Chapter Summaries

Key plot points

• Sun Jun publicly identifies Li Yubin, Changsheng Group’s deputy research chief, as the person who tried to force him to steal research materials. Li had used a scent to cause intense pain and convince Sun that a Gu worm in his brain could be activated at will.
• Lin Xiaosu realizes the Living Soul Gu can be partially activated to terrorize and control people, while full activation kills them. Several scientists appear uneasy, suggesting they may have already surrendered secrets under coercion.
• Li tries to flee, then threatens to activate Gu worms still hidden in the scientists with a bottle of liquid. Lin disarms him, breaks his limbs, and tests the liquid: the room’s antidote neutralizes its effect, so Li’s threat is empty.
• To demonstrate the danger, Lin and Yi Xiang expose a Living Soul Gu to the activating liquid. It vibrates violently and dissolves into pus within seconds, explaining how the Gu could destroy a victim’s brain while leaving no trace behind.
• Shen Yinchuan records the demonstration and plans to send it to the Unusual Cases Unit, believing it may explain the killings attributed to “Demonic Sound Claiming Lives.”
• Under pressure, Li names Xia Tian—the notorious playboy—as the mastermind behind the plot. Lin, Yi Xiang, and Blue Demon immediately leave for Yangcheng to pursue him.
• He Gaosheng confines everyone in the room to prevent anyone from warning the target. Meanwhile, Changsheng chairman Lei Xiaojun notices the flying car and learns that Ding Lizhong has called a major planning meeting without consulting him. Unable to reach Ding, Lei heads to the conference room.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Xiaosu pieces together the Gu’s dual function, protects the scientists, exposes the murder method, and takes control of the investigation. His competence impresses both Shen Yinchuan and He Gaosheng.
• Sun Jun shifts from a coerced potential victim to a courageous witness, exposing Li once he believes the threat has passed.
• Li Yubin is revealed as a coercive agent, then loses control when his threats fail and confesses under Lin’s and Shen’s pressure.
• Shen Yinchuan moves from uncertainty about the Gu to a concrete investigative lead, while He Gaosheng openly praises Lin.
• Ding Lizhong feels pride in his extraordinary son-in-law, though he is also confused by Lin’s companions and their apparent affection for him. Lei’s suspicions set up a separate confrontation within Changsheng Group.

Significant themes

• Fear as a weapon: Partial Gu activation lets Li control people without killing them.
• Truth and evidence: The physical demonstration turns a mysterious murder method into something investigators can verify.
• Power and secrecy: The scientists are confined to protect the operation, while Changsheng’s internal leadership conflict emerges.
• Appearances versus reality: Xia Tian’s frivolous public image conceals a dangerous mastermind.

Chapter Summary: Facing Xia Zhongliang of the Seven Stars Group

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chairman Lei Xiaojun rushes to a meeting after learning that Ding Lizhong has publicized Changsheng Group’s “Comprehensive Planning Document” without authorization.
• He discovers that the meeting is not about reprimanding Ding Lizhong. Mayor He Gaosheng, State-owned Assets official Zhan Hongyun, the Criminal Investigation Brigade chief, and over a hundred researchers are present.
• Zhan Hongyun announces that Lei’s cooperation agreement with the Seven Stars Group has triggered a serious investigation:
  • Li Yubin, a technology-department deputy director promoted by Lei, is allegedly the leader of an overseas organization.
  • Xia Zhongliang’s son, Xia Tian, is suspected of involvement in a major crime.
  • Because of this, Lei is deemed unfit to remain chairman of Changsheng Group and is immediately removed from his position.
• Lei and his secretary are placed under effective confinement and ordered to keep their hands visible, showing that Lei is now treated as a possible suspect rather than a powerful executive.
• Meanwhile, Lin Xiaosu, Blue Demon, and Yi Xiang fly toward Yangcheng after learning that Xia Tian has entered the Seven Stars Group headquarters with his father, Xia Zhongliang.
• Blue Demon worries that directly entering the headquarters could alert hidden enemies and create uncontrollable consequences. Lin Xiaosu argues that the crisis is already active and that hesitation will only allow more people infected by the Living Soul Gu to die or become Hydra agents.
• Blue Demon accepts the need for decisive action, shifting from trying to minimize all possible casualties to focusing on how many people can still be saved.
• The group lands without authorization inside the Seven Stars Group’s private parking area. Security personnel confront them, but Blue Demon produces the Qianlong Command Token.
• Recognizing the authority of the Qianlong Heavenly King, the security chief submits and leads them into the headquarters.
• They reach the chairman’s private floor, whose extravagant garden, swimming pool, and luxurious facilities impress Yi Xiang, emphasizing Xia Zhongliang’s immense wealth and status.

Character Developments

• Lei Xiaojun: His confidence collapses almost instantly when he is stripped of his chairmanship. He begins the chapter as an angry, authoritative chairman but ends it stunned and powerless, realizing that his connection to the Seven Stars Group has placed him in overwhelming danger.
• Lin Xiaosu: Demonstrates calm strategic judgment. He recognizes that the Living Soul Gu crisis has already become uncontrollable and insists that decisive action is necessary despite the likely sacrifices.
• Blue Demon: Reveals unusual hesitation and anxiety because the enemy’s full network remains hidden. Through Lin Xiaosu’s reasoning, she overcomes her instinct for caution and accepts a more pragmatic approach.
• Yi Xiang: Shows nervousness about the mission but is comforted by Lin Xiaosu’s gesture of taking her hand. Her reaction to Xia Zhongliang’s luxurious office environment also highlights her more ordinary perspective.
• Xia Zhongliang and Xia Tian: They do not appear directly, but their importance grows. Xia Tian is now a major suspect, while Xia Zhongliang’s company becomes the focus of a high-level Qianlong operation.
• Li Qingyang: Initially confronts the unauthorized visitors in a disciplined, defensive manner, but immediately obeys once Blue Demon reveals the Qianlong Command Token.

Significant Themes

• Power is unstable: Lei’s control over Changsheng Group vanishes in a single announcement, showing how quickly institutional authority can be revoked when larger political and legal forces intervene.
• Duty versus caution: Blue Demon’s concern about collateral damage clashes with Lin Xiaosu’s belief that refusing to act will cause even greater suffering.
• The cost of decisive action: The chapter acknowledges that stopping Hydra and the Living Soul Gu will inevitably involve sacrifice, forcing the characters to choose between preventing all harm—which is impossible—and saving as many people as possible.
• Hidden enemies and uncertainty: The enemy remains concealed, making every action potentially dangerous and turning the crisis into a complex battle of espionage rather than open warfare.
• Institutional authority and hierarchy: The Qianlong Command Token instantly overrides corporate security, illustrating the immense power of state authority and the fear attached to Qianlong.
• Wealth and inequality: Xia Zhongliang’s private floor, garden, and swimming pool in a crowded metropolis emphasize the extraordinary privilege and wealth of the Seven Stars Group’s chairman.

Character Interactions

• Lei confronts the meeting room expecting to challenge Ding Lizhong, only to be confronted by He Gaosheng and Zhan Hongyun and removed from office.
• Zhan Hongyun formally delivers the accusations against Lei, while Shen Yinchuan orders Lei and his secretary to submit to security procedures.
• Lin Xiaosu and Blue Demon debate whether entering the Seven Stars Group will expose the larger operation. Their discussion changes Blue Demon’s outlook and strengthens her resolve.
• Lin Xiaosu supports Yi Xiang physically and emotionally by taking her hand when she becomes nervous.
• Blue Demon asserts Qianlong’s authority over Li Qingyang and the security team, compelling them to escort the group directly to Xia Zhongliang’s office.

Plot points and events

• Lin Xiaosu, Blue Demon, and Yi Xiang confront Seven Stars Group chairman Xia Zhongliang with a Qianlong Command Token and demand to know where his son, Xia Tian, is.
• Xia Zhongliang claims Xia Tian is at his own company. Lin suspects he is stalling and discovers a concealed room by forcing Xia Zhongliang’s thumb against the desk. Xia Tian has already escaped through another door.
• Using his time-reversal ability, Lin tracks Xia Tian to the parking garage. The group pursues him as he drives away, and Blue Demon orders Qianlong Unit 101 to intercept.
• Before they can reach him, the aircraft-like weapon Wing Blade strikes from above and cuts Xia Tian’s car in half. Xia Tian is killed, apparently deliberately silenced.
• Blue Demon concludes that Xia Tian was important to the opposing side. Lin refuses to treat the killing as the end of the investigation and directs the team to Xia Tian Technology.
• At the company, police and Qianlong personnel question the staff. Lin asks product manager Zhang to take them to the finished-products workshop. The chapter ends as Blue Demon begins to explain why the company’s apparent business failure may conceal something more significant.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Xiaosu is forceful and decisive: he confronts Xia Zhongliang, tracks Xia Tian, and responds to the assassination by pressing on with the investigation.
• Xia Zhongliang tries to shield his son and objects that Qianlong must follow proper procedure. His concealed room and evasive answers deepen suspicion.
• Blue Demon coordinates the pursuit and recognizes the significance of Wing Blade’s attack.
• Yi Xiang stays with Lin during the chase and is visibly shaken by Xia Tian’s death.
• Qianlong Unit 101, nicknamed the Guardian Hound, joins the investigation. Though unassuming in appearance, he is confident, loyal, and respectful of Lin’s investigative skill.
• Manager Zhang remains composed when the investigators arrive, unlike the visibly frightened public-relations manager.

