This is a detective story with a feel of Clive Cussler's Isaac Bell set in the Republican period when the relationship of the government and the underground society intertwined, and corruption was rampant.

I was initially intrigued by this drama because of some good reviews and its cast. But after 20 or so episodes in, I became weary of the repetitive cases, each more or less of the same format. Instead, I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship of the trio, Bai You Ning (Xiao Yan), Lu Yao (Hu Yitian) and Qiao Chu Sheng (Zhang Yunlong). After The Untamed, many viewers crave for BL or bromance themed stories. The Bai You Ning character in this drama becomes a spoiler and has been criticized by many viewers. This is rather unfair and unfortunate because Xiao Yan is a wonderful actor and her character a brilliant one. To me, she is the adult in the room, balancing out the 2 ingenious boys who can be crazy at times. 

Bai You Ning is independent, determined and clear minded, whereas Lu Yao cocky, silly and playful like a small child with a genius mind, and Qiao Chu Sheng is mature, patient and calm. Together, the scenes are funny, cute with constant bickering, teasing, hitting below the belt dialogues; they have fantastic chemistry together and the whole drama would not be complete without any one of them.  If we say men can be smart in every sense but naive when it comes to human relationship particularly with women, these two men embody everything in the statement; they are like elementary school boys. The amount of patience Qiao Chu shows towards Lu Yao is unlimited. Countless times Qiao Chu Sheng's blatant show of bromance, intentionally or unintentionally, sends viewers squealing. Like a walking encyclopedia, You Ning supplements the men with valuable information to help crack their cases rapidly. Most of the murder cases, seemingly cold blooded, are in fact for justifiable motives; the victims seem to deserve their deaths and justice is served.

Hu Yitian's acting has improved somewhat but occasionally I still find his facial expression either overact or unnatural. This is the first time I see him acting as a playful and flamboyant character, and he is doing a great job. Zhang Yunlong's acting is on the spot. Good looking and has the air of a commanding authority, Zhang makes a great Inspector Director. My favorite is Xiao Yan's acting. She has that sharp and yet mischievous demeanor, and she brings these qualities to her character.

If you don't mind too much about the similar repetitive murder cases, this is rather a fun watch especially with the relationship of the trio - they can really make you laugh out loud with constant bantering and bickering.