Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Liu Zheng: Who Wouldn’t Be Dazed by Seeing Me?”

Plot Points and Events

• The Service Club employees gather in tense silence while terrifying screams and moans come from outside. They are being forced to take turns serving the dangerous Lord Kunguna.
• The deputy minister arrives covered in blood and announces that the fifth group has finished. Since nobody volunteers to go next, she uses a crocodile-shaped biting toy to determine who must serve Kunguna.
• The toy transforms into a real crocodile whenever someone chooses the wrong tooth. One female attendant loses a finger, though the deputy minister stops the crocodile before it can kill her. Despite her fear and resentment, the attendant composes herself and leaves with a professional smile.
• More attendants are selected, some surviving happily and others forcing themselves to appear cheerful before entering Kunguna’s room.
• The deputy minister notices Wan Zi, a new human employee who appears inexperienced and physically unimpressive. She doubts Wan Zi is suitable for serving a powerful VIP, but decides to let her take her turn so the other attendants will not rebel.
• Wan Zi reveals that she was sold to the Bathhouse and wants to earn her freedom. She asks whether serving Kunguna successfully could earn her a request from the Bathhouse.
• Just as Wan Zi is about to press the seventh tooth—the number she considers lucky—Liu Zheng enters and scolds her for rushing toward danger.
• Liu introduces himself as “Renhe,” claiming he was sent from the Massage Department to help serve Kunguna. He declares that he will take Wan Zi’s place.
• The deputy minister rejects his request and threatens him. Liu first pretends to have forced One Bamboo to bring him there, even placing a knife to One Bamboo’s neck, provoking the deputy minister into attacking him.
• Liu blocks her clawed strike but is clearly overpowered. He then distracts her by offering money, arguing that paying her to send him to his death is merely a “gift,” not a bribe.
• He insults Wan Zi’s appearance while comically praising his own physique, claiming that Kunguna would be far more impressed by him. The deputy minister reluctantly admits that Liu is indeed more suitable.
• Despite this, she asks what Liu will do if she refuses. Liu responds that he will beat her to death and ask again, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

Character Developments

• Wan Zi shows fear and inexperience but also determination. Although she has little confidence, she accepts that she must face the danger. Her desire to escape being sold into the Bathhouse gives her a concrete motivation.
• Liu Zheng demonstrates his usual recklessness, humor, and confidence. He risks confronting the deputy minister to protect or replace Wan Zi, using deception, bribery, insults, and self-aggrandizement rather than relying solely on force.
• The deputy minister is established as powerful, ruthless, and pragmatic. She treats the attendants’ lives as expendable but is also cautious about angering Kunguna or damaging her own future. Liu’s boldness and physical suitability force her to reconsider her judgment.
• One Bamboo becomes an unwilling participant in Liu’s scheme when Liu pretends to hold him hostage. His connection to higher authorities is also mentioned, though it does not protect him from the deputy minister’s threats.
• The Service Club attendants are shown as frightened but disciplined. Even after suffering injuries or facing possible death, they maintain the appearance of cheerful professionalism.

Significant Themes

• Exploitation and loss of agency: The attendants are treated as disposable commodities, forced to risk their lives for powerful customers. Wan Zi’s status as someone who was sold emphasizes the Bathhouse’s oppressive system.
• Survival through performance: The employees must hide fear behind smiles, makeup, and proper etiquette, even after being injured or sent toward possible death.
• Power and hierarchy: The deputy minister’s authority allows her to control the attendants’ lives, while Kunguna’s status makes everyone fearful of displeasing him. Liu challenges this hierarchy through audacity rather than official power.
• Courage versus recklessness: Wan Zi’s courage is fragile and carefully constructed, while Liu’s apparent bravery comes from shameless confidence and willingness to gamble with his life.
• Humor amid horror: Liu’s self-praise, wordplay, and absurd poses provide comic relief while highlighting how bizarre and brutal the Bathhouse environment is.

Important Character Interactions

• The deputy minister coldly organizes the lottery and forces the attendants to participate.
• She and Wan Zi discuss whether the newcomer is qualified to serve Kunguna and whether freedom might be granted as a reward.
• Liu and Wan Zi exchange a familiar, almost sibling-like argument: he scolds her for rushing into danger, while she defensively explains her fear.
• Liu confronts the deputy minister, first threatening One Bamboo, then blocking her attack and attempting to buy her cooperation.
• Their final exchange becomes a battle of wills: the deputy minister relies on authority and physical dominance, while Liu counters with mockery, manipulation, and an open threat of violence.

Chapter Summary: “Not Only Very Bent, but Also Capable of Spinning”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng confronts the Service Club’s deputy minister after displaying a mysterious, powerful clay-like creature. Rather than fight, he negotiates, offering her money in exchange for being allowed to serve Lord Kunguna.
• The deputy minister agrees but threatens to kill One Bamboo and Wan Zi if Liu Zheng attempts to escape. Liu Zheng counters that he will destroy the Night Parade Bathhouse if they are harmed.
• She verifies that Liu Zheng truly resolved half of Lord Da Chuanliu’s crisis, with One Bamboo confirming that he accomplished it alone.
• The deputy minister questions Liu Zheng’s connections. He reveals that he knows numerous influential figures across Metropolis, including people connected to the Black Market, Sewer, Bloodstained Restaurant, and Red Witch Board-Game Hall.
• The deputy minister privately asks Liu Zheng to help her obtain a specific cemetery plot. She wants the plot because acquiring it would allow her to buy a house at only thirty percent of its normal price. Liu Zheng agrees to inquire with the Gravekeeper, though he warns that he cannot guarantee success.
• Their conversation becomes increasingly flirtatious and comedic. Liu Zheng repeatedly teases the deputy minister, while she alternates between flirting, mocking him, and threatening him.
• Liu Zheng asks whether Lord Kunguna can be transformed back into Shaoming Konguna, his former benevolent identity. The deputy minister explains that this once happened when an unknown passing god defeated Kunguna in battle, forcing him back into his former form.
• Liu Zheng considers deliberately provoking or fighting Kunguna to reproduce that transformation. The deputy minister warns him not to act recklessly, emphasizing that Kunguna is a true god far more dangerous than the weaker gods Liu Zheng has previously killed.
• Despite the warning, Liu Zheng remains confident that he can succeed. The deputy minister then takes him toward Kunguna, moving so quickly that the surroundings blur.
• The chapter ends as they arrive at a hellish scene where Liu Zheng is expected to confront Lord Kunguna.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates strong negotiation skills, confidence, unconventional power, and a willingness to risk himself to protect others. He continues balancing genuine caution with reckless bravado.
• He also reveals that his network of contacts is far broader than expected, suggesting significant influence outside Bathhouse Street.
• Liu Zheng’s commitment to One Bamboo and Wan Zi is reinforced: although he jokes and flirts freely, he takes responsibility for their survival and refuses to abandon them.
• The deputy minister is shown to be pragmatic, ambitious, and deeply concerned with survival and security. Her desire to obtain a house reveals her long-term goal of becoming a city resident.
• Although hostile toward Liu Zheng, she respects his capabilities and begins treating him as a potentially valuable ally. She also becomes personally intrigued and amused by his shameless personality.
• One Bamboo remains calm and trusting toward Liu Zheng. Her pride in his achievements is evident, and her brief jealousy during his flirting with the deputy minister reveals emotional attachment.
• Liu Zheng’s relationship with the deputy minister shifts from confrontation to a tense business alliance marked by mutual suspicion, respect, and provocative humor.

Significant Themes

• Negotiation over violence: Liu Zheng repeatedly seeks cooperation rather than immediate combat, showing that influence and leverage can be as important as strength.
• Power and survival in Metropolis: Positions, connections, money, and knowledge of powerful figures all determine one’s ability to survive.
• Risk versus responsibility: Liu Zheng considers dangerous plans but remains motivated by protecting others rather than pursuing violence for its own sake.
• Identity and transformation: The possibility of restoring Kunguna to Shaoming Konguna raises questions about whether a corrupted or changed being can return to a former self.
• Ambition and security: The deputy minister’s desire for a house and city residency reflects the broader struggle to escape the insecurity of Bathhouse Street.
• Humor amid danger: Flirtation, sarcasm, and absurd conversations about coffins and feng shui contrast sharply with the deadly situation, reinforcing Liu Zheng’s unruly personality and helping ease tension.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the deputy minister: They begin as enemies but reach a temporary agreement. Their exchanges combine threats, bargaining, mutual testing, and increasingly overt flirtation.
• Liu Zheng and One Bamboo: Their bond is characterized by loyalty and trust. One Bamboo supports his claims and remains concerned when the deputy minister draws him aside.
• The deputy minister and One Bamboo: The deputy minister reminds One Bamboo that she could still harm her, while One Bamboo responds with restrained hostility and quiet jealousy.
• Liu Zheng and the Gravekeeper: Though absent, the Gravekeeper remains an important off-screen figure. Liu Zheng’s business relationship with him may become crucial to fulfilling the deputy minister’s request.
• Liu Zheng and Lord Kunguna: Their direct confrontation has not yet begun, but Liu Zheng plans to exploit Kunguna’s history of transformation, while the deputy minister fears that his confidence will lead to disaster.

Chapter Summary: “Are You Ready to Die? God”

Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng and the deputy minister enter Great God Kunguna’s grotesque chamber in Night Parade Bathhouse.
• Kunguna is shown indulging in horrific cruelty, using a mutilated beauty as a living wine vessel and torturing the deputy minister by pulling out her teeth one by one.
• When the deputy minister begs Liu Zheng for help, he initially appears to refuse, then offers himself as a substitute. He negotiates with Kunguna by appealing to the god’s obsession with pain, humiliation, and pleasure.
• Liu Zheng cleverly argues that Kunguna should spare the deputy minister so she can recover and provide better entertainment later. He also provokes Kunguna by referencing the god’s humiliating past and suggesting that his previous defeat may have resulted from pleasure rather than injury.
• Kunguna accepts the bargain and throws the injured deputy minister to Liu Zheng. Liu Zheng tells her to escape and reminds her of her obligation to protect One Bamboo and Wan Zi, since he has saved her life.
• After ensuring the deputy minister leaves, Liu Zheng questions whether the entity before him is truly Kunguna or his alternate form, Shaoming Konguna.
• Kunguna explains that gods can change appearances as easily as mortals change clothes, confirming that his monstrous form is merely a chosen guise.
• Realizing the true nature of his opponent, Liu Zheng declares that Kunguna deserves to die. He abandons his human disguise and reveals his tentacle-monster form, activating Rage Incarnate at an unprecedented level.
• The chapter ends as Liu Zheng prepares to fight the god, revealing ancient but weakened sun-god power and summoning golden Magatama within his eyes.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates extraordinary composure, boldness, and manipulative intelligence. Rather than relying on direct strength immediately, he exploits Kunguna’s psychology and appetite for pain to save the deputy minister.
• Liu Zheng’s attitude toward the deputy minister remains pragmatic rather than affectionate. He openly admits that he values her authority and political usefulness, but still risks himself to preserve her.
• His willingness to insult and psychologically provoke a god shows his growing confidence and ruthlessness.
• The deputy minister is reduced from an authoritative, threatening figure to a helpless victim, experiencing fear, pain, and desperation. Her dependence on Liu Zheng forces her to abandon their previous hostility and accept a new obligation to protect his allies.
• Kunguna/Shaoming Konguna is established as a sadistic, grotesque deity who treats violence, humiliation, and pain as forms of pleasure. He is entertained by Liu Zheng’s audacity but remains dangerous and unpredictable.

