Novels like The Bureau of Foreign Affairs' Strange Tales
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as The Bureau of Foreign Affairs' Strange Tales, best match first.
- 101 Heir of the Classic of Mountains and Seas 山海传人 When I was nine, a horde of ghosts surrounded our house, all intent on taking my life! To save me, Grandpa went and found me a female ghost to be my wife… 210Reads9.0Score10314d adds
- 102 A Dreamlike Scene of Nanke 南柯幻景 [Chinese-Style Infinite Flow + Strange Tales from Ancient Books + Rule-Based Suspense + Six-Person Ensemble] If you discovered that every classical poem you memorized as a child concealed a loophole from which a living person could never escape, would you dare turn to the next page? While restoring a damaged page from a Song-era printed volume, ancient book restorer Qu Youyang was dragged into the Nanke realm behind the lines of poetry. "At Hanshan Temple outside Suzhou," why does the temple bel 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 103 Hunting Notes from the Greater Khingan Range 大兴安岭狩猎笔记 Folk Horror / Period Fiction / Hunting Legend / Supernatural Northeast 1993, deep in the Greater Khingan Mountains. Snow seals off the mountains, and an endless sea of forest stretches in every direction. This is a blank spot on the map, a forbidden zone beyond the reach of the law. In a world of nothing but black and white, survival depends not on the law, but on the rules. Chen Ye, an abandoned baby raised by wolves, is known as “Wolf Boy.” Ten years ago, on a stormy winter night, the old hunt 1.2kReads7.5Score10714d adds
- 104 The Mystic Arts Curse Master 玄门咒神 On the day Yang Xuan was supposed to get engaged, a blood-red coffin inexplicably appeared in his home. Inside lay a beautiful woman with skin like jade. On the first day, his father died. On the second day, a yin-yang master told Yang Xuan: If he wanted to survive this calamity, he had to consummate his marriage with her... 115Reads—Score—14d adds
- 105 The Secret Records of Evil Spirits 邪灵秘录 A healer saves lives, but medicine is divided into “living medicine” and “dead medicine.” A group of young people journey through remote mountain valleys, deserts, and snowy wilderness. They venture along the boundary between life and death, exploring lost techniques. This is a shocking mystery hidden among mountains, rivers, and vast wilderness... 690Reads8.6Score10214d adds
- 106 Dragonbrush's 30th Book: Writing the World 龙笔写天下第30本书 11Reads—Score—14d adds
- 107 Old Ninth, the Tomb Raider 盗墓老九 [Tomb raiding + adventure + treasure hunting] A centuries-old mystery ordained by Heaven, the fabled ancient kingdom of Loulan, the secrets behind the ancient Silk Road, and even the Black Mountain, where legend says the rocks, plants, rivers, and soil are all black, shrouded year-round in an air of death... I was just an antique dealer in Panjiayuan, but somehow I got swept up in one strange adventure after another. It all began with my grandfather, a eunuch from the previous dynasty... 320Reads5.4Score—14d adds
- 108 The Sealed Coffin Opens, and I Stitch the Vengeful Dead Back to Life 绝户棺开，我缝万鬼来复仇 On my twentieth birthday, my fiancée Bai Chuchu smiled like a flower as she personally gouged out my innate spirit eyes, all to steal my fortune and help her family reach the pinnacle of power. She nailed me inside a coffin sealed to leave no descendants, then buried me alive in a cavern of ten thousand ghosts, where I suffered as they devoured me. She mocked my lowly yin fate, saying I was fit only to be a stepping stone on her path to immortality. But she didn't know that my bloodline is a for 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 109 Supreme Daoist: Master of the Zombies 道门至尊，僵尸道主 Kindle the Daoist fire in your heart and slaughter every demon and fiend in the world! Chen Changsheng, a disciple of Uncle Jiu of Maoshan, descends the mountain on his master’s orders. He slays ghosts and exterminates demons! After fulfilling his master’s command, he uncovers a shocking secret from eighteen years ago... 21Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 110 Strange Tales from the Bureau: The Final Chapter 民调局异闻录之最终篇章 A strange past, a mysterious department, an eccentric white-haired man, and a fat man who can see through everything: the final chapter in the history of the Folk Affairs Investigation and Research Bureau. 16.6kReads9.3Score1.8k14d adds
