Lord Lister No. 0035: De man, die veertig draken doodde

“De man, die veertig draken doodde” is a pulp adventure serial written in the early 20th century. Set in Peking, it follows the gentleman‑adventurer John Raffles (the “Great Unknown”) as he becomes entangled in violent court intrigues, temple conspiracies, and a perilous rescue involving the young beauty Anitai. Expect a fast, melodramatic mix of abduction, corruption, and East–West tension, with a ruthless police chief and rival palace factions as chief antagonists. The opening of the story plunges into a noisy festival for the spring god Tsai‑Soi, where the poor youth Win‑Seng and his sister Anitai are spotted by the powerful, corrupt mandarin Kwo‑Saing. Win‑Seng is knocked out and handed to temple priests, while Anitai is nearly abducted—until Raffles, traveling incognito, forces entry with help from French legation guards and carries her to safety. As Raffles shelters the girl, we meet Prince Thun and his wife Wandé, whose enemies use the Tsai‑Soi priests to drug Wandé and force Win‑Seng—later mutilated and made a tongueless slave—into a plot that disgraces the prince; Raffles intervenes and wins Thun’s alliance. Kwo‑Saing then has the witch Bali lure and kidnap Anitai for the rival Prince Tuan, prompting Raffles to seek aid from the priesthood of the Sun Temple, which promises to return the girl the following evening. (This is an automatically generated summary.)