Chapter Summaries

The investigators revisited the rape and murder of Mi Yufei at the former green space and interviewed her father, Mi Haozheng, about the crime and its aftermath. Their audio analysis found that Mi Yufei did not match the ghostly presence they had encountered, and a follow-up land-history investigation found no earlier deaths or paranormal reports at the site.

• The investigators reviewed the 2001 case in which Li Han raped and killed Mi Yufei and learned that he had been sentenced to thirteen years in prison.
• Mi Haozheng described identifying his daughter’s body, the police investigation, Li Han’s arrest, and his anger at the sentence.
• Mi Haozheng said Mi Yufei’s mother divorced him and moved away, and that he later visited the water park built over the crime scene.
• The investigators analyzed the interview recording and concluded that Mi Yufei did not match the ghost they had encountered, though the area held several faint presences.
• The investigators traced the site’s history and found it had been farmland and then vacant land before becoming a public green space, with no recorded deaths or paranormal incidents from 1987 to 2000.

A client interview revealed that Shen Luochuan had developed nightmares after seeing ghosts at the water park, while investigators traced the park’s haunting to a massacre along the former Taohua River. Mo Wei later reported that Luochuan had gone to Mount Pushi to burn incense and called her in distress.

• Mo Wei brought Shen Luochuan to the agency, where Shen described visions of blood and bodies at the water park and feared she might die.
• The investigators told Shen that the water park had scattered yin energy, likely from a former cemetery, and advised her to see a psychologist while warning she might see ghosts again.
• On August 3, investigators found that the site had once been part of the Taohua River, where Yun Dynasty soldiers poisoned the water and bodies were burned during a war.
• On August 5, investigators confirmed that water park attractions overlapped with the old river route.
• On August 7, Mo Wei told the investigators that Shen had gone to Mount Pushi with Ping'an Travel Agency and had called her crying the previous evening.

Investigators examined Shen Luochuan’s disappearance and found her messages to Cai Cai describing recurring nightmares about bodies in the Great World Water Park’s giant octopus slide. When they searched the park, they found body parts pouring from the slide into a pool, while Cai Cai collapsed beside the water.

• Hotel surveillance footage showed Shen Luochuan leaving the hotel on August 7 and returning later that night before walking farther inside.
• Investigators reviewed Shen Luochuan’s chats with Cai Cai, where she described nightmares of blood and bodies inside the water park’s octopus slide and said she could no longer bear her distress.
• Wu Ling and the investigators contacted Cai Cai, who learned Shen Luochuan was missing and said she would return to the water park to search for her.
• At the Great World Water Park, a crowd panicked as investigators approached the giant octopus ride and discovered a body.
• The footage showed Cai Cai sobbing beside a pool as body parts and bloodied water flowed from the slide’s exit.

After Shen Luochuan died at Big World Water Park, Mo Wei and Cai Cai asked the investigators to uncover what happened. The investigators suspected her fear had resonated with the park’s environment, and a recollection of the Peach Blossom River led them to question her parents.

• The investigators confirmed Shen Luochuan had repeatedly visited Big World Water Park before dying in a mechanical failure on the giant octopus ride.
• Mo Wei and Cai Cai told the investigators about Shen Luochuan’s nightmares and last message, and Cai Cai recalled that she had once mentioned a river connected to her parents.
• The investigators explained that they suspected Shen Luochuan’s emotional distress and the park’s environment had caused her death, though they could not confirm the circumstances.
• The investigators questioned Shen Ping and Zhang Shuhui, who described Shen Luochuan’s worsening mental state after she visited the water park and saw what she believed were body parts and blood.
• The investigators asked Shen Ping and Zhang Shuhui whether they knew anything about the Peach Blossom River.

The investigators linked Luo Chuan’s death to the Peach Blossom River painting by Ye Zhengyi, which appeared to contain images of corpses. They burned the painting during a ritual at the Great World Water Park, and the river, water, and remains vanished.

• The investigators questioned Shen’s parents, who refused to discuss their daughter’s death, and then found Ye Zhengyi’s Peach Blossom River painting at the museum.
• A recording showed the painting’s red river revealing submerged human limbs, while Ye Qing said she did not recognize its seal.
• Historical records described Ye Zhengyi as a Yun Dynasty recluse and painter who used the Taoist name Chongling and burned his paintings.
• Mo Wei and Cai Cai revealed that Luo Chuan had seen Peach Blossom River as a child and later became an accomplished painter.
• Master Xuanqing held a ritual at the Great World Water Park and burned a scroll; human remains surfaced in the water, assembled into bodies, and disappeared with the river.

