Novels like The Engineer's Strange Case Files
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as The Engineer's Strange Case Files, best match first.
- 1 Secrets of Spirit Mediums: Incense-Bearing Rituals and Journeys Between Worlds 出马秘闻：顶香出马，走阴串阳 Cultivating immortality requires a destined connection to the Immortal Path, and every immortal has a master to recommend them. Masters roam far and wide, and miraculous powers appear when one falls from grace and passes the imperial examinations. Born in the 1990s, I once thought I had a bright future ahead of me. But one strange thing after another began happening, and all my ambitions came to nothing. Then someone pointed out that I was meant to become a spirit medium and serve the spirits. F 12Reads—Score—14d adds
- 2 I Take the Fox Immortal to the Underworld 我带狐仙闯地府 Zhao Xiaosi had no idea that after his grandfather died, he would be dragged to the underworld, where the King of Hell would give him a treasure. Nor did he expect to be swept for no reason into the conflicts of the underworld’s Asura realm. With no other choice, Zhao Xiaosi returned to the mortal world to seek help from various immortals dwelling in the mountains. He joined them in putting an end to the underworld’s fighting, bringing along fox spirits, snake spirits, weasel spirits, and all th 155Reads—Score—14d adds
- 3 Hearing the Strange, Seeing the Uncanny 听诡见异 Do you believe there are ghosts in this world? Maybe you’ve seen one already, or perhaps one is right beside you. You just don’t know it. Let me tell you: ghosts really do exist! 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 4 Old Debts of Laoshan 崂山旧账 Mystery | Folk Legends | Crime Solving | Feng Shui and Fortune-Telling | Taoist Priest | Urban Supernatural Mystery | National Fortune When the incense dies out, old debts of fate must be settled anew [Slow Burn + Not a Power Fantasy + Protagonist’s Growth + No Overpowered Lead] Thirty years ago, Taoist priest Kuang Zhengqing of Taiqing Palace on Mount Laoshan in Island City died mysteriously on a mountain path. The official explanation was a dispute over incense offerings. Folk rumors said he 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 5 An Unorthodox Spirit Medium 野路子出马仙 My father found a treasure while searching the mountains, but the villagers killed him for it. To avenge him, I went to the Five Immortals Temple and summoned five wild spirits. That was how I embarked on an extraordinary path as a spirit medium... 142Reads—Score—14d adds
- 6 I Am the Heaven-and-Earth Spirit Medium 我乃天地出马仙 Handsome Fu Fei once lived an ordinary life, but fate had other plans: destined to become a spirit medium, he was forced onto a wondrous journey full of the unknown. Around the same time, strange events began happening one after another: eerie dreams, mysterious symbols appearing out of nowhere, and phenomena that science could not explain... Lost and afraid, Fu Fei met several companions who shared his unusual abilities. Together, they set out to uncover the secrets behind spirit mediums, unawa 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 7 The Impermanence Handbook 无常手札 This is an utterly ordinary workday diary. Forced to impersonate an immortal, assist the City God, transferred to serve as a deathless messenger, and travel between the worlds of the living and the dead. It all begins with a fortune-teller’s prophecy... 16Reads—Score—14d adds
- 8 Forbidden Strange Tales: The Taboos of the Folk 禁忌聊斋：民间禁忌的那些事 What you’re reading isn’t just an ordinary supernatural story. It may be a set of rural survival rules that can keep you safe. The taboos of the countryside aren’t just old people’s nagging. Every “don’t touch that” carries the weight of lives lost long ago. When dusk seeps into an abandoned village, the names on the road markers glisten with a deathly aura in the rain; white crows on the eaves of a birthing room beckon a newborn’s soul; copper coins in an old mansion rust into blood scabs; an 670Reads8.2Score—14d adds
- 9 Sun Wuji of the Northeastern Immortal Sect 东北仙门孙无极 The Northeast Ma Xian series: Sun Wuji, a disciple of the Immortal Sect, is born to face a tribulation and is the chosen one. He endures trial after trial, forging a path to invincibility and reaching the supreme pinnacle of the Immortal Sect. 15Reads—Score—14d adds
