Chapter Summaries

Huang Chengren recounted how Liang Shijie betrayed their bargain, driving the weasel to seek revenge on the Liang Family. Qin He refused to kill Liang Shijie but offered Huang Chengren ten days as a human before he died peacefully, if he let go of his resentment.

• Huang Chengren explained that he had spent a century cultivating and protecting Liang Shijie in exchange for a verbal conferral that would let him become human.
• Liang Shijie broke their bargain, denounced Huang Chengren as a demon, and tried to have him killed, destroying his chance to attain human form.
• Huang Chengren retaliated against the Liang Family with illusions and corpse mutations, but Qin He repeatedly disrupted his plans.
• Huang Chengren asked Qin He to kill Liang Shijie and offered his hide in return, but Qin He refused to punish Liang Shijie himself.
• Qin He offered Huang Chengren three thousand merits and ten days to experience mortal life, on the condition that he abandon his resentment and then die peacefully.

Qin He saved Huang Chengren by spending three thousand Merit, then returned to the Corpse Burning Facility and joined his coworkers for drinks and gossip. Their laughter was interrupted by a scream from Corpse Burning Room No. 18.

• Qin He granted Huang Chengren ten more days of life and a human body in exchange for three thousand Merit, then cremated five corpses and gained Dao Xing, internal strength, and two Power Fruits.
• Qin He told the Liang Family steward that the demon had been dealt with, criticized Liang Shijie's conduct, and left the estate.
• Qin He returned to the Corpse Burning Facility and told Xu Changshou he had been trapped inside the city overnight.
• Qin He shared wine and snacks with Xu Changshou, Ling Zhonghai, Li Tie, and Gao Linkun as they discussed corpses, Great Immortal Green Ox, and Xu Changshou's romantic prospects.
• A miserable scream suddenly came from Corpse Burning Room No. 18, and Qin He turned toward it.

A Supernatural Incident in Room Eighteen led Qin He to discover a Destiny Bronze Coin linked to the face-skinned Horse Butcher. Qin He lured the creature to an empty dockside warehouse, where it appeared before him and declared that the coin had chosen him.

• Ling Zhonghai, Gao Linkun, Li Tie, and Xu Changshou found the Room Eighteen Corpse Burner dead beside a corpse burned down to bone.
• Qin He picked up the bloodstained Destiny Bronze Coin that had rolled to his feet and recognized it as connected to the face-skinned creature.
• Qin He followed the presence toward the docks and used the coin’s ringing sound to draw it into an empty warehouse.
• The creature appeared as Horse Butcher, whom Qin He recognized as the former Corpse Burning Facility worker whose face had been skinned.
• Horse Butcher called the coin a Destiny Bronze Coin and told Qin He that whoever obtained it was chosen by destiny.

Qin He confronted a face-stealing man and learned that the man was not the true mastermind. After overpowering him with his defensive art and destroying his ghost weapon, Qin He pinned him to a pillar with the Great Iron Shovel.

• Qin He questioned the face-stealing man about why he took people’s faces, and the man suggested that the most shameless people were those who cared most about face.
• The man attacked Qin He with a ghost claw, but Qin He’s Bronze Skin Iron Bone Art and Merit Golden Body repelled the strike and mangled the man’s hand.
• The man threatened Qin He by claiming even the Flying Fish Guard dared not interfere, but Qin He advanced with his Great Iron Shovel.
• The man summoned the Fanged Ghost Head on a handkerchief, but Qin He used the Spirit Suppressing Seal and tore the ghost apart, destroying the handkerchief.
• The man tried to flee, but Qin He struck him through the chest with the Great Iron Shovel and pinned him to a pillar.

At the Flying Fish Guard, Shen Lian ordered the collected Destiny Bronze Coins thrown into the east city in hopes of drawing out whoever was behind the killings. Qin He burned a living face-skinner and learned that the Fanged Ghost Head was a Soul Ghost made from the Tunzei spirit, whose power preserved appearances by consuming human faces; its victims’ faces had been supplied for the current Emperor’s wet nurse.

• Ji Chenliang reported that the Destiny Bronze Coin had appeared again, and the Flying Fish Guard brought in the corpse of a prison guard found dead in the south of the city.
• Shen Lian told Ji Chenliang to throw every collected Destiny Bronze Coin into the east city, deciding to gamble on drawing out the unknown figure.
• Qin He brought a still-living man pinned with Corpse Suppressing Nails to the Corpse Burning Facility and ordered Big Turtle to burn him before dawn.
• The man revealed that people behind him supplied many of the skinned faces for the current Emperor’s wet nurse, but Qin He stuffed his mouth and burned him.
• After the cremation, Qin He learned that the Fanged Ghost Head was a Soul Ghost refined from the Tunzei spirit, which preserved vitality by consuming human faces.

