Chapter Summaries

Villagers recounted how human bones were uncovered when former prison-farm land was plowed, and how rumors of ghostly marching later spread. They suggested the bones had been brought there by grave robbers and directed the investigators to Zhao Datou’s son for more information.

• A villager described the land’s history, from abandoned farmland and a prison farm to its transfer to the village around 2000 or 2001.
• Workers dug up bones while preparing the land for farming, and a skull confirmed that they were human remains.
• Police and officials investigated, identified the bones as several-hundred-year-old cultural relics, and found no further remains.
• Old professors found no evidence of a battlefield or burial site and suspected grave robbers had brought the bones there.
• The villager said Zhao Datou had claimed to hear ghosts marching at night, became ill, and moved to the city.
• The villager said Zhao Datou’s son later returned to the village and ran an internet cafe and a small supermarket.

A villager recounted the ghostly marches near the abandoned labor farm and told the investigators that the rotary tiller found in a recent death should have been sold as scrap years earlier. He traced the machine to the Xie family, whose patriarch had been a wanted criminal, but left unclear who bought the tiller or how it returned to the warehouse.

• The villager described how many residents heard synchronized footsteps at night and how his family saw a moving black patch near the labor farm, though police found no footprints or people.
• He said the sounds continued for several nights, frightened his family into moving away, and left the plot abandoned; he also recalled children and a military training base visitor getting lost there.
• The villager connected the recent warehouse death to a rotary tiller that police believed had been stored there for years.
• He explained that the tiller had once belonged to the village and was assigned to the Xie family, who sold it as scrap around 2004 or 2005.
• The villager said Old Xie had come from the labor farm, brought a nephew to the village, and fled in the 1980s after police identified him as a wanted criminal linked to several deaths.

The investigators identified a strange plowing sound coming from the labor camp farm and decided to enter the land, which Wu Ling believed was cursed. On November 3, the group headed to the farm after arranging a check-in with the bureau, while Old Zhao warned them to be careful.

• A villager explained that Old Xie's nephew had known nothing about his uncle's crimes or the ghost army, and said the nephew's daughter had gone missing.
• Mushroom replayed the recording and identified a strange squelchy, scratchy sound as something being dragged through soil and plowing the land.
• Wu Ling said the farm had no visible ghosts or negative energy but seemed cursed, and the investigators agreed to investigate inside.
• The investigators drove into the village on November 3 and told Old Zhao that the bureau would respond if they failed to check in on time.
• The camera showed greenhouses and a distant field of person-high wild grass as the group approached the farm.

Ye Qing, Wu Ling, and Liu Miao crossed the grassland and found the abandoned farm buildings despite the journey taking far less time than expected. Inside one building, they discovered a boy standing in a pool of blood.

• Wu Ling used her map to guide the group toward the buildings, but the road seemed endless and the buildings appeared beside them, prompting Ye Qing to suspect a trap.
• Ye Qing led Wu Ling and Liu Miao into the grass, and after ten minutes they emerged beside the abandoned buildings.
• Wu Ling and Liu Miao noted that their watches and the DV showed only a little over ten minutes had passed, though they expected a longer walk.
• Ye Qing said he instinctively believed the phenomenon involved either a new curse or something beyond a man-made curse, then approached the building.
• Ye Qing shoved open the rusty gate, and Liu Miao lit the dark room with the DV flash, revealing a boy standing above a spreading pool of blood.

Ye Qing, Wu Ling, and Liu Miao explored the abandoned farm and found signs that its rooms and surroundings were shaped by a curse. Wu Ling realized they had been caught in the curse, and the chapter ended as the trio entered a storeroom where scattered grain formed footprints behind the sacks.

• Wu Ling examined the bloodstains and found faint yin energy, though it was too weak to indicate that the boy had become a ghost.
• Ye Qing and the others searched the cafeteria and found a girl's dismembered body stored in the freezer.
• Ye Qing tightened a leaking faucet outside and noticed that the building's back wall looked newer than its front.
• Wu Ling told Liu Miao that they had been caught in a powerful curse.
• Ye Qing opened the building's door as rain began to fall, and the group entered a storeroom where footprints led behind the burlap sacks.

Ye Qing and the Greenleaf team found Xie Liu hiding in the granary, where someone chained them inside and tried to trap them with gasoline. Xie Liu recounted how she followed Zhu Ziyang to the farm, witnessed his killing, and was murdered there, but she still did not know who killed her.

