Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame 2010

90 A.D. Outside the Imperial Palace in Luoyang, a giant Buddhist stupa pagoda is under construction. On the date of its completion, China's first female Emperor, Wu Zetian, would formally ascend the throne of the largest and most powerful country in the world. The stupa is in the shape of a female Bodhissatva with the face of the soon-to-be Empress. But a series of unexplained incidents are threatening Wu's rise to power. Over a period of eight years, seven men have spontaneously combusted in public; their whole bodies burning from the inside-out until all that remains is hardened black ash and skeletal bones. What shocks Wu is that each victim was a subordinate that she had personally promoted after assuming power. What's more, the most recent case is the construction chief of the stupa itself. Clearly, the murderer is challenging her authority. Determined to solve the case before her ascension, she turns to an unlikely saviour, Dee Renjie.

Eight years before, she had ordered Dee arrested, branded and imprisoned after he criticised her power grab following the death of the Emperor. Dee Renjie is brought back to Luoyang from distant Fenshuyuan and is presented to Empress Wu. She appoints him Chief Judge of the Empire, a prestigious position that he had declined when she had offered it to him eight years ago. She believes that only the intellectually cultivated Dee Renjie has the wisdom - and the martial arts - to uncover the conspiracy against her.

Violent, impatient and ambitious judicial officer Bei Donglai has been appointed as Dee's unlikely subordinate. Even though Dee suspects that Bei has been sent to spy on him, they become unlikely allies. He also seeks help from his old friend Shata, now a monk, who happens to be the architectural supervisor of the giant stupa and witness to the most recent murder.

Another surprise from Dee's past appears in the form of the beautiful Shangguan Jing'er who has been sent by the Empress to "comfort" Dee at night. Dee had been a friend of Jing's father, who had died in violent circumstances. Jing had been taken into the royal household where she had grown into a beautiful woman. She fulfils her father's dying wish by delivering his prized mace to Detective Dee.

The next morning, Jing explains the giant eyes that magically appear each day on the giant draperies that hang from buildings all over the city. They represent the otherworldly power of Lu Li, the Royal Sorcerer, who has emerged as the most trusted advisor of the Empress. Lu claims to have no interest in worldly matters but has time and again unleashed his black magic to demonstrate his power. Dee's investigation takes him to the secret Ghost Market under the city where he uncovers a scientific explanation for the spontaneous combustions. All evidence points to the Royal Sorcerer, but to challenge him is to challenge the authority of the Empress herself. Nevertheless, Dee determines to ascertain the truth no matter the cost to his own life. Meanwhile, Turkic troops are closing in...