The Innocent Young Gentleman

Hu Lai, a young hunter from deep in the mountains, was taught by his grandfather from childhood that "people should be kind, and all things have a spirit." In his dreams, he can enter a mysterious Taoist temple. Its shelves are lined with countless rare and ancient books, but whenever he opens one, the pages show no words. Instead, they reveal puzzles and deadly schemes waiting to be solved. In the real world, Hu Lai is simple and sincere, smiling at everyone he meets. But in his dreams, he becomes the "player," calculating a thousand moves ahead amid the labyrinth of schemes.

When he turned eighteen, Su Wanqing, the prettiest girl in town, returned from the big city, decked in jewels and carrying a letter breaking off their engagement. She had climbed into the good graces of the son of a powerful figure from the provincial capital, and in that man's eyes, Hu Lai glimpsed a greed that was not human. After Su Wanqing left, Hu Lai dug a bloodstained bronze box out from beneath his own doorstep. Sealed inside was a wisp of demonic energy, suppressed for a thousand years. When the energy entered his body, the dream temple came crashing down, and countless pages surged into his mind like a flood. It was a grand scheme spanning a thousand years, and Su Wanqing and that man had returned only to make the first move.

His grandfather disappeared, everyone in town was bewitched, and monsters wearing human skin walked among ordinary people. Hu Lai protected the old pharmacy his grandfather had passed down in the clumsiest way he could, while slowly launching a counterattack on the game board. He did not understand the wickedness of human nature, but he understood schemes. While everyone thought he was just a naive country boy, he had already made the winning move in the shadows, where nobody could see.