Significant themes

• Power and secrecy: Xia Zhongliang’s hidden room and robotic secretary suggest a world where powerful figures guard their secrets closely.
• Assassination and political stakes: Wing Blade’s precise strike implies Xia Tian mattered to a larger conflict and that someone is willing to kill to protect their interests.
• Persistence against obstruction: Even after Xia Tian’s death, Lin insists the investigation continue.
• Business fortunes and shifting crises: Xia Tian Technology’s rise and decline are tied to the changing status of the SA virus, raising the possibility that its apparent failure is not the whole story.

Chapter Summary: “Secrets Exposed”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Suspicion grows that Xia Tian’s company was never intended to make a profit. Instead, it may have been a Hydra front for distributing the Soul-Devouring Gu Virus throughout Daxia’s elite circles.
• The investigation team—Lin Xiaosu, Yi Xiang, Blue Demon, and Unit 101—searches Xiatian Technology Company. The company’s accounts and visible products appear legitimate, though the business is clearly operating at a loss.
• Lin Xiaosu detects a hidden room behind an ordinary wall, despite Unit 101’s enhanced investigative abilities finding nothing unusual. He forces Manager Zhang Zihua to reveal the password.
• The hidden warehouse contains large quantities of cold medicine infused with dormant Living Soul Gu. The discovery confirms that the company was manufacturing and storing dangerous Hydra weapons.
• Zhang Zihua is exposed as Hydra middle management because he has a control chip implanted in his brain. Lin Xiaosu disables the threat of remote detonation by using the Qianlong Heavenly King to block electronic signals.
• Zhang claims he does not know where the medicines were distributed, saying he delivered them directly to Xia Tian. He reveals that the Living Soul Gu came from Gu Shan in the Miao Borderlands, but Gu Shan is already dead, meaning the original supply has been cut off.
• Lin Xiaosu recognizes the enormous danger posed by the stockpile: even a single pill could control an elite, while millions could severely destabilize Daxia.
• Xia Zhongliang confronts Lin Xiaosu and asks what happened to his son. Lin Xiaosu states that Xia Tian was involved in a criminal Hydra operation and criticizes Xia Zhongliang for delaying the investigation by concealing information.
• The chapter ends with Ding Ruoshui reconsidering Lin Xiaosu’s warning about Lei Xiaoya. After noticing that dangerous incidents repeatedly occur when Xiaoya invites her somewhere—especially when Lin Xiaosu is involved—Ding begins investigating her friend’s possible connection to the plots.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates exceptional detective abilities by identifying the hidden warehouse without visible clues. He remains calm and controlled while pressuring Zhang Zihua and refuses to reveal sensitive investigative information to Xia Zhongliang.
• Unit 101 is impressed and unsettled by Lin Xiaosu’s superior tracking skills after failing to detect the hidden room himself. His competitive respect for Lin Xiaosu deepens.
• Zhang Zihua changes from a confident company manager into a terrified Hydra middle manager. Under pressure, he cooperates but reveals that his knowledge of Hydra’s operations is limited.
• Xia Zhongliang is shaken by Xia Tian’s death and the revelation of his criminal activities. Though he insists he delayed the investigation only because he wanted to understand his son’s actions, Lin Xiaosu holds him responsible for obstructing justice.
• Ding Ruoshui begins to move from passive trust toward independent suspicion. She still spends time with Lei Xiaoya, but she now intends to investigate her rather than dismiss Lin Xiaosu’s concerns.
• Lei Xiaoya remains outwardly close to Ding Ruoshui, but the repeated danger surrounding her invitations makes her increasingly suspicious.

Significant Themes

• Hidden corruption beneath respectable appearances: Xiatian Technology’s transparent accounts and ordinary products conceal a massive biological-control operation.
• The limits of wealth and business respectability: Xia Zhongliang’s status as a powerful entrepreneur does not shield his family or companies from Hydra’s influence.
• Trust versus suspicion: Ding Ruoshui must decide whether loyalty to her best friend should outweigh the troubling evidence surrounding Lei Xiaoya.
• The scale of hidden threats: The Living Soul Gu stockpile represents a danger not merely to individuals but to the stability of an entire nation.
• Moral responsibility and complicity: The chapter questions how much blame belongs to those who knowingly assist Hydra, those who conceal information, and those who fail to act when warned.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Unit 101 work together but are also implicitly compared, with Lin’s deduction proving superior.
• Lin Xiaosu intimidates and interrogates Zhang Zihua, offering him survival in exchange for cooperation.
• Blue Demon confirms the pills contain Living Soul Gu and takes charge of questioning Zhang about the distribution network.
• Lin Xiaosu and Yi Xiang discuss the significance of Gu Shan’s involvement and leave the warehouse investigation to Blue Demon.
• Lin Xiaosu confronts Xia Zhongliang over his deception and warns him not to obstruct future investigations.
• Ding Ruoshui and Lei Xiaoya continue their close friendship, but Ding privately begins examining whether Xiaoya has deliberately drawn her into dangerous situations.

Chapter Summary: “Ding Ruoshui’s Close Observation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ding Ruoshui continues closely observing Lei Xiaoya but notices no obvious abnormalities. The two discuss the upcoming jewelry expo, with Lei Xiaoya joking that Xia Tian will buy her whichever piece wins the gold award.
• Their conversation is interrupted by a shocking phone call: Xia Tian has been located by Qianlong and killed by a Wing Blade, Hydra’s most powerful combat robot.
• Ding Ruoshui immediately connects the assassination to the Wing Blade they encountered previously and concludes that Xia Tian must have been a high-ranking Hydra member involved in serious crimes.
• Lei Xiaoya is devastated and leaves to confirm Xia Tian’s death. Before departing, she appears to accidentally discard a blister pack of pills into the sea. Ding Ruoshui secretly retrieves it using her hair.
• Ding Ruoshui realizes that Lin Xiaosu previously stopped her from taking one of the pills, while Lei Xiaoya now seems to have tried to get rid of the remaining medicine. She begins suspecting that the pills are dangerous and that Lei Xiaoya may have knowingly given them to her and Lin Xiaosu.
• She considers contacting Lin Xiaosu but decides to wait until the pills can be tested, unwilling to destroy her trust in Lei Xiaoya based solely on suspicion.
• Meanwhile, Lin Xiaosu and Yi Xiang stay in a hotel after traveling from Witch God Mountain through River City to Yangcheng. Their relationship becomes physically intimate, and Yi Xiang is both shy and happy.
• The next morning, Yi Xiang leaves briefly to buy breakfast and attempts to conceal their relationship when Blue Demon arrives. Lin Xiaosu, however, believes Blue Demon already suspects the truth.
• Blue Demon reports that Xiatian Technology has been confirmed as the source of the Living Soul Gu. Xia Tian was one of Hydra’s mid-to-upper-level members and personally planned the Living Soul Gu incident.
• The investigation finds no evidence linking Seven Stars Group to the case. Its technological cooperation with Changsheng Group followed proper procedures and had apparently reasonable motives, making the suspicious development of events even more troubling.

Character Developments

• Ding Ruoshui becomes increasingly suspicious and analytical. Her loyalty to Lei Xiaoya is challenged by the possibility that her best friend knowingly gave her poisoned or otherwise dangerous medicine.
• Lei Xiaoya changes from playful and carefree to devastated after hearing of Xia Tian’s death. Her possible attempt to dispose of the pills raises doubts about her true motives and knowledge of Hydra’s activities.
• Lin Xiaosu remains focused on serious investigations while maintaining an intimate relationship with Yi Xiang. He is relaxed and confident about their relationship being discovered.
• Yi Xiang grows more emotionally and physically attached to Lin Xiaosu but remains extremely shy and concerned about others learning about their intimacy.
• Blue Demon continues investigating the Living Soul Gu case and provides important confirmation about Xiatian Technology and Xia Tian’s position within Hydra.

