尽诸东流

In this fantastical martial world where beasts take human form and human hearts scheme in the shadows, Ye Qing (lynx), once the renowned Great General Who Pacified the West famed across the land, has quietly shed his armor to become the proprietor of a humble apothecary in the city's bustling streets. A Tang sword that has drunk countless lives hangs from the beam. Old comrades speak of him as "a hero past his prime," while enemies mock him for "fleeing from his crimes." Yet none know the truth—three years ago, his personally trained disciple, Aduo (orange cat), was publicly executed by the court's hidden blades, his blood staining a secret case. To protect the final wishes of his sworn friend Shen Yue (hyena) and his late mentor Feng Qing (leopard), Ye Qing severed his own official career, retreating only to advance. Now, undercurrents stir once more in the martial world. Shen Yue, a high official of the Zheyusi which controls the eyes and ears of the populace, brings a secret missive: the mastermind behind Aduo's death and Feng Qing's framing is hidden within the powerful, court-influenced Yinjiansi. Ye Qing's apothecary becomes a covert intelligence outpost, as old enemies and allies from his past emerge one after another—Dan Zhou (frog), the boatman who can manipulate water and shapeshift; Shan Jun (tiger), the gang's fearsome star skilled in "face-changing" and arson; even the court-dispatched Eunuch He—He Shu (wolf)—all are drawn into this intricate trap. Caught between Shen Yue's warnings and the ironclad evidence within the secret case, obtained at the cost of Aduo's life, Ye Qing has no choice but to take up his sharp blade once more and step alone into the whirlpool. Amidst flashing steel and splattering blood, some slaughter for power and desire, while others march to their deaths for loyalty and righteousness. When the chivalrous bones of the martial world collide with the court's sinister schemes, will he burn all his fervent blood to cleave through the darkness, or let all things be swept away eastward? The answer lies beneath the eastward-flowing waters, and within the trembling palm of the one who grips the sword.