Recaps

Fu Qian explained why the Spirit Ash Institute's strange behavior supported the idea that it had encountered an incomprehensible supernatural presence, while noting that Wen Li's unusual ascension would draw even more Night Watcher attention. The chapter ended with Lisha realizing Fu Qian already knew Wen Li and had planned to keep his distance unless the Institute escalated matters.

• Fu Qian asked Lisha why she thought Silei had lost his mind, and she argued that people immersed in mind-related phenomena could easily lose their sanity.
• Fu Qian said the Night Watchers already had reasons to monitor Wen Li, including her unusual constitution and path to godhood.
• Fu Qian asked Cas about Miracle Creatures, and Cas described them as living miracles and said he had once encountered one.
• Lisha suggested Fu Qian had tried to provoke the Spirit Ash Institute by attempting to poach its student, Wen Li.
• Fu Qian revealed that Wen Li was already his person and that he had planned to keep his distance unless the Institute acted aggressively, leaving Lisha stunned and Cas laughing.

Fu Qian returned to the bookstore and used his Messenger to test whether he could communicate with the Pope after his perception was affected. The connection failed, but an uncanny, flexible object shaped itself into a bow in his hand, leaving him with a new mystery.

• Professor Fu redirected Cas and Lisha's attention to Lisha's research breakthrough, and Cas eagerly went with Lisha to inspect it.
• Lisha gave Fu Qian a gemstone before leaving with Cas, while Fu Qian returned to the empty laboratory and put on the Messenger.
• Fu Qian appeared in the bookstore and shot a rust-colored arrow that veiled the sky and revealed a faint Dark Moon.
• Fu Qian tried to tell the Pope that his perception had been affected, but no reply came, confirming that their communication was disrupted.
• A bone-like object covered in dark red appeared in Fu Qian's hand and formed a flexible bow with a grotesque face carved into it.

After losing his Supernatural Perception, Fu Qian received a strange bow-shaped item from Nirgalia, the Witch, through the Dark Moon. He deduced that the Spinal Lock was meant to consume something extraordinary, then spotted Chief Yuan approaching the bookstore as a possible source of food for it.

• Fu Qian used Blasphemous Embrace to contact the Dark Moon and realized that Nirgalia could send him things but could no longer speak to him.
• Fu Qian identified Nirgalia's gift as the Spinal Lock, a bow modeled on Blasphemous Embrace, and guessed that he should send it away rather than use it on himself.
• The Spinal Lock transformed into a crescent and reached toward Fu Qian's hand, leading him to conclude that it was meant to eat something.
• Fu Qian considered feeding the Spinal Lock the remains of a Higher Being or sacrificing Night Watchers, but found those options impractical.
• Fu Qian noticed Chief Yuan of Shangjing approaching the bookstore with her shopping bags.

Fu Qian told Yuan Shan that Wen Li had become a demigod after receiving guidance from the Spirit Ash Institute, and Yuan Shan worried about the dangers and the extra responsibility of watching over her. He reassured her that Su Gao was safe, then asked Yuan Shan to find Eckhart.

• Yuan Shan visited Fu Qian and asked what had happened during his recent trip.
• Fu Qian revealed that Wen Li had become a demigod, shocking Yuan Shan.
• Yuan Shan considered advanced training at the Spirit Ash Institute and worried about the risks Wen Li might face.
• Fu Qian said Su Gao was doing well and asked Yuan Shan to find Eckhart.

Fu Qian asked Yuan Shan to search the Night Watchers' records for Eckhart, learning that the first Night Watchers had fought the Long Night after many people succumbed to despair. After Yuan Shan agreed to investigate in secret, Selena arrived at Fu Qian's shop, where two other customers were already present.

• Fu Qian asked Yuan Shan to research Eckhart, a pre-Long Night believer who had died by suicide.
• Yuan Shan explained that many people had killed themselves during the Long Night, while those who resisted became the first Night Watchers and fought its dangers.
• Fu Qian asked Yuan Shan to keep the inquiry secret even from the Supreme Council, and she agreed to investigate.
• Yuan Shan left Fu Qian's shop, and Selena arrived soon afterward while two customers were inside.

Fu Qian questioned Selena about Taylor’s dream and the strange celestial phenomenon that had desecrated the sun. Selena reported no new effects, and their discussion of the moons led Fu Qian to conclude that the white moon was the original Moon God and that Annalise had inherited its divine position before the Long Night.

• Selena told Fu Qian that Taylor Gullard had not dreamed because his family had forbidden him from sleeping, and the force behind the emblem had not tried to reach him another way.
• Selena asked Fu Qian about the celestial phenomenon, and he said Chief Yuan had also visited to ask whether anyone had been affected.
• Selena said she had noticed nothing unusual and explained that the Red Moon sometimes answered the Blood Clan, while the original moon had not answered anyone for a very long time.
• Fu Qian compared the blue, white, and red moons and concluded that the white moon had been the original Moon God before Annalise inherited its divine position.
• Fu Qian recalled that Annalise had not lived to see the Long Night, though the Dark Moon had appeared during it.

