Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian posed as the White-faced Man and attacked a prisoner who seemed to recognize the swordsman’s abilities. When Plain Knights closed in on the cell, Fu Qian used blazing golden flames on his saber, leaving the prisoner’s suspicions unresolved as the fight escalated.

• Fu Qian decided not to question the prisoner and struck him with the White-faced Man’s long saber.
• The prisoner dodged the first slash but lost an arm, which quickly regenerated, then charged in and demanded to know who Fu Qian was.
• Fu Qian realized the prisoner recognized Severing’s healing-preventing power and suspected he might be a Night Watcher.
• A Plain Knight battered the cell door until it bent, then smashed through the bars with its shield as more footsteps approached.
• Fu Qian ignited his saber with golden flames and cleaved through the Plain Knight, making the attack look like an escalation of the White-faced Man’s power.

Fu Qian discovered that golden flames exposed the prison’s armored beings as machines made from intertwined bodies, then escaped and investigated the danger Red Moon had warned him about. He found a white miniature of himself parasitizing his body, which crumbled to ash, and connected it to the doll that had emerged from Su Gao.

• Fu Qian watched the prisoner study the golden flames after nearly splitting Plain Knight in half.
• The flames peeled away Plain Knight’s apparent metal coating, revealing a machine constructed from interlinked human, animal, and other bodies.
• The prisoner attacked Fu Qian with a tentacle, but Fu Qian escaped through the doorway and returned to Half-step Moon.
• In the Warehouse, Fu Qian used the King of Prison Break’s Mythical Form to draw a tiny, white doll made of interlinked bodies out of himself.
• The doll crumbled to ash, and Fu Qian realized something had been parasitizing him and recalled that Su Gao’s doll had also emerged from her body.

Fu Qian reviewed his escape from the dangerous bubble and concluded that the parasite he had removed might be linked to Akons and Su Gao’s transformation. He left the story watching for how the Night Watchers would respond to Su Gao.

• Fu Qian reasoned that the guarded bubble’s prisoner might have been a Night Watcher who sacrificed themself to contain the place.
• Fu Qian explained that he had delayed activating his Mythical Form to avoid alerting the Night Watchers and exposing everyone at the academy to danger.
• Fu Qian used the King of Prison Break’s perspective and Calamity Authority to find and destroy the parasite, which became a doll.
• Fu Qian suspected the doll and the bubble might be connected to Akons, Madam Madeline, and Su Gao’s transformation, but could not confirm the link.
• Fu Qian decided to watch how the Night Watchers treated Su Gao, then Liu Shuang greeted him as morning arrived.

After returning from the Half-step Moon, Fu Qian learned that more than a day had passed and asked about unusual celestial phenomena. A supernatural barrage of meteors then appeared to strike the academy, and Fu Qian recognized it as a fifty-seven-part attack aimed at the Angel Lord.

• Ji Liushuang told Fu Qian he had been gone since the day before yesterday, and he realized he had spent more than a day on the Half-step Moon.
• Fu Qian asked whether anyone had visited and whether there had been unusual celestial phenomena; Ji Liushuang said only Veil and her younger sister had come by and offered to ask around.
• A brilliant streak crossed the night sky, followed by a rain of destructive celestial objects that appeared to strike near the Institute of Curses.
• Ji Liushuang feared the Institute of Curses had been hit, but Fu Qian explained that the destruction was only apparent to them.
• Fu Qian counted fifty-seven celestial attacks and concluded that the Angel Lord had been targeted by a triple attack.

Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang watched a meteor shower destroy the Institute of Curses, apparently killing Angel Lord and smashing a strange growth of spikes that erupted from underground. They went to investigate and found Professor A Kai outside, worried that his notes and manuscripts were still inside.

• Fu Qian reasoned that Angel Lord had been hiding at the Institute of Curses, but the meteors likely destroyed him after underground spikes burst through the building and were crushed.
• After the last meteor fell, Ji Liushuang asked whether anyone might have been hurt by the spikes, and Fu Qian led her to investigate.
• Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang met Professor A Kai and learned that no one else was likely inside, though A Kai feared for his notes and manuscripts.
• Fu Qian offered A Kai sympathy and plucked a long feather from his sleeve.

