Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• On May 20, Song Shuhang remains in his dormitory after catching a severe cold from accidentally kicking away his quilt during the night. Although his fever has subsided, cold medicine leaves him extremely drowsy.
• While half-asleep and watching a movie, he receives a friend request from someone called True Lord Yellow Mountain and accepts it without much thought.
• Yellow Mountain immediately invites him to the “Nine Provinces Number One Group,” which Song Shuhang also joins before closing the chat window and falling asleep.
• Inside the group, the members notice the newcomer and begin questioning him about his location, cultivation, Daoist title, and gender.
• Mad Saber Three Waves makes flirtatious and provocative remarks, asking whether the newcomer is a female immortal and requesting personal details. Other members warn him not to provoke another powerful senior, recalling how he was tortured for over a year after offending one in the past.
• The group assumes Song Shuhang may be a secluded cultivator or even a Confucian practitioner because of his chosen name, “Stressed by a Mountain of Books.”
• While Song Shuhang remains unconscious and silent, the group members eventually lose interest and go offline. Yellow Mountain is absent because he is chasing his runaway “great demon hound.”
• About an hour later, Song Shuhang wakes and reads the chat history. He concludes that the group is made up of extreme xianxia enthusiasts suffering from “Chinese-style xianxia chūnibyō,” unaware that the members may actually be genuine cultivators.
• He wonders why Yellow Mountain added him and suspects it may have been a mistake.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang is established as an ordinary university student with no apparent knowledge of cultivation. He is practical, humorous, and skeptical, interpreting the group’s unusual language as role-playing rather than reality.
• True Lord Yellow Mountain appears to be the group owner and an influential figure, though he barely interacts directly with Song Shuhang. His runaway demon hound suggests he has unusual responsibilities and connections.
• Mad Saber Three Waves is portrayed as reckless, flirtatious, loudmouthed, and notorious for provoking powerful seniors. Despite his confidence in his martial ability, he becomes timid when confronted by stronger opponents, especially Su Clan’s Seven.
• Su Clan’s Seven is presented as a powerful, battle-hungry cultivator who eagerly seeks challenging opponents and seems particularly interested in fighting the newcomer.
• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator acts as a relatively sensible observer, explaining group history and warning Three Waves against courting disaster.
• Medicine Master is quiet and communicates in extremely brief messages because typing is difficult for him.

Significant Themes

• Misunderstanding and mistaken identity: Song Shuhang believes the group is merely a gathering of role-players, while the readers understand that the members likely genuinely belong to the cultivation world.
• The collision of ordinary modern life with the supernatural: Song Shuhang’s mundane concerns—illness, classes, movies, and computer chats—are placed alongside references to immortal cultivators, demons, and centuries-old grudges.
• Online communities and eccentric personalities: The group behaves like a chaotic internet community, complete with teasing, in-jokes, recurring scandals, and exaggerated personas.
• Foreshadowing and dramatic irony: The group’s discussions about powerful seniors, martial ranks, and dangerous individuals hint that Song Shuhang has unknowingly entered a world far more real and perilous than he imagines.

Character Interactions

• Song Shuhang interacts only indirectly with the group, accepting Yellow Mountain’s requests without speaking.
• The group members welcome and interrogate him, but their assumptions about his identity are completely wrong.
• Northern River restrains and cautions Mad Saber Three Waves, while Three Waves repeatedly jokes and boasts.
• Su Clan’s Seven challenges Three Waves to a duel, immediately silencing his bravado.
• The group collectively mocks Three Waves over his past punishment by a beautiful senior, reinforcing their familiar and teasing group dynamic.

Key plot points and events

• Song Shuhang reflects on how he outgrew childhood fantasies about heroes and immortals, though he still secretly enjoys stories about them. He stays in the Nine Provinces Number One Group to lurk for entertainment, then falls asleep watching a horror movie and dreams of immortal realms and superhuman adventures.
• The next night, True Lord Yellow Mountain discovers he accidentally added Shuhang to the group after mistyping a phone number. He corrects the mistake by adding the intended newcomer, Soft Feather of Spirit Butterfly Island.
• Mad Saber Three Waves flirts with Soft Feather, unaware that her father, Venerable Spirit Butterfly, is using her account. Once the group realizes who is present, they warn Three Waves that he may have offended a powerful, notoriously nitpicky senior.
• The group debates whether to remove the ordinary Shuhang. To avoid admitting his mistake—and because he wants to practice divination—Yellow Mountain casts readings to decide what to do. Each reading suggests romance or attachment between him and Shuhang, horrifying Yellow Mountain. He destroys the poetry book he used and claims the readings prove they are fated to be connected, so Shuhang should remain in the group.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Shuhang is practical and skeptical about supernatural possibilities, yet his dream reveals that he still has a hidden longing for them. He remains a curious spectator in the group.
• True Lord Yellow Mountain tries to appear composed and mystical, but his clumsy mistake and increasingly panicked reactions expose his embarrassment and superstition. He keeps Shuhang in the group largely to save face.
• Mad Saber Three Waves confidently teases Soft Feather, then panics when he learns her father may have witnessed the exchange. Northern River and Medicine Master try to warn him, but he understands too late.
• Soft Feather’s father, Venerable Spirit Butterfly, briefly speaks through her account, politely deflects Three Waves’ advances, and leaves the group chatting under the threat of his silent presence.
• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator acts as a practical commentator, explaining both the newcomer’s identity and the danger Three Waves has created.

Significant themes

• The tension between rational adulthood and enduring childhood wonder: Shuhang dismisses the supernatural while still hoping it might be real.
• Comedy built on mistaken identity, social embarrassment, and the gap between characters’ grand reputations and their everyday foolishness.
• Fate and divination are treated playfully: Yellow Mountain insists the readings are meaningful only when they support the outcome he wants.
• The group’s unusual world is introduced through chat, showing how ordinary online behavior—flirting, teasing, and saving face—persists among powerful cultivators.

Chapter Summary: “A Pill Formula”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang continues recovering from his cold while secretly observing the mysterious Nine Provinces Number One Group.
• After eating the porridge his roommates brought him, he reads through the group’s previous conversations and learns more about its members, whom he still assumes are eccentric immortal-cultivation enthusiasts.
• Over the next ten days, lurking in the group becomes part of Shuhang’s daily routine. He interprets discussions of secret realms, demons, ghosts, and cultivation as elaborate roleplay or material for a future web novel.
• On Saturday, Shuhang discovers a rare long message from Medicine Master, who has created a simplified formula for Body Tempering Liquid.
• The formula uses forty-five ingredients, combining ordinary Chinese medicinal herbs with strange substances Shuhang assumes are fictional. The preparation involves repeatedly adding ingredients to a pill furnace and smother-burning them into a black medicinal paste.
• Soft Feather, whom Shuhang considers the most normal group member, reveals that she has already tried refining the medicine. She asks Medicine Master for advice after one attempt fails.
• Alarmed that someone may actually consume a dangerous, imaginary medicine, Shuhang decides to warn the group: “Medicine can’t be taken randomly!”
• Before he can send the message, Venerable Seven Cultivations appears and confirms that he has successfully refined seven furnaces and personally consumed the Body Tempering Liquid.
• Venerable Seven Cultivations praises the formula: although its effects are roughly half as strong as the previous version, it costs only one-tenth as much and is easy enough for apprentices to refine.
• Shuhang is stunned as the evidence begins to undermine his belief that the group is merely roleplaying.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang remains skeptical and amused by the group, but his concern for the members shows that he is becoming emotionally invested in them. His conscience eventually compels him to speak for the first time.
• Medicine Master is established as terse and highly respected, speaking at length only when discussing pill refinement. He is excited and encouraged by senior approval of his formula.
• Soft Feather appears practical, polite, and capable. Her willingness to test the formula suggests that she is a genuine cultivator rather than simply a roleplayer.
• Venerable Seven Cultivations is revealed to be an influential expert in both cultivation and pill refinement. His successful testing provides the strongest confirmation that the group’s activities are real.
• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator, Mad Saber Three Waves, Su Clan’s Seven, and others are further characterized through Shuhang’s observations as eccentric, powerful, or dangerous group members.

