Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Going to the Hospital, Master Woke Up”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang drives Wang Baoguo to the hospital, showing him Mountain City’s landmarks along the way. Wang reflects sadly on having left China as a teenager and losing the chance to travel with his wife and children after retirement.
• At the hospital, Jiang and Wang visit Master Song, who is being watched over by Aunt Tang. She is exhausted from staying beside him overnight.
• Since Aunt Tang cannot normally see ghosts, she activates her Heavenly Eye after learning that Wang helped Jiang’s group escape Japan.
• Wang examines Master Song and senses a trace of yin energy trapped in his chest—something the others had failed to detect. He believes removing it will wake Master.
• Wang draws the yin energy out through Master’s mouth and nose. Master soon shows signs of recovery: his eyes move, his fingers twitch, and he wakes.
• Master initially focuses on Aunt Tang, grasping her hand and calling her “Jiao,” revealing their emotional closeness. Jiang feels awkward and steps aside while medical staff examine Master.
• The doctor creates a rehabilitation plan, suggesting Master can recover with proper treatment.
• Once awake, Master notices Wang and asks who he is. Jiang explains that Wang sacrificed himself in Japan while helping them save Master and escape safely.
• Shocked by Jiang’s revelation, Master tries to sit up and demands to hear the full story.

Character Developments

• Jiang continues to act responsibly and compassionately, caring for both Master and Wang while remaining emotionally sensitive to Wang’s tragic situation.
• Wang Baoguo demonstrates his usefulness and loyalty by detecting and removing the hidden yin energy from Master. His sacrifice and continued assistance strengthen his role as a trusted ally.
• Aunt Tang is shown as deeply devoted to Master, staying beside him despite her exhaustion. Her emotional reaction upon seeing his recovery highlights their close bond.
• Master Song regains consciousness and immediately reveals his affection for Aunt Tang. His shock over the group’s trip to Japan and Wang’s sacrifice shows his concern for his disciples and gratitude toward those who risked themselves for him.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty and sacrifice: Wang’s death and continued aid emphasize the lengths characters will go to protect one another.
• Love and emotional bonds: Master’s first instinct is to reach for Aunt Tang, underscoring their intimate relationship.
• Recovery and hope: Master’s awakening marks a major turning point after the dangers and hardships in Japan.
• The unseen and spiritual forces: Wang’s ghostly perception allows him to detect yin energy that living practitioners missed, showing the importance of different forms of supernatural knowledge.
• Home and displacement: Wang’s comments about Mountain City and his lost family life introduce feelings of homesickness, regret, and the consequences of exile.

Character Interactions

• Jiang and Wang share a reflective conversation about Mountain City, Japan, and Wang’s lost family plans.
• Aunt Tang welcomes Wang respectfully after Jiang introduces him, treating him as a fellow Taoist despite his ghostly nature.
• Wang assists Master directly, while Jiang and Aunt Tang watch anxiously and celebrate every sign of recovery.
• Master and Aunt Tang share an emotional reunion, with Master calling her by name and holding her hand.
• Master’s renewed interaction with Jiang quickly turns serious when he learns about the Japan mission and Wang’s sacrifice, setting up the next revelation.

Chapter Summary: Qi Observation Art, Red Lady of Western Hunan

Key Plot Points and Events

• Master attempts to use his true qi to perform Spirit Eye Opening, but his prolonged unconsciousness and unstable energy cause a violent surge.
• A purple lightning arc bursts from his fingers, shocking Aunt Tang and later knocking Brother Wang away when he touches Master.
• The group explains that Master absorbed Violet Lightning power from the Eight-Foot Jade Magatama, a Spirit-Guarding Treasure brought back from Japan. This has altered and destabilized his qi.
• Aunt Tang successfully performs Spirit Eye Opening on Master, allowing him to understand what happened while he was unconscious, including Brother Wang’s sacrifice and Jiang Ning’s near-death experience.
• Master becomes deeply remorseful and tries to apologize to Brother Wang, but his uncontrolled lightning prevents physical contact.
• Brother Wang reassures him that his sacrifice was worthwhile and only asks Jiang Ning to take him home so he can see his wife and children.
• Master’s coughing and labored breathing reveal a blockage in his Greater Yin Lung Meridian. Brother Wang identifies the problem through his specialized Qi Observation Art, and Master improves after regulating his qi.
• Brother Wang explains that the Corpse-Driving Sect’s Qi Observation Art detects death qi within meridians rather than ordinary qi or Feng Shui energy.
• He reveals that the technique became clearer after his death and allows him to perceive hidden conditions in others, including the baleful qi in Jiang Ning’s dantian.
• Aunt Tang recognizes the technique as the legacy of the famous Red Lady of Western Hunan. Brother Wang reveals that Red Lady was his grandmother and that she had also taught another disciple, Ma Jiu.

Character Developments

• Master/Song Decai: Awakens with greatly changed and unstable powers due to the Violet Lightning energy. He becomes more humble and emotionally affected by Brother Wang’s sacrifice, feeling indebted to him. Despite his weakness, he begins learning to control and regulate his altered qi.
• Brother Wang: Demonstrates remarkable composure, medical insight, and spiritual perception. His willingness to sacrifice himself and his lack of resentment deepen his portrayal as selfless and honorable. His identity as Red Lady’s grandson also reveals his distinguished lineage.
• Jiang Ning: Continues acting as Master’s caretaker and becomes more aware that Brother Wang can perceive secrets about his cultivation, particularly the baleful qi in his dantian.
• Aunt Tang: Helps restore Master’s spiritual sight and recognizes the historical importance of Brother Wang’s Qi Observation Art.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice and repayment: Master feels he owes Brother Wang a debt for sacrificing his life, while Brother Wang views his actions as simple duty rather than something requiring compensation.
• Power and control: Master’s Violet Lightning power is potent but dangerous because he cannot yet regulate it, emphasizing that strength without control can harm allies.
• Legacy and inheritance: Brother Wang’s abilities continue the traditions of the Corpse-Driving Sect and Red Lady of Western Hunan, while the mention of Ma Jiu suggests a larger hidden lineage.
• Life, death, and perception: Brother Wang’s death has enhanced his ability to observe death qi, blurring the boundary between the living and the dead.
• Hidden inner conditions: The Qi Observation Art allows practitioners to see spiritual and physical problems invisible to ordinary senses, including Master’s meridian blockage and Jiang Ning’s baleful qi.

