STORY BACKGROUND
In the 15th year of the Chongzhen era in the Ming Dynasty of China (1642), a scholar named Fang Zhiyou lost his mind and memory after his childhood sweetheart, Su Lianyan, a renowned Yangzhou courtesan, drowned herself in a river. He began perceiving humans as beasts and wasted his days in a drunken stupor.
Three years later, Fang Zhiyou in a drunken haze, strayed into the monstrous world he had penned—The Lion Camel Kingdom. There, he witnessed the demon soldiers invading the city, committing acts of looting, slaughtering, raping, and torching everything. Though he had sought death, he found a renewed will to live after meeting a young girl who bears a striking resemblance to Su Lianyan, named "Little Swan". Moved by her presence, he resolved to keep her alive until the last day of the demon soldiers finally lay down their weapons.
During their escape, fragments of his memory would gradually resurface, intertwining sanity and madness until the truth was revealed. At that moment, he faced his inescapable fate...
KEY FEATURES
A standalone sequel by the original creators of The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty: This new narrative game from the million-selling visual novel The Hungry Lamb team inherits the world-building of its predecessor, while telling a completely standalone story — no prior experience with the original is required.
Survival in Turbulent Times x History and Fantasy Intertwined: Set against the harrowing backdrop of Ten Days of Yangzhou, this gripping tale of the late Ming dynasty weaves documented historical horrors with supernatural folklore for an unforgettable narrative experience.
Dual-chapter extended storyline: A dual-narrative script interweaving past and present, featuring over 200,000 words of unique text, multiple main endings, and dozens of death endings. Every choice you make determines survival or demise.
Premium 2D Chinese-inspired artwork: Meticulously crafted in a realistic painterly style, with rigorous research into Ming and Qing-era costumes and architecture, authentically recreating the historical atmosphere and its brutal beauty.
Cinematic sound design and original score: Featuring acclaimed Chinese and Japanese voice actors in full dubbing, paired with dynamic original soundtrack to deliver a cinematic audio experience.
Reference to the previous game: This installment features a self-contained "Liang and Sui" chapter that narrates events set after the ending of the Hungry Lamb, as well as the aftermath of The Weeping Swan.
CHARACTERS
Fang Zhiyou
The protagonist. After losing his parents at the age of nine, he was adopted by his uncle. Fang passed the imperial examination at a young age and became a scholar. However, he chose to live alone, gave up pursuing an official career, and tried to spend the rest of his life as a writer.
He tried to emulate the Scoffing Scholar of Lanling, who wrote The Plum in the Golden Vase inspired by Water Margin. Similarly, Fang Zhiyou created The Lion Camel Kingdom based on Journey to the West. However, the death of his friend Su Lingyan shocked him so deeply that he could no longer write. He lost his memories and developed an illness that caused him to see people as beasts. In 1645 on the 24th day of the fourth lunar month, after drinking heavily, he found himself transported to The Lion Camel Kingdom — the very world he had once written about.
Su Lingyan
A courtesan who never offered bed services. She was an artist with a natural talent for writing poems, drawing, and playing different instruments. Su Lingyan was so famous that people from the whole empire traveled to see her performances. The night of the 15th year of Chongzhen, she ended her life by jumping from the Twenty-four Bridge into the cold waters. Her death became a never-cured illness in Fang Zhiyou’s heart.
Little Swan
A mysterious young girl with the same nickname and appearance as Su Lingyan. However, she has a very distinct personality from Su. Fang’s old friend was decisive and stronger than most boys, but Little Swan was a weak, faint-hearted girl to be protected. She is the first person that Fang meets after entering The Lion Camel Kingdom.
Lin Pianpian
Pianpian was born in poverty. In the 13th year of Chongzhen, she was selling herself at the Willow Street of the 24th Bridge. She met Zhiyou out of coincidence, but they gradually drifted apart after Lianyan's death. With her sensational beauty, she rose to fame many times in the following years. By the time Yaoguai broke into the city in the year of Yiyou, she was already the most prestigious "Red Courtesan" in 24th Bridges.
Madam QiongHua
The wife of a general. She got her nickname, Qionghua, after the white-jaded flower she always wears in her hair. She used to live in a shelter under the Twenty-four Bridges, gathering victims from all around the city and protecting them from murder and theft in the name of her husband, Wang. As she became popular, the people she saved started calling her Madam White-Jaded Flower, or Madam Qionghua.
The Golden Winged Great Peng
The responsible for the massacre of the city in The Lion Camel Kingdom. He is one of the three Yaoguai of Shituo Ridge. Of an unpredictable personality, his actions are hard to comprehend, yet he often accomplishes remarkable feats. The eldest Yaoguai brother is the violent Green Lion, the second is the cunning and scheming White Elephant, and Tathagata Buddha who is yet to become Buddha, is his own nephew.
Scholar Wang
A friend several years older than Fang Zhiyou. They earned their scholarly titles together. In younger days, he would take Fang Zhiyou to the pleasure quarters at Twenty-Four Bridges, but marriage and fatherhood ended those visits.
When The Lion Camel Kingdom slaughtered the city, he and his family fought to survive.
Liang
During the massacre of Lioncamel, a hero who saved people in the city would record every person he saved, saying that it was to "repay his debt".
Sui
A strange woman often mentioned by the hero "Liang", she was not in the city during the massacre.
