Strange Tales: A New Collection of Unusual Stories

Transmigrate through a classic tale and see through the masks people wear.

A forgotten past. A desperate fight for survival.

Do you remember Wang Sheng, the scholar in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio whose heart was cut out by a painted-skin demon?

But have you ever wondered what his first wife, Chen Shi, went through? In the end, she swallowed a beggar's phlegm and saved her husband. What happened to her along the way?

This book takes you back to that terrifying world where ghosts and human hearts intertwine, but from a perspective unlike any you've seen before. We will no longer follow the scholar's fascination with the bizarre. Instead, we focus on the woman praised as “virtuous and good,” who struggled alone in despair: Chen Shi.

When her husband's clothes carry a strange fragrance and he comes home late every night; when the pitiful “orphan girl” moves into the house and takes over his study; when the family dog dies suddenly and the orchids turn to ash... everyone accuses her of being “jealous” and “mad.” Only she, lost in boundless terror and isolation, sees the monstrous truth beneath that beautiful face.

This is not a story about waiting to be saved. It is a tale of surviving against all odds.

Watch as she transforms from a patient, dutiful wife into a resilient fighter. In a desperate situation where no one believes her, she investigates in secret, searches for old books, joins forces with her brother-in-law, and seeks out experts... She must contend not only with a demon wearing human skin, but also with society's prejudice and the ignorance of those around her.

As you open this book, be prepared:

To tremble at the ghostly figure in the mirror late at night,

And to be shaken by the flame of survival that never goes out in the darkness.

A classic tale of the supernatural, retold anew. Strange Tales: A New Collection of Strange Stories invites you in.