Novels like The Water-Taming Beast
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as The Water-Taming Beast, best match first.
- 101 Walking Between Yin and Yang: Haunted 行走阴阳：撞邪 My mother was born under the rare fate of a nine-life yin woman, cursed with solitude. A fortune-teller said that women with this fate were destined to bring misfortune to their husbands, children, and parents. I survived only because my mother gave her life for mine. The night I was born, crows called out to summon souls, wild cats wailed like mourners, and a hundred ghosts fought over me... 262Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 102 If You're Afraid to Die in a Horror World, What Makes You Think You Can Win? 在恐怖世界怕死，你凭什么想赢啊 [Infinite Flow]+ [Death Game]+ [Apocalyptic Survival]+ [Horror Mini-Worlds] Warning: This may not be well written, so think carefully before diving in! In the orderly world we know, have you ever imagined a chaotic world that was its opposite? Yun Xiao was snatched from his sleep and brought into such a world. Here, there are no laws, no order, no humanity… In short, there are no rules at all. All that exists are terrifying mini-worlds where you can grow stronger! At first, he thought this was 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 103 What Will the Next Story Be? 下一个故事会是什么？ A collection of episodic stories based on personal experiences. First person, rural life, the supernatural, mildly frightening, and terrifying when you think it over... episodic stories. The damp villages of the south conceal supernatural tales colder than snakes. Open this book, and you’ll enter a graveyard of memories: a forgotten puppy leaves muddy paw prints on a rainy night; the withered vines of gossip tighten around a young girl’s neck; a blond doll by the roadside carries a curse that cl 8Reads—Score—14d adds
- 104 Thriller Game: I Can Eavesdrop on Ghosts 惊悚游戏：我能偷听鬼话 [Infinite Flow] [No Female Lead] [Light Horror] [Multiple Twists] Six months ago, a blood mist sealed off Nandu City, trapping its ten million residents inside. Strange beings invaded the fog, and one abnormal incident after another unfolded. Lin Xu has no idea why he appeared in this city. A strange game appeared at the same time, forcing him to enter a horror instance every seven days, where death was all but certain. But the items he obtained in the game could be used against the strange enti 21.6kReads7.0Score2.3k14d adds
- 105 Tales of the Strange 怪谈 [A Born Ghost-Busting Saint vs. A Bewitching Beauty Bound by a Sinister Fate] [Case-by-Case Stories + Criminal Investigation + Folk Legends + Ghost Hunting + An Overarching Plot + Horror + Two Powerful Leads + Fighting Side by Side] "Corpses become curses, souls become gu; strange cases arise, and every road is hard to tread." Zhang Miao was short of water in his five elements, and before he was even born, he was given a "water ghost" as his godmother. As a result, he awakened a special constit 1.9kReads8.5Score12014d adds
- 106 Zhang Laosan Tells Stories 张老三讲故事 Long, long ago, a strange calamity struck Kaoshan Village, deep in the old forests of Northeast China. Hunter Li Dashan kept watch over a coffin on a snowy night and encountered a weasel spirit that spoke like a human, asking him to give it a title. One careless remark from him exposed a bloody secret from twenty years earlier. When the statue of the Yellow Immortal on the ancestral hall’s altar split with bloody cracks on the night of a lunar eclipse, when a golden-haired weasel burst from a pe 9Reads—Score—14d adds
- 107 Hearse 灵车 A hearse is a vehicle used to transport coffins or urns. You could also call it a vehicle exclusively for the dead. I was a bus driver for four years, and for all four years I kept a secret bottled up inside. Now I'll tell you firsthand about the terrifying things that happen on trains, things you don't know about. Maybe you've never heard of hearses being converted into buses, but the buses you've ridden may not have carried only the living... 1.5kReads8.0Score14114d adds
- 108 Bureau of Anomalous Biology Investigations 异常生物调查局 The day after my grandpa died, everyone in town showed up… 517Reads8.2Score10214d adds
