Chapter Summaries

The Corrupted Witch Doctor
750 summaries

Ch. 121Let Your Ambition Boil, Kid

Chapter Summary: “Let Your Ambition Boil, Kid”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran meets privately with Sandrew after Sandrew has secretly monitored his conversation with Anfuni.
  • Sandrew tests Li Ziran’s attitude by offering him wine and later probing his reaction to the cost of various magical items. Li Ziran remains cautious but begins asserting himself more confidently.
  • Sandrew reveals that the teapot, cups, and furniture in his room are magical creations made by Dark Elf witches, with each item costing Shadow Points to maintain.
  • The main dispute is addressed: Sandrew had demanded twenty-seven Shadow Points from Li Ziran. Li bluntly states that the amount was “far too much.”
  • Sandrew explains that the points were not his real motivation. He recruited Li because he believed Li had great potential and could generate enormous profits for the Shadow Society.
  • Sandrew presents a map showing a hidden Demon Trench in the Endless Sea, the Ice Plains, Rhine Prairie, and Hippo Ancient City. He proposes using these connected regions to create a large-scale demon cultivation and organ-trading operation.
  • Rhine Prairie, supported by the Rhine Duke, will provide labor and construct hidden factories for low-level demon cultivation. Li will oversee advanced demon cultivation, organ transplantation, and high-end research.
  • Sandrew directs Li to travel alone to the Black-Red Slave Club on Seventh Street in Hippo Ancient City, which will help him establish a secret research institute and serve as a contact point with demons.
  • Sandrew also asks Li to rescue an imprisoned organ researcher named Wood, whose body is reportedly decaying in Tribunal Prison. Transplanting Wood’s brain into a new body could provide Li with an important ally and fellow researcher.
  • By the end of the discussion, Li accepts that Sandrew’s demands and the twenty-seven Shadow Points are reasonable compared with the opportunities being offered.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Becomes more assertive and learns to negotiate with Sandrew as an emerging equal rather than as a subordinate apprentice. Although nervous, he directly challenges Sandrew and refuses unnecessary assistance, insisting that he can reach Hippo Ancient City alone. His ambition expands as he recognizes the scale of the proposed enterprise.
  • Sandrew: Reveals himself as both a manipulative tester and a visionary strategist. He has been monitoring Li but genuinely values his potential. Rather than seeking short-term profit, Sandrew wants Li to build a vast, profitable network centered on demon cultivation and organ research.
  • Anfuni: Though absent from the meeting, her earlier warnings influence Li’s suspicion that Sandrew’s kindness has conditions. Sandrew characterizes her as highly calculating and politically powerful.
  • Wood: Introduced as a possible future ally. His expertise in organ research could significantly advance Li’s work if Li can rescue him.

Significant Themes

  • Ambition versus caution: Li must decide whether to remain safe and independent or pursue a dangerous opportunity with immense profits and influence.
  • The price of opportunity: Sandrew argues that investment and risk are necessary for major success, contrasting broad ambition with petty concern over small expenses.
  • Power and manipulation: The conversation is filled with tests, surveillance, and hidden motives. Both Sandrew and Li attempt to gauge one another while maintaining a surface-level partnership.
  • Industrialization of forbidden research: The chapter presents demon cultivation and organ transplantation not merely as experiments, but as the foundation of a large commercial system involving factories, labor, suppliers, and customers.
  • Moral ambiguity: Cooperation with demons, the use of slaves and ancient creatures, and the possible rescue of an imprisoned researcher all place Li in conflict with the Justice Alliance and Inquisition.
  • Independence and self-determination: Li rejects an assistant and chooses to travel alone, demonstrating his desire to control his own path despite accepting Sandrew’s resources.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran and Sandrew: Their tense but increasingly respectful exchange drives the chapter. Sandrew tests Li’s loyalty and ambition, while Li challenges Sandrew’s demands and asks him to speak plainly. Their relationship shifts from master-and-apprentice dependence toward a strategic partnership.
  • Li Ziran and Anfuni: Although they do not interact directly in the chapter, Anfuni’s earlier warning causes Li to question Sandrew’s motives.
  • Li Ziran and Wood: Their interaction has not yet occurred, but Sandrew frames Wood as a potential intellectual partner whose rescue could benefit Li’s research.
  • Sandrew and the wider Shadow Society: Sandrew positions Li as a valuable future asset and suggests that the Society’s influence and wealth can grow far beyond its current limits.
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Ch. 122Another Rain of Fireballs

Chapter Summary: “Another Rain of Fireballs”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran takes shelter beneath a hollowed boulder when another massive rain of fireballs begins in the wasteland.
  • The fireballs melt the red sand into streams of molten material, making travel impossible and forcing him to remain sheltered for the day.
  • To protect himself from the heat and flying sparks, he summons several frogs and transforms them into Corpse Witches, using them as barriers.
  • While waiting out the storm, Li Ziran reflects on his recent conversation with Sandrew about demons, the Ice Plains, the Shadow Society, and the importance of establishing a secret base.
  • He considers the dangers and potential rewards of traveling through the wasteland, particularly the possibility of acquiring organs from ancient races and using them to enhance his own body.
  • Li Ziran experiments with a headless Corpse Witch assembled from preserved limbs. He studies its “chains,” the structures within necromantic formations that determine their special abilities.
  • He realizes that mastering these chains will be much more difficult than copying ordinary formation patterns and decides he must learn through repeated experimentation.
  • He also examines a frog infected with his Clinging Sludge Curse, recognizing that the curse could be useful in surgical procedures and for dissecting large, powerful creatures.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran demonstrates caution and adaptability by preparing multiple Corpse Witches to survive the extreme environmental conditions.
  • His ambition becomes clearer: he wants to reach the Ice Plains, encounter ancient species, and obtain rare organs that could grant him extraordinary abilities.
  • He continues developing as both a necromancer and an organ-transplant practitioner, shifting his attention from merely using Corpse Witches to understanding and reproducing their internal magical “chains.”
  • Li Ziran remains wary of Karen, whose head is still dangerous because of her ability to resurrect and read minds. He avoids reviving her until he has the strength to control or defeat her.
  • His fascination with anatomy grows increasingly intense, particularly his desire to study Giants, Behemoths, and other powerful species.

Significant Themes

  • Survival against nature: The wasteland’s firestorms emphasize how hostile and nearly uninhabitable the region is.
  • Knowledge as power: Magical chains, organ structures, and anatomical research are treated as valuable secrets that distinguish one mage or practitioner from another.
  • Ambition and risk: Li Ziran willingly enters dangerous territory because the potential rewards—rare organs, ancient abilities, and greater power—justify the danger.
  • Transformation and bodily modification: The chapter repeatedly focuses on reshaping bodies, whether through organ transplantation, Corpse Witch construction, curses, or dissection.
  • Secrecy and political struggle: Sandrew’s advice about hidden bases highlights the Shadow Society’s precarious position against the Justice Alliance and Inquisition.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran and Sandrew: Though Sandrew is absent from the immediate scene, his previous guidance strongly influences Li Ziran’s plans. Sandrew explains the Shadow Society’s hierarchy, the need for a hidden base, and the society’s dependence on secrecy.
  • Li Ziran and Karen: Their interaction is indirect but significant. Li Ziran studies Karen’s Corpse Witch while fearing that exposing her head could restore her consciousness and dangerous powers.
  • Li Ziran and Xiao Wei/Jili: Li Ziran reflects that he left without informing them, reinforcing his solitary and secretive habits.
  • Li Ziran and the Corpse Witches: He uses them as protective tools but also treats them as magical specimens, studying their formations in an attempt to reproduce their abilities.
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Ch. 123Business Comes Knocking

Chapter Summary: “Business Comes Knocking”

Plot Points and Events

  • After a night of fire rain, the area around Li Ziran’s stone shelter sinks and begins melting into brass-like sand. Realizing the stone will soon be destroyed and knowing he must reach Hippo Ancient City, Li Ziran sets out west.
  • Hippo Ancient City is one of the Wasteland’s three major slave city-states and the only surviving ancient city-state there. Li Ziran plans to contact demons and begin developing his demon-surrogacy business, while also seeking valuable organs and ancient bloodlines.
  • He quickly crosses the fire-rain zone and enters the Wasteland’s barren central desert. After traveling alone for hours, he encounters a Desert Camel caravan and pays to join it, though he discovers the caravan is still waiting for more passengers before departing.
  • While riding with the caravan, Li Ziran studies the Shadow Badge and enters the Shadow Society’s consciousness space. He learns that the badge enables communication and teleportation between members, though business discussions are forbidden because Shadow Elder can monitor the space.
  • An Ogre member contacts Li Ziran to commission a surrogate embryo for a Mighty Demon from the Second Great War. They negotiate the price from one Shadow Point to one and a half Contribution Points, with the Ogre offering to cover Shadow Elder’s thirty-percent transaction fee.
  • The Ogre promises to provide a suitable surrogate, the demon’s remains, and possibly descendants with useful organs. The materials will be delivered to Li Ziran at the Triangle Slave Shop in Hippo Ancient City.
  • Anfuni then appears, congratulates Li Ziran on his first business deal, and invites him to establish a beauty-treatment and body-sculpting business near the rainforest. Li Ziran declines for now, choosing to focus on the more profitable demon-related opportunities in Hippo Ancient City.
  • Their conversation ends when Anfuni is summoned by the queen. Shortly afterward, the camel caravan is attacked by human bandits. The camels form a defensive circle, but appear unwilling to resist. A red-bearded bandit begins robbing the passengers and confronts Li Ziran directly.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Becomes more ambitious and business-minded. He remains cautious about the Shadow Society but actively studies its rules and begins negotiating independently. His refusal to settle for comfortable but less profitable opportunities shows his determination to build a powerful enterprise in Hippo Ancient City.
  • The Ogre: Introduced as Li Ziran’s first independent client. He is practical and willing to negotiate, offering a reasonable payment while arranging the necessary materials through his contacts.
  • Anfuni: Reveals that she has become an enthusiastic supporter of Li Ziran’s cosmetic and body-modification abilities. She remains friendly and playful but is still resentful toward Sandrew for forcibly teleporting her away.
  • Sandrew: Though absent, he influences Li Ziran’s thoughts. His high fee and strict instructions shape Li Ziran’s understanding of the Shadow Society.
  • Shadow Elder: Becomes more significant as the unseen authority behind the Shadow Society’s communication space and its thirty-percent transaction fee.