Significant Themes

• Reality versus delusion: Shuhang interprets the group’s supernatural discussions as chuunibyou behavior, but the successful refinement of the Body Tempering Liquid challenges his assumptions.
• Curiosity and skepticism: Shuhang remains rational and suspicious, especially regarding unknown medicines, yet his curiosity keeps drawing him deeper into the group.
• Compassion and responsibility: Though he mocks the members internally, Shuhang worries that they might harm themselves and feels responsible enough to intervene.
• Knowledge and adaptation: Medicine Master’s simplified formula reflects the scarcity of spiritual resources and the need to make cultivation techniques more accessible.
• Hidden hierarchy and expertise: The group’s members possess distinct ranks and specialties, with senior figures such as Venerable Seven Cultivations validating and encouraging the work of others.

Character Interactions

• Shuhang learns about the group through Northern River’s introductions and remains a silent observer.
• Soft Feather and Medicine Master discuss the failed refinement attempt, with Medicine Master advising her to improve her heat control or use a Fire-Control Treasure.
• Venerable Seven Cultivations praises Medicine Master’s achievement, emphasizing its low cost, high success rate, and suitability for apprentices.
• Medicine Master responds with unusual enthusiasm, showing his respect for Venerable Seven Cultivations.
• Shuhang prepares to intervene, but the seniors’ conversation reveals that the medicine is genuine before he can send his warning.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Song Shuhang deletes a message warning the chat group about Medicine Master’s Body Tempering Liquid. He still worries the prescription could be harmful, so he copies its thirty ordinary ingredients and plans to ask his medically trained cousin Zhao Yaya about them when he visits home.
• He intends to exercise, but gets absorbed in gaming and spends the morning playing instead.
• Checking the Nine Provinces Number One Group, Shuhang sees Northern River’s Loose Cultivator report that Medicine Master successfully refined the modified Body Tempering Liquid eight times out of ten. The recipe works especially well for beginners and could benefit senior cultivators with many disciples.
• Mad Saber Three Waves returns after being subjected to a three-day visit from Venerable Spirit Butterfly. He begs Soft Feather to take her father home, only to discover that Venerable Spirit Butterfly is using Soft Feather’s account. Three Waves immediately disconnects in embarrassment and frustration.
• The group discusses Su Clan’s Sixteen, who is about to undergo a Third-Grade Houtian Tribulation Lightning in a suburb of H City. Su Clan’s Seven confidently predicts she will pass easily.
• Shuhang recognizes H City as being near his university, but dismisses the talk of tribulation lightning as fantasy because the weather is clear and forecast to remain sunny. He decides to go to a bookstore after lunch.

Character developments

• Song Shuhang shows concern and a strong sense of responsibility: despite doubting the group’s claims, he wants to make sure the medicine is safe. He also begins to wonder whether the group’s conversations are too convincing to be mere role-play, but brushes the thought aside.
• Su Clan’s Seven is confident in Sixteen’s talent and treats her upcoming tribulation as routine, while also boasting about her future strength.
• Mad Saber Three Waves is comically distressed by Venerable Spirit Butterfly’s persistent presence and daughter-complex behavior.
• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator acts as a teasing observer, poking fun at Three Waves while also reminding him that Soft Feather is likely busy refining the medicine.
• Venerable Spirit Butterfly, through Soft Feather’s account, reveals his intrusive attachment to his daughter by monitoring her account.

Significant themes

• Skepticism versus reality: Shuhang interprets the cultivators’ talk as chuunibyou fantasy, even as the group’s detailed discussions hint that their world may be real.
• Care and responsibility: Shuhang’s impulse to investigate the medicine reflects his conscientious nature.
• Comic embarrassment and social dynamics: Three Waves’ humiliation and the group’s teasing provide much of the chapter’s humor.
• Talent, cultivation, and mentorship: The modified Body Tempering Liquid may help young cultivators, while Sixteen’s upcoming advancement highlights the group’s cultivation world.

Character interactions

• Shuhang privately plans to consult his cousin about the medicine rather than risk embarrassing himself by asking the group.
• Northern River congratulates Medicine Master and notes the recipe’s value to other seniors; Profound Principle joins in with silent emojis.
• Northern River teases Three Waves about his “seclusion,” then watches as Three Waves pleads with Soft Feather—only for Venerable Spirit Butterfly to answer from her account.
• Northern River and Su Clan’s Seven discuss Sixteen’s impending tribulation, with Northern River offering help and Seven insisting she can handle it alone.

Chapter Summary: “Believe in Science!”

• Plot and events: After lunch, Song Shuhang spends the afternoon reading for free at his favorite rental bookstore. He plans to rent a book about driving and eventually obtain a driver’s license. Around three o’clock, he prepares to leave and buy snacks for an overnight gaming session. Just as he exits, an inexplicably violent thunderstorm erupts on the distant horizon. Dense lightning and chaotic thunder create an apocalyptic scene, but the storm remains confined to one area. When Shuhang steps back into the bookstore, the clouds and lightning vanish instantly, as though they had never existed.
• Character development: Shuhang is established as an enthusiastic, broad-minded reader who enjoys everything from novels to technical manuals. He is considerate despite mooching books, regularly renting books so the owner will not blacklist him. Although he considers himself rational and committed to science, the bizarre storm causes him to question his assumptions. His memories of the Nine Provinces Number One Group—particularly a message about someone undergoing a “Third Stage Houtian Tribulation Lightning” in H City—make him suspect that the phenomenon may be supernatural.
• Character interactions: Shuhang has a familiar, mildly teasing relationship with the beautiful bookstore owner, who tolerates his long reading sessions because he eventually rents books. The owner casually sends him away after completing the rental. Inside the bookstore, the customers react in panic to the thunder. A child dramatically imitates a heroic xianxia declaration about conquering the heavens, reminding Shuhang of his own embarrassing youthful memories and the eccentric members of his chat group.
• Themes: The chapter contrasts ordinary modern life and rational “scientific” thinking with the possibility of cultivation and supernatural events. It humorously explores denial, coincidence, and the tension between Shuhang’s established worldview and growing evidence that the extraordinary may actually exist. The mysterious storm acts as a turning point, linking the mundane bookstore setting to the hidden world hinted at by the group chat.

