Worldbuilding: An imagined Chinese-style age of great voyages. The world follows the "Four-Sided Earth" theory: each face bears an independent maritime civilization, and the edges where the faces meet open into an unfathomable abyss.
The stars set the routes, the sea markets blur the line between real and unreal, and Guixu conceals the cycle of reincarnation.
Across the vast seas stand countless nations: Xingcha, Guixu, Zhulong, Longbo, Aobei, Liubo, Fusang... The Xingcha Kingdom consists of scattered islands stretching for hundreds of miles. Thousands of years ago, some countries and peoples arrived here, but after the phantom realm of Xuanzhou encroached upon them, contact with those nations was lost.
Mirages of sea markets recreate the past lives of all who have lived: forms without souls or minds. The question they invite us to consider is this: Do you love the memory, or the living person?
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Sixteen-year-old Shen Zhuo lost her mother in childhood. Her father's restaurant prospered for several years before falling into decline, and Shen Zhuo went from being a merchant's daughter to being forced to give up her education and ambitions for an official career. Unwilling to marry hastily and become a wife, she leaves her home in Jizhou alone and heads for Cangzhou, the largest port city in the Xingcha Kingdom, to seek help from her cousin Shen Jingxiao, an official astronomer who was cast out of his clan as a child. She had expected to spend the rest of her life in peace, handling government documents. But an imperial edict changes her fate: she sets sail across the oceans, explores the truth of the world, and embarks on a legendary journey through countless nations.
Clear-headed, self-possessed heroine × a shackled, restrained, and long-suffering envoy
The four seas are all roads home, and none of them lead home.
Recorded by Jin Xu, a descendant of the historian who accompanied the expedition, this story recreates the joys and sorrows hidden beneath the surface.
What everyone sees is not the truth.
☆ Special note: The story incorporates elements of traditional Chinese mythology. Jin Xu's prose is excellent. Please give it your support.
Core theme: True love embraces who someone really is, rather than an illusory perfection; breaking free from the control of feudal kingship over individuals; the protagonists' self-awakening and growth across time and space; love as a form of redemption; if there were parallel worlds, how would you prove that your existence has meaning?