Significant Themes

  • Ambition versus comfort: Li Ziran rejects Anfuni’s easier offer in the rainforest because he believes greater risks and harsher environments offer more valuable business opportunities.
  • Business and exploitation: Nearly every relationship operates through payment, commissions, or trade, from camel transport and water prices to Shadow Society transaction fees and surrogate contracts.
  • Survival in a hostile world: The desert, fire rain, scarce resources, and bandits emphasize how vulnerable individuals are in the Wasteland.
  • Power and hierarchy: The Shadow Society’s concealed rules and Shadow Elder’s control over communication and teleportation reveal the organization’s unequal power structure.
  • Morality and commodification: Bodies, organs, descendants, and reproductive abilities are treated as commercial resources, reinforcing the chapter’s dark, transactional view of society.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran pays a Desert Camel to join the caravan but remains socially detached from the other travelers.
  • He attempts to contact Anfuni through Shadow Space before successfully communicating with the Ogre.
  • Li Ziran and the Ogre negotiate the price and conditions of the demon-surrogacy contract.
  • Anfuni praises Li Ziran’s work and invites him to the rainforest, while Li Ziran explains that his current plans take priority.
  • The chapter ends with the red-bearded bandit ordering Li Ziran to surrender his possessions, setting up a confrontation.
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Ch. 124Little Minotaur

Chapter Summary: “Little Minotaur”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran leaves a camel caravan after effortlessly annihilating a group of human bandits. He transforms the bandits into Green-Tailed Snakes and captures three Mage survivors, intending to harvest their Magic Glands and use the others as spiritual nourishment.
  • Traveling westward, he notices the landscape and climate changing as the influence of the Ice Plains increases. The desert becomes less sandy, the sky clearer, and the air cooler.
  • Near the western Wasteland, Li Ziran encounters a migrating Minotaur tribe traveling on Giant Rhinoceroses. He offers the tribe a healing potion in exchange for transportation to Hippo Ancient City.
  • The Minotaur leader, suspicious of humans, allows Li Ziran to ride at the back of the group. Li Ziran observes that the tribe includes women and children, an unusual and dangerous choice in the eastern Wasteland, where such groups are often captured as slaves.
  • Li Ziran befriends—or teases—a young Minotaur riding a rhinoceros calf. The child initially refuses to speak because the tribe chief has warned that humans are liars who abduct and sell Minotaurs into slavery.
  • By using copper coins and pretending he will report the child’s earlier words, Li Ziran gets the little Minotaur to reveal that the tribe is traveling beyond Hippo Ancient City to Snow Woman Lake. There, the Snow Women are constructing a massive altar for an upcoming sacrifice and need many laborers.
  • Learning that several hundred Snow Women live around the lake, Li Ziran becomes interested in the area. He considers obtaining Snow Woman skin for magical experimentation and searching for Snow Monster noses, which are renowned for their exceptional ability to distinguish scents.
  • The little Minotaur explains that work is highly valued among his people, who may only find employment for half the year. He proudly describes himself as an important young worker because he owns his own rhinoceros mount.
  • When Li Ziran asks whether he has a wife, the child becomes embarrassed and admits he is saving money to marry a particular Minotaur woman. Li Ziran silently judges his taste and dismisses the romantic ambition as foolish.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Continues to display overwhelming power, cruelty, and opportunism, viewing living creatures primarily as sources of organs, magical materials, or spiritual nourishment. At the same time, he is curious about unfamiliar cultures and capable of playful, almost paternal teasing toward children.
  • The little Minotaur: Initially fearful and distrustful of humans, he gradually reveals himself to be naïve, stubborn, honest, and easily manipulated. He takes pride in his labor and mount, while secretly harboring romantic aspirations and a desire for adulthood.
  • The Minotaur chief: Though he never directly interacts with Li Ziran, he is characterized as cautious and protective. His warnings about humans shape the child’s suspicion and reflect the tribe’s awareness of slavery and exploitation.
  • The Minotaur tribe: Presented as a hardworking, mobile community with strong cultural differences from eastern Wasteland societies. Their women and children travel openly with the adults, suggesting greater communal security and a different social structure.

Significant Themes

  • Predation and exploitation: The chapter repeatedly contrasts Li Ziran’s harvesting of magical organs with the broader slave trade targeting Minotaurs, Snow Women, and other rare races.
  • Cultural differences: Eastern and western Wasteland societies treat tribal migration, labor, women, and children differently. The Minotaurs’ lifestyle reveals that the Wasteland contains diverse social customs rather than one unified culture.
  • Innocence versus cynicism: The child’s literal belief that humans are all liars contrasts with Li Ziran’s sophisticated manipulation and morally detached worldview.
  • Value and survival: The Minotaurs measure success through work, physical strength, and the ability to support a family, while Li Ziran values magical organs, experimentation, and personal power.
  • Curiosity and scientific ambition: Li Ziran’s interest in Snow Woman skin and Snow Monster noses shows his ongoing drive to acquire rare biological traits for experimentation and self-improvement.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran negotiates with the Minotaur leader by offering a healing potion, overcoming the leader’s distrust of humans.
  • His exchanges with the little Minotaur are playful but manipulative: he uses money, teasing, and a false threat of reporting the child to make him talk.
  • The child’s guarded answers gradually turn into open conversation, allowing Li Ziran to learn about Snow Woman Lake, the tribe’s labor situation, and the child’s personal ambitions.
  • Their relationship remains unequal: the child treats Li Ziran as a potentially dangerous outsider, while Li Ziran sees him as an amusing and naïve source of information.
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Ch. 125Buying Organs (Cavefolk Blinding Eye)

Chapter Summary: “Buying Organs (Cavefolk Blinding Eye)”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran travels with Kamen’s Minotaur tribe toward Hippo Ancient City. The tribe moves cautiously and efficiently, with Kamen—an Advanced Totem Warrior and former Grasslands Legion soldier—personally supervising security.
  • Along the route, they pass Dwarf and Cavefolk settlements. Li Ziran observes that the Dwarves may appear harmless but are not necessarily trustworthy, while the Cavefolk and Dwarves cooperate through mining and trade.
  • The tribe enters a Cavefolk underground town to resupply. The Minotaurs replenish their liquor, clean and rest their giant rhinos, and prepare to continue their journey.
  • Li Ziran learns more about Cavefolk eyeballs. Mutated Cavefolk may grow magical eyes containing the curse attribute “Blinding.” These eyes are valuable to Dwarf alchemists and can be used in Blinding Staffs; exceptionally powerful ones can cause permanent blindness.
  • Since Li Ziran can now transplant organs, he considers acquiring a powerful Cavefolk eye to replace one of his own eyes.
  • After entering a Windmill—a tavern, bathhouse, and information-trading center—Li Ziran asks a short-tailed girl to locate Cavefolk eyes for him.
  • A Cavefolk merchant first offers ordinary mutated eyeballs, but Li Ziran dismisses them as worthless. The merchant then produces a more carefully packaged eye, claiming it belonged to the previous chieftain’s son. Li Ziran recognizes it as poor quality and suspects an attempted scam.
  • Instead of buying the inferior eye, Li Ziran proposes paying five silver coins for a “live” or genuinely high-quality specimen, hoping to force the merchant to find better merchandise.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Remains cautious, calculating, and materially focused. He evaluates people and goods according to their usefulness, especially magical organs. He displays confidence and bargaining skill, using money and apparent indifference to test the merchant.
  • Kamen: Is established as a disciplined, experienced leader. His military background is reflected in the tribe’s constant vigilance and organized travel.
  • The little Minotaur: Continues to show innocent friendliness, particularly toward the Cavefolk, contrasting with the suspicion and pragmatism of the adults.
  • The Cavefolk merchant: Reveals himself as an opportunistic trader who tries to exploit Li Ziran’s interest in rare organs, though Li Ziran suspects he may also have access to better products.

Significant Themes

  • Innocence versus survival: The child’s honesty is charming, but Li Ziran recognizes that the Wasteland rewards caution and strength rather than sincerity.
  • Trust and suspicion: Nearly every interaction is shaped by the possibility of deception, from roadside traders to the Cavefolk merchant.
  • Value and exploitation: Magical organs are treated as commodities, with their worth determined by rarity, quality, and practical power.
  • Adaptation in a harsh world: Different races survive through specialized abilities and cooperation—Cavefolk through tunneling and echolocation, Dwarves through trade and alchemy, and Minotaurs through organization and strength.
  • The body as a resource: Li Ziran’s willingness to replace his own eye emphasizes his unusual approach to power and self-improvement.

