Chapter Summaries

Hu Jiu and He Ming went to the Langzhou City government building to investigate the supernatural incident at Langzhou University, killing those who tried to obstruct them. Hu Jiu seized control of the city’s administration and ordered its department heads to attend a meeting within half an hour.

• Two men in black from the Special Operations Department tried to block Hu Jiu and He Ming, so Hu Jiu swallowed them and their car into the ground.
• Police surrounded Hu Jiu and He Ming, but Hu Jiu dismissed them as impostors and swallowed them and their cars into the ground.
• At the government building, Hu Jiu hanged two staff members with White Sash when they tried to delay him.
• Hu Jiu entered the mayor’s office, announced that he was taking over Langzhou City’s administration, and killed the mayor when he resisted.
• Hu Jiu ordered the mayor’s secretary to summon the department heads for a meeting within half an hour, threatening consequences for anyone who failed to arrive.

Hu Jiu killed the mayor and explained to He Ming that a Ghost Tamer’s strength would shield him from serious punishment by Headquarters. As officials gathered for Hu Jiu’s meeting, they revealed that Chu Yan was occupied at Langzhou University.

• Hu Jiu ordered the mayor’s secretary to notify the officials, and He Ming quietly questioned whether Headquarters would punish Hu Jiu for killing the mayor.
• Hu Jiu told He Ming that a Ghost Tamer’s strength was his core competitiveness and that Headquarters prioritized stability over justice.
• The mayor’s secretary called officials for advice, then warned some of them about the danger and gave Hu Jiu a file of attendee information.
• Officials arrived at the conference room, saw the mayor’s body, and quietly took their seats while Hu Jiu read the file.
• Officials asked in a group chat why Chu Yan had not arrived, and someone replied that Chu Yan was dealing with a situation at Langzhou University.

Hu Jiu used a meeting to assert control over Langzhou City's departments, threatening those who stayed away and torturing a special operations leader for information about Langzhou University. He learned that Chu Shan was likely behind the university incidents and connected to Chu Yan, and resolved to kill Chu Shan to take the Ghost Book and the Mirage Ghost.

• Hu Jiu told the gathered officials that everyone who missed the meeting was dead and claimed Headquarters had authorized him to investigate Langzhou City and purge corrupt departments.
• Hu Jiu questioned a special operations leader about deaths and disappearances at Langzhou University, then inflicted agonizing pain when the man claimed ignorance.
• The leader said Chu Yan was responsible for the university matter and that a Ghost Tamer, possibly connected to Chu Yan, was causing trouble there; he directed Hu Jiu to Principal Liang for more information.
• Hu Jiu concluded that Chu Shan was the Ghost Tamer behind the incidents and decided he had to kill him to claim the Ghost Book and the Mirage Ghost.

Hu Jiu forced Langzhou City’s leaders to recognize his authority, then headed to Langzhou University to investigate the Ghost Tamer. He and He Ming noticed that many students seemed unusually gloomy as they arrived at the campus.

• Hu Jiu ordered the officials to notify Langzhou University that he was coming and warned them to remain ready for orders.
• The officials learned that everyone who missed the meeting had died in gruesome incidents that also killed their families, and they resolved to stay neutral between Hu Jiu and Chu Yan.
• Hu Jiu and He Ming reached Langzhou University’s Main Campus at sunset.
• Hu Jiu observed that many students looked gloomy and walked heavily, and He Ming joked back after Hu Jiu teased him for being too young for university.

He Ming and Hu Jiu investigated the strange incidents at Langzhou University after discussing He Ming’s lack of direction and the danger of relying on Headquarters. They decided to split up, with He Ming meeting Principal Liang while Hu Jiu investigated the campus unnoticed.

• Hu Jiu warned He Ming that others might covet the Mirage Ghost and urged him to take responsibility for the Langzhou University incident.
• He Ming and Hu Jiu entered the campus, and He Ming questioned student Li Qisi, who reluctantly accepted Hu Jiu’s money but claimed she knew nothing.
• Li Qisi led them to Principal Liang’s office, and He Ming questioned Hu Jiu about paying her despite getting no useful information.
• Hu Jiu proposed that He Ming meet Principal Liang while he investigated the university separately.
• He Ming suggested using the Mirage Ghost to create a phantom of Hu Jiu so the real Hu Jiu could explore without attracting attention.

He Ming confronted Principal Liang about the university’s missing and dead students, but Liang revealed that he had been coerced by powerful forces and had secretly protected students and sought help. Liang handed He Ming a file on the Ghost Tamer Chu Shan, and He Ming suspected Liang had helped bring Langzhou City’s crimes to Headquarters’ attention.

