Ghost Stories by Lamplight

In the seventeenth year of Jingyuan, during the Great Yun dynasty, the emperor is at death's door, slowly poisoned by Prime Minister Gou Jinhong and the demon consort Zhao Hongxue. Corrupt officials hold sway, consort with evil spirits, and leave the people destitute. Princess Wei Zhenyu returns from the battlefields beyond the frontier, ambitious to contend with the princes for the throne. The people of every school and walk of life, Buddhist monks, ghosts, demons, spirits, and monsters all harbor ulterior motives and devour one another in this thoroughly rotten martial world.

“In this world, people are worse than ghosts, ghosts are worse than beasts, and beasts are worse than mud. At least flowers can bloom in the mud. In people's hearts, only festering sores remain.”

From Strange Tales of the Great Yun Dynasty, Volume 7, Notes of Ma Wencai