- 10 The Soul-Caller at Midnight 夜半叫魂人 My grandfather was the last soul-caller in the village. Before he died, he warned me: no matter whose voice I heard calling my name in the middle of the night, I must never answer. Then, late one night, I heard my mother calling anxiously from outside the door. I was just about to respond when a cold hand clamped over my mouth from behind. When I turned around, I saw my grandfather, who had been buried three days earlier. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 11 I Work as a Medium in a Buddhist Supply Shop 我在佛具店当神棍 Ancient scrolls and Tang Buddhist tales speak of a thousand years; the bewilderment of the mortal world is all intertwined. The many affairs of spirit mediums unfold, as they steadfastly guard a corner of the mountains and seas. If we are to dispel the gloom and uphold the righteous path, let us hear the immortals revealed in this very age!, Dragon-Editing Colonel —Reads6.3Score—14d adds
- 12 The Ghost Hand Blinds the Eye 鬼手遮眼 Walk the roads at night often enough, and you’re bound to run into something. Like a hand reaching from behind to gently cover your eyes. Think it’s a ghost? Maybe. But it could also be something far more sinister than a ghost... 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 13 Northeastern China Paranormal: She Has Yin-Yang Eyes 东北灵异：她有一双阴阳眼 Born with yin-yang eyes, he can see things invisible to ordinary people. As a result, his friends shun him and his classmates bully him. His ability grows stronger as he gets older, taking him from a lowly wage worker to an employee at a funeral home, where he helps all sorts of spirits fulfill their final wishes! 8.6kReads7.7Score63814d adds
- 14 A Nascent Soul Expert Gets Beaten Up on Earth 元婴大佬在地球被吊打 When the false is taken for true, even truth becomes false; where nothing is taken for something, something returns to nothing. A dream of Southern Branch is bound to end in waking; returning home, one finds oneself like the man who came back to find the woodcutter’s axe handle rotted away. Chen Zongping, an ordinary college student, accidentally falls into the world of immortal cultivation. Rescued by an old man who takes him in as a disciple, he begins his journey toward immortality. After cou 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 15 A Young Taoist Moonlights as a Spirit Medium, and Every Demon and Ghost Rushes to Offer Him a Smoke 小道兼职出马仙，精妖鬼怪忙递烟 What? The little treasure is facing a life-and-death ordeal at six? How could the old immortals let their beloved little darling come to harm? Protect! Spoil! Help! Oh my... How is this kid getting more and more capable? Now she's protecting the old immortals' little brats instead?! Who cares what kind of monster the Hu family is? If they mess with my old immortals, I'll kill them without a second thought! Hu Xianxian is the prettiest, I'll praise her, praise her, praise her! Liu Xian is the tou 21.9kReads8.8Score2.5k14d adds
- 16 My 1990s Field Notes on Folk Ghost Stories 我的90年代民间志怪见闻录 Jia Nanxing, a young man from a mountain village, chance upon a stone statue and has an extraordinary encounter. Facing all kinds of strange events in the world, “zombies, evil spirits, witchcraft”, he braves countless dangers and later meets Jiang Wangyou, a mysterious female classmate. As they cultivate, the two travel around the world dealing with supernatural incidents. The story features transmigration, antique appraisal, and adventure. Supernatural fantasy all in one, along with all kinds 11Reads—Score—14d adds
- 17 Notes from a Century-Old Spirit Medium’s Hall 百年堂口出马笔记 When I was seven, I accidentally discovered a secret that had been locked away in my grandfather's drawer for decades. From that moment on, my life was never ordinary again. The spirit hall passed down in my family for centuries chose me as its incense-bearing disciple. During those decades of silence, the world outside changed beyond recognition. But the story of me and all the immortals in the hall was only just beginning. How will these once-mighty immortals, with my guidance, accumulate meri 107Reads8.9Score—14d adds