• He Ming used Insubstantiality to take the principal’s seat and demanded that Principal Liang explain the school’s abnormalities and his cover-up.
• Principal Liang admitted that a Ghost Tamer at the university had protection from powerful people and said he had been ordered to shield the student.
• Liang described how Headquarters had ignored and leaked earlier reports, while he transferred innocent students to other campuses to protect them.
• Liang gave He Ming a concealed file about the Ghost Tamer, and He Ming found the name Chu Shan in it.
• He Ming asked whether Liang had helped expose Langzhou City, and Liang left the question unanswered while recalling that the fugitive Lin’s arrival had created an opportunity to alert Headquarters.

Hu Jiu discovered that a supernatural force was trapping students in shared nightmares and entered Li Qisi’s dream to investigate. After disguising himself as a fox immortal, he promised to help the students and ended their dream, leaving them ready to tell him what they knew.

• Hu Jiu noticed that many Langzhou University students were exhausted and going to sleep unusually early, then suspected their dreams were involved.
• Hu Jiu entered Li Qisi’s dream and found a decaying version of the campus where a female ghost resembling Kayako terrorized students.
• Hu Jiu spoke to Li Qisi and her roommates, who mistook his voice for a ghostly trick and panicked when they could not open the door.
• Hu Jiu transformed into a little orange-red fox, called himself a fox immortal, and offered to help the four students escape the nightmare.
• A cautious roommate asked Hu Jiu to take them out first, and he created copies of the students before ending the dream with a flick of his tail.

Fox Immortal questioned Li Qisi, Tao Wan, and their roommates about the Nightmare Game after freeing them from it. The four girls escaped, but the other students remained asleep while Fox Immortal searched for the game's creator.

• Tao Wan explained that the Nightmare Game sent students into dangerous dream missions, and Li Qisi said those who failed died later in plausible real-world accidents.
• Tao Wan asked whether they had escaped permanently, and Fox Immortal assured the girls that the Nightmare Game would never come for them again.
• Li Qisi ran out to share the news, then returned pale after finding that the other students were still asleep and could not be woken.
• Fox Immortal told Li Qisi that he had only saved the four girls so far and would wake the others after finding and dealing with the Nightmare Game's creator.

Tao Wan told Hu Jiu that the Nightmare Game had human collaborators and pointed him toward Liu Qingxuan, a campus belle who might be one of them. After Hu Jiu left, Tao Wan admitted she was trying to keep her roommates away from the conflict, but Li Qisi revealed she had posted about the Nightmare Game and the Fox Immortal on Weibo.

• Tao Wan explained that the Nightmare Game seemed to recruit human collaborators and identified Liu Qingxuan as a possible one.
• Tao Wan gave Hu Jiu Liu Qingxuan's room number and appearance, and Hu Jiu left to investigate room 317.
• Tao Wan urged Li Qisi to be more respectful toward Hu Jiu, while privately avoiding trusting him as a backer.
• Li Qisi told her roommates she had posted about the Nightmare Game and the Fox Immortal on Weibo.

Tao Wan fled the university and city to escape the Nightmare Game, while Li Qisi stayed behind hoping to turn the supernatural danger into an opportunity. Hu Jiu investigated Liu Qingxuan’s suspiciously polished conduct in the nightmare, and He Ming left the principal’s office troubled.

• Tao Wan packed lightly and left the school, prompting her two roommates to flee with their luggage.
• Li Qisi refused to leave, believing the Fox Immortal and Nightmare Game could bring her power and fame, and continued posting about them on Weibo.
• Hu Jiu entered dorm room 317 and observed Liu Qingxuan calmly presenting herself as a capable, helpful newcomer.
• Hu Jiu withdrew from the dream university while He Ming left the principal’s office with a heavy heart.

On the rooftop at Langzhou University, Hu Jiu and He Ming discussed Chu Shan’s clean records, suspected dream-controlling ability, and the strange nightmares that preceded the campus disappearances. They planned to lure Chu Shan out by targeting Liu Qingxuan, while Hu Jiu resolved to track him once he saw his real body.