Important Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran develops a friendly conversational relationship with the young Minotaur while remaining wary of the tribe’s adults.
  • Kamen and the Cavefolk leader greet one another warmly, showing an established relationship based on repeated trade.
  • Cavefolk workers care for the Minotaurs’ rhinos, demonstrating the practical partnership between the traveling tribe and the underground settlement.
  • In the Windmill, Li Ziran uses the short-tailed girl as an intermediary to locate organ dealers.
  • His negotiations with the Cavefolk merchant become a test of confidence: the merchant attempts to sell him inferior eyes, while Li Ziran exposes the poor quality and pressures him to produce something genuinely valuable.
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Ch. 126The Fine Eyeball of Seven Mutations

Chapter Summary: The Fine Eyeball of Seven Mutations

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran seeks to purchase a highly mutated Cavefolk eyeball, specifically one with enough mutations to retain powerful Blinding abilities.
  • A Cavefolk initially claims to possess a five-mutation eye but hesitates because its owner is dangerous or important.
  • Li Ziran negotiates by offering silver coins, a Revival Potion, and—most importantly—his supposed ability as a Grand Witch Doctor to transplant eyes. He promises to install a superior eye in the Cavefolk while taking only one for himself.
  • Tempted by the possibility of gaining greater status within the tribe, the Cavefolk leads Li Ziran through the guarded underground settlement. The Cavefolk is revealed to be a squad captain or minor leader, using his authority to pass several patrols.
  • They reach the secluded residence of the Cavefolk chieftain. The captain changes his claim, revealing that the chieftain possesses an eye mutated seven times—an exceptionally powerful level capable of permanent Blinding.
  • The supposedly sick and elderly chieftain ambushes them, firing Blinding beams from his eyes. He successfully blinds the captain and appears to blind Li Ziran as well.
  • Li Ziran secretly uses Purification to restore his vision, pretending to remain incapacitated so he can counterattack.
  • Before the chieftain can use a crossbow, Li Ziran casts a Shapeshifting Curse and transforms him into a frog. He restrains, knocks out, and hangs the transformed chieftain by the leg.
  • The captain is shocked by Li Ziran’s strength and attempts to apologize, but Li Ziran dismisses the betrayal, promising that the captain will still receive everything he was owed after an hour.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran demonstrates sharp business instincts, using calculated incentives and psychological pressure to secure the deal. His departure is a deliberate tactic that forces the captain to follow him.
  • He also reveals considerable confidence and combat ability. Rather than avoiding the Blinding curse, he allows it to strike him because he knows Purification can neutralize it.
  • The Cavefolk captain is shown to be opportunistic and ambitious. He attempts to exploit the chieftain’s illness and secretly obtain the seven-mutation eye, hoping to increase his authority or possibly control the tribe.
  • Despite his apparent confidence as a leader, the captain is timid and easily manipulated by Li Ziran’s promises. His awe grows after witnessing Li Ziran defeat the chieftain almost instantly.
  • The old chieftain is revealed to have faked or exaggerated his weakness. He is healthy, highly alert, and powerful, but his confidence in his Blinding ability fails against Li Ziran’s Purification and counterattack.

Significant Themes

  • Power and status: Among the Cavefolk, mutated eyes determine authority. Possessing a highly evolved eye can elevate someone’s political position and influence over the tribe.
  • Deception and manipulation: Nearly every character conceals their intentions. The captain lies about the eye’s mutation level, while the chieftain disguises his health and prepares an ambush. Li Ziran outmaneuvers both through superior deception.
  • Knowledge versus raw power: Li Ziran’s understanding of curses, purification, organ transplantation, and mutation allows him to overcome opponents whose abilities appear stronger.
  • Greed and ambition: The captain’s desire for a superior eye leads him to betray the chieftain, while the chieftain’s possession of the seven-mutation eye makes him a target.
  • Evolution and transformation: The chapter connects Cavefolk “mutation” with magical evolution and repeatedly emphasizes bodily alteration—through transplanted organs, mutated eyes, and Li Ziran’s transformation curse.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran and the captain engage in a tense negotiation, with Li Ziran controlling the conversation and steadily raising the value of his offer.
  • The captain’s respect and fear increase as Li Ziran presents himself as a Grand Witch Doctor and effortlessly moves through the tribe’s defenses.
  • The captain and chieftain interact formally, but the captain secretly intends to profit from the chieftain’s condition.
  • The chieftain attacks both men without warning, demonstrating that he trusts neither the captain nor Li Ziran.
  • Li Ziran ultimately dominates the confrontation, defeating the chieftain while reassuring the captain that their bargain remains intact.
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Ch. 127Wait, Can I Help You With Something?

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

  • During the cold night in the Western Wasteland, Li Ziran performs eye-transplant surgery for a Cavefolk, using two Corpse Witches to remove frog eyes and implant one into the Cavefolk.
  • The transplanted eye has undergone seven mutations, making it exceptionally valuable and powerful by Cavefolk standards. Li Ziran is particularly interested in studying its magical patterns and the possibility of causing further mutations.
  • Li Ziran reflects on his research into magical organs, Frog Transformation, Corpse Witch abilities, and the deeper mystery of souls. He especially hopes to obtain Demon eyes, which might allow him to perceive rare Soul Elements.
  • After completing the operation, Li Ziran pays the Cavefolk seven silver coins, despite having little money, honoring their agreed price.
  • He restores one Frog to Cavefolk form but accidentally leaves an elderly Cavefolk in Frog form. When asked, he offers either to restore or keep the Frog.
  • The Cavefolk, overwhelmed by Li Ziran’s generosity and power, insists on helping him in return. Li Ziran dismisses the offer, explaining that their exchange was simply business.
  • Before leaving, Li Ziran asks whether the Cavefolk knows how Cavefolk cultivate their eyes. When the man admits he does not, Li Ziran transforms into a Frog and disappears.
  • The Cavefolk realizes he has missed his chance to follow or serve Li Ziran, though he does not even know Li Ziran’s true identity.
  • The chapter ends with Li Ziran traveling with the Minotaur Tribe toward Snow Woman Lake. Both he and the young Minotaur are exhausted after staying awake all night. The Minotaur amusingly asks how to make his rough skin as smooth as that of the short-tailed rabbits.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran demonstrates increasing mastery over surgery, Corpse Witches, Frog Transformation, and magical organ research. He is pragmatic and detached, viewing the transaction as business rather than charity.
  • He also reveals a growing intellectual fascination with souls, particularly after cultivating the Dark Mandala. His curiosity about Demon eyes and preserved demonic inheritance suggests that his research ambitions are expanding beyond the physical body.
  • Despite his emotional distance, Li Ziran behaves fairly and honorably by paying the agreed fee and offering the Cavefolk a choice regarding the remaining Frog.
  • The Cavefolk develops from a desperate client into an admirer who hopes to gain Li Ziran’s favor. Receiving the mutated eye gives him hope that he may eventually become stronger and rise beyond his current status.
  • His desire to repay Li Ziran resembles the devotion of an apprentice toward a powerful master, but Li Ziran judges him to have little practical value and refuses to take him on.
  • The young Minotaur remains naïve and comically preoccupied with physical appearance, asking Li Ziran for advice about achieving smoother skin.

Significant Themes

  • Power and social hierarchy: The seven-mutation eye represents immense status among the Cavefolk, while Li Ziran’s ability to provide it places him far above them.
  • Transactional kindness: Li Ziran helps the Cavefolk but insists that their relationship is merely a business arrangement, questioning whether generosity creates obligations.
  • Ambition and opportunity: The Cavefolk sees Li Ziran as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to improve his destiny, reflecting how individuals seek powerful patrons in a harsh world.
  • Scientific and magical curiosity: Li Ziran’s experiments blend anatomy, magic, mutation, and soul research, showing his relentless pursuit of knowledge.
  • The mystery of body and soul: The chapter contrasts Li Ziran’s growing understanding of physical transformation with his limited knowledge of souls.
  • Humor amid hardship: The grim surgery and brutal Wasteland setting are balanced by the Minotaur’s absurd concern about skin texture and the Cavefolk’s awkward attempt to become Li Ziran’s helper.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran and the Cavefolk interact as merchant and customer, but the exchange takes on a more personal tone when the Cavefolk tries to repay Li Ziran and seek future contact.
  • Li Ziran gently but firmly rejects the Cavefolk’s emotional attachment, emphasizing that their deal is complete.
  • The Cavefolk’s desperate admiration contrasts with Li Ziran’s detached assessment of his usefulness.
  • Li Ziran’s final conversation with the young Minotaur provides a comic contrast to the earlier surgery and philosophical reflections, highlighting the Minotaur’s innocence and lack of seriousness.
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Ch. 128Pure Essential Oil?

Chapter Summary: “Pure Essential Oil?”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran travels toward Hippo Ancient City with Kamen, the Minotaur tribe, and their rhinoceros mounts. He remains restless and unable to sleep because of his excitement over his newly acquired seven-times-mutated eye.
  • The group reaches a ruined settlement that serves as shelter from the Wasteland’s hurricanes and freezing nighttime temperatures.
  • During the night, a distant magical battle erupts, suggesting a large-scale conflict. Soon afterward, twelve wounded Earthstrider Dragons arrive with a group of humans.
  • The newcomers include black-robed attendants, three young human girls, their mentor Cavis, and several captured beings from different races, including a rare Gray Dwarf black wizard.
  • Kamen helps the girls start a fire, earning goodwill and allowing the Minotaur tribe to avoid conflict. Li Ziran also purifies the curse-like injuries on an Earthstrider Dragon using the Purification Art.
  • The girls become interested in Li Ziran and question him about traveling alone and heading toward Hippo Ancient City.
  • The group’s friendly appearance takes a sinister turn when the girls announce that the captured “cultists” must be judged. The prisoners are tied to wooden frames and subjected to a solemn religious execution ritual.
  • One girl recites a judgment scripture, applies a potion to the prisoners’ faces, and prepares to ignite them. Li Ziran recognizes the potion as pure essential oil, implying that the girls intend to burn the captives alive.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran remains powerful, observant, and emotionally detached. He is curious about his mutated eye but still lacks the mental fortitude to use it without excitement. His casual healing of the Earthstrider Dragon reveals both his magical ability and his tendency to help selectively.
  • Kamen is shown as experienced and diplomatic. He quickly identifies the newcomers as non-slavers, assists them with the fire, and uses practical goodwill to protect his tribe.
  • The young human girls initially appear innocent, sheltered, and cheerful, but their behavior reveals a disturbing fanaticism. Their childish excitement contrasts sharply with their participation in executions.
  • Cavis, the girls’ mentor, appears calm, educated, and observant. He becomes more favorable toward Li Ziran after learning that Li knows the Purification Art, but his stance toward the prisoners remains unclear.
  • The little Minotaur continues to display youthful curiosity and attraction, becoming distracted by the human girls.
  • The captured beings—including Cavefolk, Dwarves, Wolves, and a Gray Dwarf wizard—are treated as condemned criminals or “cultists,” though the chapter does not yet explain their crimes.

