Modern Tales of the Strange 当代聊斋

1 纸 Paper Figures Call the Roll: A Record of a Netherworld Worker's Trials 纸人点名：地府打工人闯关实录 Huhu Jun糊糊君Mystery & Supernatural73k WordsOngoing His name is Chen Jiujin, a washed-up streamer who makes a living telling folk tales about the supernatural. He has eighty thousand followers, earns three thousand a month, and still owes money on Huabei. During a late-night livestream exploring a haunted house, a paper effigy smacks him in the face, and he is "scared to death" on the spot. After death, there's no Granny Meng's soup, just a text message welcoming him to a job: Welcome to the Folk Horror Challenge Game. This isn't the Eighteenth L 0Votes31Recs0Fans

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His name is Chen Jiujin, a washed-up livestreamer who makes a living by telling folk tales and ghost stories. He has 80,000 followers, earns 3,000 yuan a month, and still owes money to Alipay. During a late-night house visit livestream, he was smeared with paper figures in his face and was "scared to death" on the spot. There's no Meng Po soup after death, only a job offer text message: Welcome to the Folklore and Ghost Stories Adventure Game. This isn't the eighteen levels of hell, it's the Underworld Group. The dungeons are paper doll wedding dresses, mountain village river god worship, and corpse-driving inn—each one a deadly folk custom troupe. The rules are: live human sacrifice, lighting lamps on corpses, and inscribing names on coffins—if you make a mistake, your soul will be scattered. Points are the qualification for reincarnation, a government job is the dignity of a worker, and a boss is a devil with a receding hairline. Others rely on brute force to overcome obstacles, but Chen Jiujin relies on his words. He is talkative, cowardly, and greedy, but he possesses a set of ancestral Yin-Yang skills. What others perceive as folk taboos are, in his eyes, the key to breaking the deadlock. A single phrase, "A rumor can kill," can save a life or expose the entire truth behind a story. After escaping from the paper doll's wedding dress, he was specially recruited by Yama, the King of Hell, and became a temporary worker in the underworld. The first task: Find Grandpa. My grandfather has been missing for ten years, but his file says he is "currently employed". The notebook he left behind was missing half a page, and it contained only four words: "Don't enter the inn." Chen Jiujin laughed: I've already died once, what's there to be afraid of? But he didn't know that what his grandfather left behind was more than just a notebook. There is also a key to the Samsara Palace, an old man in red, and a debt from forty years ago. The Hall of Reincarnation is about to open. He must finish his shift.

2 出 Spirit Medium in Tokyo, 1979 出马东京1979 Sea Thief窃海生Mystery & Supernatural165k WordsOngoing [Urban] [Folk Customs] [Period] [Japanese Variety Shows] This book immerses you in the purest portrait of Showa-era society and the most unadulterated shamanic folk culture. Hu Santainai, the greatest of all fox spirits, raised me. The fiercest and most vicious snake, wolf, and bear spirits are my uncles. The little tyrant of Linchang Village's Second District makes a sudden landing in Tokyo, a city blazing with neon. Tokyo is huge, but why should I, Zhang Chen, be afraid? Aside from losing my e 101Votes2.4kRecs106Fans

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[Urban], [Folklore], [Era], [Japanese Variety Show], this book will immerse you in the purest Showa era and the most primitive shamanistic folk culture. I was raised by Hu San Tai Nai, who was the number one fox spirit. The fiercest and most evil python spirit, wolf spirit, and bear spirit are my uncles and aunts. The little tyrant from Linchang No. 2 Village parachutes into the neon-lit city of Tokyo. Tokyo is big, but what do I, Zhang Chen, have to be afraid of? Besides losing his entire set of Buddhist ritual implements in Tokyo Bay, and also losing his passport and money, My only concern right now is how to pry this piece of "tuna" bone embedded in the front of the subway car. Then she stopped her great-grandmother from becoming an "idol"...