Qin He learned that the Soul-Ghost skinners’ operation had ties to the Imperial Palace and gained the Primary Dream Weaving Technique from a lackey he burned. After resting, he went to buy buns for Big Turtle and noticed a beggar’s copper coin, but the shopkeeper refused to sell it.

• Qin He learned that Savage Ghost had taught the Soul-Ghost skinners their arts and organized their network, while the Imperial Palace protected its own involvement.
• Qin He disposed of the partly burned corpse in the Grand Canal and gained the Primary Dream Weaving Technique, which could make ordinary people mistake dreams for reality.
• After Xu Changshou opened the room, Qin He went to sleep, deciding to leave the Imperial Palace conspiracy alone for now.
• Qin He woke near dusk and went into the city to find steamed buns for Big Turtle.
• Qin He noticed the shopkeeper had taken a Destiny Bronze Coin from a beggar and offered to buy it, but the shopkeeper refused and wondered if it was an antique.

Qin He learned that a beggar had found two Destiny Bronze Coins in one day and suspected someone was scattering them around East City. Disguised as a Flying Fish Guard, he extorted coins from shops and gangs, ending the day with a bowlful of them.

• Qin He bribed a beggar with steamed buns to learn that he had found two bronze coins in East City and spent one at another shop.
• Qin He changed into a Flying Fish Guard uniform and entered a tailor shop, where he demanded the bronze coins collected that day.
• Qin He robbed shops and markets across East City, taking bronze coins and knocking down members of the Horse Racing Gang when they attacked him.
• Qin He gathered his coins into a bowl at night and concluded that someone was scattering them throughout the city.

Qin He suspected the Life-Claiming Bronze Coins were part of a Flying Fish Guard trap, then learned the Guard expected the Skinning Ghost to strike in East City that night. At Zhaoyu Prison, he bargained with Feng Jingyu for information about the White Lotus Sect’s plan to breach the Imperial Palace and promised to return after nightfall.

• Qin He warned the duty centurion that something would happen under the full moon, but learned the higher-ups had already ordered centurions to avoid East City because the Skinning Ghost would strike.
• Qin He planted Life-Claiming Bronze Coins around the Zhaoyu Prison Government Office, then visited Feng Jingyu during an interrogation break.
• Qin He blocked Feng Jingyu’s pain, and Feng Jingyu revealed that seven corpse puppets and over a thousand deathsworn from the Refugee Camp were meant to breach the palace walls, with an attack originally planned for that day.
• Feng Jingyu said he might leave the martial world if Qin He helped him escape, and Qin He promised to return after nightfall and brought him a tiny piece of Golden Wound Pill.
• Feng Jingyu turned green with horror when Qin He offered him the pellet and asked what it was.

Qin He refused to burn corpses at the Corpse Burning Facility and prepared to hunt Savage Ghost’s ghost cultivators instead. On the night of the full moon, he ambushed two of them near Zhaoyu Prison and captured their corpses.

• Qin He rejected Ling Zhonghai’s offer to burn one corpse and returned to the Corpse Burning Room to prepare with Big Turtle.
• A shadow carrying a Fanged Ghost Head handkerchief followed its strong pull toward Zhaoyu Prison, hoping to find someone with a special constitution.
• Qin He knocked out the first ghost cultivator with an iron shovel, crushed the handkerchief with a Spirit Suppressing Seal, and stored the corpse in a yellow cloth bag.
• Qin He used his Night Vision Technique and Night Concealment Technique to wait along a route and ambushed a second target, crushing its handkerchief as well.

Qin He killed six prisoners in Zhaoyu Prison, returned to cremate their bodies, then disguised himself as a Savage Ghost underling to deceive two Tunzei Ghost Cultivators. He left them believing the Flying Fish Guard had captured a Jade-Faced Fox and lamenting that they could not report the news to Lord Savage Ghost.

• Qin He killed six people in Zhaoyu Prison and carried their bodies out of the city.
• Qin He ordered Big Turtle to cremate the bodies in Room Seven, then returned to the city.
• Qin He disguised himself as a dead Savage Ghost underling and joined two Tunzei Ghost Cultivators watching Zhaoyu Prison.
• Qin He claimed the Flying Fish Guard had captured a Jade-Faced Fox and showed them a stolen uniform as proof.
• Qin He swore a blood-medium oath, convincing the two that his story was true.
• Qin He pointed out that reporting the supposed capture to Lord Savage Ghost could earn a reward, though they did not know how to find him.