Character Interactions

• Master and Brother Wang share a deeply respectful exchange centered on guilt, gratitude, and sacrifice.
• Master attempts to thank Brother Wang physically but accidentally shocks him, creating both tension and a moment of dark humor.
• Brother Wang diagnoses Master’s condition and advises him, reversing their expected roles and demonstrating his expertise.
• Aunt Tang connects Brother Wang’s technique to the legendary Red Lady, prompting the revelation of his family history and the existence of another inheritor, Ma Jiu.

Chapter Summary: “A Legacy, Over a Hundred Years Old”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Brother Wang reveals that his grandmother, the famous Red Lady of Western Hunan, had an elder disciple named Ma Jiu. Because Ma Jiu was taken in as a disciple when Wang’s grandmother was young, he could have been over 130 if still alive.
• This raises the possibility that Ma Jiu—or his descendants—may have preserved and hidden some of Red Lady’s teachings and legacy somewhere in China.
• Aunt Tang recognizes Red Lady’s name and explains that her clan once fought alongside her against the demonic Nine Chrysanthemum Sect during wartime.
• Brother Wang recounts Red Lady’s legendary exploits, including single-handedly killing eighteen Japanese Yin-Yang Masters to obtain intelligence and surviving another battle after crawling out from beneath a pile of corpses. These deeds earned her the name “Red Lady.”
• Master finishes regulating his qi and recovers significantly after Brother Wang’s assistance. Everyone thanks Brother Wang, and the group is relieved that Master is no longer in immediate danger.
• Aunt Tang explains that Senior Brother and Senior Sister are resting and cultivating in the hospital morgue because of its strong yin energy.
• After the doctor orders Master to rest, the narrator leaves with Brother Huang and Brother Wang. He plans to visit Uncle Yu’s wife and son before taking Brother Wang to Shandong the next morning.
• At Uncle Yu’s apartment, the narrator finds a warm gathering of friends. Uncle Yu is preparing food, several companions are playing mahjong, and Tian Yong is cooking. The narrator is struck by the lively, familial atmosphere.

Character Developments

• Brother Wang is revealed to come from a distinguished lineage. His grandmother was a powerful resistance hero and an important figure in the Feng Shui and occult world. Although proud of her achievements, Wang speaks modestly and somewhat awkwardly about his family background.
• Red Lady is elevated from a family relation to a legendary historical figure whose courage, combat ability, and sacrifice made her famous.
• Master makes a clear recovery, regaining vitality and stabilizing his condition after Brother Wang treats him.
• The narrator gains greater respect for Brother Wang and his family history. He also demonstrates loyalty and affection toward his friends by visiting Uncle Yu’s family and bringing gifts.
• Aunt Tang shows her knowledge of the older occult world and helps connect Brother Wang’s family history to her own clan’s past.

Significant Themes

• Legacy and inheritance: The chapter centers on the possibility that Red Lady’s teachings survived through Ma Jiu or other descendants.
• Heroism and sacrifice: Red Lady’s wartime exploits emphasize courage, resistance, and the price paid by earlier generations.
• Hidden history: Important figures and lineages can remain unknown even within the Feng Shui world.
• Friendship and community: The group supports Master during his recovery and later gathers in a relaxed, familial setting around Uncle Yu.
• Continuity between generations: The present characters are connected to the struggles and traditions of their predecessors, suggesting that old conflicts and teachings still influence their lives.

Character Interactions

• Brother Wang explains his grandmother’s history to the narrator, Master, and Aunt Tang.
• Aunt Tang recognizes Red Lady’s reputation and describes her clan’s former alliance with her against the Nine Chrysanthemum Sect.
• The group expresses gratitude to Brother Wang after Master’s recovery.
• The narrator and Brother Huang say goodbye to Master and Aunt Tang before leaving.
• Uncle Yu gathers friends and family at his apartment, where Mao Jing, Zhang Yuchen, Pan Ling, Daoist Qingshan, and Tian Yong contribute to the welcoming atmosphere.
• The chapter ends as the narrator and Brother Wang arrive, greeted by the sight of cooking, mahjong, and domestic warmth.

Jiang and Wang Baoguo joined Uncle Yu, Auntie, and the others for mahjong and dinner after Master woke up and began recovering. Before Jiang and Wang Baoguo left for Tai City, Auntie asked Jiang to find her old friend Liu Hongmei and deliver a worn Peace Talisman.

• Jiang arrived with Wang Baoguo, and everyone celebrated that Master had woken up after Wang Baoguo discovered the stagnant energy in his heart.
• Jiang played mahjong with the group, and Mao Jing won the most while Zhang Yuchen lost the most.
• Everyone shared dinner, and Uncle Yu and Master argued over the weight of a fish during a video call from the hospital.
• As Jiang and Wang Baoguo prepared to leave for Tai City the next day, Auntie asked Jiang to look for her old friend Liu Hongmei at 107 Tongtian Street near Dai Temple.
• Uncle Yu gave Jiang a worn Peace Talisman marked with a sunflower to deliver to Liu Hongmei, and Jiang promised to look for her.

Chapter Summary: “Going to Tai City, Mao Jing’s Mission”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The narrator and Brother Wang bid farewell to Uncle Yu, Auntie, and the others before leaving.
• After returning to the shop, Brother Wang refuses to go upstairs because the Grandmaster’s memorial tablet makes him uncomfortable. The narrator respects his decision and offers incense for him.
• The next morning, the narrator packs, pays respects to the Grandmaster, and takes Brother Wang to the airport, storing him in the Heaven-and-Earth Bag.
• At the airport, Mao Jing, Pan Ling, and Zhang Yuchen join the narrator. Pan Ling suggests climbing Mount Tai to watch the sunrise after completing their main business.
• Mao Jing reveals that he and Pan Ling have also been assigned a sect mission: they must visit Senior Ningxiazi at Bixia Temple on Mount Tai to strengthen ties between Mount Qingcheng and Bixia Temple.
• The group agrees on an itinerary: first take Brother Wang home to reunite with his family, then search for Auntie Lu Rou’s old acquaintance in Tai City, and finally climb Mount Tai and visit Bixia Temple.
• They travel economically from Mountain City to Spring City by plane, then take the high-speed rail to Tai City.
• After arriving, they admire the historical atmosphere of Tai City and head toward Brother Wang’s family home in Taiyun Garden.