Chapter Summary: “Copper Trigram Immortal Master”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang worries that continued exposure to the eccentric Nine Provinces Number One Group will cause him to become “assimilated” into their strange world. He plans to leave once his cousin confirms whether the group’s medicinal ingredients could be poisonous.
• He sends his cousin Zhao Yaya the list of ingredients, disguising his concern as a hypothetical question. His main motivation is to warn the group members and preserve his conscience, even if they ignore him.
• Despite intending to leave, Shuhang instinctively checks the group chat, revealing that he has already formed a habit of following its conversations.
• The group is discussing Su Clan’s Seven and his junior, Su Clan’s Little Sixteen, who are undergoing Tribulation Lightning. Their failure to respond causes concern.
• Copper Trigram Immortal Master performs a divination and announces that they have received a sign of “great fortune and great prosperity.”
• Instead of reassuring the group, this prediction alarms everyone because Copper Trigram’s divinations are famously accurate only when interpreted in reverse. His good omens usually predict disaster.
• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator asks whether anyone near H City can investigate. No one is nearby, but Soft Feather offers to help while traveling through the Jiangnan Region.
• True Lord Yellow Mountain attempts to calm Northern River by emphasizing Su Clan’s Seven’s strength, but Northern River explains that Copper Trigram’s “fortunate” prediction has made him even more worried.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang: Shows a strong sense of responsibility and moral concern. Although he still views the group as bizarre and wants to distance himself, he cannot ignore people who may be consuming dangerous medicine. His daily visits to the chat also suggest that he is becoming emotionally involved.
• Copper Trigram Immortal Master: Is introduced as a divination expert with a notorious history of reversed predictions. His confident declaration of good fortune immediately becomes a source of dread and ridicule.
• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator: Reveals his close friendship with Su Clan’s Seven and becomes genuinely anxious when Seven fails to respond. His concern overrides his usual composure.
• Soft Feather: Demonstrates kindness, initiative, and loyalty by volunteering to help despite not knowing the area well. She also handles Mad Saber Three Waves’ request diplomatically without making a real commitment.
• Mad Saber Three Waves: Acts as a humorous commentator and exposes Copper Trigram’s unfortunate reputation. He also attempts, unsuccessfully, to persuade Soft Feather to ask her father to return home.
• True Lord Yellow Mountain: Takes on a calming, authoritative role, trying to reassure Northern River with a rational assessment of Su Clan’s Seven’s abilities.

Significant Themes

• Conscience and responsibility: Shuhang believes that warning others is his duty, regardless of whether they listen.
• Assimilation and belonging: Shuhang fears being drawn into the group’s bizarre culture, yet his repeated checking of the chat shows that he is already becoming attached.
• Trust and friendship: The group’s concern for Su Clan’s Seven demonstrates the strength of their relationships, particularly Northern River’s loyalty.
• Irony and unreliable appearances: Copper Trigram’s seemingly positive divination actually signals danger because of his history. The chapter repeatedly contrasts appearances with reality.
• Humor amid danger: The characters use jokes and teasing to cope with the serious uncertainty surrounding the failed tribulation.

Character Interactions

• Shuhang contacts Zhao Yaya for medical advice but does not yet reveal the strange circumstances behind the ingredients.
• Northern River seeks updates about Su Clan’s Seven and asks the group for assistance.
• Copper Trigram offers a divination, unintentionally increasing everyone’s anxiety.
• Mad Saber and Northern River explain Copper Trigram’s reversed predictions to Soft Feather, establishing the group’s humorous familiarity with his failures.
• Soft Feather politely deflects Mad Saber’s request concerning her father while offering practical help to Northern River.
• True Lord Yellow Mountain reassures Northern River, though his argument cannot overcome the fear created by Copper Trigram’s prediction.

Chapter Summary: “The Delinquents Wiped Out in a Group”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator and Copper Trigram Immortal Master arrange a duel at the Forbidden Summit, delayed until three months later.
• True Lord Yellow Mountain realizes Northern River may be preparing to break through from the Fifth-Grade Spirit Emperor realm and offers to preside over the duel and provide gifts.
• Copper Trigram teases Northern River about leaving him exposed to the cold, provoking Northern River to resolve to defeat him decisively.
• Song Shuhang worries that the two cultivators may damage a historical site and plans to remind them not to harm cultural relics.
• Shuhang checks the university network, reads about the previous day’s mysterious thunderstorm, and researches driving lessons.
• He discovers that nearly a hundred delinquent youths near University Town were beaten unconscious by an unknown expert in only a few minutes. Online speculation ranges from martial-arts clubs to military elites, but no one knows the attacker’s identity.
• The next morning, Su Clan’s Seven explains that Su Clan’s Sixteen’s Tribulation Lightning malfunctioned. She accidentally knocked out several dozen ordinary people near H City, though no one was killed, and Seven has taken her back to the Su Clan Sect.

Character Developments

• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator appears confident and eager to use the duel as a catalyst for advancement, but he becomes visibly excited when Yellow Mountain offers support and gifts. Copper Trigram’s provocation hardens his determination to win.
• Copper Trigram Immortal Master is shown as mischievous, manipulative, and highly skilled in disguise. He enjoys provoking Northern River and exploiting social situations for amusement.
• True Lord Yellow Mountain demonstrates his seniority and insight by recognizing Northern River’s impending breakthrough. He acts as a mediator and generous mentor.
• Song Shuhang remains largely detached from the supernatural events around him, focusing on ordinary concerns such as driving lessons and campus news. Nevertheless, the strange thunderstorm continues to trouble him, suggesting growing awareness that something unusual is happening.
• Su Clan’s Seven takes responsibility for containing the consequences of Sixteen’s failed tribulation and reassures the group that she is safe.
• Su Clan’s Sixteen is revealed to have caused the mysterious incidents near H City, though she is portrayed more as upset and reckless than malicious.

Significant Themes

• Supernatural events intruding into ordinary life: Magical battles and tribulation lightning appear in campus news as unexplained storms and mass injuries.
• Mentorship and advancement: Northern River’s impending breakthrough highlights the importance of trials, combat, and guidance from older cultivators.
• Humor and rivalry: The duel is driven as much by personal teasing and wounded pride as by cultivation goals.
• Hidden identities and misunderstood events: Ordinary people interpret supernatural incidents through familiar explanations, while the true causes remain concealed.
• Responsibility and restraint: Seven emphasizes that no one died, while Shuhang worries about protecting cultural relics, reflecting concern over the consequences of supernatural power.

Character Interactions

• Northern River and Copper Trigram exchange taunts while formally arranging their duel.
• Yellow Mountain interrupts their rivalry by offering to officiate and reward them, earning Northern River’s gratitude and intensifying his motivation.
• Shuhang observes the cultivators’ conversation from the sidelines and reacts as a cautious outsider.
• Online students debate the identity of the person who defeated the delinquents, unknowingly speculating about supernatural events.
• Seven later reports to the group about Sixteen’s tribulation accident, reassuring the cultivators while explaining the source of the strange events near H City.

Summary: “Soft Feather and Luoxin District”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator reassures Song Shuhang that Soft Feather will not need to rush to H City, since Su Clan’s Seven has already found Little Sixteen and left the city.
• Medicine Master asks the group for a living Poison Dragon Grass after his previous specimens died during an experiment. Northern River agrees to help locate one.
• Song Shuhang becomes increasingly suspicious that the group’s discussion of ordinary people being knocked unconscious may be connected to the recent attack that left dozens of delinquents hospitalized. However, he convinces himself that he may simply be forcing unrelated events together.
• Shuhang begins a morning exercise routine, running 1,500 meters, then returns to his dormitory for breakfast.
• He checks on the hospitalized delinquents through the campus network. They remain unconscious after more than a day, suffering occasional groans, causing Shuhang to wonder whether they have been seriously or permanently injured.
• Soft Feather arrives at Jiangnan Region Airport and contacts the group for help. She intends to travel to J City, specifically Luoxin District, to find the ancient Ghost Lantern Temple.
• Because she has a poor sense of direction and cannot locate the temple through phone navigation, Northern River advises her to take a taxi and offers to ask nearby cultivators for assistance.
• Soft Feather heads toward the airport taxi stand, attracting the attention of onlookers.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang grows more observant and suspicious about the strange events surrounding the cultivators, though he struggles to determine whether his suspicions are justified. He also shows concern for his health and resolves to exercise regularly.
• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator is portrayed as constantly online, highly dependable, and familiar with modern technology. He acts as a coordinator and source of practical advice for the group.
• Medicine Master is shown as persistent and somewhat frustrated in his experiments, willing to work with dangerous or unusual ingredients such as Poison Dragon Grass.
• Soft Feather demonstrates independence and initiative by traveling alone, but her poor navigation skills and unfamiliarity with the region make her dependent on the group’s guidance.
• Su Clan’s Seven and Little Sixteen have already departed H City, implying that their earlier conflict or rescue operation has been resolved without deaths.