• He Ming shared Principal Liang’s information that Chu Shan had once been an ordinary student but had later begun spending long periods away from campus.
• Hu Jiu guessed Chu Shan was hiding in the Dream World, where his control of the dream realm made him difficult to find.
• He Ming and Hu Jiu noted that Chu Yan had vanished and might be waiting to ambush them, but decided to focus on Chu Shan first.
• He Ming suggested targeting campus belle Liu Qingxuan to draw Chu Shan out, and Hu Jiu agreed to adjust their plan.
• Hu Jiu and He Ming considered why Chu Shan had created the Nightmare Game, including whether he needed something from the students, then decided to ask him after catching him.

Hu Jiu altered the Nightmare Game by summoning a deadly fog that separated Liu Qingxuan and her group, forcing them into the teaching building. When Liu Qingxuan used a familiar yellow talisman to hide from the ghosts, Hu Jiu recognized it and suspected it was connected to the attacks on He Ming; the ghosts then found her hiding place.

• Hu Jiu filled the campus with fog, and Liu Qingxuan led the students toward the teaching building as people vanished along the way.
• The survivors reached the building, but grotesque ghosts broke through its windows and drove the students into hiding.
• Liu Qingxuan took out a yellow talisman and used it to make herself less noticeable in a corner.
• Hu Jiu recognized the talisman as resembling the supernatural paper used by an attacker who had targeted He Ming, and he suspected the attacks were connected to the Mirage Ghost inside him.
• The ghosts initially overlooked Liu Qingxuan, but then turned together toward her hiding place.

Chu Shan sent Liu Qingxuan out of the Nightmare Game, then faced supernatural forces invading his dream. He suspected a Headquarters investigator was behind the attack, but the assault continued as filthy water began destroying his talismans.

• Liu Qingxuan panicked among the ghosts until Chu Shan appeared and promised to send her back to the real world.
• Chu Shan used a talisman to return Liu Qingxuan to her dorm room, then discovered his talismans could not drive away the ghosts.
• Hu Jiu sent White Sash surging toward Chu Shan, but Chu Shan scattered it with talismans.
• Chu Shan suspected the hidden attacker was the Headquarters investigator and concealed himself among countless talisman papers.
• Filthy water poured through the classroom floor, lashed at Chu Shan’s talismans, and spread the smell of alcohol.

Hu Jiu and He Ming forced Chu Shan out of the Nightmare Game and into reality, freeing the trapped students. Chu Shan escaped the dream but ran into He Ming in his dorm room, where He Ming recognized him as the person who had ambushed him before and gave chase.

• Hu Jiu used Filthy Water and the Drunkard to trap Chu Shan in a shrinking bubble, while Chu Shan tried to escape and demanded to know the purpose of the Nightmare Game.
• Chu Shan used a purple talisman to break through the bubble and flee, but Nightmare's power withdrew and the dream collapsed.
• The students trapped in the Nightmare Game returned to reality, and Li Qisi loudly told her classmates that Fox Immortal had defeated it.
• Chu Shan escaped into reality and prepared to call for help, but He Ming confronted him in Chu Shan's dorm room.
• Chu Shan threw yellow talisman papers at He Ming and fled, prompting He Ming to recognize him as the person who had ambushed him at home and pursue him.

Hu Jiu and He Ming captured Chu Shan and questioned him about the Nightmare Game and his ties to Langzhou City’s leadership. Chu Shan explained that he had created the game to strengthen Nightmare and build a secret organization, but he suffered a painful reaction before revealing why Chu Yan served as his bodyguard.

• Chu Shan mistook He Ming for the Ghost Tamer from his dream, but He Ming and Hu Jiu dragged him back into his dormitory and restrained him.
• Hu Jiu questioned Chu Shan, who admitted creating the Nightmare Game to harvest fear and strengthen the Fierce Ghost codenamed Nightmare.
• Chu Shan revealed that he later hoped to use the game to cultivate a secret organization that could communicate and exchange information through dreams.
• Hu Jiu asked about Chu Yan and Langzhou City, and Chu Shan blurted out that Chu Yan was his bodyguard.
• When He Ming and Hu Jiu demanded to know who Chu Shan was, Chu Shan spat out flesh and blood and appeared to endure severe pain.

Hu Jiu used a pen to force Chu Shan to reveal that he belonged to the Chu Family, whose faction had been taking over remote cities and testing a plan to seize Langzhou City. Chu Shan also explained that the Mirage Ghost had been selected for him by the Chu elders, leaving He Ming under threat from the Chu Family if he refused to join them or surrender it.