- 109 The Yin-Yang Artisan 阴阳诡匠 [Author's note: This book has no System and isn't mindless. Most of the events… really happened. Do not try any of the customs or taboos described here! Any consequences are your own responsibility!] It's better to offend the King of Hell than a poor carpenter. When you've worked as a carpenter long enough, you'll inevitably encounter all sorts of terrifying, bizarre accidents and stories. Sometimes, we're part of them ourselves. I used to think my grandfather was just an eccentric old carpenter 1.1kReads6.3Score10214d adds
- 110 Old Village Stories 山村旧事 A strange mountain village. Bizarre events sparked by natural and man-made disasters. And, it turns out, a secret lies hidden behind it all... 33.6kReads9.1Score2.3k14d adds
- 111 The Celestial Tribulation Inspection Bureau 天劫巡检司 Whenever a cultivator in Linchuan City undergoes tribulation, the Heavenly Tribulation Inspection Bureau must survey the area in advance and verify the tribulation order to prevent stray lightning from harming innocent people. On his first solo night patrol, trainee inspector Shen Yan encounters a tribulation that should never have happened. The order calls for three bolts of lightning, but the scene bears seven scorch marks and eight corpses. The dead have no names, the order lists no target, a —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 112 I Went to College Orientation as a Corpse Driver, and the Director of Bureau 749 Wept 大一赶尸去报到，749局长哭了 [Urban Fantasy] [Corpse Driving] [Absurd Comedy] [749 Bureau] [Funny Horror] Zhang Wei, heir to the corpse-driving tradition of western Hunan, is kicked down the mountain by his father during his first-year summer break. His mission: take a "client" who died far from home back to their hometown, so they can return to their roots. To save on travel costs, Zhang Wei simply rides the talisman-covered "client" like a shared bike! On the road, he meets a weasel spirit seeking a title: "Do I look like 65.7kReads7.5Score7.5k14d adds
- 113 The Last Dragon Keeper 最后一个豢龙师 People say that wherever the water is five zhang deep, there must be a monster. Tales of water monsters have circulated since ancient times, and hunting them is a real profession in this world. As he lay dying, Lu Chen’s grandfather passed down a book called The Lost Dragon-Rearing Manual and warned him not to study its contents. But curiosity got the better of him, and he opened it. After testing his skills, he slew a giant golden perch in a lake and obtained the rare treasure Golden-Scale Dew 882Reads7.6Score10214d adds
- 114 The Earth Master 地先生 Every title in the occult arts has a special meaning: tomb raiders are called grave diggers, those without a school or sect are called Mr. Bai, and those who sew heads onto corpses are called Old Madam Butian... Our trade calls us Earth Masters. Ghostly incense, the flayed-skin curse, the pecking-eye gu, the Cave of Nine... Every job I take on is full of twists and hidden dangers. Fight your way through, and the spirits and ghosts will fear you, and you’ll reign supreme in the occult world. Fail 86Reads7.0Score—14d adds
- 115 Surviving in a Haunted Mountain Village 在恐怖山村里活下去 Gu Xi enters a real-game scenario called “Horror Mountain Village,” where she's cast as a young bride sold into a remote mountain village to bring good luck to her sick husband. In just a few days in the village, the System's missions have her beating up her brother-in-law, smashing a family heirloom, and even catching her husband in bed with her maid... She's managed to offend every member of the family. She thought this was the limit of reckless behavior, but the missions that follow only get 717Reads8.2Score10114d adds