After a meteor shower devastated the Institute of Curses, Fu Qian kept the site secured while considering the factions and secrets connected to the event. He learned that Li Weixuan had become a demigod, then declined Dean Li’s invitation and sent him an emblem linked to gray feathers and an underground structure in the wasteland.

• Professor A Kai told Fu Qian that the damaged Institute of Curses was filled with ordinary gray feathers that continued underground.
• Fu Qian chose to secure the scene rather than investigate, and sent Professor A Kai to check on the Institute’s mentors.
• Fu Qian handed control of the cordoned-off site to Ji Liushuang and returned to his laboratory.
• Ji Liushuang reported that all the mentors were safe and that Li Weixuan had become a demigod.
• Fu Qian declined Dean Li’s invitation to discuss the incident and gave Ji Liushuang an emblem for him, explaining that it matched one he had seen with gray feathers in the wasteland.

Fu Qian left the Academy after pointing Ji Liushuang toward the Night Watchers for information about the angel emblem, then returned to Shangjing and met with Yuan Shan. Their discussion turned to the meteor shower, the Academy’s denial of responsibility, and Fu Qian’s belief that Angel Lord was already dead.

• Fu Qian told Ji Liushuang that the emblem came from Angel Dungeon and asked her to give it to Dean Li.
• After Ji Liushuang left, Fu Qian removed the Messenger, returned to his bookstore in Shangjing, and went out to buy food.
• Xiao Mingyue arrived at the closed bookstore and invited Fu Qian to meet with Chief Yuan.
• At the Night Watcher headquarters, Yuan Shan asked Fu Qian how he had caused the meteor shower.
• Yuan Shan said the Night Watchers’ report described the event and scattered feathers, and that the Academy had denied its mentors were responsible.
• Fu Qian told Yuan Shan that Angel Lord should already be dead.

Fu Qian showed Yuan Shan a feather from the slain Angel Lord and told her what he had learned about ancient angelic faith and the Night Watchers’ efforts to suppress old religions. Their discussion raised questions about why Higher Beings had once needed believers, and Yuan Shan ended by asking whether the matter was connected to the Needle Witch.

• Fu Qian explained that the Angel Lord had been destroyed by dozens of falling meteors of fate, and Yuan Shan realized the feathers were remains of a Second Order who had died.
• Fu Qian showed Yuan Shan an ordinary feather he had collected from the Angel Lord and explained how he had brought it back through the Warehouse.
• Fu Qian told Yuan Shan about an ancient angelic faith, its traces in the Wasteland, and the giant mirror and Siren’s past exploration.
• Yuan Shan said the Night Watchers had long suppressed certain ancient faiths because they believed those faiths could nourish evil, though they did not know the exact reason.
• Yuan Shan revealed that her teacher compared the danger to a being whose name she avoided saying, and said its power had not weakened despite having no believers for many years.
• After considering what faith meant to Higher Beings, Yuan Shan asked Fu Qian whether the matter was connected to the Needle Witch.

Fu Qian and Yuan Shan agreed that they had to investigate Needle Witch Kelin despite lacking proof, since failing to act could leave them under suspicion. Yuan Shan revealed that Su Gao had been appointed to lead the Night Watchers’ inquiry and proposed having Fu Qian assist her while Yuan Shan stayed in Shangjing.

• Fu Qian confirmed that Kelin was connected to the events, and Yuan Shan accepted that she had to investigate until she could prove Kelin innocent.
• Yuan Shan said she would consult her teacher about angel worship and destroyed the emblem and feather.
• Yuan Shan told Fu Qian that the Night Watchers had appointed Su Gao to lead the investigation, though she feared her connection to Su Gao would attract suspicion.
• Yuan Shan planned to report that she had been attacked by someone wielding feather-like power, then ask Fu Qian to help Su Gao investigate while she remained in Shangjing.

Yuan Shan asked Fu Qian to join Su Gao’s investigation into the attack and possible traces of Kelin, and he agreed. Before leaving, Fu Qian visited Wen Li, who had found something interesting in the Larrea Royal Family materials he requested.