After reviewing Greenleaf’s investigation into Ye Zhengyi, I dreamed of a different past in which Shen Luochuan survived and a water park disaster unfolded. I woke exhausted, checked that the renovated Colorful Water World appeared safe, and returned to work, where Director Ma warned me to stay focused.

• I searched for Ye Zhengyi and found no results matching the case, then put away the files and went to sleep.
• I dreamed Shen Luochuan survived, made a giant-octopus movie with Mo Wei and Cai Cai, and a renamed water park’s rides attacked its visitors.
• I woke drained and remembered that Ye Zhengyi had sealed the massacre victims’ vengeful spirits inside the painting, which Daoist Master Xuanqing had destroyed.
• I checked reports about Colorful Water World and found no complaints beyond crowds and long lines.
• I went to the demolition office, apologized to Director Ma for the team’s quarantine-list trouble, and agreed to work more carefully after his warning.

The skinny guy realized his ability may have worked through his grandmother’s faith, but Gu Mo’s honesty had made it difficult for him to use. As I reconsidered the hidden events surrounding Mo Wen and Nangong Yao, Chen Xiao Qiu revealed that the Xu Tie case had been solved.

• The skinny guy told me his grandmother’s lucky charms, prayers, and winning mahjong games might have been caused by his ability.
• The skinny guy said his attempts to use the ability had failed since Gu Mo’s honesty made it harder for him to believe in it.
• I reconsidered Mo Wen’s intentions, Nangong Yao’s ability, and the group’s possible plans to conceal what had happened.
• Chen Xiao Qiu entered the office and announced that Xu Bingjie, Xu Gang’s son, had murdered Xu Tie and his wife.

Chen Xiao Qiu explained that Xu Bingjie had confessed to murdering Xu Tie and his wife as revenge for what he believed they had done to Xu Gang. The demolition office handed the Xu family’s inheritance case to its legal team, while the group discussed a file about the Great World Water Park.

• Chen Xiao Qiu told Skinny and the narrator that Xu Bingjie had been arrested after nearly escaping the country and had confessed to the murders.
• Chen Xiao Qiu explained how Xu Gang’s painful childhood and suicide had fueled Xu Bingjie’s resentment toward Xu Guangzong and Xu Tie’s family.
• Chen Xiao Qiu described how Xu Bingjie had impersonated Xu Guangzong to enter the inn, then tortured and suffocated Xu Tie and his wife.
• Guo Yujie and Skinny disagreed over whether Xu Bingjie deserved sympathy, while the group worried about who would inherit the Xu family house.
• Fatty reported that the legal team would take over the inheritance case and contact Xu Gang’s wife, then said Director Ma had glared at him.
• The narrator told the group about the Water Park file, and Skinny and Guo Yujie recalled hearing about a fatal ride malfunction at the Great World Water Park.

After returning to Workers and Peasants Sixth Village, Xiaolin and her coworkers resumed their work coordinating demolition compensation votes. Xiaolin organized door-to-door outreach and discussed ways to help residents participate, but she remained troubled by what had happened at the film and television city.

• Director Mao welcomed Xiaolin and her coworkers back, while Xiao Yao kept her distance because she feared they might still carry the disease.
• Older residents visited the committee office and exchanged rumors about the outbreak while Xiaolin and her coworkers listened.
• After checking the divided vote, Xiaolin told the team to contact property owners individually and encourage them to vote on the competing compensation proposals.
• Xiaolin assigned the coworkers into pairs, giving Fatty and Chen Xiao Qiu the households likely to need persuasion and arranging video voting and notarization for residents unable to attend.
• Xiaolin reported to her old supervisor, who praised her plan to help residents participate and reassured her about Director Ma's temper.
• Xiaolin reflected that her supervisor seemed calm despite knowing about the incident, and wondered whether the film and television city tragedy might have ended differently if she had been as composed.

Yu Ao reported hidden cameras in his rental home and described disturbing footage showing a pair of eyes and his landlord standing motionless for hours. After confronting the landlord to move out, Yu Ao saw him approach stiff-legged and twist his neck toward him, and he sought help investigating the house and landlord.