- 116 Chronicles of the Ashen Earth 烬土录 You can try it, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The book was signed too early, so I can’t change the title anymore. It can only be called Records of the Ashen Earth now. I originally wanted to change it to The Mountain Keeper: I Slay Demons with My Sharp Tongue. Synopsis Deep in the Qinling Mountains lies a town called Ashen Earth, where generations have served as mountain keepers. I, Chen Nian, had kept watch for seventeen years, but on the day the peachwood tablet shattered, my entire clan tre 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 117 Stay Away, Spirits 阴人勿扰 Someone dug up our family grave and put the newlywed daughter-in-law who’d just died in their family in there. My uncle told me to go get her out in the middle of the night... 477Reads7.1Score—14d adds
- 118 I Entered a Horror Story 我进入了恐怖故事 When Shen Yu opens his eyes, a villa shrouded in darkness comes into view. This is where the game begins. When staying up late becomes forbidden, going to the bathroom alone brings misfortune, and your roommate turns into a monster, the unknown conditions for death have yet to be unlocked. What will you choose? 433Reads6.6Score10614d adds
- 119 Adenovirus Swimming Pool: I Fell Asleep and Was Pulled into a Livestream, Then My Child Disappeared 腺病毒游泳馆：睡一觉被拉进直播后，我的孩子不见了 The Adenovirus Swimming Pool: I Was Pulled Into a Livestream While I Slept, and My Child Disappeared 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 120 The Yin Guardian: The Mysterious Divine Coffin Hidden Beneath the Mountain 守阴人：藏在山底的神秘天棺 After I encountered the Ghost Grandma, my dad died. Later, after I found my brother, my grandpa died too. Somehow, I became the last Keeper of the Yin. I thought all the calamities came from the Ghost Grandma, until I entered a cave deep in Wumeng Mountain and came across Kunlun sacred wood, ghost corpse flowers, and illusions I couldn't tell from reality. Only then did I realize that the Ghost Grandma was merely a decoy in a vast conspiracy. The celestial coffin beneath the mountain lies in sil 270Reads—Score1814d adds
- 121 The Yin Walker: The Last Stick of Incense 走阴人：最后一炷香 Xu Zhaolin makes a living with his ears. He is a sound documentary field recorder, traveling through the countryside with a recorder on his back to document folk crafts on the verge of disappearing and the oral histories of the elderly. Three years ago, his twin brother, Xu Zhaochuan, vanished near the reservoir in Baishi Town. No one had seen him alive, and no body was ever found. Three years later, Xu Zhaolin returns to Baishi Town to record the final oral history of an old man. A stretch of b 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 122 Hunting Killers in the Dark River: The 1998 Mystery Reopens 暗河追凶：1998谜案重启 6.9kReads8.9Score70414d adds
- 123 As a God, I Expose Every Mystery in the World 身为神的我揭露世间一切神秘 (Mysterious creatures + livestreaming + episodic stories + gore + mild horror) Above countless universes lies the boundless Realm of Void. They say only beings that have broken through the limits of the universe are qualified to enter. Ye Qingchi served as a divine official, maintaining the Realm of Void for 97.14 million years. But disaster struck without warning, and she was wanted by the new city lord. Outmatched, she had no choice but to flee with her best friend Mu Tianrou to a remote unive —Reads7.2Score—14d adds
- 124 One Thousand and One Modern Tales of the Supernatural 一千零一个，现代灵异故事 [Based on True Stories] [Folktales] [Horror and the Supernatural] The stories in this novel feel full of everyday life. The people and events in every story are portrayed in a realistic way, bringing to life the supernatural experiences of all the main and supporting characters. If you’re a horror story fan, don’t miss this novel. (If you get scared, call your best hapless friend over… so you can be scared together.) 5.2kReads7.0Score21214d adds
- 125 After Failing the College Entrance Exam, I Became a Supernatural Investigator 高考失利后我成为了超自然调查员 A female lead who grows stronger! No CP for the protagonist! No love-struck behavior! Superpowers, an ensemble cast, and a passionate journey of transformation. (I picked the wrong genre for this story, I'm crying.) What was going on?! Yan Heyu had only gone out to clear her head after failing the college entrance exam, but she unexpectedly ran into a woman being chased by an unknown creature, unexpectedly awakened her superpower, and unexpectedly got recruited by a strange group of people. Yan 6Reads—Score—14d adds