• Fu Qian considered why Yuan Shan had chosen him to help Su Gao investigate the attack and enter the Night Watchers’ scrutiny.
• Fu Qian asked Yuan Shan why she would not report Kelin, but Yuan Shan said the Western Plains had sent no news and reporting Kelin would not undo the harm she had caused.
• Fu Qian agreed to join the investigation, and Yuan Shan said she would have Su Gao come find him at the shop.
• Yuan Shan suggested Fu Qian visit Wen Li, who was recovering and had been researching materials for him.
• Wen Li greeted Fu Qian, remarked on his formal clothes, and showed him a file about the Larrea Royal Family that she said contained something interesting.

Wen Li told Fu Qian about the Larrea family’s Blood Wedding, where noblewomen later killed their husbands, and he considered whether the event had supernatural effects connected to Ji Feng. After praising Wen Li’s research, he gave her advice before she went to the Spirit Ash Institute.

• Wen Li explained that Don Juan’s lavish wedding inspired the Blood Wedding legend after many noblewomen reportedly killed their husbands soon afterward.
• Fu Qian considered whether the killings and the scene he had witnessed through the Bronze Lady were connected to a supernatural influence or one of Ji Feng’s mission rewards.
• Fu Qian thanked Wen Li for her research and noted that Immanuel’s statue was no longer in Ermu Mansion Palace.
• Wen Li asked Fu Qian for advice before attending the academy, and he warned her about the old buildings’ smell and suggested she speak with Professor Lanaia if she ran into trouble.

Fu Qian finished his visit with Wen Li, returned to the bookstore, and entered Containment Scene 3-0205, where he became a young man called Mr. Wolf. The scene left him stranded in a broken-down car near Batters’s address, with his abilities and items restricted.

• Fu Qian left Wen Li after discussing the journey and the arrangements involving Su Gao and Chief Yuan.
• Back at the bookstore, Fu Qian removed the Messenger and received a task to re-contain April Fools' Day, Containment Scene 3-0205.
• Fu Qian entered the scene and learned that he was Mr. Wolf, a young man summoned by his frightened friend Batters on April Fools' Day.
• Fu Qian regained awareness in an old car on a snowy night, found Batters’s address on a note, and realized the car had broken down near the destination.
• Fu Qian discovered that his skills and items had been restricted despite the scene’s low number.

Fu Qian arrived at an April Fools’ Day party under the identity of Mr. Wolf, with his abilities stripped and his physical condition weakened. After finding Batters in a closed room with two others, he noticed blood-colored liquid on Batters’ wrist.

• Fu Qian realized the mission had made him an unusually weak, ordinary person and examined his unfamiliar appearance as Mr. Wolf.
• Fu Qian reached the party and told Eva he was there to see Batters; she directed him to a room at the far end.
• A partygoer offered Fu Qian a drink, and he requested coffee with double cream and double sugar instead of the grotesque-looking themed drinks.
• Fu Qian entered the room and met Batters and two serious-looking people; Batters began apologizing, but Fu Qian lifted his sleeve and spotted blood-colored liquid on his wrist.

Fu Qian suspected Batters’s apparent plea for help after a fatal accident might be an April Fools’ prank, but played along as Mr. Wolf while probing the situation. A knock at the locked door interrupted Batters’s explanation, and Fu Qian claimed the visitor was probably there for him.

• Fu Qian noticed a bloodlike stain on Batters’s cuff, and Batters jerked his hand away in alarm.
• Batters begged Fu Qian for help, saying he had drunk too much, fought with a man, and the man had hit his head.
• Fu Qian considered whether the apparent crime was real or an April Fools’ prank, then handed Batters a paper bag to steady his breathing.
• Fu Qian criticized Batters for summoning him over something he could have reported to the police, startling Batters and the two others.
• Someone knocked at the locked door, and Fu Qian said the visitor was probably there for him.

Fu Qian investigated Batters’s claim that he had killed a man, then examined the supposed corpse hidden in the basement. He found signs that the blood was fake but suspected the body itself might be real, leaving him uncertain whether Batters and the others knew the truth.

