Chapter Summaries

Lu Ban escaped the matches’ alluring illusions and helped Amber recover by lighting a fire and sharing roasted fish with her. After Amber fell asleep beside the campfire, Lu Ban spotted land at dawn.

• Lu Ban woke from an illusion and stopped Amber from grabbing a match as she succumbed to its visions.
• Lu Ban realized the matches created enticing illusions and warned Amber to turn away while he lit a fire.
• Laika caught fish, and Lu Ban roasted them for himself and Amber.
• Amber overcame her hesitation and ate the fish before falling asleep beside the fire with Laika curled in her arms.
• At dawn, Lu Ban saw the outline of land across the sea.

Lu Ban and Amber reached a deserted island after surviving a storm, gathered food and water, and prepared for shelter while Lu Ban worried that another enemy Chosen of the Gods was still alive. At dusk, Lu Ban heard what sounded like a person calling from deep within the island.

• Amber collapsed on the beach from exhaustion, and Lu Ban was struck by a falling fruit that caused grass to grow from his wound as it healed.
• Lu Ban and Amber drank the fruit’s juice, and Lu Ban warned that the surviving enemy Chosen of the Gods might come after them.
• Lu Ban made a fire, gathered fish, and prepared fresh water and fruit soup while Amber went into the grass to relieve herself.
• Lu Ban explained how to bury human waste, and Amber hit him with a stick before returning to camp.
• After eating fish and soup, Lu Ban heard person-like sounds coming from deep within the island.

Lu Ban and Amber discovered a pirate outpost and seized its ship, with Laika overpowering the pirates. They set sail toward Harmony Island, leaving the bewildered crew behind.

• Lu Ban heard a human voice and took Amber into the forest to investigate, hiding their tracks as they went.
• Lu Ban used True Sight to find a pirate settlement with a ship, then sent Laika to scout; Laika attacked the pirates until they surrendered.
• Lu Ban questioned the pirates and learned their leader was dead, then ordered them to resupply the ship.
• Lu Ban found a sea chart showing they were near the Ashen Sea and gave Amber clean clothes before dawn.
• Lu Ban and Amber boarded the ship, and Lu Ban used Last Words to send it sailing without wind, leaving the pirates on shore.

Lu Ban and Amber talked aboard their ship before he intervened in a pirate battle that nearly hit them. After destroying both pirate ships, he left the terrified survivors confused by telling them not to fight.

• Lu Ban told Amber that people were stronger than they realized, then teased her about trying kuchikamizake.
• Lu Ban and Amber saw two pirate ships battling nearby, and a cannonball nearly struck their ship.
• Lu Ban fired a Last Words Speech Bullet that destroyed the pirate ships’ structural frameworks and sent their crews into the sea.
• The survivors mistook Lu Ban’s black ship and its passengers for a ghost ship and tried to flee in small boats.
• Lu Ban approached the pirates, told them not to fight, and sailed away, leaving them baffled.

Thunder pursued Lu Ban and Amber after learning that they had stolen the pirates’ ship, while Amber confided that she no longer wanted to become the Head Miko. Lu Ban proposed a stop on Changfeng Island so she could decide what she wanted, and he realized the mission might not require Amber to become the new Head Miko.

• Thunder questioned the pirates about the woman in red and white, learned Lu Ban and a dog-like monster had taken their ship, and killed every pirate on the island by draining them with his Gray Fog.
• Thunder took a small boat and used his bandages as oars to pursue Lu Ban and Amber toward Qiushan Island.
• Amber told Lu Ban she wanted to avoid becoming the Head Miko and asked if they could settle on a small island instead.
• Lu Ban suggested they visit Changfeng Island anonymously and experience ordinary life before Amber made her decision.
• After Amber left, Lu Ban noticed the mission did not explicitly say that Amber had to become the new Head Miko.

Lu Ban and Amber settled on Changfeng Island while he waited for the invading Chosen of the Gods to reveal himself. A fisherman’s wife then reported that an injured, bandage-wrapped important person had arrived and would speak at the Island Magistrate’s office.

