The Sea of Black Mire, the Qilin Calamity

A blood-soaked childhood sank into a sea of black mud. What surfaced was half a bone flute and a dying message: “Don’t go mad.” His name is Liu Dajiang. When he crawled back into the human world from a fish’s belly and a deserted island, he clutched in his left hand a bone flute that could summon a qilin, and held in his right the Book of Statecraft, which could overturn the world. Over ten years in exile, he peels back the bloodied scabs of his past: his identity as the orphaned heir of Princess Yongyuan brings assassins after him; the poisonous Gu of the Shennong Cult infects the bloodline of those closest to him; and even the white-haired elder who taught him divine arts is merely a wisp of the benevolent physician’s soul, left behind a century ago. When the sea of black mud swallows his final enemy, he plays the seven-stringed zither. There is no note of slaughter, only a soft sigh like a heartbeat. As his enemies turn to dust, he finally understands: the qilin was never a divine beast, but the embers of compassion still glowing in a chaotic age. This sea has swallowed too many secrets. Now, it is time for it to bring forth a peaceful world.