Qin He tricked the fat man and thin man into revealing their connection to Savage Ghost Lord, then followed them to Prince Zhongshan's Mansion. Savage Ghost Lord realized the two had been deceived, but Qin He emerged from hiding before the confrontation could begin.

• The thin man stopped the fat man from revealing Savage Ghost Lord's identity to Qin He, and the two men decided to report the Jade-Faced Fox to their lord.
• The fat man and thin man contacted Savage Ghost Lord near Prince Zhongshan's Mansion using a Destiny Bronze Coin.
• Savage Ghost Lord appeared and demanded to know why they had contacted him, then questioned their account of the Jade-Faced Fox.
• Savage Ghost Lord used his ghostly aura to force the two men to admit Qin He had deceived them to find him.
• Savage Ghost Lord sensed Qin He hiding nearby and called him out, and Qin He emerged carrying a Great Iron Shovel.

Qin He fought a pale-faced man and his powerful soul ghost, overwhelming them with rapid spiritual seals before killing the man. After the battle, he also nailed the fleeing Night Owl to a tree, while two accomplices escaped.

• The pale-faced man summoned a fully formed soul ghost that shrugged off Qin He's Corpse Suppressing Nails.
• Qin He dodged the soul ghost's attacks and severed its claw with the Big Black Shovel, but it quickly regenerated.
• Qin He rapidly cast dozens of spiritual seals, immobilizing and weakening the soul ghost.
• The pale-faced man tried to flee toward Prince Zhongshan's Mansion, but Qin He killed him with three Corpse Suppressing Nails.
• The soul ghost and its handkerchief burned away, Qin He nailed the Night Owl to a tree, and two others escaped.

Qin He collected the fleeing Skinner's Minions while the Flying Fish Guard and Great Monk fought them near Zhaoyu Prison. With eight corpses left to burn and too little time, he used the Primary Dream Weaving Technique to put furnace workers to sleep and borrow their furnaces, leaving all eight corpses burning.

• Qin He packed the Savage Ghost and Night Owl into his yellow cloth bag and hurried toward Zhaoyu Prison after hearing fighting there.
• The Flying Fish Guard attacked Skinner's Minions, and four minions escaped the encirclement.
• Qin He pursued the escapees and knocked down three, while the Great Monk defeated the fourth with his Golden Bell Shield.
• Qin He carried the newly collected corpses to Corpse Burning Room No. 7, where Big Turtle questioned him about them.
• Qin He used the Primary Dream Weaving Technique to put Crippled Li into an unending dream and burn a corpse in his furnace.
• Qin He borrowed Crippled Li's, Old Liangtou's, Liu Sanjin's, and Gu Sihai's furnaces and put all eight stored corpses to burn.

Qin He learned Corpse Makeup Technique, fed Big Turtle, and cooked it a Night Owl barbecue. In the Capital City, Great Monk was chased by Flying Fish Guards after returning from an attempted escape, while Shen Lian learned he was seeking Great Immortal Green Ox over a grudge tied to cow dung in Xianyun Temple.

• Qin He gained Corpse Makeup Technique from cremating three corpses and combined it with Disguise Technique to create more convincing disguises.
• Qin He realized Big Turtle was hungry, found the forgotten steamed buns, and gave them to it.
• Qin He roasted the Night Owl with his Barbecue Technique and added chili peppers, making Big Turtle cry from craving.
• Great Monk ran through the Capital City as two squads of Flying Fish Guards pursued him and closed in around him.
• Shen Lian questioned Ji Chenliang about the chase and learned that Great Monk had returned to seek Great Immortal Green Ox because of a grudge connected to cow dung in Xianyun Temple.

Shen Lian led the Flying Fish Guard’s crackdown on the skinning ghost cultivators, then rushed to defend the Imperial Palace when a burst of Corpse Qi erupted at its north gate. Meanwhile, a mysterious constable rescued Feng Jingyu from Zhaoyu Prison, while Qin He realized he had forgotten something.

• Shen Lian ordered Ji Chenliang to help the monk search for Great Immortal Green Ox, and the Flying Fish Guard captured five skinning ghost cultivators while four escaped.
• Shen Lian explained that he had ordered the encirclement to prevent his soldiers from hesitating when they fought, and said he would let the monk seek out Great Immortal Green Ox first.
• A collapse and surge of Corpse Qi at the Imperial City’s north gate prompted Shen Lian to rush to protect the Emperor and Ji Chenliang to summon reinforcements.
• A mysterious Flying Fish Guard constable silently subdued the torturers in Room Ten and freed Feng Jingyu after confirming he had not betrayed the Holy Cult.
• At the Corpse Burning Facility, Qin He wondered what he had forgotten, then followed Big Turtle’s suggestion to think about it later and continued eating.