- 126 The Laws Awaken, and I Wield an Peerless Netherblade 法则觉醒，我有绝世冥刀 [A Different Kind of Power Fantasy + Superpower Awakening + Alien Invasion + Intelligent Protagonist + Mythology’s Return + Not Invincible + No Heroine, No Harem] (The worldbuilding is vast, and the plot takes time to unfold. Please, please finish Volume One. It won’t take up too much of your time, and if you don’t like what comes after, you can come back and curse me.) … Have you ever believed that those ancient legends were real? Have you ever wondered if the so-called gods were once mortal? H 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 127 Who Let Him Cultivate to Immortality?! 谁让他修仙！ [Comedy] + [System] + [Cultivation] + [Ensemble cast] Who let him cultivate?! Song Shuhang: I'm Tyrant Blade Song Yi. Don't call me the Great Demon Song. To be honest, I've never killed anyone in my life! I haven't even stepped on an ant while walking. How can you call me that? Demonic cultivators: I think you're more demonic than we are. We just kill people, but you torture them. Cultivators: Who let this guy cultivate? He's led the whole cultivation world astray! The day Song Shuhang becomes a 18Reads—Score—14d adds
- 128 Yin-Yang Ghost Arts Master 阴阳鬼术师 Some bargains are too tempting to take; accepting them might cost you your life. After Old Wang downstairs died, people around me kept inexplicably trying to give me money, and these offers of money were often followed by death. To stay alive, I had no choice but to learn the secret arts Old Wang left behind, stepping into a mysterious underworld... 491Reads7.9Score10214d adds
- 129 Old Wei's Ghost Stories 老魏讲鬼故事 [Traditional Supernatural Tales] [Chinese-Style Horror] [Based on True Events] [Submitted by Readers] [Chilling on Reflection] [Bizarre Tales] [Beyond the Bounds of Science] The eerie Buddha statue seen when mountaineers are trapped in a ghostly loop, a face appearing on the wall in the middle of the night, a “person” using their own head as a ball during evening study at school... I have always believed that horror stories should be short, sometimes ending on a cliffhanger, sometimes becoming 1.6kReads—Score11114d adds
- 130 Notes on Returning Souls: The Eyeless Huai Tree Maiden 还魂笔记之无眼槐娘 The plum rains have swollen every brick in Green Tile Alley. When Lin Yan grips her grandmother’s death notice and opens the door to the old house, the sixty-year-old locust tree in the courtyard seems to be watching her through its cracked bark. The year her great-great-grandmother planted it, three children went missing from the alley. During all the years her grandmother kept watch over it, she would bury bloodstained silver locks beneath its roots in the dead of night. The last page of her g 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 131 Route 44 Ticket Seller 44路售票员 In 2005, an 18-year-old bus conductor mysteriously dropped dead on the bus. The cause of death was unknown. In 2009, a last bus hit and killed a pregnant woman at an intersection, even though its brakes had not failed. In 2014, a woman suddenly pulled out a sanitary pad on the bus and slapped the driver in the face with it, despite showing no signs of mental illness. On the last Route 44 bus, I've seen far too many strange and bizarre things, and heard all kinds of spine-chilling rumors. Unless 56Reads6.3Score—14d adds
- 132 Fifth Watch 五更 The stories my grandpa used to tell me were probably meant to scare me into staying put, or maybe to lull me to sleep. He always told them with such conviction and vivid detail that I often found myself dreaming of the very scenes he had lived through. I met the old flower-growing woman on Yinshan Mountain, and one villager after another from Sangen Village. Their faces were gloomy and strange, and their deeds served as a warning, reminding us that “the gods are watching from three feet above yo 692Reads7.2Score10014d adds