• Ye Qing found Xie Liu crying behind sacks in the granary.
• Someone chained the granary doors from outside, and Wu Ling detected gasoline as the team realized they were being trapped inside.
• Xie Liu explained that she followed Zhu Ziyang to the farm after seeing him on her way home from the police station.
• Xie Liu said she saw Zhu Ziyang dragged into the grass, then found him skewered and being bled inside a farm building.
• Xie Liu identified an instructor surnamed Wan as the man who shoved her into the house, and described being dragged to the kitchen and having her head cut off.

Xie Liu told Wu Ling and Ye Qing how she had been dismembered and trapped in the granary, then explained that the farm should have been demolished in 2000. As the group searched for an exit, they found human remains in the grain sacks and Wu Ling identified an emblem linked to Emperor Tiansheng’s imperial guards and the Snake Lord.

• Xie Liu recounted that a strangely dressed man had cut her apart, and she had been unable to escape the granary despite repeatedly running through the grass.
• Wu Ling and the Greenleaf group searched the granary for another exit, but Xie Liu said the building had only one door and should have been demolished in 2000.
• Ye Qing ordered Liu Miao to cut open a grain sack, revealing a severed hand and further body parts hidden among the grain.
• Wu Ling identified a symbol on the remains as the Xu Dynasty imperial guards’ emblem and described Emperor Tiansheng’s search for immortal snakes under the Snake Lord’s guidance.
• Wu Ling explained that the Snake Lord had practiced Gu cultivation, gone mad, been killed by his Gu, and become an evil ghost after death.

Wu Ling, Ye Qing, Liu Miao, and Xie Liu uncovered the bodies of Imperial Guards and missing people in the farm’s grain storehouse, confirming that a curse had trapped the dead there. As they identified the remains, Xie Liu recognized several people from her hometown and realized how many had disappeared.

• Wu Ling explained that the Snake Lord became a vengeful ghost and that the Imperial Guards who pursued him had likely been trapped at the farm by a curse.
• Liu Miao and Ye Qing pulled apart the remains while Wu Ling sorted them, and they found a modern body with an ID belonging to an instructor who was Zhang Wei’s friend.
• They identified Zhu Ziyang’s head among the remains, and Xie Liu cried after recognizing him.
• Ye Qing suggested that an old man’s body might belong to Xie Liu’s missing great-uncle, whom her father had once said brought him to Minqing.
• Xie Liu identified several other bodies as people who had vanished from her hometown, while Greenleaf’s people counted twenty-seven later victims and found prison and farm clothing among the remains.
• Liu Miao pointed out that the victims’ wounds resembled Xie Liu’s, leaving her to say that they were just like hers.

Wu Ling burned the corpses in the granary as Ning Zhe and a crowd from the farm arrived. Ning Zhe explained that the labor reform farm had become a ghostly place where the dead were trapped, and the chapter left Greenleaf investigating its origins.

• Wu Ling used a strange green flame to burn several corpses while Xie Liu watched and a crowd argued outside the granary.
• Ning Zhe arrived with members of the snake-emblem group, including a missing member of the Xie family, and led Greenleaf to the cafeteria.
• Ning Zhe said Zhu had run away but could not leave the area, which belonged to his group and was separated from another territory by weeds.
• Wu Ling raised the imperial guards of Xu Dynasty's capital and the Serpent Lord as causes of the farm's formation.
• Ning Zhe said some imperial guards had been killed and turned into ghosts by the Serpent Lord, while others were sacrificed by Shi Tianming, and that they were all trapped in the ghostly place.

Wu Ling learned how the strange space had changed over time and how its dead inhabitants believed it was sustained. Ning Zhe and Old Xie agreed to guide Wu Ling's group through the building, while Ning Zhe remained doubtful that anyone could escape.

• Ning Zhe explained that Shi Tianming had sacrificed the group after they cornered the Serpent Lord, and that Ergou and Wang Xi were among the first people to arrive in the space.
• Ning Zhe recounted that An Ergou killed Wang Xi, after which An Ergou's ghost and corpse disappeared while Wang Xi's remained, and later deaths made it easier for people to enter and ghosts to lure the living in.
• Ning Zhe described the labor reform farm's workers and said they had long tried to find a way outside, while Wu Ling promised to investigate whether escape was possible.
• Greenleaf questioned Ning Zhe's desire to leave, and Wu Ling reasoned that the trapped souls' resentment likely powered the space and made escape unlikely.
• Ning Zhe and Old Xie volunteered to guide Wu Ling's group around the building, and Old Xie tearfully greeted Xie Liu after asking about his father.