Significant Themes

• Power and survival: Liu Zheng survives not through immediate physical dominance but by using negotiation, deception, and psychological insight.
• The corruption of divinity: Kunguna’s title as a god contrasts sharply with his monstrous appearance and depraved behavior, challenging the idea that divine beings are inherently noble or beautiful.
• Appearance versus identity: The discussion of Kunguna’s forms suggests that divine identity is separate from physical appearance. Liu Zheng’s own human disguise likewise conceals his true nature.
• Pain, pleasure, and humiliation: Kunguna views suffering as erotic gratification, while Liu Zheng attempts to turn that worldview against him. The chapter presents a disturbing inversion in which torture becomes entertainment and weakness becomes an object of desire.
• Pragmatism and morality: Liu Zheng saves the deputy minister for practical reasons rather than compassion, yet his actions still produce a morally positive result. His motives remain calculating, but his choices protect others.
• Defiance against overwhelming power: The chapter builds toward a confrontation between a cruel god and a mortal—or godlike being—who refuses to show fear.

Character Interactions

• Kunguna humiliates and tortures the deputy minister, while she alternates between forced obedience and desperate pleas for mercy.
• Liu Zheng and Kunguna engage in a tense verbal duel, each testing the other’s motives, courage, and limits.
• Liu Zheng saves the deputy minister and quietly instructs her to flee, creating a reluctant alliance between former enemies.
• Kunguna’s curiosity toward Liu Zheng gradually shifts into anticipation of personally torturing him.
• The final interaction is no longer conversational: Liu Zheng rejects submission, reveals his true form, and directly challenges Kunguna to a battle to the death.

Chapter Summary: “I’m Not an Ordinary Cow-Horse”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng confronts Kunguna, a grotesque local god, while carrying the golden Magatama associated with Amaterasu. Kunguna immediately becomes wary and questions Liu Zheng’s relationship with Amaterasu.
• Liu Zheng deliberately provokes Kunguna by implying that he can report the god’s disrespectful words to Amaterasu. Although Kunguna threatens him, Liu Zheng correctly anticipates the attack.
• Liu Zheng transforms into a highly convincing imitation of Cow-Horse, using a cosplay costume to gain much of Cow-Horse’s physical strength. He explains that this version represents Cow-Horse’s various prestigious roles, including supervisor of the Bloodstained Restaurant’s Delivery Department and bassist of the “Animal Farm” band.
• Kunguna attacks with his enormous tongue, splitting it into numerous tendrils aimed at Liu Zheng’s face and bodily openings. Liu Zheng crushes the tongue beneath his hoof, though he regrets not using the Boning Knife because the flattened flesh might have been valuable.
• Enraged, Kunguna summons the corpses of his abused attendants, including children arranged in a pyramid, and uses their bodily fluids to form a multicolored defensive shield.
• Liu Zheng initially fails to break the shield with a straightforward strike, but then uses a Long Fist technique, the “Skyward Cannon,” to blast the shield and the corpses into the air. The shield collapses back into filthy liquid.
• Kunguna attempts to ambush Liu Zheng by reforming the liquid into a cylinder and trying to smear it onto him. Liu Zheng’s uncontrolled but powerful fist wind disperses the attack, unintentionally protecting him from the suspicious substance.
• Kunguna then attacks with his divine banner in the form of a grotesque sexual organ. Liu Zheng blocks it, leaving a hoofprint and visibly damaging the structure of Kunguna’s divine power.
• Shocked that a mortal imitation could injure a god, Kunguna reveals a stronger form by tearing open his abdomen and producing a fetal version of himself connected by an umbilical cord.
• Liu Zheng strikes the fetal form’s head but injures his own hoof because the fetus possesses a genuine divine body. Kunguna boasts about the superiority of his natural divine form.
• Rather than becoming intimidated, Liu Zheng launches into an extended stream of increasingly personal insults, mocking Kunguna’s appearance, divine status, isolation, sexuality, and need to create a second self for companionship. Kunguna loses control and vows to kill him.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Demonstrates extreme confidence, tactical awareness, and a willingness to provoke enemies psychologically. Although his Cow-Horse form is only an imperfect imitation, he uses brute force, martial techniques, and his naturally uncontrolled power effectively. His Irritability continues worsening, making his insults more reckless and vicious, but he remains observant enough to avoid Kunguna’s traps.
• Kunguna: Is shown to be proud, insecure, cruel, and easily enraged. He abuses corpses and treats divine authority as an excuse for violence. His initial confidence is shaken when Liu Zheng injures his divine banner, revealing that his conception of gods’ invulnerability is exaggerated. His anger repeatedly causes him to abandon caution and respond emotionally.
• The attendants: Though already dead, they remain controlled and exploited by Kunguna. Their bodies and fluids are used as weapons and defenses, emphasizing their complete lack of agency even after death.
• Amaterasu: Does not appear directly, but her name and authority strongly influence Kunguna’s behavior. Liu Zheng weaponizes his supposed connection to her to intimidate and manipulate Kunguna.

Significant Themes

• Divine authority versus mortal strength: Kunguna assumes that a god cannot be challenged by a mortal, but Liu Zheng’s imitation of Cow-Horse proves that power and combat ability are not limited to divine beings.
• Appearance and legitimacy: Liu Zheng’s “counterfeit” Cow-Horse form is still powerful enough to hurt a genuine god, challenging the idea that authenticity automatically determines strength.
• Pride and insecurity: Kunguna’s obsession with his status makes him vulnerable to Liu Zheng’s provocations. His rage reveals that his divine dignity is fragile.
• Abuse of power: Kunguna’s treatment of his attendants and corpses portrays divinity as grotesque domination rather than nobility.
• Mockery as psychological warfare: Liu Zheng relies not only on physical attacks but also on relentless ridicule, using Kunguna’s insecurities to destabilize him.
• Practical caution amid absurdity: Despite his reckless speech, Liu Zheng remains careful around suspicious bodily fluids and hidden attacks, showing that his humor does not eliminate his survival instincts.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Kunguna engage in a tense exchange of threats, insults, and challenges, with Liu Zheng repeatedly refusing to show fear or respect.
• Liu Zheng manipulates Kunguna by invoking Amaterasu’s name and threatening to report Kunguna’s behavior to her.
• Kunguna attacks through his tongue, corpses, bodily fluids, and divine banner, while Liu Zheng counters with hoof strikes, wind pressure, and martial arts.
• Their physical confrontation becomes a contest of divine pride versus mortal audacity: Kunguna relies on his status and grotesque powers, while Liu Zheng relies on strength, adaptability, and verbal provocation.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng successfully driving Kunguna into a furious emotional breakdown, setting up a more dangerous continuation of their battle.

Chapter Summary: “Legendary Deliveryman Set Activated”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Kunguna’s malformed fetus form transforms into the beautiful divine appearance of Shaoming Konguna, revealing that the two entities together form the god Sukuna.
• Sukuna launches a bizarre but powerful flag-based attack against Liu Zheng, using one flag to strike through the other and creating a noose-like force.
• Liu Zheng counters with the Cleaver while in his incomplete Cow-Horse form. Although the attack damages the Cleaver and overwhelms him physically, he uses blood vapor, Flesh Rebirth, and the simulated Cow-Horse hide to recover and repel Sukuna’s flag.
• Sukuna begins preparing his ultimate technique through ritualistic chanting and movements. Shaoming Konguna produces a divine-medicine blossom, which Kunguna transforms into deadly black poison. Liu Zheng disperses the poison with his unusually enlarged horse tail, frustrating Sukuna.
• Sukuna reveals his divine identity and attacks with his flag like a massive hammer. Liu Zheng meets the blow with his enlarged horns. The collision destroys the room and leaves both combatants severely injured:
  • Liu Zheng suffers catastrophic bodily damage, including a pierced chest and shattered bones.
  • Sukuna’s flag is damaged by True Damage, and one of its “balls” is severed by Liu Zheng’s Boning Knife, leaving him weakened and partially incapacitated.
  • Shaoming Konguna remains trapped inside Liu Zheng but becomes inactive after losing control.
• Recognizing that Sukuna will soon recover, Liu Zheng uses the single-use Legendary Deliveryman’s Dirty Underwear he had been saving as payment from Jinzi for rescuing Jingzi.
• Activating the underwear completes the Legendary Deliveryman Set and grants him the full Legendary set effects.
• The set dramatically restores and strengthens Liu Zheng, granting:
  • A major increase to all attributes.
  • Strong resistance to sanity reduction.
  • True Damage on most attacks.
  • Enhanced effects during deliveries.
  • The ability to duplicate delivered meals below Perfect quality.
  • The new active skill Deliveryman’s Iron Fist, a defense-ignoring punch with massively increased damage against targets preventing a food delivery.
• Empowered by the set, Liu Zheng destroys Sukuna’s flag with a single punch, pulls Shaoming Konguna from his body, and crushes him.
• He prepares to strike Kunguna as well, but Kunguna finally begs for his life.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Demonstrates increasing creativity and resilience under extreme pressure. Though physically outmatched by Sukuna, he uses his Cow-Horse abilities, blood, tail, horns, equipment, and tactical judgment to survive. His activation of the Legendary Deliveryman Set marks a major power-up, transforming him from a struggling mortal into someone capable of overwhelming a god.
• Sukuna/Kunguna/Shaoming Konguna: Their unified divine form initially dominates Liu Zheng and displays immense strength, poison-based abilities, and supernatural techniques. However, their arrogance and reliance on theatrical attacks leave them vulnerable. Damage to their flag and the severing of its component cause their divine power and control to collapse.
• Kunguna: Shifts from an arrogant, godlike aggressor to a frightened survivor once Liu Zheng gains the upper hand, revealing that he is not as invincible as he pretended.
• Jinzi and Jingzi: Though absent from the immediate battle, their earlier relationship with Liu Zheng remains important because the underwear was Jinzi’s promised reward for saving Jingzi. Liu Zheng’s use of it reinforces his commitment to that rescue.

Significant Themes

• Mortality challenging divinity: Liu Zheng, despite being a mortal, defeats a god through persistence, adaptability, and superior use of abilities rather than raw power alone.
• Improvisation and unconventional strength: Humorous or ridiculous tools—such as a horse tail, dirty underwear, and a delivery-themed punch—become decisive weapons.
• Arrogance versus practicality: Sukuna’s elaborate divine performance contrasts with Liu Zheng’s direct, pragmatic approach. The god spends time posturing and chanting, while Liu Zheng focuses on surviving and exploiting weaknesses.
• Power through purpose: The Legendary Deliveryman Set is strongest when Liu Zheng is fulfilling his delivery-related mission, emphasizing the chapter’s recurring idea that his bizarre occupation is also his greatest source of strength.
• Comedy amid danger: The battle combines brutal injuries and divine combat with absurd imagery, mocking dialogue, and intentionally humiliating attack methods.

Character Interactions

• Sukuna repeatedly insults and belittles Liu Zheng as a mortal, while Liu Zheng mocks Sukuna’s strange flag attack and theatrical rituals.
• Liu Zheng and Sukuna engage in a direct contest of strength, with Sukuna initially overpowering him and Liu Zheng eventually reversing the situation.
• Shaoming Konguna and Kunguna cooperate to create poison, but their combined technique fails when Liu Zheng reflects it back with his tail.
• After the final power shift, Liu Zheng dominates both divine aspects: he destroys Sukuna’s flag, crushes Shaoming Konguna, and prepares to kill Kunguna.
• The chapter ends with Kunguna abandoning his divine arrogance and pleading for mercy.