Character Development

• The narrator remains considerate and responsible, honoring farewells, caring for Brother Wang, offering incense to the Grandmaster, and prioritizing Brother Wang’s reunion with his family.
• Brother Wang continues to depend on the narrator for protection and transportation, while his discomfort around the Grandmaster’s memorial tablet hints at his unusual nature or sensitivity.
• Mao Jing is shown as disciplined and dutiful. He treats his sect assignment seriously and demonstrates his commitment to maintaining relationships between Daoist institutions.
• Pan Ling displays a lively, enthusiastic personality by suggesting the Mount Tai excursion and scenic sightseeing.
• Zhang Yuchen remains cheerful and sociable, though his financial pressures are noted, particularly his responsibility for building a family home.

Significant Themes

• Duty and responsibility: The group balances personal obligations, such as helping Brother Wang, with professional and sect-related missions.
• Friendship and loyalty: Their determination to return Brother Wang home reflects the group’s care for those who have helped them.
• Daoist fellowship and institutional ties: Mao Jing’s mission emphasizes cooperation, communication, and mutual respect among different Daoist temples and sects.
• Travel and exploration: The journey introduces Tai City, Spring City, Mount Tai, and Bixia Temple, combining practical tasks with opportunities for cultural and spiritual discovery.
• Financial practicality: The characters choose economy-class travel and remain conscious of their limited income, grounding their supernatural work in ordinary economic concerns.

Character Interactions

• Uncle Yu’s family warmly sees the travelers off, with the narrator sharing a particularly tender farewell with the young Brother.
• The narrator respects Brother Wang’s unease and does not pressure him to enter the upstairs room.
• At the airport, Pan Ling’s proposal is enthusiastically accepted by the others, establishing a shared plan.
• Mao Jing explains his mission, and the narrator incorporates it into the group’s travel arrangements.
• The group travels together in a relaxed atmosphere: Mao Jing reads, Pan Ling and Zhang Yuchen gossip, and the narrator observes the landscape and studies its Feng Shui.
• Their arrival in Tai City marks the beginning of Brother Wang’s homecoming and the next stage of their investigation and Mount Tai pilgrimage.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The narrator and his companions travel by taxi to Taiyun Garden, where Brother Wang’s former home is located. During the ride, the driver enthusiastically encourages the narrator—a surgeon—to take the civil service exam, reflecting the widespread social obsession with government employment and job security.
• At Taiyun Garden, the narrator opens the Heaven-and-Earth Bag and the Nether Path, allowing Brother Wang’s spirit to return to his old neighborhood.
• Brother Wang becomes emotional as he recalls how he and his wife chose the townhouse because of its location, schools, transportation, nearby hospital, and park. He also remembers that government subsidies helped cover much of the housing and renovation costs.
• Near his building, the group discovers an argument outside Brother Wang’s former home. His wife is being confronted by a domineering man known as Fatty Qiong, who is accompanied by two thugs.
• The dispute concerns Brother Wang’s wife planting a golden osmanthus tree in her own yard. Fatty Qiong claims the tree is an insult or curse directed at him because of his surname, and he uses threats and intimidation to stop her.
• Brother Wang recognizes his wife’s voice and becomes distressed, wanting to rush to her aid. Because he is a ghost who must remain concealed under the Black Umbrella, the narrator stops him and promises to intervene.
• The narrator hands the umbrella to Pan Ling and steps into the confrontation, preparing to defend Brother Wang’s wife.

Character Developments

• The narrator remains outwardly calm and diplomatic, first placating the taxi driver rather than arguing about civil service careers. At the residential complex, however, his protective instincts emerge, and he decisively takes responsibility for handling the conflict.
• Brother Wang experiences intense nostalgia and grief upon returning home. His memories of building a comfortable life with his wife contrast painfully with his current existence as a ghost. Hearing his wife being bullied awakens his helplessness and determination to protect her.
• Brother Wang’s wife is presented as a vulnerable but defiant widow. Despite being threatened by Fatty Qiong, she resists him and considers calling the police.
• Fatty Qiong is established as an arrogant local bully who relies on his reputation, physical intimidation, and criminal connections to control others.
• Pan Ling and the companions support the narrator and Brother Wang, quickly joining the effort to help the wife.

Significant Themes

• Social pressure and the pursuit of stability: The taxi driver’s unsolicited advice about civil service employment illustrates society’s fixation on secure government jobs and the “iron rice bowl.”
• Home, memory, and loss: Brother Wang’s return to his home emphasizes how familiar places preserve memories while also reminding the dead of everything they have lost.
• Power and intimidation: Fatty Qiong abuses his supposed local influence to control a weaker resident, highlighting the injustice faced by people without status or protection.
• Loyalty and justice: Although Brother Wang can no longer directly defend his family, the narrator and his companions act on his behalf, showing solidarity with the vulnerable.
• The boundary between life and death: Brother Wang’s inability to be seen or heard in daylight creates both emotional pain and practical limitations, while the narrator’s supernatural tools allow him to remain connected to the living world.

Character Interactions

• The taxi driver treats the narrator like a younger relative, urging him to take the civil service exam despite knowing little about his actual goals.
• Brother Wang shares his memories of the neighborhood with the narrator, revealing both his happiness over the home and his sorrow at returning as a spirit.
• Fatty Qiong verbally abuses and threatens Brother Wang’s wife, while she challenges his authority and threatens to involve the police.
• Brother Wang reacts emotionally upon recognizing his wife, but the narrator restrains him for his safety and promises to intervene.
• The chapter ends with the narrator physically entering the dispute, setting up a direct confrontation between him and Fatty Qiong.

