The Strange Island: A True Account [Mystery]

[Fujian and Guangdong Isolated Island Setting + Folk Horror Mystery] Si Chao was born on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. The elders of Changxi Island all said the girl's birth date was terribly unlucky. She was born with a hard fate and would bring misfortune to her parents. Sure enough, the year she turned ten, her mother drowned at sea and her father was thrown in prison. The police called it a crime of passion. Others said she had fallen by accident. But Si Chao had known since childhood. It wasn't a crime of passion, it wasn't an accident, and it had nothing to do with some ridiculous fortune-telling about her birth date. This island devoured people, especially women. She always remembered what her mother had said: "Run away. Run with all your might, and never look back. Otherwise, you'll end up like me, trapped on this island, never able to leave." Fifteen years later. Si Chao had been adopted by a couple and was about to graduate with a master's degree in film directing. Changxi Island was slated for tourism development, and her ancestral home was to be demolished. Then she received an anonymous letter. Her mother, who had never learned to read or write and had died back in 2002, had once posed for a spirited enrollment photo outside a prestigious university in 1990. It turned out her mother hadn't been illiterate at all. She had been a brilliant student with a bright future ahead of her. Si Chao decided to return to China at once and search for the truth. "The truth about how my mother lived before she became a mother." The day after she returned to her hometown, a typhoon made landfall. The power went out, there was no signal, and no one could get in or out. On this isolated island, cut off from the world, evil spread along the coast like barnacles. Those who burned incense and prayed devoutly died in the smoke. With the rising tide came not only dead fish, but corpses. The ancestral tablets in the shrine inexplicably began to bleed in the middle of the night. Those who worshipped the gods in procession were killed by a god. The storm hung like a curtain of torrential rain. Who was directing the show from behind the scenes? Every character is wicked | Isolated island Werewolf | Snowbound mountain villa Reader's Guide: 1. The setting is a fictional modern world. Minyue is an ancient name, and the local customs blend elements from southern Fujian and Chaoshan. The author isn't from the area, and everything serves the plot. The worldbuilding is entirely made up and won't stand up to close scrutiny. 2. Crime | Mystery | Ensemble cast. The heroine isn't a good person. She's ruthless, can go off the rails, and is imperfect. 3. The heroine and hero were childhood friends who reunite after years apart. They work together on the investigation in the middle and later parts, but there's suspicion and probing between them early on. If you don't like that, don't read! New story updating now | Romance inspired by classic literature | The Countess of Baker Street An Ni, a forensic trace evidence technician, opened her eyes and found herself in Victorian London. The good news: Her older brother is Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective known throughout Britain! The bad news: Her older brother is Sherlock Holmes, proud, cold, and old-fashioned! "A lady should not be going in and out of filthy, dangerous crime scenes." Faced with this sort of "kind" advice, Annie Holmes flipped the table and left. The next day, 222A Baker Street was rented, and a delicate little plaque appeared by the door. The Miss Holmes Detective Agency But the business venture was on the verge of collapsing before it even got off the ground. On opening day, not a soul came by. After the first week, the place was still deserted. Then a badly injured, ragged little girl collapsed outside the agency. The wheels of fate began to turn, and cases came pouring in for Annie. 1. Children of the Abyss: The Paint Case 2. The Voynich Manuscript: The Novel Case 3. A Midsummer Night's Dream: The Elopement Case 4. The Madwoman in the Attic: The Witch Case 5. Frankenstein: The Aristocrat Case (tentative; may change later) One rainy night, Sherlock appeared at 222A, holding a black umbrella. After hesitating for a long while, he finally lowered his proud head and raised his hand to knock. "..." "Wait, are you serious?" When did the plaque get changed to The Countess of Monte Cristo's Detective Agency??? * From the treasure of Monte Cristo, hidden in plain sight, to receiving a medal from Queen Victoria herself, from fashionable, extravagant Paris to the elegant, tranquil estates of the English countryside, throughout Sherlock Holmes's life, the one person he always tried and failed to understand was... Theme: Standing in the storm, with your heart turned toward the light