Tang San'er the Livestream Seller: My Travel Diary in India

Modern-day overworked wage slave Niu Ade is on the verge of a breakdown after a string of overtime shifts. He makes an extremely unserious online wish to the Buddha on his computer screensaver. To his surprise, it really does summon Tang San, a tour guide who claims to be from the “Higher-Dimensional Space Administration” and behaves in an utterly unreliable manner. Forced into a partnership, Niu Ade embarks on a spur-of-the-moment “deep tour of Tianzhu.”

He expects a fantastical journey through an exotic land, but instead finds himself on a “magical realist” trip filled with plastic Buddhist prayer beads made in Yiwu, dyed sacred cows that charge for photos, and Tang San’s nonstop sales pitches and haggling. Yet strange events haunt this bizarre land: a statue of Shiva that turns by itself, an eerie Sanskrit nursery rhyme only Niu Ade can hear, and eyes watching from outside the window late at night...

Beneath the seemingly absurd and funny daily life, a terrifying truth gradually emerges, involving an ancient evil god, bloody sacrifices, and the devouring of souls. Niu Ade and Tang San, a stingy, incessantly talkative guide who spouts nonsense but seems to be hiding secrets, have to trade barbs and jokes as they repeatedly use modern ingenuity and unexpected “magical treasures” to escape danger. As the final battle approaches, they discover that all the strange events point to an ancient being trying to break free of its seal. At the critical moment, the seemingly most unreliable Tang San makes a startling choice. He sacrifices himself to protect Niu Ade and the peace of this world, leaving behind the story’s most heartbreaking moment and its greatest mystery.