Fu Qian pieced together a theory that Dark Moon’s role in the Long Night connected her to the Blood Clan Progenitor and the Red Moon. He told Selena the Death Master was behind the unusual celestial phenomenon, then claimed he recognized the emblem because he and its owner went way back.

• Fu Qian considered how Dark Moon might have inherited Annalise’s symbols and will, built the star barrier, and later left the world before the Red Moon took her place.
• Selena asked Fu Qian whether he and the Night Watchers knew about the unusual celestial phenomenon.
• Fu Qian showed Selena the emblem of the Death Master, and she recalled the name.
• Selena wondered whether the Death Master was connected to Taylor’s fate and the Blood Clan, while Fu Qian suggested Taylor might simply have crossed paths with the culprit.
• Selena asked how Fu Qian recognized the emblem, and he said he and its owner went way back.

Fu Qian and Selena discussed how the Long Night distorted the names and emblems of ancient Higher Beings, then exchanged information about the Dark Moon and escaped insects. After Selena left to investigate her lead, Fu Qian prepared to visit the Furnace, or the Angel of Peace.

• Selena explained that the Long Night had distorted the emblems and Honored Names of ancient Higher Beings, leaving later generations with little divine knowledge.
• Fu Qian told Selena that mysterious beings claiming to be resurrected ancient vampires worshipped the Dark Moon, which might be linked to the Death Master.
• Selena revealed that she had found a lead on the escaped insects and planned to investigate discreetly.
• Fu Qian let Selena leave, privately intending for her to serve as a guide who would drive the Greedy Worms toward him.
• Fu Qian stood up and decided to head toward the Furnace, or the Angel of Peace.

Fu Qian left Shangjing to investigate the Furnace and find a way to feed the Spinal Lock, while also seeking answers about his lost Supernatural Perception. On the aerial transport, he had a suspicious passenger removed, then received a warning about a leakage incident as a new mission was announced.

• Fu Qian examined the Spinal Lock and decided to take it to the Furnace, where he hoped to find a suitable source of food.
• Fu Qian used Chief Yuan’s pass to board an Aerial Transport bound for a remote destination.
• A young woman in a red trench coat tried to make Fu Qian squeeze past her, but he ordered the staff to remove her because he suspected she was carrying prohibited items.
• The staff cleared the passageway, and Fu Qian boarded without significantly delaying the journey.
• After the transport set off, Fu Qian removed his mask and received a warning about a leakage incident and a notice that a new mission would begin the next day.

Fu Qian entered the Warehouse’s 3-399 containment task, The Unassailable, and discovered that his Inspiration had vanished and his preparation options were severely restricted. The task brought him to the ancient city of Lanfeilai, where he got off a bus and noticed another composed passenger.

• Fu Qian accepted the assignment to recontain 3-399, The Unassailable.
• Upon entering the task, Fu Qian found that his Inspiration attribute had disappeared.
• The Warehouse limited Fu Qian to the King of Prison Break skill, barred him from bringing additional items, and warned that most injuries would not be repaired afterward.
• Fu Qian arrived in Lanfeilai on a cloudy day as one of the city’s visitors, with a guide mentioned in the task introduction.
• After the bus stopped, Fu Qian noticed a freckled passenger with shoulder-length hair and a blue-and-white backpack.

Fu Qian arrived in a tourist city and learned that its blue-eyed amulets, called “The Unassailable,” matched the mission’s clues. After hearing the guide’s introduction, he left the group’s planned tour to search for a dancer.

• Fu Qian rode an old red tram into the city with a small tour group and met their female guide.
• The mission updated with the objective to find the blue-eyed dancer, and Fu Qian spotted blue-eyed ornaments at the street vendors’ stalls.
• The guide explained that locals called the ornaments “The Unassailable” and believed they could protect people from foreign things and disaster.
• Fu Qian confirmed that the King of Prison Break had retained his mission skills and Insight gains, though he had lost his items.
• When the group prepared to explore together, Fu Qian asked the guide where he could find a dancer.

Fu Qian left his tour group to seek out a local dance performance and followed a shady tout to a hidden venue. He arrived in time to see a blue-eyed dancer take the stage.

• Fu Qian persuaded the tour leader to let him visit a nearby dance venue and agreed to meet the group again in an hour and a half.
• Fu Qian reached the closed venue and accepted directions from a scrawny stranger he called Rat Face.
• Rat Face led Fu Qian through winding alleys marked with the symbol of The Unassailable to a hidden establishment.
• Fu Qian took a seat at the venue and watched a blue-eyed dancer come onstage.