• Yu Ao told the investigators that he had found pinhole cameras hidden in furniture throughout his rented home.
• Yu Ao said footage of a previous tenant showed human eyes beneath the woman’s hair at the back of her neck.
• Yu Ao watched more recordings and found hundreds of hours of footage, including repeated clips of the landlord standing motionless in the living room.
• Yu Ao saw the landlord lean toward a camera, where reflections revealed eyes matching those in the earlier footage.
• Yu Ao arranged to move out and met the landlord, who arrived late, walked stiff-legged, and seemed invisible to the other residents.
• Yu Ao said the landlord stared at him with his neck twisted after he ran away, then asked the investigators to investigate and handle the matter.

Yu Ao told his colleagues that his landlord, Zhang Dongliang, had frightened him, so they contacted Zhang and arranged to inspect the apartment and its recordings. While analyzing the footage, they heard a woman breathing and then saw a pair of eyes hidden at the nape of a young woman's neck.

• Yu Ao said he had fled his apartment after seeing a frightening figure and had avoided contacting Zhang Dongliang.
• Yu Ao's colleagues called Zhang, who discussed the lease, deposit, keys, and apartment bills with them.
• Yu Ao's colleagues said they would inspect the apartment and review the video footage before he met Zhang.
• On October 2, 2006, the investigators heard a woman's breathing beneath a recording of Zhang speaking, though they disagreed about whether it was supernatural.
• On October 3, 2006, the investigators watched footage of a young woman using a DVD player and saw a pair of eyes hidden beneath her hair at the nape of her neck.

The surveillance team reviewed footage of a middle-aged man who stood motionless in a living room, debating whether his blurred eyes contained a figure. Later footage showed what looked like a pair of eyes on the girl’s back as she hung laundry, and the recording ended while they continued to stare at the camera.

• A middle-aged man entered the living room with a jerking gait and stood motionless while the team examined his pixelated eyes.
• Nangong Yao outlined shapes in the footage, and Ye Qing identified a blurry figure that the others debated might instead be eyes.
• The team reviewed additional day and night footage of the man standing in the living room without movement.
• A girl hung laundry on the balcony, where the marks beneath her hair appeared to form eyes on her back.
• The eyes seemed to blink and shift their gaze toward the camera as the girl moved, and the footage continued with them appearing and disappearing among her hair.

The recordings showed a family’s living room as uncanny eyes appeared in a child’s hair and a toy robot, then revealed themselves in a magazine image. The footage ended with a pair of murderous eyes staring from between the magazine’s pages.

• A woman cleaned the living room while her child ate and watched television, then left him playing with toys.
• The child’s hair whorl revealed a pair of eyes that stared directly at the camera as he played and later passed beneath it.
• A robot toy fell from the coffee table, walked out from behind the sofa, and revealed human eyes in its head.
• The woman spotted the robot, glanced at the camera, twisted the robot’s head, and carried the toys out of the room.
• A young man read a magazine, whose printed woman’s eyes shifted and stared at the camera before another pair of eyes appeared between the pages.

Screening the October 5 and 6, 2006 footage revealed resentful eyes and several strange figures appearing around a young man, a middle-aged man, and a young woman. The recordings ended with a pale figure appearing behind the woman as she left the shower.

• On October 5, a young man found a hidden camera in the living room, where a resentful pair of eyes and a bald head appeared before he unplugged it.
• In another October 5 recording, a middle-aged man stared into the camera, and youthful eyes appeared in the reflections of his pupils.
• On October 6, a bathroom recording showed bluish hands and black-veined eyes appearing near the young woman as she washed and used the toilet.
• In a second bathroom recording, the woman's back and the fogged shower glass formed a face, and a pale figure appeared behind her just before static obscured the footage.

Investigators reviewed hidden bathroom and bedroom recordings from the house, then investigated landlord Zhang Dongliang and learned about his rental history and reputation. Neighbors recalled that his young tenants often left quickly and described seeing one distressed woman walk away into heavy rain.

• Investigators found eyes and a shadowy figure in secret bathroom recordings from October 6 and bedroom recordings from October 7, 2006.
• Investigators confirmed Zhang Dongliang had owned the house since it was built, moved out in 2001, and rented it to five successive tenants through an agency.
• Zhang Dongliang told investigators that many unfamiliar renters lived in the neighborhood and directed them to local real estate agencies.
• Neighbors said Zhang had rented out his home early, charged young tenants low rent, and often helped them move in and out.
• One neighbor accused Zhang of being a lecher who peeped at women, while others recalled that his tenants were mostly young women who did not stay long.
• A neighbor remembered seeing one of Zhang's possible tenants walking slowly into heavy rain, but could not recall her name or what happened to her.

