Collating the Daoist Canon, I Created the Nine Yin Manual

In the fourth year of Zhenghe, autumn deepened in Bianjing.

I, Huang Shang, a civil official who buried himself in old books, was ordered to compile the Daoist Canon of Longevity.

After three years of tireless work, my devotion revealed more than the meaning of the scriptures. My appearance reversed, returning me to the prime of life, while a warm current flowed through my body of its own accord and my senses grew keen.

The court regarded me as an omen of the unnatural. Deep within the Imperial Medical Office, a glance from the mute servant who swept the floors left me chilled to the bone.

When the turmoil briefly subsided, an imperial decree demoted me to Jiangnan to investigate a mysterious case involving grain shipments.

Jiaxing, a gentle waterside town shrouded in rain and mist.

The transport commissioner, Liu Minghe, smiled with a knife behind his back. The Grain Transport Gang seethed with hidden currents. Music drifting from an island in the middle of the lake sounded ethereal and illusory, yet concealed a deadly design in harmony with the Way of Heaven.

And every bushel of grain shipped north along the Grand Canal seemed to point toward that "hunting ground" in the north, soon to be set ablaze by war.

By day, I investigated the case, witnessing the rivalries of the official world, the treachery of the martial world, and the hardships of ordinary people.

By night, alone beneath a lamp, I poured everything I had learned into my writing: Daoist yin and yang, the principles of meridians and medicine, the steps of Yu aligned with the stars. I used them to deduce the principles of martial arts.

A flick of the fingers summons wind and thunder. The steps of Yu stir the earth's veins. Qi can be blocked and acupoints sealed; water and fire can be brought into harmony...

This as-yet-unnamed manuscript would one day be known as The Nine Yin Manual.

This is a game of strategy with the realm as the board and the people as the stakes.

And I, a scholar who should have died of old age in my study, will wield my brush as a sword and seek a glimmer of hope for this world on the brink of collapse.

Core tags: Historical, Wuxia

Additional tags: Court Intrigue, Smart Protagonist, Slow Burn

A historical wuxia novel with a gradual build. This is a story about knowledge, power, and responsibility. It may start a little slowly, but every detail lays the groundwork for a sweeping conclusion.