Chapter Summaries

At a Tarot Club gathering, Chu Yang shared secret knowledge about Beyonder factions and the Witch pathway, including the Primordial Witch, while asking Miss Justice to find an Emerald Mother Tree Heart. Afterward, he reflected on revealing too much, then gave Miss Xiu money and talismans to buy the material before he left to visit an old acquaintance.

• Mr. Hanged Man described unusual traits of the Fallen, and Chu Yang corrected him before Miss Justice asked for knowledge about a sect.
• Chu Yang asked Miss Justice to find an Emerald Mother Tree Heart and shared secret information about the Spirituality Sect, the Witch Cult, and the Witch pathway.
• Chu Yang explained that men who drank Witch pathway potions became women and named the Primordial Witch, shocking Klein and Mr. Hanged Man.
• Klein ended the gathering when his spirituality ran low and later regretted that he could not ask Mr. White Tower more questions.
• Chu Yang reviewed his conduct under Absolute Rationality and decided to reveal secret knowledge more cautiously in the future.
• Miss Xiu told Chu Yang about a secret Beyonder gathering, but he declined to attend and gave her funds and treasured talismans to buy an Emerald Mother Tree Heart if one appeared.

Erlinda reunited with Chu Yang after killing a predatory criminal at the cemetery, and told him about her Sequence Eight gravedigger abilities and plans to travel abroad. Chu Yang grew alarmed when he learned that a mysterious powerful woman had given Erlinda tasks and arranged her passage to an island.

• Erlinda killed the black-robed man who came to prey on her and began disposing of his corpse.
• Chu Yang revealed himself, and Erlinda joyfully welcomed her former companion into her cabin.
• Erlinda explained that Mr. Madrid had helped her become a Sequence Eight gravedigger and introduced her to a woman who had taught her.
• Erlinda told Chu Yang she planned to travel to another continent under a false identity to find materials and grow stronger, while avoiding the White Rose School and Mr. Madrid's organization.
• Erlinda revealed that the mysterious woman had assigned her tasks and arranged transportation to an island, leaving Chu Yang suspicious of the woman's connection to Erlinda and her father, Holmes.

Chu Yang said goodbye to Erlinda and learned that she was pursuing revenge under the guidance of Miss Bell, while he and Miss Xiu prepared to leave by train. At the station, a richly dressed lady stopped Miss Xiu and asked if they had met before.

• Erlinda told Chu Yang she trusted her mentor and described how the woman had trained her to become stronger and taught her to kill.
• Erlinda gave Chu Yang a plain case for his miraculous sword, and the two talked through the night before he left the cemetery at dawn.
• Miss Bell visited Erlinda and confirmed that she knew Chu Yang had been worried, while Erlinda said revenge was now all she cared about.
• Miss Xiu told Chu Yang about news from the gathering, and he inferred that Miss Bell had sent Erlinda to investigate Great Emperor Rosell's ruins and tombs.
• Miss Xiu confronted Chu Yang about his foreknowledge of a tragedy aboard a ship, then vowed to grow stronger so he could eventually tell her everything.
• Chu Yang and Miss Xiu arrived at the train station, where a richly dressed lady stopped Miss Xiu and asked whether they had met before.

Chu Yang and Miss Xiu encountered Lilith, then separated so Miss Xiu could move her family while Chu Yang explored the city. After researching Great Emperor Rosell and heading to buy train tickets, Chu Yang was trapped by a red-robed stranger who disabled his abilities and warned him against calling on greater powers.

• Lilith recognized Miss Xiu from the ship in the Maze Secret Realm, but Chu Yang kept their encounter brief before he and Miss Xiu boarded the train.
• Miss Xiu asked Chu Yang to accompany her to relocate her relatives, but he chose to explore the city while she arranged to move them and buy tickets for their departure.
• Fors met Viscount Domund at a salon and agreed to attend his gathering in exchange for his help entering the Beyonder world.
• Chu Yang investigated records about Great Emperor Rosell at a university library, then headed to the ticket office after leaving his hotel with the Spear of Light.
• A strange ripple erased the people around Chu Yang, and a red-robed stranger appeared, immobilized him, and warned him not to use his special powers.

