Chapter Summaries

Wu Qiren learned that Jin Shanshan was likely gone for good, while the diviner left him her belongings and returned home. After Liu Liangwang told the diviner that Wu Qiren had been chosen for a haunted-house livestream at an abandoned farm outside Minqing, the diviner urgently asked for the link.

• The diviner told Wu Qiren to give up on finding Jin Shanshan, saying his divination had pointed east rather than toward Mount Guangyuan.
• Wu Qiren confronted the diviner and Liu Liangwang for knowing the danger, and the diviner left Jin Shanshan's bag with him before departing.
• The diviner collapsed at home coughing blood, then rested in an apartment with a room decorated with eerie murals and occult-looking objects.
• Liu Liangwang called the diviner and told him Wu Qiren had been chosen to explore an abandoned farm outside Minqing with a famous streamer.
• The diviner sat up, coughed blood onto his phone, and asked Liu Liangwang to send him the livestream link.

The fortune-teller watched the livestream of Wu Qiren and Jin Shanshan’s fate, then reunited with Liu Liangwang roughly two years later. Liu Liangwang revealed that a streamer was organizing an expedition to Guangyuan Mountain, and the fortune-teller drew the Death card as Liu Liangwang considered going.

• The fortune-teller watched the old livestream, saw Jin Shanshan drag Wu Qiren into a house, and collapsed as dark blood came from his mouth.
• Roughly two years later, Liu Liangwang visited the ailing fortune-teller and wondered whether he had foreseen what happened to Jin Shanshan, Wu Qiren, Xiaoling, and Sister Hei.
• Liu Liangwang said he had met an art student and confessed that the events surrounding his friends had made a normal life feel impossible.
• Liu Liangwang explained that a streamer had found Jin Shanshan’s notebook and wanted to go with reporters and specialists to the place they had never reached at Guangyuan Mountain.
• Liu Liangwang described a man connected to Sister Hei who had suffered inexplicable deaths in his family after refusing to join her trip to Guangyuan Road.
• The fortune-teller asked whether Liu Liangwang would go, then offered him a tarot deck; Liu Liangwang turned over the Death card.

Liu Liangwang left after learning that his time was near, and Death killed the fortune-teller. The narrator witnessed the fortune-teller’s memories before waking from the dream.

• Liu Liangwang thanked the fortune-teller, said goodbye, and left the room.
• Death appeared and pierced the fortune-teller with its banner, killing him.
• The narrator saw the fortune-teller’s childhood, when Lan Jiayan was bullied and a girl defended him.
• As a teenager, the fortune-teller foresaw a girl’s death, but a classroom fan fell and killed her before he could react.
• The narrator saw the fortune-teller confront Death through a mirror and cough blood, then watched Liu Liangwang and Wu Qiren enter as the fortune-teller died.
• The narrator recognized the bright light as a phone screen and woke from the dream.

The narrator read Wu Ling's report about the newly publicized Guangyuan Mountain expedition and feared the team would die at the hands of the mountain's ghost. Wu Ling proposed that the fortune-teller's altered divination might have changed or merely delayed someone's death, leaving the narrator unsure what fate awaited Liu Liangwang and the others.

• The narrator saw that Daredevil and World Weekly had published Jin Shanshan's notes, photos of haunted locations, and information about Guangyuan Mountain, drawing public attention to the expedition.
• The narrator concluded that the Guangyuan Mountain ghost would avoid appearing on the livestream but would not let the team safely prove the resort was harmless.
• The narrator told Wu Ling about the fortune-teller's divination and worried that Liu Liangwang and the others were doomed.
• Wu Ling suggested the fortune-teller might have altered Jin Shanshan's fate, or instead changed the fate of Wu Qiren, Liu Liangwang, or himself, delaying death rather than preventing it.
• The narrator could not determine whom the fortune-teller had divined for and told Wu Ling that both possibilities remained open as they waited to see how Liu Liangwang's trip went.

Lin Qi’s attempts to learn what happened to the Guangyuan Mountain livestreamers ended when he was suddenly transported into the ghost’s territory. He realized Ye Qing had followed the missing group there too, but Lin Qi was left alone in a dusty resort bedroom, unsure whether he was still alive.

