Chapter Summaries

Ye Qing and Liu Miao followed a remote mountain path toward Shanzitun while investigating the village and the disappearance of its local spirits. They found a mountain spirit in the woods that was close to becoming a ghost, then reached the village as its sobbing grew louder behind them.

• A driver dropped Ye Qing and Liu Miao at the foot of the mountain and warned them to borrow a village phone if they needed a ride.
• Ye Qing listed Shanzitun's efforts to keep outsiders away and said the village's Ling had died, leaving it like a city.
• Ye Qing and Liu Miao heard sobbing in the woods and found a mountain spirit that blocked their approach.
• Ye Qing said the spirit was close to becoming a ghost and led Liu Miao onward to Shanzitun.
• Ye Qing and Liu Miao reached the village, and the mountain spirit's sobbing sounded louder from the woods behind them.

Liu Miao and Ye Qing investigated Sanya’s family in her village and learned that her husband had brought women to the city to sell sex, while Sanya’s father claimed she had been unpaid and accused of sleeping around. They left with no location for the family, but learned the women had sent money home and stopped communicating with the village.

• Liu Miao asked the villagers about Sanya, and they directed him to her crippled father’s dilapidated house while saying her husband’s family had moved to the city and become rich.
• Ye Qing and Liu Miao entered the house and woke Sanya’s father, who initially cursed at them before accepting money to answer questions.
• Sanya’s father claimed her husband had taken her to work in the city without paying her and that his family had accused her of sleeping around.
• Sanya’s father said her husband brought men to sleep with women for money, but he did not know where the family lived in the city.
• Sanya’s father said the women had sent money back to the village but stopped keeping in touch after villagers tried to confront Sanya’s husband.

Ye Qing and Liu Miao questioned an injured man in Shanzi Village, who claimed a mysterious rock resembled Sanya and might have cursed him. After the investigators left without finding the rock, a client reported seeing strange footage on his television of a forest fire, villagers carrying a woman-like statue and a coffin up a mountain, and a pair of eyes.

• Liu Miao asked the injured man about the missing family and the women’s relatives, but he said he knew nothing about their whereabouts.
• Ye Qing learned that the man was a stranger who had settled in the village after breaking his leg, and he recalled seeing a huge, smooth rock on the mountain.
• The man said the rock looked like Sanya and became convinced she was a monster who had cursed him.
• Ye Qing and Liu Miao left, asked villagers about the rock, and learned that nobody had seen it or knew where it came from.
• On October 23, 2006, Mr. Yu called to report seeing television footage of a forest fire, villagers carrying a statue and a coffin up a mountain, and what he thought were eyes before the signal turned to static.

Investigators traced calls between Shanzitun and People's Celebration City to Jixiang Ancient Town, where they searched for the missing young woman. They found signs of an organized criminal group and continued watching the shared rentals as the search remained unresolved.

• Yu told investigators that the television showed a blurry image of a young woman, possibly trying to send a message, and described another blurry scene overlooking a village.
• Investigators found 37 calls between Shanzitun and People's Celebration City and traced two landline numbers to the Jixiang Ancient Town area.
• A reporter questioned locals, who said migrant waitresses lived in shared rentals and warned that a criminal group there used intimidation and honey-trap scams.
• A local recalled seeing a dazed young woman being dragged around by a man and said they had come from near Riverside Home.
• On October 27, Ling and the other investigators questioned residents at the shared rentals, suspected the group might target the missing woman's disabled father, and decided to keep watch.

The investigators traced Sanya’s strange activity to a video that revealed how she had died. The footage ended with her corpse being dragged away, then showed a mountain forest, leaving her fate unresolved.

• Police found no sign of Sanya at the Shantunzi villagers’ residence, and a wildfire near the village prevented officials from confirming the death toll.
• Zhang Dongliang was found dead by suicide, with his eyes gouged out and swallowed.
• Yu called the investigators after his computer turned on by itself and began playing a recording; they visited his home and told him Sanya was trying to send a message.
• The investigators copied and analyzed the video, which showed Sanya being dragged through a squalid residence and sprayed with water from a hose.
• A man and an elegantly dressed woman discussed selling Sanya, then discovered she had died after the man left the hose in her mouth.
• The man dragged Sanya’s corpse away as her open eyes remained fixed on the camera, and the video ended with a view of mountain forest.

Gu Mo, Liu Miao, and Nangong Yao watched footage showing a pale hand uncovering a statue and fire surrounding a village. The camera then entered Zhang Dongliang’s body and led him home, where he blinded himself before collapsing.

