During the Qing Dynasty, there was a prodigal son who was determined to mend his ways, giving himself the alias "Escaped from Death." One day, he encountered a man on the street selling a novel. Curious, he saw it was titled "Notes on Nine Lives," part of *Bizarre Happenings of Twenty Years*.

As he read, his face and ears turned scarlet (面红耳赤), and he became utterly absorbed, his mind wandering with the story. He was so captivated that he later adapted this book into a serialized chapter novel for publication.