Wu Ling and Ye Qing investigated the labor reform farm’s buildings and questioned Ning Zhe about how the place worked. They met another group of trapped people, who agreed to share everything they knew about escaping.

• Old Xie told Ning Zhe and the others about two prisoners who fought in the farm’s cells, where one shot the other dead.
• Wu Ling inspected the bloodstains in the cells, while the group discussed the deaths of Zhu Ziyang and Xie Liu.
• Ning Zhe showed Ye Qing and Liu Miao that people could conjure food in the farm, and Wu Ling suspected it was an illusion.
• Wu Ling asked about the farm’s changing weather, and Old Xie described how it had shifted when people arrived.
• Ning Zhe led Ye Qing and the others through the grass to a clearing where another group lived and farmed.
• Ye Qing introduced Greenleaf Paranormal Agency and asked the group what they knew about escaping, and their leader agreed to tell them everything.

Ye Qing and Greenleaf investigated the abandoned farm, where Shao Jianguo and Ning Zhe had been trapped among ghosts in a maze-like otherworld. As they searched for an exit, Ye Qing proposed killing ghosts or luring in a living person to learn how the place worked.

• Shao Jianguo told Ye Qing and the others how he had died, become a ghost, and returned to the farm hoping to escape.
• Wu Ling explained that the otherworld absorbed old ghosts and expelled their corpses into the real world, while Shao Jianguo insisted there had to be a way out.
• Wu Ling asked about reports of a ghost army, and Ning Zhe said the Imperial Guards had not marched in a formal formation when they came to fight the Snake Lord.
• Wu Ling led the group to inspect the buildings and weeds, but Shao Jianguo drove them in circles until most of the group gave up.
• Ning Zhe said the farm had changed after people were killed there, and Shao Jianguo challenged the group to try something rather than wait.
• Ye Qing suggested sacrificing ghosts or killing a living person to study the otherworld, then proposed killing all the ghosts to make the place collapse.

Ye Qing and the others returned to the open ground, where snake-headed monsters in stolen armor attacked the survivors. After the Snake Lord emerged and struck back, Liu Miao found himself alone with the camera.

• Shao Jianguo drove the tractor back to the open ground, where armored figures burst from the weeds and slaughtered the survivors.
• Ning Zhe identified the attackers as the Snake Lord, while Ye Qing smashed one monster and Ning Zhe and Shao Jianguo killed another with a talisman.
• Ning Zhe pointed out the reeducation farm, and Wu Ling spotted the gigantic Snake Lord rising amid a column of blood.
• The Snake Lord charged the camera, but Ye Qing struck it and said it was a troublesome ghost rather than a physical creature.
• The Snake Lord lashed out and knocked the camera down, and Liu Miao later picked it up and found that everyone else was gone.

Liu Miao fought armored snake creatures as he searched the abandoned farm, then found both occupied areas devastated by a massacre. He found neither his companions nor their bodies and was left unsure where to go.

• Liu Miao defeated an armored figure and drove off a snake that attacked him, but suffered bloody wounds to his hands.
• Liu Miao killed another armored creature and discovered that its armor concealed a snake whose limbs vanished after death.
• Liu Miao reached the labor reform farm and found the buildings and grounds strewn with corpses and wreckage.
• Liu Miao searched the cafeteria, kitchen, hall, and cells, finding only bodies, then left after the granary proved locked.
• Liu Miao found the second clearing devastated as well, but saw no sign of Wu Ling, Ye Qing, Ning Zhe, Shao Jianguo, Xie Liu, Old Xie, or Zhu Ziyang.
• Liu Miao hesitated in the clearing, unsure where to go next.

Liu Miao escaped the house as snakes and armored figures overwhelmed the farm, then reunited with Wu Ling and Ye Qing after Wu Ling’s spell bound the giant python and the surrounding weeds burned. As the ruins began to change, Shao Jianguo charged at Wu Ling with a gun.

• Liu Miao fled into the house, killed a giant python at the window, and climbed onto the roof to escape the snakes inside.
• The armored figures retreated before the house collapsed, revealing a giant snake that attacked Liu Miao on the rooftop.
• Wu Ling’s spell summoned red chains and ghostly figures to bind the snake as the weeds caught fire.
• Liu Miao reunited with Wu Ling and Ye Qing, and Ye Qing destroyed the bound python with a single punch.
• Liu Miao noticed cuts on Wu Ling’s wrists as the burning ruins began to shift and overlap.
• Shao Jianguo rushed through the ashes and raised his gun at Wu Ling.

