Krimi. Reformed thief Michael St. Pierre and his crew travel to China on behalf of the U.S. government to obtain a legendary diary that holds the clue to a long-forgotten mystery

This book, first published in 1994, sets ‘repertoire against raconteur’ in order to explore one of the world’s largest collections of folk literature. The author’s findings, and his creative and synthetic methodologies, enhance greatly our understanding of the world of the legend, and especially the basic question of ‘Who tells what to whom in the form of a legend and why?’ This work is an in-depth exploration of rural Denmark, and provides us with an excellent vantage point from which to understand legends in their cultural contexts and within the lives of their tellers.

During the Hongwu period, the Beastmen race, known as the "External Demons", came with unpredictable weapons. Thus, a war broke out between the armies of the Ming Dynasty and the outer demons. The folk martial artists and the martial artists of the martial arts world all formed their own sects to participate in the battle between the outer demons. After the Great Ming Royal Family witnessed the powerful strength of the external devil, they eventually bowed their heads to the external devil and gave up on the other sects. Signing unequal treaties with foreign devils without authorization... 

They were destined for failure. When William, a mysterious and manipulative wizard, learns the deadly Ravenstone has been uncovered by a self-proclaimed regent known as the Priagent, he hastily assembles a group of mismatched travelers to steal the stone and deliver it to safety. The Ravenstone is an ancient relic—a remnant of a battle between gods—and it has the power to unravel magic. The unlikely company sent to retrieve it consists of Arcturus, an exiled politician with a fondness for wine, Kariayla, a winged slave girl on a quest for redemption, Jinx, an unlucky thief and his imp counterpart, and Hawkwing, William’s personal spy, at the helm. Distrust, secrets, and inexperience threaten to compromise the mission as the group is forced to travel in the company of the enemy. Doubt turns to the wizard who employed them on this precarious quest—the quest to obtain a mythic source of dark power: the Legend of the Ravenstone.