- 111 I Said I Could Catch Ghosts, but Nobody Believed Me 我说我会抓鬼，他们都不信 [Mystery + Supernatural + Taoist Magic + Female Lead + Light Comedy] Hundreds of little ghosts trapped beneath a building, immortals seeking refuge in the underworld, ghost stories on campus, hordes of zombies lining up, demons and monsters lurking in the night, and people coming up from the underworld! On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the gates of hell swing wide. A hundred ghosts roam through the night and emerge at dawn, while a Celestial Master descends the mountain to subdue demon 73Reads—Score—14d adds
- 112 The Mysterious Case Special Unit 9 诡案特九组 Adapted from real cases. The first thing you do when you start working as a police officer is pay respects to Zhong Kui? If you're going to do things like that, I'm wide awake now. Demons, monsters, ghosts, goblins, sorcerers, and evil spirits: anyone who commits evil will be arrested. One bizarre, worldview-shattering mystery after another follows in quick succession. This work was created after more than 20 years of research. It once attracted attention as a comic, and also caused trouble, but 6.7kReads8.2Score77414d adds
- 113 Born of the Mystic Dao 玄道而生 The world is divided into yin and yang, and people into the living and the dead. Yet some places and things are neither clearly yin nor yang, and the people there cannot tell whether they are alive or dead... There is a tavern at the point where yin and yang meet. They say that anyone who enters, living or dead, must abide by the owner's rules. Otherwise, they will never be reincarnated! 141Reads7.6Score—14d adds
- 114 The Ancient Tomb Code 古墓密码 I was sentenced to life in prison for tomb raiding. I thought that was bad enough, but then The Dragon Head Maze, the Flying Ancient House, the ghost ship at sea... They all led me to a huge secret. “Open this door. Everything you want to know and everything you want is inside.” 5.2kReads8.1Score76014d adds
- 115 Strange Yin-Yang Tales: A Half-Immortal’s Records 阴阳诡事：半仙诡录 [This is no ordinary supernatural story. It’s all about horror and suspense: no mindless power fantasy, just yin-yang taboos, the Grinning Fiend, the Ghost Bride’s Gown, eerie shadows in an ancient mansion, and the Mandarin Duck Pendant. If it’s not good, you can break my legs!!] There’s no shortage of bizarre happenings between the worlds of yin and yang. The Grinning Fiend: what unknowable resentment lies behind that sinister face? The thousand-year-old fox: what cunning schemes hide beneath h 1.2kReads—Score—14d adds
- 116 A Fading Lamp Shines on the Lonely Dead 残灯照孤冥 (Mystery + supernatural + no female lead) (Ghost case files + Taoist arts) (Tomato Original) The male lead is born under the fate of a lone star of calamity, destined to walk alone. A dying lamp lights the lonely darkness, and that darkness lights me in turn. 331Reads—Score—14d adds
- 117 The Sand-Sifting Chronicles: Memoirs of a Lingnan Tomb Raider 淘沙鉴：一个岭南盗墓者的自述 [Tomb Raiding + Suspense + Antique Appraisal + Feng Shui] My name is He Shouyi. I’m a tomb raider sentenced to fifteen years in prison, and the fourth-generation appraiser of the Jiao Si lineage. I’ve lost count of how many tombs I’ve entered in this lifetime. Our lineage has five signature skills: reading thunder to locate tombs, identifying soil by its vegetation, dating it by its smell, pinpointing locations from traces, and spotting fakes to identify treasures. On a rainy day, stick a copper 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 118 The Deadly Taboos of Horror 惊悚死人禁忌 [Definitely not ordinary paranormal fiction. Focused on horror and suspense, not mindless wish fulfillment. Folk tales of the supernatural, ghost babies. If you don’t like it after reading, feel free to criticize it.] A mountain village shrouded in mystery is beset by one strange incident after another. A coffin that cannot be lifted at a funeral, children mysteriously drowning, and the question of why a water ghost has appeared. What truth lies behind the deaths? A baby’s anguished cries ring o 144Reads—Score—14d adds