Significant Themes

• The collision of cultivation and modern life: The cultivators discuss Qi-Driven Flight, ancient temples, and rare poisonous plants while also relying on phones, online chats, navigation apps, and taxis.
• Suspicion and uncertainty: Shuhang struggles to determine whether the strange group conversations are connected to real-world incidents, highlighting the difficulty of recognizing supernatural events while still thinking like an ordinary person.
• Responsibility and mutual aid: Members of the group routinely assist one another by locating rare materials, providing travel advice, and helping fellow cultivators find people or places.
• Hidden danger beneath ordinary events: Poisonous plants, mysterious injuries, and the unknown Ghost Lantern Temple suggest that seemingly mundane situations may conceal supernatural threats.
• Personal improvement: Shuhang’s decision to exercise reflects his attempt to strengthen himself physically while adapting to the increasingly unusual world around him.

Character Interactions

• Northern River reassures Shuhang indirectly through the group’s messages and assists Medicine Master in finding Poison Dragon Grass.
• Medicine Master’s request prompts the group to cooperate, while Shuhang privately worries about the potentially dangerous nature of the plant.
• Soft Feather asks Northern River for help reaching Ghost Lantern Temple. He patiently explains modern transportation and navigation, then offers to contact local cultivators if necessary.
• Shuhang observes these exchanges while privately connecting them to the hospitalized delinquents, placing him in the role of an outsider gradually uncovering the group’s supernatural reality.

Chapter Summary: “Another Luoxin District”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang remains in the Jiangnan Region but cannot help Soft Feather locate Ghost Lantern Temple because he does not know J City or the temple’s location.
• He reflects on the name Luoxin District, feeling that it sounds familiar, but dismisses the thought without discovering why.
• Soft Feather arrives at a taxi stand with a huge suitcase and asks a driver about Ghost Lantern Temple. The driver has never heard of the temple but knows Luoxin District and agrees to take her there.
• The driver is shocked when Soft Feather effortlessly lifts her suitcase, which weighs more than sixty kilograms, with one hand. This subtly reveals her extraordinary physical strength.
• Soft Feather informs the Nine Provinces Number One Group that she is heading to Luoxin District and plans to ask locals for directions. Although traveling alone is new to her, she is excited and reassured by Northern River’s support.
• Meanwhile, Shuhang visits a bookstore to read for free but finds himself strangely unable to concentrate on any book. He decides to clear his head by visiting Foodie’s Paradise.
• Foodie’s Paradise is located in Luoxin District. Upon seeing the district sign, Shuhang realizes that the place he had been trying to remember is directly connected to his current location. The chapter ends with him stunned by the coincidence.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang: His normally easygoing and helpful nature is shown, though he is unable to assist Soft Feather. His inability to read and unexplained familiarity with Luoxin District create a sense that something unusual is occurring around him.
• Soft Feather: Demonstrates independence by traveling far from home alone for the first time. Her cheerful determination contrasts with her initial uncertainty, while her effortless handling of the massive suitcase hints at her exceptional cultivation and strength.
• Taxi Driver: Acts as a practical and honest local guide. He warns Soft Feather about the distance and cost instead of taking advantage of her unfamiliarity, while also reacting with surprise to her strength.
• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator: Provides emotional support and assistance through the group chat, helping calm Soft Feather’s unease.

Significant Themes

• Coincidence and fate: Soft Feather and Shuhang are both drawn toward Luoxin District without realizing how closely their paths may be connected.
• The hidden supernatural world: Soft Feather’s strength appears extraordinary to ordinary people, but she treats it as completely normal, emphasizing the contrast between cultivators and common society.
• Independence and adventure: Soft Feather’s first solo journey marks a small step away from relying on her father.
• Unexplained intuition: Shuhang’s familiarity with Luoxin District and his sudden inability to enjoy reading suggest that unseen forces or impending events may be influencing him.

Character Interactions

• Soft Feather interacts with the taxi driver, who helps her travel to Luoxin District and is astonished by her physical abilities.
• She communicates with Northern River in the Nine Provinces Number One Group, receiving reassurance and promising to continue searching for Ghost Lantern Temple.
• Shuhang does not interact directly with Soft Feather in the chapter, but both characters independently head toward Luoxin District, setting up a likely encounter.

Summary

Song Shuhang visits Luoxin District, though he is uncertain whether it is the same Luoxin District that Soft Feather mentioned in their group chat. Assuming it is probably a different location, he decides not to worry about it and spends the day wandering through the famous food district while eating various snacks. Eventually, tired from walking, he buys two crispy chicken wraps and rests on a bench overlooking a busy plaza.
While resting, Shuhang overhears three men enthusiastically rating the legs and figures of passing women. Their conversation focuses on a woman in a red dress, whom they debate scoring between the seventies and eighties. Shuhang notices her beauty but finds the men’s obsession with rating women and admiring legs difficult to understand, emphasizing that he does not share their interest.
The three men are then stunned by the appearance of a strikingly tall, black-haired woman dragging a large suitcase. Her exceptional height, graceful appearance, and extraordinarily long legs make her stand out dramatically from the crowd, even causing the woman in red to seem ordinary by comparison. The handsome, confident member of the trio decides to approach her and ask her out, believing he must seize the rare opportunity despite the likelihood of rejection. However, he quickly returns unsuccessful—not because she rejected him, but because she walked so quickly that he could not catch up. Shuhang finds the incident extremely amusing.
After resting, Shuhang resumes his stroll. He decides to buy a variety of local snacks as gifts for his roommates, who had taken care of him when he was sick. This shows his thoughtfulness and gratitude toward them.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Song Shuhang remains relaxed and observant, using his outing to clear his head. He is amused by the three men’s behavior but does not share their fixation on women’s legs.
• The bespectacled, chubby man enthusiastically rates women but demonstrates less refined judgment than his companions.
• The handsome, sunny man is confident and impulsive. He boldly tries to approach the black-haired woman but is comically defeated by her walking speed.
• The short-haired man acts as the more reserved and analytical member of the trio, offering judgments while watching the others’ antics.
• The black-haired beauty is introduced as extraordinarily striking and physically impressive, though she does not directly interact with Shuhang or the men.
• Shuhang’s decision to buy gifts reflects his appreciation for his roommates and his considerate nature.

Significant Themes

• Beauty and perception: The chapter humorously explores how people evaluate beauty and how comparison can magnify someone’s attractiveness.
• Comedy and ordinary life: The encounter is framed as a small, amusing event during an otherwise mundane outing.
• Individual differences: Shuhang’s indifference to the men’s obsession contrasts with their enthusiastic admiration.
• Gratitude and friendship: Shuhang’s plan to bring snacks home highlights his awareness of and appreciation for the people who support him.

