Chapter Summaries

Ji Li revealed that the Unsolvable Ghost Child had been hidden in his mind and had devoured the Hundred-headed Strange Infant, then brought him, Huang Banxian, and Clyde to a basement in the Real World. After Ji Li reported Su Qin’er’s death outside the door, the three watched a video that might reveal the Ring Organization’s stance.

• The Unsolvable Ghost Child in Ji Li’s mind swallowed the Hundred-headed Strange Infant and stopped the maze’s collapse.
• Ji Li, Huang Banxian, and Clyde were transported to a basement in the Real World, where Ji Li explained that an Unsolvable Ghost Child had long been inside his mind.
• Ji Li told Huang Banxian and Clyde that another Ghost Child waited beyond the rusty door and that Su Qin’er had died outside it.
• Ji Li found a video in the computer’s recycle bin and suggested the Ring Organization might be on their side.
• The video showed a thin middle-aged man kneeling and prostrating himself before a black-robed figure.

Ji Li, Huang Banxian, and Clyde watched three videos revealing Ren Yunfeng’s desperate search for help and his connection to the Ring Organization’s ghost embryo. The final footage showed Ren Yunfeng discovering that his son Ren Jiayun was not among 102 children’s spirit tablets, leaving the reason for his absence unresolved.

• Clyde observed that the first video showed a man begging before a black-robed woman, and Ji Li identified the man as Ren Yunfeng from Hei An'an’s family portrait.
• Ren Yunfeng carved a two-faced wooden head showing a woman and a child, then smashed it against the ground; a Clockwise Circle was carved into his cheek.
• In the third video, Ren Yunfeng followed a guide through a wealthy private garden and entered an ancestral hall filled with spirit tablets and blue-and-white porcelain jars.
• Ren Yunfeng checked all 102 spirit tablets for Ren Jiayun, found none, and collapsed to his knees weeping.

Lumian Lee entertained Cordoux Village’s tavern patrons with a grim story about a morgue guard, then admitted it was written by his sister, Aurore. As he drank with visitors Ryan Coss, Valentine, and Lia, the villagers revealed that Aurore had brought Lumian to the village five years earlier and given him his name and surname.

• Lumian finished a story about a poor morgue guard who touched a strange mark on his dead former colleague and began dreaming of fog.
• Lumian admitted the story came from his sister’s writing, and Pierre told Ryan Coss that Lumian made up a different tale every day.
• Ryan introduced his companions Valentine and Lia, and Lumian explained that his sister had given him the name Lumian Lee.
• Ryan bought drinks for Lumian and Pierre, while Pierre warned the visitors that Lumian was a notorious prankster.
• Pierre revealed that Aurore had brought Lumian to Cordoux five years earlier, when he was thirteen, and that Lumian had forgotten his original name.

Lumian Lee entertained the tavern with a fabricated story about a morgue watchman before explaining that his sister Aurore had written it. The outsiders Ryan Coss, Valentine, and Lia learned that Aurore had brought Lumian to Cordoux five years earlier, and that he had taken her surname and the name Lumian.

• Lumian told Ryan Coss a grim story about working as a hospital morgue watchman, then revealed it was a tale his sister had written.
• The tavern regulars laughed and explained that Lumian changed his stories every day.
• Ryan introduced himself and his companions, Valentine and Lia, and offered Lumian a drink for his story.
• Lumian ordered Green Fairy, and Ryan ordered drinks for him and Pierre, who offered to tell them about Lumian.
• Pierre said Aurore had brought Lumian to Cordoux five years earlier and given him her surname and his current name.
• Lumian said he had forgotten his original name and drank his absinthe without embarrassment.

Ji Li organized a two-front plan to survive the ghosts on Tianming Mountain and Hei Qingshan, while Huang Banxian’s divination revealed that Hei An'an’s transformation into a ghost was the key mystery. Ji Li tried to lure Hei An'an to the cemetery by threatening to let the ghost child kill him, leaving the group awaiting her response.

• Clyde estimated their chances of survival at less than ten percent, and Ji Li assigned him to find a way through the Hei Qingshan mission while the others held off the ghosts.
• Ji Li ordered Yu Guo to bring Zhan Xun to Tianming Mountain and told Clyde he had only half an hour to work out a solution.
• Ji Li and Clyde concluded that Hei An'an’s connection to Hei Qingshan was central, and Huang Banxian collapsed after divining that they needed to understand why Hei An'an had become a ghost five years after her death.
• Ji Li divided the group’s responsibilities, sending Clyde, Yu Guo, and Zhan Xun toward Hei Qingshan while he and Huang Fengjiao prepared to draw the ghosts’ attacks.
• Ji Li called Hei An'an and claimed he had found Ren Jiayun at the cemetery, then threatened to let the ghost child kill him unless she came within five minutes.