Significant Themes

  • Appearance versus reality: The human group first seems vulnerable and harmless, but their innocent demeanor conceals cruelty and religious violence.
  • Fanaticism and moral authority: The girls frame execution as purification, judgment, and rebirth, showing how ideology can justify brutality.
  • Survival in a hostile world: Extreme cold, hurricanes, slave-catchers, and constant warfare shape every decision the characters make.
  • The contrast between innocence and violence: The girls’ childish questions, laughter, and awkward attempts to light a fire coexist with their willingness to burn prisoners.
  • Pragmatism and power: Li Ziran and Kamen respond to danger differently—Li relies on overwhelming ability and observation, while Kamen uses experience, diplomacy, and practical skills.

Character Interactions

  • Kamen assists the girls with starting their fire, and they eagerly learn from him.
  • The girls invite Li Ziran to join them, question him about his travels, and become fascinated by his solitary journey.
  • Li Ziran introduces himself to Cavis, who reacts positively to his knowledge of the Purification Art.
  • Li quietly heals one of the Earthstrider Dragons, drawing the attention of both Cavis and the girls.
  • The friendly conversation ends when the girls order the prisoners to be hanged and begin a ritualistic execution, leaving Li Ziran shocked by the use of “pure essential oil” as an accelerant.
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Ch. 129You Specialize in Taming Frogs

Chapter Summary: “You Specialize in Taming Frogs”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran witnesses three human girls conducting a horrifying execution by fire on suspected members of the Dark Council. They use concentrated essential oil, flames, and a special scripture to extract and absorb the victims’ souls.
  • He recognizes the ritual as a refined form of the Devouring Curse, noting that unlike his own method of swallowing souls whole, the girls’ technique breaks them down and absorbs them gradually.
  • One girl invites Li Ziran to participate, but he refuses, claiming that he practices a healing or purification art that would be ruined if he killed anyone. In reality, he distrusts the girls and fears exposing his identity.
  • Li Ziran deduces that the girls are probably associated with the Inquisition, while their guards and companions appear powerful and wealthy. He decides to avoid conflict and return to the Minotaur camp.
  • Before he can leave, the girls notice the frogs hanging from his belt and assume he is a beast tamer who specializes in frogs. One frog—actually a Cavefolk transformed into frog form—revives and draws their attention.
  • Cavis throws Li Ziran a gold coin as payment for entertaining the girls. When young Minotaurs move toward it, Cavis’s companion releases a brilliant sword arc, cutting a trench into the ground and warning them away.
  • Tempted by the coin, Li Ziran agrees to entertain the girls with the frog. They demand that it jump, roll over, and perform tricks, treating the transformed Cavefolk like a toy.

Character Development

  • Li Ziran demonstrates caution, deception, and adaptability. He suppresses his curiosity about the Devouring Curse because he suspects the girls may be setting a trap.
  • His moral stance is shown to be partly an act: he claims not to kill, but mainly uses the excuse to protect his identity and avoid provoking dangerous people.
  • He becomes increasingly aware of his vulnerable position as a member of the Shadow Society, particularly because Cavis might discover his Shadow Badge.
  • His practical and opportunistic side emerges when he accepts the gold coin despite his disgust at the girls’ behavior.
  • The three girls are revealed to be sheltered, powerful, and disturbingly casual about violence. They treat executions as religious duty but view the frog’s suffering as entertainment.
  • Cavis appears observant and controlling. He silently monitors the girls, pays Li Ziran to keep them occupied, and allows a powerful guard to intimidate the Minotaurs.
  • The Cavefolk victim is reduced to a frog and forced into humiliating tricks, emphasizing its helplessness and Li Ziran’s conflicted position.

Significant Themes

  • Cruelty disguised as righteousness: The girls call the execution “redeeming souls,” but the ritual appears to be violent soul consumption rather than genuine salvation.
  • Appearance versus reality: Li Ziran pretends to be a harmless healer, while the girls present themselves as innocent religious figures despite participating in brutal executions.
  • Survival and moral compromise: Li Ziran prioritizes caution and self-preservation over openly condemning the execution or rescuing the transformed Cavefolk.
  • Power and class inequality: A single gold coin can incite desperation among the Minotaurs, yet Cavis uses one casually as payment. The wealthy humans regard both prisoners and lower-status beings as disposable.
  • Dehumanization: The executed prisoners are treated as ingredients, while the Cavefolk is treated as a pet or plaything. The scene shows how power allows characters to erase the humanity of others.
  • Danger beneath absurdity: The humorous “frog-taming” situation follows a gruesome execution and a deadly warning, creating a contrast between comedy and brutality.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran observes and mentally analyzes the girls’ execution ritual, comparing it with his own Devouring Curse.
  • A girl repeatedly pressures him to use the scripture and join the soul-devouring ritual, while he politely refuses and maintains his false identity.
  • The girls question his background and identify him as a beast tamer after noticing the frogs on his belt.
  • They enthusiastically seize the transformed Cavefolk and ask Li Ziran to make it perform tricks.
  • Cavis throws Li Ziran a gold coin to ensure that he keeps the girls entertained.
  • A powerful swordsman threatens the Minotaurs when they approach the coin, reminding Li Ziran that the group possesses overwhelming strength.
  • The chapter ends with Li Ziran addressing the exhausted transformed Cavefolk and urging it to roll over for the girls’ amusement.
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Ch. 130Do You Want to Make a Deal?

Chapter Summary: “Do You Want to Make a Deal?”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran spends the night entertaining three young girls—Aimer, Ivy, and Ailey—who are traveling with the powerful warrior Cavis. At first, he makes them gamble on a Frog’s jumps, though he finds the activity tedious and exhausting.
  • The girls ask for something more exciting and suggest using Judgment on the captured Dark Council members. Cavis refuses, revealing that his Devouring Curse can only be used once a day.
  • To entertain them without exposing his more dangerous abilities, Li Ziran transforms one of the shackled Cavefolk into an Azure-Tailed Snake. Cavis notices Li’s unusual use of mental power and becomes more suspicious, though he does not identify Li as a Dark Council member.
  • The girls overcome their fear of the snake, play with it, and decide to keep it as a pet. Once they fall asleep, Li retrieves the transformed Cavefolk and prepares to rest.
  • Cavis confronts Li, correctly observing that he is not a priest and questioning why he approached the group. Li explains that he is a merchant traveling to Hippo Ancient City to complete a deal.
  • Cavis reveals that the girls are the treasured daughters of Duke Ranchi, members of the influential Lanchi Family. He claims they were brought into the Wasteland for training, though Li suspects their trip has a deeper purpose, possibly connected to spiritual nourishment.
  • Cavis offers Li a temporary job escorting the girls to North Sea Port. The Dark Council has learned of their presence, and their father’s political position has attracted the attention of multiple factions.
  • Li is amused and irritated by the proposal: Cavis unknowingly wants a genuine Dark Council member to protect the daughters from the Dark Council.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Shows his adaptability, resourcefulness, and talent for deception. He entertains the girls while carefully concealing his true identity and abilities. He briefly considers infiltrating the Inquisition to locate Wood and improve his knowledge of Magic Organs, but recognizes the extreme danger of such a plan. His merchant persona becomes central to his interaction with Cavis.
  • Cavis: Establishes himself as highly perceptive, powerful, and protective. Unlike the naive girls, he remains alert to Li’s abnormal mental power and movements. Although initially suspicious and somewhat presumptuous, he recognizes Li’s usefulness and attempts to recruit him.
  • Aimer, Ivy, and Ailey: Display childish curiosity, recklessness, and a fascination with novelty. They treat Li as an entertainer rather than a potential threat, quickly becoming attached to the snake. Their behavior contrasts sharply with their prestigious family background and apparent importance.
  • The Cavefolk: Continues to suffer under Li’s control, first being forced to leap as a Frog and later being transformed into a snake for the girls’ amusement, emphasizing Li’s pragmatic and exploitative methods.

Significant Themes

  • Deception and mistaken identity: Li is secretly a Dark Council member while Cavis believes he may be a useful outsider. The proposed escort mission is built on dramatic irony.
  • Survival and opportunism: Li constantly weighs danger against potential benefits, considering both the Inquisition and Cavis’s offer in terms of how they might help him find Wood or advance his abilities.
  • Power hidden beneath appearances: The girls appear playful and helpless but belong to a powerful family; Li appears to be a harmless merchant but is a dangerous practitioner; Cavis appears calm but possesses extraordinary speed and strength.
  • Exploitation and morality: Li’s treatment of the Cavefolk, especially using him as a toy and pet, highlights the harsh moral environment of the Wasteland and Li’s willingness to prioritize convenience over compassion.
  • Political tension: Duke Ranchi’s new position at North Sea Port, the Dark Council’s interest, and the strategic importance of the region suggest larger conflicts involving the Inquisition, Demons, and competing political forces.

Character Interactions

  • Li entertains the three girls while maintaining a cautious distance, especially when they casually touch and search his clothing.
  • The girls’ playful enthusiasm repeatedly conflicts with Li’s fatigue and desire to sleep.
  • Cavis monitors Li throughout the night, creating a quiet tension beneath the apparently harmless campfire scene.
  • Their final conversation shifts from suspicion to negotiation: Cavis initially accuses Li of targeting the girls, but after hearing his explanation, he offers him employment.
  • The chapter ends with Li recognizing the absurdity of being asked to protect noble girls from the very organization to which he secretly belongs.
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Ch. 131What Use Is Integrity?

Chapter Summary: “What Use Is Integrity?”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran tries to avoid involvement in Cavis’s conflict with the Dark Council and the Lanchi Family, insisting that he lacks both the time and interest to help.
  • Cavis, having recognized Li Ziran’s exceptional spiritual power and Wasteland experience, repeatedly asks him to assist with protecting three girls—apparently members of the Lanchi Family—during their journey to Hippo Ancient City.
  • Li Ziran initially refuses because the mission could attract the Dark Council’s attention. However, Cavis gradually increases his payment from one gold coin to three.
  • The prospect of three gold coins overcomes Li Ziran’s reluctance. He accepts the job, jokingly abandoning his “integrity” and rationalizing that he can disguise or transform the girls if necessary.
  • When asked about his abilities, Li Ziran claims to know only Purification, Healing Curses, and frog communication. He conceals his Transformation Spell and control over Corpse Witches because revealing either could make him a target.
  • Cavis is frustrated by Li Ziran’s apparently noncombatant abilities, but Li Ziran explains that he survives through cooperation with tribes and by healing or purifying would-be attackers. His harmless appearance has allowed him to avoid violence while secretly relying on transformation magic.
  • To protect the girls, Li Ziran begins preparing Frog Transformation Arrays directly onto their bodies using Frog Sweat and a feather pen. He also considers replacing their skins as an emergency disguise, though he expects the two-day journey to be manageable.