Significant Themes

• Trust and betrayal: Ding Ruoshui must determine whether Lei Xiaoya is genuinely her friend or has deliberately endangered her.
• Appearance versus reality: Ordinary conversations, legitimate corporate procedures, and seemingly harmless medicine conceal possible criminal and conspiratorial connections.
• Suspicion and evidence: Ding Ruoshui refuses to condemn Lei Xiaoya without testing the pills, emphasizing the need for proof rather than assumptions.
• Hidden conspiracies: Xia Tian’s assassination and the Living Soul Gu investigation reveal Hydra’s reach, while the unexplained connection between normal business dealings and abnormal outcomes suggests a larger plot.
• Intimacy and secrecy: Yi Xiang and Lin Xiaosu’s relationship deepens, but Yi Xiang still feels compelled to hide it from others.

Character Interactions

• Ding Ruoshui and Lei Xiaoya tease each other over wealth, luxury brands, and their relationships with men.
• Lei Xiaoya’s reaction to Xia Tian’s death exposes her emotional attachment to him, while Ding Ruoshui quietly studies her behavior.
• Ding Ruoshui supports Lei Xiaoya physically after the shocking news but secretly takes the medicine pack, choosing investigation over confrontation.
• Lin Xiaosu and Yi Xiang share a private, affectionate night, followed by Yi Xiang’s embarrassed attempt to conceal what happened.
• Lin Xiaosu welcomes Blue Demon and discusses the investigation while Yi Xiang stays outside.
• Blue Demon confirms the link between Xiatian Technology and the Living Soul Gu but admits that the broader conspiracy—especially the possible role of Seven Stars Group—remains unresolved.

Chapter Summary: “Wing Blade”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The investigation into the Living Soul Gu case reaches a dead end. Although Li Xiangrong is arrested for switching the medicine given to Changsheng Group’s scientists, he claims he acted on Xia Tian’s orders and knew nothing about the drug’s contents. Since the person who could reveal more information has been killed, the case cannot progress.
• Lin Xiaosu shifts attention to Wing Blade, Hydra’s near-invincible flying weapon, which has been operating freely across Daxia. Blue Demon explains that Qianlong has repeatedly failed to track or destroy it, and even Jing Lei was unsuccessful.
• Lin Xiaosu proposes tracking Wing Blade back to its base rather than attempting to destroy it directly. He reasons that Wing Blade’s recent activity suggests it may have a nearby base instead of traveling from the distant Luoba Prefecture.
• Lin reveals that Wing Blade previously attacked him and Ding Ruoshui at Shanhai Club. They survived only by working together effectively.
• Using his Heavenly Insight Eye and Temporal Reversal, Lin Xiaosu is able to follow Wing Blade’s aerial trail despite its extreme altitude and speed. He and Blue Demon pursue it in a Qianlong flyer toward the coast and Mount Mianbi.
• At Mount Mianbi, the chapter introduces White Mountain Residence, home of Lin Weiyang, the owner of Shanhai Club and Li Ziyi’s teacher.
• Lin Weiyang tells Li Ziyi that she will soon be able to leave her confinement. He reveals that he has an appointment with Lin Xiaosu, implying that the meeting may be connected to her freedom.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates confidence, initiative, and strategic thinking. Rather than accepting Wing Blade as untouchable, he identifies a possible weakness: locating the advanced base that supports it.
• His supernatural abilities, particularly the Heavenly Insight Eye, establish him as uniquely capable of pursuing Wing Blade despite Qianlong’s technological limitations.
• Blue Demon initially considers the mission impossible but becomes persuaded by Lin Xiaosu’s reasoning. Her attitude shifts from skepticism to cautious excitement as she recognizes the potential strategic benefits.
• Lin Xiaosu’s playful relationship with Yi Xiang is briefly shown through their teasing messages, contrasting with his serious mission.
• Yi Xiang appears affectionate and comfortable enough to tease Lin Xiaosu, suggesting growing familiarity and emotional closeness.
• Li Ziyi is shown as emotionally trapped and dependent on Lin Weiyang after the collapse of her father’s empire and the wanted notice issued against her. Despite her outward composure, she deeply longs for freedom.
• Lin Weiyang is portrayed as calm, perceptive, and influential. He appears to know more about upcoming events than he reveals and may be deliberately arranging a confrontation between Li Ziyi and Lin Xiaosu.

Significant Themes

• The limits of power and technology: Wing Blade appears invulnerable to conventional weapons, but Lin Xiaosu suggests that intelligence and unconventional abilities can challenge even overwhelming technological superiority.
• Strategy over direct confrontation: Instead of trying to destroy Wing Blade immediately, Lin focuses on tracing it to its base and exploiting the consequences of exposing Hydra’s infrastructure.
• Freedom and confinement: Li Ziyi’s life on Mount Mianbi is compared to that of a caged bird. Her impending release highlights the tension between physical safety and personal liberty.
• Mystery and hidden power: The unresolved Living Soul Gu case, Wing Blade’s unknown origin, and Lin Weiyang’s secretive plans all reinforce the chapter’s atmosphere of concealed forces and incomplete information.
• Human relationships amid danger: The lighthearted exchange between Lin Xiaosu and Yi Xiang, as well as Blue Demon’s teasing remark about his romantic life, provides humor and emotional contrast to the threats surrounding them.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Blue Demon: They debate whether Wing Blade can be tracked. Lin’s confidence gradually convinces Blue Demon to support the pursuit.
• Lin Xiaosu and Yi Xiang: They exchange playful, affectionate messages before Lin departs, revealing their easy intimacy.
• Lin Weiyang and Li Ziyi: He gently cares for her while also confronting her emotional frustration. His promise of freedom gives her hope, but his revelation that Lin Xiaosu is involved introduces a potentially dangerous future confrontation.
• Lin Xiaosu and Wing Blade: Their previous encounter establishes a personal connection and raises the stakes of the current pursuit.

Chapter Summary: “Beneath the Blue Waves, a Submarine”

Key plot points and events

• Li Ziyi is baffled when her teacher claims Lin Xiaosu’s visit to White Mountain Residence may free her from the restrictions she has endured for over six months. She cannot understand why Lin’s arrival would help rather than endanger her.
• Meanwhile, Blue Demon doubts that Lin can track Wing Blade across the open sea. Lin suddenly spots the faint outline of a submarine beneath the water.
• Blue Demon reveals Qianlong’s Gallium Bombs, designed to breach metal hulls. She warns that fighting Wing Blade underwater or inside a submarine would be especially dangerous: their movement and room to maneuver would be restricted, while Wing Blade could cut through steel.
• Lin insists he knows Wing Blade’s weakness and can handle it. Blue Demon trusts his judgment, dons her Heavenly-King Level Dragon Armor, and follows him underwater.
• They find a huge submarine concealed against the wall of a deep ocean trench. Blue Demon attaches the bombs to its hatches, and the resulting breaches let seawater surge into its compartments.
• The flooding triggers chaos among the submarine’s crew, who are Gene Humans. As Lin and Blue Demon enter, armed attackers rush them. Blue Demon rapidly kills several, but at least fifty more emerge, intent on eliminating the intruders and restoring the watertight system.

Character developments

• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates extraordinary perception by spotting a hidden submarine from the surface. Despite Blue Demon’s warnings, he remains confident because he believes he has identified Wing Blade’s weakness.
• Blue Demon moves from skepticism about Lin’s abilities to admiration and trust. She remains cautious and tactically alert, but follows Qianlong’s principle of trusting her comrade and takes the lead in the initial fight.
• Li Ziyi is shown as intelligent but deeply confused by her teacher’s strategy and by the prospect of Lin’s arrival.

Character interactions

• Li Ziyi questions—at least internally—her teacher’s claim that Lin will help free her, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding the White Mountain Residence plot.
• Blue Demon challenges Lin to take the submarine encounter seriously, explaining the dangers of fighting in confined, flooded spaces. Lin reassures her, and she ultimately chooses to trust him.
• Lin jokes about Blue Demon’s willingness to sacrifice the submarine’s occupants to recover its data. She responds that his influence has made her more reckless, adding a moment of camaraderie before the operation.

Significant themes

• Trust and teamwork: Blue Demon must decide whether to rely on Lin’s confidence despite the risks; she chooses to trust her comrade.
• Human ingenuity versus extraordinary abilities: Advanced weapons and biomimetic bombs make the submarine breach possible, but Lin’s perception is presented as almost superhuman.
• The danger of confined environments: The submarine’s narrow passages and flooding turn an already formidable enemy into an even greater threat.
• Moral cost of tactical decisions: Blue Demon treats the crew’s deaths as acceptable collateral in recovering intelligence, raising the harsh moral stakes of the mission.