Fu Qian watched a dancer whose belly rings resembled The Unassailable while a young tourist explained the ornament’s history. The Warehouse updated his mission, identifying the ornament as the Third Cause and ordering him to forbid any desecration of his authority.

• Fu Qian noticed two metal rings around the dancer’s navel and recognized their proportions as resembling The Unassailable.
• A young tourist joined Fu Qian and explained how the ornament had become associated with dancers and sensuality.
• The Warehouse updated Fu Qian’s mission, naming him master of the Third Cause and telling him to forbid any desecration of his authority.
• Fu Qian concluded that the rings represented the Third Cause and confirmed his identification to the young tourist.

Fu Qian recognized the Third Cause as an authority he could wield, one that inserted errors into fate and allowed him to control its power. After watching the dancer receive his praise and place her veil around his neck, he learned that local custom expected an honored guest to give a gift in return.

• Fu Qian saw a break in the dancer’s abstract circuits and realized it corresponded to the Unassailable mark on her lower abdomen.
• Fu Qian understood the Third Cause as an intrusion that altered fate and recognized himself as its incarnation, able to remove the mark’s power at will.
• Fu Qian considered why the Warehouse had assigned him a rare mission to prohibit the desecration of authority.
• The dancer ended her performance, approached Fu Qian, and hung her veil around his neck as the audience cheered.
• Several figures emerged from the shadows, and their leader told Fu Qian that tradition required an honored guest to leave a gift of thanks.

Fu Qian tested his control over the dancer’s Third Cause blessing, then paid for the ritual without challenging the men running the venue. The group left after the woman in the white dress also paid, but Fu Qian abruptly ordered the men to put their hands up.

• Fu Qian asked to take the ring from the dancer’s stomach and learned it was tied to a private meeting and a customary payment.
• Fu Qian removed the dancer’s Third Cause blessing and marked her as a rejecter, making her immune to blue eyes.
• Fu Qian offered the woman in the white dress a chance to pay a token of thanks, but she declined, so he put down his money.
• The woman in the white dress objected that Fu Qian had paid too much and offered two banknotes of her own.
• The man with glasses kept Fu Qian’s money and accepted the woman’s payment, then arranged for the dancer to perform for her.
• Fu Qian stood up, tapped the table, and told the men to stick their hands up.

Fu Qian used violence to make the men pay him, then left with the woman in white as she questioned his choices. She introduced herself as Clara and called him Jian, leaving him wondering if his handlers had reused his cover name.

• Fu Qian pinned the men with their own daggers and collected their money while praising the dancing girl.
• The woman in white followed Fu Qian and asked why he had not gone to the police.
• Fu Qian explained that he did not mind if the police came, since their involvement could help his mission.
• The woman introduced herself as Clara and said she had heard people call him Jian.
• Fu Qian silently wondered whether his handlers had reused the name material for his cover identity.

Fu Qian spoke with Clara, whom he called Encore, after they watched a performance, then returned to the tour’s meeting point and bought her coffee. He explained that he planned to keep exploring Lanfeilai to understand the widespread misuse of The Third Cause, while Clara described the city as a mummified corpse and voiced doubts about its blue-eyed people truly receiving a god’s favor.

• Fu Qian teased Clara about her interest in the performance and reclaimed the money she had taken from him, while refusing to return it because he considered it stolen loot.
• Clara followed Fu Qian, who offered her coffee to thank her for speaking up for him earlier.
• Fu Qian returned to the tour’s designated meeting point and said he intended to continue sightseeing because he had raised money for the trip.
• Fu Qian reflected that blue-eyed people across Lanfeilai showed signs of The Third Cause’s abuse, so he wanted to understand the city before acting.
• Clara admitted she had left the tour to visit the performance and described Lanfeilai as a beautiful, mummified corpse, saying its blue eyes might only be pretending to reflect a god’s favor.

Fu Qian considered why the Unassailable had suddenly gained supernatural power and suspected his arrival had changed the city, possibly amid a brewing crisis. He reunited with the tour group at the coffee shop, where the others showed off their souvenirs and the tour leader asked whether he had lost anything.

• Fu Qian reasoned that the Unassailable might have been powerless until he entered the mission, and wondered whether the Warehouse had arranged the mission because a larger crisis was coming.
• Fu Qian offered Clara another coffee and praised her actions, while she reacted skeptically to his apparent lack of concern about their situation.
• The tour leader and the other four members arrived at the coffee shop and joined Fu Qian and Clara.
• The tour leader asked Fu Qian whether he had seen the show and lost anything, and he said he had seen an excellent show elsewhere and lost nothing.

Fu Qian and the tour group visited the Royal Imperial Garden, where A Lian explained its history and its connection to the city’s layout. As A Lian noticed that the old man had disappeared, Fu Qian recognized a structure tied to the city’s protective charms.