• Lu Ban and Amber rented a room, and he told her to wear ordinary clothes so she would attract less attention.
• Amber comforted the fisherman’s daughter, while Lu Ban used his power to grow a flower from his finger and gave it to her.
• The fisherman’s wife brought them fresh fish and said an important person who had killed pirates had arrived on the island.
• Lu Ban learned that the newcomer was injured, wrapped in bandages, and due to speak at the Island Magistrate’s office that afternoon.

Lu Ban and Amber discovered that the Bandaged Man had branded Amber a Calamity Priestess and offered a reward for their capture. Amber asked Lu Ban to kill him, and Lu Ban headed to the Island Magistrate’s office to confront him.

• Lu Ban disguised Amber and took her to watch the Bandaged Man address the islanders.
• The Bandaged Man announced that a supposed Calamity Priestess and her companion were fugitives, then posted wanted portraits of them.
• Lu Ban realized the wanted posters could turn the islanders against them and told Amber that stopping the rumor’s source could protect her life on Harmony Island.
• Amber asked Lu Ban to kill the Bandaged Man, and Lu Ban sent her back to their hidden boat before approaching the office.
• The hostess recognized Lu Ban but did not report him, while the Island Magistrate guards confronted him at the office entrance.
• Lu Ban warned the guards, then attacked as they and others rushed toward him.

Thunder tried to use the Island Magistrates to hunt the shrine maiden, but Lu Ban confronted him and killed him. Thunder’s coin then released Corrupted Ones, revealing that it had brought the creatures to Harmony Island.

• Thunder ordered the Island Magistrates to issue wanted notices for two men, hoping they would search for the shrine maiden, and checked the blackening coin he carried.
• Lu Ban arrived at the magistrate’s office and attacked Thunder’s forces; Thunder unleashed his Gray Fog and music box while preparing to escape.
• Lu Ban summoned Laika and fired a Speech Bullet, overwhelming Thunder and causing him to transform into a monster.
• Thunder’s supernatural items fused into a twisted mask, and the system confirmed that both invading Chosen of the Gods had been killed.
• Black shadows poured from Thunder’s coin, turning surviving Island Magistrates into Corrupted Ones as a many-eyed monster formed around the coin.

Lu Ban and Amber faced an outbreak of Corrupted Ones that overwhelmed Harmony Island, while the Wa Island Grand Shrine’s Cleansing Fire threatened to burn the infected area. Amber chose to stay and slow the monsters so she could save people, and Lu Ban stayed beside her as Laika carried a woman and a girl toward the boats.

• Corrupted Ones emerged at the government office, corrupting the Island Magistrates and spreading destruction through the streets.
• Lu Ban and Laika fled the compound, warned the islanders to run, and carried a female homeowner and a little girl toward the harbor.
• Amber met Lu Ban and learned that an assassin had summoned the Corrupted Ones and that the Cleansing Fire would soon arrive.
• Amber decided to resist the monsters and save more people, saying she could not run away because she was a miko.
• Lu Ban had Laika take the woman and girl toward the boats, then chose to stay with Amber as the Corrupted Ones spread across the island.

Amber used purifying fire to cleanse Changfeng Island of its corruption, revealing her power and resolve to become Wa Island Grand Shrine’s next Head Miko. As survivors mistook her for the Divine Child, Lu Ban realized Amber had left her ordinary life behind.

• Amber summoned purifying fire and began cleansing the abyssal corruption at the center of Changfeng Island.
• Amber danced and wielded the flames to hold back the Corrupted Ones, while Lu Ban realized he was limiting her ability to purge the island.
• A corrupted mother threw her daughter to Laika, who escaped with the girl by boat as purifying fire consumed the Corrupted Ones on the shore.
• The fleeing islanders saw a silver light descend onto Changfeng Island and witnessed Amber standing amid magnificent flames beside Lu Ban.
• The islanders hailed Amber as the Divine Child, while Lu Ban understood that she had become the next Head Miko of Wa Island Grand Shrine.

Amber and Lu Ban left for Harmony Island with Laika and an orphaned girl after Amber agreed to pursue her path as a miko. Revered as a Divine Child, Amber reached Harmony Island safely as powerful factions began maneuvering over her possible succession at the Grand Shrine.