Plot points

• The narrator warns Fatty Qiong to stay away after beating him, then secretly uses Fatty’s blood on a yellow talisman, apparently planning to deal with him so he cannot threaten Brother Wang’s wife.
• The neighbors identify Fatty Qiong as a dangerous local thug and urge the group to leave. Brother Wang’s wife, Sister-in-law Ma, also tells them not to risk trouble for her.
• The narrator reveals that they have brought Brother Wang home. His wife is delighted and assumes he is about to return, unaware that he is dead.
• Inside her home, the group explains that Brother Wang was an undercover agent with Taoist abilities and died during their final mission in Japan. She rejects the news and tries unsuccessfully to call him.
• Brother Wang asks the narrator to tell her that proof of their love is buried beneath the golden osmanthus tree on the mountain.

Character developments and interactions

• The narrator shifts from protecting Sister-in-law Ma from immediate harm to considering lethal action against Fatty Qiong, driven by guilt and loyalty to Brother Wang.
• Sister-in-law Ma moves from gratitude and hope to disbelief and distress as she learns the truth.
• Brother Wang, who is present as a soul but invisible to his wife, is overcome with grief and asks for a personal detail that may convince her.
• Mao Jing and the others quietly support the narrator’s actions, while the neighbors offer warnings before dispersing.

Significant themes

• Duty and sacrifice: Brother Wang’s secret service and death contrast with the ordinary life his wife believed he had.
• Grief and denial: His wife cannot accept the news, while he must witness her pain without being seen.
• Loyalty and protection: The narrator feels responsible for safeguarding the family of a comrade who died for them.
• Love and remembrance: The osmanthus tree and the hidden proof beneath it symbolize the couple’s bond.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After defeating local thug Fatty Qiong, Jiang Ning realizes the man may retaliate against Brother Wang’s wife once the group leaves. He secretly collects Fatty Qiong’s blood on a yellow talisman, apparently intending to use Daoist magic against him.
• Mao Jing and the others disperse the curious neighbors, who warn the group that Fatty Qiong is dangerous and locally powerful.
• Brother Wang’s wife, Ms. Ma, thanks Jiang Ning for helping her. Jiang reveals that they have come to bring her husband, Baoguo—Brother Wang—home.
• Ms. Ma welcomes them inside, still unaware that her husband has died. She speaks happily about his expected return and insists that the golden osmanthus tree be planted in their yard because it was his favorite.
• Jiang learns that she knew only Brother Wang’s cover identity as a moving-company employee in Japan, not that he was a state-sent undercover agent skilled in Daoist arts.
• Jiang tells her that Brother Wang died during his final mission and that his soul has been brought back. He gives her Spirit Eye Ointment so she can see him.
• Unable to accept the revelation, Ms. Ma tries repeatedly to call her husband, unaware that his inability to answer has already been troubling her for weeks.
• Brother Wang, grieving and desperate to be believed, asks Jiang to tell her about the proof of their love buried beneath the golden osmanthus tree on the mountain.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ning: Shows a stronger willingness to use lethal means to protect Brother Wang’s family, revealing both his loyalty and the emotional burden of Brother Wang’s sacrifice. He also takes responsibility for delivering the painful truth to Ms. Ma.
• Brother Wang: Appears deeply remorseful and loving as he watches his wife struggle to understand his death. His request about the hidden proof of their love highlights his continuing emotional attachment to her.
• Ms. Ma: Initially cheerful and hopeful about her husband’s return, she becomes shocked, defensive, and increasingly distressed when told the truth. Her inability to accept the supernatural explanation reflects her grief and disbelief.
• Fatty Qiong: Though defeated and driven away, his resentment marks him as an ongoing threat to Ms. Ma and her family.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty and sacrifice: The group honors Brother Wang’s final sacrifice by protecting his wife and returning his spirit home.
• Truth versus protective deception: Ms. Ma has lived under her husband’s cover identity, and learning his real life and death forces her to confront a painful truth.
• Grief and disbelief: Her refusal to accept his death shows the emotional shock of losing someone without farewell or official confirmation.
• Protection of family: Jiang’s willingness to confront Fatty Qiong emphasizes the group’s duty to safeguard the family Brother Wang left behind.
• Love beyond death: Brother Wang’s concern for his wife and the hidden keepsake beneath the osmanthus tree suggest that their bond continues even after his death.

Character Interactions

• Jiang threatens and intimidates Fatty Qiong, while Mao Jing and the others manage the surrounding crowd.
• The neighbors warn Jiang and his companions about Fatty Qiong’s influence.
• Ms. Ma thanks Jiang, then welcomes the group into her home and questions them about her husband.
• Jiang explains Brother Wang’s true identity and death, but Ms. Ma rejects the account and attempts to call him.
• Brother Wang communicates through Jiang, asking him to reveal the secret connected to the golden osmanthus tree so that Ms. Ma will finally believe he has returned.

Plot and events

• The narrator tells Sister-in-law that Brother Wang’s spirit has returned and that, beneath the Golden Osmanthus Tree, lies a memento of their love. Shocked, she drops her phone and struggles to accept that he is dead.
• The narrator uses Spirit Eye Ointment to open her Heavenly Eye, allowing her to see and touch Brother Wang.
• The reunited couple embrace. Brother Wang admits he is a ghost, but Sister-in-law refuses to let that change how she feels about him.
• The narrator and the others leave them alone. Outside, workers finish planting the Golden Osmanthus Tree, and the narrator pays the remaining fee to prevent anyone from disturbing the couple.
• The group plans to go to Dai Temple to find someone for Auntie. When Pan Ling worries that the hostile neighbor may bother her, the narrator says they will report him—and, if needed, use a talisman containing his blood to kill him.

Character developments and interactions

• Sister-in-law moves from fearful uncertainty to a heartfelt reunion with her husband. Even after learning he is dead, she embraces him and affirms that he is still her husband and their child’s father.
• Brother Wang shows remorse over having spent so little time caring for his family while away on missions. He tries to comfort his wife, though the reunion is painful.
• The narrator acts compassionately by helping the couple meet and giving them privacy, but remains fiercely protective of Auntie and willing to use lethal force against the neighbor.
• Mao Jing, Zhang Yuchen, and Pan Ling support the narrator’s plans; Pan Ling specifically raises concern about the neighbor’s threat.

