The Tale of Books and Swords

In an ancient world where immortals and demons abound and countless legends lie buried, the Four Arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting are all the rage.

A beautiful fox spirit kneels before a humble gate for a hundred years just to learn music...

A clever dog demon who loves chess is willing to sell himself into slavery...

A bull demon who longs to read and write disguises himself as an old gatekeeper at an academy...

A young man accidentally inherits the legacy of an ancient sage, along with the long-lost mastery of the Four Arts. He becomes proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, able to excel at them all.

From then on, carrying an iron sword and a battered zither on his back, he travels the land, teaching a cute little fox to play music, a lecherous black dog to play chess, an old bull who likes to act foolish to write, and a fierce, terrifying female ghost to paint...

Along the way, he competes with people in music and chess, or takes his iron sword to scare the little demons in the mountains...