Curious tale of Pu's return

Three of the five stories are household tales, and have been adapted into films before. The first is The Master of Laoshan, recounting a man's journey to the titular mountain, located in Qingdao, Shandong province, to learn magic from a powerful Taoist priest. Under the priest's guidance, he masters one spell: the ability to walk through walls. But when he attempts to demonstrate this power before his wife and neighbors, his skill fails him — leaving him to question whether his pursuit was worth the trouble.

In a nostalgic nod to the golden age of Chinese animation, The Master of Laoshan is rendered in wool-based stop-motion, with characters and sets crafted from wool-covered puppets and props.

Cui Yuemei, the story's director, explains that the wool-based animation is inspired by an intangible cultural heritage item from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. She hopes the original tale — which previously inspired a 1981 classic animated film produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio — will bring fans born between the 1980s and 1990s a renewed sense of wonder.

Painted Skin tells the story of a monstrous creature who disguises herself as a beautiful woman by wearing human skin, while Nie Xiaoqian follows a female ghost who falls in love with a kindhearted medical student — a man who ultimately protects her from an evil demon.

While Nie Xiaoqian celebrates the triumph of true love over evil, Painted Skin is told from the perspective of the victim's wife, as she witnesses her husband fall under the monster's seduction — sparking deep reflection on trust and loyalty in a long-term marriage.