"The Watcher" is a group portrait adventure novel that combines Chinese folk horror, suspense detective work, and youth campus.
The story takes place in Guixu Academy, a mysterious academy that was converted from an ancient ancestral hall and is designed to provide shelter for "others". Ling Han, a descendant of the town guard who had a cold temperament and was proficient in talismans, was "exiled" here by his family and was ordered to investigate the ominous "foul air" and unusual movements that have enveloped the academy recently.
Upon arrival, crises ensued: strange paper figures leading the way, resentful cries in the middle of the night, and the mysterious disappearance of the sister of roommate Hu Yanqing, a fox demon. Ling Han was forced to form a temporary team with the straightforward Shi Xiaogan and the gentle Liu Shuling Sangwan to investigate the back mountain, which was classified as a forbidden area.
However, the investigation quickly escalated: they discovered the scene where the night watchman was brutally murdered, and a bloody warning "It's hungry" was left on the wall. All clues pointed to the "Shen Yuan Stream" where ancient terrifying existence was sealed. The college management is very secretive about this, and the "teammates" around him seem to be hiding their own secrets.
Ling Han must use her spiritual power and family talismans to navigate the campus life full of demons, lies and fatal temptations. Not only does she have to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of her classmates and the serial murders, and face the unspeakable evil that feeds on the soul, she also has to be wary of the cold arrows from the dark and protect the precarious balance of yin and yang.
This is an adventure unfolding in the fog, forest of monuments and blood, about trust, responsibility and how to keep the last talisman in the heart amidst the chaos of demons.
Purpose: This is a story wrapped in Chinese horror and youth adventure, about "finding one's own identity", "questioning authority", "protecting the way in the heart" and struggling to survive in a complex world.