Wu Ling and the Greenleaf team exposed Ning Zhe and the others as snake monsters who had trapped them in a collapsing illusion, then Master Xuanqing broke the seal and the group regained consciousness. The video ended with Gu Mo and Master Xuanqing arguing over how the formation had been broken.

• Ning Zhe stopped Shao Jianguo from shooting Wu Ling and revealed that he and the others had been dead for a long time.
• As the space collapsed, Old Xie and She Xie were swallowed by darkness, while Zhu Ziyang and Shao Jianguo blamed Greenleaf for their predicament.
• Ye Qing and Liu Miao attacked Ning Zhe, Shao Jianguo, and Zhu Ziyang after Wu Ling identified their illusions as a trap.
• Wu Ling explained that the supposed Ghost Army and discarded bodies exposed the deception, and the monsters were dragged into a black hole.
• The video resumed after Master Xuanqing freed the group from the seal, and Gu Mo and Master Xuanqing argued about breaking the formation.

Qi reviewed the abandoned labor reform farm case and learned that the daredevil amateur's previous haunted livestream was real, while his other paranormal videos were faked. Curious about the amateur's new livestream, Qi watched as the crew drove into the outskirts of Minqing, where they joked about the isolated road.

• Qi reflected on Liu Miao's ability and endured nightmares about the labor reform farm after the case was completed.
• Qi told the skinny guy and the others about the farm, and they learned they could not copy the encrypted video files.
• Wu Ling reported that the livestream participants were ordinary people and that the daredevil amateur's Junli Hotel footage was real, but his other famous haunted livestream was fake.
• Qi watched the daredevil amateur's livestream as he introduced driver Hong, Kangkang, and lucky fans Tyles and Xiao Ye.
• The crew reached a dark, bumpy road on the outskirts of Minqing, where Hong joked that it was a good place to dump a body.

The livestream group’s car broke down near the old Minqing Labor Reform Farm, and they failed to get it running despite trying repairs. While waiting for a tow truck, they walked farther along the road as the daredevil began introducing the farm’s history.

• Hong joked with Kangkang and the others while the daredevil gave the livestream’s two fans, Xiao Ye and Tyles, some attention.
• The car lurched to a stop, and Hong and the daredevil tried unsuccessfully to restart it and inspect the engine.
• Hong called a towing company, but the driver struggled to find their location and would take at least half an hour to arrive.
• The group sang and danced for the livestream, then Tyles said he thought he had seen something moving in the weeds.
• Hong agreed with the daredevil’s suggestion to walk farther up the road, and the daredevil began introducing the old labor reform farm.

The Daredevil told a fabricated-sounding history of Minqing Farm’s murders and buried remains as his group explored the western suburbs. They found a deserted building near the labor reform farm that matched the cafeteria in Greenleaf’s video, but its windows showed no sign of Liu Miao’s break-in.

• The Daredevil recounted a story about a former inmate murdering a man at Minqing Farm and claimed the crime awakened the spirits of an exiled official’s buried household.
• Viewers discussed the story, and a commenter claiming to work at the Minqing Museum said ancient remains had been unearthed at the farm in 2000.
• Brother Hong spotted a dark house in the weeds even though the group’s navigation showed the labor reform farm was still a kilometer away.
• After Brother Hong’s call failed to connect, he, Xiao Ye, the Daredevil, and Kangkang went through the weeds to investigate the building.
• The narrator recognized the building as the cafeteria from Greenleaf’s video and saw that its windows were intact, unlike after Liu Miao had smashed them.

Red and the thrill-seeker explored the labor camp’s cells and found apparent traces of the old murder, while the narrator watched their livestream. When they returned downstairs, Tyris had vanished, a pool of fresh blood had appeared, and a lit cafeteria door stood ajar.

• Red and the thrill-seeker entered the abandoned labor-camp building and went upstairs to inspect its cells.
• In the last cell, Red and the thrill-seeker found deep tile gaps, fingernail marks, and discolored traces beneath the floor tiles.
• The narrator messaged Wu Ling to watch the livestream but received no reply.
• Red and the thrill-seeker returned downstairs and found Tyris missing and a large pool of bright-red blood spread across the hall.
• Xiao Ye said a hanging, cut-open middle-school-aged boy had appeared, after which Tyris ran toward the cafeteria; yellow light then spilled through its half-open door.