3 香 The Hong Kong Game of Go 香港棋局 Dark Tango黑暗探戈Mystery & Supernatural292k WordsOngoing A camphorwood chest, a fragment of brass, and a secondhand shop tucked deep in the old quarter. Apprentice Chen Jiaqiang only wanted to learn his trade in peace, but among the old objects he found a brass plaque engraved with strange markings. Missing pages in an old ledger, strangers who sometimes appeared beneath the arcades, his master's uncharacteristic silence: these seemingly unrelated fragments slowly wove themselves into a web. His master said, "Don't rush when looking at things." But th 0Votes238Recs0Fans

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A camphor wood chest, a piece of brass, and a secondhand shop hidden deep in the old street. Apprentice Chen Jiaqiang only wanted to learn his craft peacefully, but he discovered a bronze plaque with strange markings among old objects. Missing pages in an old ledger, strangers occasionally appearing under the arcade, and his master's unusual silence—these seemingly unrelated fragments slowly wove together into a web. The master said: You can't be hasty when looking at things. But the more he looked, the clearer it became: some things were deliberately hidden, some names were deliberately erased. As the past resurfaced from the old objects, he had to decide—whether to continue pretending not to see, or to step into that hidden corner. The memories of a city are hidden in the most inconspicuous old objects. And to remember them is itself a choice.

4 疑 Tracking Strange Cases, Starting as a County Police Detective! 疑案追踪，从县城刑警开始！ Oysters with Goji Berries生蚝加枸杞Mystery & Supernatural594k WordsOngoing Twelve cases in one year. More than a dozen innocent people, along with a promising young forensic examiner, were murdered. Gao Yang was a former criminal detective, now an expert in criminal psychology and a seasoned forensic examiner. Reborn in 1996, he returned to the small county town that had haunted his dreams, carrying memories of his past life and years of experience. This time, he swore to catch the killer. However, when Gao Yang put his experience to use and delved into the crime scene 194Votes927Recs5.1kFans

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Twelve cases in one year. A dozen innocent civilians and a promising forensic doctor were murdered. Gao Yang, a former criminal police officer and now a criminal psychology expert and senior forensic pathologist, is reborn in 1996. With memories of his past life and countless experiences, he returns to the small county town that left him with countless nightmares. This time, he vowed to catch the murderer. However. When Gao Yang truly brought his experience to the scene. He then discovered something. The case back then was far more complicated than I had imagined. The Scarecrow Case, the River and Pond Mystery Case, the Field Mystery Case... Real offender, fake offender, harboring offender, copycat offender... Countless cases are intertwined. A terrifying web has been drawn.

5 沙 Sounds Beneath the Sand 沙下有音 Jiang Feng疆风Mystery & Supernatural40k WordsOngoing In Kashgar's Old City, Shen Nanyin can hear the voices beneath the sand. On a night of sandstorms, a voice dead for thirty years calls her name. Gu Xizhou, a relic restorer, arrives with a jade cicada passed down through his family, leading to a Kunlun eagle-bone flute left behind by her mother. Legend says that the priests of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions used sound to suppress evil spirits, sealing disasters inside a sound prison beneath a sunken city. Now the city is about to 0Votes71Recs0Fans

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In Kashgar's Old City, Shen Nanyin could hear voices beneath the sand. On a sandstorm night, a voice, dead for thirty years, called out her name. Artifact restorer Gu Xizhou arrived with his family heirloom, a jade cicada, leading her to the Kunlun eagle bone flute left by her mother. Legend has it that priests from the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions used sound to suppress evil, sealing calamities into the sound prison of the sunken city. Now, the sunken city is about to rise again, and the black market sand gang is searching for the key. One is wild, the other steady; from the Old City bazaar to the Pamirs and Kunlun Mountains, they must blow that flute to close a city that should never be opened. But what will be released when the flute sounds?

