The young Xiao Pu was renowned locally for his talent, while the traveling merchant Lang Shisan was a master of both martial arts and scholarship, with a free-spirited and dashing demeanor. Their paths crossed at the Zichuan County Magistrate’s Office, just as the magistrate’s residence was being haunted. With one skilled in the arts and the other in martial arts, one calm and the other dynamic, the pair complemented each other’s strengths and weaknesses during the investigation, unexpectedly solving the mystery. After the case, inspired by Lang Shisan, Xiao Pu resolved to join him on his journey. Together, they slayed demons and vanquished evil, drawing on Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio from The Painted Skin and Nie Xiaoqian to explore how young women navigate love, family, and friendship.