- 18 Tales of the Strange from Yutai 渔台志异 Some things are better believed than dismissed. Some people are better left unoffended. Some roads are better avoided, even if it means taking the long way around. That's what the old folks tell you. And that's what this book wants to tell you, too. 22Reads—Score—14d adds
- 19 The Spirit Medium's Revelation 出马仙启示录 I’m a shamanic practitioner from Northeast China, also known as a great immortal. These days, so many people get scammed and end up buried in debt, then go mad. It really worries me, though I also think they’re foolish. I’ll share my own experiences and stories from fellow practitioners to talk about Northeast China’s shamanic tradition, and warn people not to get scammed. (For special reasons, I can’t be too direct with ordinary readers, so I’ll express things obliquely.) 6Reads6.5Score—14d adds
- 20 Tales from the Folkways of Northeast China 东北民间轶事录 [The new book, The Northeast Folk Tales: An Account of Zhong Kui, is now being serialized] [Ensemble cast + folk legends + the customs and character of Northeast China] The land and skies of the Northeast; its folk customs and its people Set in the rural Northeast of the 1990s, this book is adapted from remarkable folk legends and true events widely told across the vast lands of Northeast China. It recounts the hardships protagonist Xu Liang faced in his youth, along with the many legendary expe 3.4kReads8.8Score40314d adds
- 21 Northeastern Tales: The Shaman’s Heir 东北往事之萨满传人 Heaven’s secrets are revealed, calamity cannot be escaped, fate is set, and fortune follows its course. Some things can’t be said out loud, but I can’t keep them to myself. Today, I’ll take a chance and tell you about the many things in this world that defy explanation, yet truly exist… 659Reads—Score—14d adds
- 22 The Northeast Ma Family 东北“马”家 Do you know what a spirit horse is? Do you know what a spirit hall is? Do you know who the guardian spirits of the Northeast are? Do you know the Four Beams and Eight Pillars? Do you know the Qingfeng spirits? Whether you do or not, this book will lead you through a strange doorway and introduce you to the world of spirit mediums in Northeast China. For the first twenty-five years of my life, I thought I was just an utterly ordinary speck of dust in this little county town. I never imagined that 51Reads9.1Score—14d adds
- 23 I Run a Spirit Hall in Henan 我在河南领堂口 I cultivated my character deep in the mountains, then emerged from an ancient cave to make my name across the land. Who says the Hu and Huang spirits never cross the Shanhai Pass? That rule is long gone. When I was in college, the spirits enshrined in my family's ancestral hall sought out my mother. But illness kept her from becoming a spirit medium, so the whole spirit retinue eventually came to me. After enduring countless hardships, I was forced onto the path of a spirit medium. A true accoun 449Reads8.2Score—14d adds
- 24 The Spirit Medium 出马仙 Have you heard of a weasel possessing someone? Have you heard of a gui taking over someone’s bed? Have you heard of returning infant spirits? How much do you know about the Five Great Clans of Northeast China? Open this book, and I’ll tell you all about the little-known stories of Northeast China’s spirit mediums. 499Reads8.4Score—14d adds
- 25 Strange Little Tales from the Urban-Rural Fringe 城乡结合灵异小故事 This collection of little supernatural tales is drawn from stories told by elderly villagers and young people. It's hard to tell what's true and what's not, so just enjoy them as little stories to pass the time over tea. 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 26 Northeast Spirit Medium: My Years as the King of Tragedy 东北出马之我当悲王那些年 (Traditional supernatural fiction, not a wish-fulfillment story, no cultivation, parallel storylines for a man and a woman. Don't try the spells in this book; this story is entirely fictional!) After dying on the street while trying to help someone, Zhang Daoxuan became a lonely ghost. He thought his only hope was to find a substitute and then reincarnate in the underworld. But through a twist of fate, he became a shamanic spirit medium. With my left hand, I push open the yin-yang gate; with my 224Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 27 Ghost Hunting: My Baton Is Made of Thunderstruck Wood! 捉鬼：我的警棍可是雷击木做的！ The protagonist, Chen Mo, starts out as an ordinary criminal police officer. After stumbling upon a supernatural incident, he is recruited by the Special Security Department to join its Seventh Squad, which specializes in handling paranormal cases. The Seventh Squad is a unit stationed in the field that deals with supernatural criminal cases. Hidden within the police station, its members work with beings the public knows nothing about. 226Reads—Score—14d adds