Significant themes

• Love and devotion transcend death: Sister-in-law’s bond with Brother Wang persists despite his being a ghost.
• Grief and acceptance: The reunion gives the couple a brief chance to confront their loss together.
• Protection and justice: The narrator distinguishes between treating good people kindly and stopping those who harm them.
• Love’s symbols and personal choice: The Golden Osmanthus Tree represents the couple’s relationship, while the neighbor’s Feng Shui objection is portrayed as an unwelcome intrusion into their home.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

Sister-in-law agrees to use the Bagua Mirror to keep Brother Wang’s ghost in the human world for up to three months, delaying—but not preventing—their final separation. The group stays for dinner so she can continue communicating with him through Pan Ling’s translation. They help her shop and cook, and Brother Wang drinks and plays games with them, enjoying a brief return to ordinary family life. The group spends the night at his home.
The next morning, the protagonist learns from Director Long that the Dragon Group will arrange Brother Wang’s funeral and protect his family’s future. After breakfast, the group says an emotional farewell and leaves for Dai Temple on Tongtian Street to seek one of Auntie’s old acquaintances. Before they depart, two hostile young men are spotted watching them, likely connected to Fatty Qiong, whom they defeated previously.

Character developments

Sister-in-law gradually moves from shock and grief toward acceptance. Though still emotional, she is able to converse, laugh, eat, and share a final pleasant evening with her husband. She chooses not to tell their child about Brother Wang’s death until the child returns from boarding school, intending to explain it carefully. Brother Wang becomes more relaxed and cheerful after returning home, expressing gratitude and enjoying food, drink, and companionship despite his ghostly state. The protagonist and companions show compassion by helping the family and promising continued support.

Significant themes

The chapter focuses on love persisting beyond death, the pain and necessity of farewell, and the importance of granting the living time to accept loss. It also highlights friendship, duty, and compassion within a supernatural world. Brother Wang’s temporary return offers emotional closure, while the three-month limit emphasizes that such reunions can only postpone—not erase—the natural order between life and death.

Character interactions

Pan Ling translates Brother Wang’s words so he and his wife can communicate directly. The protagonist, Zhang Yuchen, and Mao Jing assist Sister-in-law with household tasks and share drinks with Brother Wang. Sister-in-law repeatedly expresses gratitude for bringing her husband home, while the group reassures her that she can seek their help in the future. Brother Wang and his wife exchange a symbolic final embrace, and both sides part with promises to meet again in the next life. The chapter ends by introducing a potential new conflict when two hostile youths appear to be monitoring the group.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The group successfully reunites Brother Wang’s ghost with his wife using the Bagua Mirror. Although the mirror allows him to remain for a limited period, he can stay for no more than three months before being forced to return to the underworld.
• Brother Wang and his wife understand that their reunion is temporary, but the Bagua Mirror gives her time to gradually accept his death.
• The group initially prepares to leave, but Sister-in-law insists they stay for dinner so she can continue communicating with Brother Wang through Pan Ling’s translation.
• The group spends the afternoon helping her shop and cook. Her child is away at school, and she decides to wait before revealing Brother Wang’s death.
• During dinner, Sister-in-law’s grief slowly softens. She moves between tears, conversation, laughter, and instinctively placing food in Brother Wang’s empty seat, showing that she is beginning to accept reality.
• Brother Wang relaxes after returning home, explaining that he had avoided drinking in Japan to conceal his ghostly nature. The group drinks and plays games with him, eventually spending the night at his home.
• The next morning, the narrator receives confirmation from Director Long that the Dragon Group will arrange Brother Wang’s funeral, protect his family, and provide for their future livelihood.
• The group says an emotional farewell. Sister-in-law thanks them for giving her a final period with her husband, while Brother Wang symbolically embraces her despite being unable to touch her.
• The group leaves for Dai Temple on Tongtian Street to search for one of Auntie’s old acquaintances.
• Before they depart, two hostile-looking men outside the residential complex attract the narrator’s attention. He suspects they may be connected to Fatty Qiong, whom the group defeated the previous day.

Character Developments

• Sister-in-law moves from shock and devastation toward reluctant acceptance. Her emotional fluctuations show that she is beginning to process Brother Wang’s death, though the coming permanent separation will still be painful.
• Brother Wang becomes more peaceful and cheerful after seeing his wife again. He expresses gratitude, enjoys ordinary domestic pleasures, and accepts that the reunion cannot last forever.
• The narrator and companions demonstrate compassion by staying with the couple, helping with dinner, translating their conversation, and offering future assistance.
• The narrator remains emotionally affected by the farewell but quickly returns to his investigative and protective mindset when he notices the suspicious men.
• The Dragon Group is shown to be responsible and supportive, ensuring that Brother Wang’s family will receive protection and financial help.

Significant Themes

• Love beyond death: Brother Wang and his wife are separated physically and spiritually, yet their affection remains strong.
• Grief and acceptance: The chapter portrays mourning as a gradual process, with brief moments of normality helping Sister-in-law face the truth.
• Temporary reunions and inevitable separation: The Bagua Mirror provides hope but cannot overcome the rules of life, death, and the underworld.
• Compassion and duty: The group’s willingness to stay, help, and protect Brother Wang’s family emphasizes the importance of human kindness.
• Farewell and reincarnation: The promise to “meet again in the next life” gives the painful separation a sense of hope.
• The supernatural within ordinary life: Cooking, drinking, family concerns, and farewells occur alongside ghosts, cultivation, and underworld laws.