• Gu Mo noticed the mountain footage had no ambient sounds behind the camera and explained that he could hear the direction of the sounds.
• The camera reached a cliff, where a pale hand uncovered a statue of a long-haired woman and turned it toward the village.
• The footage showed a hand pointing toward the village as flames swept down the mountain and encircled it amid distant screams.
• The camera entered Zhang Dongliang’s mouth, then traveled to his apartment and placed a mirror inside his bathroom cabinet.
• Zhang Dongliang knelt before the mirror, pushed his fingers into his eyes, and collapsed after the video fast-forwarded.

A recording showed Lin Jun being tormented in detention by Sanya and the mountain ghost, while Ye Qing and the others discussed how the ghost had formed and why it could not be destroyed until its obsession ended. After the investigation concluded, the narrator searched old news reports and suspected the mountain ghost had a vessel, possibly the stone statue on the mountain.

• Lin Jun panicked in his cell as Sanya's voice accused him and warned that no one would escape.
• Wu Ling explained that Sanya and the mountain ghost shared one body, and that the spirit had attached itself to a newborn after foreseeing the village's tragedy.
• Ye Qing said the mountain ghost could not be destroyed until its obsession ended, and the investigation was marked concluded on October 6, 2006.
• The narrator found old reports about the gang and the forest fire but no follow-up on the village's later deaths.
• The narrator wondered whether the mountain ghost had a vessel, possibly the stone statue on the mountain.

After reviewing footage from the mountain-ghost incident, the narrator wondered whether a new spirit might emerge in Minqing, then returned to work collecting demolition-compensation votes. The chapter ended when Lü Qiaolan called, startling the narrator.

• The narrator reviewed the footage and worried that another spirit might appear in Minqing, though he believed his ability could destroy it.
• The narrator and his colleagues discussed disputes over compensation and care arrangements in the Chen Jiahui and Song Xian families.
• Jiang You explained that Zheng Wei had left work after his son and a relative's child started fighting again.
• Fatty drove the narrator to Workers and Peasants Sixth Village, where the narrator continued helping residents vote on compensation plans.
• The narrator received a phone call from Lü Qiaolan and felt his heart leap.

Lin met Gu Mo and Nangong Yao to investigate why Lü Qiaolan’s repaired teddy bears no longer moved. Nangong Yao found that the bears were replacements bearing traces of exorcism, leaving the original spirits’ fate and the repairers’ intentions unknown.

• Lü Qiaolan called Lin because her repaired teddy bears had stopped moving, and Lin arranged to bring one to Gu Mo and Nangong Yao.
• Lin met Lü Qiaolan near the hotel, took one bear to Gu Mo and Nangong Yao, and found Gu Mo playing a game.
• Nangong Yao detected traces of exorcism on the bear and said it was not one of the bears’ original vessels.
• Nangong Yao guessed that someone may have sealed or taken the original bears and returned replacements, while Gu Mo asked whether Lü Qiaolan had received any recent messages.

The narrator learned that Lu Qiaolan’s original bears might have been destroyed, though her thoughts could still bring their spirits back in new vessels. He told Lu Qiaolan the truth and left her with hope that she could find the bears and restore them.

• Nangong Yao explained that Lu Qiaolan’s powerful thoughts might revive the bears’ spirits in their new vessels, while Gu Mo warned that learning the bears were gone could devastate her.
• The narrator reflected on his guilt over Jin Haifeng’s accident, and Nangong Yao told him to let Lu Qiaolan face the news herself.
• The narrator went to Workers and Peasants Sixth Village, where Lu Qiaolan said she had suspected the bears were no longer real bears and had been researching how to travel abroad.
• The narrator told Lu Qiaolan what Nangong Yao had said and assured her that there was still a good chance she could succeed.
• Lu Qiaolan took the bear from the narrator and gently stroked its head, and he began to believe she would manage to find the others.

After Xue Jingyue sensed something wrong with a local murder report, the group feared that Chen Xiaoqiu and Guo Yujie were in danger and tried to reach them. Chen Yihan went to check on them, while the others investigated the victim’s workplace through social media.

• The Thin Guy described rumors about overseas extremists who attacked mediums and claimed professionals there could act without legal consequences.
• The Fat Guy shared a local news alert about a woman who had died during a supposed consensual encounter with her coworker, and said Xue Jingyue felt the report was an ominous sign.
• The group tried to contact Chen Xiaoqiu and Guo Yujie, but neither answered their messages or calls.
• The narrator called Chen Yihan, who said he was at the bureau and would go check on Chen Xiaoqiu and Guo Yujie.
• The Thin Guy found a social media post that might identify the victim’s workplace, and the group began examining the poster’s profile.
• Chen Yihan called the narrator back as they investigated.