Character Development

  • Li Ziran: He is shown to be cautious, opportunistic, and highly pragmatic. Although he initially presents himself as unwilling to interfere in dangerous affairs, money quickly changes his decision. At the same time, his acceptance of the mission reveals that he is not careless: he immediately begins preparing multiple contingency plans. His harmless healer persona masks considerable magical ability and survival cunning.
  • Cavis: Cavis is perceptive and resourceful but increasingly exasperated by Li Ziran. He recognizes Li Ziran’s hidden strength and unusual control of spiritual power, yet struggles to understand why someone so powerful avoids direct combat. His need to protect the girls forces him to compromise and hire someone whose abilities he does not fully trust.
  • The three girls: They remain asleep for most of the chapter, but their vulnerability and importance drive the negotiation. Their apparent fondness for Li Ziran becomes one of Cavis’s reasons for recruiting him.

Significant Themes

  • Integrity versus self-interest: The title is treated humorously as Li Ziran weighs moral principles against practical rewards. His “integrity” disappears once Cavis offers three gold coins, suggesting that survival and financial security take precedence over abstract ideals.
  • Appearances versus reality: Li Ziran looks like a weak, harmless healer, but he possesses powerful transformation abilities and sophisticated survival techniques. Cavis’s inability to assess him correctly emphasizes how deceptive appearances can be in the Wasteland.
  • Pragmatic survival: Rather than fighting enemies, Li Ziran survives by hiding his strength, traveling with tribes, healing attackers, and using transformation magic when necessary. The chapter presents adaptability and concealment as more useful than brute force.
  • Trust and risk: Cavis must trust Li Ziran despite not understanding his true abilities, while Li Ziran accepts a dangerous mission only after calculating the financial reward and preparing safeguards.
  • Human solidarity: Cavis appeals to Li Ziran “for the sake of the Human Race.” Li Ziran initially rejects the argument, but later acknowledges a degree of fellow-human sentiment when justifying his acceptance.

Character Interactions

  • Cavis repeatedly blocks Li Ziran’s attempts to leave, creating tension between Cavis’s urgency and Li Ziran’s desire to avoid trouble.
  • Their negotiation becomes increasingly comic as Cavis raises the payment and Li Ziran’s resistance weakens.
  • Cavis questions Li Ziran about his abilities, expecting combat skills, while Li Ziran deliberately gives a misleadingly harmless account.
  • Li Ziran’s explanation that he heals and purifies bandits rather than fighting them leaves Cavis baffled and suspicious.
  • After Cavis grants him freedom to protect the girls “his way,” Li Ziran immediately begins covertly preparing them for transformation, shocking Cavis with his boldness and revealing that his methods are far more unconventional than expected.
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Ch. 132I Want Milk Too

Summary of “I Want Milk Too”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran works through the night, covering the three girls and their sleeping bags with Transformation Arrays. The arrays are designed to let them transform into various frog forms in an emergency, giving him a way to evacuate them quickly.
  • In the morning, Cavis begins a brutal ritual involving captured Dark Council members. He strips them, ties them to wooden racks, coats them in oil, and leaves them beneath the scorching sun. The victims slowly die as Cavis appears to study or refine their souls.
  • Cavis’s group delays their departure to prepare an elaborate breakfast for the girls. The black-robed guards produce steaks, goat milk, fruit juice, tea, bread, cheese, and even a stone table from spatial storage. Li Ziran is irritated by the nobles’ wastefulness but secretly retrieves some abandoned goat milk.
  • Ivy briefly wakes and asks for milk, then returns to sleep while telling Cavis not to disturb her or the other girls. Cavis tolerates their laziness and treats the breakfast and travel preparations as part of their training.
  • The group finally crosses the Wasteland on heavily armored Earthstrider Dragons. The journey is made difficult by oppressive heat, exhaustion, traps, bandits, and scouts following them.
  • Li Ziran becomes suspicious of Cavis’s apparently careless behavior, especially his refusal to hide from pursuing scouts. He suspects that the attacks are intentional and that Cavis is gathering enemies as “spiritual nourishment” for the girls.
  • While checking the sleeping bags, Li Ziran discovers that the transformation arrays have been erased. Inside, instead of finding sleeping girls, he sees foam, intertwined fish tails, and the hidden forms of Fishmen. This confirms that the girls possess a strange and potentially dangerous nature.
  • Alarmed, Li Ziran strengthens his spiritual defenses and prepares a Transformation Array around himself so he can escape instantly.
  • A large force of Doghead bandits attacks the caravan. Cavis and the black-robed guards reveal themselves to be Battle Qi Knights, leading the Earthstrider Dragons in a powerful charge that easily breaks through the bandits.
  • Despite the apparent victory, Li Ziran senses a much greater predator watching from the horizon. He abandons the Earthstrider Dragon, transforms into a Wasteland Striped Snake, and burrows underground to avoid the unknown threat.

2. Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Becomes increasingly cautious and suspicious. Although he initially focuses on earning money and protecting the girls, he realizes the mission is far more dangerous and mysterious than expected. His survival instincts strengthen, and he prepares both himself and the girls for an emergency escape. His curiosity remains strong, but he deliberately restrains it to avoid unnecessary danger.
  • Cavis: Is shown to be powerful, disciplined, and unusually cruel. His treatment of the Dark Council members suggests advanced soul-related abilities. He also appears confident to the point of recklessness, deliberately allowing enemies to follow the group. As a teacher, however, he indulges the girls and views the dangers of the journey as part of their training.
  • Ivy, Aimer, and Ailey: They are revealed to be extremely pampered and physically unusual. Their laziness, reliance on servants, and disregard for the journey contrast with the harshness of the Wasteland. Their hidden Fishman forms suggest that they possess a deeper identity or power that Li Ziran does not understand.
  • The little Minotaur: Shows kindness toward Li Ziran by offering him bread and worrying about whether he can endure the heat. This contrasts with the nobles’ indifference and highlights the Minotaur’s simple generosity.
  • The black-robed guards: Initially seem like servants and escorts, but their Battle Qi abilities reveal that they are highly capable warriors.
  • Kamen and the Minotaurs: Continue working for wages, polishing armor and handling camp duties. Their practical labor contrasts with the nobles’ wasteful comfort.

3. Significant Themes

  • Survival versus comfort: Li Ziran values caution, concealment, and efficiency, while the girls travel in luxury and treat the harsh Wasteland almost like a leisurely outing.
  • Hidden identities and deception: The erased arrays and the girls’ Fishman forms show that appearances cannot be trusted. Li Ziran’s own ability to transform reinforces the theme of concealment.
  • Power and cruelty: Cavis’s sun-based soul-refining ritual presents power as both intellectual and horrifying. The chapter questions whether great strength can coexist with morality.
  • Class inequality: The nobles waste food and employ Minotaurs for menial work, while the Minotaurs eagerly consume discarded supplies. Li Ziran’s desire for milk emphasizes the gap between privilege and deprivation.
  • Instinct and caution: Li Ziran repeatedly relies on intuition rather than appearances. His decision to flee from an unseen threat demonstrates that survival often requires acting before danger becomes visible.
  • Training through danger: Cavis views attacks and hardship as useful trials for the girls, while Li Ziran sees them as unnecessary risks. Their opposing views reveal different ideas about education and preparation.

4. Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran prepares the girls’ Transformation Arrays but privately plans to turn them into frogs and flee if necessary, reflecting his distrust of Cavis and the mission.
  • Cavis rejects Li Ziran’s practical disguise suggestions, such as covering the girls in dust or dressing them in Minotaur clothing, showing the conflict between Li Ziran’s survival-minded approach and Cavis’s insistence on preserving their dignity.
  • The little Minotaur repeatedly shows concern for Li Ziran, offering him bread and warning him to eat before the heat worsens. Li Ziran appreciates the gesture but rejects the dry food, secretly longing for the nobles’ milk and steak.
  • Ivy treats Cavis like a servant, asking only for milk and ordering him not to wake the others. Cavis responds patiently, demonstrating both his indulgence and his role as their teacher.
  • Li Ziran questions Cavis’s decisions during the journey, suggesting that they rest and warning him about the trailing scouts. Cavis dismisses the concern, insisting that the danger is part of the girls’ training.
  • During the Doghead attack, Cavis and the black-robed guards fight as a coordinated unit, revealing their shared military strength. Li Ziran, however, refuses to join the battle directly and instead transforms into a snake to escape the more ominous danger he senses.
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Ch. 133Resurrection Spell

Chapter Summary: “Resurrection Spell”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran hides beneath the sand and observes Cavis leading a group of Earthstrider Dragons against Doghead People bandits.
  • Although the Doghead People are being slaughtered, they refuse to retreat, suggesting that someone more powerful is controlling or supporting them.
  • Li Ziran uses a Transformation Array on the sleeping bag containing the three girls, intending to protect them while disguising or relocating them, then prepares to flee.
  • A black fireball suddenly destroys an Earthstrider Dragon. Grassland Elves then attack from a distance, killing the black-robed riders and most of the Doghead People.
  • Cavis reveals extraordinary combat ability by awakening and unleashing Battle Qi. His speed and swordsmanship allow him to kill nearly all the Doghead People within moments.
  • Cavis captures the Doghead leader rather than killing him immediately, implying that the leader is being reserved for punishment or interrogation.
  • After the battle, Cavis uses a mysterious golden power to revive a dead black-robed man and restore a destroyed Earthstrider Dragon. Li Ziran realizes that Cavis is likely a holy knight capable of using the legendary Resurrection Spell.
  • Before Li Ziran can investigate further, the Grassland Elves launch a second ambush with a massive barrage of arrows.
  • Cavis creates a Holy Shield to protect his group, but powerful black arrows eventually break through it, injuring several men.
  • A Necromancer then raises the battlefield’s corpses. Dead Doghead People, Earthstrider Dragons, and other bodies become Undead and attack Cavis’s group.
  • Recognizing that the battle now involves a powerful Magister-level Necromancer, Li Ziran decides to flee. However, he notices black-robed men who may also know the Resurrection Spell.
  • He transforms into a Frog, bites one of the black-robed men, and burrows into the sand to escape with his target.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Demonstrates his usual caution and survival instincts, initially choosing concealment over involvement. However, his curiosity about the Resurrection Spell overcomes his reluctance, leading him to risk entering the battlefield and abducting one of the black-robed men.
  • Cavis: Is revealed to be far more powerful than Li Ziran initially assumed. He possesses immense speed, advanced swordsmanship, Battle Qi, Holy Shield magic, and the ability to resurrect the dead, identifying him as a possible holy knight.
  • The black-robed men: Are shown to be connected to the Resurrection Spell and possibly to the Dark Council. Their true purpose remains unclear.
  • Grassland Elves: Emerge as highly skilled archers who can coordinate powerful ambushes and use dark arrows capable of breaking Cavis’s defenses.
  • The Necromancer: Is introduced as a major new threat, capable of raising large numbers of corpses and transforming dead dragons into Undead beasts.

