When the corpse at the bottom of the river opened its eyes, the water-warding beast came to life
Luo Chuan, a corpse retriever on the Canglang River, takes on a bizarre case: find a young woman who jumped into the river seven days ago, yet whose body has not decomposed. But when he dives into the turbulent waters of Tiger Leaping Gorge, he discovers a female corpse in a pale moon-white qipao on the stone steps of a Ming dynasty shrine. An ancient coin rests between her lips, Buddhist prayer beads encircle her wrist, and two blood-red carp swim in her pitch-black pupils. More terrifying still, the string of green jadeite prayer beads is identical to the one his mother wore when she was sacrificed to the river god thirty years ago.
Water stains smelling of sweet osmanthus begin to seep through the old house.
The soul-subduing bell in the ancestral shrine rings on its own at midnight.
The female corpse in the freezer uses blood to write a prophecy.
Fish-scale corpse marks appear on Luo Chuan's collarbone, burning like a brand every night at midnight.
As the Ghost Festival approaches, the Canglang River recedes, exposing millennia-old water-warding ruins. Some creature has gnawed away every Ming dynasty spell on the stone steps. Forensic doctor Qin Xue encounters a corpse mutation on the autopsy table. People in the ancient town keep drowning in places without water, each victim's ankle bound with blood-soaked black hair. Following the notes left by his father, Luo Chuan ventures deep beneath the river and discovers that the so-called “river god sacrifice” is actually a century-old blood pact between the Luo ancestors and an evil flood dragon
**The human sacrifice doesn't call for a virgin, but for someone of the right bloodline.**
**The Twin Fish Jade Pendant lacks not the yin half, but a beloved family member.**
Every generation of corpse retrievers has personally retrieved the body of the person they loved most.