• Fu Qian opened the door to accept the coffee Salma had brought, and she flirted with him before leaving.
• Batters begged Fu Qian to help him avoid jail, saying a man had fallen during a fight; Fu Qian asked why Batters’s two companions were involved too.
• Batters told Fu Qian the body was downstairs, and one companion pointed out where the man had fallen.
• Fu Qian descended into the dark basement and found a body curled among junk, with a jacket over its head and blood pooled beneath it.
• Fu Qian recognized that the blood was fake, touched the body, and wondered whether Batters and the others knew it was real.

Fu Qian discovered that the corpse in the basement was real, though the blood and story surrounding its death appeared fabricated. The scene abruptly shifted to a moving car with Batters, where Fu Qian realized he was in an April Fools' Day script that he had to complete correctly.

• Fu Qian examined the corpse and found no wound beneath the fake blood, leaving its cause of death and Batters's story uncertain.
• A sudden transition placed Fu Qian in the passenger seat of a moving car, and he received the condition to correctly complete the entire April Fools' Day script.
• Fu Qian recognized Batters at the wheel and heard him argue with a tough-looking man in the back seat about their nighttime drive.
• Fu Qian tugged at the tough guy's clothes, prompting Batters to turn onto a side road and stop outside a dark house.

Batters brought Fu Qian and Wolf to an old building to investigate a strange light, hoping the supernatural encounter might reveal a talent. When a glowing red-and-blue growth appeared outside, Fu Qian heard an indistinct sound in his mind.

• Batters took Fu Qian and Wolf to an old building near the road, where he claimed to have seen a strange light.
• The tough guy questioned Batters's story and resisted getting out of the car.
• Batters argued that the supernatural might offer an opportunity and said they could wait for the flash before entering.
• Wolf got out of the car without waiting, while Fu Qian noticed a glowing red-and-blue cluster appear by the building.
• An indistinct sound began echoing in Fu Qian's mind as he saw the strange growth.

Fu Qian and Batters entered the building to investigate a supernatural voice that drew people toward a glowing object. Fu Qian found Batters in the room where it was strongest, while the Tough Guy had vanished.

• Batters and the Tough Guy joined Fu Qian after they saw and heard the supernatural anomaly through the building wall.
• Fu Qian picked the side door open and asked Batters and the Tough Guy about the party, learning that the Tough Guy had not attended it.
• The voice grew louder inside the house, and Fu Qian sensed it was mentally influencing the others to hurry toward the glowing object.
• The Tough Guy and Batters rushed into the building with the only light, and Fu Qian followed them to the room where the voice was strongest.
• Fu Qian found Batters holding the light and crowbar, but the Tough Guy had disappeared.

Fu Qian and Batters investigated the abandoned house after their tough-guy companion vanished, and Batters dug up a coffin containing a bewitching vampire-like woman. Fu Qian resisted her influence and tried to keep Batters focused on their missing companion.

• Fu Qian found Batters transfixed by the spot where the jellyfish had appeared and ordered him to start digging.
• Fu Qian chose to investigate rather than flee, while Batters tore up the floorboards with a crowbar.
• Batters uncovered a bluish-black coffin beneath the sandy soil and pried it open.
• Fu Qian saw a translucent, fanged woman inside the coffin, whose presence intensified the voice influencing them.
• Fu Qian slapped Batters and reminded him that their companion was missing.

Fu Qian and Batters opened the Jellyfish Vampire’s coffin and learned she wanted them to free her in exchange for power. The chapter ended with Fu Qian uncovering her body and finding that she really resembled a jellyfish.

• Batters recovered his senses, told Fu Qian he had found the tools without knowing how, and called the tough guy Wen.
• The Jellyfish Vampire opened her eyes and summoned Fu Qian and Batters closer, compelling them to approach her.
• Batters pried open the coffin, but Fu Qian struck him with a tool to stop him from rushing at the vampire.
• The Jellyfish Vampire offered to grant them power if they freed her, and Fu Qian asked what they needed to do.
• The Jellyfish Vampire answered that the needed thing was under her clothes, so Fu Qian removed her robe and discovered her jellyfish-like lower body.