Chapter Summaries

Wu Ling led the Wu family’s old man and Ning Guowei through the resort while Ye Qing fought the creatures alone. Ning Guowei explained that the mountain god statue had been carved by a man who vanished two months before the pandemic spread widely.

• The Taoist priest and the man in Republican-era clothes tried to flee but were killed by red beasts that emerged from the landscaping.
• Ye Qing ignored Ning Guowei and the Wu family’s old man, then tore apart a giant bird and smashed another beast as he advanced toward the statue.
• Wu Ling recovered from what she realized was a shallow injury and explained that illusions concealed real attacks; she used talismans to protect herself and the two men.
• Wu Ling led the old man and Ning Guowei out of the resort, where they found the three headless monks’ corpses and avoided using a vulnerable sightseeing cart.
• Ning Guowei said the mountain god statue had been carved by a delusional villager who later disappeared two months before the pandemic broke out on a large scale.

Ye Qing took Wu Ling back into the resort and revealed that the incident was serious enough to require sealing off the mountain. He asked her to summon a ghost messenger, while their conversation exposed tensions between Wu Ling’s loyalty to her family and Ye Qing’s judgment of the Qingzhou Wu family.

• Ye Qing drove out of the resort and told Wu Ling to try summoning a ghost messenger.
• Ye Qing ordered Ning Guowei to prepare for the mountain to be sealed off and warned that the incident was worse than he had expected.
• Ye Qing drove Wu Ling toward the restricted forest near the statue exhibition hall, where she prepared a formation to summon the messenger.
• Ye Qing criticized the Qingzhou Wu family and asked whether Wu Ling would let her grandfather use her as a tool.
• Wu Ling defended her grandfather and the family, saying they had raised her and that her actions also benefited them.

Wu Ling erased the strange formation at the resort, then left the Wu family and joined Ye Qing’s planned paranormal agency. The dream returned to Greenleaf, where Ye Qing noticed the narrator watching him, leaving the narrator tense about being discovered.

• Wu Ling chanted in an unfamiliar language and erased the talisman formation, coughing blood as Ye Qing faced a black-suited man who arrived to inspect the resort.
• Ye Qing told the man that ordinary people and several talents had died, then left with Wu Ling as the agency’s men entered the forest.
• A newspaper reported the resort’s closure, while Wu Ling overheard her family arguing over her actions and her brother’s lost promotion.
• After leaving the Wu family, Wu Ling exorcised a ghost at a school and accepted Ye Qing’s invitation to help start a paranormal agency.
• The dream shifted to Greenleaf, where the narrator found Nangong Yao and Gu Mo missing and saw Ye Qing turn toward them during a phone call.

Wu Ling returned to the Wu family home to visit her dying grandfather, while the narrator watched anxiously, knowing she would have an accident the next day. Ye Qing then revealed that a recently investigated pyramid scheme might be connected to the Wu family, leaving Wu Ling alarmed.

• Wu Ling left after learning her grandfather was dying and booked a bus ticket to the Wu family's home on December 8, 2015.
• A three-wheeled truck driver told Wu Ling that a prominent Wu family member had been arrested and that the family had recently gathered.
• Wu Ling arrived at the renovated family residence, where relatives watched her with malice, and visited her stroke-stricken grandfather.
• Wu Ling settled into a guest room and called Ye Qing and Liu Miao, who told her that Wu's Health Pharmaceuticals might belong to her family and operated a pyramid scheme.

Wu Ling discovered that the Wu family’s pyramid scheme had used an illusion technique to manipulate its victims, then confronted her grandfather about what the Qingzhou Wu family had become. She left him reflecting on the family’s lost past.

• Ye Qing sent Wu Ling screenshots of the shut-down pyramid scheme website, and Wu Ling connected its design elements into talismans.
• Wu Ling identified the talismans as an illusion technique that had been used to induce hallucinations and manipulate victims on a massive scale.
• Ye Qing warned Wu Ling to stay out of the investigation, saying the Qingzhou Wu family was finished and would be handled by others.
• Wu Ling stayed at the Wu family’s old residence, then visited her grandfather alone the next morning.
• Wu Ling recalled how her grandfather had introduced her to supernatural work and how she had discovered the Qingzhou Wu family’s former reputation, lamenting its decline.

Wu Ling confronted the dying old man about her place in the Wu family, then attended his funeral, where her relatives tried to control and kill her. As the narrator struggled to reach her, Wu Ling began to change in a way the narrator could not identify.