Plot points and events

• Trapped in a flooded submarine with limited room to maneuver, Blue Demon faces a wave of Gene Humans. Lin Xiaosu unexpectedly kills more than fifty with Parting Sword Dao, Third Form: Parting Tears, using the surrounding water as an extension of his true qi.
• Wing Blade crashes into the submarine. Blue Demon attacks it but cannot damage its shell; she realizes it is targeting Lin Xiaosu, who is driven out into the open sea.
• Lin Xiaosu survives by using the Spatial Law to extract Wing Blade’s energy source. The machine goes inert, and Blue Demon realizes he has defeated one of Hydra’s most dangerous weapons.
• The pair kill hundreds of Hydra fighters aboard and around the submarine, but Hydra detonates the vessel before they can capture everyone. Blue Demon orders Qianlong personnel to salvage its remains.
• Blue Demon takes the disabled Wing Blade back to Qianlong headquarters, recognizing its enormous value for research and for developing defenses against Hydra.

Character developments

• Lin Xiaosu reveals surprising skill and ingenuity. He uses the water to perform a sword technique beyond his normal cultivation level, then applies the Spatial Law to defeat Wing Blade through strategy rather than force.
• Blue Demon shifts from alarm and disbelief to exhilaration and resolve. She trusts her combat instincts, fights alongside Lin Xiaosu, and takes responsibility for securing their prize.

Significant themes

• Adaptability and resourcefulness: Lin Xiaosu turns the flooded environment and Wing Blade’s own design into advantages.
• Knowledge as power: His earlier observations about Wing Blade’s energy source make victory possible.
• The cost and value of war: Hydra’s mass casualties and the destroyed submarine contrast with the strategic importance of capturing Wing Blade.
• Limits overcome through innovation: Lin Xiaosu’s unconventional use of the Spatial Law succeeds where direct attacks cannot.

Character interactions

• Blue Demon initially doubts Lin Xiaosu’s claim that his sword technique is not normally available to him, then witnesses his capabilities firsthand.
• She tries to protect him from Wing Blade, only to discover that he has already found a way to disable it.
• Lin Xiaosu explains the energy-source theft; Blue Demon is astonished but quickly shifts to coordinating the aftermath and escorting the machine to headquarters.

Plot points and events

• Blue Demon arranges to meet Lin Xiaosu again the day after tomorrow, teasing him about keeping his bed clean and being alone. Lin returns to the hotel, where Yi Xiang and Xiaowu are waiting. He promises to take Yi Xiang to a jewelry expo, giving them a chance to relax after their hurried trip.
• In Luoba Prefecture, Hydra’s Phantom Shadow Heavenly King discovers that Wing Blade has been captured and delivered to Qianlong Headquarters. Hydra Overlord forbids the remaining Wing Blades from entering Daxia until the failure is understood, orders Phantom Shadow to kill Lin Xiaosu within a month, and warns Seven Steps to contain losses in the Living Soul Gu operation.
• At Qianlong Headquarters, Blue Demon tells Heavenly King Miaoyin about Wing Blade’s recovery. She gives Miaoyin the honor of assembling a research team to study the ancient weapon, explaining that she must meet Lin Xiaosu and has no time to do it herself.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Xiaosu shifts from urgent business toward leisure, spending time with Yi Xiang while remaining entangled in Blue Demon’s teasing attention.
• Yi Xiang is pleased by the prospect of enjoying the human world with Lin Xiaosu.
• Blue Demon is excited by Wing Blade’s capture and generous toward her friend, though she jokes that Miaoyin could have earned the honor herself.
• Miaoyin is thrilled by the opportunity to lead the research team, while admitting she regrets missing the chance to help recover Wing Blade.
• Phantom Shadow Heavenly King panics and proposes a reckless assault, but recognizes the danger of acting blindly when the Overlord rebukes him.

Significant themes

• A strategic turning point: Wing Blade’s capture weakens Hydra’s long-standing leverage over Qianlong and could unlock major technological advances.
• The cost of failure and power: Hydra’s leaders use threats and punishments to maintain control, while Qianlong celebrates cooperation and scientific opportunity.
• Friendship and shared credit: Blue Demon frames the recovery as an honor Miaoyin might have earned, then passes her a valuable opportunity.
• Leisure amid danger: Lin and Yi Xiang’s peaceful plans contrast with the escalating conflict surrounding them.

Key plot points and events

• Blue Demon proposes recruiting Heavenly Horse for the team Heavenly King Miaoyin is forming. She praises his unconventional thinking, especially his invention of the Gallium Bomb. Miaoyin teases Blue Demon that her admiration for outsiders—and perhaps for Lin Xiaosu—could make her cross the boundary she warns Changye about.
• At Qianlong Headquarters, Blue Demon’s return with a captured Wing Blade astonishes everyone. Even Jing Lei, who has fought one, doubts he could have brought one back intact himself.
• At Unit 101, Changye, aware that her life is nearing its end, records the results of her life’s toxicology research. She takes comfort in remembering her passionate relationship with Lin Xiaosu. Blue Demon’s message tells her that Lin helped Blue Demon capture the Wing Blade.
• Xin Yue initially fears Lin’s latest feat will cost her a coveted Gold Badge ranking, but relaxes when she learns the credit went to Blue Demon. She then jokes—and frets—that Lin may be pursuing another woman, before teasing Changye about her relationship with him.
• In Yangcheng, Lin and Yi Xiang enjoy a private morning together and walk hand in hand. Ding Ruoshui, passing in a car, sees them and angrily realizes Lin has apparently been seeing someone else while she believed they were a couple. Despite her fury, she tells the driver to continue to the expo venue.

Character developments and interactions

• Blue Demon shows growing respect for unconventional talent and for Lin’s influence. Her candid praise prompts Miaoyin’s teasing about possible romantic feelings.
• Changye faces her mortality by preserving her work and finding meaning in her relationship with Lin. Blue Demon’s news brings her visible pride and happiness.
• Xin Yue remains competitive and comically possessive of her ranking, while her irreverent teasing creates a lively, intimate exchange with Changye.
• Lin and Yi Xiang appear increasingly comfortable and affectionate together, openly holding hands in the city despite Yi Xiang’s former shyness.
• Ding Ruoshui’s confidence gives way to jealousy and betrayal when she sees them, setting up a likely confrontation.

Significant themes

• Outsiders and unconventional thinking: Heavenly Horse’s value lies in ideas that break from established assumptions, while Blue Demon’s success also challenges expectations about what even Qianlong’s strongest figures can accomplish.
• Mortality, legacy, and love: Changye’s final work is both a record of her life and a way to leave something behind; her memories of love give that life emotional fulfillment.
• Recognition and rivalry: The captured Wing Blade reshapes reputations, while Xin Yue’s anxiety over status shows how credit and rank fuel competition.
• Secrecy and tangled relationships: Hidden romances, assumptions, and misunderstandings link the chapter’s comedy to Ding Ruoshui’s emerging anger.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ding Ruoshui and Zhao Su travel to a jewelry expo in Yangcheng. Ruoshui is upset after seeing Lin Xiaose/Lin Xiaosu arriving at the venue with Yi Xiang, believing he has ignored her emotional hints and may be romantically involved with someone else.
• Ruoshui vents her anger at men, while Zhao Su attempts—unsuccessfully—to comfort her and suggests finding her a boyfriend.
• The chapter introduces Zhao Su and Ding Ruoshui’s shared history as former classmates at the elite Ningshui High School. Their families, Jiangnan Group and Changsheng Group, are both major powers.
• At the expo, Lin Xiaosu and Yi Xiang admire the elaborate jewelry displays. Lin offers to buy Yi Xiang a jade ornament, but she refuses because of its price and prefers a simple willow leaf picked by him.
• Their conversation recalls a flower Lin previously gave Yi Xiang in Peacock Valley. Yi Xiang preserved it for a hundred years, symbolizing her promise to wait for him and the deep, private love between them.
• Ding Ruoshui and Zhao Su observe Lin and Yi Xiang’s intimacy. Zhao Su is moved by their apparent devotion, while Ruoshui becomes even more cynical and bitter about love.
• Zhao Su recognizes her brother, Zhao Zhen, the famous “Young Master Zhao” associated with the phrase “Young Master Zhao picks up the tab.”
• Zhao Zhen warmly greets Lin, revealing that the two are close friends or brothers-in-arms. Lin jokes that Zhao should pay for the entire expo, but Zhao admits he cannot afford that and instead offers to cover one exhibition hall.
• Zhao Zhen takes Lin and Yi Xiang to a teahouse, publicly declaring that all expenses there are on him. He then dismisses the attendants and privately asks Lin about his purpose in Yangcheng and his future plans.