• Lin Qi and his coworkers anxiously checked for news about Daredevil, World Weekly, Wu Ling, and Ye Qing, but none of them responded.
• Lin Qi experienced disjointed visions involving Reporter Yuan, Liu Liangwang, and Daredevil’s mention of the demolition office, then rushed to Building Six.
• Lin Qi found Ye Qing absent and concluded that he had been dragged toward Guangyuan Mountain while pursuing Daredevil, Reporter Yuan, and the others.
• Lin Qi suddenly collapsed and awoke in a dust-covered bedroom at the Guangyuan Mountain resort, surrounded by a sinister aura.
• Lin Qi suspected Wu Ling and others might also have been brought there and began looking for people from Greenleaf before wondering whether he was alive.

The narrator tried to escape the villa and used dream visions to follow the Daredevil, Reporter Yuan, and their companions through the resort. The visions ended with the group finding Reporter Yuan's editor in chief, leaving the narrator uncertain whether the scenes were real or manipulated by the ghost.

• The narrator resisted a dream at the villa threshold and saw Ye Qing chasing the Daredevil and Reporter Yuan, who were fleeing with a cameraman.
• The narrator found the villa's front door locked, broke a first-floor window, and left the building without encountering anyone.
• The narrator saw a dream of the Daredevil, Reporter Yuan, Liu Liangwang, and another man arriving at villa number four before Ye Qing's attack.
• The narrator's vision showed Reporter Yuan's editor in chief trapped inside a villa, and the companions broke a window to reach him.
• Liu Liangwang questioned whether the editor in chief was real, and the narrator woke on the ground wondering if the ghost had distorted the dream visions.

Qi Ning encountered a group of ghost pets near Villa No. 4 and realized their former owner was likely connected to the animals. The pets mourned when he tried to tell them their owner was gone, leaving him unable to finish.

• Qi Ning chose to head deeper into the villa complex to look for Ye Qing despite suspecting the surroundings might be deceptive.
• Qi Ning heard noises near Villa No. 6 and found a golden retriever, several small dogs, and two parrots emerging from the weeds.
• Qi Ning remembered a post about animal lover Qi Ning, who had occupied Villa No. 4 before disappearing and being found dead on Guangyuan Road.
• Qi Ning sensed yin energy around the animals and concluded they were ghosts, then wondered whether an entrance to another dimension lay nearby.
• A parrot repeatedly called out Qi Ning's name, and the dogs and birds reacted excitedly before falling quiet as Qi Ning tried to tell them their owner was gone.

The narrator fled gunshots in the Guangyuan Mountain resort and recognized Zheng Motian, who shaped Yin energy into a functioning gun. While following three dogs and a parrot deeper into the resort, the narrator slipped into a dream and witnessed Ye Qing drain a man’s Yin energy before Ye Qing noticed the narrator.

• Three dogs shielded the narrator from gunfire and pinned them down in the bushes.
• The narrator recognized Zheng Motian passing nearby and sensed him shape Yin energy into a gun.
• After Zheng Motian left, the dogs and a parrot led the narrator toward the center of the resort.
• The narrator entered a dream and saw Ye Qing drain a man’s Yin energy until he died.
• Ye Qing sensed the narrator in the dream while the narrator, possessing an unfamiliar woman, was too frightened to flee.

The narrator escaped Greenleaf by waking from the dream and followed Qi Ning’s pets to a watch engraved as a gift for Qi Qian. Touching it revealed a memory of Qi Ning’s parents and an attack that took the watch; the chapter left the narrator hurrying to hide after the dogs warned of danger.

• The narrator woke when the dogs licked and nudged them, realizing Greenleaf was still a threat and that they needed to hide rather than seek him.
• The parrots urged the narrator to find Qi Ning, and the dogs led them toward the place where Qi Ning had disappeared.
• At the food center, the narrator found a watch engraved “A gift for Qi Qian” and dated July 2, 1923.
• Touching the watch, the narrator witnessed Qi Ning’s mother recounting the watch’s history and speaking about Qi Ning’s father.
• In the memory, an apparently crazed man attacked the person the narrator possessed, tore off his sleeve, and threw away the watch.
• The dogs urgently warned the narrator to hide, so the narrator clutched the watch and followed them behind the food center.

The narrator met Wu Ling among the animals at Guangyuan Mountain and shared what he had learned from Qi Ning’s dream and Ye Qing’s loss of control. Wu Ling revealed that Yuan Xiaomei had drawn the World Weekly editorial department into the mountain and that she had investigated the resulting deaths.

