Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Big White Goose: What Grudge, What Resentment”

Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng returns to the break room after visiting the Sewer to obtain information or materials, prompting Cow-Horse to mock him for “playing with shit.” Liu explains that he had the Sanitation Department’s Flymen do the work for him.
• To appease Cow-Horse, Liu brings Bad-Luck Coffee and desserts. He also gives Weaver Lady drinks, sweets, Spirit Thread, and preserved Aberrant Insect flesh.
• Liu learns that Weaver Lady was once able to speak human language but lost that ability after being injured by the Human-Headed Spider. He comforts her and promises that the creature will never hurt her again.
• Liu asks Weaver Lady about Craft Weaver-Spider, whom Box Weaver-Spider wants him to retrieve. He confirms that Craft Weaver-Spider is Box Weaver-Spider’s older brother, that he eloped with a hermit crab and lives in the sea, and that he is unlikely to return willingly because of his exceptional status and weaving abilities.
• White-Feather Chicken refuses to help Liu further until he completes an earlier commission. Liu becomes frustrated because completing the commission requires traveling to the Hundred Thousand Mountains, making it difficult to meet the delivery deadline connected to the Everything Shop’s “Shuffled Dice.”
• Liu asks Cow-Horse about other lottery shops. Cow-Horse explains that Liu’s unusual origins and status limit where he can go within Metropolis. Cow-Horse knows Liu does not truly belong but refuses to investigate, believing City Hall can handle any legal or political issues.
• Liu contacts Big White Goose and uses exaggerated humility, gifts, and flattery to secure their help. He asks Big White Goose to perform makeup for two Painted-Skin Clan girls during their centennial celebration.
• Big White Goose agrees to help, provided the family visits the Restaurant and books at least a Planetary Level private room. In exchange, Big White Goose asks Liu to find a Black Swan and tell them that “Ottawa misses them terribly,” then send them to their death.
• Liu asks about the grudge. Big White Goose warns that, if Liu learns the truth, he must help kill the Black Swan. Liu promises to help as long as doing so does not violate his principles.
• Big White Goose reacts mysteriously and hangs up. Cow-Horse mocks Liu for invoking his “principles,” claiming that even speaking that way to Ottawa is dangerous.
• Big White Goose unexpectedly appears at the lounge in person. They explain that they came to reveal the reason for their hatred and produce a jeweled mirror, instructing Liu to look inside.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to expand his network and influence. He skillfully trades favors, flatters powerful figures, and uses gifts to maintain relationships, while also showing genuine concern for Weaver Lady.
• Cow-Horse remains sarcastic, protective of the department’s boundaries, and envious of Liu’s growing connections. Despite mocking Liu, Cow-Horse provides useful information and understands the dangers surrounding him.
• Weaver Lady is shown as traumatized but gradually trusting Liu. She accepts his touch and eagerly receives his gifts, suggesting that his kindness is helping her recover.
• Big White Goose/Ottawa displays a playful, cheerful public demeanor but hides deep resentment and a serious vendetta against the Black Swan. Their sudden personal visit reveals that the grudge is significant.
• White-Feather Chicken maintains strict boundaries and refuses to provide further assistance until Liu fulfills his obligation.
• Craft Weaver-Spider is established as a powerful, renowned figure whose romantic choice caused a scandal within the Weaver-Spider Clan.

Significant Themes

• Reciprocity and favors: Relationships in Metropolis operate through gifts, services, debts, and carefully negotiated exchanges.
• Appearances versus reality: Liu’s joking and flattering manner masks serious ambitions and dangers. Big White Goose’s cheerful behavior similarly conceals hatred and possible tragedy.
• Trust and healing: Liu’s treatment of Weaver Lady contrasts with her past abuse, showing how compassion can rebuild trust.
• Belonging and alienation: Liu’s unnatural aura marks him as an outsider, while Cow-Horse and others choose to tolerate him because of his usefulness and relationships.
• Hidden grudges and moral boundaries: The chapter raises questions about revenge, loyalty, and whether Liu’s stated principles will survive once he learns Big White Goose’s story.