- 28 True Stories of Spirit Mediums in Northern Liaoning 辽北出马仙实录 A true story about a man who cultivated his mind and spirit deep in the mountains, then emerged from an ancient cave to make a name for himself across the land. It follows his transformation from an ordinary college student into a bona fide shamanic disciple, and offers some guidance to fellow cultivators still grappling with this destined path. I hope this lamp of mine will light the way ahead for everyone fate has brought here! A true story about shamans from Northeast China. Any resemblance t 578Reads7.6Score—14d adds
- 29 Strange Tales from Western Hunan 西湘散异 Historical fantasy: When things are hard to speak of, let strange tales record them; when people are not of our kind, seek out the spirits anew. To outsiders, the most mysterious thing about Xixiang is surely corpse-driving. But beyond that, there are also uncanny tales and legends about praying for rain, Zhuyou rituals, dragons and snakes, mirrors, and more. Even carpenters who make coffins can determine life and death with a single swing of their axes. Through these stories, Chen Jun discovere 10Reads8.3Score—14d adds
- 30 Soulbound Fate 锁魂缘 An award-winning entry in the “Bringing Ancient Books to Life and Passing on the Love of Reading” writing contest In the twenty-fifth year of the Daxing era, two things happened to Ye Shanghuai. First, her master, Daoist Ye, who had raised her single-handedly, was struck by three bolts of heavenly lightning and vanished without a trace. Second, Ye Shanghuai descended the mountain and met Li Chizhi. In the twenty-fifth year of the Daxing era, two things happened to Li Chizhi. First, the Heavenly 29Reads6.5Score—14d adds
- 31 Twenty Years of Walking Between Yin and Yang: A Memoir 二十年走阴串阳回忆录 [The Great Six Ren, Qimen Dunjia, Four Pillars of Destiny, Xuan Kong Flying Stars, Jin Suo Yu Guan, folk witchcraft, Southeast Asian black magic...] And much more: an abundance of divination arts and folk culture, all knowledge you can learn at a glance and put into practice right away. A wealth of practical information! Zhao Jun graduated straight into unemployment. Then, reeling from the double blow of losing his job and his girlfriend, he encountered something that even he, a staunch material 59Reads—Score—14d adds
- 32 I Heard of Strange Things That Year: Never Read This Late at Night 那年听闻怪事，千万别深夜翻看 These stories are adapted and fictionalized from various experiences shared by friends. They are written in an accessible style and make for a good way to unwind. A reminder: reject superstition. This is all imaginative fiction. Any similarities to real events are purely coincidental, so don't take it seriously! 11Reads—Score—14d adds
- 33 Phoenix Bone: Reborn, I Scattered My Scumbag Ex’s Ashes to the Wind 凤凰骨：重生后我把渣男骨灰扬了 “Little Junior Sister, come back to the sect with us. We’ll keep you safe for the rest of your life.” Yun Ruo sneered and drew her sword, phoenix flames burning away their hypocrisy. “Safe? I’d rather send you all to join me in the thirteen years of hell you put me through!” She refused Xuan Yang Sect and joined the penniless, laid-back Xianyun Sect instead. There, she awakened the Eye of Truth and all her spiritual meridians, set up a stall selling talismans for spirit stones, and tamed an anci —Reads6.8Score—14d adds
- 34 Northern Horse Notes 北马笔记 The Five Immortals of the Northeast are chiefly the Hu, Huang, Chang, Mang, and Hui. After cultivating their powers and attaining the Dao, they descend the mountains to take disciples, borrowing their bodies to do good deeds among humans and earn their way to ascension. This story is told in the first person. 414Reads8.8Score—14d adds