Chen Yihan linked Wang Hongyi, the missing woman, to Zhu Mei and the subway attack involving Xu Jun, while the narrator and his companions searched for clues. As they waited for the police, Gu Mo suggested that the women in their group were helping bring about a change in who could fight supernatural dangers, though the narrator still worried about their abilities.

• Chen Yihan told the narrator that Chen Xiaoqiu was missing and might have been threatened or possessed after leaving home.
• Chen Yihan identified the victim as Wang Hongyi, a friend of Zhu Mei who had arranged to meet and video-call her.
• The narrator told Fatty and Skinny his fears that Zhu Mei, Chen Xiaoqiu, and Guo Yujie had become entangled in the supernatural danger.
• The narrator asked Gu Mo to have Nan Gongyao help find Wang Hongyi's and Zhu Mei's friends' social media accounts, but Gu Mo urged him to stay calm and let the police investigate.
• Gu Mo connected the women victims and the strength of Guo Yujie and Chen Xiaoqiu to a transformation in the supernatural world, and the narrator questioned whether their abilities were enough.

Lin Qi learned that Zhang Xiaojia had died in a car accident and worried that a supernatural force was targeting Zhu Mei’s friends. He went to check on Guo Yujie and found her acting strangely as she let him into her bedroom.

• Gu Mo said Chen Xiaoqiu and Guo Yujie's abilities might only become clear after the current crisis ended.
• Nangong Yao identified Zhu Mei's four close friends, whose posts showed that they believed Wang Hongyi had never been involved with his killer.
• Lin Qi worried that the force behind Wang Hongyi's death might have targeted Chen Xiaoqiu or Guo Yujie, and Chen Yihan told him to check on Guo Yujie in person.
• Chen Yihan revealed that Zhang Xiaojia had died in a car accident while Zhu Mei was present, and he went to see Zhu Mei.
• Lin Qi left home despite his family's worries and went to Guo Yujie's apartment, where her father said she had not answered her phone.
• Guo Yujie called Lin Qi into her bedroom, making him more uneasy.

The narrator and Guo Yujie encountered Zhang Xiaojia’s ghost, who asked them to warn Zhao Lian and Kong Qi to beware of Zhu Mei. After Zhang Xiaojia vanished, Chen Yihan revealed that Zhu Mei had lied and might have caused the car accident.

• The narrator entered Guo Yujie’s room and found Zhang Xiaojia, a ghost with no visible yin energy, sitting on the bed.
• Zhang Xiaojia told the narrator and Guo Yujie that she was dead and asked them to warn Zhao Lian and Kong Qi to be careful of Zhu Mei.
• Guo Yujie called a woman connected to Zhang Xiaojia and relayed her warning, after which Zhang Xiaojia disappeared.
• The narrator called Chen Yihan, who said Zhu Mei had lied and might have caused the car accident.
• The narrator worried that Zhu Mei’s actions might also be connected to Wang Hongyi’s death as thunder and lightning sounded outside.

After a thunderstorm pileup, the narrator heard Chen Xiaoqiu’s wooden wind chime and was struck by a vision of Wang Hongyi’s death. The wind chime woke the narrator fully, revealing Chen Xiaoqiu frozen in front of an open cabinet in another bedroom.

• Chen Yihan told the narrator that Chen Xiaoqiu seemed normal and was heading to the police station, and the narrator left Guo Yujie’s home.
• A storm caused a highway pileup, and the narrator heard the wooden wind chime as something terrifying seemed to descend.
• The narrator lost consciousness and experienced Wang Hongyi’s death, then watched police remove her body while Wang Hongyi’s spirit remained behind.
• The wind chime sounded again, and Wang Hongyi vanished as the scene shifted to another bedroom.
• The narrator saw Chen Xiaoqiu standing frozen before an open cabinet, with the wind chime silent.

The narrator struggled to reach Chen Xiaoqiu, who was possessed by Wang Hongyi, but enchanted wind chimes repeatedly bound and blocked them. Wang Hongyi headed toward the police station to expose the criminal behind her death, while a social media post from Zhao Lian revealed a buried dispute among their friends as a thunderstorm began.

