Night Lessons Beneath the Pagoda Tree

Introduction to Huaiyin Ghost Tales

In the damp, southern town of Huaiyin, the frail-born Chen Sheng has studied Maoshan Taoist arts under his grandfather since childhood. The Maoshan Records of the Mystic Gate in a wooden chest, a peachwood sword, and a gourd of cinnabar are among his most vivid childhood memories. At seven, he watched his grandfather draw a Five-Thunder Command Talisman to subdue wandering ghosts at night. At twelve, he drove away a water ghost that dragged people into the river, using glutinous rice and yellow talismans at a bend in the river. At seventeen, he faced the bloody tragedy of a backlash caused by raising a child ghost. His growth has always been bound to the words "exorcise evil."

Every talisman he draws, every incantation he chants, and every battle with a ghost is a trial on the brink of life and death. The secrets hidden in his grandfather's wrinkles, the taboos behind Taoist magic, and the stories of the spirits lingering among the living are gradually revealed as Chen Sheng presses on. This is more than an adventure about a boy learning Taoist arts and slaying ghosts. It is also a journey of cultivation about life, obsession, and protection. Amid the rustle of locust leaves and the blue smoke of burning talisman paper in Huaiyin, it tells of everyday life and the bonds between the living and the dead.