Chu Yang learned that powerful beings were watching him and that investigating his unusual eyes could corrupt him, while Miss Xiu reported a dragon's dream that had rapidly digested her potion. He returned to Backlund as Miss Xiu prepared to move her family, and Fors introduced the arriving Audrey to a gathering.

• A Blood Clan man warned Chu Yang to avoid another continent until an old man escaped surveillance, explained that Chu Yang's eyes could lead him to a corrupting unknown space, and then vanished.
• Chu Yang concluded that Gods were using him in their schemes, resolved to become a player rather than a pawn, and decided to return to Backlund.
• The Blood Clan man visited a church of the Goddess of the Night, told her God Servant that the Night's chosen person had his approval, and said his believers would contact that person.
• Miss Xiu told Chu Yang that she and her family had dreamed of a dragon adjudicating cases, and that the dream had quickly digested her potion; Chu Yang urged her to move her family from the village.
• Miss Xiu agreed to handle her family's move while Chu Yang returned to Backlund, and Fors later welcomed Audrey to a gathering and offered to introduce her to a female Beyonder writer.

Fors asked Audrey and Viscount Domund to investigate who had prompted the Military Intelligence Department to pursue her friend, while promising to help them enter the Beyonder world. Aboard the Chang'an, Chu Yang investigated the death of the Condes couple’s son and used scene reconstruction, which showed the child had fallen asleep after taking the medicine.

• Fors revealed a hidden door and offered Audrey and Viscount Domund Beyonder formulas and materials in exchange for investigating the Military Intelligence Department’s actions against her friend.
• Fors said her friend had been targeted after helping a worker with a usury case and dealing with a human trafficking ring.
• Chu Yang boarded the Chang'an and agreed to investigate the death of the Condes couple’s son, whose parents accused a man who had sold them medicine.
• Chu Yang persuaded the captain to let him inspect the cabin and found signs of an unknown medicine with residual Beyonder traces, but could not determine that the suspect had caused the death.
• Chu Yang activated scene reconstruction and saw the boy take the medicine, recover from his pain, and fall asleep.

Chu Yang reconstructed the events behind the Condes boy’s death, discovering that the child had been poisoned after handling an ancient coin and later choked on a nut. The Condes family revealed that their recent misfortunes began after Mr. Condes brought something back from overseas, while Chu Yang left with the coin and a possible newspaper connection.

• Chu Yang used the Pure White Eye to detect a faint aura on the boy’s hand and reconstructed how the boy touched an ancient coin, fell ill, and later choked on a nut after taking Wilson’s potion.
• Chu Yang pocketed the coin and questioned Mr. and Mrs. Condes about their family’s recent bad luck, then arranged for the captain and witnesses to observe his examination.
• Chu Yang dislodged an intact nut from the boy’s throat, confirming that suffocation had caused his death and that the parents had left him alone shortly after he fell asleep.
• Mr. Condes admitted that his family had suffered bad luck, and Mrs. Condes blamed the troubles on something he had brought back from overseas.
• Journalist Klaer praised Chu Yang and offered to publish the case; Chu Yang agreed in principle and introduced his teacher as the great detective Manhattan of Backlund.

After hearing the Condes couple’s account of a cursed treasure, Chu Yang advised them to seek help from a church and learned that the ancient coin he had kept could bring brief, unpredictable good fortune. The coin could also strengthen divination, leaving Chu Yang with a possible new use for it.

• Kaseqi warmed to Chu Yang after learning he was Manhattan’s student, while Wilson’s mocking remark prompted Kaseqi to leave.
• Chu Yang questioned Mr. Condes, who recounted how his crew opened a forbidden door on an island and later suffered illness and misfortune.
• Mr. Condes said the Military Intelligence Department confiscated some of the treasure and an eccentric man performed a ritual, but his memories of that time were incomplete.
• Chu Yang urged the Condes couple to seek help at a church, and Mr. Condes agreed to pray and check on his former colleagues.
• Chu Yang used the Pure White Paper Tube to analyze the ancient coin and learned it could grant brief, unpredictable luck and enhance divination.