- 119 Upholding Justice in Heaven's Name 替天行道 Yin cannot thrive alone, and yang cannot exist by itself. I grew up in the countryside, left behind by my parents and raised by my grandfather. All his life, Grandpa was either helping widows and orphaned girls or on his way to help them. So, for as long as I can remember, I heard the villagers cursing him behind his back. Then one day, a stranger in a burial shroud asked me a question. A tree without bark but with a soul is bound to die. What happens to a person with skin but no soul? The relat 3kReads8.9Score24914d adds
- 120 Tales of Tomb Raiding in the Western Frontier 西境盗墓往事 The internet's most professional firsthand account of tomb raiding!~ My family has passed down a book for generations, called The Lan Clan's Dragon-Treading Art. To me, it's a priceless trove of knowledge!~ During the Qing dynasty, Nian Gengyao presented Yongzheng with the only surviving copy of The Outer Canon of the Yellow Emperor, which the martial world had fought over. But Yongzheng had already decided to kill him, so he locked the book away in the imperial library. My ancestors were a fami 826Reads8.8Score10014d adds
- 121 The Yin-Yang Inn 阴阳旅店 From the day I was born, underworld soldiers came to drag my soul away. At eight, I arrived at the Yin-Yang Inn and began working as a guide for the dead. From then on, I guided both the dead and the living. Every ghost or living person who came to the inn had a secret they couldn't tell. The Yin-Yang Inn has strange rules. Ghosts must sign a contract, while the living must stay the night. Whether or not their request is fulfilled, their payment is never refunded. Even so, guests keep coming one 257Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 122 Human Courage Is the Greatest Hymn 人类的勇气是最伟大的赞歌 Hello, human. By the time you read this book, humanity will have gone extinct four times over. Now, twelve million years of human history are about to reach their end once again. There is only one way to survive, but I have forgotten what it is. Still, I’m certain of one thing: you, the person reading these words, will survive. 212Reads9.2Score—14d adds
- 123 Dragon-Seeking Feng Shui Master 寻龙风水师 My mother was offered as a living sacrifice to the river god. To everyone's surprise, ten months later, she crawled out of the river. Dragons eat their illegitimate children. As the Dragon King's bastard son, I was supposed to be eaten at birth. Luckily, my master saved me and used eighteen phoenix maidens to deceive the heavens, helping me escape the Dragon King's pursuit. But eighteen years later, the people who had built their fortunes on my dragon blood turned against me. They looked down on 896Reads8.5Score26914d adds
- 124 The True Record of a Tomb Raider 来至一个盗墓者的纪实录 [Real tomb raiding + suspense + antiques appraisal] Starting in the 1990s, this story follows Wei Yonggang, a young man from the countryside, as he rises swiftly through the tomb-raiding world, going from accidental participant to an underground legend thanks to his “guts, attention to detail, and expertise.” He is sworn brothers with Tian Sanjiu, the last disciple of Silver Fox, and his junior fellow disciple is the sharp-eyed Feng, known as Fengzi. 11Reads—Score—14d adds
- 125 A Dragon's Son, Carried in a Ghost's Coffin 龙生子，鬼抬棺 My name is Ding Lin, and I was born covered in dragon scales. The villagers said my mother wasn’t human. When she died, a hundred ghosts carried her coffin, and the River Earl wept at her funeral. My mother said I was the child of a dragon, born extraordinary, blessed by a hundred ghosts and immune to every taboo... 5.2kReads8.8Score52414d adds
- 126 The Grave Robbers' Chronicles of a Loser 屌丝盗墓笔记 [Tomb raiding + suspense. No fantasy, no System, guaranteed to be good! If you don't like it, roast me!!!] Would you dare go tomb raiding for a million yuan in blood money? Who really built Sanxingdui? Did the ancient divine tree Jianmu really exist? Has the bird-bodied, human-headed monster come back to life? Has Genghis Khan become a zombie? What secrets lie inside the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang? … Keyboard tomb-raiding king Jiang Xing is getting serious this time! 1.5kReads8.2Score10014d adds
