Chapter Summaries

Key Plot Points and Events

• Big Guy's legs are fully healed, and he leaves to see the seaside.
• Bai Ze, Fuxi, and Four-Unlike revisit the Pillar in the south. The Pillar reveals that the world will remain quiet for a long time, and it cannot see what lies ahead.
• Bai Ze stays in the city for a few more years, witnessing its gradual emptying as people leave or pass away. He eventually decides to revisit the Pillar to ask about the eyes.
• Bai Ze leaves the city with Four-Unlike, planning to return to the Pillar.

Character Developments

• Big Guy regains his mobility and leaves the city to see the seaside.
• Bai Ze remains in the city, helping its inhabitants and witnessing its changes over time.
• Nuwa, Wutian, and Houtu visit the city, each bringing updates about the world outside.
• Randeng continues to stand guard in the east, though he doesn't visit the city.
• The city's inhabitants grow and change, with some staying, some leaving, and some passing away.

Significant Themes

• Healing and Recovery: Big Guy's legs heal, symbolizing the city's recovery and the return of normalcy.
• Change and Impermanence: The city gradually empties, reflecting the transience of life and the passage of time.
• Knowledge and Uncertainty: The Pillar's revelations about the future are limited, emphasizing the uncertainty of what lies ahead.

Character Interactions

• Bai Ze interacts with various characters, including Big Guy, Nuwa, Wutian, Houtu, and the city's inhabitants, showing his role as a helper and guide.
• Nuwa and Bai Ze share a moment of reflection on the city's future, with Nuwa expressing concern for Bai Ze's safety.
• Stone and Bai Ze share a farewell, highlighting their close relationship and Stone's role as a caretaker of the city.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Ze visits a mysterious entity in a valley, seeking answers about the eyes that have been watching the world.
• The entity reveals that the eyes are searching for the reason why some living beings kneel while others do not, and why some rise again after kneeling, while others cannot.
• The entity tells Bai Ze that he possesses the answer, which is the belief in doing what one ought to do.
• Bai Ze returns to the city and shares his experience with Nuwa, Fuxi, and A-Fu.
• Bai Ze decides to record the stories of those who stood and those who knelt on stone slabs.
• Bai Ze and Fuxi spend months carving the stories and names of countless individuals onto stone slabs on the back mountain.
• A-Fu asks Bai Ze to carve his mother's name on the stone slabs, which he does.

Character Developments

• Bai Ze: Bai Ze continues to seek understanding about the world and its inhabitants. He becomes determined to record the stories of those who have made a difference, ensuring their memories live on.
• Fuxi: Fuxi demonstrates his dedication to preserving history by helping Bai Ze carve the stone slabs. He shows empathy and understanding when A-Fu asks for his mother's name to be included.
• A-Fu: A-Fu shows his love and respect for his mother by asking Bai Ze to carve her name on the stone slabs. This action reveals his deep emotional connection to her memory.

Significant Themes

• The power of memory and storytelling: The act of recording the stories and names of individuals serves as a means of preserving their legacies and ensuring they are not forgotten.
• The importance of standing up for one's beliefs: The entity in the valley emphasizes the significance of believing in one's actions and doing what one ought to do, even in the face of adversity.
• The passage of time and the cycle of life: The story highlights the enduring nature of the city and its inhabitants, as well as the changes that occur over time, such as the growth of grass on the frozen earth and the aging of characters like Wutian.

Character Interactions

• Bai Ze and the entity in the valley: Their interaction reveals the entity's wisdom and Bai Ze's determination to understand the world's mysteries.
• Bai Ze and Nuwa: Nuwa supports Bai Ze's decision to record the stories of those who stood and those who knelt, demonstrating her faith in his actions.
• Bai Ze and Fuxi: The two work together to carve the stone slabs, showcasing their friendship and shared commitment to preserving history.
• A-Fu and Bai Ze: A-Fu's request to have his mother's name carved on the stone slabs highlights the emotional connection between them and the importance of honoring one's loved ones.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Ze prepares to leave the city, spending his days on the back mountain with Fuxi, writing books for the children, and his nights in the temple.
• The settlement site is emptied as Nuwa finishes treating the last patient.
• Bai Ze and Nuwa stand on the city wall, discussing the city's future and the possibility of Bai Ze leaving.
• Fuxi discovers a disturbance in the north and shares his findings with Bai Ze.
• Houtu investigates the disturbance and reports back to Bai Ze, describing an enormous pit with an ancient entity waiting inside.