Plot points and events

• Song Shuhang leaves the Glory Beef Restaurant carrying local food and unexpectedly encounters the fashionable, long-legged woman he had seen earlier.
• He overhears her asking about the Ghost Lantern Temple in the Luoxin District. The name connects her to Soft Feather of Spirit Butterfly Island, who had posted in the Nine Provinces Number One Group that she was searching for the temple.
• Shuhang realizes Soft Feather’s travel details suggest she has mistakenly reached the food street near his university instead of the Luoxin District in J City. Still unsure of the woman’s identity, he listens to Soft Feather’s new voice message.
• Soft Feather, discouraged after asking at twelve shops without finding anyone who knows the temple, sends a message to Northern River’s Loose Cultivator.
• Hearing the message play from Shuhang’s phone, Soft Feather recognizes her own voice and concludes that he is a fellow member of the group. She approaches him eagerly.
• Shuhang identifies her as Soft Feather. She asks his Daoist name and assumes he must be an experienced, powerful senior because she cannot sense his cultivation.

Character developments

• Song Shuhang shifts from suspicion to certainty about the woman’s identity, but is deeply uncomfortable when Soft Feather treats him as a senior.
• Soft Feather remains determined to find the Ghost Lantern Temple despite repeated failures. Her disappointment turns to relief and excitement when she discovers a group member nearby.
• Copper Trigram Immortal Master appears in the opening joke: his claim that failed readings are still correct in alternate futures satirizes his reputation as an unreliable diviner.

Character interactions

• Shuhang and Soft Feather first interact indirectly through overheard conversation and the group chat, then recognize each other face-to-face.
• Soft Feather’s respectful assumptions about Shuhang’s age and strength contrast with his awkwardness and apparent ordinary status.
• The shopkeeper kindly advises Soft Feather to ask older local businesses about the temple.

Significant themes

• Fate and coincidence: The opening argues that apparent chance encounters may be inevitable, foreshadowing Shuhang and Soft Feather’s repeated meetings.
• Misunderstanding: Soft Feather’s mistaken destination and her misreading of Shuhang’s cultivation create the chapter’s humor.
• Community and connection: The online group turns a lonely search into an unexpected in-person meeting.

Chapter Summary: “Senior Song, Your Phone Is Out of Battery Too”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang meets Soft Feather in the wrong Luoxin District. She had intended to travel to the Luoxin District in J City, but Song explains that they are currently in the Luoxin District of the Jiangnan Region.
• Soft Feather initially addresses him with overly formal religious titles and “Senior,” making Shuhang uncomfortable. He repeatedly asks her to call him Song Shuhang, Shuhang, or Little Song, though she still instinctively calls him “Senior Song.”
• Soft Feather tries to use her phone to navigate, but its battery dies. Shuhang offers his phone, only for them to discover that his phone is also out of battery.
• Since Soft Feather still needs to reach Ghost Lantern Temple and cannot risk being delayed until her father returns, Shuhang invites her to his dormitory. He plans to use his computer to find directions and let her charge her phone.
• The two begin walking toward Shuhang’s dorm. Soft Feather carries her large suitcase and easily outpaces him, forcing Shuhang to jog and quickly become exhausted.
• Three men from the square recognize Soft Feather as the exceptionally beautiful woman they had rated earlier. Seeing her walking with Shuhang, they assume he is her boyfriend. The sunny-haired man dramatically identifies Shuhang as the “God of Guides,” joking that he has somehow managed to accompany such a beautiful girl.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang: Revealed as kindhearted, practical, and unable to abandon someone in need. Despite his irritation at Soft Feather’s strange formalities and airheaded behavior, he takes responsibility for helping her. His poor physical stamina contrasts humorously with the powerful “Senior” image Soft Feather assumes he has.
• Soft Feather: Shown to be cheerful, innocent, socially respectful, and somewhat naturally scatterbrained. Her navigation mistake and dead phone highlight her lack of common sense, but she is also considerate, quickly adjusts her pace for Shuhang, and remains optimistic about his willingness to help.
• The three men: Continue their comedic commentary about women’s appearances. Their perception of Shuhang shifts from a familiar bystander to an apparently lucky man accompanying the “hundred-point” beauty.

Significant Themes

• Misunderstanding and mistaken identity: Soft Feather believes Shuhang is an experienced cultivator senior, while he is merely an ordinary eighteen-year-old trying to avoid being treated like a mystical elder.
• Kindness despite inconvenience: Shuhang helps Soft Feather even though her mistake, luggage, and lack of phone power cause him trouble.
• The gap between appearance and reality: Soft Feather sees Shuhang as an impressive senior, but his exhaustion and ordinary behavior reveal how inaccurate her assumptions are.
• Comedy through coincidence: Both phones dying, the wrong district, and the bystanders’ exaggerated romantic assumptions create a chain of humorous misunderstandings.
• Naivety and trust: Soft Feather readily follows Shuhang to his dormitory, while Shuhang jokingly realizes how easily she could be “kidnapped,” emphasizing her innocent nature.

Character Interactions

• Shuhang and Soft Feather establish a friendly but awkward relationship. He tries to reduce the social distance between them, while she continues to treat him with reverence.
• Soft Feather’s admiration grows when Shuhang offers practical help, convincing her that he is a warmhearted rather than aloof senior.
• During the walk, Soft Feather quietly accommodates Shuhang’s slower pace instead of questioning his poor stamina.
• The three men observe the pair from behind and mistake their situation for a romantic relationship, with the sunny-haired man humorously lamenting that Soft Feather is already “taken.”

Chapter Summary: “What If...”

Plot points and events

Song Shuhang brings Soft Feather to his university dormitory without attracting attention. He struggles to lift her extremely heavy suitcase, realizing that despite her delicate appearance, she possesses extraordinary strength. In the empty dorm room, he offers her a drink; Soft Feather asks for “Spirit-Vein Jade Tea,” reinforcing Shuhang’s belief that she is immersed in an elaborate cultivation fantasy. After giving her orange juice, Shuhang checks the route to Luoxin District in J City, where she hopes to find Ghost Lantern Temple. A taxi journey would take roughly five hours each way, so he suggests taking a high-speed train departing that afternoon. Soft Feather assumes he will accompany her, but Shuhang refuses because he has classes the next day. He offers to go with her the following weekend instead, though she considers that too late and asks whether he would accompany her if he had no class.

Character development

Shuhang becomes increasingly aware that Soft Feather is not as helpless or ordinary as she appears. Her immense physical strength surprises him, while her polite behavior and trusting dependence make him feel responsible for her. He remains practical and cautious, especially about the time commitment involved in helping her. Soft Feather continues to behave like a courteous, sheltered girl, but her assumptions about Shuhang’s willingness to help reveal her growing trust and reliance on him. Her disappointment at his refusal also shows how emotionally attached she has become to his assistance.

Significant themes

The chapter emphasizes the contrast between ordinary modern life and the cultivation world Soft Feather inhabits. Everyday objects such as orange juice, elevators, online maps, and high-speed trains clash humorously with her expectations of spirit tea and mystical destinations. It also explores mistaken assumptions: Shuhang underestimates Soft Feather’s strength, while Soft Feather assumes he will naturally accompany her. Responsibility, hospitality, and the difficulty of balancing friendship with personal obligations are also central.

