The "Chinese-style horror aesthetics" features an extraordinarily bold scale in The Last Dynasty (谷围南亭). A university student arrives early for the semester, his chatter filled with Hubei dialect. With dormitories still closed, he books a cheap room in a fading hotel nestled in Nan Ting Village (南亭村), an urban enclave in Guangzhou. This decision pulls him from mundane student life into a world where reality splinters.
The Great Qing Dynasty Hotel is not what it seems. Its upper floors host bizarre occurrences—a resident's stretched arm reaching a floor above, spectral faces in scratched portraits, a sleepwalking international student. But the true horror lies beneath. The building descends eighteen levels deeper than its frame suggests, a vertical labyrinth guarding ancient, malevolent forces. For freshman Gao Ying (高影), this is not a temporary stay; it is the beginning of a terrifying inheritance.
The hotel's bizarre normalcy shatters when Gao Ying witnesses the brutal death of Hua Wuyan (花无魇), a senior student skilled in Wing Chun (咏春). She is murdered by a sinister figure, Huang Banxian (黄半仙), who practices dark occult arts. As Gao Ying flees in terror, he discovers an impossible truth: he cannot be harmed. Wounds seal instantly, a power he soon learns stems from the Taishan (太岁), a mythical entity of immense power now residing within him. This marks him as both a target and a pivotal player in a conflict spanning centuries, forcing him into an uneasy alliance with the hotel's mysterious, long-lived protector.
The Eternal Guardian
His savior is Yin Ting, a man frozen in time. He is not merely a resident but the Zhennan Wang (镇南王), a Prince of the Qing Dynasty. Through ancient Samjin (萨满) rituals, he has achieved immortality, standing watch over the hotel's subterranean prison for three hundred years. His duty is to ensure the Taishan remains sealed. Yin Ting is a figure burdened by history, wrongly accused of patricide and fratricide, his true sacrifice known only to a few. His stern exterior hides a deep commitment to his vow, a lonely vigil that has lasted generations.
Yin Ting's world is one of constant vigilance. The hotel's eccentric owner, Guan Shu (关叔), assists in guarding the secret, but the true threat is ever-present. The Taishan is not a single entity but exists in four forms: Green, Red, Black, and White. The Red Coral Taishan has chosen Gao Ying, granting him regeneration but also making him a vessel coveted by dark forces. Yin Ting must now protect the very boy who hosts the power he is sworn to contain, a complicated dynamic that forms the story's core.
Their relationship begins with friction and distrust. Gao Ying is impulsive and terrified, while Yin Ting is rigid and bound by duty. Thrown together by fate, they have no choice but to rely on one another. From clashing arguments to coordinated battles against supernatural foes, a powerful partnership slowly forms. Yin Ting finds in Gao Ying a chance for the redemption he has been denied, while the student learns the weight of responsibility from the immortal prince.
A Battle Forged
The central antagonist is a cunning foe known as Master Foye (佛爷). Obsessed with power and blinded by a tragic past, he seeks to gather all four forms of the Taishan. His goal is to summon the ultimate Zijin Taishan (紫金太岁) and reshape the world under his tyrannical vision. To achieve this, he is willing to repeat a horrific historical tragedy—a mass sacrifice in Nan Ting Village that once stained the land. He represents the dangerous allure of absolute power and the corruption it brings.
To counter this threat, an unlikely alliance is formed. Yin Ting and Gao Ying are joined by Guan Shu, a mysterious shaman linked to the Green Taishan, and Hua Zi (华仔), the surprisingly formidable international student. Their fight is not just physical but deeply strategic, unraveling a complex web of intrigue involving four powerful families whose destinies are intertwined with the Taishan. Each battle reveals more of the centuries-old conspiracy, pushing Gao Ying to mature rapidly from a frightened boy into a determined young man.
The final confrontation tests every bond and sacrifice. Gao Ying must learn to harmonize his own spirit with the immense power of the Taishan within him. In a climactic struggle, he and Yin Ting combine their strengths to re-seal the Coral Taishan, preventing cataclysm. Yin Ting's ultimate act of self-sacrifice finally clears his name, while Gao Ying fully accepts his role as the Taishan's guardian. The story concludes not with the eradication of mystery, but with the hard-won peace of two souls, separated by three centuries, who found a way to change their fate together.
