Poisoned corpses along the streets and rampant illness throughout the city -- the Qing Dynasty is fading fast, and along with it Shengjing City has become unrecognizable. Local resident Zhang Xiaozhi's great-grandfather was a tomb builder, and now Zhang is the last of his line to still know the way to the Water Palace Tomb hidden deep beneath the city's four pagodas. Within lies a hidden treasure, and He Miao wants Zhang to help her find it. But as the pair spend more time together they begin falling for each other, and dark secrets that have long lain beneath the earth begin creeping toward the surface.