Publisher Description
Jin, an Imperial Scribe, lives by a single rule: control. His world is a fortress of straight lines and balanced ledgers, a rigid defense against the chaotic memories of his past. He despises the fluid, "horizontal" world of his rivals, believing his meticulous perfection is the only path to advancement. But his precision earns him only a demotion to a forgotten, chaotic archive. There, buried in the filth, he uncovers a mythical, lost scroll—the original words of the sage Laozi. Convinced this is his key to immortal glory, he steals it and embarks on a quest to the edge of the Empire.
The world beyond the palace, however, is not a ledger. It is a raging river , a bewildering forest , and a land of brutal, uncaring violence. His quest to find the sage becomes a journey of deconstruction, as floods, bandits, and starvation strip him of his rank, his robes, and his very name. To find the Way, he must first lose himself completely.
