Dream Brook's Record of Strange Investigations

During the Northern Song dynasty, a boy named Shen Kuo sets out in pursuit of the truth after a strange calamity known as the Black Apparition. This learned man, hailed by later generations as “a landmark in the history of Chinese science,” led a life filled with mysteries far stranger than those recorded in Dream Pool Essays. From his years as a young scholar in Qiantang, Hangzhou, to the treacherous political currents of the court in Bianjing; from the smoke and flames of war on the northwestern frontier to a secluded life of writing in the water towns of Jiangnan, every stage of Shen Kuo’s life is shadowed by an inexplicable case. A series of cases unfolds one after another, linked together to reveal a shocking secret spanning decades. At the heart of every mystery looms the same ever-present entity: the Black Apparition. This mysterious being, described in ancient texts as an “evil supernatural creature,” is it a natural phenomenon, or is there more to it? As Shen Kuo uses a lifetime of scientific inquiry to peel back the layers, the truth he uncovers may overturn everything the people of his era believe... [Traditional mystery and detective fiction / Not a power fantasy + Faithful Northern Song setting + Puzzle-solving + Supernatural folklore]