- 35 The Qilin Boy Sets Out as a Spirit Medium 麒麟童子出马仙 Looking for book reviews! [First-person + mystery and the supernatural + cultivation + comedy] My new work is here. Everyone is welcome to read it, and I hope you'll enjoy it. The main story: The protagonist, Yang Chongwen, is the reincarnation of a fragment of a Qilin's soul. His unusual constitution combines yin and yang, making him the prize everyone fights over among the wandering cultivators of the Northeast. Later, he sets up a spirit altar and deals with all kinds of supernatural incident 718Reads8.4Score—14d adds
- 36 After My Master Left, the Funeral Shop Became Connected to the Underworld 师父走后，白事店连通了地府 [Completed story + supernatural horror + funeral customs + no female lead] After my master passed away, I took over the funeral shop’s business. Only then did I realize that my master had tricked me. This funeral shop was actually connected to the underworld. It didn’t just handle business from the living world; it also had to take care of all kinds of requests from the dead. Wayward children, heartless parents, sinister relatives... The living are hard to deal with, and the dead are even harder 9.3kReads8.8Score1.1k14d adds
- 37 365 Nights of Corpse Tales from the Gorge 峡江尸话365夜 The poorer and more desolate the land, the stranger the tales; deep in the gorges along the river, there are stories of the supernatural. My hometown lies in the mountains of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, in an area where several ethnic minorities live together. Before Liberation, it was a backward wilderness beyond the reach of government control. Over the long course of history, many baffling things happened here. After I was born, I heard plenty of chilling tales of strange happeni 117Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 38 In Taoist Robes: I Counsel Students, Then Spirits 道袍加身：劝完学生劝鬼神 An art teacher unexpectedly becomes a Taoist exorcist. The colors in the classroom give way to the cinnabar of talismans, and one supernatural incident after another, once dismissed as impossible, begins to unfold. All the ghost stories he had heard were never mere fabrications. Beyond the mist where yin and yang meet lies a truth far more terrifying than anything on canvas. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 39 Morgue Mysteries: Lord Huang Santai’s Manhunt Order 太平间异闻：黄三太爷的追凶令 No one believes that an immortal fox lives in the hospital morgue, much less that this immortal is the meddlesome “Third Master Huang.” But ever since I took over the bizarre case of a “corpse moving by itself,” I keep seeing a flash of yellow beside the autopsy table. I even caught the reflection of a weasel in the dead person's pupils. As a disciple who can communicate with the immortals, I know this case is part of Third Master Huang's scheme, and a hunt for the culprit that crosses the bound 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 40 The Female Spirit Medium 女出马仙 We read the fortunes of the dead and the living, settle debts with aggrieved spirits, and handle lost souls, hysteria, and demonic possession! If it’s anything out of the ordinary, there’s nothing our shamanic spirit medium, Wu Mei, can’t handle! Jealous colleagues come by to challenge us? No problem. We have powerful connections up above... Lord Tu Tanyue, emperor of the Qingqiu Nine-Tailed Fox Clan and so handsome he has no rivals, spoils his wife without limit. His half-fox spirit medium brid 841Reads8.8Score10014d adds
- 41 Heaven's Secrets Forbidden: A Metaphysics Master's Art of Feng Shui and Yin-Yang 天机禁忌：玄门风水相师镇阴阳 Xu Daoyi was born with a pure Yang constitution, a once-in-a-century rarity. The Yang energy within him was so strong it could burn vengeful ghosts to ash. But this gift was also a death sentence. His master told him that unless he found a woman with a pure Yin birth chart before the Summer Solstice and united their Yin and Yang, he would explode and die seven days later. The seven-day deadline drew closer, and the Yang energy in his body surged higher every day. Xu Daoyi had saved countless liv 115Reads—Score15514d adds
- 42 The Spirit Medium’s Journal: Strange Encounters on the Job 出马实录：我出马遇到的邪乎事儿 [Feng Shui and the Eight Trigrams + folk arcane arts + sorcery + Qimen Dunjia] I was born in a small county in Northeast China. My ancestors hunted fox spirits, killed yellow spirits, and soaked snakes in liquor. Our family also had a whole spirit retinue, so I was born destined to make my living this way. It was fate, so I went along with it and became a spiritual medium. Along the way, I encountered all kinds of bizarre, horrifying, and downright eerie events. [This story is adapted from real 32.9kReads8.8Score2.9k14d adds
