Strange Tales of Republican-Era China: The Art of Mountains and Rivers

Synopsis

In the fifteenth year of the Republic, sinister forces rose in Jiangcheng, as a dark storm gathered over a turbulent age.

A barber shop claims lives at night, with no blade in sight when the heads are severed. An ancient well has trapped souls and swallowed eight lives. The Cat-Faced Granny storms into villages at night, leaving no survivors in her wake. Red embroidered shoes ensnare souls, while shadow puppets devour people without a trace... One bizarre murder after another unfolds. Forensic doctors have no way to examine the bodies, the police are helpless, and the people live in fear.

Shen Qinghe, a reclusive heir to the esoteric arts living among ordinary folk, wields orthodox feng shui, talismans, yin-yang formations, and practical folk methods for driving out evil. Lu Yanzhi, a Western-educated detective, trusts the iron laws of criminal investigation and believes in no ghosts or gods, but witnessing supernatural events with his own eyes time and again turns his worldview upside down. Su Lingxi, a spirited disciple of the northeastern spirit-medium tradition, can communicate with the yin realm, pursue wandering souls, and investigate mysteries, using spiritual arts to strike at the heart of evil. Then there's Liaocheng, a free-spirited young monk with a compassionate heart, who drinks and eats meat while using Buddhist teachings to save the afflicted and break foreign curses of dark magic.

By a twist of fate, the four form a team to combat evil.

They cleanse homes with glutinous rice and cinnabar, suppress malevolent forces with peachwood seals, use compasses to trace ley lines and hunt down culprits, and guide spirits to peace with Buddhist incantations. Drawing on authentic Chinese folk practices, they solve one blood-soaked supernatural case after another.

Behind all the malevolent spirits lies a deadly scheme devised by Japanese onmyoji: “Shatter the Dragon and Devour China.” They seek to steal Chinese occult arts, refine yin soldiers and shikigami, sever Jiangcheng's dragon vein, and plunge the nation into chaos with dark magic.

The folk practitioner who once wanted nothing but a quiet life, the spirit-medium disciple who hoped to stay out of the world, the detective devoted to the law, and the monk who cared for all living beings now stand shoulder to shoulder.

They defend the land's veins and protect China's cultural heritage, using the ancient arts of their homeland to fight foreign sorcery.