Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian pieced together how the Dragon King may have been left relying on the Tyrant’s torso, while suspecting Dark Moon and the others had subjected him to a cruel betrayal. The Dragon King unleashed his remaining strength against Fu Qian, drawing in the Blood Lake and its threadworms.

• Fu Qian examined the Dragon King’s distorted body and concluded that the Tyrant’s torso had been used to assemble it.
• Fu Qian suspected the Dragon King had been badly wounded by the Tyrant and that Dark Moon and the others might have forced him to accept the Tyrant’s body.
• Fu Qian offered the Dragon King the torso, but the Dragon King roared and spread his wings.
• The Dragon King drew the Blood Lake around himself as Scarlet Fever and Scarlet Angels emerged from his decaying body.
• Fu Qian noticed swarms of threadworms, including individuals he suspected served as alarms, attaching themselves to the Dragon King.

Fu Qian transformed into a mechanical dragon and confronted the decaying Dragon King, while the apostle remained lost in worship. The chapter ended with Fu Qian urging the apostle to wake from his corrupted faith.

• The Dragon King began transforming and seemed to summon reinforcements, prompting Fu Qian to worry that the Night Watchers might arrive.
• Fu Qian taunted the dazed apostle by pointing out that the Dragon King had answered him, then coughed up blood threaded with golden fire.
• Fu Qian invoked their past encounters and transformed into a colossal mechanical dragon equal in size to the Dragon King.
• Fu Qian blocked the Dragon King's attack and called to the apostle, telling him that his faith had been corrupted and urging him to wake up.

Fu Qian investigated why the apostle’s gesture had led him to the Dragon King and concluded that the Dragon King had been hidden inside the apostle’s spiritual world. The apostle began to remember his true identity, then shattered the inner world and made the Dragon King disappear.

• Fu Qian questioned why the apostle’s gesture had caused the Dragon King to respond to him as well as to the apostle.
• Fu Qian’s tail struck the Dragon King, and the resulting blast damaged them both and left the apostle badly injured.
• The apostle saw strange ripples where special individuals among the threadworms vanished and declared that he remembered everything.
• The apostle said he was not the Dragon King’s apostle and that it was not the date Fu Qian had asked about, then pointed at Fu Qian and said he was not the apostle either.
• The ripples shattered, causing the Dragon King to vanish while Fu Qian remained in the same place with the apostle.
• Fu Qian deduced that the Dragon King had been concealed in the apostle’s spiritual world and that the apostle had drawn him inside after he copied the gesture.

Fu Qian escaped Gods' Burial Ground after investigating the Apostle, the Dragon King, and the Night Watchers, then returned with a plan to draw the Night Watchers' attention toward Madness Fire and the sun. He also gained a new mark from his fight with the Dragon King.

• Fu Qian considered whether the Apostle was a historical trace like the watcher connected to Liliana and concluded that the Apostle could summon the Night Watchers.
• After a detector was triggered, Fu Qian transformed into a fiery phoenix-like figure and escaped through the door Red Moon had left behind.
• Back in his bookstore, Fu Qian decided his golden flames and final sun could make the Night Watchers investigate Madness Fire and its possible connection to the sun.
• Fu Qian inspected the armor he had made during his return and revealed a dark crimson mark left by his close-quarters fight with the Dragon King.
• The Dragon King failed to reclaim the trace of Scarlet Fever, and the tyrant's pain of withering returned to his true body.

After gaining control over Scarlet Fever from the Dragon King, Fu Qian concealed its spreading patterns and closed his bookstore. He traveled to Leaf Island to drink tea at the Man-Demon’s residence, found everyday life largely undisturbed by the conflict, and left to check whether the fortune-teller’s shop was still open.

• Fu Qian discovered that he could command Scarlet Fever’s patterns to spread to others or devour existing contamination, though he could not fully conceal the curse.
• Fu Qian closed his bookstore and sent away the remaining customers, telling one he was going to look for tea leaves.
• Fu Qian used the Anywhere Door Red Moon had given him to reach the Man-Demon’s residence on Leaf Island.
• Fu Qian found the remaining tea and brewed it himself, then reflected that ordinary people’s lives seemed unaffected by Leaf Island’s conflict with Siren.
• Fu Qian left through another door to see whether the fortune-teller’s shop was still open.