• Wu Ling told the narrator that she was the Wu family's legitimate heir and planned to take the family's things after the old man's death.
• The old man died, and the Wu family prepared and held his funeral on the same day.
• As Wu Ling offered incense, the coffin rocked, and A-Jian's accomplices looped a rope around her neck and hoisted her into the air.
• A-Jian claimed that Wu Ling was a spirit trapped inside a toy and said the family could use her powers, while the other relatives argued with him.
• The narrator grabbed Wu Ling's arm but could not pull her out of the moment or break the rope, and noticed that her skin had become unusually smooth as the rope trembled.

Ye Qing discovered that Wu Ling’s soul was trapped in a struggle with the spirit inside her porcelain body, and Wu Ling revealed that it needed a new vessel. Ye Qing took Wu Ling from the Wu family residence, leaving Ye Qing to consider using Chen Xiaoqiu as the spirit’s vessel to save them both.

• Wu Ling’s body turned into porcelain and collapsed, while Ye Qing found her soul suspended above it and realized she was fighting the spirit.
• Wu Ling told Ye Qing that the spirit needed a new body, and Ye Qing thought of Chen Xiaoqiu as a possible vessel.
• Ye Qing and Liu Miao arrived at the Wu family residence, where Ye Qing found Wu Ling’s soul trapped inside her body alongside the spirit.
• Ye Qing brought ghosts to punish the Wu family and left with Liu Miao carrying Wu Ling.
• Ye Qing resolved to save Chen Xiaoqiu as well as Wu Ling now that the spirit could be separated from Wu Ling.

The narrator used their ability to destroy the spirit possessing Chen Xiaoqiu, but Chen Xiaoqiu stopped breathing until Wu Ling used the wind chimes and a blood talisman to revive her. As dawn approached, Chen Yihan accused Greenleaf of using Chen Xiaoqiu as part of a plan, and Wu Ling began to answer.

• Ye Qing and Liu Miao buried Wu Ling's body beneath the greenbelt in Workers and Peasants Sixth Village, and the narrator later caught Wu Ling when she emerged.
• The narrator, Chen Yihan, and Gu Mo subdued the spirit, and the narrator used their ability to destroy it and restore Chen Xiaoqiu's face.
• Chen Xiaoqiu appeared lifeless, but Wu Ling used the wind chimes and a blood talisman to bring her back to consciousness.
• Nangong Yao explained what had happened as the group checked their injuries in the damaged office.
• Chen Yihan accused Greenleaf of planning to use Chen Xiaoqiu, and Wu Ling began to respond while Ye Qing remained absent.

Wu Ling explained how Heaven’s plan had changed and questioned the group about their supernatural experiences. After realizing how much time had passed, she learned about Lin’s abilities and promised to help him use them to save the world.

• Wu Ling explained that Heaven had intended her to be a vessel, but a series of changes involving her ancestors, her survival, and Chen Xiao Qiu disrupted the plan.
• Wu Ling clarified that Ye Qing had prepared to bring her back and had given Chen Xiao Qiu the soul-summoning bell to move events along.
• Chen Yihan and Chen Xiao Qiu described their supernatural experiences, and Wu Ling asked Gu Mo and Nangong Yao what they thought was happening.
• Wu Ling discovered the power was cut and saw the painting and cracked bell, then learned that Yezi had disappeared in 2017 and that it was now 2023.
• Wu Ling learned the Nian Beast had appeared and been dealt with, recognized Lin’s abilities, and told him he could help save the world.
• Wu Ling promised to help Lin, while Gu Mo objected and Wu Ling teased him until the group laughed.

After a storm devastated People's Celebration City, Wu Ling performed a ritual to investigate Chen Yihan and Chen Xiaoqiu, but the ghost messenger she summoned said he lacked authority to examine their past lives. Wu Ling suspected their identities were connected to worsening supernatural events and began explaining the world's supernatural history.

• The narrator contacted his family and learned that work had been suspended as reports emerged of deaths and injuries from the storm.
• Wu Ling performed a blood ritual using a copper bowl and assorted objects to investigate Chen Yihan and Chen Xiaoqiu.
• A ghost messenger appeared, said the women had reincarnated and were outside his jurisdiction, then disappeared after arguing with Gu Mo.
• Wu Ling reasoned that the ghost messenger might have been telling the truth and noted that the Nian beast and the revived spirit had made things worse.
• Wu Ling offered to explain the world's supernatural history to the narrator, Chen Yihan, and Chen Xiaoqiu.