Chu Yang returned to Backlund and learned that the Church of the Night was investigating Beyonders with divination abilities and had ties to a woman who bought one of his potion formulas. After revealing that he had already become a Knowledge Keeper, he told Manhattan about his dangerous experiences and asked what had happened with the two witches.

• Chu Yang recalled that the ancient coin brought equal misfortune the day after use unless it was smeared with the blood of a Judgement-sequence Beyonder.
• On duty, Klein saw the Misfortune Puppet display a paper bearing a strange eye pattern before an unseen force dragged it back behind the sealed door; he later divined that the pattern pointed to a forgotten treasure.
• Chu Yang returned to Backlund and met Mr. Margot, an upper-level administrator of the Church of the Night, at Manhattan's office.
• Manhattan explained that Lady Sunflower had raised a Clown who betrayed and injured her, and that the Church was gathering information on divination Beyonders and their characteristics.
• Chu Yang revealed that he had become a Knowledge Keeper and recounted some of his dangerous experiences, including events involving the Maze Secret Realm and a Blood Clan expert.
• Chu Yang asked about Ilfa and Salina, and Manhattan said neither had made new moves and that he had given Ilfa Chu Yang's prepared list.

Chu Yang decided to become a working detective and accepted Manhattan’s invitation to a ball, hoping to reconnect with Fors and learn more about her situation. Meanwhile, Audrey investigated the false charges against Miss Xiu, and Susie unexpectedly learned to speak; the chapter ended with Chu Yang reuniting with a tired-looking Fors at their usual café.

• Manhattan told Chu Yang that the Church of Storms had failed to catch Salina or Ilfa, while assuring him the military was watching the witches.
• Audrey uncovered that Miss Xiu’s charges were fabricated by a corrupt Military Intelligence Department officer and planned to use a ball to investigate him and help Miss Xiu.
• Susie followed a strange scent in Audrey’s garden and suddenly spoke, leaving Audrey shocked.
• Chu Yang told Manhattan he wanted to become a real detective, and Manhattan invited him to a ball where he could meet security bureau colleagues.
• Chu Yang went to the café to invite Fors to the ball and learned that Miss Xiu would be away for at least three days.
• Fors was relieved to hear Miss Xiu was safe, and Chu Yang congratulated her on becoming a bestselling novelist before asking why she looked exhausted.

Chu Yang learned that Miss Fors had uncovered a Military Intelligence Department lieutenant’s role in Hugh’s case, then saved Father Ivankov from a curse that was driving him toward losing control. The next morning, Manhattan confronted Chu Yang about a shipboard murder case now reported in the newspapers, and Chu Yang prepared to visit the Radiant Church.

• Miss Fors told Chu Yang that Viscount Domund said a Military Intelligence Department lieutenant had ordered the action against Hugh and that the warrant would soon be withdrawn.
• Chu Yang noticed a priest in the shadows who warned him to leave, then used a recreated purification light to destroy the curse afflicting him.
• The priest introduced himself as Ivankov and invited Chu Yang to the Radiant Church, and Chu Yang agreed to visit the next day.
• Chu Yang returned to Manhattan’s studio and decided after breakfast to visit Ivankov, hoping to receive a reward for saving him.
• Manhattan showed Chu Yang a newspaper report about the shipboard murder case and praised Reporter Klaer for crediting Chu Yang’s role.
• Chu Yang told Manhattan that he had invited Klaer to the ball.

Chu Yang received a dangerous appearance-changing mask from Ivankov, forged Great Emperor Rosell’s diary for Mr. Fool, and attended Manhattan’s dinner dance. There, he warned Shanna that Anthony was in danger from teacher Osgeus and advised her to involve her family in the Public Security Bureau.

• Chu Yang visited the Radiant Church, where Ivankov gave him a living clown mask that could change his appearance but risked taking control of him.
• Chu Yang decided not to include information about the Forsaken Land in the forged diary, then went with Manhattan to greet guests at the dinner dance.
• Chu Yang met Bakerpo, who worried about his pregnant wife and his daughter Triss, who had gone to sea.
• Shanna told Chu Yang that Anthony had joined a club founded by Osgeus, and Chu Yang warned her that Osgeus posed a danger to him.
• Chu Yang advised Shanna to tell her family in the Public Security Bureau about Osgeus and Anthony, then welcomed reporter Klaer to the dance.