Qin He watched the Savage Ghost’s shadow play and learned how Xu Huaiqing’s abuse as Prince Zhongshan’s illegitimate son drove him to accept power from King Yu and seek revenge. Xu Huaiqing rose within King Yu’s ranks, harmed countless people, and was killed by Qin He’s Corpse Suppressing Nails.

• Qin He waited in the Corpse Burning Room as the Savage Ghost was cremated and his life played out in shadow.
• Xu Huaiqing was blamed and punished throughout his childhood in the Xu Family, while his mother taught him to endure.
• After servants treated his mother’s burial carelessly, Xu Huaiqing killed the steward, and King Yu offered him power in exchange for becoming half-man and half-ghost.
• King Yu helped Xu Huaiqing gain status and strength, and Xu Huaiqing took revenge on those who had tormented him.
• Xu Huaiqing sent his lackeys to collect human faces on full-moon nights, harming many people as he pursued greater power.
• Two minor lackeys brought Qin He to Xu Huaiqing, and Qin He killed him with three Corpse Suppressing Nails.

After cremating the stored corpses, Qin He learned several new techniques and used Demon Identification Technique to discover that Big Turtle had a mixed bloodline and a mutated neck. He gave Big Turtle a Beast Strengthening Pill, then went to sleep after cleaning up the ashes, only to remember that he had left someone behind in Zhaoyu Prison.

• Qin He received the Spirit Luring Technique and several other rewards from cremating the remaining corpses.
• Qin He learned Demon Identification Technique and identified Big Turtle as a Mystic Water Turtle with a mixed bloodline and a mutated neck.
• Qin He teased Big Turtle about inviting its biological father or godfather, then gave it a Beast Strengthening Pill.
• Big Turtle swallowed the pill and began undergoing a gradual transformation.
• Qin He finished cleaning up the ashes, took a nap, and suddenly remembered that he had left someone behind in Zhaoyu Prison.

Qin He discovered that Yang Qiao'er was a green carp demon who had entered the Human Path, while Xu Changshou struggled with his feelings for her and her daughter. When a Caohe Gang thug harassed Yang Qiao'er and Chu Xing'er, Xu Changshou intervened and invoked Qin He's name, leaving Qin He caught up in the confrontation.

• Qin He waited for the Charm Corpse's Shadow Play Performance, but it did not come.
• Qin He used Qi Gazing Technique and Demon Identification Technique on Yang Qiao'er and learned she was a green carp who had entered the Human Path.
• Qin He asked Xu Changshou whether he truly wanted to marry Yang Qiao'er, and Xu Changshou admitted he feared his family would oppose the match.
• A bearded Caohe Gang boss and his underlings harassed Chu Xing'er and Yang Qiao'er at the tofu stall.
• Xu Changshou stood up to the gang members, then identified Qin He as his brother from the Flying Fish Guard's Corpse Burning Hall.

Qin He defeated the bearded Grain Transport Gang leader and his two underlings, then used his newly learned Spirit Luring Technique on the fleeing leader. He discovered that the technique could stack, repeatedly weakening the man as he ran away.

• Xu Changshou urged Qin He to show the Gilded Copper Coin, but the bearded man recognized it and attacked him over the dockside brawl.
• Qin He defeated the bearded man and his two underlings with crotch kicks, then poked the bearded man's eyes when he charged again.
• Xu Changshou fought off the two underlings while the bearded man fled, promising to return with more men.
• Qin He used Spirit Luring Technique on the bearded man's back and saw Yin Energy gather around him.
• Qin He discovered that repeated uses of Spirit Luring Technique stacked and kept applying it as the bearded man ran.

Qin He helped Xu Changshou drive off the Grain Transport Gang, then ate at Tang's Restaurant and heard merchants discuss famine, a possible Di Rong invasion, and the White Lotus Sect prisoner rescued from Zhaoyu Prison. While wandering the increasingly desperate docks, he used his techniques to identify a white crane working at a general store, whom he recognized from Xianyun Temple.

• Xu Changshou and Qin He chased away the bearded man and his underlings after Qin He used a Groin Kick on them.
• Yang Qiao'er thanked the two men for helping Chu Xing'er, and Xu Changshou offered to help repair the damaged tofu stall.
• Qin He ate lavishly at Tang's Restaurant and overheard merchants say a White Lotus Sect demon had been rescued from Zhaoyu Prison.
• The merchants discussed failed harvests, a white disaster on the grasslands, and the likelihood that Di Rong would raid south for grain.
• Qin He wandered past refugees and carts of corpses, then used his techniques to spot a white crane keeping accounts at a general store.