6 赶 The Corpse-Driving Craftsman 赶尸匠 Luo Xiaoyang洛小阳Mystery & Supernatural947k WordsOngoing [A new novel by Luo Xiaoyang, author of The Three Corpse’s Words] The Chen River runs cold as corpse drivers travel by night. The dead demand passage, the living must keep away! A little ghost carries the coffin, with the living as its attendants. The dead open their eyes; the coffin falls, and people die! Guide the souls across the river, use the Seven Stars to subdue the corpse. Nine lions bow to the elephant, trick the heavens and cross the sea! This is a world you’ve never encountered before 181Votes64.1kRecs230.7kFans

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[A new work by Luo Xiaoyang, author of "Three Corpses Language"] The Chen River is cold; corpses are transported at night. The dead need to pass; the living must give way! Little devils carry the coffin, the living follow behind. When the dead open their eyes, the coffin falls and the person dies! Guiding the soul across the river, the Seven Stars suppress the corpse. Nine lions bow to the elephant, deceiving the heavens to cross the sea! This is a circle you've never been to before, where every rule is tied to human lives. If you unfortunately come into contact with this circle, I hope you remember that the most terrifying thing in this world has never been ghosts...

7 盗 Tomb Raiding: A Thousand Eyes on My Back, Hu Bayi's Comrade-in-Arms 盗墓：背生千眼，成了胡八一战友 Hawthorn Dumplings山楂饺子Mystery & Supernatural451k WordsOngoing [Ghost Blows Out the Light] [In the style of the original] Lu Yuan transmigrates and becomes a combat engineer mining in the Kunlun Mountains. The good news: His comrade is Hu Bayi. The bad news: It seems hardly any of Hu Bayi’s comrades make it back alive. Luckily, his master taught him the ancient martial art “Mountain-Breaking Fist.” One punch flips a coffin lid, two smash a zongzi’s head, and three pulverize the soul of an ancient god! That year, the Kunlun Mountains split apart in a catacly 46Votes1.1kRecs11.6kFans

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[Ghost Blows Out the Light] [Original Style] Lu Yuan traveled through time and became an engineering soldier mining in the Kunlun Mountains. Good news: My comrade-in-arms is Hu Bayi. Bad news: It seems that few of Hu Bayi's comrades-in-arms will return alive. Fortunately, he had the ancient martial arts fist technique "Crushing Mountain Hammer" taught by his master. One punch could overturn the coffin lid, two punches could shatter the rice dumpling's head, and three punches could smash the ancient god's soul! That year, the Kunlun Mountains collapsed and the earth split open, revealing a surreal underground world before the two of them. "Old Hu, I won't die, will I?" "No! Lao Lu, don't fall asleep! I'll definitely get you out of here!" When I woke up again, it was already the 1980s. Big Gold Tooth is still selling counterfeit goods at a street stall in Panjiayuan. Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang rode around on a tricycle, selling cassette tapes. Shirley Yang rushed back from the United States to provide financial assistance to Professor Chen; Blind Chen lived a meager existence in Shaanxi, relying on bone reading and fortune telling to survive. Feng Xuewu went into hiding in Gulan County to study the secret art of mountain observation; Everything seems to be in time. Until Lu Yuan took off his clothes, revealing the dense ghost eye tattoos on his back: "Old Hu! Didn't you say you'd take me out?" "Where the hell did you take me back then?!" [A fusion of "Ghost Blows Out the Light", "General of the Nine Netherworlds", and "The Underground World (The Mysterious Kingdom)"]

8 超 Super Detective 超级警探 Diligent Guanguan勤奋的关关Mystery & Supernatural2.0M WordsOngoing Han Ling was once the arbiter of the night, where bullets were justice and blood wrote the verdicts. After transmigrating and getting a new lease on life, the monsters he once hunted have become mysteries waiting to be solved in case files. An expert in the most sophisticated counter-surveillance techniques, he sees straight into the darkest depths of human nature. Solving cases feels more like reviewing what he already knows. The dragon slayer of yesterday is the shield bearer of today. I’m rea 312Votes95.2kRecs321kFans

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Han Ling was once the arbiter of the night; bullets were justice, and blood was the verdict. Having been reborn through time travel, the demons and monsters he once hunted have now become mysteries awaiting the truth in the case files. Mastering the most sophisticated counter-surveillance techniques and understanding the deepest darkness of human nature, solving cases is more like reviewing past experiences. Those who slayed dragons in the past are now shield bearers. I'm really not a genius detective.