Chapter Summary: “This Deity Didn’t Go Peacefully”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng defeats Shaoming Konguna, the God of Healing, after learning that Konguna could regenerate a divine body in roughly ten years. Rather than risk allowing him to return and seek revenge, Liu crushes him completely.
• Liu kills Sukuna by stabbing his heart and sawing through his neck. Sukuna curses him, promising revenge after resurrection, but his body decays into black oil.
• Liu preserves Sukuna’s severed head in the Legendary Delivery Box, intending to use it as a valuable bargaining item—particularly to demand better compensation from Napoleon and the White-Feather Chicken.
• He burns the room and the attendants’ corpses, reflecting on how fortunate he was not to be assigned to the Customer Service Department, where he believes he would have been forced into humiliating work and likely killed.
• With his transformation and Legendary Underpants nearing their time limits, Liu decides to rescue Jingzi by force rather than abandon the mission.
• Liu summons One Bamboo, Wan Zi, and the Deputy Director. He reveals Sukuna’s severed head, shocking all three women and confirming that he truly killed a deity.
• Liu explains that Konguna may resurrect in ten years, so the Deputy Director should move to the city, where Konguna’s influence will be much weaker. He promises to help her find work and protect the others as long as he remains alive.
• Instead of leaving immediately, Liu insists on completing the commission to rescue Jingzi. He gives One Bamboo and Wan Zi twenty minutes to locate Jingzi’s prison.
• The Deputy Director reveals that Jingzi was imprisoned by Granny Tang, who has been demanding ransom from Jingzi’s family. She also admits that she has a connection to a section chief in the General Affairs Department, potentially providing a way to locate Jingzi.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng becomes more decisive and ruthless. He refuses to trust Konguna’s promise of non-retaliation and eliminates him despite the god’s claims that resurrection is possible.
• Liu also shows strategic thinking and opportunism by preserving Sukuna’s head as leverage for future rewards.
• His confidence grows after defeating a deity, but he remains aware of the limits of his temporary powers and the dangers posed by the bathhouse’s higher authorities.
• Liu demonstrates loyalty to his clients and allies by prioritizing Jingzi’s rescue, even after using most of his strongest abilities.
• Shaoming Konguna is revealed as arrogant and self-preserving. He fears humiliation and inconvenience more than death, and his threats after defeat expose his vindictive nature.
• The Deputy Director shifts from fear and hesitation to cautious cooperation. Although terrified of Konguna’s future return, she begins considering relocation to the city and agrees to use her connections to help Liu.
• One Bamboo and Wan Zi show increasing trust and loyalty toward Liu, affirming that they believe his promises despite his warning that he may disappear or die.
• The Deputy Director and Liu continue their playful, flirtatious verbal exchanges, while One Bamboo and Wan Zi react with jealousy and irritation.

Significant Themes

• Power and humiliation: Konguna considers defeat and loss of status more painful than death, emphasizing the importance of pride among the gods.
• Pragmatism over mercy: Liu rejects promises from a defeated enemy and chooses permanent elimination because future retaliation is too dangerous.
• Temporary power and urgency: The limited duration of Liu’s abilities creates pressure, forcing him to act quickly and choose which objectives matter most.
• Loyalty and obligation: Despite his dangerous circumstances, Liu remains committed to completing his contract and helping those who trusted him.
• Social hierarchy and escape: The bathhouse is structured by departmental and supernatural status. Moving to the city represents freedom from Konguna’s authority and a chance for the Deputy Director to rebuild her life.
• Workplace satire: Liu compares the bathhouse’s departments to real-world workplaces, highlighting bureaucracy, favoritism, status, and the need for interdepartmental connections.
• Identity and survival: Liu reflects on how his adaptability and verbal skill have allowed him to survive, while acknowledging that some roles would have been incompatible with his personality.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu taunts Konguna about his ten-year regeneration period, then kills him despite the god’s offer of wealth and an oath.
• Liu mocks the Deputy Director’s dramatic reaction to Sukuna’s severed head and threatens to silence her, creating a comic contrast with the gruesome situation.
• His flirtation with the Deputy Director provokes synchronized disapproval from One Bamboo and Wan Zi.
• Liu reassures the three women that he will honor his promises, even if he later dies or disappears, strengthening their trust in him.
• The Deputy Director reluctantly accepts that moving to the city may be her only path to safety.
• Liu and the Deputy Director negotiate cooperation: he promises to fulfill his contract regardless, while she agrees to use her General Affairs Department connection to help locate Jingzi.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng asks how to win over Thirteen Yao’s former lover, All Terminals/Thirteen Yao’s associate in the General Affairs Department. The deputy minister explains that money is unlikely to work because the woman wants to reunite with Thirteen Yao. Alternatively, arranging another night between them might persuade her.
• One Bamboo offers to contact someone in the Kitchen who may help Liu Zheng reach Jingzi, who is being held in a cell. Since the employees who served distinguished guests have been granted time off, Liu Zheng, One Bamboo, and Wan Zi are free to act.
• Liu Zheng asks One Bamboo to summon Thirteen Yao, promising that he will help Thirteen Yao win over All Terminals. The deputy minister accepts Liu Zheng’s leadership, though she remains irritated at being pulled into his plans.
• Before leaving, the deputy minister teasingly flirts with Liu Zheng. One Bamboo gives him a shy farewell, while Wan Zi openly seeks and receives affection from him.
• Liu Zheng learns that Wan Zi was sold to the bathhouse by her father after he squandered their money. Her father was eventually transformed into a pig. Liu Zheng reacts with dark humor, and Wan Zi admits she felt relieved by his fate.
• Because Wan Zi has no family or safe place to go, Liu Zheng arranges for her to stay with Sesha and work at Nile Doctor’s clinic after escaping the bathhouse. He refuses to let her follow him, explaining that his dangerous and unpredictable life would make her a burden and put her at risk.
• Liu Zheng rests after his recent battles while Wan Zi clings affectionately to him. When Thirteen Yao arrives, Liu Zheng hides Wan Zi and prepares to negotiate.
• Thirteen Yao initially assumes Liu Zheng is an unknown powerhouse and takes a combat stance. Liu Zheng reveals that he is the disguised “Renhe,” his supposed subordinate identity.
• Thirteen Yao angrily accuses Liu Zheng of deceiving and manipulating him. Liu Zheng argues that he had no choice and that Thirteen Yao should have recognized the truth earlier.
• Liu Zheng then confronts Thirteen Yao about refusing to acknowledge Granny Tang as his superior. Thirteen Yao insists that his conflict with Granny Tang is an internal bathhouse matter, but Liu Zheng claims he is acting as an employee concerned with the bathhouse’s survival. The chapter ends as Liu Zheng begins presenting his argument.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to demonstrate strategic leadership, using information, favors, and personal connections to build influence within the bathhouse. He remains irreverent and manipulative but also shows genuine concern for Wan Zi’s future.
• Wan Zi reveals a traumatic past involving exploitation by her father, yet she retains emotional resilience, quick obedience, and social intelligence. Her attachment to Liu Zheng deepens, though he deliberately maintains boundaries.
• One Bamboo becomes increasingly loyal and emotionally attached to Liu Zheng. Her shy reaction to his affection contrasts with the deputy minister’s bold teasing.
• The deputy minister reluctantly accepts Liu Zheng’s leadership and joins his plans, despite resenting how easily he has overturned the existing power dynamic.
• Thirteen Yao is shown to be proud, suspicious, and deeply resentful of Liu Zheng’s deception. His fear of Liu Zheng’s power is balanced by anger over their former relationship as superior and subordinate.
• All Terminals is characterized indirectly as someone driven more by romantic longing than money, making her a difficult but potentially valuable ally.

Significant Themes

• Power and influence: Liu Zheng relies less on force than on favors, secrets, emotional leverage, and alliances.
• Exploitation and survival: Wan Zi’s history reflects the bathhouse’s brutal system, where vulnerable people can be bought, sold, and transformed.
• Found family and protection: Liu Zheng takes responsibility for Wan Zi and attempts to secure her a safer future, even while refusing to let her depend entirely on him.
• Identity and deception: Liu Zheng’s false identity as Renhe has allowed him to maneuver through the bathhouse, but his exposure creates distrust and conflict.
• Moral ambiguity: Liu Zheng’s humor about violence and punishment is harsh, yet it coexists with practical compassion and a clear belief that kindness should be repaid while wrongdoing deserves fair consequences.
• Romance as political leverage: All Terminals’ feelings for Thirteen Yao become a potential bargaining tool in Liu Zheng’s broader struggle for power.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the deputy minister exchange sarcastic remarks about seduction, money, and physical attraction, establishing a playful but competitive relationship.
• One Bamboo’s shy farewell and Wan Zi’s affectionate behavior reveal their contrasting forms of attachment to Liu Zheng.
• Liu Zheng questions Wan Zi about her past, consoles her indirectly through humor, and offers her a practical path to safety.
• Liu Zheng and Thirteen Yao confront one another over deception, authority, and loyalty. Their exchange combines hostility, wary respect, and unresolved personal history.
• The chapter closes with Liu Zheng attempting to persuade Thirteen Yao that opposing Granny Tang is not merely a personal grievance but a matter of institutional survival.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng debates Thirteen Yao about Night Parade Bathhouse’s declining position. Liu argues that relying on the Eight Directional Gods’ protection is dangerous and that Bathhouse Street’s power cannot remain unchanged forever.
• He demonstrates his influence by mentioning his City Hall connections and claiming that a friend who killed a Councillor will soon be cleared of all charges. He also invites Thirteen Yao to dine at the infamous Bloodstained Restaurant.
• Liu explains that he infiltrated the Bathhouse to rescue Jingzi, who has been imprisoned by Granny Tang while her family is extorted for ransom.
• When Thirteen Yao questions Liu’s strength, Liu reveals Sukuna’s severed head in the Legendary Delivery Box. He clarifies that he destroyed Sukuna’s divine body, preventing him from reforming for ten years.
• Liu warns Thirteen Yao that Granny Tang may eventually undermine him by preventing his promotion, promoting him into an ineffective position, or transferring him away from the Massage Department, which is the foundation of his influence.
• He further reveals that Thirteen Yao’s opposition to Granny Tang is connected to her desire to possess his body. Losing power could therefore place him in serious danger.
• Thirteen Yao admits that Granny Tang is not the true owner of Night Parade Bathhouse. However, for unknown reasons, she is currently one of the few people capable of controlling the true owner.
• Liu realizes that Thirteen Yao wants him to locate another person who could replace Granny Tang and take control of the Bathhouse. Thirteen Yao agrees to cooperate indirectly, giving Liu Jingzi’s location but refusing to help with the rescue or escape.
• Jingzi is revealed to be held on the sixth floor, in the fifth room on the left after exiting the elevator.
• Liu prepares to leave with the deputy director and One Bamboo. He wraps Wan Zi in the deputy director’s mizugi so he can carry her safely, then sets off to rescue Jingzi.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates increasing confidence, political awareness, and strategic intelligence. He combines threats, persuasion, and knowledge of internal Bathhouse politics to win Thirteen Yao’s cooperation.
• Thirteen Yao shifts from hostility and skepticism to reluctant alliance. Though he remains guarded and refuses to openly help Liu, he recognizes the danger posed by Granny Tang and agrees that change may be necessary.
• Thirteen Yao is also shown to have a protective side. Despite his harsh exterior, he asks Liu to kill as few Bathhouse employees as possible.
• Granny Tang emerges as a manipulative and powerful figure who controls the Bathhouse while exploiting employees and families. Her authority may be conditional rather than absolute.
• The deputy director and One Bamboo continue supporting Liu’s operation. The deputy director sacrifices a favorite outfit to help transport Wan Zi, while One Bamboo assists directly and shows concern about whether Liu will return.
• Wan Zi remains obedient and cooperative, allowing herself to be bundled up so Liu can carry her during the rescue.