Ji Li stayed on Tianming Mountain to confront Ghost Child No. 2 while Huang Banxian and Clyde descended to carry out their plan against Ghost Child No. 3. Huang Banxian noticed Clyde’s watch had stopped at the time they escaped the Maze Barrier and wondered whether this Clyde had replaced the original from another Timeline.

• Ji Li ordered Huang Banxian and Clyde down the mountain, telling Clyde he had only half an hour and asking Ji Li to check whether Hei An'an's body was in her grave.
• Ji Li found Su Qin'er’s body in the woods and saw Ghost Child No. 2 approaching, preparing for their first true confrontation.
• Clyde estimated their chance of success at only twenty percent and told Huang Banxian to use the Long Burning Incense to lure Ghost Child No. 3 toward Ji Li.
• Huang Banxian noticed Clyde’s watch had stopped at 9:02, the time they had escaped the Maze Barrier, and suspected that the Clyde before him might be a substitute from another Timeline.

Clyde, Yu Guo, and Zhan Xun raced to Hei Qingshan’s villa to find and destroy the porcelain jar they believed contained Ghost Child No. 0. Clyde’s deduction gave them a possible way out, but Yu Guo sensed a fatal flaw as they arrived with only eighteen minutes left.

• Clyde escaped in Yu Guo and Zhan Xun’s car and explained that he had to find the mission’s way out while Ji Li and Huang Fengjiao stalled three ghosts.
• Yu Guo revealed that Ji Li could not use Sin Objects, meaning he would have to risk his life to hold off the ghosts for half an hour.
• Clyde reasoned that Hei Qingshan had used the Ring Organization to resurrect Hei An'an, leaving her as a ghost sharing one body with a Ghost Child.
• Clyde concluded that destroying the porcelain jar containing Ghost Child No. 0 would erase the Ghost Children and resolve Hei An'an’s two souls, offering a way to complete both branches’ missions.
• Clyde, Yu Guo, and Zhan Xun arrived at Hei Qingshan’s villa to search for the jar, while Yu Guo feared their seemingly flawless plan had a fatal flaw.

Ji Li and Huang Banxian each headed toward Tianming Mountain’s cemetery while the Ghost Child pursued them in an unusual way. Huang Banxian realized the Long Burning Incense had left a ghost-attracting scent on him and decided to use it to draw Hei An'an to Ji Li.

• Ji Li recalled the Ghost Child’s changing kill times and watched Ghost Child No. 2 follow him without attacking.
• Ji Li headed for the mountain cemetery to check whether Hei An'an’s corpse remained in its grave.
• Huang Banxian used an Acceleration Talisman and Long Burning Incense to flee toward the cemetery, sacrificing more of his already dwindling vitality.
• Huang Banxian’s incense burned out early, and he crawled toward the cemetery before deciding he needed to reunite with Ji Li.
• Huang Banxian realized the incense’s lingering scent could lure Hei An'an and planned to use her to reach Ji Li.

Huang Banxian was nearly killed by Hei An'an before Ji Li rescued him and fled with him through the cemetery. As Hei An'an continued to threaten them, they had to survive for twenty-three minutes while Clyde searched for her missing corpse.

• Huang Banxian endured the burning of his warning talismans and gambled that the approaching ghost was Hei An'an, allowing her to teleport him to the cemetery.
• Huang Banxian saw his own mangled corpse on a gravestone and nearly succumbed to Hei An'an's lethal attack.
• Ji Li kicked Huang Banxian out of danger as the Bronze Ancient Coffin crashed down, then dragged him away while Ghost Child stayed ahead of them.
• Ji Li told Huang Banxian that Hei An'an's grave had been empty and that he had left Clyde to search for her corpse.
• Huang Banxian recognized Hei An'an's attack as a deadly method that seemed to reverse cause and effect, and feared they could not survive the remaining twenty-three minutes.

Ji Li and Huang Banxian tried to survive Hei An'an by staying near the cemetery and calling for help from Branch No. 9. Huang Banxian used his Sin Objects against Hei An'an, but Ghost Child No. 3 struck him as well, leaving his fate grim.

• Ji Li explained that Ghost Child No. 4 inside Hei An'an could interfere with her attacks, and he kept Huang Banxian near the cemetery to wait for outside help.
• Huang Banxian called Old Wei and ordered him to bring Jiang Xi and Lu Chen to activate three Sin Objects around Tianming Mountain Cemetery.
• A corpse appeared inside the Bronze Ancient Coffin, and Hei An'an attacked Huang Banxian as he tried to use his Sin Objects.
• Huang Banxian used the Jade of Shu Hu, the Healing Spray Bottle, the Combat Toy Gun, and the Functional Glass Dice, which briefly healed him and slowed Hei An'an.
• Ghost Child No. 3 inflicted a fatal neck wound on Huang Banxian, and the combined attacks of the two ghosts shattered his Sin Objects.

