wumeng Mountains and the treacherous Chishui rapids, as he takes on a vast, deeply rooted conspiracy.
This is more than a major case involving poisoned ore. It is also a tragic portrait of an age along the salt routes of the Southwest. Amid the turmoil of the dying age, one man fights to preserve a measure of justice in the world.
Commoner Uncle Song I am deeply attached to the mountains and rivers, and I am partial to the local culture and ancient history of southern Sichuan in Guizhou. Fascinated by the history of Chishui River salt transportation and wine culture, and feeling nostalgic about the loyalty of the merchants of the time, I spent a lot of time thinking about it and wrote "The Legend of the Hua Mingxuan Family" and "The Legend of the Yishang Gang" (The Official History of Huamao). The book describes the grievances and grievances in the world, the rise and fall of the family, and lays out the foundation of business: profit is the last thing, and righteousness is the first. This is an original work, please correct any errors.