- 133 What Do You Mean the Corpses I Sew Together Are All Cursed? 什么叫我缝的尸体都是大凶之物？ [Chinese folk customs] [Corpse seamster] [Traditional supernatural horror] [A clever protagonist who isn’t an idiot] My name is Chen Yang. I’m a mortician, or rather... a corpse seamster. I can sew up corpses no one else can. I can take jobs no one else dares to accept. I’ve handled all sorts of bizarre cases: people who jumped from buildings in red clothes, corpses missing arms and legs, and even one person who was holding their own head... Everyone says the corpses I sew up are all terribly un 221.9kReads9.1Score29.4k14d adds
- 134 Bureau of Supernatural Investigations 超自然事件调查局 A bizarre murder case draws me into the investigation of mysterious supernatural events: crew members on a deep-sea fishing vessel inexplicably slaughtering one another, immortals hiding in the city, legendary vampires, Nazi doomsday troops of a godlike race and their Aryan holy city, and a gigantic human-face structure on Mars. We are not alone in the universe, and human society is just as complicated. 334Reads8.4Score—14d adds
- 135 I Collected 99 Horror Stories 我收集了99个恐怖故事 [Short Story Collection] [Chinese-Style Horror] [Based on True Cases] [Uncanny Reality] [Horror Adventures] [Chilling] The stories of this world are half true and half false; the warmth and coldness of human nature make good and evil hard to tell apart. Light and shadow coexist, as do kindness and malice. If you’ve done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear when ghosts knock at midnight. But if ghosts and spirits really came calling, could you face them calmly? This book is a collection of 14.8kReads8.7Score1.6k14d adds
- 136 The Eerie Realm: It Starts with an Elevator 诡界：从电梯开始 [No System]+ [No Heroine]+ [Dungeon Progression]+ [No Saintly Protagonist]+ [Eerie]+ [Original Dungeons] Have you ever wondered? Beneath the neon lights and atmosphere of this city, things lurk that defy all reason. They were chosen by the Eerie [Elevator] and marked by a terrifying curse. Again and again, they must take part in death games, until death claims them. 52Reads—Score—14d adds
- 137 The Corpse of a Mountain Village Woman 山村女尸 [Feel-Good Read + Urban + Suspense + Supernatural] He Xi is an ordinary security guard. One day, the west gate of Chaoxi Psychiatric Hospital desperately needs a guard. The pay is 30,000 yuan a month, but nobody dares take the job! Nobody else dares, but He Xi does! Only after arriving does he realize something is wrong. The west gate isn’t meant for people to pass through at all. It’s a gate for ghosts! 8.1kReads7.7Score37614d adds
- 138 Chinese-Style Horror Stories 中式恐怖小说 30Reads—Score—14d adds
- 139 Midnight Terror: Tales of the Supernatural 午夜惊魂：民间鬼事录 [Folk Taboos + Rural Ghost Stories + Episodic Tales + Chilling on Second Thought] The village elders say that some things are better believed than dismissed. Liu Er, a bachelor, picked up a red wedding dress. That very night, he heard the sound of a suona, and a faceless bride knocked on his door and said, “Liu Er, I’ve come to marry you.” Before a dead person is buried, the guiding candle at the head of the coffin must never go out. Old Liu Guang died, the candle went out, and a crack appeared 4.1kReads—Score17714d adds
- 140 A Life Borrowed from the Yin Realm 借阴命 To keep me alive, my grandfather borrowed someone else’s life for me. Years later, that person’s descendants came seeking revenge... 186Reads7.2Score—14d adds
- 141 Feng Shui Yin-Yang Master 风水阴阳师 "Born under the Emperor Ziwei's fate, with yin-yang eyes from birth." An extraordinary life is his destiny. He inherits his ancestors' feng shui arts. In the world of the mystic arts, yin flourishes while yang declines. A thousand-year plan awaits just one person. 1.2kReads7.1Score11914d adds
- 142 Ghost Incense 鬼上香 People eat food, while ghosts catch its scent! Every trade has its own rules and fate, and mine is downright horrifying. My name is Han Yiding. I was born from the belly of a corpse, a corpse-born infant. I also have a master who looks like a con artist. Whenever I think of that old man, he hardly seems like some great master. You ask who founded our sect? Ever heard of Lü Dongbin? A renowned master who cultivated both Buddhism and Taoism. But enough explaining. This child born from a corpse is 391Reads8.1Score4214d adds
