✨ Title: Ganges in the Trees

ℹ️ Alternative Title: 老九门番外之恒河杀树, Phantom of Bifang Buckle

🌎 Country of Origin: China (Mainland)

🗓️ Aired: November 24, 2016

🍿 Format & ⏳Length️: Movie (1 hr and 30 minutes)

🔥Rating: PG-15 (Teens 15 and Older)

Action / Adventure, Historical, Antiquities Protection, Treasure Hunt, Tomb Raiding, Supernatural

The Grave Robber Chronicles

✒️ Author: Xu Lei (Nan Pai San Shu)

🗓️ Publication Date: 2007

#️⃣ There are many prequel, sequel, and side stories in the Grave Robber Chronicles universe, but this show is generally set in the era of the prequel (The Mystic Nine or Lao Jiu Men).

The best place to find information about the original Chinese edition and the direct translation by Merebear is the translator’s website here.

The first few volumes of the main story has been adapted into a series of English Translated volumes and one graphic novel.

⚠️ Please Note: The shows do not directly align with either the original Chinese or the English editions. Nor do the English editions directly align with the original Chinese. Parts are spliced together, cut out, or otherwise edited to create the various adaptations.

‘The Mystic Nine Tetralogy’ is a set of four side-stories based in the same backdrop as The Mystic Nine. The stories are independent, but each focuses on one of the key characters in the original show (Huo San Niang, Chen Pi Ah Si, Lieutenant Zhang, and Er Yue Hong). They can be watched in no particular order and are often set as sequels to The Mystic Nine. They are certainly better understood if watched after the main series in order to be familiar with the characters and family history.

‘Ganges Killing the Trees‘ is the story of Huo San Niang.

In this dark, claustrophobic tale, Huo Jinxi ventures into an ancient tomb to retrieve the Huo clan’s heirloom, the bifang brooch. After acquiring it, she and several members of the Mystic Nine are mysteriously captured by an unknown adversary, escaping into a remote temple just as a toxic mist—released when the brooch shattered—engulfs the surroundings. Inside the temple, the group faces lethal traps: victims begin dying in ways that mirror deaths depicted in a Taoist mural featuring nine figures, six of whom are already “dead.” Paranoia sets in as survivors turn on each other amid mirroring deaths.