Character Developments

• Bai Ze reflects on his life and the city's future, considering leaving to investigate the disturbance in the north.
• Fuxi continues his scholarly pursuits, writing books and monitoring the city's welfare.
• Nuwa completes her task of treating the afflicted and considers the city's future without her presence.
• Houtu demonstrates her bravery and resourcefulness by investigating the disturbance in the north.

Significant Themes

• The passage of time and the city's evolution.
• The responsibility of the divine to protect and guide humanity.
• The unknown and the ancient forces that shaped the world.

Character Interactions

• Bai Ze and Nuwa share a moment of reflection on the city wall, discussing its future and Bai Ze's potential departure.
• Bai Ze and Fuxi collaborate on writing books for the children and discuss the disturbance in the north.
• Bai Ze and Houtu maintain communication regarding the disturbance, with Houtu providing crucial information.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Ze and Four-Unlike journey north to investigate the source of the aberration.
• They discover a massive pit containing a slumbering entity, which Bai Ze believes is a grave.
• Upon their return, they learn that the entity has started moving more violently, preparing to emerge.
• Bai Ze and Wutian return to the pit and confirm the entity's awakening. They decide to wait and observe its actions.

Character Developments

• Bai Ze: He demonstrates his determination and courage by venturing into the unknown to investigate the aberration. He also shows wisdom in deciding to wait and observe the entity's actions rather than acting rashly.
• Wutian: Despite his frail health, Wutian accompanies Bai Ze on his journey, revealing his resilience and desire to uncover the truth about the entity.
• Nuwa and Fuxi: They display their concern for the well-being of the people and their willingness to prepare for the entity's emergence, showing their responsibility as leaders.

Significant Themes

• Investigation and Discovery: Bai Ze's journey north to find the source of the aberration highlights the theme of investigation and discovery, as he seeks to understand the cause of the phenomenon and its potential consequences.
• Responsibility and Preparedness: Nuwa and Fuxi's actions in preparing for the entity's emergence emphasize the theme of responsibility and preparedness, as they work to ensure the safety of their people and the city.
• The Unknown and the Uncontrollable: The entity's awakening and its unpredictable nature underscore the theme of the unknown and the uncontrollable, as the characters must confront the reality that some forces are beyond their control.

Character Interactions

• Bai Ze and Nuwa: Their interaction reveals their deep connection and shared history, as Nuwa expresses her concern for Bai Ze's safety and offers to accompany him on his journey.
• Bai Ze and Wutian: Their journey together strengthens their bond, with Wutian revealing his knowledge of the entity's origins and Bai Ze demonstrating his respect for Wutian's wisdom and experience.
• Bai Ze, Nuwa, and Fuxi: Their collaboration in responding to the entity's emergence showcases their unity and shared purpose, as they work together to protect their people and the city.

Key Plot Points and Events

• A crimson, otherworldly entity emerges from the north, causing tremors and panic.
• Bai Ze, Nuwa, and Fuxi witness the entity's passage, which leaves half the city's runes shattered.
• The entity leaves and does not return, as it has gone to "Chaos," a place beyond heaven and earth.
• Wutian leaves the city to return to his hometown, Demonic Path City.
• Life in the city returns to normal, with the orchard expanding and the school receiving new students.
• Bai Ze visits the school daily to help Stone teach the children, acting as a gatekeeper figure.

Character Developments

• Bai Ze: He continues to fulfill his role as the city's gatekeeper, showing care and patience with the children at the school. He reflects on his own aging and the passage of time.
• Wutian: He decides to return to his empty hometown, Demonic Path City, accepting the reality of his life's end.
• Stone: He takes on the responsibility of teaching the city's children, showing dedication and patience. He ages but remains active and engaged.
• Pillar: He visits the stone tablets, showing reverence for the past and the people who have passed. He has aged significantly but remains lively.

Significant Themes

• Time and Aging: The passage of time is evident in the characters' aging and the city's growth. The entity's emergence and departure serve as a reminder of the impermanence of life and the world.
• Memory and Legacy: The stone tablets represent the city's history and the people who have contributed to it. The children learning about the city's origins suggest a continuation of its legacy.
• Resilience and Adaptation: Despite the entity's destructive passage, life in the city returns to normal, showing the inhabitants' resilience and ability to adapt to change.