- 127 Tomb Raiding: Building the Moving Mountain Clan 盗墓：打造搬山家族 After being reborn, Jiang Chen discovers that he has become the clan head of a small village deep in the mountains. To escape poverty and backwardness, he plans to lead the villagers in working hard to build a better life. Just then, a mysterious woman arrives in the village and tells him that its people are true descendants of Zagrama. After hearing this, Jiang Chen finally understands why he and his fellow villagers all have a faint eye-shaped mark on their backs. It turns out that he belongs 209Reads5.5Score—14d adds
- 128 Corpse Driving in Western Hunan: The Soul-Calling Guide on the Night Road 湘西赶尸：夜行引魂人 A sudden disaster at a mass grave! Wu Liangzi is struck on the back of the head and wakes among rotting coffins and bones, clutching a bloodstained piece of yellow paper. It bears the name of the man he has spent three years tracking down for murdering his father! Seven corpses in black robes dance around him all night, their lifeless eyes seeming to “acknowledge their master.” A mysterious corpse driver tosses him a life-and-death contract. “Four of your seven souls have scattered. If you can’t 277Reads—Score—14d adds
- 129 Strange Tales from the Road 行路诡闻 [Folk customs and suspense | Episodic stories | Immersive accounts] There's an old saying: Walk the night road three times, and ghosts and gods will follow you. Writer Lin Sui travels around gathering material, recording the rural ghost stories he hears along the way in the old notebook he carries with him. He has no spirit-seeing eyes and can't draw talismans or chant incantations. Faced with those indescribable horrors, his only weapons are the pen in his hand and his instinct for survival. 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 130 Major Paranormal Events in China 中国民间灵异大事件 Major Chinese Folk Supernatural Cases is based on real supernatural incidents. Its contents are terrifying, mysterious, eerie, and suspenseful, with no more scientifically reasonable explanation to this day! Each chapter of this book tells a supernatural fantasy tale, with bizarre, chilling, and gripping plots. We hope readers will tune in and enjoy! 301Reads7.2Score22714d adds
- 131 I Have a Book of the Yellow Springs 我有一本黄泉书 [Decisive and Ruthless + Violent Ghost Exorcism + Kill, Never Save + No Goody-Two-Shoes] The most terrifying thing in this world is often not ghosts, but people, especially ruthless men like me, who kill instead of saving souls. Chanting sutras to send the dead to a better afterlife, saving all sentient beings? None of that exists where I’m concerned. In this age of underworld officials, vengeful ghosts, and supernatural monsters, I seek only one thing: exorcising ghosts. I kill them. I don’t sa 536Reads6.9Score—14d adds
- 132 The Vengeful Ghost Curse 怨诡咒 (Traditional supernatural horror + No System + Not a power fantasy + Deduction + Suspense) My coworker died. He died in his own bathtub. By the time the police arrived at his home, his corpse had already begun to rot and stink. His limbs had been gnawed down to the bone, and the coroner found undigested flesh in his stomach. That very night, I received a WeChat message from my dead coworker. It said I was next... 19.3kReads8.6Score1.4k14d adds
- 133 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 705Reads7.2Score10014d adds
- 134 Searching for the Herb of Immortality: I Nearly Became a Walking Corpse 为寻不死草：差点变行尸 [Tibetan legends + folk tales of the uncanny + suspenseful exploration + tomb raiding, no beauties, not a power fantasy, no formulaic tropes] Legend has it that Tibet is home to an herb of immortality, which comes in yin and yang varieties. If the living eat the yang herb, they can live forever; if the dead consume it, they can be resurrected. But anyone who eats the yin herb turns into a walking corpse. The herb of immortality is said to grow thousands of meters underground, in a place that T 203Reads—Score—14d adds
