Planned Release Date: Nov 5, 2026

About This Game

The inns of Jinhua charge far more than Ning Caichen can afford. The young scholar, traveling to take his examinations, has little choice but to seek shelter in a ruined temple north of the city.

As night deepens, a young woman named Nie Xiaoqian appears at his door.

A gold ingot of unknown origin, a string of strange events in the temple, and a past she hesitates to reveal gradually turn his stay into an encounter in which life and death are at stake.

Nie Xiaoqian is a supernatural visual novel set in ancient China. Follow the story through Ning Caichen's eyes: read the narrative, advance conversations and make pivotal choices in a tale of trust, promises, and the choice to stay or leave.

The story leads from the streets of Jinhua to the ruined temple north of the city, then follows the waterways home to Ning Caichen's house. Night winds in the temple, conversations beneath a boat's canopy, and time spent reading and painting orchids at home mark different stages in the characters' growing acquaintance and life together.

Xiaoqian's past and the dangers within the temple gradually come to light. Once home, they must also consider how to explain matters to his mother and how to live together. Ning Caichen must keep his promises, while Xiaoqian has wishes and choices of her own.

His travel money is scarce, his book chest is heavy, and his mother's advice is still on his mind. He treats others gently, but knows fear and hesitation too. As his encounters move further beyond ordinary understanding, he must decide what he is willing to believe and how far he can go to keep his word.

Beautiful and softly spoken, she always seems to leave something unsaid. She longs to escape her bonds, yet fears that her past will drive others away. As you spend more time together, you will discover her likes, concerns and convictions, and hear her express her wishes in her own words.

Plainly dressed and sparing with words, he often delivers his warnings without ceremony. He has seen the dangers of the night and is willing to lend a hand, but will also ask what lies behind events. Before seeking his help, Ning Caichen must face what he has yet to tell in full.

She worries about her son's safety while keeping track of the household's firewood, rice and mending. The unfamiliar young woman who returns with her son gives her cause for concern, but she is willing to hear the whole story. A stool, a lamp and a few everyday conversations slowly reshape the relationships within this small courtyard.

The game centers on reading the story, following character dialogue and making pivotal choices. When Yan Chixia questions you, you can choose to "Tell him everything" or "Tell him only part of it for now." Characters respond differently, and the events that follow change with your decisions.

The complete story spans four chapters, with three main endings and two bad endings. Pay attention to the warnings you have heard, remember the promises you have made, and follow different choices to discover different paths home.

Character portraits, background illustrations and story CG artwork in a classical Chinese style bring the tale to life. Jinhua's streets, dilapidated temples, the canopy of a homeward boat and the lights of home reveal the journey's changing surroundings and atmosphere. Character expressions and dialogue scenes accompany the unfolding story.

Selected character dialogue is voiced in Chinese, accompanied by background music and ambient effects that bring the night's strange noises, wind and rain, and the everyday sounds of home into the story. Adjust the music, sound effects and voice volumes separately to suit the way you like to listen.

Supports auto-advance, skipping previously read text, saving and loading, dialogue history and adjustable text size, making it easy to pause, revisit conversations or continue from a key moment.

As the story progresses, unlock chapter replays, ending replays, an art gallery and a music gallery to revisit parts of the story you have already experienced.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

Generative AI was used during production to help write and revise narrative, dialogue and interaction text; generate environments, character portraits and cover art; and assist translation and music-synthesis programming. The music was rendered offline from custom synthesis code, while ambience and effects are synthesized locally. All narrative and translations are included in the game. No real-time AI generation occurs during gameplay.