Fu Qian visited Chie Kisaragi and learned that Kanna was working with the Night Watchers, despite his desire to find her being dangerous. Chie warned him about the risks and described how Kanna seemed increasingly lifelike but had lost the last trace of who she had been.

• Fu Qian returned to the familiar city streets, put on a mask, and went to Chie Kisaragi's fortune-teller hut.
• Chie recognized Fu Qian and told him that Kanna had gone to the Night Watchers, where she now helped every day.
• Chie warned Fu Qian that seeking out Kanna could put him in danger because she now belonged to the supernatural world.
• Fu Qian asked whether Chie was concerned for him despite his role in her father's death, and Chie said his death had been a kind of release.
• Chie said Kanna had become more lifelike and obedient but that her sister's last trace was gone, then explained that they still shared a bed because Kanna was her sister.

Fu Qian visited Chie Kisaragi and asked her to use cards to determine whether Nepheli was still alive. Chie found his fate difficult to read, leaving her conclusion uncertain.

• Chie Kisaragi explained that Kanna Kisaragi would be available after dark, but Fu Qian said he had only asked out of courtesy.
• Fu Qian laid out money and asked Chie to read the cards about an old female acquaintance he had seen within the last few days.
• Fu Qian thought of Nepheli and chose Chie’s shop as a place where his attempt to contact her might reach her.
• Chie studied and drew more cards before calling Fu Qian’s fate special, and he asked what she meant.
• The chapter ended with an author’s notice explaining that readers had to reply to the fan-title event post to participate.

Fu Qian used Chie Kisaragi’s spirit-viewing ritual to investigate whether Nepheli’s will had survived her death, but the ritual produced no sign of her. Chie’s cards predicted that Fu Qian would never meet his old acquaintance again, then revealed that the person was still alive.

• Fu Qian considered whether Nepheli had used her self-immolation to reach the real world and wondered if the spirit-viewing ritual could reveal what remained of her will.
• Chie Kisaragi began a three-card reading after Fu Qian clarified that he was asking about an acquaintance rather than a friend.
• Chie interpreted a card showing a paper deer as a sign that Fu Qian and the acquaintance had grown apart because their differing ideas became clearer as their lives intersected.
• Chie read the next card, depicting a gilled figure, as a sign that Fu Qian would never see the acquaintance again.
• Fu Qian asked whether the acquaintance was dead, and Chie said the person was still alive before turning over the third card.

Fu Qian consulted Chie Kisaragi about Nepheli and received a reading that suggested she was alive but could never meet him again. He stole the Lesser Formless card and returned to Dancy Crawford's restaurant, where he fed the Eye of Consort Xing to the mouth in his palm.

• Chie Kisaragi interpreted the cards, concluding that Nepheli was alive but that she and Fu Qian had no possibility of meeting again.
• Fu Qian paid Chie Kisaragi generously, took the Lesser Formless card, and left without meeting Kanna Kisaragi.
• Fu Qian returned to his seat at Dancy Crawford's restaurant and set the stolen card on the table.
• Fu Qian brought out the Eye of Consort Xing, pressed it to the mouth in his palm, and swallowed it.

Fu Qian used God-level Insight on the Eye of Consort Xing and found himself watching a scene from the Blood Wedding at Ermu Mansion Palace. Unable to control the body he inhabited, he heard someone behind him ask to borrow his cloak.

• Fu Qian used God-level Insight on the Eye of Consort Xing, hoping to sense Nepheli or gain a new ability.
• The Insight placed Fu Qian in a formal, red-clad body at what he recognized as Ermu Mansion Palace during the Blood Wedding.
• Fu Qian realized he could only observe the scene and could not control the body or speak.
• A young woman outside urged the person in the room to hurry, and an unseen person answered that they would come out soon.
• Someone behind Fu Qian approached and asked to borrow his cloak.