9 玩EN Players, All Aboard! 玩家请上车 Haiyanshan海晏山Mystery & Supernatural6.9M WordsOngoing “Welcome, players, aboard the dedicated train for the Dimensional Rift Game. This train will depart from the E-Rank starting station and travel to a D-Rank station. Please ensure your safety, board in an orderly fashion, and obey the rules of travel.” “The rules of travel are as follows:” “1. Please do not bring non-game items aboard the train. (Underwear is exempt.)” “2. Consumption is mandatory. (All train staff are working without pay.)” “3. Do not turn on the lights after they have been turn 912Votes787.7kRecs1.2MFans

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"Welcome players aboard the Dimensional Rift game-specific train. This train will depart from an E-level starting station and head to a D-level station. Please ensure your safety and board the train in an orderly manner, and abide by the boarding rules." The rules for boarding are as follows: 1. Non-game items are not allowed on the train. (Underwear is an exception.) 2. Mandatory consumption. (Train staff are all working without pay.) 3. Do not turn on the lights after they are turned off. (Except for those who are highly skilled and daring.) "In addition, the train encourages various recreational activities such as ambushes, brawls, and hunting, which players are welcome to choose freely." Have a pleasant journey. * If you're interested, you can join our reader group! Players, please join our reader group 1: 812635662 (full) Players, please join our reader group 2: 730895563 (new group)

10 傩 Nuo 傩 Christmas Scarecrow圣诞稻草人Mystery & Supernatural713k WordsOngoing In ancient times, Nuo rituals were used to offer sacrifices to the gods, ward off disasters, bring good fortune, avert calamity, and drive away illness and plague. Today, Nuo rituals can punish evil, promote good, guide spirits onward, and comfort the heart... [Note: I’ve been writing for nine years and have never abandoned a novel. Read with confidence.] 65Votes2.7kRecs9kFans

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In ancient times, there was the Nuo ritual, used to worship gods, ward off disasters, bring good fortune, avoid misfortune, cure diseases, and disperse epidemics. Today, there is the Nuo ritual, used to punish evil, promote good, guide spirits, and soothe hearts… [Note: This work was written over nine years with no unfinished projects; you can read it with confidence.] [Appendix: Christmas Scarecrow's book club group: 195992981]

11 万 Ten Thousand Ghosts in Hiding 万鬼伏藏 Wu Jiu巫九Mystery & Supernatural661k WordsOngoing In a city overrun by demons and monsters, in an age when Daoist arts have fallen into decline. Li Xingran, who in his previous life summoned heavenly lightning alongside his grandfather to destroy the Zombie King, dying together with it, has transmigrated. “Come on, where are your Daoist arts?” “You catch ghosts with your fists?” Li Xingran dons his Daoist robes and steps through the Seven Stars, warding off evil and upholding righteousness, making ten thousand ghosts submit and vanish. 74Votes15.3kRecs32.4kFans

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A city overrun by demons and monsters, an era where Taoist arts have declined and faded. In his previous life, Li Xingran, who sacrificed himself and his grandfather to bring down heavenly lightning in order to get rid of the zombie king, has transmigrated here. "Hey buddy, where's your magic?" "You think you can catch ghosts with your fists?" Li Xingran donned a Taoist robe, stepped out in the Seven Stars Step, warding off evil and upholding righteousness, causing all ghosts to hide.