Ji Li shielded Huang Banxian from Hei An'an and discovered that Ghost Child No. 4 was the employer who had asked him for help. A signal flare and the Sin Objects froze the supernatural forces around the cemetery, allowing Huang Banxian to emerge as Ji Li offered him the Space Map Sin Object.

• Ji Li sealed Huang Banxian inside the Bronze Ancient Coffin and faced Hei An'an alone, relying on Ghost Child No. 5 to disrupt her attack.
• Ji Li endured visions of his own death until Ghost Child No. 5's cry eased his pain and Ghost Child No. 4 briefly begged him to save it through Hei An'an.
• Ji Li realized Ghost Child No. 4 was the Seventh Branch's employer and that its task for him was to save it.
• A scarlet signal flare triggered a barrier and a horn that temporarily rendered the ghosts harmless with the three Sin Objects.
• After the two-minute reprieve ended, Ji Li let Huang Banxian out of the coffin and told him to use Ji Li's Space Map Sin Object, which had fifteen minutes remaining.

Ji Li let Huang Banxian use the Space Map to weaken Hei An'an and Ghost Child No. 3, while realizing that Clyde might be about to destroy the Pure White Porcelain Jar. The chapter ended with Huang Banxian collapsing and Ji Li unable to reach Clyde, leaving the mission's outcome dependent on Yu Guo.

• Ji Li took the Jade of Shu Hu as collateral and let Huang Banxian use the Space Map.
• Huang Banxian trapped Hei An'an and Ghost Child No. 3 in the Space Maze, but the price destroyed his arm and began consuming his body.
• Ji Li realized that Hei Qingshan might already be possessed by the Ghost Child's true body and be Ghost Child No. 0.
• Ji Li concluded that destroying the Pure White Porcelain Jar would endanger both branches because Ghost Child No. 4 was the Seventh Branch's employer.
• Huang Banxian collapsed after weakening the ghosts by twenty percent, and Ji Li could not reach Clyde as he pinned his remaining hope on Yu Guo.

Yu Guo, Clyde, and Zhan Xun entered Hei Qingshan Villa to find and smash the Ghost Child’s true porcelain jar, but a supernatural trap separated them. Yu Guo faced a child emerging from a painting and realized Ghost Child No. 0 was stalling for time, then waited by the open door for the ghost to approach.

• Yu Guo examined Hei Qingshan Villa’s ominous layout and questioned whether Clyde’s plan to smash the Ghost Child’s porcelain jar was sound.
• Clyde vaulted into the courtyard and entered the villa ahead of Yu Guo and Zhan Xun.
• Yu Guo and Zhan Xun crossed the entrance rug and discovered that Clyde had vanished; Zhan Xun then disappeared as Yu Guo stood in the hall.
• A child climbed out of the Five Sons Achieving Success painting, smashed its head on the floor, and crawled toward Yu Guo.
• Yu Guo recognized that Ghost Child No. 0 was stalling for time and waited by the open door as the child approached.

Yu Guo escaped the first small-scale barrier by contaminating the Five Sons Achieving Success painting with blood, then encountered Zhan Xun in a new room containing two more paintings. They realized Ghost Child No. 0 was delaying them with successive barriers and needed to be stopped before Ji Li ran out of time.

• Yu Guo used the barrier's spatial rotation to get behind the headless little ghost and tried to destroy the Five Sons Achieving Success painting, but it resisted his blows and knife.
• As a second little ghost emerged and trapped him between the two, Yu Guo realized blood might disrupt the painting and threw his blood-soaked shoes at it.
• Yu Guo smeared the painting with blood, making both little ghosts vanish and turning the screen dusty and infested with bugs.
• Yu Guo entered the main hall and found another painting depicting a child brewing tea, then met Zhan Xun, who had emerged from a side room.
• Yu Guo and Zhan Xun spotted a painting of two children playing chess and recognized another small-scale barrier, worrying that Ghost Child No. 0's delays would leave Ji Li unable to hold out.

Yu Guo and Zhan Xun discovered that the paintings in the main hall and tea room were linked, trapping Yu Guo in rising heat while Zhan Xun was forced to play Go against a boy ghost. As the boy prepared to win and the kettle neared boiling, Zhan Xun decided to flip the board, hoping his death would sever the link and give Yu Guo a chance to escape.

• Yu Guo covered the Child Burning Tea Painting with blood, but it did not stop the scene; the painting instead heated the main hall as water poured over the tea-room painting.
• A boy appeared across a Go board and forced Zhan Xun to play, while Yu Guo realized the two paintings were connected and he could not enter the tea room to switch off its heater.
• Yu Guo urged Zhan Xun to stall, but Zhan Xun knew nothing about Go and struggled against the boy's overwhelming advantage as the kettle heated.
• Zhan Xun considered killing the boy, but the ghost repeatedly leaned back out of reach, leaving him with no way to win the game.
• As the boy made his final move and Yu Guo weakened from the heat, Zhan Xun chose to flip the board and told Yu Guo to care for his wife, Gan Yueting, and daughter, Zhan Ci, if he survived.