Character Developments

• Ding Ruoshui: Her previously restrained sadness erupts into anger and sarcasm after seeing Lin with Yi Xiang. Her jealousy and disappointment reveal that her supposed relationship with Lin may have developed into genuine feelings.
• Zhao Su: She is introduced as a caring, playful friend who tries to support Ruoshui. She is perceptive enough to recognize the love between Lin and Yi Xiang, though she also views her brother’s extravagant behavior with embarrassment.
• Lin Xiaosu: He appears affectionate and attentive toward Yi Xiang, displaying both wealth and emotional sincerity. His familiarity and teasing relationship with Zhao Zhen also reveal his strong connections among powerful figures.
• Yi Xiang: She shows humility by rejecting expensive jewelry and valuing Lin’s simple gestures instead. Her preserved flower represents her unwavering devotion and willingness to wait for him.
• Zhao Zhen: The flamboyant “Young Master Zhao” is established as wealthy, generous, theatrical, and socially confident. Beneath his carefree public persona, he becomes serious when discussing Lin’s plans.

Significant Themes

• Love versus misunderstanding: Ruoshui’s jealousy contrasts with the clear emotional bond between Lin and Yi Xiang.
• Material wealth versus emotional value: The expo is filled with priceless jewelry, yet Yi Xiang values a simple leaf or flower from Lin more than expensive treasures.
• Unspoken devotion: Yi Xiang’s preserved flower functions as a private vow of enduring love.
• Friendship and elite connections: The chapter expands the network of powerful families and shows that Lin is closely connected to influential figures such as Zhao Zhen.
• Public image versus private character: Zhao Zhen appears frivolous and extravagant in public, but his private conversation with Lin suggests greater seriousness and responsibility.

Character Interactions

• Zhao Su teases and comforts Ding Ruoshui, while Ruoshui responds with bitterness and defensiveness.
• Lin and Yi Xiang share affectionate dialogue that highlights their mutual devotion.
• Zhao Su and Ding Ruoshui watch the couple, creating a contrast between Yi Xiang’s fulfilled love and Ruoshui’s emotional frustration.
• Zhao Zhen and Lin exchange playful insults and jokes, demonstrating their familiarity.
• Zhao Zhen includes Yi Xiang in the group and then privately questions Lin about his business and future plans, setting up the chapter’s next development.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu asks Zhao Zhen about Lin Weiyang, the founder of Shanhai Club, whom he is scheduled to meet. Zhao explains that Lin Weiyang was once a pioneering professor researching ancient organisms.
• Lin Weiyang rejected recruitment by hostile foreign forces and exposed the recruiter, causing the downfall of numerous corrupt officials and academics. In retaliation, enemy forces murdered his parents, wife, and child.
• After becoming politically isolated, Lin Weiyang left academia and entered business. He accumulated a fortune, then used it to establish Shanhai Club—not for wealth, but to study the legendary creatures described in the Classic of Mountains and Seas and prepare humanity for a possible invasion from the Primordial World.
• Zhao respects Lin Weiyang but warns that a person’s true motives cannot be known with certainty. He asks to accompany Lin Xiaosu to the meeting, but Lin refuses.
• Lin Xiaosu spends time with Yi Xiang before meeting Blue Demon the next morning.
• Blue Demon asks Lin Xiaosu how to deal with the Living Soul Gu, a dangerous parasite or weapon that has infiltrated many influential people and is connected to Hydra.
• Rather than pursuing severed clues quietly, Lin proposes that the authorities publicly reveal the Living Soul Gu’s existence. Infected citizens would be encouraged to come forward for treatment and identify the people controlling them.
• Blue Demon worries that public disclosure would cause panic and notes that many infected people may refuse to cooperate because they have already committed crimes.
• Lin proposes that the Dragon Head offer pardons to those who voluntarily expose Hydra’s agents and assist the authorities. He argues that the crisis is also a rare opportunity to destroy Hydra’s network: every infected person who comes forward could reveal a Hydra operative, while those Hydra kills would also expose the organization’s involvement.
• Through Blue Demon’s Dragon Eye, the Dragon Head appears and personally evaluates Lin’s proposal. He agrees that the nation’s survival justifies flexibility in enforcing the law and promises to seek approval for the pardons.
• The Dragon Head assigns Blue Demon to establish testing and aid locations in cooperation with Lin Xiaosu, then invites Lin to visit headquarters.
• After the Dragon Head disappears, Blue Demon admits that the meeting was partly arranged because the Dragon Head wanted to meet Lin Xiaosu for a more personal, “gossipy” reason.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu is shown as an exceptionally perceptive detective and strategic thinker. He moves beyond solving individual cases and proposes a bold national counteroffensive against Hydra.
• Lin Weiyang is portrayed as a brilliant, principled, and tragic figure whose scientific career was derailed by his patriotism and the murder of his family. His business empire is revealed to be merely a tool for protecting humanity.
• Zhao Zhen demonstrates admiration for Lin Weiyang while retaining a cautious skepticism about judging anyone’s true character.
• Blue Demon begins the meeting focused on a cautious investigation but gradually accepts Lin Xiaosu’s riskier strategy. She becomes an active partner in implementing it.
• The Dragon Head is revealed as an authoritative but pragmatic leader who is willing to bend ordinary legal procedures to protect Great Xia.
• Yi Xiang appears as Lin Xiaosu’s intimate companion and shows some nervous concern about his well-being and habits.

Significant Themes

• Patriotism and sacrifice: Lin Weiyang sacrifices his career and family security for his country, while Lin Xiaosu advocates risking public stability to save the nation.
• Danger as opportunity: The Living Soul Gu crisis is reframed from merely a threat into a chance to dismantle Hydra from within.
• The conflict between law and necessity: The Dragon Head must consider pardoning criminals when doing so may prevent a national catastrophe.
• Public panic versus national survival: The chapter questions whether authorities should protect citizens from frightening information or expose the truth to give them a chance to survive.
• Trust and hidden motives: Zhao warns that people reveal only what they choose, while Lin Xiaosu’s insight allows him to detect concealed identities and intentions.
• Individual lives versus the greater good: The proposed strategy accepts severe risks and possible casualties in order to defeat a deeply entrenched enemy.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Zhao Zhen discuss Lin Weiyang, combining admiration with caution.
• Lin Xiaosu and Yi Xiang share an intimate, affectionate relationship before his official meeting.
• Blue Demon challenges Lin Xiaosu’s proposal, raising practical and moral objections; he counters each concern with strategic reasoning.
• Lin Xiaosu indirectly addresses the Dragon Head through Blue Demon’s Dragon Eye, impressing him with his ability to detect the hidden connection.
• The Dragon Head formally endorses Lin’s plan and places him and Blue Demon in charge of its implementation.
• The chapter ends with Blue Demon hinting that the Dragon Head’s interest in Lin Xiaosu extends beyond official strategy.

Chapter Summary: The Unexpected Turn at White Mountain Residence

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Blue Demon reveals that Changye’s adoptive father, presumably viewing Lin Xiaosu as a potential son-in-law, had been observing him during his visit. She jokingly questions whether Lin Xiaosu and Yi Xiang had behaved improperly.
• Blue Demon outlines a plan to involve Yi Xiang in the Living Soul Gu project. Changsheng Group will establish a specialized facility to treat patients, and Yi Xiang will serve as a scientific consultant for roughly three months.
• The position would provide Yi Xiang with a stable salary and eventual retirement benefits, giving her financial security without forcing her to abandon her medical work in the Miao Borderlands.
• Yi Xiang accepts the position after seeking Lin Xiaosu’s approval. Blue Demon takes her to River City, while Lin Xiaosu proceeds to a separate appointment.
• Lin Xiaosu visits White Mountain Residence, the home of Lin Weiyang, owner of Shanhai Club. He suspects Lin Weiyang may be connected to the enemy’s plans involving the Archaic Realm, though evidence also suggests that Lin Weiyang is a patriotic and trustworthy figure.
• Upon arriving, Lin Xiaosu discovers that the estate is staffed by numerous sophisticated female robots. He meets Lin Weiyang, who is disabled and uses a wheelchair, along with the robot who previously accompanied him.
• Using his Time Reversal ability, Lin Xiaosu sees that two hated enemies from his past—Li Ziyi and Liu Qianxun—have recently visited the pavilion.
• Lin Weiyang openly admits that he has been sheltering both wanted individuals. He explains that he initially protected Li Ziyi because of their teacher-student relationship and later chose not to surrender her.
• Lin Weiyang declares that he and Lin Xiaosu may share the same mission: exposing traitors, eliminating internal threats, and preparing humanity for the Archaic Realm’s invasion.
• He argues that imprisoning Li Ziyi and Liu Qianxun would produce little benefit compared with the information and business opportunities they possess, setting up a moral and strategic conflict with Lin Xiaosu.

2. Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Shows deep concern for Yi Xiang’s future and recognizes that providing her with meaningful employment is more valuable than simply giving her money. His suspicions toward Lin Weiyang remain balanced by a willingness to investigate rather than judge prematurely.
• Blue Demon: Demonstrates both a playful, intrusive side through her gossip and a highly practical, strategic side through her arrangement of Yi Xiang’s position and the Living Soul Gu treatment center.
• Yi Xiang: Gains confidence and hope after being offered a legitimate career and long-term security. Her decision to accept the position also marks a step toward independence.
• Lin Weiyang: Emerges as a morally complicated but potentially reliable ally. He openly shelters criminals, yet frames his actions as necessary preparation for a larger struggle against internal traitors and the approaching Archaic Realm threat.
• Li Ziyi and Liu Qianxun: Though absent from the direct conversation, their presence at White Mountain Residence reveals that Lin Weiyang has connections to Lin Xiaosu’s enemies and may be deliberately gathering dangerous figures around himself.

3. Significant Themes

• Duty versus personal loyalty: Blue Demon’s plan balances Yi Xiang’s personal needs with the broader Living Soul Gu mission, while Lin Weiyang prioritizes strategic usefulness over strict legal punishment.
• Trust and suspicion: Lin Xiaosu must determine whether Lin Weiyang is a genuine ally or an enemy hiding behind an honorable appearance.
• The law versus the greater good: Lin Weiyang challenges the idea that following the law is always the best path, arguing that criminals may possess knowledge or resources valuable in a larger war.
• Humanity’s internal conflict: The coming Archaic Realm invasion is presented as only part of the danger; betrayal and corruption within humanity may be equally threatening.
• Security and personal value: Yi Xiang’s employment offers her dignity, independence, and social recognition, rather than treating her merely as a useful healer.

4. Character Interactions

• Blue Demon teases Lin Xiaosu about his relationship with Yi Xiang, but the conversation quickly turns into a serious discussion of Yi Xiang’s future.
• Lin Xiaosu and Yi Xiang share a supportive relationship: she seeks his opinion, while he encourages her to make her own choice.
• Lin Xiaosu’s meeting with Lin Weiyang is polite but tense, with both men carefully probing each other’s motives.
• Lin Weiyang deliberately places the fate of Li Ziyi in Lin Xiaosu’s hands, treating him as an important figure whose judgment may shape the larger struggle.
• Their conversation establishes possible ideological alignment while leaving unresolved whether Lin Weiyang’s protection of wanted criminals is justified or dangerous.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Weiyang and Lin Xiaosu agree to send Li Ziyi and Liu Qianxun undercover into Hydra. Lin Weiyang expects Hydra to try to turn them; if they truly gain Hydra’s trust, he believes he can learn what they learn.
• Lin Weiyang warns Lin Xiaosu about an unidentified man “with two shadows” and a dangerous place in the Middle East.
• Lin Xiaosu has already located Li Ziyi but agrees to tell Qianlong her wanted status is merely a formality, giving her a way into Hydra. Lin Weiyang supplies Li and Liu with new identities and documents.
• Li Ziyi tells Liu Qianxun they have been exposed and explains the plan. Liu initially rejects working with Lin Xiaosu, whom she associates with her family’s slaughter, but Li insists they must go through with it.
• As Lin Xiaosu descends the mountain, he realizes Lin Weiyang attempted to read his mind. His own Lesser Divine Art blocked the attempt, but he concludes that Weiyang’s power is far more advanced—around level thirty, compared with his own level twenty.
• Lin Xiaosu also understands that Weiyang’s frailty may be the physical cost of his exceptional mental power, as required by the Heavenly Dao Equilibrium Law.
• At the end, Lin Xiaosu encounters a woman who reproaches him for disappearing for nine days after taking her on a trip.

Character developments

• Lin Weiyang reveals himself as a calculating strategist: he accepts the risk that his students may genuinely defect because that could let them penetrate Hydra. His teachings emphasize adapting to shifting alliances.
• Lin Xiaosu gains a clearer sense of Weiyang’s power and danger. Though he survives the attempted mental reading, the encounter unsettles him and reshapes his understanding of their balance of power.
• Li Ziyi accepts the undercover mission, choosing strategic necessity over personal resentment and committing to her teacher’s lesson about fluid distinctions between friend and enemy.
• Liu Qianxun is fiercely resistant at first, but Li challenges her to reconsider. Whether she will accept the mission remains unresolved.
• Lin Weiyang’s beautiful robot acts as a discreet intermediary, summoning Li Ziyi.

Significant themes

• Shifting loyalties and moral ambiguity: The distinction between friend and enemy is presented as flexible; apparent betrayal may serve a larger purpose.
• Risk and trust in espionage: The plan depends on the agents’ ability to convincingly—and perhaps genuinely—turn against their side.
• Power and its costs: Extraordinary mental ability brings physical weakness, illustrating a broader law of balance.
• Fellowship amid danger: Lin Xiaosu reflects that people on their dangerous path are rare and therefore valuable, even when their motives and loyalties are uncertain.

Character interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Lin Weiyang negotiate the Hydra operation and exchange warnings, while concealing and testing their own capabilities.
• Lin Weiyang reassures Li Ziyi that Lin Xiaosu’s discovery of her will help, rather than endanger, her undercover role; he frames the mission through a lesson from the Wisdom Scripture.
• Li Ziyi confronts Liu Qianxun’s anger and appeals to the strategic logic of their teacher’s philosophy.
• The chapter closes with an unnamed woman confronting Lin Xiaosu over his prolonged disappearance, shifting the focus from espionage to their strained personal relationship.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ding Ruoshui confronts Lin Xiaosu after discovering that he spent nine days in Yangcheng with Yi Xiang. She is jealous and feels betrayed because Lin had previously implied he would accompany her unless a more attractive, wealthier woman invited him to something more important.
• Lin insists that his time with Yi Xiang involved “serious business,” though he refuses to explain because the matter concerns state secrets. Ding, unconvinced, announces that they will part ways and “never meet again.”
• Before they can leave, Zhao Zhen arrives in a sports car. He jokes about Lin’s romantic entanglements and calls Ding “sister-in-law,” worsening the tension.
• Zhao reveals a major government announcement: hostile foreign forces have been implanting Living Soul Gu into Great Xia’s elite through ordinary medicine. The parasites remain dormant in the brain and can be activated by a particular fragrance, killing the victim almost instantly.
• The government establishes a Gu-Removal Center at Changsheng Group and offers protection and pardons to victims who report those responsible.
• Ding realizes that she possesses four suspicious pills and recalls receiving cold medicine from Lei Xiaoya and later encountering the activation fragrance on an island. She concludes that Lin may have removed the Gu from her mouth, explaining why the fragrance failed to affect her.
• Zhao praises Lin for uncovering and countering the conspiracy during his nine days in Yangcheng. Lin acknowledges that Yi Xiang played a crucial role and explains that she is protected by Blue Demon, a Heavenly King-level expert, along with another highly secret defensive force.
• Zhao warns that Hydra will retaliate and urges Lin to prioritize Yi Xiang’s safety. He then offers Lin an expensive sports car, but Lin rejects it as impractical and asks only for a ride to the high-speed rail station.
• At the station, Ding admits that she had been furious and had even contemplated throwing Lin off the mountain. However, learning the truth makes her realize that she had misjudged him.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Remains evasive and playful in conversation but is confirmed to have been engaged in a major national security operation rather than a romantic escape. His practical attitude is shown when he rejects Zhao’s flashy car in favor of usefulness.
• Ding Ruoshui: Begins jealous, angry, and convinced that Lin has deceived her. Her discovery of the Living Soul Gu conspiracy transforms her anger into embarrassment and reluctant admiration. She recognizes that Lin’s actions may have saved her life.
• Zhao Zhen: Serves as the bearer of critical information and provides comic relief through his teasing and exaggerated playboy persona. He also demonstrates genuine admiration and concern for Lin.
• Yi Xiang: Though absent, she is revealed to have been essential to the investigation and is now under powerful protection because of the danger posed by Hydra.
• Blue Demon and Qianlong: Their mention establishes the extensive security measures surrounding Yi Xiang and hints at deeper, hidden forces operating behind the scenes.

