Opening
Qing dynasty, Kangxi Emperor period, after foiling minister Aobai's scheme and defeating foreign enemies, an economic bloomed followed. For a long time, the society was harmonious and people lived a happy life. However, Kangxi became self-satisfied because of his contribution and achievements in his later life. He was tired of handling state affairs and soon, the problem of corruption arose in court. Officers and soldiers were cruel to people, so several parts of the country rose in rebellion.
The old saying goes that, when society is unstable, so is the nether world. Monsters, ghosts, ghouls are all reflections of the ugliest part of the inner world of human being. When there is an opportunity to take advantage of, they come out and feed on souls. During that time, a lot of strange and bizarre stories were circulating among people.
Since the death of your families, you have been living in a small house in the suburbs, away from crowds. Your friends fear that you might encounter ghosts or monsters, but every time they try to convince you to live with them, you reply, “if they come, I’ll kill them with my sword.” In fact, living alone doesn’t bother you. Since you love to read books and write poems, a quiet place is better for you to submerge yourself in the sea of knowledge and thoughts. Like other scholars of this time, you are worried about the future of this country. In order to start your official career and save the country, you study hard and try your best to help everyone in need.
Though your house is quite small, there is a pond under a plum tree in your garden. When spring comes, the plum tree blossoms. The flowers are as white as snow. Then during summertime, the pond is full of lotus flowers, the scent of which can spread for miles. No one knows who planted the tree or who built the pond. But they are one of the reasons why you moved to this house. Sometimes you take a walk in the garden. Sometimes you read books under the plum tree. Sometimes you have a drink beside the pond and look at the moon hanging in sky. At this point, you haven’t realized how these two things are going to become so important in your life. You will experience the real life and death, love and hate, bitterness and sweetness.
And our story starts from here, from a night when you are concentrating on reading a difficult book in the garden.
This game book was adapted from Lixiang, from Liao Zhai Zhi Yi (Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio), by Songling Pu. Liao Zhai Zhi Yi was written in Qing Dynasty that is over 300 years ago. If you know nothing about the history of China, some plots may confuse you, but I really want to stick to this setting. To me, ancient era is when miracles and magic still existed. Lian Xiang (Lotus) is one of my favorite character in Liao Zhai Zhi Yi. The original story is really fun and worth reading. Hope my adaption doesn’t ruin the original story.
To read the whole game book, download it here:
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