Fu Qian witnessed what he suspected was an old Warehouse mission in which an impostor incapacitated the real groom and took his place, possibly revealing how Old Man Ji Feng became involved with the Larrea family. After being shrunk into a doll and plunged into darkness, Fu Qian noticed a faint light and caught a wisp of fragrance.

• Fu Qian inferred that the person borrowing the ceremonial cloak planned to impersonate the groom and marry the bride.
• Fu Qian suspected the scene was a recording of one of Old Man Ji Feng’s missions, with the Warehouse providing a duplicate outfit.
• The impostor took the cloak and bid farewell as Fu Qian’s viewpoint shifted and his senses faded.
• Fu Qian realized he had been shrunk into a doll and hidden beneath the real groom’s oversized clothes.
• Fu Qian sensed a faint light in the darkness, followed by a wisp of fragrance.

Fu Qian watched a hidden scene in which a frightened man stood before an altar and candles in a basement, then faced Xing Fei, dressed as a bride. Xing Fei warned him not to reveal what he had seen and urged him to return before the wedding guests noticed.

• Fu Qian realized the scene had shifted to a different person's perspective, showing aged hands before two candles in a hidden chamber.
• The man tried to extinguish the candles, trembling as he stared into their flames at a small underground altar.
• A woman spoke from behind him and asked what he had seen, making him turn around in fright.
• Fu Qian recognized the woman as Xing Fei, dressed in bridal clothes and apparently connected to the altar.
• Xing Fei told the man he had seen nothing and reminded him that people were waiting outside.
• The man agreed that he had seen nothing, and Xing Fei said they should not stay in the basement for long.

Fu Qian watched the apparent confrontation between Xing Fei and Camera Two end peacefully, then found himself in a new perspective during what seemed to be another shot. He faced Lord Hu Ba as the frightened woman whose viewpoint he occupied denied doing anything, leaving the reason for the shifting perspectives unclear.

• Camera Two left after Xing Fei accepted his promise, and an unfamiliar chuckle sounded after the hidden door closed.
• Fu Qian realized the scene had shifted to an above-ground room resembling Ermu Mansion Palace, where a refined, mustached man stood nearby.
• The man, identified as Lord Hu Ba, accused the person Fu Qian was viewing through of pretending to be innocent.
• The frightened woman denied doing anything, and Lord Hu Ba asked why she had come there if she was innocent.
• Fu Qian considered the unexplained camera shifts and the hidden undercurrents surrounding the grand event.

Fu Qian watched Hu Ba question a lost, lavishly dressed woman in a sealed room, only for their suspicious exchange to reveal that Hu Ba had brought her there and that the two seemed to be acting out a scene. The chapter left Fu Qian wondering who their performance was meant for.

• Fu Qian noticed that the woman's finery made her seem more like an honored guest than a thief, while Hu Ba's aggressive questioning seemed suspicious.
• The woman accused Hu Ba of treating her like a thief, and Hu Ba readily agreed to search her.
• Hu Ba told the woman that the room had no path out and that its door had been sealed, so someone had to enter through a high window.
• The woman claimed she did not know how she had arrived, and Hu Ba said he knew where the other person was.
• Hu Ba pointed to himself and said he had brought her there, and the woman responded in a languid, knowing voice that suggested they had been acting together.
• Fu Qian suspected the pair had staged the exchange and wondered who they were performing for.

Fu Qian watched two elders of the Larrea Royal Family speak privately from a concealed viewing room in Ermu Mansion Palace during the wedding. The young stepmother challenged her companion about his hopes for the groom’s future heirs, and he replied that she had never borne any outstanding offspring.

• Fu Qian shifted to a concealed corner of the western gallery and observed a woman looking out over the wedding celebration.
• A second young woman joined her and remarked that the child was popular and that it was worrying.
• Fu Qian inferred that the pair were elders of the groom’s family, though he withheld judgment amid the day’s many reversals.
• The woman with pale golden hair questioned her companion about his confidence in the groom’s ability to produce outstanding offspring.
• The companion agreed that he had always thought highly of the groom, then told her she had never borne any outstanding offspring.