Zhan Xun reversed the Go game by switching the black and white piece boxes, saving himself and Yu Guo. After using Yu Guo’s healing comb and giving him life force, they realized they needed to locate the house’s barrier center, but Clyde’s arrival on the Third Floor left them unsure where it was.

• Zhan Xun swapped the black and white piece boxes, turning the boy’s winning position into a loss and stopping him from attacking.
• Zhan Xun smashed the heater and rescued Yu Guo, who had nearly been steamed alive.
• Zhan Xun used Yu Guo’s comb Sin Object and transferred life force to help him recover.
• Yu Guo warned that the house contained many barriers and that they needed to find the central point to survive the mission.
• Clyde arrived on the Third Floor badly injured, and Yu Guo wondered whether the barrier center was somewhere else.

Yu Guo suspected Ghost Child No. 0 was merging with Hei Qingshan and rejected Clyde’s plan to destroy the porcelain jar. He chose to search the villa courtyard for Hei An'an’s corpse, leaving the two men on competing paths to survival.

• Yu Guo realized Ghost Child No. 0 might be merging with Hei Qingshan and concluded that Hei An'an’s corpse was central to the danger.
• Yu Guo told Clyde they would not go upstairs, and Clyde silently signaled his support before leaving the Third Floor platform.
• Yu Guo told Zhan Xun that they would focus on finding and destroying Hei An'an’s corpse.
• Yu Guo reasoned that the corpse was probably hidden in the villa courtyard and planned to leave the villa to search for it.

Yu Guo and Zhan Xun discovered that the villa’s front door was the only way through the barrier, but attempts to leave kept sending them back inside. With time running out, Yu Guo realized the inner handle marked intruders and that ghost blood might let them pass; the chapter ended as they opened the door with bloodied hands.

• Yu Guo tested the villa’s windows and front door, discovering that the front door was the barrier’s only entrance and exit.
• Zhan Xun tried to dismantle the security door while Yu Guo struggled to find a way out with only minutes remaining.
• Remembering Fang Shenyan’s advice to simplify his thinking, Yu Guo realized that holding the inner door handle activated the barrier.
• Zhan Xun wiped the handle and opened the door, but the barrier sent him back inside.
• Yu Guo concluded they might escape under another identity, pressed both hands into the Blood Pool, and joined Zhan Xun in opening the door.

Yu Guo and Zhan Xun found Hei An'an’s corpse and discovered Ren Jiayun’s infant skeleton attached to it, revealing the source of the two souls in one body. Zhan Xun sacrificed himself to pull the soft skeleton away from Yu Guo, who destroyed Hei An’an’s corpse just before sunlight reached the villa.

• As the villa rapidly decayed, Yu Guo and Zhan Xun searched its backyard for the source and found a bed of vivid red flowers.
• They dug beneath the flowers and uncovered Hei An’an’s corpse, with Ren Jiayun’s small, soft skeleton clinging to its back.
• Yu Guo realized they needed to separate the two skeletons, but the soft skeleton began merging into his body when he touched it.
• Ignoring Yu Guo’s warning, Zhan Xun tore the soft skeleton away and let it attack him, telling Yu Guo to live and visit his fiancée on the winter solstice.
• Yu Guo crushed the skull at the base of Hei An’an’s corpse, ending the danger as Zhan Xun died before sunlight reached the courtyard.

Zhan Xun returned home to find his daughter rejecting him and longing for a wealthier father, while Ji Li and Huang Banxian recovered after surviving the deadly Joint Reception mission with Ren Yunfeng’s help. Ji Li revealed that he intended to give Gu Xingjian a gift in return for the dangerous one Gu Xingjian had given him.

• Zhan Xun came home from another failed job search and found his wife, Gan Yueting, leaving their apartment.
• Zhan Ci cried for Gan Yueting and said she wanted a father who could take her out for big meals, leaving Zhan Xun devastated.
• Ren Yunfeng arrived with the Pure White Porcelain Jar, weakening Hei An'an and helping Ji Li and Huang Banxian survive until Yu Guo's group found the path to survival.
• Hei An'an disappeared, and Ren Yunfeng took the Ghost Children away; only Ji Li and Yu Guo survived from the Seventh Branch, while Huang Banxian and Clyde survived from Branch No. 9.
• Huang Banxian asked what Ji Li had wanted Gu Xingjian to remember, and Ji Li said Gu Xingjian's gift to him had nearly killed him.