Character interactions

Shuhang politely offers to carry Soft Feather’s suitcase, but the attempt embarrasses him when he discovers its enormous weight. He hosts her in his dormitory and accommodates her unusual requests while internally interpreting them as signs of “chuunibyou.” Their discussion about transportation becomes a negotiation: Soft Feather eagerly expects his help, while Shuhang explains his academic commitments. Though he initially refuses, his sympathy leads him to offer help later, prompting Soft Feather’s final hypothetical question about whether he would go with her if he were free.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang agrees to help Soft Feather search for Ghost Lantern Temple, though he explains that his university class the following afternoon is unlikely to be canceled.
• They search online for the temple, but find no information about it. Soft Feather suspects it may be obscure, renamed, or no longer operating.
• Soft Feather uses the computer to investigate Luoxin District and secretly looks up Shuhang’s personal information and class schedule. She considers causing an “accident” to Professor Renshui so his class will be postponed, though this remains only a mischievous plan.
• While Shuhang charges their phones, Soft Feather discovers his notebook containing Medicine Master’s Body Tempering Liquid formula.
• She assumes Shuhang is studying alchemy and may be trying to improve the formula by replacing expensive mystical ingredients with ordinary herbs.
• When Soft Feather asks how many batches he has refined, Shuhang admits he has never made any because he lacks the necessary medicinal herbs.
• Wanting to repay him for helping her, Soft Feather offers to send him two crates of medicinal herbs—an extraordinarily generous gift, though Shuhang does not realize their immense value.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang: Continues trying to appear like an ordinary university student while being drawn deeper into the cultivators’ world. He is embarrassed that Soft Feather interprets his copied formula as evidence of alchemical expertise and avoids correcting her enthusiasm.
• Soft Feather: Demonstrates impressive computer skills and mischievous initiative. She becomes increasingly convinced that Shuhang is a powerful senior cultivating in secret, even though his ordinary lifestyle suggests otherwise. Her generosity and admiration for him are reinforced by her desire to repay his help.
• Professor Renshui: Briefly appears as an attractive, married professor. He sneezes while Soft Feather is contemplating ways to have his class canceled, humorously believing someone is admiring him.
• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator: Remains offline and unavailable, leaving Soft Feather without another source of information about Ghost Lantern Temple.

Significant Themes

• Misunderstanding and mistaken identity: Soft Feather repeatedly misinterprets Shuhang’s ordinary actions as signs of profound cultivation or alchemical knowledge.
• The clash between ordinary life and the supernatural world: Shuhang worries about classes, phones, money, and university schedules, while Soft Feather casually discusses mystical formulas and sends priceless medicinal herbs.
• Generosity and unequal wealth: Soft Feather considers two crates of rare medicinal herbs a casual thank-you gift, highlighting the vast difference between her resources and Shuhang’s financial situation.
• Humor through perspective: Everyday events—online searches, a professor’s sneeze, and a notebook of herbs—are exaggerated by the characters’ different assumptions and backgrounds.

Character Interactions

• Shuhang gently redirects Soft Feather’s attention from his class schedule to the search for Ghost Lantern Temple.
• The two cooperate while using the computer and charging their phones, though Soft Feather secretly investigates him without his knowledge.
• Soft Feather enthusiastically questions Shuhang about alchemy, while he struggles to explain the mundane truth without shattering her assumptions.
• Her offer of two crates of medicinal herbs strengthens her role as a grateful but extravagantly wealthy junior, while Shuhang remains unaware of how valuable the gift would be.

Summary of “Professor Renshui’s Injury”

Key plot points and events

• Song Shuhang agrees to help Soft Feather book a high-speed rail ticket to J City and asks for her ID card.
• While Song Shuhang handles the booking, Soft Feather secretly uses a magical treasure that grants an aerial, godlike view. She locates Professor Renshui in the university faculty apartments.
• Soft Feather activates a powerful talisman to injure Renshui, hoping his hospitalization will cancel Shuhang’s classes and allow him to accompany her.
• The spell first causes Renshui to fall from bed and sprain one ankle. When he tries to hop to the refrigerator for medicine, the spell causes him to fall again and fracture his other foot.
• Renshui calls his wife for help, arranges medical treatment, and informs the university that he must take leave from his upcoming classes.
• Soft Feather celebrates, believing her plan has worked. However, the university quickly replaces Renshui’s statistics class with Professor Smith’s English class, meaning Shuhang is not actually free.
• Soft Feather is deeply disappointed but resolves not to give up.

Character developments

• Song Shuhang remains helpful and good-natured, treating Soft Feather warmly despite viewing her as a somewhat eccentric, chuunibyou-like girl. He is willing to consider traveling with her but does not commit.
• Soft Feather demonstrates resourcefulness, determination, and a willingness to use extravagant magical means to achieve her goal. Her affection and attachment to Shuhang are clear, but her actions are also manipulative and recklessly harmful.
• Professor Renshui is shown as a devoted father. Although badly injured, he suppresses his cries so he will not wake his six-month-old daughter and patiently waits for his wife before seeking hospital care.
• Renshui’s wife reacts with concern and mild amusement, then quickly leaves work to assist him.
• Venerable Spirit Butterfly, though absent, is characterized through his elaborate magical gift for helping his easily lost daughter navigate.

Significant themes

• Affection expressed through absurdity: Spirit Butterfly’s loving but excessive magical inventions for Soft Feather contrast with her own extreme methods of pursuing companionship.
• The gap between intention and consequence: Soft Feather sees Renshui’s injury as a simple means to free Shuhang, while the actual result is painful and dangerous.
• Fate and unintended complications: Even after Soft Feather successfully manipulates events, the university’s quick response defeats her plan.
• Parental devotion: Renshui’s concern for his sleeping baby emphasizes self-sacrifice and responsibility.
• Humor through magical interference: The chapter presents serious injuries in an exaggerated, comedic chain of events, highlighting Soft Feather’s unconventional behavior.

Character interactions

• Song Shuhang and Soft Feather interact politely and familiarly, with Shuhang helping her arrange travel while she subtly tries to engineer his schedule.
• Soft Feather secretly targets Renshui but apologizes internally and promises to compensate him later.
• Renshui contacts his wife and the university, showing his dependence on them during the crisis.
• The university’s administrative response directly undermines Soft Feather’s scheme, turning her apparent success into frustration.

Chapter Summary: “This Matter Was a Little Strange!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Teacher Renshui is mysteriously hospitalized, Soft Feather decides to ensure Professor Smith—who is scheduled to teach the next class—is injured as well, so Song Shuhang will have no reason to remain at school.
• Using a magical artifact that allows her to observe distant locations, Soft Feather locates Professor Smith walking his dog near the academy river. She activates a golden talisman, causing the normally gentle dog, Hamm, to become violent and bite Professor Smith’s leg severely.
• Professor Smith is taken to the same hospital as Teacher Renshui. He explains that his own dog injured his bone and angrily vows to stew the animal after being discharged.
• The university announces that Professor Smith’s English class is canceled, giving the students an afternoon off. Shuhang realizes the two hospitalizations are far too coincidental and suspects Soft Feather is responsible.
• Soft Feather denies involvement while maintaining an innocent appearance. Shuhang ultimately accepts the situation and books consecutive bullet-train tickets to J City so he can accompany her.
• Before leaving, Shuhang asks Soft Feather to investigate Ghost Lantern Temple online while he buys food. She searches extensively but finds no useful information, and Northern River’s Loose Cultivator remains unavailable.
• On June 2, Shuhang and Soft Feather prepare to depart for J City. They plan to ask local residents about Ghost Lantern Temple if necessary.
• As they leave the dormitory, a classmate notices Soft Feather and is immediately struck by her extraordinary beauty.

Character Developments

• Soft Feather: Reveals a mischievous, determined, and somewhat ruthless side. She deliberately manipulates events to make Shuhang accompany her, yet feels enough guilt to become nervous and evasive afterward. Her supernatural abilities become increasingly obvious.
• Song Shuhang: Grows more suspicious of Soft Feather and begins seriously considering that she possesses extraordinary powers or dangerous connections. Despite this, he remains practical and good-natured, accompanying her and helping organize the trip.
• Professor Smith: Is portrayed as stern but competent and responsible. His trust in his dog is disastrously betrayed, leaving him angry and emotionally wounded.
• Teacher Renshui: Remains hospitalized in an embarrassing position and reacts with confusion when Professor Smith arrives, sensing that the sequence of events is highly unusual.