- 135 Mount Mang Beneath the Mirror 镜下邙山 Mount Mangshan Beneath the Mirror 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 136 Awakened to Martial Arts, I Can Copy Other People's Combat Instincts 觉醒武道，我能复制别人的战斗本能 Awakening the Martial Way, I Can Copy Other People's Combat Instincts 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 137 The Western School's The Grave Robbers' Chronicles 西派盗墓笔记 [Tomb Raiding + Mystery + Supernatural] A child born under an ill omen is one Heaven dares not claim and Earth dares not nurture. When I was born from a corpse’s belly, a yellow immortal fox worshipped the moon and the wild beasts wailed. It was decided then that I would spend my life dealing with the dead, never seeing the light of day. To escape this fate, I joined forces with my taciturn master and a jovial fat man, forming the West Faction’s iron-triangle tomb-raiding team. Over the years, I 1.4kReads8.8Score12614d adds
- 138 At the Cemetery, I Find a Pair of Red High Heels 人在公墓，捡到一双红色高跟鞋 Wang Jin finally graduated. He never expected that after studying civil engineering, he'd end up in a tomb, landing a job as a security guard at a high-end cemetery. He figured he'd work there for a few years, save some money, and then leave. But on his very first day, he found a pair of red high heels outside the security office. An ordinary person with no worries might have thrown them away. Someone more cautious might have grown suspicious. But Wang Jin was neither. He looked around, saw no o 1.5kReads8.0Score12814d adds
- 139 Supernatural: My Years Hunting Ghosts at Bureau 749 灵异：我在749局打鬼那些年 The appearance of a white coffin and a red coffin at the construction site changed my fate. That night, I saw corpses that could move and a ghost that could steal a person's soul. They were all "deceiving" me, trying to make me die. What should I do... When you think the person behind you is a ghost, the real ghost may be the one standing in front of you... Once it's dark... don't read this!! 216Reads—Score—14d adds
- 140 The Pawnshop of Obsessions 执念当铺 [Mystery and the supernatural + urban legends + all beings of the three realms + pawning obsessions] I took over my grandfather’s midnight pawnshop. This pawnshop has no boundaries, and accepts anything. The living must stay away; we only take obsessions. In some corner of the city lies an unremarkable shop called the Obsession Pawnshop. It takes no gold or silver, only the obsessions people cannot let go of deep in their hearts: a memory of regret, a false mask, an unrequited longing. All can b 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 141 The Gu Insect Chronicles 捉蛊记 On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, take a pair each of ghost-faced butterflies, large gray moths, white butterflies, and red admirals. Catch hornets, venomous bees, silkworms, venomous snakes, centipedes, and toads, then grind them into powder. Three days later, scald them with boiling water. Add a woman's hair, fingernails, menstrual blood, poisonous fungi, and plants such as datura, then grind everything into powder. Thus is the gu poison made. If a woman has been wounded in love and u 2.3kReads9.2Score31414d adds
- 142 The Heavenly Master 一代天师 Forty years ago, a husband and wife ignored their ancestors' warning and died horribly at the entrance to their village. The woman's eyes were gouged out, and her body was hung from the old ginkgo tree in the ancestral hall. A year later, a young man from out of town unearthed a strange clay figure and was plunged into a deadly calamity, only to be saved by an old Daoist. Forty years later, a mysterious letter drew attention back to that village. No one knew that opening it would mean opening th 6.8kReads9.2Score96314d adds