Significant Themes

  • The conflict between life and death: The Resurrection Spell challenges the natural laws of mortality, while the Necromancer’s powers corrupt the dead into weapons.
  • Hidden power and mistaken assumptions: Li Ziran repeatedly discovers that the battle is more complicated than it first appears, with Doghead People, holy knights, Elves, and a Necromancer all involved.
  • Survival versus curiosity: Li Ziran knows he should flee, but his desire to understand resurrection magic drives him into danger.
  • The uncertainty of morality: Holy knights revive the dead, while Necromancers raise corpses as Undead; both manipulate death, making the distinction between righteous and forbidden power less clear.
  • Strategic concealment: Nearly every faction uses deception, ambushes, disguises, or hidden abilities, reinforcing the chapter’s atmosphere of mistrust.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran observes Cavis from hiding and indirectly assists the three girls through the Transformation Array.
  • Cavis brutally defeats the Doghead People and captures their magic-using leader alive.
  • Cavis resurrects a black-robed companion and an Earthstrider Dragon, revealing his extraordinary powers to Li Ziran.
  • The Grassland Elves attack Cavis’s group twice, first killing several members and later overwhelming them with arrows.
  • The Necromancer’s Undead forces turn the battlefield against Cavis and his surviving companions.
  • Li Ziran ultimately intervenes directly by transforming into a Frog, biting and abducting a black-robed man who may possess knowledge of the Resurrection Spell.
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Ch. 134Cranial Surgery

Chapter Summary: “Cranial Surgery”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran escapes a dangerous battlefield by transforming into a Wasteland Striped Snake and burrowing beneath the sand. He has stolen a frog-shaped treasure containing a transformed black-robed member of the Inquisition.
  • After reaching an abandoned Ancient City, he returns the frog to human form, anesthetizes the captive, and begins dissecting him with the help of two Corpse Witches.
  • Li Ziran focuses on the captive’s brain because he suspects the organ responsible for Resurrection Spell may be located there. However, protective Inquisition magic prevents him from sensing the skull’s interior clearly.
  • His scalpel accidentally slips through a gap in the skull and damages the brain, causing severe bleeding and leaving the captive near death. Li Ziran abandons caution and performs an emergency cranial operation.
  • Although he finds no Magic Organ in the brain itself, he notices two neural networks glowing with Holy Light. These correspond to the heart and gallbladder.
  • The heart proves ordinary, but the gallbladder contains a tiny fan-shaped Magic Organ radiating pure Light Element energy: the Resurrection Gallbladder.
  • Li Ziran successfully extracts the organ, preserves its nerves and blood vessels, and transplants it into the Cavefolk elder’s frog body, using the body as a permanent storage vessel.
  • Excited by the discovery, he decides to return to the battlefield to search for more specimens and gather additional research material.
  • He transforms into a snake and attempts to retrace his path, but repeatedly gets lost. Eventually, he finds the battlefield again, only to discover that Cavis, the Grassland Elves, and the Necromancer are gone.
  • The battlefield is being scavenged by small Dog Gnomes, who collect remains and objects left behind. Li Ziran returns to human form and wonders whether they might possess another suitable specimen.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran demonstrates both caution and ruthless practicality. He avoids unnecessary conflict but is willing to perform dangerous surgery on a dying captive to obtain the Resurrection organ.
  • His confidence as an experimentalist grows. Despite his frustration and several mistakes, he adapts quickly and uses brain activity, neural networks, and organ correspondences to deduce the Magic Organ’s location.
  • His excitement over the Resurrection Gallbladder reveals his intense scientific curiosity and willingness to take risks for rare magical knowledge.
  • He remains aware of his limitations, particularly his lack of Elven perception and unreliable snake transformations. His repeated navigational failures add a humorous contrast to his surgical competence.
  • The captive’s fate is effectively sealed once Li Ziran damages his brain, emphasizing Li Ziran’s detached, utilitarian attitude toward experimental subjects.

Significant Themes

  • Knowledge through experimentation: Li Ziran treats magical abilities as biological phenomena that can be studied, extracted, and reproduced.
  • The cost of discovery: His success comes at the expense of the captive’s life and involves gruesome, morally questionable procedures.
  • Luck versus skill: Li Ziran repeatedly blames “rotten luck” for the surgical accident, yet his technical knowledge and quick thinking allow him to recover the situation.
  • Adaptation and survival: Transformations, camouflage, scavenging, and improvised surgery all reflect the harsh survival conditions of the Wasteland.
  • The body as a vessel for magic: The chapter emphasizes that powerful spells can reside in specialized organs and that magical abilities may be transplanted or preserved.
  • Greed and curiosity: The discovery of one Resurrection Gallbladder is not enough; Li Ziran immediately considers seeking more specimens to improve his research.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran has no direct conversation with the captive, who can only struggle before being anesthetized, but their relationship is defined by complete control and exploitation.
  • The two Corpse Witches assist Li Ziran efficiently, each handling different parts of the dissection and helping preserve the extracted organ.
  • Li Ziran reflects on Cavis and the three transformed girls, admitting that he cannot currently help them but hoping they may meet again.
  • His final interaction is with the Dog Gnomes, though he does not yet speak with them. Their presence prompts him to consider whether they may contain another Resurrection-related organ.
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Ch. 135The Frog Fell Over?

Chapter Summary: “The Frog Fell Over?”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran encounters a group of Dog Gnomes scavenging a battlefield. Their excellent sense of smell allows them to locate battlefields and recover corpses and valuable remains.
  • To intimidate them, Li Ziran transforms five Dog Gnomes into snakes without killing them. He then demands to speak with their leader and asks whether they saw any black-robed men or the Necromancer.
  • The Dog Gnome leader explains that the Necromancer had already departed with all the undead and usable corpses, leaving almost nothing behind.
  • Li Ziran pays to inspect the Dog Gnomes’ spoils. The ordinary loot consists mostly of broken weapons, clothing, and scraps. He notices part of Cavis’s broken sword, leading him to wonder about Cavis’s fate and the possible value of his corpse to a Necromancer.
  • Enticed by a silver coin, the Dog Gnome leader reveals a hidden underground storage cavern beneath their burrow. The Dog Gnomes’ elaborate hiding methods demonstrate their survival skills and distrust of outsiders.
  • In the cavern, Li Ziran discovers three notable objects:
    • A damaged but magical Earthstrider Dragon breastplate containing valuable conductive metal.
    • A purple-covered Holy Scripture that appears ordinary but is actually connected to the Devouring Curse and may have belonged to Cavis.
    • A preserved sleeping bag covered in Frog saliva.
  • Li Ziran recognizes the sleeping bag as connected to the mysterious Frogs and learns that the Dog Gnomes found three Frogs inside it but discarded them.
  • He offers fifty copper coins for the bag and promises a silver coin if the Dog Gnomes recover the discarded Frogs. The leader immediately orders his men to locate them.
  • The chapter ends with Li Ziran suspecting that the Dog Gnome leader may possess the ability to transform creatures into Frogs, just as Li Ziran can transform others into snakes.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran demonstrates controlled intimidation and practical negotiation. Rather than slaughtering or terrifying the Dog Gnomes completely, he uses limited power to establish authority while preserving their usefulness.
  • His curiosity and investigative instincts become clear as he searches the battlefield for traces of the black-robed men, Cavis, and the mysterious Frogs.
  • Li Ziran shows growing awareness of the value of magical and necromantic objects, especially the Holy Scripture and Cavis’s remains.
  • The Dog Gnome leader is revealed as cautious, shrewd, greedy, and highly survival-oriented. Though intimidated by Li Ziran, he quickly recognizes opportunities for profit and bargains whenever possible.
  • The leader’s frantic response to the silver coin shows how strongly financial gain motivates him and his people.

Significant Themes

  • Survival through cunning: The Dog Gnomes lack great physical powers but thrive through their noses, scavenging skills, hidden tunnels, and defensive burrows.
  • Power and economic dependence: Li Ziran controls the encounter through strength, but he also understands that fair payment and profit are more effective than violence.
  • Hidden value: Objects that appear worthless—a common-looking scripture, a damaged breastplate, or a sleeping bag—may contain magical or personal significance.
  • The aftermath of conflict: The battlefield is treated as a source of materials and profit, emphasizing the harsh, opportunistic nature of the Wasteland.
  • Mystery and transformation: The Devouring Curse, the unknown Frogs, and the possible Frog Transformation ability deepen the chapter’s supernatural intrigue.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran intimidates the Dog Gnomes by transforming several of them, then orders their leader to come forward.
  • He questions the leader about the black-robed men and negotiates access to the scavenged goods.
  • The leader attempts to protect his profits through suspicion and bargaining but ultimately reveals the hidden cavern when offered a silver coin.
  • Li Ziran and the leader negotiate over the sleeping bag, with Li Ziran deliberately using the promise of a silver coin to motivate the Dog Gnomes to recover the missing Frogs.
  • The leader’s final command to find “Dog Thirteen” and the Frogs creates a humorous but ominous ending, suggesting that the Dog Gnomes may possess transformation abilities of their own.
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Ch. 136Do You Have Any Savings?