• The narrator realized Qi Ning had been searching for his watch and vest, and wondered whether the animals knew what had happened to him.
• A black-and-white cat and three dogs emerged from the undergrowth, and the narrator encountered Wu Ling nearby.
• Wu Ling tested the narrator with a talisman and explained that magic could affect ghosts outside Guangyuan Mountain, while the mountain’s ghosts and magic did not affect each other.
• The narrator told Wu Ling about Qi Ning’s dream and Ye Qing losing control, and she reasoned that Yezi had been unable to deal with the ghost.
• Wu Ling said Yuan Xiaomei had pulled the World Weekly editorial department into the mountain, where several people had died, and confirmed that she had investigated it.

The narrator followed Wu Ling toward an entrance to another space at Guangyuan Mountain, but a sudden fog separated them and displaced the narrator onto Guangyuan Road. There, the narrator encountered Li Yueyue, who hinted that she had seen a different ghost before attacking.

• Wu Ling explained that an entrance to another space lay in the undeveloped woods and warned that the ghost's plan to isolate people seemed to have gone wrong.
• The narrator followed Wu Ling and the pets, but thick fog appeared and Wu Ling vanished.
• The narrator found themself in a hotel room at Guangyuan Hotel, then discovered that its door led to a car on Guangyuan Road.
• Li Yueyue appeared beside the car, and the narrator told her that an evil ghost controlled the area and trapped its ghosts.
• Li Yueyue asked whether the evil ghost was a particular person and mentioned seeing a different ghost before a small hand grabbed the narrator's ankle and Li Yueyue lunged at them.

The narrator was followed by Li Yueyue and the little girl while trying to understand how to escape Guangyuan Mountain Resort. With no way out and growing weak, the narrator stepped into an oncoming car, hoping to become a powerful ghost and destroy the ghost of Guangyuan Mountain.

• The narrator grabbed at Li Yueyue and kicked the little girl out from beneath the car, but both apparitions dissolved and reappeared in the back seat.
• The narrator asked Li Yueyue about Qi Ning, but she said everyone who came to the resort had died there and did not recognize him.
• Li Yueyue and the little girl followed the narrator past cars full of skeletons as the road remained dark and seemingly endless.
• The narrator considered dying to become a ghost, then wondered whether that plan was what the ghost of Guangyuan Mountain wanted.
• When a fast-moving car approached, the narrator stepped into its headlights and resolved to become powerful enough to destroy the ghost and return to the beginning.

The narrator possessed an unfamiliar man and witnessed the survivors argue over whether to retrieve Da Gu’s camera and expose evidence of ghosts. Reporter Yuan remained determined to recover the footage, while the others chose survival, leaving her decision unresolved.

• The narrator realized he had escaped his predicament by possessing a stranger at the resort, where Reporter Yuan, the daredevil, Liu Liangwang, and other survivors had gathered.
• The possessed man blamed Reporter Yuan for bringing the group there, while she insisted they needed Da Gu’s camera to prove ghosts existed.
• Liu Liangwang and the daredevil discussed a hidden force or rule that restricted public proof of ghosts, and the group leader said Black Sister had mentioned similar rules.
• Reporter Yuan’s colleagues argued against retrieving the camera, and one of them slapped her before the survivors began splitting up.
• The daredevil and the group leader refused to return for the camera, while Liu Liangwang hesitated and Reporter Yuan said nothing.

The narrator persuaded the terrified man to accept that he was dead and follow his desire for revenge. They reached a hot spring, where the man’s ghost dragged Zheng Motian underwater and then turned his hatred toward Yuan Xiaomei.

• After gunfire erupted, Reporter Yuan and the others fled, leaving the terrified man behind.
• The narrator told the man he was dead and a ghost, urging him to seek revenge so he would move.
• The man’s ghost led the narrator through the resort to a hot spring, where Zheng Motian was firing into the water.
• The man’s ghost attacked Zheng Motian, dragging him underwater until the pool quieted and blood spread across its surface.
• The man rose from the pool and declared that he wanted to kill Yuan Xiaomei.

The narrator tried to redirect a vengeful ghost away from Yuan Xiaomei, but the ghost attacked her despite being unable to harm her directly. As Yuan Xiaomei fought to stay calm, the ghost began absorbing the yin energy of Mount Guangyuan.

• The narrator urged the ghost to seek revenge on the ghost of Mount Guangyuan instead of Yuan Xiaomei, but he remained fixated on her.
• Mountain mist surrounded Yuan Xiaomei and her companions, while two people escaped the mist and the ghost attacked Yuan Xiaomei without causing lasting harm.
• Yuan Xiaomei explained that fear made most ghosts dangerous and acknowledged that she and Da Gu had willingly come to uncover the truth.
• The ghost lunged at Yuan Xiaomei, pinned her to the ground, and tried to strangle her as the group admin and Liu Liangwang failed to intervene.
• The narrator sensed the ghost absorbing the yin energy of the ghost of Mount Guangyuan.