Fu Qian watched Jose calmly respond to his young wife’s confession before abruptly questioning an unseen presence. The chapter left Jose tearing a throbbing lump of flesh from his own waist, revealing that his interrogation had targeted something inside his body.

• Jose’s young wife admitted she had disappointed him, and he said he was not angry because other people had caused the same trouble.
• Jose suddenly demanded to know what his wife was, then clarified that he was addressing someone else.
• Jose’s wife screamed as he drove two fingers into his waist and tore something out.
• Jose held a bloodied, heartlike lump of flesh in his hand.

Fu Qian watched Lord Jose destroy a strange, pulsating lump of flesh and force his young stepmother to stay composed for the wedding. The brightening light revealed that Jose’s face resembled the Divine Human Face statue, strengthening Fu Qian’s suspicion that the Larrea family had ties to the First Generation Dark Moon.

• Lord Jose pulled a pulsating, humanoid lump of flesh from his belly while his young stepmother watched in horror.
• Jose sealed the young stepmother’s lips to silence her, then crushed the lump in his hand and let her breathe again.
• Jose told his young stepmother to remain composed for the important wedding, while Fu Qian inferred that the ceremony had a purpose beyond family and etiquette.
• The sun came out, and Fu Qian noticed a black stone plate that resembled a Divination Mirror.
• Fu Qian saw Jose’s reflected face and recognized its resemblance to the Divine Human Face statue, raising his certainty that the Larrea family preserved the Dark Moon’s legacy.

Fu Qian watched from inside a cabinet as Old Master Ji, disguised as Don Juan, met a young woman in private on the wedding day. Their exchange grew intimate and emotional, but the woman ended by reminding him of his betrayal with Anna.

• Fu Qian realized camera position five was hidden inside a cabinet overlooking a private room.
• He heard a young woman ask why Don Juan had called her there, and Don Juan replied that he missed her.
• Fu Qian recognized Don Juan's voice from an earlier camera position and concluded Old Master Ji was impersonating the groom.
• Don Juan told the Young Lady he had not wanted to stand at the altar unless she was there.
• Don Juan recalled their happy times together in Ermu Mansion Palace, and the Young Lady said she remembered what he and Anna had done there.

Fu Qian reasoned that a young woman had spied on Don Juan and Anna from inside the private room, then realized there was another woman hiding in the wardrobe with him. He suspected Old Master Ji knew about the hidden voyeur and waited to see what he would do.

• Fu Qian concluded that Don Juan had used the room as a private place to meet lovers, and wondered how the young woman outside had witnessed him and Anna.
• Old Master Ji, posing as Don Juan, insisted that he and Anna had only been playing along, but the woman challenged him and started to leave.
• Old Master Ji stopped the woman and realized she had been hiding in the cabinet; he pointed toward it.
• Fu Qian reasoned that the woman had entered the room secretly and watched Don Juan and Anna from the cabinet.
• Fu Qian discovered another woman was currently hiding in the wardrobe, and suspected Old Master Ji was pretending not to notice her.

Fu Qian listened from inside a wardrobe as Old Master Ji, disguised as Don Juan, tried to draw his former lover into an emotional confession before the wedding. The encounter left Fu Qian suspecting that Old Master Ji’s mission involved stirring or planting something in the women’s souls, possibly explaining the Blood Wedding.

• Fu Qian reasoned that Old Master Ji was pretending not to know anyone was hiding in the wardrobe as part of his mission.
• The young lady urged Don Juan to open the wardrobe, and Old Master Ji admitted he knew what it was like to hide there while resisting his father’s engagement plans.
• The young lady challenged Don Juan for never understanding her, then stumbled into his arms and kissed him.
• Fu Qian inferred that Old Master Ji sought to provoke intense emotional turmoil rather than simply seduce the young lady.
• Fu Qian connected Old Master Ji’s scheme to the Blood Wedding and wondered whether he was planting something in the female guests’ souls.