In the 37th year of the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, in the county seat of Jiangnan County, a string of murders occurred. The victims belonged to different social strata and had no apparent connection to one another. Their bodies were laid out in bizarre poses, and at the crime scene a short quotation from Confucius's sayings was left. As the pupil of the first victim, junior inspector Qu San-gen, joining forces with his friends, begins the investigation. As the investigation progresses, suspects from all walks of life come under scrutiny, and the surface gradually reveals a case from twenty years ago.