Significant Themes

• Misunderstanding and trust: Ding’s jealousy stems from incomplete information, while the truth reveals that Lin’s apparent betrayal was connected to a dangerous mission.
• Duty versus personal relationships: Lin prioritizes the national threat over his promises to Ding, showing how personal feelings are complicated by larger responsibilities.
• Hidden conspiracies and invisible warfare: The Living Soul Gu plot demonstrates that enemies can attack through ordinary objects and covert manipulation rather than open violence.
• Protection and sacrifice: Lin, Yi Xiang, and the government’s special team are engaged in a struggle where protecting individuals is tied to defending the entire nation.
• Practicality versus extravagance: Zhao’s lavish lifestyle contrasts with Lin’s grounded, utilitarian preferences.

Character Interactions

• Ding and Lin’s confrontation mixes romantic jealousy, sarcasm, and unresolved affection. Ding repeatedly challenges Lin about choosing Yi Xiang, while Lin tries—unsuccessfully at first—to reassure her.
• Zhao’s arrival interrupts their argument and intensifies Ding’s embarrassment by repeatedly calling her “sister-in-law.”
• Zhao and Lin exchange friendly banter, but Zhao also delivers a serious warning about Hydra’s retaliation and Yi Xiang’s vulnerability.
• Ding’s final conversation with Lin reveals how deeply hurt and angry she had been, while Lin’s surprised reaction shows that he had underestimated the effect of his actions on her.

Plot points

• Ding Ruoshui reveals that she recovered the remaining pills containing Living Soul Gu after Lei Xiaoya discarded them. Lin Xiaosu recognizes them immediately and praises her quick thinking.
• Ruoshui teases Lin about their relationship, then takes a misleading photo that makes it look as though they kissed. She plans to use it to persuade her mother to give her more spending money.
• The two travel by train, but part ways at River City: Ruoshui returns to South Lake Villa, while Lin heads for Phoenix City.
• The focus shifts to Hydra leadership, reacting to Qianlong’s public announcement about Living Soul Gu. Qianlong’s promise to remove the Gu and pardon crimes committed under coercion creates an “open stratagem”: infected Hydra agents can flee, expose their controllers, and escape both the Gu and legal punishment.
• Hydra’s chief explains that killing those agents would weaken Hydra, while sparing them would let them reveal the network. He identifies Lin Xiaosu as the author of the plan.
• The chief reveals that Lin has already captured Wing Blade. Hydra has summoned the Phantom Shadow Heavenly King to eliminate him.
• A proposal to attack Lin’s family and detective agency is rejected as too dangerous. Three previous Hydra teams sent to Phoenix City vanished, and Hydra suspects Red Banner is secretly guarding Lin’s loved ones.

Character developments and interactions

• Ruoshui grows more appreciative of Lin after realizing how much he did to save her, though she expresses her feelings through teasing and playful manipulation. Lin remains focused on the pills and avoids encouraging her romantic advances.
• Hydra’s chief is visibly shaken by Qianlong’s strategy, while a female subordinate recognizes its consequences and urges Lin’s immediate elimination. Her confidence falters when she learns he captured Wing Blade and may be protected by Red Banner.
• Lin’s strategic influence is shown to extend beyond his immediate circle: even Hydra’s leaders regard his thinking as a major threat.

Significant themes

• Open strategy versus covert schemes: Publicly exposing the Gu transforms a hidden conflict into one Hydra cannot manage without losing either its agents or its secrets.
• Human self-preservation and coercion: The amnesty and cure give controlled agents a powerful reason to defect.
• Escalating consequences: A plan intended to weaken Hydra also draws powerful enemies toward Lin.
• Misleading appearances: Ruoshui’s staged photo echoes the larger chapter’s emphasis on how appearances and information can be used strategically.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• In the aftermath of the Living Soul Gu crisis, the chief concludes that the damage cannot be contained to the hoped-for ten percent; even thirty percent would be an optimistic outcome. Believing his era is over because of the arrogance and prejudice of his superiors, he orders Xiao Juan to carry out Contingency Plan Four. He also hints that he has prepared an exit and wants to learn whether his successor is the person he has long sought.
• Hydra’s predictions, and Qianlong’s, begin unfolding across Great Xia. Operatives are caught trying to flee, some kill their handlers, others escape using tricks such as robot decoys, and some report their controllers. Qianlong Gold Medal agents are mobilized nationwide, but the chapter warns that the coming storm will be even greater.
• Lin Xiaosu returns to Phoenix City and reunites with Miao Ruolan. Their affection is clear, but Zhou Xi is sleeping nearby, so the couple keeps their reunion restrained.
• Miao Ruolan and Zhou Xi report that the agency has received three payments from Unit 101—eleven million yuan in total—for dismantling Utopia Central Center, uncovering the Living Soul Gu truth, and dealing with Wing Blade. Lin Xiaosu jokes that the agency has surpassed its annual target and awards Zhou Xi a 200,000-yuan bonus. Zhou Xi promptly announces she will celebrate with Li Fang.
• Zhou Xi reveals that police officer Zhou Mei came to see Lin Xiaosu about a case on Tashan: Li Shuisheng died after being struck by a drunk driver, but his family blames Zhang Dalu, who had allegedly used a Straw Effigy Curse against him.
• Although Zhou Mei initially dismissed the curse as superstition, she discovered that villagers’ accounts of other supposed curse-related deaths referred to real cases. Miao Ruolan and Zhou Xi also found an unsettling commonality while investigating a separate incident. The chapter ends before that connection is explained.

Character developments and interactions

• The chief accepts that his leadership is ending and entrusts Xiao Juan with a consequential contingency plan, while remaining focused on identifying his successor.
• Xiao Juan is visibly shaken by the chief’s decision but receives his direct trust and instructions.
• Lin Xiaosu returns home after major, dangerous work and treats the agency’s large earnings lightly, despite recognizing that the money was won at a grave human cost.
• Miao Ruolan and Lin Xiaosu share a warm, intimate reunion, tempered by Zhou Xi’s presence.
• Zhou Xi remains playful and teasing, especially when she sees a chance to give the couple privacy; she also receives a major bonus and plans to celebrate with Li Fang.
• Zhou Mei moves from confidence in a purely rational explanation toward uncertainty, as evidence around the Straw Effigy Curse challenges her assumptions.
• Across the country, the struggle between Hydra handlers and their targets produces a range of outcomes, from flight and deception to lethal retaliation.

Significant themes

• The cost of crisis and duty: The Living Soul Gu disaster has consequences too extensive to contain neatly; confronting it requires painful decisions.
• Power, control, and resistance: Hydra’s plans are disrupted as controlled people fight back, escape, or expose their handlers.
• Money and human cost: The agency’s extraordinary earnings seem effortless until Lin Xiaosu reflects that nearly every yuan was paid for in lives and danger.
• Reason versus the supernatural: The Straw Effigy Curse case raises doubt about what can be dismissed as superstition, setting up a mystery tied to a broader atmosphere of strange events.
• Everyday warmth amid danger: Domestic affection, teasing, and workplace bonuses offer a brief contrast to the violence and turmoil unfolding across the country.

Chapter Summary: “Hairy Man Murders”

Key events

• Miao Ruolan explains that the Straw Effigy Curse cases are all connected to one mysterious man: an expelled senior monk from Qingyuan Temple who later became known as the Mad Daoist.
• Lin Xiaosu initially dismisses the curses as superstition, but Zhou Mei arrives and asks him to help investigate the Hairy Man Murders. She reveals that the Mad Daoist makes the crude, unsettling Hairy Figures himself.
• Lin and Zhou Mei hike to his cave on Tashan. There they find a line he carved into the cliff, a red Other Shore Flower, and a row of Hairy Figures.
• Inside, they meet the Daoist, who demands payment by the word. Lin gives him money, plays along with his haggling, and wins his cooperation by displaying more cash.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Xiaosu shifts from reluctance to active curiosity once Zhou Mei describes the figures. He remains playful and resourceful, using humor and money to engage the Daoist.
• Zhou Mei is focused and increasingly uneasy about the case. Her teasing exchanges with Lin reveal their familiarity, while her frustration at the Daoist’s fee shows her impatience with his antics.
• The Mad Daoist is introduced as eccentric, shamelessly mercenary, and difficult to read. His former life as a monk—and his failed attempt to court Feng Widow—helps explain his notorious reputation.
• Miao Ruolan and Zhou Xi discuss Lin’s willingness to help, joking that he may be motivated by more than money.

