"A masterpiece! It writes of the strange but speaks of devotion—it hurts to read. Love is the self-chosen act of letting each other be whole."
—A Douban reader (Bu Yi)

"Five exquisite tragic romances; human and demon on different paths, with no resolution in the end. Each story is a short fantasy, and at last they are woven into one book through the story of Lian Jiang and her master. I can't help admiring the author's imagination."
—A Douban reader (Pang Tu Jun)

★ She was picked off the street by her master, who nearly died to save her. For two thousand years she roamed alone, hunting demons, to return the life her master had given back to her.
★ The strange tale is only the shell; inside is devotion. Behind every demon—a snake spirit, a mountain goblin, the Lord of Fengdu—is an attachment it cannot release. Human and demon walk different paths, yet each has its own "worth it."
★ Rooted in the "Shan Hai Jing" (the classic Chinese bestiary of mythical creatures) and set in the modern city, two thousand years later she opens a funeral parlor, waiting for an ending she can neither leave nor bear to leave.
★ A standout hit on Zhihu's Yanxuan: in 2024, with nearly 2 million readers voting, it ranked first among the "New Three Peerless Works of Zhihu." Its film and TV rights have sold in the million-yuan range. Mi Hua is an exclusive Zhihu Yanyan Stories writer and a Top 10 author of the first Short-Story Influence Ranking, called by readers "Mi Hua's work, always a gem."

This is a collection of strange-tale fantasy stories set in a modern city, threaded together from multiple standalone short stories. It tells of a protagonist of the demon kind, who has lived for over two thousand years, and her encounters with all manner of spirits in the present-day city.

The story begins in the ancient city of Yidu, in the southwest of the Qin era. Lian Jiang is a little beggar on the streets when she is taken in as a disciple by the Yidu priest Murong Zhao. When Lian Jiang saves the princess Zhong Lihua on her own, she angers the river god, who releases the many demons from the riverbed, plunging the world into chaos. Her master Murong Zhao nearly perishes, body and soul, to save her; in the end he lives, but, having lost his body, must become a demon. To atone for her mistake, and to carry on her master's will, Lian Jiang takes up a demon-hunt that will last a thousand years...

Time passes. A thousand years later, through Lian Jiang's efforts, she has at last rounded up every demon—herself included.

Mi Hua
With nearly 30 works to her name, her style is distinctive and delicate, spanning urban romance, historical romance, and fantasy. In 2023 she was honored as Zhihu's "New Knowledge Creator" and named a Top 10 author of the first Short-Story Influence Ranking. Her representative works include "Yidu: A Record of Strange Demons," "The Fish-Lantern Guide to Souls," "Tangmu Still," "The Crow's Bell," and "Lang Huai You Yu." Drawing inspiration from the "Shan Hai Jing," she has built a distinctive world of strange tales and earned the reputation among readers of "Mi Hua's work, always a gem." "Yidu: A Record of Strange Demons" is published in print, its radio-drama adaptation is airing, and its film and TV rights have been sold. "The Fish-Lantern Guide to Souls" has sold both its film-and-TV rights and publication rights, and an audio-drama adaptation is now streaming.

Chapter 1 The Snake Demon Qiu Hui
Chapter 2 The Flying-Head General
Chapter 3 Yidu, City of Flowers
Chapter 4 The River Demon Lian Jiang
Chapter 5 The Mountain Goblins
Chapter 6 Prey
Chapter 7 Heart-Piercing
Chapter 8 The Mountain Goblin Gazes at the Moon
Chapter 9 The Road of Reincarnation
Chapter 10 The Lord of Fengdu
Chapter 11 The Way Home
Chapter 12 Side Story: Bonds That Bind
New Side Story: Heavenly Treasures—The Murong Zhao Chapter
Afterword