Chapter Summary: “Do You Have Any Savings?”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran travels west across the Wasteland after escaping a war-torn region, carrying three unconscious, severely dehydrated Fishman girls in a canvas sleeping bag.
  • He reflects on the “Holy Scripture” he acquired from the Dog Gnomes, hoping it might be connected to the Devouring Curse, but concludes that it is merely a stiff, meaningless text.
  • The Fishman girls repeatedly show signs of near-death dehydration. Li Ziran gives them a few drops of milk and later buys water, but they do not seem able to absorb it properly. Their unusual condition remains unexplained.
  • As he approaches Hippo Ancient City, the environment changes from desolate wasteland to frozen ground, ancient ruins, slave-trading stalls, inns, taverns, and mills.
  • Li Ziran enters a Windmill—a brothel and information establishment—hoping to rest, wake the Fishman girls, and possibly learn more about the Holy Scripture.
  • He pays eighty copper coins for a disfigured Butterfly Girl, then spends another fifty copper coins on a luxury room with a private bath and wine.
  • Rather than pursuing sex, Li Ziran relaxes in the bath and asks the Butterfly Girl to massage him. He also places the three Fishman girls in the hot water, hoping it will revive them, but they remain shriveled and unconscious.
  • The chapter ends with Li Ziran jokingly asking the Butterfly Girl whether she has an eye he can use and whether she has any savings, implying that he wants to recover the 130 copper coins he spent.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Demonstrates practicality, endurance, and a darkly humorous attitude. He is concerned about keeping the Fishman girls alive, but also treats his expenses and their possible value in a calculating manner. Despite entering a brothel, he prioritizes rest and investigation over pleasure. His curiosity about the Holy Scripture and the girls’ condition shows his continued focus on cultivation and survival.
  • The Fishman girls: Their abnormal vulnerability becomes clearer. They require far more water than ordinary Fishmen, yet cannot seem to absorb it, suggesting an unusual physiology or magical condition. They remain helpless and dependent on Li Ziran.
  • The Butterfly Girl: Her disability—one blind eye and one missing arm—has reduced her value in the brothel, but she remains experienced, observant, and determined to satisfy customers. She is uncomfortable with Li Ziran’s treatment of the Fishman girls but continues working because she needs money.
  • The Goat bartender: Appears professional and commercially shrewd. He provides excellent service, including a luxury room, hot bath, towels, flower petals, and wine, while charging Li Ziran accordingly.

Significant Themes

  • Survival and resource management: Li Ziran carefully rations milk and water while weighing the costs of travel, lodging, and maintaining the Fishman girls.
  • Commercialization and exploitation: The Windmill, slave markets, and treatment of disabled or captive races reveal a society where bodies, labor, and even suffering are commodities.
  • Appearance versus value: The Butterfly Girl’s beauty and disability determine her market price, while the Fishman girls’ aristocratic qualities are noted even as they are treated as costly burdens.
  • Mystery and cultivation: The unexplained Holy Scripture and the Fishman girls’ inability to recover suggest deeper magical or spiritual secrets.
  • Dark humor and moral ambiguity: Li Ziran is compassionate enough to save the girls, yet casually objectifies them and jokes about exploiting the Butterfly Girl, reflecting the harsh and morally compromised world around him.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran interacts with the Dog Gnomes indirectly through the items and information they provided.
  • He attempts to revive the Fishman girls with milk, water, and a hot bath, but receives no response.
  • He negotiates with the Windmill’s patrons and bartender, paying for the Butterfly Girl and a private room.
  • The Butterfly Girl attempts to seduce and serve Li Ziran, but he instead asks her for a massage and treats her more as a source of labor than romantic companionship.
  • Li Ziran’s final question about her having “any savings” turns the encounter into a darkly comic financial transaction and hints that he may seek compensation for his expenses.
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Ch. 137An Eye for a Gold Coin

Chapter Summary: “An Eye for a Gold Coin”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran offers a disabled Butterfly Girl an opportunity to restore her missing eye using a rare, seven-times-mutated Cavefolk Blinding Eyeball. He prices it at one gold coin, exploiting the value of the magical organ and the girl’s desperation.
  • The Butterfly Girl reveals that she has exactly one gold coin saved. Li Ziran then suggests that he can also restore her missing arm, though she cannot afford it.
  • She offers to work for him and gives him all her remaining copper coins in exchange for owing him the rest. Li Ziran accepts, intending to use her knowledge of Hippo Ancient City’s slaves, markets, trade, and power structures.
  • He sends her to obtain a slave girl with a suitable arm. She trades three nights of exclusive service to a slave owner for a Rabbit Girl whose arm can be transplanted.
  • Li Ziran and his Corpse Witches perform surgery, removing the Butterfly Girl’s ruined eye and replacing it with the magical Blinding Eye, while also transplanting the Rabbit Girl’s arm.
  • During the procedure, Li Ziran investigates three unconscious girls, including a Fishman whose body is aging rapidly despite her functioning organs. He remains puzzled by her condition and considers dissecting her to discover the cause.
  • Using his blood-based transformation ability, Li Ziran turns the frog-like surgical subject into a Butterfly Girl. The newly restored woman is initially blind but discovers that she has regained a complete body, including a second arm.
  • The chapter ends with Li Ziran casually ordering her to massage his shoulders, emphasizing the transactional and unequal nature of their relationship.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran is revealed as both a skilled Organ Witch Doctor and a calculating opportunist. He genuinely possesses the ability to restore bodies, but he uses that ability to obtain money, labor, and information. His interest in the Butterfly Girl is practical: she can help him understand Hippo Ancient City before he pursues his larger goals.
  • The Butterfly Girl changes from guarded and humiliated to desperate, hopeful, and devoted. Restoration of her eye and arm represents the possibility of reclaiming her former dignity. She is willing to spend her savings, barter her body, and work for Li Ziran to become whole again.
  • The Rabbit Girl functions primarily as a surgical donor, highlighting the dehumanization of slaves in this society. Her intact arm makes her valuable despite her lack of beauty.
  • The Fishman girl becomes a source of mystery. Her rapid aging and fragile condition suggest an unexplained curse, disease, or biological weakness that Li Ziran may investigate.
  • The Corpse Witches demonstrate growing competence as surgeons, carrying out complex transplants under Li Ziran’s direction.

Significant Themes

  • Body restoration and identity: The Butterfly Girl’s missing eye and arm symbolize both physical disability and social degradation. Restoring them offers her the possibility of becoming “whole” again.
  • Exploitation and desperation: Even miraculous medical treatment is governed by money and power. The Butterfly Girl must surrender her savings, labor, and potentially her body to obtain help.
  • The commodification of living beings: Eyes, arms, slaves, and even people’s services are treated as tradable goods. The transplant operation makes the brutal economics of the setting especially clear.
  • Power and dependency: Li Ziran controls the means of restoration, placing the Butterfly Girl in his debt. His kindness is mixed with manipulation, creating a relationship based on unequal exchange.
  • Mystery of the body: The Fishman’s unnatural aging and Li Ziran’s interest in magical organs reinforce the chapter’s focus on anatomy, curses, transformation, and the limits of medical knowledge.

Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran initially provokes the Butterfly Girl by commenting bluntly on her scars and appearance, then abruptly offers her a magical eye.
  • The Butterfly Girl bargains with him through her gold coin, savings, and promise of future service.
  • Li Ziran establishes a practical alliance with her, agreeing to restore her body in return for information about Hippo Ancient City.
  • She negotiates with a slave owner, sacrificing three nights of service to obtain the Rabbit Girl needed for the transplant.
  • During surgery, Li Ziran interacts with the unconscious Fishman and frog-like slaves as both patients and experimental subjects, while the Corpse Witches act as his assistants.
  • After her restoration, the Butterfly Girl’s first interaction with Li Ziran is one of gratitude and obedience, while his command that she massage him reinforces the master-servant dynamic between them.
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Ch. 138Actually, I Am a Member of the Dark Council

Chapter Summary: “Actually, I Am a Member of the Dark Council”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li successfully transplants a severed arm onto Butterfly Girl, restoring her use of both arms. The procedure dramatically improves her confidence and sense of worth.
  • The Butterfly Girl reveals that her name is Emily and becomes deeply grateful and devoted to Li, believing he has given her a new life.
  • While bathing together, Li questions Emily about Hippo Ancient City, hoping to understand its factions, dangers, and opportunities before establishing himself there.
  • Emily explains that demons openly operate shops in the city, while the Alliance Army stationed at North Sea Port has become corrupt and parasitic. She claims the army’s influence helped turn Hippo Ancient City into a sinful and dangerous place.
  • Emily states that the Dark Council secretly controls North Sea Port and uses its military influence to manipulate Hippo Ancient City. Li doubts that the Council has such complete control, though he accepts that it likely possesses significant influence.
  • Emily unexpectedly reveals that she herself is a member of the Dark Council, belonging to its “Hive Unit.” The women working in the bathhouse’s main hall are supposedly part of this unit, trained to identify and screen people entering the city.
  • Li asks about the Inquisition and its prison, hoping to locate Sandrew’s imprisoned organ tutor. Emily admits that the Inquisition’s prison is extremely secretive and that she has no useful information.

Character Developments

  • Emily experiences a major emotional transformation after receiving the arm. She moves from feeling like a cheap, marginalized prostitute to imagining a wealthier and more respected future.
  • Her gratitude quickly becomes personal devotion. She deliberately acts flirtatiously and tries to please Li, hoping to secure his favor and perhaps persuade him to improve her appearance.
  • Emily’s ambitions become clear: she wants Li to make her more beautiful, believing his ability to transplant body parts means he can reshape her entire body.
  • Li remains pragmatic and somewhat detached. He treats the arm transplant as routine, but recognizes that Emily’s gratitude may make her more cooperative during questioning.
  • Li’s strategic goals are established: he wants to deal with demons and the Shadow Society, acquire a Demon Eye, expand his connections through the Dark Council, and eventually build his own slave-procurement network.
  • Li is surprised to discover that Emily is connected to the Dark Council, especially since he has ties to the organization through the Shadow Society.