• After Chu Shan bit off his tongue, Hu Jiu stabbed him between the brows with a pen and compelled him to answer questions.
• Chu Shan revealed that he was a direct descendant of the Chu Family, a faction associated with the divided Big Dipper Organization, and that his attendant Chu Yan had been tasked with protecting him.
• Chu Shan said the Chu Family had taken control of several remote cities and had launched its takeover of Langzhou City as a test of replacing a major city's inhabitants with Chu Family members.
• He Ming learned that Chu Shan had ambushed him in Xihe City to reclaim the Mirage Ghost, which the Chu elders had chosen for Chu Shan and released as a trial.
• Chu Shan offered to welcome He Ming into the Chu Family but warned that they would eventually reclaim the Mirage Ghost; He Ming rejected the idea of joining and anticipated further attacks.

Hu Jiu and He Ming questioned Chu Shan about the Ghost-Drawing Talisman, Nightmare, and Big Dipper, uncovering the Chu Family’s power and the organization’s troubled leadership. Chu Shan also explained Chu Yan’s Briber ability, leaving He Ming stunned by how dangerous it could be.

• He Ming rejected changing his surname to escape the Chu Family and resolved to become stronger.
• Chu Shan explained that he had tamed the Ghost-Drawing Talisman after the Mirage Ghost disappeared, and described its power to suppress corporeal Fierce Ghosts and create many kinds of talismans.
• Chu Shan revealed that Nightmare had haunted people at Langzhou University before he tamed it and made the Nightmare Game.
• Chu Shan said Big Dipper had once protected society from supernatural phenomena, but its supreme leader had vanished and its Seven Stars were divided into factions.
• Chu Shan explained that Chu Yan’s Briber ability could bind people through even accidental, trivial gifts, and He Ming was shocked by its potential.

Hu Jiu killed Chu Shan and took his corpse to claim the Ghost-Drawing Talisman and Nightmare, while He Ming reported the Langzhou University incident to Headquarters but concealed Hu Jiu’s abilities. They told Principal Liang the crisis was over and warned him about possible trouble from people connected to Chu Shan.

• Liu Qingxuan led curious students to Chu Shan’s empty dorm room, where she worried he might be in danger in the Nightmare Game.
• Hu Jiu killed Chu Shan after taking what he wanted from him, then stored his corpse in the Golden Corpse Bag.
• Hu Jiu told He Ming to report the situation to Headquarters, and He Ming shared most details while withholding information about Hu Jiu and Chu Shan’s connections.
• Hu Jiu and He Ming told Principal Liang that the supernatural incident at Langzhou University had been resolved and showed him Chu Shan’s corpse.
• Hu Jiu warned Principal Liang that people connected to Chu Shan might approach the university, advised him to prioritize his safety, and handed him a mirror.

Hu Jiu and He Ming left the university after Hu Jiu gave Principal Liang a supernatural mirror, and Principal Liang worked to contain the campus crisis. As the students searched for Chu Shan or waited for Fox Immortal, the girls discovered Chu Shan had been pursuing several of them at once.

• Hu Jiu gave Principal Liang a mirror infused with supernatural power and warned him it had limited uses.
• Principal Liang offered Hu Jiu a list of people connected to Chu Shan and Chu Yan, but Hu Jiu rejected the offer and left with He Ming.
• After receiving a call about Chu Shan's distress signal, Principal Liang denied knowing what had happened and blamed any danger on Headquarters' investigators.
• Principal Liang hid the mirror and ordered school administrators to investigate the campus, calm students, and suppress public discussion.
• Principal Liang learned that Li Qisi's roommates had left campus and brought Liu Qingxuan together with Chu Shan's other girlfriends.
• Liu Qingxuan and the other girls compared their stories and realized Chu Shan had pursued several of them in similar ways.

He Ming and Hu Jiu survived an ambush with gold powder and began a cleanup in Langzhou City. After Chu Shan’s death and the disappearance of his corpse and two powerful ghosts were confirmed, officials and the Chu Family prepared to act against them.

• He Ming warned Hu Jiu that an incoming shell contained gold powder designed to immobilize Ghost Tamers, but Hu Jiu pulled him clear of the blast.
• Hu Jiu spotted the attackers in a sedan and a watcher on a rooftop, then buried the attackers and dragged the watcher away with a shadow.
• He Ming and Hu Jiu headed to the city government building to continue cleaning up Langzhou City.
• A conference of officials confirmed Chu Shan was dead and his corpse and the Ghost-Drawing Talisman and Nightmare were missing; they planned to keep Hu Jiu and He Ming in Langzhou City to face the Chu Family’s wrath.
• A white-haired Chu Family elder learned that Chu Shan’s corpse was missing and insisted the family must recover his two ghosts.