Significant Themes

• Coincidence versus supernatural manipulation: The improbability of two teachers being hospitalized in succession makes Shuhang question whether events are accidental or deliberately caused.
• Mischief and deception: Soft Feather disguises her intentions behind innocence, while Shuhang tries to read the truth from her behavior.
• The collision of ordinary life and the supernatural: University schedules, train tickets, and dormitory life are disrupted by talismans, magical artifacts, and inexplicable events.
• Unintended consequences: Soft Feather achieves her goal, but her actions lead to serious injuries and create confusion for everyone involved.

Character Interactions

• Soft Feather carefully questions Shuhang about Professor Smith’s appearance and residence before targeting him, while Shuhang remains unaware of her motives.
• Professor Smith and Teacher Renshui meet in the hospital, comparing their bizarre injuries and highlighting the strange chain of events.
• Shuhang confronts Soft Feather about the suspicious hospitalizations. She denies responsibility with convincing composure, though her wording and nervousness make her denial questionable.
• Shuhang and Soft Feather cooperate in planning their journey to J City, with Shuhang handling tickets, food, and travel preparations while Soft Feather searches for Ghost Lantern Temple.

Chapter 17 Summary: Ghost Lantern Temple and the Probe

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang introduces Soft Feather to his dormmates as his “older sister,” deliberately emphasizing their familial relationship to prevent rumors that she is his girlfriend. His dormmates immediately become interested in meeting her, hoping to become Shuhang’s brothers-in-law.
• Shuhang and Soft Feather travel by train to Black Elephant Station in J City. Shuhang humorously imagines encountering a stereotypical arrogant villain who would attempt to flirt with Soft Feather and provoke him, but no such incident occurs.
• During the journey, Soft Feather falls asleep on Shuhang’s shoulder. He accommodates her and is unexpectedly charmed by her sleepy, cute behavior.
• After arriving, they take a taxi to Luoxin District and check into a hotel, booking separate rooms because they are not married.
• They begin searching for Ghost Lantern Temple. The hotel receptionist has never heard of it and suggests that it may be an old temple known only to elderly local residents. Shuhang decides to ask around the district.
• Unbeknownst to them, a woman at the hotel is secretly monitoring them. She reports their arrival to an “Altar Master,” who orders her to track them and arrange a test of their abilities.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang: Remains practical and cautious, managing the travel arrangements and taking responsibility for Soft Feather. His teasing introduction of her as his sister reveals both his concern for his reputation and his playful desire to retaliate against her habit of calling him “Senior.” He also begins showing a softer, more affectionate reaction to Soft Feather’s innocent behavior.
• Soft Feather: Continues to rely happily on Shuhang for transportation, lodging, and planning. Her powerful identity remains concealed from ordinary people, though her respectful treatment of Shuhang suggests that she regards him as someone important. Her awkward mistake with the taxi driver adds to her naïve and somewhat carefree personality.
• The Hotel Woman and the Altar Master: Their conversation establishes them as members of an organized group already aware of the Ghost Lantern Temple search. They view Soft Feather as potentially dangerous and intend to investigate the pair rather than confront them directly.

Significant Themes

• Appearance versus reality: Shuhang presents Soft Feather as his sister, while she is actually a powerful cultivator who calls him “Senior.” Their outward appearance and true relationship differ greatly.
• Ordinary life intersecting with the supernatural: A normal train trip, hotel stay, and sightseeing excursion gradually become connected to a hidden investigation involving Ghost Lantern Temple and mysterious forces.
• Trust and dependence: Soft Feather willingly leaves all practical decisions to Shuhang, while he instinctively looks after her, strengthening their companionship.
• Surveillance and hidden danger: The protagonists believe they are simply beginning a search, but hostile observers are already tracking them and preparing a probe.

Character Interactions

• Shuhang jokes with his dormmates and deliberately misleads them about Soft Feather’s identity; the dormmates respond with exaggerated enthusiasm and romantic matchmaking.
• On the train, Soft Feather sleeps against Shuhang’s shoulder, and he quietly takes care of her without disturbing her.
• Shuhang and Soft Feather coordinate their travel plans after arriving in J City, with Soft Feather cheerfully accepting his arrangements.
• Shuhang questions the hotel receptionist about Ghost Lantern Temple and considers possible homophones or alternate names.
• The hotel woman reports on them to the Altar Master, who interprets Soft Feather’s respectful attitude toward Shuhang as evidence that the pair may be far more powerful than they appear.

Chapter Summary: “A Familiar Face in a Strange Land”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A mysterious Altar Master learns that someone has arrived at Ghost Lantern Temple after sixty years. He had been secretly attempting to break through the temple’s seal and seize its treasures, but the newcomer’s presence disrupts his plans.
• Song Shuhang and Soft Feather search Luoxin District for Ghost Lantern Temple. They find no useful information, though Soft Feather insists that the temple is definitely there and remembers its name from when her mother was pregnant with her.
• Five drunken men attempt to surround and harass Soft Feather on a deserted road. Before Shuhang can intervene, Soft Feather defeats all five with a series of incredibly fast and powerful kicks, knocking them unconscious.
• The Altar Master observes the encounter from hiding. He realizes that Soft Feather possesses strength beyond a First-Grade Mortal Transcendence martial cultivator and has likely condensed true qi. He is even more wary of the mysterious “Senior” accompanying her—Song Shuhang—whose strength he cannot assess.
• Rather than risk his own trained subordinates, the Altar Master decides to wait for a better opportunity and temporarily gives up hope of directly claiming the temple’s treasures.
• Shuhang and Soft Feather continue searching for half a day, but even an elderly local knows nothing about Ghost Lantern Temple.
• Soft Feather contacts Northern River’s Loose Cultivator through the Nine Provinces Number One Group. He apologizes for being unable to help because he is dealing with another troublesome matter.
• A group of modified motorcycles approaches. Soft Feather briefly suggests knocking out the street racers and sending them to prison, but does nothing.
• One motorcyclist stops, removes his helmet, and recognizes Shuhang, ending the chapter with the appearance of a familiar acquaintance.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang remains physically capable by ordinary standards, but Soft Feather’s effortless victory makes him recognize how far he is from the true cultivators around him. He becomes increasingly suspicious that the people involved in the earlier school incident may possess extraordinary abilities.
• Soft Feather demonstrates overwhelming combat ability, precise control, and a playful but dangerous attitude toward troublemakers. Her insistence that she remembers Ghost Lantern Temple clearly contrasts with her inability to recall useful details about its location.
• The Altar Master is shown to be cautious and pragmatic. Although he covets the temple’s treasures, he refuses to sacrifice his expensive, highly trained subordinates against opponents far stronger than expected.
• Northern River’s Loose Cultivator is unable to provide practical assistance, reinforcing Shuhang’s humorous impression that Northern River is often unavailable when help is actually needed.
• The newly arrived motorcyclist is revealed to know Shuhang personally, creating a cliffhanger and suggesting that Shuhang’s ordinary-world connections are beginning to intersect with his unusual adventures.

Significant Themes

• The gap between ordinary people and cultivators: The drunken men, Shuhang, Soft Feather, and the Altar Master’s fighters represent dramatically different levels of power.
• Hidden strength and mistaken appearances: Soft Feather looks like an ordinary beautiful young woman but is capable of effortlessly defeating five men. Shuhang, meanwhile, is treated as a potentially formidable “Senior” despite his own uncertainty.
• Caution versus ambition: The Altar Master’s desire for the temple’s treasures is restrained by his awareness of the overwhelming power opposing him.
• Searching for the past: Soft Feather’s vague memories of Ghost Lantern Temple and her connection to it through her mother hint at deeper history and concealed secrets.
• Humor amid danger: The chapter balances supernatural conflict with comic moments, including Soft Feather’s literal-minded attitude toward criminals and Shuhang’s exasperation with Northern River.