At Manhattan's ball, Chu Yang accepted Delunsa's Church of Storms commission and used it to gain access to Public Security Bureau case files. At the Tarot Club, he guided Miss Justice about Susie's new powers and offered Mr. Fool three pages of Rosell's diary in exchange for help with a dangerous Extraordinary item.

• Manhattan introduced Chu Yang as his prized student, and Elinore partnered with him for the opening dance before praising his handling of Teacher Osgeus.
• Delunsa offered Chu Yang a ten-pound commission to investigate vagrants in Backlund who had fallen into delirium or madness, and Chu Yang accepted.
• Chu Yang used the Church of Storms' influence to obtain Public Security Bureau case files about the Witch Cult and its recent movements.
• At the Tarot Club, Miss Justice asked for advice about her speaking pet, and Chu Yang and Mr. Hanged Man explained Susie's Extraordinary abilities and usefulness.
• Miss Justice offered two pages of Great Emperor Rosell's diary, and Chu Yang offered three more while asking Mr. Fool to help with a dangerous Extraordinary item.

At the Tarot Club, Chu Yang encouraged the members to trust Mr. Fool with dangerous Beyonder items and introduced a Sacrifice Ritual, which Klein accepted for testing. The gathering ended with exchanges of information, while Chu Yang still lacked a lead on the item he sought.

• Chu Yang told Audrey that Mr. Fool could handle the dangers of Beyonder items, leaving Klein embarrassed because he could not yet do so.
• Chu Yang requested permission to perform a Sacrifice Ritual, wrote down its procedures, and gave them to Klein, who agreed to test them first.
• Klein examined the diaries from Audrey and Chu Yang, finding little useful information beyond notes about dragons, dreams, and Rosell's social life.
• Audrey asked about Beyonders who could pass through walls and those who followed the Arbiter Sequence; Alger offered answers in exchange for information about a possible Roon war.
• Chu Yang asked Audrey whether she had found the Beyonder item he needed, and she apologized that her inquiries had uncovered no leads.

At the Tarot Club, Chu Yang warned Alger about the dangers of discussing the Creator and asked Klein to help screen future members, while Klein struggled to gather the Beyonder materials needed for a Sacrifice Ritual. Chu Yang tested a dangerous mask and accepted Bakerpo’s commission to find a missing doctor whose treatment was vital to Bakerpo’s pregnant wife.

• Chu Yang warned Alger that the Creator remained a god and that discussing such matters outside the Gray Fog could draw divine attention; Klein permitted Tarot Club members to join other organizations and agreed to personally vet candidates suggested by Chu Yang.
• After the gathering, Klein found that the Sacrifice Ritual required Beyonder materials he could not afford, while Chu Yang used the Pure White Eye to suppress Ivankov’s mask and tested its disguise.
• Klein sought clients for divination to raise money, then accepted a wealthy client’s request to locate someone using a personal belonging.
• Bakerpo asked Chu Yang to find a missing doctor, explaining that the doctor’s special medicine and continued care were needed for his pregnant wife.
• Chu Yang accepted the commission and suspected the doctor was a Beyonder who had advanced along a physician pathway, possibly gaining powers that could help women become pregnant.

Chu Yang investigated Doctor Odom and discovered evidence of a mysterious ritual, then brought a suspicious perfume bottle to Ivankov at the Radiant Church. After the ancient coin appeared to divert him from a deadly accident, Ivankov said the Earth Mother had foreseen his arrival and began a ritual to handle the bottle.

• Chu Yang broke into Doctor Odom's house and used the Pure White Eye to replay scenes showing Odom kissing a woman with a neck tattoo and praying to the red moon.
• A mysterious ripple ended Chu Yang's vision, so he decided to seek help from Father Ivankov and sealed the perfume bottle for the church.
• Chu Yang wiped the verdigris from an ancient coin, and his carriage took a detour around a crash that had scattered a nobleman's wealth across the road.
• Ivankov greeted Chu Yang at the Radiant Church and said the Earth Mother had foreseen his arrival.
• Chu Yang handed Ivankov the perfume bottle, and Ivankov placed it in a prepared ritual array and began chanting.