Wu Ling explained the history of the supernatural, from the discovery of the underworld to the emergence of ghosts, spirits, and supernatural abilities. He revealed that ghost attendants had begun reincarnating as humans, possibly including Chen Yihan and Chen Xiaoqiu, while Heaven seemed increasingly unable to control the world.

• Wu Ling described the first stage of supernatural history, when people discovered reincarnation, the underworld, and Heaven.
• Wu Ling explained that ghosts later appeared, leading people who could see them to exorcise them and form the earliest sects and families.
• Wu Ling described how supernatural abilities and spirits became more common after the number of ghosts declined and the underworld seemed to recover.
• Wu Ling said that, beginning forty or fifty years ago, former ghost attendants started entering reincarnation and being reborn as humans.
• The narrator suspected Chen Yihan and Chen Xiaoqiu might be among those reborn ghost attendants, and Wu Ling said their righteousness had prompted the suspicion.
• Wu Ling said previous cases had ended in violent deaths and that Heaven seemed mad or powerless as conditions worsened.

After leaving Greenleaf’s ruined office, the narrator learned that no one understood the otherworldly spaces or knew how to return from them, and wondered whether he could travel back in time to prevent the disaster. He got home safely and reassured his parents with a cover story, while his younger sister seemed suspicious.

• Chen Yihan left to return to the Public Security Bureau, and the others prepared to leave Greenleaf’s office without seeing Greenleaf again.
• The narrator asked Wu Ling about the otherworldly spaces, and she explained that everyone who entered was believed to die and that even the Underworld could not explore them successfully.
• Outside the building, a woman recognized Wu Ling and asked about Greenleaf, while Wu Ling politely pretended that she had only recently learned he was missing.
• Nangong Yao drove Chen Xiaoqiu and the narrator home, then took the others to the hotel.
• The narrator told his worried parents that Greenleaf had disappeared and reassured them that the neighborhood was safe, but his younger sister looked at him suspiciously.

Lin Qi reassured his sister about the people investigating the supernatural incidents, then rejoined the group as Chen Xiaoqiu considered whether Greenleaf had changed its approach. The discussion turned to Ye Qing’s possible connection to the change, and Lin Qi began to suspect the alternate space he had erased in Huixiang was relevant.

• Lin Qi told his sister that five people had been searching for a missing homeowner and urged her not to get involved in their investigation.
• Lin Qi’s sister said she was unsure about their planned trip and might prefer to stay home.
• Chen Xiaoqiu argued that Greenleaf had begun acting more proactively after the film studio incident and suggested Ye Qing was involved in the change.
• Lin Qi and the others reviewed earlier incidents, including the Green-Faced Ghost, the fried chicken shop, and Huixiang, looking for a turning point.
• Chen Xiaoqiu reminded Lin Qi that he had erased an alternate space inside a Huixiang cave, and Lin Qi suggested that might explain Greenleaf’s changed approach.

The narrator and his companions discussed Ye Qing's possible plan to use the paranormal space and concluded that staying alive was their immediate priority. After news of deadly storms worldwide unsettled him, the narrator picked up a Greenleaf case file and noticed it was titled “Murder for hire.”

• The Thin Man suggested Ye Qing wanted to use the paranormal space, and Chen Xiaoqiu theorized that Greenleaf was exposing Lin Qi to find a way to send him far back in time.
• The Fatty worried that Lin Qi was in danger, while Chen Xiaoqiu explained why Greenleaf's plan might keep suspicion away from him.
• The Thin Man and Guo Yujie urged everyone to avoid tempting fate and focus on staying alive.
• The narrator watched reports of storm casualties and strange skies, then became increasingly distressed by worldwide disasters.
• The narrator took a Greenleaf case file from the bookshelf and noticed its title was “Murder for hire.”

Han Jiesheng hired the Greenleaf Paranormal Agency to reassure Xiao You, a patient who believed her murdered father’s ghost was tormenting her and had begun harming herself. After meeting her, the agency heard Xiao You insist that the ghost wanted to drive her to her death.

• Han Jiesheng explained that Xiao You had killed her abusive father during a mental breakdown and was now worsening despite treatment.
• Han Jiesheng asked the agency to make Xiao You believe her father’s ghost had been exorcised, and the agency accepted the commission.
• On August 10, 2001, the agency visited the rehabilitation center posing as Xiao You’s relatives.
• The agency introduced themselves to Xiao You as paranormal specialists and asked about the ghost.
• Xiao You said the ghost wanted to hurt her and drive her to her death, then broke down and begged them to leave her alone.

A team questioned Youyou about her father’s death and learned that she blamed the ghost of her younger sister, Qiqi, rather than her father’s ghost. The team left without inspecting the locked ward, convinced Youyou had encountered a ghost while Dr. Han remained skeptical.

