In the Ming Dynasty, I Hide Mountains and Rivers in a Land of Decay

[Everyone mocks me for hoarding filth, never guessing I am hoarding the realm itself]

Transmigrated into the grandson of the Ming dynasty's Grand Secretary, Zhang Yi happily becomes the greatest wastrel in the realm. He collects “obscene novelties and ingenious inventions,” hangs around pleasure houses, and spends fortunes on beautiful women, becoming the laughingstock of the entire capital.

Only when factional strife tears the court apart, eunuchs bring the nation to ruin, and foreign cavalry batter at the passes... does the empire teeter on the brink of collapse and this “rotten log” slowly open his treasure pavilion, full of filth and grime.

There, a fragment of the "Yongle Encyclopedia" shines. Plans for a flintlock rifle lie beneath an erotic manual. A lost imperial seal serves as a paperweight. And behind the notorious “Secret Amusements” painting lies the full defensive layout of Liaodong's mountains and rivers...

“Absurd?” Zhang Yi gently strokes the secret files of the Eastern Depot, the corner of his mouth lifting. “How else could I fool everyone and secretly gather this broken realm...” “piece by piece, back into my hands?”

This is the story of a solitary collector who, driven by a personal obsession, defies the tide of the world. As a dynasty nears its end, he bears the seed of civilization and walks alone where no one can see, seeking redemption.