Significant Themes

• The danger of complacency: Liu stresses that institutions and alliances can collapse, even when they appear permanent.
• Power, succession, and political maneuvering: Advancement within the Bathhouse is shown to depend less on merit than on control, alliances, and the ability to prevent rivals from rising.
• Exploitation and abuse of workers: Granny Tang’s imprisonment and ransom scheme exposes the Bathhouse’s corruption and the vulnerability of its employees and their families.
• Change versus loyalty: Thirteen Yao’s attachment to the Bathhouse conflicts with his recognition that its current structure is unsustainable.
• Hidden power structures: The Bathhouse’s true ownership, the Eight Directional Gods’ contract, and Granny Tang’s role reveal that visible authority does not necessarily reflect true control.
• Reluctant cooperation: Liu and Thirteen Yao do not fully trust one another, but their shared interests force them into an alliance.

Character Interactions

• Liu and Thirteen Yao engage in a tense debate that gradually becomes a negotiation. Liu pressures him by exposing the threats to his position and personal safety.
• Thirteen Yao initially mocks Liu’s warnings but becomes shocked and unsettled when shown Sukuna’s head.
• Liu appeals to Thirteen Yao’s self-interest, his attachment to the Massage Department, and his concern for Bathhouse employees.
• Their agreement remains limited: Thirteen Yao provides information and asks his allies to stop interfering, but he refuses to participate directly in Jingzi’s rescue.
• Before departing, Liu coordinates with the deputy director and One Bamboo, receives Jingzi’s location, and arranges a way to carry Wan Zi. One Bamboo’s question about seeing him again adds a brief emotional note before Liu leaves.

Chapter Summary: “Tongue Kissed, and Twice at That”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng chooses One-Shot Samurai’s elevator, rejecting the Crying Woman and Laughing Old Man’s elevators because he lacks the requirements or time for them.
• One-Shot Samurai challenges him to a battle and offers to make him his disciple if he wins, teaching him the sword techniques of the Heavenly Sound-Killing School. Liu Zheng declines for now, prioritizing his mission to reach the first basement level.
• Liu Zheng asks One-Shot Samurai to prevent anyone else from using the elevator with him. One-Shot Samurai agrees, provided Liu keeps his promise to return and fight him someday. They discuss trust, communication, and the difficulty of contacting one another after Liu leaves.
• Although Liu refuses a full duel, One-Shot Samurai insists on a brief exchange of attacks. He unleashes “Phoenix Descends on Kunlun,” summoning blood-colored, mountain-like clouds that crash down like a supernatural disaster.
• Liu compares the attack to Moon Demon’s blood meteor attack in Yate City. Unlike before, Liu is now significantly stronger due to his cosplay outfit and Legendary Deliveryman Set.
• Liu counters with over a hundred powerful hoof strikes, destroying every cloud mountain before it can reach him. He envies the spectacular techniques of nonhuman powerhouses, while recognizing that his own fighting style remains brutally simple.
• One-Shot Samurai takes advantage of Liu’s momentary distraction and launches a lightning-fast surprise attack with his living sword, Corpse-Killing Pellet. Liu catches the sword’s tip in his mouth, but the blade eventually breaks free and pierces his tongue.
• Liu raises a hoof to retaliate, forcing One-Shot Samurai to stop before the confrontation escalates. One-Shot Samurai withdraws his blade and offers Liu the blood on its tip, which Liu licks off—an action that horrifies Corpse-Killing Pellet.
• One-Shot Samurai explains that Corpse-Killing Pellet was once a woman who sacrificed her flesh, blood, and soul to become a sword so she could avenge herself on the family that sold her to Lust Demons. After her creator betrayed her, she escaped, killed her former husband’s family, and was later subdued by One-Shot Samurai before becoming a fully demonic blade.
• Liu jokes that he has effectively “tongue-kissed” Corpse-Killing Pellet twice, provoking the sword. One-Shot Samurai must calm her down.
• The elevator reaches the sixth floor. Before leaving, Liu mischievously asks One-Shot Samurai whether his resurrected human wife or Corpse-Killing Pellet is his “first wife,” leaving him confused and irritated.
• On the sixth floor, Liu encounters a female Bathhouse attendant who questions his unauthorized wandering. He falsely claims to be a Bathhouse employee, then distracts her by pretending to spot Director Thirteen Yao behind her. When she refuses to turn around, Liu knocks her unconscious and proceeds down the corridor.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains impatient, pragmatic, and irreverent. He refuses distractions such as a formal duel or sword training, but he also demonstrates growing confidence in his immense strength.
• Liu’s combat style is shown to be increasingly powerful despite its lack of elegance. He can now casually destroy One-Shot Samurai’s large-scale attacks, though he still relies on instinct, physical force, and improvised tactics.
• Liu also reveals a more calculating side: he avoids exposing weaknesses during negotiations and recognizes that One-Shot Samurai’s attack is partly a test of his capabilities.
• One-Shot Samurai is portrayed as both a battle-obsessed swordsman and a man of honor. He respects Liu’s strength, values promises and credibility, and willingly offers his blood as a sign of cooperation.
• His relationship with Corpse-Killing Pellet is clarified. He treats the sentient sword as a partner with her own dignity and emotions, soothing her when Liu insults or embarrasses her.
• Corpse-Killing Pellet is established as proud, vengeful, intelligent, and highly sensitive to disrespect. Her violent history explains her hostility and independent will.

Significant Themes

• Strength versus technique: Liu’s crude but overwhelming physical power contrasts with One-Shot Samurai’s refined, theatrical swordsmanship.
• Trust and credibility: The conversation emphasizes that reliable cooperation is essential in the Metropolis, even among dangerous or morally questionable individuals.
• Identity and transformation: Corpse-Killing Pellet’s history explores how a person can sacrifice her humanity and become a weapon while retaining her memories, emotions, and agency.
• Power and spectacle: Liu envies the impressive supernatural abilities of others, highlighting the difference between flashy techniques and practical, devastating strength.
• Humor amid violence: The chapter repeatedly undercuts deadly situations with Liu’s sarcasm, crude jokes, and deliberate attempts to provoke others.
• Possessiveness and relationships: Liu’s joke about One-Shot Samurai having two “wives” turns the sword’s sentience and the swordsman’s emotional attachments into a source of comic tension.

Character Interactions

• Liu and One-Shot Samurai establish a tentative alliance based on mutual respect, future promises, and the possibility of cooperation.
• Their brief battle functions as both a test of strength and a playful contest of pride. Neither intends to kill the other, but both are unwilling to appear weak.
• Liu’s interaction with Corpse-Killing Pellet becomes an absurd form of accidental intimacy when he catches her blade in his mouth and later licks away her blood. His teasing further insults her.
• One-Shot Samurai acts as an intermediary between Liu and the sword, defending Corpse-Killing Pellet while preventing the confrontation from escalating.
• Liu’s encounter with the Bathhouse attendant shows his continued willingness to deceive, intimidate, and use force when convenient, though he ultimately chooses to knock her out rather than kill her.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng arrives at the Barrier Room to rescue Jingzi, who has been imprisoned by Granny Tang’s organization for allegedly letting a pig loose. The guards reveal that Jingzi is being held mainly so her wealthy family can be extorted.
• He defeats the two guards effortlessly, destroys their spear technique, and intimidates them into revealing Jingzi’s location. Although he promises not to kill them, he kicks them hard enough to leave them bedridden for months.
• Liu Zheng discovers he has forgotten the key, so he cuts through the paper door. Inside, he finds Jingzi, who is missing both legs because they were severed when she helped her boyfriend escape.
• Jingzi explains that her boyfriend was already eaten. She accepts his death calmly, believing that a beautiful love should end before it becomes ordinary or decays. Liu Zheng carries her out on his back.
• Granny Tang discovers the escape and attacks with a giant, jewelry-covered hand rather than her true body. Liu Zheng counters with his Spiral Unicorn technique, shattering her jade barrier and emerald ring.
• Granny Tang escapes by using a yellow gemstone ring to teleport her hand away. Liu Zheng curses her retreat but proceeds to the elevator with Jingzi and Wan Zi.
• In the lower level, Liu Zheng confronts the hostile creatures watching him. He scares them away by threatening to butcher them for ingredients.
• Using a cinder given to him by Hachijo, Liu Zheng locates a hidden passage. He breaks through a hollow section of wall, transforms his body into a long, thin shape, and crawls through a narrow pipe.
• He emerges near Hachijo and Thirteen Yao, who are waiting with Golden Dumplings. Their reunion includes playful arguing, especially Hachijo embarrassing Thirteen Yao by recalling an old incident involving stolen aphrodisiac.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates overwhelming combat ability, sharp observational skills, and increasing confidence. He protects Jingzi while remaining irreverent and theatrical, but he also shows practical judgment by sparing the guards and avoiding a reckless pursuit of Granny Tang.
• Jingzi is revealed to be physically mutilated but emotionally composed. Her calm acceptance of her boyfriend’s death and her romantic, fatalistic philosophy suggest both psychological resilience and a disturbing detachment shaped by the Metropolis.
• The guards are shown to be opportunistic but pragmatic. They are willing to consider fighting for promotion or money, yet immediately surrender when they recognize Liu Zheng’s superiority.
• Granny Tang appears powerful and resourceful, using enchanted jewelry for defense and teleportation, but she is also cautious enough to retreat when Liu Zheng destroys her barrier.
• Hachijo and Thirteen Yao retain a familiar, teasing relationship. Their exchanges reveal long-standing personal history and Hachijo’s influence within the Night Parade Bathhouse.

Significant Themes

• Exploitation and corruption: Jingzi’s imprisonment is not about justice but extortion, showing how authority figures profit from the vulnerable.
• The value of life and wages: The guards’ question—what are they risking their lives for on a low salary?—underscores the absurdity of sacrificing oneself for exploitative employers.
• Love, death, and beauty: Jingzi believes love is most beautiful when preserved before it fades, linking romance with sacrifice and death.
• Power and intimidation: Liu Zheng’s strength allows him to overcome institutional barriers, while his threats and confidence often succeed as effectively as direct violence.
• Connections and mutual aid: Jingzi’s rescue is possible because her family has formed a connection with Liu Zheng, emphasizing the importance of alliances in the dangerous world of the story.
• Comedy amid brutality: Graphic violence, imprisonment, mutilation, and supernatural threats are repeatedly undercut by sarcasm, insults, and absurd physical humor.

