Amid the turmoil of the late Yuan and early Ming, Qin Yubo descended like a mysterious star upon the banks of the Shen River. He could identify medicinal properties at three and recite medical texts at five, yet when he was on the verge of passing the imperial examinations, he decisively tore up his ambitions. When Zhu Yuanzhang tried to recruit him with high office and generous rewards, this physician proudly refused, believing that "integrity matters more than medical skill." In the end, he became the City God who protects Shanghai. The story begins on the night of his birth, when a bronze mirror reflected an immortal crane, moves on to the child prodigy who could discuss herbs with his teacher at five, and culminates in his shocking act of writing "A physician does not serve in office" in cinnabar on the imperial examination results. His life is a fantastical tale woven from Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, featuring both Strange Tales-style conversations between the living and the dead and ancient prescriptions rising from a cinnabar well. It reveals the hidden pact between Shanghai's thousand-year-old ley lines and the soul of a physician.