• The narrator tried to use their power to reach Wang Hongyi, but the wind chimes bound their hand and restored themselves whenever the narrator attempted to turn back their time.
• Wang Hongyi left Chen Xiaoqiu’s home, avoided the narrator’s repeated attempts to touch her, and traveled toward the police station while looking up criminal investigation procedures and information about herself.
• The narrator realized Wang Hongyi was likely going to seek revenge on the criminal and continued trying to wear down the wind chimes as Wang Hongyi walked through the city.
• At an intersection, Wang Hongyi began composing a social media post to explain her death, while Zhao Lian posted that Wang Hongyi had been innocent in a past incident and that their friends had agreed to keep it secret.
• A thunderstorm began as the narrator read Zhao Lian’s post on Wang Hongyi’s phone.

Wang Hongyi’s discovery in Chen Xiaoqiu’s account triggered a mysterious transformation, and the narrator was overwhelmed by a powerful force. The woman who emerged from Chen Xiaoqiu’s body led the narrator to a police station, where someone inside appeared able to see her.

• Wang Hongyi checked Chen Xiaoqiu’s account settings and found unfamiliar logins and flirtatious deleted messages, then stared at a linked phone number in the messaging app.
• The wind chime came loose, but a mysterious force inside Chen Xiaoqiu resisted the narrator’s ability and transformed her appearance.
• A woman pinned the narrator down, dragged them across the ground, and said she would speak to them later.
• The narrator recognized the transformation from Greenleaf’s files about Hou Jianing and followed the woman to a police station in another district.
• The woman entered the station unseen by the officers, but the person inside the room looked up and noticed her.

A mysterious woman summoned Zhu Mei, the ghosts of Wang Hongyi and Zhang Xiaojia, and Zhou Guangren to hear accusations about their deaths. After the woman crushed Zhou Guangren to death, Zhu Mei admitted she had sought revenge because Wang and Zhang had caused her to nearly be raped by a ghost.

• A mysterious woman summoned Zhu Mei, Wang Hongyi, Zhang Xiaojia, and Zhou Guangren into a room and restrained Zhu Mei and Zhou Guangren in their chairs.
• The woman recounted Zhang Xiaojia's accusation that Zhu Mei had pushed her into traffic, but Zhu Mei denied it and claimed Zhang had crossed the road carelessly.
• The woman accused Zhu Mei of using Wang Hongyi's account to deceive Zhou Guangren and orchestrate Wang's rape and abuse; Zhu Mei wept and denied responsibility.
• Zhou Guangren blamed Zhu Mei for deceiving him, and the woman crushed him until his body vanished.
• After seeing Zhou Guangren's death, Zhu Mei protested that she was not to blame and said she had wanted Wang and Zhang to suffer for nearly getting her raped by a ghost.

Zhu Mei accused Wang Hongyi and Zhang Xiaojia of betraying her, and the woman punished her before sending the two friends to be reborn. The narrator then learned that the body the woman occupied had died decades earlier, raising the possibility that Chen Xiaoqiu was a ghost, just as Chen Yihan arrived.

• Wang Hongyi and Zhang Xiaojia listed how they had supported Zhu Mei, but Zhu Mei accused them of conspiring to harm her.
• The woman sensed Zhu Mei's intent and made Zhu Mei suffer the self-inflicted injuries she would have endured without her friends.
• The woman sent Wang Hongyi and Zhang Xiaojia to be reborn, leaving Zhu Mei badly wounded.
• The narrator told the woman about Wang Hongyi possessing Chen Xiaoqiu's body and the wind chime used to summon a soul.
• The woman said the body had died twenty-three or twenty-four years earlier, and the narrator wondered whether Chen Xiaoqiu was a ghost.
• Chen Yihan opened the door and entered the room.

After Zhu Mei was taken away, the woman vanished and the narrator woke at the site of the earlier crash as people across Minqing suffered disasters amid the heavy rain. He contacted Chen Yihan and began to suspect the woman was connected to the citywide calamity, then received a call from Gu Mo.

• Chen Yihan ordered the police to get medical help for Zhu Mei, who had injured herself, and stayed behind with the narrator and the woman.
• The woman said she had figured out why the narrator had locked onto her, then the narrator blacked out and woke at the earlier car accident.
• The narrator called Chen Yihan and took shelter in a convenience store, where people were helping the injured.
• Chen Yihan told the narrator that chain-reaction crashes had happened elsewhere, and the narrator found reports of widespread accidents across Minqing during the heavy rain.
• The narrator connected the disaster to an earlier event in Huixiang and wondered what the woman was, then answered a call from Gu Mo.