Character Interactions

• The two guards discuss Jingzi’s imprisonment and the corruption behind it before Liu Zheng interrupts them.
• Liu Zheng intimidates and questions the guards, mocking their flattery and forcing them to cooperate.
• Jingzi and Liu Zheng establish immediate trust after he confirms details provided by her aunt Jinzi. Their conversation reveals her unusual emotional outlook.
• Liu Zheng confronts Granny Tang directly, destroying her magical defense before she escapes.
• Liu Zheng reassures One-Shot Samurai that he will not abandon his allies.
• Hachijo and Thirteen Yao exchange affectionate but embarrassing insults, showing their close, informal relationship and the history shared among the Night Parade staff.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hachijo and Thirteen Yao discuss whether to tell Liu Zheng about Granny Qian. Thirteen Yao decides to wait until Liu Zheng’s current mission is resolved, intending to judge his ability, loyalty, and attitude before asking him to retrieve her.
• They also worry about Granny Tang’s increasingly reckless leadership of Night Parade Bathhouse. Thirteen Yao fears the bathhouse will collapse under her rule and considers bringing Granny Qian back to restore order.
• The conversation reveals that former department heads’ souls remain within the bathhouse, allowing successors to inherit their skills. However, prolonged contact can alter or even possess the current department head. Thirteen Yao’s increasingly dramatic personality suggests his assimilation is advancing.
• Hachijo and Thirteen Yao joke about family, marriage, children, and Hachijo’s hopes that his granddaughter Mirai will marry Renhe. Thirteen Yao responds by joking that he might ask All Terminals to bear him a child.
• Liu Zheng and Nile Doctor emerge from the Sewer while escorting Jingzi. Their allies from Blissful Bathhouse have hidden nearby to avoid attracting attention, while Niu Daji waits at the Torii.
• Granny Tang pursues Liu Zheng with a large ashigaru force, accusing him of theft. Yuan Bao’er and the employees of Blissful Bathhouse block her path, openly supporting Liu Zheng.
• Yuan Bao’er disguises the confrontation as a “team-building” walk and challenges Granny Tang’s political authority. She threatens to expose Granny Tang’s wrongdoing and promises to compensate or support her employees, causing them to rally enthusiastically behind her.
• Liu Zheng reaches Niu Daji, who explains that he fought intruders trying to shut down the Torii. He survived only because Liu Zheng’s tank intervened, allowing him to ambush the attackers as they escaped underground.
• Liu Zheng praises Niu Daji despite his assistance from the tank and plans to take him back to the city temporarily. However, he intends to leave Niu Daji on Bathhouse Street to oversee unfinished business until the area is secured.
• Liu Zheng, Nile Doctor, Niu Daji, and Jingzi depart in the tank. The driver, irritated by Liu Zheng’s delay, deliberately kicks dirt and grass over them before heading back.

Character Developments

• Thirteen Yao: His loyalty to Night Parade Bathhouse and concern for its future become clearer, though these may partly result from the souls of previous department heads influencing him. He remains irreverent and shameless, using humor to deflect serious issues.
• Hachijo: His cautious, family-oriented nature is emphasized. He is deeply invested in Mirai’s future and willing to sacrifice his fortune to secure her marriage and descendants. He also worries about the risks of Thirteen Yao’s possession.
• Liu Zheng: He demonstrates leadership and practical judgment. He tests and evaluates allies, rewards loyalty, and reassures Niu Daji while still assigning him important responsibilities.
• Yuan Bao’er: She shows fierce loyalty, political courage, and strong leadership. Her willingness to risk her position and personally guarantee compensation inspires both veteran and newer employees.
• Niu Daji: He proves more clever and calculating than his simple appearance suggests. His staged vulnerability is meant to test Liu Zheng’s opinion of him, while his loyalty and willingness to defend the Torii are genuine.
• Granny Tang: She appears increasingly authoritarian and politically aggressive. She relies on force, outside mercenaries, and threats while attempting to punish Liu Zheng and suppress opposition.
• Nile Doctor: He continues to provide comic relief through his disgust and impatience, but remains a dependable companion during the escape.

Significant Themes

• Leadership and loyalty: The chapter contrasts Granny Tang’s coercive leadership with Yuan Bao’er’s generosity and loyalty to her employees.
• Identity and possession: The souls of former department heads provide power and knowledge but threaten the successor’s personality and independence.
• Family and legacy: Hachijo’s desire for Mirai’s happiness and descendants contrasts with Thirteen Yao’s loneliness and joking attitude toward family.
• Politics and power struggles: Bathhouse Street operates through formal meetings and impeachment, but political rules are backed by force, alliances, and the threat of exposing secrets.
• Trust and testing: Thirteen Yao evaluates Liu Zheng before revealing information about Granny Qian, while Niu Daji tests Liu Zheng’s attitude through his behavior.
• Comedic camaraderie amid danger: Insults, exaggerated banter, and absurd situations soften the chapter’s political conflict and reinforce the bonds among Liu Zheng’s allies.

Important Character Interactions

• Thirteen Yao and Hachijo debate Granny Qian, possession, family, and marriage, revealing both their contrasting personalities and long familiarity.
• Granny Tang confronts Yuan Bao’er, but Yuan turns the confrontation into a public show of employee solidarity and effectively undermines her authority.
• Liu Zheng reassures Niu Daji that he is trusted and capable, while making clear that responsibility on Bathhouse Street is necessary before he can enter the city permanently.
• Nile Doctor and Liu Zheng exchange insults over their Sewer stench, reinforcing their humorous but cooperative relationship.
• Liu Zheng’s tank driver shows his irritation at being kept waiting, adding a final comic note to the group’s departure.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng and the Nile Doctor prepare to leave after their violent escape from the Night Parade Bathhouse. Their original objective—the Legendary Underwear—was lost or consumed, but they hope Sukuna’s severed head will earn enough money to offset the failure and possibly reveal clues to other Legendary Underwear.
• The driver allows them into his tank despite their filthy condition, charging a cleaning fee. Liu Zheng pays without complaint, reinforcing his good relationship with the Restaurant’s driver.
• The driver reveals that the Restaurant’s employees are not entirely aligned with Si Xue. Even when they support different factions, they can still help Liu Zheng as long as he follows the rules. The driver himself claims neutrality because he only wants to remain a driver.
• The driver encourages Liu Zheng to use the Restaurant as a platform and create a new era, suggesting that Liu Zheng possesses exceptional potential. Liu Zheng remains skeptical and views himself as someone who merely causes trouble and destruction.
• The Nile Doctor warns Liu Zheng that the Bloodstained Restaurant is extremely dangerous. He urges him to leave if possible, saying that even living in a sewer would be safer than remaining there.
• The Doctor suggests that joining City Hall—even as a low-level clerk—would be the ideal escape. If Liu Zheng becomes stable and respectable, the Doctor may allow him to meet and potentially marry Sesha. He also offers to provide a substantial dowry and financial support.
• The driver notices that Granny Tang’s forces are pursuing them. Through the tank’s sight, they see three enormous oni—green, white, and red—approaching through the forest.
• Unable to guarantee accurate fire with the tank’s weak weapons and poor targeting system, the driver decides to fire anyway. Liu Zheng loads an electrically charged shell, enduring repeated shocks while the driver enthusiastically resumes his old battlefield-commanding persona.
• The shell launches toward the oni, accelerates through the forest, and approaches them before they realize they are under attack.
• The oni are revealed to be involved in Mount Oe’s human-breeding and human-trafficking business. They casually discuss abusing and killing “farmed” humans, treating people as livestock and commercial products.
• Just as the attack reaches them, one of the oni—Kuma-doji—realizes the danger and transforms his long fur into a defensive ball around his body.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains pragmatic and self-deprecating. He accepts financial costs and danger without much complaint, but he resists the grand expectations others place on him. Despite this, his growing reputation and ability continue to attract the attention and support of powerful figures.
• The Driver/Colonel is shown to be both independent and deeply nostalgic. He refuses to join either faction, preferring the simple stability of his driving job, yet his military identity resurfaces immediately when combat begins. He views Liu Zheng as a young person capable of shaping the future.
• The Nile Doctor reveals a more protective and practical side. His harsh attitude toward Liu Zheng is largely motivated by concern for Sesha’s future and Liu Zheng’s dangerous occupation. He becomes willing to consider Liu Zheng as a potential son-in-law if he can obtain a safer position.
• Sesha does not appear, but her relationship with Liu Zheng becomes more significant. The Doctor’s conditional approval suggests that Liu Zheng’s social status and career may affect their future.
• The oni are characterized as brutal, exploitative, and commercially minded. Their internal ranking is based on strength, intelligence, seniority, and usefulness, with Azure Kuma-doji functioning as the most capable leader while Golden Kuma-doji is impulsive and sadistic.

Significant Themes

• Factional politics and neutrality: The Restaurant is not unified, and individuals can maintain personal loyalties while still cooperating under institutional rules.
• Potential versus self-perception: Others see Liu Zheng as a figure with limitless potential, while he sees himself as a troublemaker and temporary outsider.
• Safety versus ambition: The chapter contrasts the Restaurant’s opportunities with its deadly risks, raising the question of whether advancement is worth the danger.
• Bureaucracy and social status: The Nile Doctor’s willingness to accept Liu Zheng depends on his obtaining a respectable, stable position, showing how institutional status affects personal relationships.
• Dehumanization and exploitation: The oni’s treatment of humans as farmed livestock exposes the moral horror behind their business and provides justification for Liu Zheng’s willingness to fight them.
• Legacy and historical trauma: The driver considers himself a remnant of a vanished empire, while encouraging Liu Zheng to move beyond the past and create something new.

Character Interactions

• The driver and Liu Zheng share a friendly, teasing relationship built on mutual respect. The driver offers advice and encouragement, while Liu Zheng admires his independence and ideal job.
• The Nile Doctor challenges the driver’s optimism, warning Liu Zheng not to trust the Restaurant. His argument with Liu Zheng also reveals his conditional acceptance of Liu Zheng as a possible partner for Sesha.
• The driver and Liu Zheng work together humorously during the tank attack, with Liu Zheng serving as an unwillingly shocked loader and the driver returning to his commanding military personality.
• The three oni bicker among themselves about injuries, privileges, human “livestock,” and access to the Night Parade Bathhouse. Their casual conversation exposes both their cruelty and their dysfunctional hierarchy.
• The chapter ends on a cliffhanger as Kuma-doji detects the incoming shell and forms a massive fur shield around himself.

Chapter Summary: “Shelling City Hall”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The four Great Oni Kings respond to Golden Kuma-doji’s warning by activating their defensive fur, but the lesser yokai around them are exposed.
• The Driver opens fire with Hound’s artillery tank, using unreliable witchcraft shells. The first electric shell fails to create its intended chain lightning but still paralyzes and kills many yokai.
• The Driver then launches a coordinated barrage using a “Guidance Induction Shell,” nicknamed the “Wolf King,” which guides a swarm of surrounding “Wolf Pack” shells toward the yokai forces.
• The resulting explosion devastates the forest, uprooting trees and wiping out most of the yokai army. The three Great Oni Kings survive only by burrowing underground and escape severely injured.
• Liu Zheng and the Driver discuss increasingly powerful weapons, including the legendary Gustav Cannon, now controlled by City Hall. Liu jokes about using it to attack Peacock, though he cannot afford to rent it.
• Liu decides not to pursue the wounded Oni Kings, preferring not to create unnecessary trouble with Mount Oe. However, he remains willing to eliminate them if the opportunity arises.
• On the journey home, Liu plans to return Jingzi to Jinzi at Bliss Sento and visit Rose Street. He then stops the vehicle after realizing the dead yokai can be harvested as “mountain delicacies.”
• Liu, Niu Daji, Little Wan, Jingzi, and Nile Doctor collect corpses and other ingredients from the battlefield.
• Meanwhile, the surviving Great Oni Kings assess their defeat. Kuma-doji insists they return directly to Mount Oe once they recover rather than visit Bathhouse Street or report to other factions.
• Kuma-doji explains the political tensions within Mount Oe: the four Great Oni Kings are loyal to one another, while Strategist Ibaraki and the Third Highness are competing for influence and the position of heir.