• Natsushima welcomed Amber on behalf of the Harmony Island Grand Shrine and offered Lu Ban extra pay to leave, but Amber insisted he continue escorting her.
• Amber told Lu Ban that Changfeng Island would be evacuated and suggested taking the orphaned girl to Harmony Island, where the shrine could take her in as a miko.
• Amber accepted that she was meant to use her power against the Corrupted Ones and told Lu Ban she could help him settle down if she became Head Miko.
• Amber, Lu Ban, Laika, and the girl sailed for Harmony Island the next morning.
• Islanders hailed Amber as a Divine Child, and rival factions began deciding whether to support or challenge her claim to succeed at the Grand Shrine.
• Amber arrived safely at Harmony Island, bringing the legendary shrine within reach.

Lu Ban arrived at Harmony Island and witnessed its Divine Cherry Tree and the Divine Child fire a Holy Song arrow at a region invaded by the Corrupted Ones. When the Sanada Family blocked their ship from docking, Lu Ban decided to help them with their supposed ship trouble.

• Lu Ban saw the Divine Cherry Tree covering Harmony Island in cherry blossoms and learned that the Divine Child Pavilion was where the Divine Child stayed.
• The Divine Child's bells rang, and a Holy Song arrow flew from the pavilion toward a region invaded by the Corrupted Ones.
• Natsushima explained the lives of the boat people and described the Sanada Family's influence and connection to the Head Miko.
• A Sanada Family ship refused to clear the harbor route, claiming it had a problem and telling Lu Ban's escort to wait.
• Lu Ban said he would help the Sanada ship.

Lu Ban’s ship reached Harmony Island after his spell sent Sanada Makoto’s ship charging toward the reefs, where it stopped just short of disaster. Natsushima explained that Amber’s selection as the next Head Miko would begin immediately and conclude within seven days, as Amber emerged to a cheering crowd.

• Sanada Makoto watched Amber’s ship and dismissed her reputation before Lu Ban made his ship surge forward without sails, forcing Sanada Makoto and his crew to abandon it.
• Sanada Makoto’s ship stopped just before the reefs, and Lu Ban’s ship sent him the message “Bon voyage.”
• Natsushima praised Lu Ban’s spell and warned that rumors were being spread to provoke conflict between Amber and the Sanada Family.
• Natsushima explained that the Head Miko selection had begun and that Amber could inherit the position within seven days.
• Amber came out onto the ship’s deck, caught falling cherry blossoms, and smiled at Lu Ban as the harbor crowd cheered.

Lu Ban visited the Wa Island Grand Shrine, watched the little girl undergo a spirituality test, and scouted the Divine Cherry Tree before returning at night to bury the Crimson Crystal for his deceased friend. A bell rang just as he finished, leaving him with an unexpected presence nearby.

• Lu Ban learned that the little girl had enough spirituality to become an ordinary shrine maiden and that she would receive a new name, leaving her past behind.
• A young shrine maiden showed Lu Ban the Divine Cherry Tree, and he secretly chose a spot beneath its trunk for his nighttime plan.
• Lu Ban returned to the tree after dark and briefly saw a mysterious woman in white before she vanished.
• The little girl found Lu Ban and insisted on joining him, so he brought her to the tree.
• Lu Ban buried the Crimson Crystal beneath the tree and explained that it would help his deceased shrine-maiden friend find her way home.
• A clear bell rang as Lu Ban finished burying the crystal.

Lu Ban witnessed the Head Miko's purifying fire nearly overwhelm the Divine Child Pavilion, then received Momiji's Hairpin as a quest reward and experienced the horror of her death when he touched it. After recovering, he took out the Bandaged Man's mask and chose to examine it.

• Lu Ban saw the Head Miko's purifying fire blaze at the Divine Child Pavilion, and the miko's prayers eventually drew the flames back in.
• Lu Ban hurried away with the little girl, promised to take her out to play again, and returned her home before going back to his quarters.
• Lu Ban received 50,000 Silence Points and Momiji's Hairpin for completing the Returning Home side quest.
• Lu Ban gripped Momiji's Hairpin and experienced her memory of being devoured by monsters, then collapsed and recovered by dawn.
• Lu Ban wrapped the hairpin for safekeeping, took out the mask he had obtained from the Bandaged Man, and selected Examine.