The narrator watched the ghost become corrupted by Guangyuan Mountain Ghost’s yin energy while Gu Mo explained that the strange place consisted of unstable, separate spaces. After the group leader and Liu Liangwang seized the ghost, the group leader kicked him and began choking him, leaving the narrator to wonder whether the ghost could truly be killed like a living person.

• The narrator noticed Guangyuan Mountain Ghost’s yin energy changing the ghost and warned him, but the ghost remained intent on killing Yuan Xiaomei.
• Gu Mo appeared nearby, and the narrator told him what had happened before asking where the ghost was.
• Gu Mo explained that the place had many similar, unstable spaces, with people sometimes crossing between them, and said he had not seen the others.
• The group leader and Liu Liangwang grabbed the ghost, making him visible, and the group leader kicked him hard enough to send him crashing to the ground.
• The group leader pinned the injured ghost in a chokehold despite Yuan Xiaomei asking him to wait, while the others questioned whether the ghost could be killed that way.
• The narrator recalled Zheng Motian drowning and wondered whether the ghost’s apparent physical vulnerability meant the new things were less frightening than they seemed.

The narrator watched the Guangyuan Mountain ghost attack the daredevil, Yuan Xiaomei, and the others, then was pulled out of danger on Guangyuan Road by Li Yueyue and a little girl. After they saved the narrator, the narrator asked for their help carrying out a plan to kill the ghost.

• The group leader made the ghost burst apart, but the ghost re-formed beside the daredevil and prepared to attack.
• The narrator warned Gu Mo about the surging yin energy, and Gu Mo escaped behind a villa wall.
• The ghost used a tree branch to strangle the daredevil, then attacked Yuan Xiaomei with thorny shoots as Liu Liangwang tried to help her.
• Fog concealed the group, and the narrator was suddenly dragged onto Guangyuan Road as a car stopped nearby.
• Li Yueyue and the little girl saved the narrator from being hit, and the narrator asked them to help kill the Guangyuan Mountain ghost.

The narrator joined Li Yueyue and the little girl in returning to Guangyuan Mountain to find the Guangyuan Mountain Ghost. They encountered Cai Lin, who claimed to belong to a theater troupe, before the ghost appeared and killed him.

• The narrator promised Li Yueyue and the little girl they could leave once the Guangyuan Mountain Ghost was dead, and Li Yueyue transported them to the mountain.
• The little girl sensed someone nearby, and Li Yueyue chased down a frightened young man who identified himself as Cai Lin from a theater troupe.
• Cai Lin explained that the troupe had gone searching for a crab or lobster and that he had found a hole by accident.
• The Guangyuan Mountain Ghost formed from the mist behind the narrator, and Cai Lin was killed.

Trapped in the Guangyuan Mountain Ghost’s fog, the narrator entered Cai Lin’s dream to learn about his past. The dream revealed that young Cai Lin and the other boys were intoxicated by incense on a rooftop when one boy fell to his death.

• Li Yueyue attacked the Guangyuan Mountain Ghost, but it vanished before she could hit it.
• Fog separated the narrator from the other ghosts and trapped him in an illusion where he could not reach Gu Mo.
• With no way to escape, the narrator focused on Cai Lin and entered his dream.
• The narrator saw young Cai Lin and several boys drinking soda while incense burned beside a rooftop water tank.
• One of the boys stumbled over a pipe and fell from the roof, and the others realized Shikang had hit the ground below.

After the rooftop deaths, the narrator suspected the city was an alternate space connected to Guangyuan Mountain and stayed with Cai Lin while searching for the Guangyuan Mountain ghost. Cai Lin’s grandfather revealed that the director demanded deaths for entertainment, leaving the narrator with a clearer lead but more questions about the families’ role.

• Adults and police investigated after Shikang fell, while the teenagers struggled to explain what happened.
• The narrator concluded that the gray-sky city was likely an alternate space and resolved to find the Guangyuan Mountain ghost through Cai Lin.
• Cai Lin became bedridden, and the narrator stayed at his home while watching his grandfather for clues.
• Cai Lin’s grandfather learned that the Qian family girl had died and told Cai Lin that the director wanted a show and did not care who died.
• Cai Lin’s grandfather warned him to keep a low profile, while the narrator remained confused about the families’ choices and the director’s motives.