Character Developments

• The Driver displays both technical skill and childish enthusiasm for artillery. He is proud of Hound’s weapons and excitedly names and commands the shells like hunting animals. His respect for Liu Zheng grows because Liu provides unusual opportunities for large-scale destruction.
• Liu Zheng demonstrates strategic restraint despite his violent impulses. Although he dislikes Mount Oe’s practice of raising humans as livestock, he chooses not to pursue the wounded Oni Kings because doing so would create unnecessary complications. His willingness to harvest yokai remains unsettling and reinforces his pragmatic, morally flexible nature.
• Nile Doctor becomes uneasy while considering whether Liu might someday betray him or use him as bait. Liu responds that trust is based on present actions rather than hypothetical futures, quietly reaffirming their partnership without trying to justify himself.
• Niu Daji feels conflicted about helping collect yokai corpses because he is also a yokai. Nevertheless, he obeys Liu, motivated by fear, loyalty, and the opportunity to improve his position.
• Little Wan and Jingzi are frightened but choose to help with the battlefield cleanup. Their willingness to follow Liu suggests growing dependence on and trust in him.
• The three surviving Oni Kings are humbled by their defeat. Kuma-doji acts as the practical strategist, Golden Kuma-doji remains impulsive and pleasure-seeking, and Torakuma-doji is too badly injured to contribute much.
• Golden Kuma-doji appears naïve about the internal politics of Mount Oe, while Kuma-doji understands that different factions are manipulating the Great Oni Kings for political advantage.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming technological power: Hound’s artillery allows Liu’s group to defeat a far larger supernatural force. The chapter contrasts modern or technological warfare with yokai strength and magic.
• Pragmatism over emotion: Liu suppresses his desire to destroy Mount Oe immediately, choosing to avoid unnecessary escalation. His decisions repeatedly prioritize long-term advantage over immediate satisfaction.
• Trust and hypothetical betrayal: Liu and Nile Doctor confront the uncertainty of their partnership. Liu argues that people should be judged by what they have actually done rather than by imagined future betrayals.
• Moral ambiguity: Liu’s treatment of the yokai as ingredients and his willingness to consider using corpses for food blur the line between heroism and monstrosity.
• Political factionalism: The defeat exposes divisions within Mount Oe. The Great Oni Kings are united among themselves but are being courted or manipulated by competing factions seeking control of the succession.
• Comedic violence and absurdity: The chapter juxtaposes massive destruction and horrific injuries with humorous exchanges about artillery, hospital treatment, food, and Liu’s reputation for causing trouble.

Character Interactions

• The Driver and Liu bond over their shared enthusiasm for increasingly powerful weapons, while Nile Doctor mocks the Driver’s dramatic behavior.
• Liu and Nile Doctor have a serious exchange about betrayal and trust, strengthening their relationship through mutual acceptance rather than reassurance.
• Liu’s awkward attempt to comfort Jingzi frightens her, highlighting the gap between his intentions and his intimidating nature.
• Niu Daji, Little Wan, Jingzi, and Nile Doctor all follow Liu in collecting the battlefield remains, showing the hierarchy and uneasy cooperation within the group.
• The Great Oni Kings’ conversation reveals their close bond, contrasting with the political distrust between Mount Oe’s larger factions. Kuma-doji acts as the voice of reason, while Golden Kuma-doji misunderstands the danger of relying on rival leaders.

Chapter Summary: I Only Recognize Underwear, Not People

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng, Jingzi, Little Wan, Nile Doctor, and Niu Daji arrive at Jinzi’s sento covered in filth after their dangerous rescue mission.
• Jingzi is sent to bathe and change, while Liu Zheng, Nile Doctor, and Niu Daji use the men’s bath. Niu Daji reluctantly scrubs Nile Doctor’s back because of the latter’s greater strength and status.
• After cleaning up, Liu Zheng joins Jinzi and Jingzi in a VIP room. Jingzi serves him Chewed Wine, a rare item that grants either:
  • Divine Concealment, making the user less noticeable to gods and godlike beings, or
  • Divine Communion, making such beings more likely to notice the user.
• Rather than drinking it, Liu Zheng stores the wine for future use by a friend, honestly explaining his decision. Jingzi accepts this without offense.
• Liu Zheng discusses the cost of rescuing Jingzi. He refuses general compensation but asks Jinzi’s family to:
  1. Help him locate another pair of Legendary Underwear, which he considers essential for an upcoming dangerous operation.
  2. Take in Little Wan as a worker at the sento, prioritizing her safety.
• Jinzi immediately agrees to employ Little Wan and reveals the strange origin of the family’s Legendary Underwear. Legendary Deliveryman once used the underwear to pay for a bath after failing to pay his bill, then disappeared.
• Liu Zheng proposes a citywide search for other bathhouses where Legendary Deliveryman may have repeated this trick. He offers a high price for any recovered underwear and promises that the first seller may make a reasonable request of him.
• His declaration that he “only recognizes the underwear, not the person” becomes the chapter’s central joke and title.
• Jinzi’s family agrees to support the search, seeing it as an opportunity to strengthen their position in the bathing industry.
• As an additional reward for Liu Zheng’s sacrifice, Jinzi gives him a Three-Shaku Mirror, a single-use item that interrogates its holder, extracts their inner darkness, and creates a controllable dark counterpart.
• Liu Zheng recognizes that the mirror is less practical than the cosplay outfit but begins considering who might be suitable to use it on.

Character Development

• Liu Zheng remains shameless, clever, and unusually honest. He jokes provocatively but conducts serious negotiations fairly, refusing compensation he believes he has not earned while firmly requesting what he genuinely needs.
• His priority is shown to be both practical survival and protecting people he has rescued, particularly Little Wan.
• Jingzi is portrayed as affectionate, shy, and deeply grateful to Liu Zheng. Her willingness to offer the Chewed Wine reflects the family’s trust in him.
• Jinzi shifts from teasing hostess to serious ally and negotiator. She recognizes Liu Zheng’s value and deliberately strengthens their relationship by offering support beyond the original contract.
• Little Wan gains a secure future through Liu Zheng’s intervention and reacts with disapproval to his lewd jokes, revealing a more outspoken side.
• Niu Daji continues to occupy a subordinate, comic position, while Nile Doctor’s prestige and authority are emphasized through the way others defer to him.
• Legendary Deliveryman is characterized indirectly as a notorious, shameless freeloader whose bizarre behavior has left behind valuable clues and artifacts.

Significant Themes

• Trust and reciprocity: Liu Zheng and Jinzi’s family move beyond a simple business transaction toward a mutually beneficial alliance.
• Value beyond money: Liu Zheng refuses ordinary compensation but seeks resources, connections, and protection that are more useful to him than cash.
• The absurdity of reputation and status: Legendary Deliveryman’s underwear is treated as a priceless strategic resource despite being filthy and originally used to evade payment.
• Honesty as manipulation and sincerity: Liu Zheng’s blunt honesty disarms Jingzi and strengthens Jinzi’s trust, even when he is making outrageous requests.
• Protection and responsibility: Liu Zheng’s request to find Little Wan a safe job demonstrates that his relationships are not purely transactional.
• Inner darkness and self-knowledge: The Three-Shaku Mirror introduces the theme of confronting one’s hidden nature and potentially weaponizing it.

Character Interactions

• Jinzi scolds Jingzi for appearing filthy but clearly shows affection and concern for her.
• Liu Zheng teases Jinzi with money and flirtatious behavior, though he stops short of touching her.
• Niu Daji offers to serve Liu Zheng, but Nile Doctor claims the service instead, forcing Niu Daji into an awkward position.
• Jingzi nervously serves Liu Zheng wine and worries that he finds its unusual nature disgusting. Liu Zheng reassures her through direct honesty.
• Liu Zheng and Jinzi negotiate compensation as equals, with Jinzi acknowledging that his performance exceeded the original agreement.
• Little Wan and Jingzi react negatively to Liu Zheng and Jinzi’s suggestive jokes, providing comic contrast to the adults’ shamelessness.
• Jinzi’s family ultimately treats Liu Zheng as a trusted ally, committing its resources to his search for Legendary Underwear.

Chapter Summary: “His Excellency Dai Lego, the Esteemed Collector”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng considers which powerful beings might be suitable targets for his Three-Shaku Mirror, which can create or reveal a target’s dark side. He rules out several candidates:
  • Some are too dangerous, such as Britannia, Napoleon, Oink, Si Xue, and Red Ghost.
  • Others are too weak or unavailable, including the Potato Sisters, Nile Doctor, and Novelist.
  • Cow-Horse is easy to control financially but too familiar and predictable.
• He narrows his choices to French Plane Tree, Sha-chan, and Fisherman, planning to decide after meeting Sha-chan and Fisherman in the Sewer.
• At the Yakuza Sento, Liu Zheng entrusts Little Wan to Jinzi and Jingzi. He encourages Little Wan’s loyalty and accepts the two women’s playful attempts to gain his attention.
• After Liu Zheng leaves, Jinzi warns Jingzi and Little Wan not to rush into pursuing him. She emphasizes that Metropolis is dangerous and that Liu Zheng’s future is uncertain, though she promises to protect Little Wan while disciplining her as part of the family.
• Liu Zheng returns Nile Doctor to his clinic and then visits French Plane Tree on Rose Street.
• He asks French Plane Tree for another coffin made from its bark for the Cemetery’s gravekeeper. French Plane Tree refuses, explaining that its bark is part of its body and that producing a coffin consumes precious life essence.
• French Plane Tree reveals that it has sold its old bark coffins to fund its collection of rare items. It offers Liu Zheng a coffin in exchange for a Wood Elf corpse, though Liu Zheng worries the corpse in the Kitchen may already have been used.
• Liu Zheng instead trades a rare jar of Chewed Wine, brewed by Jingzi when she was fourteen, for a single-use control item: Old Man’s Endless Itch.
• The item causes overwhelming physical or mental itching, even in beings without ordinary sensory systems, making it a useful emergency control weapon.
• Liu Zheng learns that French Plane Tree can remotely attend auctions and discovers that the next auction will likely occur the following night. He begins considering selling Sukuna’s head there if Napoleon’s offer is unsatisfactory.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to show strategic caution and resourcefulness. He evaluates potential allies and enemies according to their strength, abilities, mobility, and usefulness rather than acting impulsively.
• He also demonstrates increasing skill in negotiation and manipulation, using flattery, rare alcohol, and carefully framed offers to bargain with French Plane Tree.
• Little Wan becomes more integrated into Yakuza Sento under Jinzi’s supervision. She remains innocent and eager to please Liu Zheng but accepts the need to follow Jinzi’s rules.
• Jingzi shows growing emotional maturity after Love Pig’s death. Though interested in Liu Zheng, she does not recklessly pursue him.
• Jinzi acts as a practical guardian and strategist. She recognizes Liu Zheng’s potential but refuses to commit her family to him without further observation.
• French Plane Tree is revealed to be both sentimental and economically clever. It treats its bark as part of its body, has built its collection by selling bark coffins, and values rare alcohol intensely. Its relationship with Liu Zheng remains antagonistic but increasingly cooperative.