Significant themes

• Superstition versus investigation: What first seems like folk belief grows disturbing when the same person is linked to multiple cases and is making the figures himself.
• Faith, transgression, and reinvention: The Daoist’s expulsion from the temple and shift from Buddhism to Daoism raise questions about whether personal disgrace can transform someone.
• Darkness beneath the comic tone: Banter and the Daoist’s absurd fee system contrast with the eerie cave, the Hairy Figures, and the symbolic Other Shore Flower.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• Lin Xiaosu and Zhou Mei visit the eccentric “Mad Daoist” at his mountain cave to investigate the Hairy Figures allegedly connected to mysterious deaths.
• The Daoist jokingly explains that he broke the Buddhist five precepts over “two days,” not one, and admits that he makes and sells Hairy Figures for companionship and income.
• Lin Xiaosu buys one of the figures and asks whether it can be “consecrated.” The Daoist first dismisses consecration as a scam, then claims his Hairy Figures can fulfill wishes and resolve worldly Karma.
• After leaving, Zhou Mei admits that she suspects the Daoist is dangerous, but there is no legal basis to arrest him. The villagers’ accusations come only from elderly residents, while their families are calming them down, so the case has effectively lost its legal foundation.
• Zhou Mei demonstrates her martial-arts technique, Flower-Flinging Leaf-Picking, using true qi to break a branch with a leaf. She hopes to eventually abandon dependence on firearms.
• She reveals that Xiao Sun, formerly her partner and an associate of Lin Xiaosu’s detective agency, suffered a failed Genetic Modification and became permanently comatose.
• Once alone, Lin Xiaosu examines the Hairy Figure with his Heavenly Dao Primordial Spirit. He discovers that its straw contains a strange, ancient, highly organized aura despite appearing ordinary.
• Lin Xiaosu identifies several mysteries about the Daoist: his apparently unnatural age, the lack of food or cooking traces in his cave, and the supernatural nature of his Hairy Figures.
• Concerned because the Daoist lives less than a kilometer from his home, Lin Xiaosu sends the Hairy Figure through his Spatial Secret Realm to Big Yellow for analysis.
• Big Yellow suggests that the figure may be connected to the Law of Cause and Effect, one of Heavenly Dao’s Seven Laws. Lin Xiaosu realizes that the Daoist may be killing people by manipulating causal links rather than attacking them directly.

Character developments

• Lin Xiaosu becomes increasingly wary and analytical. Although he initially treats the Daoist’s eccentricity humorously, his investigation reveals genuine fear and urgency because the Daoist may possess an invisible killing method near Lin’s home.
• The Mad Daoist is established as deliberately evasive, greedy, and comical, but also potentially ancient and extraordinarily powerful. His contradictory claims and mysterious biology make him a central threat or enigma.
• Zhou Mei shows growing confidence in Ancient Martial Arts. Her improved Secret Rejuvenation Art allows her to use true qi offensively, and she hopes to replace her gun with martial ability in police work.
• Zhou’s pride in her progress is tempered by grief over Xiao Sun, whose failed Genetic Modification illustrates the dangers of that path.
• Big Yellow provides an important theoretical clue by connecting the Hairy Figure to the Law of Cause and Effect, though he cannot confirm it because of the separation created by the Spacetime River.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: The Daoist appears to be a foolish, greedy mountain eccentric, yet his age, body, lifestyle, and creations conceal profound secrets.
• Law versus supernatural justice: The authorities cannot act because the suspected crimes lack legal proof, highlighting the gap between ordinary law and supernatural threats.
• Ancient Martial Arts versus Genetic Modification: Zhou Mei’s progress contrasts with Xiao Sun’s catastrophic failure, presenting martial cultivation as a safer or more controllable alternative to biological enhancement.
• Cause, Karma, and responsibility: The chapter introduces the possibility that murder can occur through manipulation of causality, expanding the concept of crime beyond physical violence.
• The limits of investigation and knowledge: Lin Xiaosu’s detective abilities cannot immediately explain the Hairy Figures, forcing him to rely on metaphysical insight and outside consultation.

Character interactions

• Lin Xiaosu repeatedly undercuts the Daoist’s verbose, self-serving explanations with sarcasm, while still paying him and engaging with his claims.
• The Daoist shifts quickly between claiming consecration is fraudulent and promoting his Hairy Figures as powerful tools, revealing his opportunistic personality.
• Zhou Mei challenges Lin Xiaosu’s reluctance to pursue the Daoist, while Lin reminds her that suspicion alone cannot justify arrest.
• Their banter remains playful—especially over Zhou’s martial arts and the possibility of a “wild husband”—but is balanced by mutual trust and concern.
• Zhou Mei shares Xiao Sun’s tragic fate with Lin, deepening the emotional connection between them.
• Lin’s examination of the Hairy Figure and consultation with Big Yellow move the investigation from village rumor toward a genuine metaphysical explanation involving Heavenly Dao’s Law of Cause and Effect.

Chapter Summary: “Heavenly Dao Causality Disk”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Big Yellow explains that the Law of Cause and Effect is primarily used to trace origins and glimpse future developments, not as an ordinary killing technique. Using karma to kill normally triggers severe Heavenly Dao backlash, making it an “Absolute Mutual-Destruction Art.”
• He describes three possible exceptions:
  1. Buddhist Heaven-Mending Art, which uses accumulated merit to offset Heavenly punishment.
  2. Demonic Heaven-Deception Art, which hides the user from Heaven’s perception.
  3. Causality-Disk Rectification Art, which restores the Heavenly Dao’s intended order by killing people who should originally have died but escaped their fate.
• Lin Xiaosu realizes that the scarecrow’s killings may have been an act of karmic rectification rather than random murder. He suspects the victims may have committed serious wrongdoing and somehow avoided deserved punishment.
• After leaving the Spatial Secret Realm, Lin demonstrates the Great Void Spiral, a powerful qi-circulation technique, to Zhou Mei by throwing a leaf that destroys a boulder.
• Zhou Mei agrees to let Lin help her cultivate the technique. Using his Heavenly Dao Primordial Spirit and “Magic Hand,” Lin directly opens the necessary meridian pathway, allowing her to master the technique far faster than normal.
• Lin asks Zhou Mei to investigate old case files concerning the thirteen Hairy Man Murders, focusing on whether the victims truly deserved death and whether they had committed hidden crimes.
• Zhou Mei recounts the latest case: Zhang Xiaohua was brutally murdered after quarreling with her lover, Li Yongsheng. Although Zhang’s family blamed Li, he supposedly had an alibi and was never proven guilty. Lin questions whether the alibi could have been fabricated.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates increasingly advanced understanding of karmic laws and begins forming a concrete theory about the Hairy Man Murders. His reasoning shifts the investigation from identifying a conventional murderer to determining whether the killings fulfilled Heavenly order.
• Big Yellow becomes increasingly uneasy about Lin’s intellectual abilities. Though Lin is only in the Primordial Spirit Enlightened Realm, his questions touch on extremely profound laws, making Big Yellow wonder whether the current cultivation era is extraordinarily advanced.
• Zhou Mei remains sharp-tongued and easily flustered by Lin’s teasing, but she is also highly receptive to powerful martial techniques. Her trust in Lin grows as he helps her master the Great Void Spiral.
• Zhou Mei’s professional instincts emerge when she provides detailed information about the Hairy Man case and recognizes the significance of investigating the victims’ backgrounds.

Significant Themes

• Karma and justice: The chapter distinguishes ordinary murder from karmic rectification. Killing may be justified under the Heavenly Dao if it restores a fate that was improperly avoided.
• Heavenly order versus human law: A person may escape legal punishment while still being guilty according to a higher moral or cosmic order. The investigation questions whether human justice is incomplete.
• Knowledge and responsibility: Understanding the Law of Cause and Effect gives one tremendous power, but misuse brings catastrophic consequences.
• Shortcuts and exceptional ability: Lin’s direct creation of Zhou Mei’s meridian pathway shows how extraordinary cultivation methods can bypass years of effort, though such shortcuts depend on rare powers and cannot easily be replicated.
• Hidden truth beneath appearances: The apparent suspect in the murder case may be innocent—or may have successfully concealed his guilt, emphasizing the uncertainty surrounding evidence and alibis.

Character Interactions

• Big Yellow serves as Lin’s source of knowledge about karmic laws, while Lin’s questions push Big Yellow to reconsider the nature of the current cultivation world.
• Lin and Zhou Mei exchange flirtatious, teasing remarks, with Zhou repeatedly misunderstanding his suggestion that they “get closer.”
• Lin’s intimate assistance in teaching the Great Void Spiral creates both embarrassment and trust between them.
• Their relationship then becomes more serious when Lin asks Zhou to use her investigative access to examine the Hairy Man Murders.
• Lin and Zhou analyze the Zhang Xiaohua case together, with Lin challenging the official assumption that Li Yongsheng was uninvolved and suggesting that the real murderer may have manipulated the evidence.