Lu Ban appraised the Twisted Mask of Pain and transformed into Gray Fog, learning he could move like the Bandaged Man. After he dispersed across the courtyard, a strange shrine maiden appeared and burned the part of him that touched her before vanishing.

• Lu Ban appraised the Twisted Mask of Pain and learned it could turn him into a person of Fog City, whose inhabitants had adapted to deadly contamination.
• Lu Ban put on the mask in the courtyard and transformed into Gray Fog with bandages that he could use to probe his surroundings.
• The combined resentment and madness within him made Lu Ban disperse throughout the courtyard as Amber arrived with two shrine maidens and left a note when she could not find him.
• A pale, nonbreathing woman in a red-and-white shrine maiden's robe appeared and stared at Amber's note.
• Lu Ban tried to enter the woman as smoke, but pale flames burned him, so he abandoned the scorched portion, removed the mask, and saw the woman vanish.

Lu Ban attended the palace examination and watched Amber demonstrate her perception and archery skill. After hitting the target with all ten arrows, Amber emerged as the likely successor to the Head Miko, and Lu Ban recognized the weight of her future role as Divine Child.

• Lu Ban examined the mutated mask, then found Amber’s note inviting him to watch the palace examination.
• Lu Ban went to the shrine hall, where a cold miko young lady explained that kyūdō tested a Divine Child’s ability to perceive the world and see Corrupted Ones.
• Several miko competed, but their performances were ordinary, and even the Sanada Family’s contestant hit only seven targets.
• Amber steadied herself, saw the world in a new way, and shot ten arrows into the bull’s-eye, each one splitting or following the previous arrow.
• The gathered miko applauded Amber, who smiled at Lu Ban as he realized the significance of her becoming the Divine Child.

In the days before the Fire Transmission Ritual, Lu Ban learned about Harmony Island and prepared for Amber’s succession as Divine Child. Amber visited him in ceremonial dress, gave him a lucky charm, and left for the ritual, promising she would be able to see him wherever he went.

• After the palace examination, the Sanada Family and other visitors sought Lu Ban’s favor, so he moved to a quieter residence and explored Harmony Island.
• Lu Ban gathered information about the island’s decentralized politics, its people, and its pleasure district, while Laika returned early to prepare for Lu Ban’s departure.
• The cold miko explained the Fire Transmission Ritual, the Divine Child’s succession, and the long eras served by past Divine Children.
• Amber visited Lu Ban in her ceremonial clothes and gave him a lucky charm she had prayed for on his behalf.
• Amber told Lu Ban that becoming Divine Child would let her see him wherever he went, then left for the ritual as he watched her depart.

Lu Ban witnessed Amber become the new Divine Child and learned that the child named Momiji was the same person whose tragic future he had encountered. After a mysterious miko led him to the shrine, he used the Twisted Mask of Pain to slip toward Amber inside the Divine Child Pavilion.

• Amber underwent the fire transmission ritual, and the people celebrated her as the new Divine Child and named the era Spring Harmony.
• Lu Ban completed his quest but chose to stay for another day, then told the young miko he planned to leave.
• The young miko told Lu Ban that Amber had been named Momiji, and he realized she was the girl destined to become the Calamity Priestess.
• Lu Ban urged the young miko to let Momiji live peacefully, then saw a black-haired, cherry-eyed miko who led him to the main shrine.
• Lu Ban put on the Twisted Mask of Pain and transformed into smoke to enter the Divine Child Pavilion.

Lu Ban searched the Wa Island Grand Shrine and discovered that the former Divine Children’s ashes had been stored in the main shrine. He broke into the sealed Divine Child Pavilion and found Amber chained and burned to death on its third floor, still holding a bow of pale flames.

• Lu Ban entered the empty Purifying Fire Hall and found it unused and covered in dust.
• Lu Ban searched the main shrine and found jars containing the ashes of past Divine Children.
• Lu Ban noticed the Divine Child Pavilion had no windows and was secured by several scorched locks, leading him to suspect Amber had been confined there.
• Lu Ban slipped through the locked door and climbed the pavilion’s three floors, finding burn marks, signs of crawling, and the stench of burning.
• Lu Ban found Amber chained to a pillar on the third floor, her body charred and her hands still holding a bow of pale flames.