Significant Themes

• Survival through negotiation: In Metropolis, relationships are often transactional, and characters survive by exchanging resources, favors, and information.
• Value and collectibles: The chapter explores how rarity and personal meaning can make seemingly ordinary objects extremely valuable to particular collectors.
• Trust and calculated alliances: Liu Zheng and French Plane Tree insult one another constantly, yet their repeated trades show that mutual benefit can create a functional partnership.
• Family and discipline: Jinzi frames protection and punishment as two sides of family responsibility, contrasting the harsh world outside with the structure of the Yakuza Sento.
• Identity and bodily sacrifice: French Plane Tree’s bark represents its body and parental origins, making the production of coffins an act of personal loss rather than simple commerce.
• Preparation and contingency: Liu Zheng continually gathers tools, allies, and backup plans, anticipating future conflicts such as the negotiation over Sukuna’s head.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng affectionately but awkwardly responds to Little Wan and Jingzi’s attempts to gain his attention, reinforcing his role as their protector and benefactor.
• Jinzi and Jingzi discuss Liu Zheng’s romantic appeal and potential, but Jinzi warns that pursuing him too soon could endanger their family.
• Jinzi establishes authority over Little Wan, insisting that she call her “Lady Jinzi” and obey the sento’s rules.
• Liu Zheng and French Plane Tree maintain a teasing, hostile friendship. Their insults conceal familiarity and mutual dependence.
• Their exchange over the Chewed Wine demonstrates Liu Zheng’s ability to exploit French Plane Tree’s collector’s instincts while still allowing it to choose the trade.
• By the end of the chapter, Liu Zheng begins flattering French Plane Tree as a respected collector, hoping to use its connections to enter the upcoming auction market.

Chapter Summary: “Lineage Deities”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng brings Sukuna’s severed head to French Plane Tree for appraisal, hoping to determine its value and possibly sell it at an auction.
• French Plane Tree explains that a lineage deity is part of a formally registered pantheon with a supreme deity and defined relationships based on bloodline, rank, or office. Such gods can operate openly in Metropolis, resemble mortals more closely, and may even have half-divine descendants with humans.
• The head is identified as belonging to Sukuna, also known as Shaoming Konguna and Kunguna, though French Plane Tree does not personally recognize the deity.
• After making inquiries, French Plane Tree reveals that Sukuna belonged to the High Plain of Heaven pantheon, whose rare relics are highly valuable.
• However, the most enthusiastic collector of High Plain of Heaven artifacts is Peacock, a powerful figure with whom Liu Zheng apparently has a problematic relationship. No ordinary collector dares purchase such an item from Peacock’s rivals.
• Liu Zheng remains unconcerned, implying that he knows another potential buyer. French Plane Tree refuses to help resell the head but charges only one item for the appraisal.
• Returning to the Sewer, Liu Zheng finds Fisherman and Sha-chan grilling fish over the bones of a Flayed Monster he previously killed.
• Liu Zheng asks them to help activate his Three-Shaku Mirror, an artifact that apparently causes or withstands torture. Fisherman refuses, while Sha-chan enthusiastically agrees to test it.
• Liu Zheng then offers Sukuna’s head to the two Sewer residents. Fisherman immediately assumes Liu Zheng has caused another dangerous incident, reinforcing Liu Zheng’s reputation as a troublemaker. The chapter ends with Liu Zheng becoming surprised by Fisherman’s mention of monks in Metropolis.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to demonstrate resourcefulness, shameless negotiation, and confidence. He relies on his network to appraise and sell unusual treasures rather than depending on a single buyer.
• He also shows a pragmatic attitude toward danger and reputation. Although others view him as a troublemaker, he insists that his actions are usually the result of completing commissions rather than deliberately seeking chaos.
• French Plane Tree is shown as both an expert collector and an opportunistic merchant. It is knowledgeable about the supernatural market but not necessarily about divine history. Its cautious refusal to handle an item connected to Peacock reveals its fear of powerful figures.
• Sha-chan remains cheerful, reckless, and fiercely loyal to Liu Zheng. He readily volunteers for the Three-Shaku Mirror’s dangerous activation, emphasizing his willingness to repay Liu Zheng’s earlier help.
• Fisherman acts as the more cautious and perceptive figure. He refuses to participate in the mirror experiment and immediately recognizes that Liu Zheng’s new treasure likely came from another dangerous undertaking.

Significant Themes

• Value and danger are intertwined: Sukuna’s head is extremely valuable because of its rarity, but its connection to Peacock makes it difficult—and potentially dangerous—to sell.
• Networks and favors: Liu Zheng survives and advances by cultivating relationships with collectors, allies, and eccentric supernatural beings. His favors to others also create reciprocal obligations.
• Reputation and identity: Liu Zheng rejects the label of “troublemaker,” but the people around him view his repeated crises and requests as evidence that trouble naturally follows him.
• Commerce among supernatural beings: The chapter treats divine remains and relics as commodities, emphasizing the bizarre normality of Metropolis’s supernatural economy.
• Humor through power imbalance: Liu Zheng constantly tries to flatter, bargain with, or verbally outmaneuver beings far more powerful than himself, creating comic tension despite the real danger involved.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and French Plane Tree engage in a sarcastic bargaining exchange. Liu Zheng flatters the tree to reduce the appraisal cost, while the tree mocks his weakness and suspects him of exaggerating how he obtained Sukuna’s head.
• Their conversation also reveals mutual dependence: Liu Zheng needs French Plane Tree’s expertise and market access, while the tree tolerates him because he supplies unusual goods and alcohol.
• Liu Zheng’s relationship with Peacock is not directly shown, but her influence over the collecting world creates an unseen threat that shapes his options.
• In the Sewer, Sha-chan affectionately offers Liu Zheng grilled fish—poorly seasoned at first, then overwhelmingly salted—and eagerly accepts the dangerous task involving the Three-Shaku Mirror.
• Fisherman and Liu Zheng trade accusations over Liu Zheng’s tendency to create trouble, with Liu Zheng arguing that others’ actions are consequences of the situations he causes.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng questions Fisherman about Metropolis’s temples and learns that its monks are not ordinary religious figures. They previously tried to convert Fisherman into a Dharma-protecting Venerable and transform his preserved body into a Golden Body.
• Fisherman explains the disturbing Golden Body process: a corpse is sealed in a jar to prevent decay, later shaped and coated in lacquer, then covered in gold leaf. He resents the monks and believes they targeted him because of his rare racial abilities.
• Liu Zheng realizes that Sea Woman—Fisherman’s daughter—may also be in danger, especially since she recently came of age and the monks had sought Fisherman soon after his own coming-of-age ceremony.
• Fisherman asks Liu Zheng to bring Sea Woman to the Sewer for protection. Liu agrees to try, though he doubts she will abandon her work or resolve the long-standing emotional conflict with her father.
• Liu Zheng plans to enlist Nightingale’s help in persuading or arranging Sea Woman’s disappearance from the Red Witch Board-Game Hall. He also considers using French Plane Tree as an alternative protector.
• Fisherman admits that Sea Woman’s possible conversion deeply frightens him. He fears that even if she later leaves the monks, she would return fundamentally changed.
• Before Liu Zheng leaves, Fisherman sincerely asks him to take the matter seriously. Liu promises to do his best for a friend, while Sha-chan gives him a grilled fish to take along.
• After leaving the Sewer, Liu contacts Nightingale and learns that Sea Woman is still working and will finish in roughly two hours. He tells Nightingale to remain at the Board-Game Hall and await further instructions.
• On the way back to the Restaurant, Liu speaks with the driver/major, who reveals a powerful desire for war. His aura evokes armies, ruined landscapes, and bloodshed.
• The major offers Liu the Empire’s legacy in exchange for allowing him to witness “iron and blood,” ending with the ominous demand: “Let Metropolis burn.”

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng becomes more alert to the danger facing Sea Woman and takes responsibility for protecting her, despite his uncertainty about how to intervene. His willingness to help Fisherman demonstrates the depth of their developing friendship.
• Fisherman shifts from crude mockery and anger to genuine vulnerability. His hostility toward the monks is rooted not only in personal resentment but also in fear of losing his daughter and shame before his deceased wife.
• Sea Woman does not appear directly, but her recent coming of age makes her a possible target and places her at the center of the conflict between Fisherman and the monks.
• Nightingale shows that she is close enough to Sea Woman to assist Liu Zheng, though she initially teases him before recognizing the seriousness of the situation.
• Sha-chan expresses admiration for Liu Zheng’s destructive potential and eagerness for future conflict, reinforcing his violent, battle-loving nature.
• The driver/major reveals himself as a figure driven by war rather than ordinary survival. His connection to the Empire’s legacy and his vision of mass destruction make him a potentially dangerous ally.

Significant Themes

• Protection versus control: Fisherman wants to save Sea Woman, but his plan also involves taking control of her movements and separating her from her life on the surface.
• Identity and transformation: The monks’ conversion process raises fears that Sea Woman—or Fisherman himself—could be physically preserved or spiritually altered into something no longer truly human.
• Parental love and regret: Fisherman’s anger masks deep anxiety over failing to protect his daughter and losing her to forces he cannot confront directly.
• Friendship and loyalty: Liu Zheng’s decision to help, despite the inconvenience and danger, shows that his relationships increasingly influence his choices.
• Violence and destruction: The major’s obsession with war contrasts with Liu Zheng’s more practical goals and introduces the possibility that Metropolis may face large-scale devastation.
• Power and hidden threats: The monks, the Red Witch’s mark, Fisherman’s racial abilities, and the Empire’s legacy all suggest that multiple factions are maneuvering around Liu Zheng and his allies.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Fisherman trade insults but speak with the blunt familiarity of friends. Their conversation gradually moves from teasing to a serious discussion of danger and family.
• Liu Zheng challenges Fisherman’s assumptions about the monks, forcing him to recognize that Sea Woman may be their next target.
• Fisherman reluctantly accepts Liu Zheng’s need to coordinate with Nightingale, despite his distrust of her and discomfort with their closeness.
• Sha-chan observes the exchange, jokes about Fisherman’s relationship with Liu Zheng, and supports Liu with food before he departs.
• Liu Zheng and Nightingale maintain a teasing relationship, but she immediately becomes cooperative once she realizes the situation is serious.
• Liu Zheng and the driver exchange provocative banter before the driver reveals his true desire for war, shifting their interaction into a disturbing offer of alliance and destruction.

Chapter Summary: “System, I Hope You Know Better”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After returning from Metropolis, Liu Zheng discusses the city with the Driver. The Driver mocks his lack of “purity,” explaining that Metropolis can only be fully accessed by beings of sufficiently high purity. Liu Zheng privately decides that he would rather avoid reaching that level and return to a peaceful life in Yate.
• The Driver returns to the Bloodstained Restaurant to restock ammunition, while Liu Zheng enters the Delivery Passage and goes back to the lounge.
• Cow-Horse initially berates Liu Zheng for staying away so long, but Liu Zheng placates it with food and liquor from Bathhouse Street and Yakuza Sento.
• Liu Zheng reveals that he brought back Sukuna’s severed head, a genuine god-level ingredient, along with monster corpses from Mount Oe. He considers selling or reporting the head to higher-ranking figures, though Cow-Horse warns him against casually doing business with the boss, Si Xue.
• Liu Zheng speaks with White-Feather Chicken about completing its commission. Their exchange is threatening but comedic, with Liu Zheng responding to the chicken’s threats with sarcastic remarks.
• Tension between Cow-Horse and White-Feather Chicken escalates into an argument over the Delivery Department and Kitchen. Liu Zheng jokingly suggests merging the departments, frightening both department heads because neither wants to become subordinate to the other.
• White-Feather Chicken examines Sukuna’s head and the monster remains, recognizing Sukuna as a valuable god-tier ingredient. Liu Zheng attempts to trade them for the chef’s knife Gluttony, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, but the chicken refuses.
• Liu Zheng then targets a Wood Elf royal corpse containing an Epoch Acorn. The chicken explains that the corpse is exceptionally valuable and that Sukuna’s head alone is insufficient.
• The monster remains help narrow the price gap, but White-Feather Chicken still demands more. When Liu Zheng offers to make up the difference with himself, the chicken unexpectedly accepts and leads him away.
• Before the deal can proceed, Cow-Horse receives a call from Si Xue: the boss wants to see Liu Zheng again.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains cautious about Metropolis and the power hierarchy surrounding “purity.” He is increasingly pragmatic and resourceful, using valuable dungeon spoils as bargaining chips while concealing his true priorities.
• He demonstrates greater confidence in negotiating with powerful figures, including White-Feather Chicken, though his humor and provocations repeatedly put him in dangerous situations.
• The Driver is presented as someone who understands Metropolis’s deeper rules and power structure, while Liu Zheng remains determined not to become involved in that world.
• Cow-Horse continues to act as Liu Zheng’s aggressive but protective superior. Its willingness to defend Liu Zheng’s life contrasts with its constant verbal abuse.
• White-Feather Chicken is shown to be an ambitious chef who values rare ingredients and kitchen tools above almost everything else. Its desire to acquire supreme ingredients reflects its goal of becoming the true “God of Cooking.”
• Napoleon acts as the Kitchen’s authoritative head chef and resents Liu Zheng’s disruptive influence, though his arguments with Cow-Horse reveal the complicated rivalry between the departments.
• Si Xue’s influence grows despite her absence from most of the scene. Her summons immediately overrides the ongoing negotiation, emphasizing her authority over Liu Zheng and the Restaurant.