- 143 I'm Zhao Jia. Let Me Tell You About the Ancient Tombs I've Raided 我叫赵甲，讲讲我盗过的古墓 My name is Zhao Jia, an obscure black-market trader in Shancheng. My master, Liu Banchi, spent his whole life hunting with eagles, only to have one peck out his eye in the end. He died at the hands of his own people. Since then, I've been afraid. Not of ghosts, but of people. I washed my hands of the trade, hoping to live in peace, but trouble came looking for me. A map with a sinister secret, a wealthy man with connections everywhere, and a deadly game I can't escape. To stay alive and uncover 25.5kReads8.6Score3.1k14d adds
- 144 The Dark World: Don't Blame Me for Being Ruthless 黑暗世界，别怪我狠 Transmigration + System + martial arts + demons and supernatural horrors + no female lead (This book is dark; do not read if you have a savior complex.) (Please note, the protagonist isn't the type to kill indiscriminately without thinking.) Demons run rampant, horrors block the path, and humanity is so desperate to survive that people willingly let demons raise them like livestock. Zhang Xuan transmigrates into this world and at first just wants to live a decent life. But with Heaven absent and 3.4kReads7.4Score24314d adds
- 145 Edict: After the Hour of the Dog 敕令：戌时之后 A folk-horror tale: one official dispatch has been held up for three years. The speaker is Shen Yan, a registrar in Bianzhou. The dispatch was held up three months ago, and nobody dared take it on. Of the two who did, one grew a black ring around the back of his neck, while the other lost an eyelid. Three lines were written on the dispatch: Wherever it passes, there will be no rain for three years. After the hour of the Dog, do not enter any place with a threshold. There are only three rules: fi 83Reads—Score44214d adds
- 146 The Eerie Coffin Bearers 诡抬棺 Nine peaks, a sea of blood, mountains of bones... Murderous danger lurks everywhere. Every step is fraught with peril, and I never know how much longer I'll survive. It wasn't until I deciphered the nursery rhyme I'd heard when I became someone's disciple that I uncovered a shocking secret... 63Reads9.0Score—14d adds
- 147 I Command the Ghost King and Become the Mastermind Pulling the Strings 我驾驭鬼王，化身幕后执棋者 [Slow-paced + ghost control + satisfying read + invincible protagonist + daily life] This story follows Mo Bai, who accidentally falls into a supernatural realm while out in the suburbs. After meeting a teammate, he successfully gains control of the Ghost King and returns to the real world. He gradually grows stronger through one supernatural incident after another, eventually becoming the mastermind pulling the strings. This is an invincible-protagonist type of novel, so please don't nitpick th 17Reads—Score—14d adds
- 148 Passerby: Secrets of the Ancient Scroll 过路人：古卷秘相 Shen Xun, guardian of the cycle of reincarnation, suppresses evil spirits and keeps the balance between yin and yang. His time is running out, and he must pass on the guardians' legacy as soon as possible. The first successor is Lin Jian, who possesses a supernatural camera. The evil spirits have already set their sights on her. As Shen Xun reaches the foot of the stairs, he senses a pair of eyes watching him from behind. 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 149 This Ghost Catcher Is Not That Cold 这个鬼差不太冷 [Completed] [Eerie Revival] [Playing Card Elements] [The Protagonist Isn’t an Idiot] [Government Organization] [Absurd, Light Comedy] Also known as: Eerie Revival: Contracting an Ancient Great Ghost from the Start! Midnight is nigh, and a hundred ghosts roam the streets! “What! The only thing my family has left is a box of playing cards?” “What! The monthly salary is 100,000?” “Forget ghost hunting. I’d even sell my body if you asked me to!” Armed with nothing but a box of playing cards, one yo 2.5kReads8.1Score22614d adds
- 150 I'm a Bar Owner, Forced to Catch Ghosts 我，酒吧老板，被迫营业捉鬼 [Horror + supernatural + semi-invincible + no System + not brainless + ruthless decisiveness] I’m Heibai, an utterly ordinary bar owner. I only wanted to live a quiet life, but one commission and one problem after another keep landing on my doorstep. Curse magic, a drug-induced dreamless sleep, a yin-yang wedding, a deadly text message... As the Underworld descends, little Jiangcheng becomes a den of danger, and one strange incident after another unfolds. Well, looks like I can’t hide my abiliti 1.2kReads8.8Score11014d adds