Character Interactions

• Bai Ze and Nuwa: They stand together to face the entity, showing unity and mutual support.
• Bai Ze and Fuxi: They exchange information about the entity and its aftermath, demonstrating their shared responsibility for the city's well-being.
• Bai Ze and Wutian: They share a moment of understanding as Wutian decides to leave the city, with Bai Ze respecting his decision.
• Bai Ze and Stone: They work together at the school, showing camaraderie and shared purpose in educating the city's children.
• Bai Ze and Pillar: They reunite at the stone tablets, acknowledging the passage of time and the city's history.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Ze receives a jade slip from Fuxi about a strange energy in the west, near the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
• Fuxi leaves to investigate the energy, sending back brief letters with updates.
• Bai Ze visits the western valley once a year to observe the stone in the pit, which is growing slowly.
• Jieyin and Zhunnti become involved, with Jieyin sitting beside the pit and Zhunnti trying to persuade him to leave.
• Fuxi discovers that the stone is a fragment that fell from the sky, and there are many such fragments scattered throughout the Primordial World.
• Bai Ze heals Little Flower, a girl from the school, using his divine energy.

Character Developments

• Bai Ze: He continues his daily life in the city, teaching at the schoolhouse, and visiting the western valley annually. He shows compassion by healing Little Flower.
• Fuxi: He investigates the western energy, discovers it's a fragment, and deduces that there are many such fragments. He remains dedicated to his research.
• Jieyin: He becomes obsessed with the stone in the western pit, sitting beside it and refusing to leave. He believes the stone is connected to the Creation of Heaven and Earth.
• Zhunnti: He tries to persuade Jieyin to leave the pit but fails. He acknowledges Bai Ze's perspective on Jieyin's situation.
• Stone: He grows older and needs help walking. He reflects on the potential futures of the children he teaches.
• Little Flower: She falls and gets injured during play, but Bai Ze heals her wound.

Significant Themes

• Observation and Understanding: Characters observe phenomena (like the western stone) to understand their nature and origins.
• Growth and Change: The stone in the western pit grows slowly, symbolizing gradual change over time.
• Compassion and Healing: Bai Ze demonstrates compassion by healing Little Flower, showing his care for the people around him.

Character Interactions

• Bai Ze and Fuxi: They exchange information about the western energy/fragment, with Fuxi providing updates and Bai Ze visiting the site annually.
• Bai Ze and Jieyin: They meet at the western pit, and Jieyin shares his theory about the stone's connection to the Creation of Heaven and Earth.
• Bai Ze and Zhunnti: They discuss Jieyin's situation, with Zhunnti trying to persuade Jieyin to leave and Bai Ze acknowledging Jieyin's choice.
• Bai Ze and Stone: They discuss the potential futures of the children at the schoolhouse, reflecting on the diversity of human lives.
• Bai Ze and Little Flower: Bai Ze heals Little Flower's wound, showing his compassion and connection to the children in the city.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fuxi discovers a large fragment beneath the East Sea, moving rapidly.
• Bai Ze accompanies Fuxi to investigate the fragment, finding it embedded in the seabed with strange patterns and a cold, ancient presence within.
• Fuxi decides to stay and watch over the fragment as it begins to crack open, emitting a warm, golden light.
• Jieyin arrives, recognizing the light as similar to that beneath his Land of Ultimate Bliss, suggesting fragments may be widespread.
• Bai Ze shares this information with Nuwa, who ponders the implications and the origin of the fragments.

Character Developments

• Fuxi: Becomes increasingly obsessed with the East Sea fragment, choosing to stay and monitor its movements despite the danger and personal cost.
• Bai Ze: Continues his role as a messenger and intermediary, traveling between Fuxi, Nuwa, and other characters. He also shows concern for Fuxi's well-being.
• Nuwa: Demonstrates curiosity and thoughtfulness when considering the implications of the fragments' origin and distribution.
• Jieyin: Shows initiative in investigating the potential fragment beneath the Land of Ultimate Bliss, connecting it to the East Sea fragment.

