The Annals of the Great Wilderness

Young Cang Xing, who has studied the incomplete 'Classic of Mountains and Seas' since childhood, refuses to blindly follow the myriad myths and legends of gods and monsters within it. At the age of twenty, he leaves his homeland, carrying brush, ink, measuring tools, and bamboo slips, embarking on a journey through the Great Wilderness, determined to measure the ancient mountains and rivers with mortal feet and verify the authenticity of the ancient records through on-site investigation. Along the way, he encounters A Ruo, who is knowledgeable about herbal medicine and the habits of all living creatures. They hit it off immediately and travel together for twenty years. They do not seek immortality, practice magic, or slay beasts, but spend their days traversing deep valleys and wild plains, crossing rivers and seas, surveying mountain ranges, tracing water sources, analyzing geological strata, and meticulously recording the uses of plants, the nature of wild animals, and the customs and migrations of ancient tribes. After traveling thousands of miles, they return home in their old age. Cang Xing compiles his half-lifetime of observations into a book, stripping away layers of mythical illusion, and from the most ordinary mortal perspective, outlines the true ancient world, its creatures, and humanity, writing this unique 'Annals of the Great Wilderness'. — Description from novelcodex.org