Significant Themes

  • Power through physical transformation: Emily’s restored arm symbolizes renewed dignity, social mobility, and hope. Physical alteration is presented as a means of changing one’s place in society.
  • Transactional relationships: Gratitude, beauty, sex, money, and information are closely intertwined. Emily’s service to Li is motivated not only by attraction but also by dependence and the belief that he can improve her life.
  • Hidden political influence: The chapter emphasizes that cities and institutions may be controlled through covert networks rather than openly declared authority.
  • Corruption and moral ambiguity: The Alliance Army, the Dark Council, the Inquisition, and the slave trade all operate in morally compromised ways. No faction is portrayed as entirely trustworthy.
  • Information as power: Li uses Emily’s gratitude and desire for transformation to gather intelligence about Hippo Ancient City and its major factions.

Character Interactions

  • Emily tests and enjoys her newly restored arm by massaging Li, while Li encourages her to use greater strength.
  • She moves physically closer to Li in the bath, using flirtation and intimacy to influence his attitude toward her.
  • Their conversation shifts from playful discussion of her beauty and monetary value to serious intelligence-gathering about demons, the Alliance Army, the Dark Council, and the Inquisition.
  • Li offers Emily the possibility of becoming far more beautiful, but tells her that rare, high-quality materials would be necessary. This gives her another reason to remain loyal to him.
  • Emily’s revelation that she belongs to the Dark Council changes Li’s understanding of her role and suggests that the bathhouse women may be part of a broader intelligence and recruitment network.
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Ch. 139Would You Accept?

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran realizes Emily suspects he may be connected to the Inquisition, so he claims he is in Hippo Ancient City for business.
  • He reflects on the Dark Council’s structure: peripheral operatives like Emily serve its outer layers, while hundreds of councilors form its ruthless core. The organization survives through constant internal competition and repeated purges by the Justice Alliance.
  • Li Ziran considers using his medical and biological abilities to create a profitable business in Hippo Ancient City. He also thinks about possibly leaking information concerning a Demon project to create an additional source of leverage.
  • He proposes that Emily work for him as a local guide and business associate. She eagerly accepts, believing he represents her best chance at wealth and security.
  • Li Ziran explains that the work may be dangerous and could cost her life, though he promises to monitor her and keep her alive. Emily agrees without hesitation, viewing the opportunity as a gamble worth taking.
  • Before entering Hippo Ancient City, Li Ziran examines the three severely dehydrated Fishman girls. He performs an extensive dissection to determine why their bodies cannot absorb water.
  • His examination reveals that their skin, pores, stomach, and internal organs reject fresh water and possess unusual properties unlike either human or ordinary Fishman biology.
  • Li Ziran assumes he may need to replace their skin and stomachs surgically, but Emily reveals the real problem: the girls suffer from Sea Folk Dehydration and can recover simply by being placed in seawater. Li Ziran is horrified because he has already dissected one of them.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran remains cautious and calculating, concealing his true purpose from Emily while planning several independent ways to secure influence and income.
  • He recognizes that survival in Hippo Ancient City will require his own strategies rather than reliance on Sandrew or the Shadow Society.
  • His confidence in his surgical abilities is challenged when he cannot explain the Fishman physiology. His willingness to dissect the girl also highlights his clinical ruthlessness and scientific curiosity.
  • Emily shifts from a desperate, insecure woman into an intensely hopeful potential ally. She eagerly offers her local knowledge, connections, and services in exchange for a chance to improve her life.
  • Emily’s faith in Li Ziran becomes nearly absolute; she sees him as her protector and salvation, accepting severe risks without asking for details.
  • The Fishman girls remain mostly passive, but their unusual biology introduces a problem Li Ziran cannot solve through ordinary medical knowledge.

Significant Themes

  • Survival and self-reliance: Li Ziran believes survival cannot be entrusted entirely to powerful allies and prepares multiple plans and sources of leverage.
  • Power and exploitation: The Dark Council is portrayed as a parasitic, competitive system in which lower-level members are expendable and wealth determines advancement.
  • Hope amid oppression: Emily’s willingness to accept danger reflects the desperation of people trapped in Hippo Ancient City’s slave-based society.
  • Limits of knowledge: Li Ziran’s surgical expertise proves insufficient when faced with unfamiliar species and magical biology.
  • Comedic irony and unintended consequences: His elaborate investigation of the Fishman’s condition is rendered pointless when Emily casually identifies it as a common Sea Folk ailment.

Character Interactions

  • Emily questions Li Ziran about his business, and he turns her curiosity into an opportunity to recruit her.
  • He offers her a role as a guide and intermediary; she enthusiastically promises access to slave merchants, noble clients, shops, and local connections.
  • Li Ziran warns Emily about the danger of the work, but she immediately agrees because remaining with him seems safer and more promising than her current life.
  • During the dissection, Emily watches with fascination and concern, recognizing that his surgical skill may be connected to the modifications he performed on her.
  • Her explanation about seawater abruptly exposes Li Ziran’s mistaken diagnosis, leaving him to confront the disastrous result of his unnecessary operation.
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Ch. 140Oh, You Still Have Compassion?

Chapter Summary: “Oh, You Still Have Compassion?”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Li Ziran performs an extreme operation on a mutilated Mermaid girl. Rather than waste expensive Sacred Potion, he has a Corpse Witch peel the intact skin from a tailless rabbit girl and transplant it onto the Mermaid. He also reshapes the Mermaid’s fish tail into legs.
  • Emily watches the grotesque but highly skilled procedure. Seeing Li Ziran accomplish what she believed impossible strengthens her determination to follow him.
  • Elsewhere, Sandrew, the Rhine Duke, and a powerful Demon Overlord meet in a secret chamber in Hippo Ancient City to discuss Li Ziran’s value and safety.
  • Sandrew insists that Li Ziran is a member and “friend” of the Shadow Society, not a commodity to be traded. He warns the Demon Overlord not to probe Li Ziran’s soul or bind him with a slave contract.
  • The Demon Overlord initially attempts to bargain for Li Ziran by offering ten grams of Abyss demon gold and a Purgatory Black Dragon skeleton. Sandrew rejects the offer and nearly ends the meeting, forcing the Demon to pretend friendliness and accept the original arrangement.
  • After the Demon leaves, Sandrew reveals that his apparent protection of Li Ziran serves a larger scheme. He intends to use Li Ziran’s Demon-cultivation abilities to draw Shadow Elder into a profitable and dangerous conflict with the Demons.
  • Sandrew convinces the Rhine Duke to establish underground Demon-cultivation factories in the Grasslands, while Sandrew develops a smuggling route into the Abyss.
  • Their plan is to have Li Ziran repeatedly demonstrate his value, causing Shadow Elder to seek control of the Demon trade. Sandrew and the Rhine Duke will then demand concessions, withdraw, and let Shadow Elder bear the consequences of the conflict.
  • After the Rhine Duke leaves to begin preparations, Sandrew privately admits that he may ultimately sell Li Ziran if Li cannot help remove the Shadow Badge from his Spirit World.

Character Developments

  • Li Ziran: Demonstrates extraordinary medical and biological skill, improvising a full-body skin transplant and anatomical transformation. His concern for the injured Mermaid contrasts with his practical, cost-conscious methods.
  • Emily: Becomes even more devoted to Li Ziran after witnessing his seemingly miraculous abilities.
  • Sandrew: Appears protective and loyal toward Li Ziran, but his motives are fundamentally strategic. He views Li Ziran as both a valuable ally and a potential bargaining tool against Shadow Elder.
  • Rhine Duke: Initially doubts Li Ziran’s importance and worries that the human may eventually threaten his own position. Sandrew exposes his fear of becoming obsolete within the Shadow Society, and the Duke quickly becomes enthusiastic about the conspiracy.
  • Demon Overlord: Reveals the ruthless, opportunistic nature of the Demons. He is willing to threaten, bargain, manipulate, and exploit Li Ziran, though he retreats temporarily when Sandrew refuses to cooperate.
  • Shadow Elder: Does not appear directly, but becomes the central unseen threat. His control over the Shadow Society and its members drives Sandrew’s conspiracy.

Significant Themes

  • Compassion versus exploitation: Li Ziran’s decision to repair the Mermaid suggests compassion, but the operation is performed through disturbing, utilitarian methods. Likewise, Sandrew claims friendship while planning to exploit Li Ziran.
  • Power and manipulation: Nearly every relationship is transactional. The Demon Overlord wants Li Ziran’s abilities, Sandrew wants to use him against Shadow Elder, and the Rhine Duke sees him as a means to regain influence.
  • Control and rebellion: The Shadow Society’s members are trapped by Shadow Elder’s power and resource system. Sandrew’s scheme represents an attempt to exploit the organization’s rules and escape its control.
  • The value of talent: Li Ziran’s unique abilities make him immensely valuable but also place him in greater danger, as powerful factions seek to possess or control him.
  • Moral ambiguity: Characters repeatedly justify betrayal and exploitation as necessary strategy. Even apparent friendship is shown to conceal ulterior motives.

Important Character Interactions

  • Li Ziran and the Mermaid/Emily: Li Ziran saves the mutilated Mermaid through an astonishing transplant, while Emily silently reassesses him and strengthens her allegiance.
  • Sandrew and the Demon Overlord: Their negotiation becomes a contest of threats and leverage. Sandrew demands respect for Li Ziran, while the Demon Overlord emphasizes that usefulness can disappear quickly.
  • Sandrew and the Rhine Duke: Sandrew challenges the Duke’s fear and declining status, then persuades him to participate in the Demon-smuggling operation.
  • Sandrew and Shadow Elder: Though Shadow Elder is absent, Sandrew’s entire plan is designed to provoke and manipulate him. Sandrew ultimately intends either to escape the Shadow Society’s control or use Li Ziran as a final bargaining piece.
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