Reporters interviewed real estate agent Guo Tianhua about Zhang Dongliang’s rental history and tenants. Guo recalled that Zhang had tried to avoid renting to Miss Ai, who later moved out without contacting the agency.

• Guo Tianhua initially claimed the agency had little information about Zhang Dongliang’s tenants, then admitted it had handled contracts for five tenants.
• Guo said Miss Luo Jia had complained about poor soundproofing before moving out, though he suspected that was an excuse.
• Guo recalled that Miss Zhu reported Zhang’s frequent calls and unwanted conversations, then asked the agency to handle her rental and change the locks before moving out.
• Guo said Zhang ended his agency contract in 2003, claiming relatives from his hometown would stay at the property.
• After the reporters pressed him, Guo remembered that Zhang had asked whether he could cancel his lease to avoid renting to Miss Ai, who later moved out.

Mr. Yu learned that Zhang Dongliang was alive but might be possessed, and that someone had entered his home and returned a camera without disturbing anything. The investigators gave Mr. Yu protective charms to try, then interviewed former tenant Zhao Guangkai, who described unexplained intrusions and missing toys in his home.

• Mr. Yu told the investigator he had received a silent call with a girl crying on the line.
• The investigator said Zhang Dongliang was alive but might sometimes be possessed, and explained that someone had returned Mr. Yu’s camera to his home while he was away.
• Mr. Yu panicked at the thought that a ghost might have entered his home unnoticed, and agreed to try the office’s protective charms.
• Zhao Guangkai told the investigators that Zhang Dongliang had repeatedly called and watched the apartment before Zhao moved out with his family.
• Zhao Guangkai described his son’s missing toys turning up beneath the bed among stored belongings, though nothing else in the home had been stolen.

Investigators interviewed Ai Jiayi about Zhang Dongliang’s harassment, but the conversation was interrupted by a strange episode in which she seemed to lose control and speak as someone else. An audio analysis revealed a human voice hidden in the recording, and the team decided to find Zhang Dongliang to identify the woman.

• Ai Jiayi told the investigators that Zhang Dongliang repeatedly called her and later tried to make her leave before her lease ended.
• Ai Jiayi suddenly became distressed, asked who the investigators were, and appeared unable to remember why she had come to Minqing.
• After recovering, Ai Jiayi said she had chosen Minqing because it was the closest destination and planned to fly home afterward.
• The team analyzed the interview recording and heard a human voice beneath the static saying that it was happening again.
• Yezi suspected the temporal disturbance had connected the woman to Zhang Dongliang, the house, or the camera, and the chief ordered the team to find Zhang Dongliang.

Liu Miao, Greenleaf, and Wu Ling visited Zhang Dongliang’s former rental house and confronted him with recordings from the hidden camera. Zhang confessed to blackmailing a woman who had come to Minqing searching for her husband, but Greenleaf’s question about what happened to her went unanswered.

• Liu Miao, Greenleaf, and Wu Ling searched the house for cameras and found none, though they suspected the woman from the recordings was still alive.
• Zhang Dongliang arrived, objected to being filmed, and panicked when Wu Ling showed him footage from his hidden camera.
• Wu Ling asked Zhang who the woman was and how to contact her, and warned that she might still be saved.
• Zhang confessed that he had taken in a nameless woman who was searching for her husband, then threatened to sell his secret recordings after she refused to sleep with him.
• Zhang explained that the woman’s family had sold her to a husband who summoned her to Minqing, and Greenleaf asked what happened to her.

Ye Qing and Wu Ling questioned Zhang Dongliang about Sanya, the woman he had abused and filmed, and learned how she vanished and later appeared as a ghost on his recordings. A video then followed Liu Miao’s search for Sanya in Shanzitun, where a driver connected her family to a man who had brought village women to work in Minqing.

• Zhang Dongliang confessed that he had left Sanya after abusing her, and she disappeared with her belongings.
• Zhang Dongliang said he later saw a ghostly woman staring at his hidden camera and deleted the recordings before the camera’s buyer called him about more footage.
• Zhang Dongliang told Wu Ling that Sanya came from Shanzitun and had been called Sanya because she was the third daughter in her family.
• Liu Miao traveled toward Shanzitun and asked the driver about finding a woman who had never been given a proper name.
• The driver recalled a poor local family whose son-in-law had gone to Minqing and brought several village women there to work.