• The team calmed Youyou with a protective talisman and asked her to explain what had happened.
• Youyou described her father’s abuse, her plans to run away, and her belief that he had discovered them.
• After a team member suggested Youyou had accidentally killed her father, Youyou denied it and said the ghost Qiqi had killed him to frame her.
• Youyou identified Qiqi as her younger sister, but became too distressed to continue speaking.
• Dr. Han refused to let the team inspect the locked ward, so they gave Youyou a talisman and left with him.
• The team told Dr. Han that Youyou had encountered a real ghost, but he dismissed the claim and asked about their commission.

Han Jiesheng reluctantly agreed to let the investigators enter You Jing’s room and deal with the ghost, while they also looked into her alleged younger sister. The case file and follow-up with Ke Xiao left the sister’s existence unconfirmed as the investigation continued.

• Han Jiesheng insisted that You Jing was mentally ill and initially refused to believe a ghost was involved.
• The investigators explained that they could enter You Jing’s room and asked Han Jiesheng to let them work without interference.
• Han Jiesheng agreed, provided they did not mislead You Jing or worsen her mental state, and allowed them to investigate her alleged younger sister.
• On August 11, the investigators analyzed an audio file and speculated that the ghost might appear only intermittently.
• On August 12, the investigators reviewed You Jing’s case file, which documented her father’s murder, her mental illness, and his long-term sexual abuse but made no mention of a younger sister.
• On August 16, the investigators contacted Ke Xiao.

Investigators questioned Ke Xiao about her family and suspected that she was concealing the existence of You Jing’s younger sister. As they continued investigating, Han reported a child’s handprint in You Jing’s hospital room, and Ke Xiao’s frantic calls and a disturbance at her residence suggested that something had happened to her.

• Ke Xiao told the investigators about her marriage to You Fuxing, their gambling and drug debts, and their troubled relationship with You Jing, but denied having another child.
• The investigators confronted Ke Xiao with You Jing’s claim that her younger sister was seeking revenge, and concluded that the family had likely hidden the sister’s existence.
• Han told the investigators that a child-sized handprint had appeared on the wall of You Jing’s hospital room, while You Jing had stared at that spot the previous day.
• Ke Xiao called the investigators twice on August 21, accusing them of harassment and insisting that she had only one daughter.
• The investigators went to Ke Xiao’s residence and heard a scream; a neighbor then reported that someone inside was dead.

After Ke Xiao's death, Han's team discussed how to reach You Jingjing in the treatment center and protect Han. In an interview, Ke Yu revealed that Ke Xiao and her husband had a second daughter, Qiqi, who disappeared after the family sold their house in 1992, while Jingjing was found mentally ill.

• Han's team confirmed Ke Xiao had died and told their client that a ghost may have attacked her; they weighed entering the treatment center to speak with You Jingjing but feared they would not have enough time.
• Han's team offered the client a protective talisman, and he struggled to accept that a ghost might be responsible for the deaths and strange evidence.
• Ke Yu described Ke Xiao and her husband as gamblers and drug users, and said he would have taken Jingjing in if he had known her father was abusing her.
• Ke Yu said Ke Xiao and her husband had another daughter, nicknamed Qiqi, while hiding from loan sharks and left both girls with their grandparents for a time.
• Ke Yu recounted that the couple sold their house and vanished; when the family tracked them down, Qiqi was gone and Jingjing had gone crazy.

The investigation into Ke Xiao’s murder uncovered an account that You Jingjing had been blamed for her younger sister’s death and had seemed mentally unwell afterward. A severed finger linked to Ke Xiao’s murder led the investigators to search the redeveloped neighborhood, but their inquiry into what construction workers might have found remained unresolved.

• Mr. Ke told the investigator that You Jingjing had become unresponsive after her younger sister died, and that Ke Xiao and her husband claimed Jingjing had accidentally caused the child’s death.
• Mr. Ke admitted that he and his family had not told the police about Jingjing’s condition or the child’s death, and he could not say where the child had been buried.
• Mr. Han called to report finding a severed ring finger in his desk; he believed it belonged to Ke Xiao and feared someone was watching him, though his amulet had not warmed.
• The investigator confirmed Ke Xiao had been killed in the same manner as You Fuxing and that one of her fingers was missing, then confirmed the finger carried yin energy.
• The investigator found that the old neighborhood had been demolished and contacted project manager Hao Xiangyang, who denied that workers had uncovered a child’s body but was asked whether anything unusual had happened.