- 43 The Ultimate Maoshan Exorcist 极品出马仙 My name is Li Shan. I have carried the burden of fate since the day I was born. On my eighteenth birthday, I established a spirit altar, where five hundred immortal beings, each with extraordinary powers, took their places. Some protect me, some watch over the altar, some sweep it clean, and others ride out on spirit horses. These beings chose me for my all-yin birth chart, and for my status as a virgin boy in my previous life. A ghost wearing human skin, a cursed infant, endless resentment: in 533Reads7.3Score10014d adds
- 44 I Livestream Fortune-Telling and Return to the Underworld as a Judge 靠直播算命，我回地府当判官 [Fortune-telling livestreams + multiple storylines + strong female lead + no romance] Guo Wangcai, once a mighty cultivator, is now an intern ghost bailiff in the Underworld. Because he was too good at fighting (and eating), his boss, the Great Emperor of Fengdu, slapped him down to the human world to “earn merit.” He said, “The human world is overflowing with yin energy. Get it down to an acceptable level, and when you come back, I’ll make you a full-time employee. Earn enough merit, and the po 30Reads—Score—14d adds
- 45 Tales of a Northeastern Spirit Medium 东北出马仙见闻 Strange things began happening around Li Yaoyao while she was still in school. Later, all sorts of baffling images kept appearing in her life. Had she really seen them with her own eyes, or had she imagined them? Perhaps neither you nor I can tell. It was only after she met her master that everything became clear through her explanations. Yet these so-called truths were only the opening chapter of the story of what happened to her. The road a spirit medium must travel is long, very long. Over th 42Reads—Score—14d adds
- 46 The Daoheart’s Journey 道心征途 (This novel focuses primarily on horror, the supernatural, and suspense. It isn't mindless, it isn't about cultivating immortality, and the story is tightly connected. The early chapters lay the groundwork, and there are many genuinely frightening scenes. If you don't like it, feel free to say so in the comments!) My master said there are only two principles to being a Taoist priest. First: Never put off revenge until tomorrow. Let it fester in your heart, and it will throw your Daoist mind into 7Reads6.5Score—14d adds
- 47 I Read People's Fortunes 我是一个看事的 (No harem, not a power fantasy, slow-paced, fighting monsters and leveling up) My name is Yu Xuanxiao. I was an ordinary person, but I was inexplicably drawn into a conspiracy and had no choice but to enter the Daoist sect and learn the art of talismans. By chance, I discovered that the source of it all was connected to a black fox from a hundred years ago. For the sake of my future, I can only fight alongside a group of like-minded companions, battling demons and monsters to the death time an 13Reads—Score—14d adds
- 48 The Ghost-Catching Taoist Master 捉鬼天师 To build a road, the village assigned me and a few others to demolish a grave. Everyone died, but I survived. I’m the only one who knows why... 55Reads—Score814d adds
- 49 Fallen Phoenix 落凤 [Pure feel-good fun! The heroine is a total psycho who'll fight anyone! She never takes a loss!] My sworn sister sent me a message: "We'll never be separated." Then she disappeared. My big brother and I packed our suitcases and went to her hometown, Ancient Phoenix City, to look for her. But I kept feeling as if a pair of eyes were watching me from somewhere unseen. Those eyes, however, didn't belong to the "Golden Dragon" I'd known since childhood... 561Reads8.8Score10514d adds
- 50 Chronicles of Ghostly Encounters 遇鬼纪 I’m not a professional writer. A few years ago, I started writing things down on a whim, simply because I wanted to record what was happening around me, and somehow ended up writing quite a lot. I also tried to pursue writing as a career, but honestly, aside from recording or adapting real events, writing is difficult for me. After thinking it over, I decided I wanted to return to my original purpose. Maybe I’m not much of a storyteller, but I really enjoy sharing and talking with people, especi 10Reads—Score—14d adds