Character Interactions

• Sister-in-law repeatedly urges the group to stay, using their translation abilities to prolong her conversations with Brother Wang.
• Pan Ling translates Brother Wang’s words, allowing the couple to communicate directly.
• The narrator, Zhang Yuchen, and Mao Jing help Sister-in-law buy food and prepare dinner.
• Brother Wang joins the group in drinking and playing finger-guessing games, creating a temporary atmosphere of ordinary family companionship.
• The group reassures Sister-in-law that she can contact them in the future and offers to host her in Mountain City.
• At the doorway, Brother Wang symbolically holds his wife as everyone exchanges final farewells.
• After leaving, the group shifts from emotional mourning to the next mission, while the narrator remains alert to the two men watching them suspiciously.

The narrator and Mao Jing met Iron Pillar, Liu Hongmei’s husband, at his antique shop and used a video call with Uncle Yu to confirm their connection to Auntie Lu Rou. Iron Pillar revealed that Liu Hongmei had fallen ill after buying antiques, and he agreed to let the narrator examine her.

• The narrator told Iron Pillar that Auntie Lu Rou had sent them to reconnect with Liu Hongmei.
• The narrator video-called Uncle Yu, and he and Iron Pillar recognized each other after thirty years.
• Uncle Yu told Iron Pillar that Lu Rou’s soul had asked him to send the narrator to find Liu Hongmei.
• Iron Pillar said Liu Hongmei had fallen ill after buying antiques, and the narrator and Uncle Yu suspected an evil illness.
• Iron Pillar agreed to take the narrator to see Liu Hongmei.

The narrator found Iron Pillar, Auntie Liu’s husband, and confirmed their connection to Auntie Lu Rou and Uncle Yu through a video call. After learning Liu Hongmei had fallen ill following an antiques purchase, the narrator and Uncle Yu suspected an evil illness and arranged to examine her.

• The narrator told Iron Pillar that Auntie Lu Rou had sent them to reconnect with Liu Hongmei, who had been out of touch for thirty years.
• The narrator called Uncle Yu, and he and Iron Pillar recognized each other from their meeting in Mountain City.
• Uncle Yu told Iron Pillar that Lu Rou’s soul had asked him to send his martial nephew to find Liu Hongmei.
• Iron Pillar explained that Liu Hongmei had become ill after buying antiques half a month earlier and that the hospital could not treat her.
• The narrator and Uncle Yu suspected an evil illness, and Iron Pillar agreed to take the narrator to see Liu Hongmei.

Jiang Ning and the others found Auntie Liu near death from a haunting and prepared talisman water to strengthen her yang energy. After Mao Jing made the water and Uncle Tie Zhu brought it to her, they prepared to help her drink it while the unclean presence remained at large.

• Iron Pillar led Jiang Ning and the others to Hongmei’s room, where they found her gravely ill and surrounded by ghostly energy.
• Jiang Ning identified an unclean presence as the cause, and Zhang Yuchen said talisman water, nourishing food, and sunlight could help her recover.
• Mao Jing revealed that he had a Yin-Transforming Talisman and offered to prepare talisman water.
• Iron Pillar brought well water, and Mao Jing burned the talisman to dispel the room’s ghostly energy and make the talisman water.
• Pan Ling helped support Auntie Liu as Iron Pillar brought the talisman water to her bedside.

Chapter Summary: Talisman Water and Auntie Liu’s Recovery

Key Plot Points and Events

• Uncle Tie Zhu gives Auntie Liu the Talisman Water while she is extremely weak and ill.
• The water causes her to vomit a foul-smelling black substance, which Jiang Ning explains is the yin ghost aura being expelled from her body.
• After vomiting, Auntie Liu’s breathing improves, her chest tightness disappears, and color returns to her face. Her recovery confirms that the Talisman Water is working.
• Jiang Ning tells her that his aunt, Lu Rou—Auntie Liu’s longtime friend—is still alive and safe. He proves this by showing her a sunflower-engraved safety token that Auntie Liu had once given Lu Rou.
• Auntie Liu becomes emotional and eagerly looks forward to reuniting with Lu Rou.
• Once her condition stabilizes, Jiang Ning asks Auntie Liu to explain how her illness began.
• She recalls that her symptoms started after collecting antiques. She felt followed, slept for two days, developed a high fever, and later experienced insomnia, weakness, fear of light and dry air, and the constant sensation of being watched.
• Jiang Ning concludes that a sinister entity attached itself to her, likely through the antiques. Since it is not currently present, he and the others decide to remain at the house and wait for it to return so they can destroy it.

Character Developments

• Auntie Liu: Begins the chapter near death but rapidly regains strength after taking the Talisman Water. She becomes more alert, hopeful, and emotionally moved upon learning that Lu Rou survived.
• Uncle Tie Zhu: Shows deep devotion and concern for his wife, supporting her during the vomiting and cleaning her without hesitation. His fear turns into joy as her health improves.
• Jiang Ning: Demonstrates knowledge of supernatural illnesses and takes charge of diagnosing the problem. He also acts as the messenger connecting Auntie Liu and Lu Rou.
• Lu Rou: Though absent, her survival becomes an important source of hope and emotional relief for Auntie Liu.

Significant Themes

• Love and loyalty: Uncle Tie Zhu’s unwavering care for his wife emphasizes marital devotion.
• Hope and reunion: The revelation that Lu Rou is alive gives Auntie Liu a powerful reason to recover.
• Supernatural illness and exorcism: The chapter presents Talisman Water as a means of drawing out and expelling spiritual corruption.
• Truth through memory and evidence: Auntie Liu’s account and the safety token help uncover the connection between her illness and the antique collection.
• Persistence against evil: Jiang Ning and the others prepare to confront the entity directly rather than merely treating its effects.

Important Character Interactions

• Uncle Tie Zhu anxiously cares for Auntie Liu while Jiang Ning reassures him that her vomiting is a normal reaction.
• Jiang Ning introduces himself and delivers Lu Rou’s message, using the safety token to convince Auntie Liu that her friend is alive.
• Auntie Liu and Uncle Tie Zhu share an emotional moment as her health improves and she expresses her determination to reunite with Lu Rou.
• Jiang Ning questions Auntie Liu about her illness, listens to her account, and explains that the evil presence likely came from the antiques.