Chu Yang learned from Ivankov that Doctor Odom’s corruption and Ms. Ilfa’s Witch-pathway group were connected to a stolen Beyonder item, then worried about the pregnancies Odom had caused. He left to pray to Mr. Fool, and Klein answered the call above the Gray Fog.

• Chu Yang heard an eerie infant’s cry during Ivankov’s ritual, then decided to inspect the abnormality and pray to Mr. Fool.
• Ivankov explained that Odom had advanced to Sequence Seven and later claimed to receive a gift from the Mother Goddess before Ivankov was ambushed and a church artifact was stolen.
• Ivankov identified the attackers as Witch-pathway Beyonders and drew Ms. Ilfa, whom Chu Yang recognized as the woman who had once commissioned him.
• Ivankov described the stolen blood-storage item, and Chu Yang suspected it could help Ms. Ilfa’s group use Odom’s corrupted powers in a painful advancement ritual.
• Chu Yang learned that pregnancies caused by the perfume bottle’s bizarre power might end in miscarriage without further aid, then hurried away to pray to Mr. Fool.
• Klein sensed Chu Yang’s prayer, recognized the crimson star as Mr. White Tower, and arrived above the Gray Fog.

Klein received Chu Yang’s bundled prayers and replied, while Chu Yang welcomed Xiu, who had become a Sheriff after hastily consuming her potion. After Xiu helped him use her blood on an ancient coin, she returned to her apartment and found Fors, who explained that she had met Lilith on the way to the station.

• Klein worried that White Tower’s requests would expose his uncertain powers, so he sought help from Chu Yang.
• Fors suffered dangerous Full Moon Babbling, left her room, and accidentally collided with Lilith, who offered to compensate her.
• Chu Yang met Xiu at the station and learned that she had become a Sheriff but could not yet control the potion’s power.
• Chu Yang asked Xiu for blood to address the ancient coin’s side effects, and she agreed after hearing his explanation.
• Xiu returned to her apartment, found Fors on the sofa, and angrily confronted her for missing the station welcome.
• Fors hurriedly explained that she had intended to meet Xiu but had encountered Lilith on the way.

Miss Xiu and Miss Fors discussed Chu Yang and the dangers Miss Xiu had faced, while Chu Yang investigated Beyonder cases and sought help for several problems. Miss Xiu later told him that she had joined Mr. Durant's family while they were being hunted by a terrifying monster in white fog.

• Miss Xiu reassured Miss Fors that she trusted Chu Yang despite giving him her blood, and Miss Fors warned that he was too mysterious to trust.
• Chu Yang reviewed recent Beyonder-related thefts and disappearances at the Security Bureau, then visited Wilson to ask for help with Sheriff Bakerberg's wife's pregnancy; Wilson agreed to examine her.
• Chu Yang spoke with Ivankov at Radiant Church and learned that the church could not yet commit higher-level forces to the Doctor Odom matter because official factions might also be involved.
• Miss Xiu told Chu Yang that she had encountered Mr. Durant and his wife, Kether, while moving her family to safety, and joined them after learning they and their children were in danger.
• Miss Xiu recounted how a monster shrouded in white fog hunted them and swallowed one of Mr. Durant's children, leaving her with a deep, instinctive fear.

Chu Yang and Miss Xiu exchanged information about the white mist monster, the dragon’s contingency plan, and a mysterious woman from an ancient empire. After deciding to attend a Beyonder gathering with Manhattan, Chu Yang met Mr. Frank, who had come to offer him an assignment.

• Miss Xiu told Chu Yang that a strange woman had trapped the white mist monster in a bottle and removed the light the dragon had left with her.
• Miss Xiu gave Chu Yang an ancient potion formula and the terms Mr. Durant had remembered from the ruins, helping Chu Yang connect the events to the ancient empire.
• Chu Yang reassured Miss Xiu that her involvement with the dragon seemed over and told her that Earth Mother Church experts might come to handle the situation.
• Manhattan told Chu Yang that he still had not found a Verdant Mother Tree Heart, but Chu Yang decided to attend the evening gathering anyway.
• Mr. Frank visited Manhattan’s studio and told Chu Yang that he had come to see him because he could accept assignments independently.