Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

China in the year 689: After eight years in prison for high treason, Detective Dee is released by the future Empress Wu Ze Tian, the very one who condemned him. Taken to the palace, Dee is restored to his former position as Chief Justice of the Empire. Wu Ze Tian, who fears a conspiracy with the approach of her coronation, assigns him the task of finding out the truth behind a series of spontaneous combustions that killed members of her entourage. Dee is assisted in his investigation by Jing'er, a warrior who is suspicious of the detective's motives. After surviving numerous assassination attempts, the detective travels to Bazar, a lakeside town populated by gangsters, in order to gather information. While pursuing an assailant, he's led to a monastery in the forest which happens to be the retreat of Wu Ze Tian's chief adviser. At this point, Dee begins to wonder if Wu Ze Tian has hatched a plot to eliminate those who oppose her rule.