"Travelers at sea speak of Yingzhou, shrouded in mist and waves, a place almost impossible to find. The people of Yue speak of Mount Tianmu, which can sometimes be glimpsed amid shifting clouds and rosy skies." Since the dawn of humanity, countless legends of gods, immortals, ghosts, and monsters have been passed down across the land of China. A woodcutter went into the mountains and watched an old man and a boy play chess. When the game ended, he turned around to find his axe rusted and its handle rotten. By the time he returned home, a hundred years had passed. Such are the tales of gods and immortals. A man walking alone at night circled around a small patch of ground without realizing it. A great fish stirred up waves beneath a boat on the river, and only vanished after being struck with gold and jade. Such are the tales of ghosts and monsters. Stories like these are too numerous to recount.
Yet although people pass these tales of gods, immortals, ghosts, and monsters from mouth to mouth, few have ever seen or heard of them firsthand. How can anyone know whether they are true? To judge whether something exists without seeing or hearing it is the way of the common fool. Those with great wisdom and steadfast hearts, however, journey across distant seas and visit famous mountains in search of proof. Even if only one in a hundred returns, others still follow in their footsteps!
The story of this book begins in an ordinary little village where such legends are told, in a poor family's home."