12 盗 Tomb Raiding: Reborn as Li Cu, I Dominate the Nine Gates in This Life 盗墓：重生黎簇，今生横推九门 93 Feifei九三废废Mystery & Supernatural550k WordsOngoing After half a lifetime of drifting through the shifting sands, Li Cu, manipulated by the Wang family and dragged along by fate, lived out a hurried life weighed down by exhaustion and regret. After death, his soul went to the underworld to wash away its sins, then returned to the turbulent era of the Republican period when the Nine Gates were at their height. That was a time when the Nine Gates flourished, heroes rose on every side, the Old Nine Gates wielded immense power, and talented figures a 52Votes1.9kRecs1.9kFans

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Having spent half his life adrift in the desert, Li Cu, scheming against the Wang family and bound by fate, lived a life of weariness and helplessness. His soul returned to the underworld to cleanse his sins, and he was reborn during the turbulent era of the Nine Gates in the Republic of China. In this year, the Nine Gates flourished, heroes rose up, the Old Nine Gates held immense power, and many talented people emerged in the martial arts world. The boy who was once manipulated by others has now stirred up a storm in the world. The left eye governs daytime, the right eye covers nighttime; it can delay the passage of time, suppress all evil spirits, and exempt one from all the cycles of fate in the world. The miasma, corpse poison, evil spirits, and strange phenomena of the ancient tomb had no effect on him. In this life, I am no longer a pawn; I will sweep through the Nine Gates and annihilate the Wang family. After death and reincarnation, I was recruited by Hades Acha and then kicked into the Nine Gates era, where I took the name Li Shushu. In this life, I want to be promoted to a higher generation, and everyone who comes will have to be my junior! Clinging to Zhang Haiqi's leg and calling her "sister," even the current queen of the Zhang family could only look on helplessly. To broaden Yin Xinyue's horizons, so that she won't be fooled by some warlord leader in the future without even realizing it! Zhang Haixing mistakenly believed him to be a descendant of the Zhang family's Qilin bloodline and relentlessly pursued him. Zhang Qiling, Black Glasses... I couldn't beat you in my past life, but neither of you should run away in this one! Oh, right... And this young master Wu from the Wu family!!! It's time to settle our scores!

13 镇 Museum of Demon Suppression 镇妖博物馆 Yan ZK阎ZKMystery & Supernatural5.1M WordsCompleted What defies the natural order of the world is a yao. What possesses the spirit of a living creature is a jing. What lingers after death is a ghost. What is abnormal in an object is a monster. The Commandant of Retainers, once known as the Crouching Tiger, was an office established by Emperor Wu of Han to investigate witchcraft and capture treacherous criminals. As spiritual energy and the supernatural revive across the globe, humanity gropes its way toward cultivation. The yaoguai, spirits, ghos 42Votes1.2MRecs6.9MFans

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Abnormalities in the world are demons The spirit of things is essence. The lingering soul is a mystery. The abnormality of things is strange. The Commandant of the Capital Region, formerly known as the Crouching Tiger, was established by Emperor Wu of Han to investigate witchcraft and arrest treacherous individuals. A global resurgence of spiritual energy and mystery has led humanity to explore the path of cultivation. Demons and monsters lurking in legends have emerged one by one, while countless evil spirits still lurk in the shadows. A deserted museum and a tiger-carved waist plaque from the time of Emperor Wu of Han make Wei Yuan the last Sili Commandant of the modern era, leading him to many strange and supernatural events throughout history. Strange and unusual things have happened throughout history. The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits. Let us speak of them as they come, and listen to them as they come. Let's execute him for now. An eight-sided Han sword, slaying all demons and monsters. Life and death are predetermined; Heaven's will prevails. When Wei Yuan was finally able to lie on a wooden chair and bask in the sun in peaceful times, countless demons and monsters had already been sealed away in the museum behind him.