Chapter Summary: “Stay Behind, Three Old Antiques”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The group investigates Auntie Liu’s illness, suspecting that it is connected to a batch of four antiques she recently purchased.
• Iron Pillar reveals that three of the antiques remain in the house:
  • A Jiaqing-era purple Duan inkstone
  • A Daoguang-era white-copper snuff bottle with silver-wire inlay
  • A Guangxu-era rosewood offering plate with mother-of-pearl inlay
• The fourth item, a cracked Qianlong famille-rose cup, was sold for a large profit. Because the remaining antiques show no obvious danger, the group suspects the sold cup may have been the source of the haunting.
• Mao Jing points out that this theory is uncertain: the cup was sold long ago, yet the evil Yin energy remains in the house and continues to torment Auntie Liu.
• Rather than continue speculating, the group decides to stay overnight beside Auntie Liu and confront the evil entity when it returns.
• The building is thoroughly inspected, including with Pan Ling’s Yin-Yang Eyes, but no clear supernatural presence is found. The strongest Yin energy comes from the three remaining antiques, though it appears faint and relatively harmless.
• The group contacts Uncle Yu through a video call and explains the situation. He urges them to deal with the matter carefully.
• Uncle Yu speaks with Auntie Liu, who is familiar with him and his companion, Auntie. Once Liu recovers, she plans to travel to the South of the Ridges to visit Auntie, who is preparing to return to her hometown with Uncle Yu.
• Meanwhile, the protagonist notices two suspicious young men watching the building from across the street, confirming that the group may be under surveillance.

Character Developments

• The protagonist remains cautious and observant, recognizing the possible connection between the antiques and Liu’s illness while also noticing the suspicious watchers outside.
• Mao Jing demonstrates a methodical and skeptical attitude. He asks to inspect the antiques and challenges the assumption that they are definitely responsible for the haunting.
• Zhang Yuchen takes a direct, practical approach, arguing that the group should simply wait for the evil entity and kill it when it appears.
• Iron Pillar is relieved by the group’s decision to protect Liu and tries to show his gratitude by offering to cook his signature dish, Nine-Turn Intestines.
• Auntie Liu remains weak but participates in the investigation and reconnects warmly with Uncle Yu. Her promise to visit Auntie after recovering suggests an ongoing relationship and future storyline.
• Uncle Yu acts as a concerned adviser, taking the situation seriously and encouraging the group to resolve it properly.

Significant Themes

• Uncertainty and incomplete evidence: The antiques contain traces of Yin energy, but none clearly explains Liu’s condition. The chapter emphasizes the danger of drawing conclusions too quickly.
• Practical action versus overthinking: Zhang Yuchen’s straightforward plan—wait for the evil entity and confront it—offers an alternative to endless speculation.
• Hidden threats and surveillance: The suspicious men outside suggest that the supernatural case may also involve human enemies or an organized force monitoring the group.
• Friendship and mutual protection: The group stays behind to defend Auntie Liu, while Uncle Yu remains involved despite being away.
• The danger hidden in ordinary objects: Although the antiques appear harmless and merely old or damaged, their connection to Yin energy keeps them under suspicion.

Character Interactions

• Mao Jing questions Iron Pillar about the antiques and discusses possible causes with the protagonist.
• The protagonist and Mao Jing debate whether the sold Qianlong cup is responsible, while Zhang Yuchen cuts through their uncertainty with his direct suggestion.
• Iron Pillar welcomes the group’s decision to protect Liu and offers them a meal as thanks.
• The group collectively inspects the building and antiques, reinforcing their teamwork.
• Uncle Yu and Auntie Liu share a familiar conversation during the video call, with Liu expressing her intention to visit Auntie once she recovers.
• The chapter ends with the group preparing for a night of waiting, while an unknown external threat watches them from outside.

After Auntie Liu recovered, Uncle Tie Zhu hosted a dinner to thank the group, but a Qing Dynasty queue ghost appeared and Pan Ling subdued him. The ghost claimed his master had ordered him to haunt Auntie Liu.

• Uncle Tie Zhu prepared a Shandong dinner and treated the group to aged liquor while Auntie Liu recovered enough to sit with them.
• A chill and ghostly aura entered the room, and Pan Ling went to confront the approaching spirit.
• Pan Ling defeated a gaunt queue ghost in the courtyard and dragged him into the house.
• The group made the queue ghost kneel, and he said his master had ordered him to haunt Auntie Liu.

Chapter Summary: “Slave Stele Ghost, and a Few More Have Arrived”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The group discovers that the supernatural attacks on the Liu family were orchestrated by the Qiong Family, specifically Qiong Wuliang, a tomb raider skilled in unorthodox ghost-controlling techniques.
• The Braided Ghost explains that Qiong Wuliang sold the Liu family an ancient burial object along with three other antiques. The burial item allowed him to control the Slave Stele Ghosts and send them to attack the family.
• Qiong Wuliang later bought back one of the antiques, leaving three defective antiques marked with ghostly energy in the Liu family’s shop. These markings allowed the Braided Ghost to enter and leave freely, bypassing the shop’s protective defenses.
• The group concludes that Qiong Wuliang is the true mastermind and decides to eliminate him before he can cause further harm. Although they normally avoid killing ordinary people, they feel no moral hesitation about stopping someone who deliberately uses ghosts to harm others.
• Before they can leave, another wave of ghostly energy enters the courtyard. Four or five additional Braided Ghosts arrive, intending to haunt the entire household and drain the vitality of its inhabitants.
• One ghost attacks Zhang Yuchen, attracted by his strong yang energy. Zhang effortlessly grabs and crushes it, causing its ghostly form to explode into phosphorescent fire.
• The remaining ghosts panic, realizing that Zhang and the others are far more powerful than they expected. Zhang coldly tells them that they will die as well.

Character Developments

• The narrator/Jiang: Connects the clues surrounding the antiques and identifies Qiong Wuliang’s method. He adopts a decisive attitude, arguing that the threat must be eliminated completely rather than merely contained.
• The Braided Ghost: Reveals the full scheme and confirms that he was only a subordinate controlled through the burial object. His confession clarifies that the ghostly energy on the antiques was deliberately placed to facilitate the attacks.
• Zhang Yuchen: Shows confidence and overwhelming physical power by destroying one of the attacking ghosts with ease. His dismissive attitude toward the weak spirits emphasizes his growing dominance in supernatural confrontations.
• Qiong Wuliang: Emerges as a manipulative antagonist who combines tomb artifacts, ghostly energy, and controlled spirits to target the Liu family indirectly.
• Fatty Qiong: Is implied to possess some awareness of supernatural matters, explaining his opposition to the Golden Osmanthus Tree, though he is less powerful and is expected to be dealt with by the Dragon Group.