Character Interactions

• Shuhang and Soft Feather: They travel together as partners, with Shuhang acting cautiously and Soft Feather behaving confidently and playfully. Her display of strength leaves him impressed and confused.
• Soft Feather and the drunken men: The men threaten her, but she defeats them instantly without killing them, deliberately limiting their injuries to a temporary two-day unconsciousness.
• The Altar Master and his subordinate: The subordinate proposes testing Shuhang and Soft Feather with additional fighters, but the Altar Master rejects the idea after assessing Soft Feather’s power and Shuhang’s unknown strength.
• Soft Feather and Northern River: Their brief online exchange shows mutual respect, though Northern River cannot assist because of his own crisis.
• Shuhang and the motorcycle rider: The rider recognizes Shuhang and addresses him familiarly, setting up the chapter’s final mystery.

Chapter Summary: Ghost Lantern Temple Fifty Years Ago

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Shuhang unexpectedly reunites with his roommate Lin Tubo (“Bozai”) in J City. Tubo is visiting his maternal grandfather with his family.
• Tubo jokingly assumes Soft Feather is Shuhang’s girlfriend, but Shuhang explains that she is his “older sister” and that they are searching for Ghost Lantern Temple.
• Unable to find information about the temple online or at their hotel, Shuhang accepts Tubo’s invitation to ask his grandfather, a longtime local resident.
• Tubo lends Shuhang a modified motorcycle. Shuhang rides with Soft Feather while Tubo and his companions travel ahead.
• Tubo’s grandfather reveals that Ghost Lantern Temple disappeared more than sixty years ago. It was demolished and replaced by a large grave in a wooded area east of the district.
• The land originally belonged to a man nicknamed Yellow Skinner, Huang Dagen. He sold the temple to an outsider but had already planned to destroy it and build his own grave there.
• When the buyer never returned, Huang Dagen carried out his plan, effectively cheating the outsider. The chapter ends ominously when Soft Feather wonders whether Huang Dagen’s descendants are still alive.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang is relieved and excited to find Tubo, seeing the reunion as a possible breakthrough in his search. He remains composed during Tubo’s teasing and becomes increasingly suspicious that the temple’s former buyer may have been one of Soft Feather’s ancestors.
• Soft Feather continues to drive the investigation. She knows unusual details about Ghost Lantern Temple and quickly understands that it was demolished. Her calm reaction to the apparent fraud hints at a deeper connection to the temple and its former owner.
• Lin Tubo/Bozai is established as sociable, humorous, mechanically talented, and generous. He modifies motorcycles and readily helps Shuhang by offering transportation and introducing him to his grandfather.
• Tubo’s grandfather serves as an important source of local history. His memories provide the first concrete information about the temple’s fate.
• Huang Dagen (“Yellow Skinner”) is characterized as a shameless swindler who exploited wealthy outsiders and illegally reclaimed the temple’s land.

Significant Themes

• The loss of history: Ghost Lantern Temple has vanished from modern records, surviving only in the memories of elderly locals.
• Deception and injustice: Huang Dagen’s sale of the temple followed by its destruction reveals a long-standing betrayal.
• The gap between appearances and reality: Tubo’s playful teasing contrasts with the increasingly serious mystery surrounding Soft Feather and the temple.
• Inheritance and the past: Soft Feather’s possible family connection to the temple links the present investigation to unresolved events from decades earlier.
• Foreboding: Her question about Huang Dagen’s descendants introduces the possibility that the family’s fate—and perhaps the temple’s history—contains something sinister.

Character Interactions

• Tubo playfully mocks Shuhang for traveling with a beautiful girl, while Shuhang denies any romantic relationship and presents Soft Feather as his older sister.
• Tubo and Shuhang reconnect easily, showing the familiarity and trust of close roommates.
• Tubo helps Shuhang by arranging a motorcycle and bringing him to his grandfather.
• Soft Feather and Tubo’s grandfather engage directly about the temple’s ownership, with Soft Feather demonstrating knowledge that surprises him.
• Shuhang quietly suspects Soft Feather’s family may have been involved in the temple’s purchase, while Soft Feather remains composed but asks a troubling question about the fate of the swindler’s descendants.

Chapter Summary: “Spirit Ghost”

Plot Points and Events

• Tubo’s grandfather confirms the old story of Yellow Skinner: after building a massive tomb, he and more than a dozen family members died within a year.
• Soft Feather explains that Ghost Lantern Temple once contained a maturing Spirit Ghost sealed by an expert. When the temple was demolished and the tomb built over it, the Spirit Ghost used the tombstone’s aura to track and consume the family’s vital essence.
• Tubo’s grandfather dismisses the explanation as superstition, creating a humorous contrast between modern science and supernatural belief.
• After spending the evening at Tubo’s grandfather’s house, Song Shuhang and Soft Feather return to their hotel.
• Soft Feather wakes Shuhang at 11 p.m. and insists they go to Ghost Lantern Temple to capture the Spirit Ghost, which is easiest to locate around midnight.
• They ride a motorcycle to the forest and proceed on foot to the graveyard where Yellow Skinner’s family is buried.
• Soft Feather prepares an elaborate formation around the tomb using jade tablets, a purple-gold bell, silver rods, talisman cords, and glowing powders.
• Shuhang falls asleep while waiting. Upon waking, he sees Soft Feather dancing within the graveyard, accompanied by two mysterious green lights.
• He reaches for his phone to record the scene, but drops it. Its screen illuminates a strange object near his feet, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Song Shuhang remains skeptical but increasingly uneasy about the reality of supernatural events. Despite his fear, exhaustion, and confusion, he continues accompanying Soft Feather and shows remarkable calm—even considering taking a picture of the eerie ritual.
• Soft Feather demonstrates confidence, supernatural knowledge, physical strength, and considerable preparation. She is also playful and somewhat oblivious to how her behavior—such as appearing in Shuhang’s bed at night—might be interpreted.
• Tubo’s grandfather is established as talkative, humorous, and strongly committed to a scientific, anti-superstitious worldview, despite recounting a story that appears to support Soft Feather’s explanation.

Significant Themes

• Science versus superstition: Tubo’s grandfather rejects supernatural explanations, while the narrative suggests that ghosts and spiritual forces are genuinely real.
• The hidden supernatural world: Ordinary people interpret the family deaths as an eerie coincidence, while cultivators understand them as the work of a Spirit Ghost.
• Curiosity and courage: Shuhang is frightened but continues into the graveyard, gradually becoming involved in Soft Feather’s dangerous activities.
• Preparation and power: Soft Feather’s extensive ritual equipment emphasizes the complexity of confronting supernatural beings and highlights the gap between her abilities and Shuhang’s ordinary human perspective.

Character Interactions

• Soft Feather explains the Spirit Ghost’s role to Tubo’s grandfather, who humorously dismisses her as superstitious.
• Shuhang laughs at the exchange but privately wonders whether the story is true.
• Soft Feather wakes Shuhang by sitting on his chest, creating an awkward and comedic interaction before revealing their midnight mission.
• Shuhang jokes and worries about her strength, while Soft Feather casually reassures him that the Spirit Ghost cannot harm her.
• At the graveyard, Shuhang acts as an observer while Soft Feather takes control of the ritual, preparing to confront the Spirit Ghost.