• A Lian confirmed that Fu Qian and Clara would continue with the tour and led the group to the Royal Imperial Garden.
• Night Watchers checked the visitors’ identities at the entrance, and Fu Qian watched the old man and the other tourists closely.
• A Lian guided the group to a hidden vantage point where they could overlook the garden and much of Lanfeilai.
• A Lian described Anke Wenlan, the former ruler, and explained that his family had planned the city.
• Fu Qian recognized a familiar structure in the city and asked about the origin of its blue eyes.
• A Lian turned around and discovered that the old man had disappeared.

Fu Qian helped A Lian search for Old Man after he disappeared from the group, but instead found him secretly reading in the restricted library. Fu Qian then discovered Clara watching the couple kiss in a secluded room.

• A Lian noticed Old Man was missing and asked the group to search for him.
• Fu Qian, Clara, and the balding man volunteered to help, and A Lian split them up after they retraced their steps.
• Fu Qian ignored his assigned area and found Old Man in a restricted library, rapidly consulting several books.
• Fu Qian left Old Man to his research and went looking for the others.
• Fu Qian found Clara secretly watching the couple kiss in an ornate room.

Fu Qian tested how losing their purchased gifts affected a couple behaving strangely in the former royal residence, then rejoined the captain and the rest of the team. The old man returned to the meeting point, bringing the team back together and ending the immediate crisis.

• Clara knocked to interrupt the couple, while Fu Qian demoted them to Third Cause Rejectors and observed that they regained clarity in the same order their gifts were removed.
• Fu Qian considered whether the couple's behavior revealed the meaning of the mission to put an end to the desecration of authority, but continued on without settling the question.
• Fu Qian found the captain, chose not to remove his gift, and walked with him back toward the meeting point.
• A Lian asked Fu Qian whether he had found anything and considered reporting the old man's disappearance.
• The old man arrived, apologized for getting lost, and reunited the team.

After the Old Man rejoined the tour, A Lian kept the group together and let them explore the old city on their own. Fu Qian secretly followed the Old Man to a private club, where he was turned away and caught Fu Qian watching.

• The Old Man explained that he had gotten lost in the Royal Imperial Garden, and A Lian asked everyone to stay close for the rest of the tour.
• The group finished touring the former Wenlan Clan residence, ate a local meal, and received the afternoon to explore the old city freely.
• Fu Qian followed the Old Man, suspecting the address he had found in an old book would lead into the city's supernatural world.
• The Old Man went to a private club on a narrow street but was refused entry and driven away.
• Fu Qian mocked the Old Man for being turned away, revealing that he had watched the encounter in disguise.

Fu Qian, calling himself Old Wang, challenged San Hao to accept the consequences of pursuing the things inside a private club. When San Hao returned to the club, lightning struck it and tore a breach through the building.

• San Hao introduced himself under an assumed name and asked Fu Qian to help him contact the club’s members.
• Fu Qian warned San Hao to consider the consequences of opening the box and asked if he was ready to face them.
• San Hao said he was ready, and Fu Qian told him to return to the club despite having been turned away.
• San Hao went back to the club and was refused entry for the third time.
• A bolt of lightning struck the historic building, crashing through its walls and opening a massive breach.

Fu Qian used the Tyrant’s Calamity Power to strike the private club with lightning, helping Old Man San Hao gain entry to Lanfeilai’s supernatural world. After observing the police and a likely Night Watcher arrive, Fu Qian followed the Night Watcher.

• Fu Qian unleashed the Tyrant’s Calamity Power on the private club after its doorman turned Old Man San Hao away.
• The lightning damaged the building, and the club’s members surrounded San Hao before escorting him away in a car.
• Fu Qian realized that two of the men were supernatural beings and that they had recognized San Hao as one of their own.
• The police cordoned off the scene while Fu Qian identified a likely Night Watcher among the onlookers.
• Fu Qian finished his drink and followed the departing Night Watcher.

Fu Qian followed a stern Night Watcher to a hidden meeting with a supernatural informant from the club and learned that Old Man San Hao’s visit and the lightning strike had raised suspicions of a conspiracy. The informant revealed that a bald stranger calling himself the Ancient King had directed San Hao to the club, while Fu Qian realized his alias had linked the incident to the club’s research.

• Fu Qian followed the stern Night Watcher to an ordinary home, where she met a mustached supernatural informant from the club.
• The informant told the Night Watcher that Old Man San Hao had arrived during the lightning strike after finding the club’s address and code phrase in Gregor’s manuscripts.
• The informant explained that someone had advised San Hao to try entering the club again, prompting the Night Watcher to suspect a hidden connection to the lightning.
• The informant described the stranger as a bald, ordinary-looking man who called himself the Ancient King.
• Fu Qian recognized that his chosen alias had made the club more likely to connect the incident with The Unassailable and its research.