Significant Themes

• Rooting out evil completely: The narrator emphasizes that leaving even a minor accomplice alive could allow the danger to return, reflecting the principle of eliminating threats at their source.
• Manipulation and exploitation: Qiong Wuliang weaponizes antiques and enslaved ghosts to harm innocent people while remaining hidden behind intermediaries.
• Power imbalance: The attacking ghosts believe they are predators, but their sudden defeat reveals the vast difference between ordinary wandering spirits and the protagonists.
• Justice versus moral limits: The group distinguishes between killing ordinary people, which violates their principles, and eliminating practitioners who deliberately use forbidden arts to kill others.
• Hidden supernatural mechanisms: The chapter highlights how protective rules surrounding haunted antiques can be exploited through ghostly markings and cursed burial objects.

Character Interactions

• The narrator questions the Braided Ghost, who confesses how Qiong Wuliang used the antiques and the Slave Stele Ghosts.
• Zhang Yuchen consults the narrator about the next step, and the group agrees to pursue Qiong Wuliang.
• The newly arrived ghosts mock their kneeling “Fourth Brother” and discuss attacking the living occupants.
• One ghost attempts to drain Zhang Yuchen’s yang energy, but Zhang captures and destroys him instantly, terrifying the others and setting up the next confrontation.

Chapter Summary

• Revelation about the ghost’s master: After Whip Ghost accidentally mentions having a “master,” Jiang and the others become suspicious. Zhang Yuchen intimidates and questions him, forcing the ghost to confess that his master is Qiong Wuliang, owner of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
• Connection to the Liu family’s troubles: Auntie Liu and Uncle Tie Zhu recognize the name. Qiong Wuliang has long wanted to purchase their antique shop because of its favorable Feng Shui. When they refused, he sent his nephew, Fatty Qiong, a powerful local loan shark and former construction contractor, to harass them. Fatty Qiong’s thugs disrupted the shop’s business, revealing that the supernatural attack was connected to an ongoing commercial conflict.
• Fatty Qiong’s identity: The group realizes that Fatty Qiong is the same large, intimidating man associated with the Wang family whom they previously defeated. His family is not merely a group of ordinary street thugs; Qiong Wuliang is apparently a practitioner of heterodox and evil cultivation methods.
• Whip Ghost’s origins: The ghost explains that he is an Enslaved Soul from an ancient tomb. He was buried alive as a funeral sacrifice and cursed to serve whoever controlled a Slave Stele, an ancient artifact inscribed with servants’ identities and blood marks. Qiong Wuliang possesses the stele and used it to command the ghost to torment Auntie Liu and absorb her yang essence.
• Qiong Wuliang’s larger operation: When questioned about the artifact and other enslaved ghosts, Whip Ghost reveals that Qiong Wuliang is actually a tomb raider. In Yanbei, Qiong stole the ghost from the tomb of his former master, Hesheli Antai, and also unearthed forty-nine other enslaved ghosts. He has since controlled them to eliminate rivals and further his own plans.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Zhang Yuchen shifts quickly from suspicion to direct intimidation, using his Vitality Soul Realm cultivation and physical force to compel Whip Ghost’s confession.
• Jiang remains calm and analytical, recognizing that the discovery gives the group justification to confront Qiong Wuliang without restraint.
• Auntie Liu and Uncle Tie Zhu learn that the attacks on their shop were part of Qiong Wuliang’s deliberate scheme to force them out and acquire their property.
• Mao Jing helps identify Fatty Qiong, linking the local criminal figure to the supernatural conspiracy.
• Whip Ghost changes from an attacker into a terrified informant, claiming he acted under compulsion rather than personal choice.

Significant Themes

• Hidden power behind ordinary crime: A seemingly mundane dispute over an antique shop conceals sorcery, evil cultivation, and ghost control.
• Exploitation and enslavement: The Slave Stele represents the continued abuse of servants and victims even after death, while Qiong Wuliang extends that ancient oppression for his own benefit.
• Uncovering a larger conspiracy: The revelation of forty-nine additional Enslaved Souls dramatically expands the threat beyond a single haunting.
• Justice and retaliation: The group’s anger grows as they realize Qiong Wuliang deliberately targeted the Liu family, creating a clear motive for confronting him.

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Yuchen swiftly kills three of the four remaining ghosts, using sheer speed and physical attacks rather than spells or talismans. Jiang calls for him to spare the last one, and Zhang captures it.
• The captured ghost explains that the group came under orders from their master, Qiong Wuliang, who wanted revenge because his nephew Fatty Qiong had been beaten.
• Pan Ling confirms Qiong Wuliang’s identity, and the ghosts reveal that he is at Taiyun Villa District, about twenty minutes away.
• Uncle Tie Zhu realizes the attackers are connected to the person who harmed Auntie Liu. Jiang tells the couple to rest while the group prepares to deal with Qiong Wuliang.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Yuchen shows overwhelming confidence and fighting ability, treating the battle almost like a performance. He obeys Jiang’s instruction to keep one ghost alive.
• Jiang remains calm and investigative, questioning the captive and piecing together the link between the haunting and Fatty Qiong.
• Pan Ling reassures Uncle Tie Zhu and Auntie Liu, who are frightened by the bursts of ghostfire.
• The captive ghosts shift from threatening intruders to terrified prisoners, pleading for mercy and blaming their master.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: The ghosts’ intended victims prove far more formidable than they expected.
• Responsibility and coercion: The captive claims the ghosts acted under Qiong Wuliang’s orders, though their participation still brought danger to the household.
• Retribution: Qiong Wuliang’s attempt to avenge his nephew’s beating draws the group’s attention and sets up a direct confrontation.