- 143 Eerie Immortals and Buddhas: I’m in Perfect Mental Health 诡异仙佛：我的精神状态好极了 [Cultivation through mental illness? Lovecraftian beast taming? A strange-dream System? Abnormal immortals and Buddhas?] “Beneath the heavens, see into the human heart; beyond Heaven's Gate, strike down the gods. A bewildering dream ends with a sudden awakening; the struggle along the path is steeped in blood and bones. Strange horrors run rampant, the common folk suffer; immortals and Buddhas shut their eyes and turn deaf ears. I would offer myself as a sacrifice, in exchange for everlasting pe 15Reads7.6Score—14d adds
- 144 Midnight Mystery Calls: I Seek Justice for the Dead 午夜诡单：我替亡者讨公道 My name is Yun Xi. I make a living taking bizarre midnight cases. The good news: I was born with an ancient artifact for guiding souls. Seven copper coins can identify people, objects, and the dead, while a red cord can bind ghosts and capture spirits. The bad news: it doesn’t level up by killing. I have to investigate a case’s karmic ties and guide the dead onward. It also stops working when the truth behind the karma is unclear, and its power is halved during the day. I thought this case wo —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 145 Addicted to Killing Immortals 杀仙有瘾 They like to take on human form and come to the mortal world to have fun. But they forget the way back. I hear their deep, mournful cries in the rain, coming from the other side of the mountain. My favorite thing is sitting in a damp rocking chair, watching the immortals die one after another in the mortal world… 27Reads8.9Score714d adds
- 146 The Book of Buried Ghosts 葬诡经 Most people know about Thailand's black magic, but few realize that China's own Jiangmen tradition is the true source of all such sorcery. As the saying goes: “A master of sorcery has no ancestors in the Southern Seas; reverence for the Three Teachings is the true tradition.” Let me tell you all about the Chinese sorcerers and their craft… 3.3kReads8.4Score42614d adds
- 147 The Demon Gate Puppet 诡门人偶 [Infinite-dungeon horror + dark humor + outrageous antics + daily life + absurdity = the author's a total menace] Xu Zhifan and Chen Yu are just two ordinary office workers. Nine to nine, six days a week; meager pay, endless overtime. Until one day, the two of them are apparently “kidnapped” and taken to an unfamiliar villa. In the villa's courtyard stands a door, silent and still. Beyond it lies a resort where a considerate butler “sees the guests out”; an unsolved case in which they have —Reads—Score114d adds
- 148 As the Whole Village Called Back the Soul of His Missing Son, He Came Home Through the Door 全村替失踪的儿子收魂时，他从门外回来了 As the whole village performs a soul-summoning ritual for their missing son, he comes home through the front door. 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 149 Terrifying Supernatural Happenings 恐怖灵异怪事 A terrifying paranormal ghost story. There is a Zhao Family Village in the Funiu Mountains, where many terrifying supernatural incidents have taken place in the ravine west of the village. Several people have been frightened to death, and many nearby residents shudder at the very mention of the ravine. Even the villages around it have experienced many inexplicable events. I used to be afraid. I wanted to write about them but didn't dare. Whenever I thought about putting them into words, terror w 673Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 150 The Hanging Charm 魅巾悬 No romance + fantasy and the supernatural + mild horror + modern-day imaginative premise + episodic plot + feel-good power fantasy Liu Yixian, with a high forehead and a broad, square face, was taken in as an apprentice by Daoist Wu in the twelfth year of his life, setting him on an extraordinary path. A thousand-year-old fox or a century-old ginkgo: which one will win Yixian’s heart? A blood-red sickle stabbed the ghost seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, maybe twenty times. The ghost couldn’t take 1Reads—Score—14d adds
