Strange Tales from the Bottom of the Lake

The ninth novel in the Miao Junru Archaeological Adventure series. On the eve of victory in the War of Resistance, Miao Junru is returning to Chongqing from Wuyuan, Huizhou. While crossing Poyang Lake, he encounters an American special forces unit captured by the Japanese. Behind this seemingly ordinary incident lies a vast conspiracy targeting China. After a fierce battle with an ancient underworld ape at Laoye Temple, Miao Junru and an unidentified secret agent from the Military Statistics Bureau are rescued by guerrillas. Later, while under attack from a Japanese gunboat, they accidentally enter a mysterious part of Poyang Lake: Lake God's Pool. Having narrowly escaped death, Miao Junru meets the legendary Dragon Mother Saintess, a water deity. As she ascends to immortality, she asks him to find a way to avert the catastrophe. To uncover the truth, Miao Junru agrees to exchange himself for the Americans, only to be forced by the Japanese to search Lake God's Pool for the sunken Kobe Maru. He never expects that this expedition will draw in not only China's ancient secret societies, but also Japan's Kiku School. Somehow, he is also caught up in a mystery involving aliens bent on conquering the entire planet. Faced with one obstacle after another, can he save the world?