Significant Themes

• Power and hierarchy: The discussion of purity and Metropolis reinforces that advancement depends on meeting the standards of a higher level of existence.
• Self-preservation versus ambition: Liu Zheng wants a peaceful life, yet his actions continually draw him toward dangerous powers, rare artifacts, and influential figures.
• Bargaining and compromise: The negotiation over Sukuna’s head shows how value depends on context. Even a god’s remains may not be enough to obtain a unique artifact or royal corpse.
• Humor as survival: Liu Zheng uses sarcasm, flattery, and absurdity to defuse threats and manipulate stronger beings.
• Workplace rivalry and factional politics: The quarrel between the Delivery Department and Kitchen turns the Restaurant into a miniature political structure, where rank, independence, and authority matter greatly.
• The commodification of power: Gods, corpses, divine essence, and legendary equipment are treated as trade goods, emphasizing the chapter’s bizarre economy of power and consumption.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the Driver: Their conversation contrasts Liu Zheng’s desire for an ordinary life with the Driver’s belief that Metropolis represents a higher stage of existence.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: Their hostile banter reflects a familiar superior-subordinate relationship, softened by mutual dependence and Cow-Horse’s protectiveness.
• Cow-Horse and Napoleon: They argue over departmental authority, resources, and whether Liu Zheng should be punished, exposing their rivalry and refusal to submit to one another.
• Liu Zheng and White-Feather Chicken: Their exchange shifts from threats and jokes to a serious commercial negotiation. Liu Zheng tries several increasingly valuable offers, while the chicken remains focused on acquiring exceptional culinary ingredients.
• Liu Zheng and Si Xue: Though they do not interact directly in the chapter, Si Xue’s sudden summons creates the cliffhanger and suggests that Liu Zheng’s actions have once again attracted her attention.

Chapter Summary: “Si Xue: You’ve Really Made Something of Yourself”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng leaves White-Feather Chicken with Sukuna’s severed head and heads to meet Si Xue, after being summoned by her.
• On the way, he enters the Restaurant’s elevator and discovers that it has a personality, communicates through vibrations, and identifies as male.
• Liu Zheng proposes introducing the elevator to the elevator spirit and companions he met outside the city. In exchange, the elevator gives him a single-use floor button capable of returning players to the Bloodstained Restaurant.
• The elevator asks for professional cleaning. Liu Zheng offers to find a skilled cleaner from outside the Restaurant, and the elevator provides another floor button that can apparently allow her to enter without leaving the elevator.
• The elevator rushes Liu Zheng to Si Xue, ejecting him into a snowy landscape surrounding a freezing lake.
• Si Xue tests Liu Zheng’s flattery by igniting his heart and forcing him to roll across the lake inside a snowball. He reaches her pavilion frozen and covered in icicles, only to be thawed by boiling tea.
• During their conversation, Si Xue questions Liu Zheng about his recent activities, particularly his trip to Bathhouse Street and his increasing involvement in dangerous incidents beyond the city.
• She reflects on how dramatically Liu Zheng has developed since they first met, when he was a weak human unfit even to serve as ingredients in the Kitchen.
• Liu Zheng modestly credits Si Xue, the Restaurant, and his colleagues for his success, while Si Xue refuses to accept responsibility for his reckless actions.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Demonstrates his resourcefulness, social intelligence, and talent for exploiting unusual opportunities. He successfully negotiates with the Restaurant Elevator, obtaining valuable items by promising to arrange companionship and professional cleaning. He remains shamelessly flattering and submissive toward Si Xue but has clearly grown far more capable, influential, and dangerous than when they first met.
• Si Xue: Continues to act as a powerful, intimidating authority figure who enjoys teasing and tormenting Liu Zheng. However, she also shows amusement and a degree of recognition toward his growth. Her comments reveal that she now views him as someone with enough ability to cause major incidents and handle problems outside the city.
• Restaurant Elevator: Gains characterization as a lonely, socially eager entity that wants friendship and professional cleaning. Its willingness to reward Liu Zheng suggests both emotional vulnerability and considerable value.
• White-Feather Chicken: Remains impatient and dismissive, serving mainly as a humorous contrast to Liu Zheng’s overly elaborate manner.

Significant Themes

• Growth and transformation: Si Xue’s observation emphasizes Liu Zheng’s rapid evolution from a powerless human into a capable figure involved in supernatural conflicts.
• Resourcefulness and negotiation: Liu Zheng repeatedly turns conversation and personal connections into practical advantages, even with inanimate or supernatural beings.
• Friendship and loneliness: The elevator’s desire to meet other elevator spirits highlights the emotional needs of seemingly nonhuman entities and Liu Zheng’s ability to recognize and respond to them.
• Power and submission: Liu Zheng’s flattering behavior toward Si Xue contrasts with her overwhelming authority, while his willingness to endure pain reflects the unequal but familiar relationship between them.
• Humor amid danger: Torture, freezing temperatures, burning hearts, and divine enemies are presented comically, reinforcing the story’s absurd tone.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng negotiates with White-Feather Chicken over Sukuna’s head before speaking sympathetically with the Restaurant Elevator.
• He treats the elevator like a lonely younger or older brother, promising to arrange friendships and help it find a professional cleaner.
• Si Xue mocks Liu Zheng’s flattery, physically torments him, and then casually treats his injuries with tea.
• Their conversation reveals mutual familiarity: Liu Zheng credits Si Xue with helping him succeed, while Si Xue insists that they merely benefited from one another.
• Although Si Xue denies being kind to him, Liu Zheng sincerely chooses to interpret their relationship as one involving gratitude and goodwill.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Si Xue summons Liu Zheng for a negotiation, first mocking him through exaggerated “boss and subordinate” office games. She makes him swallow meat with its hide still attached and challenges him to lift a tiny teapot weighing over a thousand pounds.
• She serves him genuine Premium Big Red Robe tea, though it has no special effects. Liu Zheng admits he values items more for their practical ability to increase his strength than for their rarity or authenticity.
• Liu Zheng opens the Legendary Delivery Box and presents Sukuna’s head. Si Xue recognizes it from a past heavenly banquet, freezes it, and criticizes him for failing to kill more of the enemy, since doing so would have increased its value.
• Si Xue detects another related aura on Liu Zheng and forces him to reveal Amaterasu Omikami’s golden Magatama mark. She offers to buy both the mark and Sukuna’s head.
• Liu Zheng worries that selling Amaterasu’s mark could provoke her, but Si Xue assures him that Amaterasu will not interfere unless the mark is misused. Si Xue offers a fifty-percent premium, and Liu Zheng accepts.
• As payment, Liu Zheng requests the Wood Elf Royal Family corpse from the Kitchen, which Si Xue grants. He also asks for a cosplay outfit or something with similar functions, but Si Xue refuses to provide one directly.
• Instead, Si Xue gives him a fishing rod and tells him to fish for a treasure. The quality of the catch will depend on his ability and luck, though she promises to intervene if he catches something far beyond his strength.
• Liu Zheng fishes unsuccessfully for half an hour. Si Xue mocks his terrible luck and shares a roasted sweet potato with him—though she reduces his portion to only a quarter of the original piece as punishment for being “let off too easily.”
• The sweet potato reminds Liu Zheng of his orphanage childhood, when the old director rewarded well-behaved or academically successful children with larger portions.
• Si Xue explains that treasure fishing requires treasure as bait. The bait will be consumed, meaning Liu Zheng must sacrifice something valuable to gain a potentially better item.
• During their conversation, Si Xue reveals that she once belonged to the Writers Association and wrote poetry. She explains that poets and novelists can eventually advance into Narrators.
• Liu Zheng rejects her offer to lend him bait at one percent daily compounded interest and begins considering which of his fine-quality possessions he can afford to sacrifice.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains outwardly respectful and flattering toward Si Xue but increasingly demonstrates confidence, cleverness, and independence. He refuses to flatter dishonestly, explains that he opposes rules rather than people, and makes it clear that his loyalty to Si Xue is genuine but not blind.
• He also shows practical judgment by refusing to risk key equipment or use valuable items carelessly. Although he wants powerful rewards, he understands the danger of offending gods and the cost of treasure fishing.
• Si Xue continues to act as a domineering, capricious superior, but her amusement and faint smile reveal growing fondness or interest in Liu Zheng. She teases and intimidates him, yet provides fair compensation, protects him from potential consequences, feeds him, and offers limited help.
• Si Xue’s background expands through her revelation that she was a poet and member of the Writers Association, suggesting she possesses greater literary and metaphysical status than Liu Zheng previously understood.

Significant Themes

• Power and hierarchy: Their exchange reflects the rigid master-servant and patronage structure of Metropolis. Liu Zheng must navigate Si Xue’s authority while preserving his own dignity.
• Negotiation and value: The chapter emphasizes that valuable objects are judged by usefulness, rarity, and personal risk. Liu Zheng must balance immediate gains against future consequences.
• Luck versus preparation: Fishing for treasure requires both sacrifice and luck. Liu Zheng’s failure demonstrates that valuable rewards cannot simply be obtained without investment.
• Loyalty and resistance: Liu Zheng distinguishes between opposing oppressive rules and opposing Si Xue personally. His loyalty is presented as a conscious choice rather than submission.
• Humor masking danger: Their banter and “office game” parody create a light tone, but the threats, divine marks, compounded debt, and potential punishment reveal the serious dangers surrounding them.

Important Character Interactions

• Si Xue repeatedly provokes Liu Zheng, while he responds with cautious humor and calculated flattery.
• Their negotiation over Sukuna’s head and Amaterasu’s mark establishes a transactional relationship in which Si Xue offers unusually generous terms but retains control.
• The sweet-potato scene softens their dynamic. Si Xue pretends to be stingy, yet shares food and shows subtle pleasure when Liu Zheng sincerely praises it.
• Their discussion of masters, loyalty, and rebellion exposes a deeper understanding between them: Si Xue recognizes Liu Zheng’s rebellious nature, while he acknowledges that she is not the true object of his opposition.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng carefully reviewing his possessions, forced to decide what he is willing to sacrifice as bait for a chance at greater power.