Significant Themes

• The Origin of the World: The idea that the Primordial World might have been built upon fragments challenges the notion of Chaos as the sole creator.
• The Nature of Fragments: The discovery of more fragments and their unique properties (like the warm, golden light) deepens the mystery surrounding these objects.
• Responsibility and Sacrifice: Fuxi's decision to watch over the East Sea fragment despite the risks highlights his sense of duty and responsibility.

Character Interactions

• Bai Ze and Fuxi: Their bond deepens as Bai Ze supports Fuxi's decision to stay at the East Sea, even if he disagrees with it.
• Bai Ze and Nuwa: They share information and discuss its implications, demonstrating their trust and mutual respect.
• Fuxi, Bai Ze, and Jieyin: The three sit together watching the East Sea fragment, symbolizing unity and shared purpose in the face of uncertainty.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Ze travels to the Land of Ultimate Bliss to investigate the fragment, accompanied by Four-Unlike.
• He finds the fragment larger and brighter than the one in the East Sea, and learns from Jieyin that it might be a trace left by Pangu's axe.
• Upon returning, Bai Ze shares this theory with Nuwa, Fuxi, and Wutian, who also find it intriguing.
• Bai Ze visits Mount Buzhou and discovers a vast number of stones carved with names, including those on the icy Stone in his possession.
• He meets Ao Chen, who tells him about Stone's death and Pillar's declining health.

Character Developments

• Bai Ze: He becomes more determined to uncover the truth about the fragments and Pangu's axe, visiting significant locations and sharing his findings with others.
• Nuwa: She remains steadfast in her duties, keeping watch over the city and showing concern for Bai Ze's safety.
• Fuxi: He continues to monitor the fragment in the East Sea, awaiting its emergence.
• Wutian: He decides to search for a jade slip left by Luohu, which might contain information about Pangu's axe.
• Ao Chen: He has aged significantly and can no longer travel as easily as before. He still visits Mount Buzhou annually to pay respects to the names carved on the stones.
• Stone: He passes away, leaving behind a grieving Pillar.

Significant Themes

• The Truth Behind the Fragments: The characters explore the possibility that the fragments are not from Chaos but left behind by Pangu's axe during the creation of Heaven.
• Aging and Mortality: Ao Chen's aging and Stone's death highlight the passage of time and the inevitability of death.
• The Power of Names: The names carved on the stones at Mount Buzhou hold significance, possibly representing those who have passed on or are connected to the creation of Heaven.

Character Interactions

• Bai Ze and Nuwa: They share a close bond, with Nuwa expressing concern for Bai Ze's safety and Bai Ze confiding in her about his findings.
• Bai Ze and Fuxi: They maintain a respectful relationship, with Fuxi sharing his observations about the fragment in the East Sea and Bai Ze seeking his opinion on the theory about Pangu's axe.
• Bai Ze and Wutian: They collaborate in their search for information about Pangu's axe, with Wutian planning to search Luohu's tomb and Bai Ze visiting Mount Buzhou.
• Bai Ze and Ao Chen: They reunite on Mount Buzhou, reminiscing about the past and sharing news of their respective communities.

Bai Ze learned that Pangu’s Axe lay within the East Sea fragment and answered the axe’s questions about whether Pangu was right to create heaven and whether the world was worth it. He returned to the city with the now-dark axe, leaving the other fragments and their mysteries unresolved.

• Bai Ze carved Stone’s name into the mountain slab and sat with Pillar at the school, where they discussed the East Sea fragment and watched the children.
• After Wutian gave Bai Ze a jade slip reading “The axe is in Buzhou,” Bai Ze visited Mount Buzhou, found the fissure brighter, and met Ao Chen climbing toward the summit.
• Bai Ze went to the East Sea after Fuxi’s warning and heard the fragment call to him; it revealed itself as Pangu’s Axe and asked whether Pangu was right to create heaven and whether the world was worth it.
• Bai Ze answered that he did not know whether Pangu was right but that the world was worth it because people lived, remembered, and stood; the fragment opened, and he caught the axe as its light faded.
• Fuxi said the axe contained many jumbled images and suspected the other mysterious objects were fragments of it; Bai Ze returned to the city and told Nuwa what had happened.
• Bai Ze placed the axe beside the two stones in the temple, then put all three away and fell asleep listening to someone play an erhu.