Shen Yan is a seasoned modern restorer of ancient books. He has spent half his life restoring and researching the rare Ming-dynasty edition of Journey to the West: The Story of How the Monkeys Overcame Their Tribulations, and knows every detail, omission, and hidden thread in the original by heart. While restoring a rare, out-of-print ancient copy covered in annotations by previous owners, he is accidentally electrocuted and transmigrates into the Journey to the West world at the moment primordial chaos first begins to open. He becomes a free and unbound primordial spirit and takes the name “Bodhi.”
Armed with the complete original story and a modern belief in equality, he seems carefree and laid-back, never putting on airs, and is skilled at playing the pig to eat the tiger. Beneath that, he is meticulous, has clear principles, and deeply values loyalty and promises. From the start, all he wants is to live safely in a world ruled by gods and demons. But after seeing through the countless tragic fates bound by the original story, he ultimately uses a thousand-year scheme as his game board to pry open the Three Realms’ entrenched power structure and give every living being the right to choose their own life.