Character Interactions

• Liu and Cow-Horse trade constant insults, though their banter reflects familiarity and mutual reliance.
• Liu comforts Weaver Lady, gives her food, and investigates her family history.
• Liu confirms Craft Weaver-Spider’s whereabouts through Weaver Lady and Cow-Horse.
• Liu negotiates with Big White Goose through exaggerated respect and flattery, successfully securing their help.
• Big White Goose turns the favor into a deadly request, forcing Liu to confront a hidden conflict.
• Cow-Horse laughs at Liu’s predicament, only to fall silent when Big White Goose arrives in person.
• The chapter ends with Big White Goose presenting a jeweled mirror, setting up the revelation of their grudge against the Black Swan.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng discovers Big White Goose’s true appearance in a mirror: a badly wounded, featherless gosling rather than the beautiful goose-like form it usually presents.
• Big White Goose explains the history of the Ugly Duckling Clan. Its members replace other birds’ offspring, steal their appearances and talents, and manipulate memories. The “Black Swan” performing at the grand theater is actually the impostor who stole Big White Goose’s identity, talent, and dream of becoming a dancer.
• Big White Goose asks Liu Zheng to kill the false Black Swan and bring back part of its body, preferably its feet, neck, or feathers. It reveals that the impostor has a scar on its neck caused by Big White Goose’s pecking.
• After Big White Goose leaves, Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse discuss the larger operation involving a traitorous Mummy. Liu Zheng plans to let the Border Management Bureau eliminate the traitor rather than personally intervene.
• Liu Zheng also discusses arrangements for Red Pig and Chihaya after death. He intends to recover Chihaya’s soul, use the Grudge Fish to reunite them, and provide them with a luxurious haunted residence. Natasha and Wangsheng may also be moved there.
• Niu Daji reports that a group has entered a villa and emerged carrying two suitcases, apparently containing a mother and daughter. Liu Zheng orders Niu Daji to deliver a family portrait rather than attempt a rescue, threatening the group if they prevent the family from being “reunited.”
• Niu Daji confronts the group, led by a man called Floral Tie, and identifies himself as Liu Zheng’s subordinate. Floral Tie refuses to give the family portrait to the women and leaves most of his men behind to restrain Niu Daji.
• Niu Daji realizes the group may not belong to Redwood Culture, since they are unusually confident despite Liu Zheng’s reputation. He reports this suspicion to Liu Zheng, who considers bombing Redwood Culture again if necessary.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng is shown as pragmatic, ruthless, and morally unconventional. He avoids unnecessary rescues, prefers indirect solutions, and treats threats against his people as business matters. At the same time, he shows loyalty and compassion toward his subordinates and deceased allies by planning comfortable afterlives for Red Pig and Chihaya.
• Big White Goose becomes a tragic and vengeful figure. Its harsh appearance contrasts with the beauty and artistic identity stolen from it. Its dream of being a dancer remains painful, and it is determined to reclaim justice from the false Black Swan.
• Cow-Horse continues acting as Liu Zheng’s argumentative, irreverent companion. Its jealousy over Liu Zheng’s generosity toward Red Pig is playful but also reinforces their close, quasi-familial relationship.
• Niu Daji is loyal and eager to please Liu Zheng, but inexperienced in covert operations. It tries to carry out orders literally and bravely confronts a much larger group, only to realize that it may have misunderstood the enemy.
• Floral Tie appears confident and calculating. He recognizes Liu Zheng’s danger but still refuses to be intimidated, suggesting that his group may possess information, authority, or backing beyond Redwood Culture.

3. Significant Themes

• Stolen identity and injustice: Big White Goose’s story centers on having its appearance, talent, memories, and future stolen by the Ugly Duckling Clan.
• Appearance versus reality: The beautiful Black Swan is revealed to be an impostor, while the grotesque gosling is the true artist. The chapter repeatedly questions whether identity comes from appearance, talent, memory, or origin.
• Loyalty and unconventional compassion: Liu Zheng’s methods are brutal, but he consistently provides for allies, subordinates, and even the dead. His kindness is expressed through protection, revenge, and practical arrangements rather than morality in a conventional sense.
• Power and social inequality: Liu Zheng argues that wealthy people have more chances to undo their mistakes, while the poor must survive without second chances. His harsh treatment of the rich reflects this resentment.
• Family and reunion: The family portrait, the planned reunion of Red Pig and Chihaya, and the jokes about Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse being father and son all connect family with loyalty, belonging, and death.
• Bureaucracy and indirect violence: Organizations such as the Border Management Bureau and Customer Service Department operate behind the scenes, allowing characters to arrange deaths and punishments without direct confrontation.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Big White Goose speak candidly about its trauma and revenge, while their conversation is repeatedly undercut by Liu Zheng’s dark jokes about mutilating corpses.
• Big White Goose observes the hostile but affectionate dynamic between Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse, joking that their identical retorts make them seem biologically related.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse bicker constantly, but their teasing reveals genuine familiarity and mutual trust.
• Liu Zheng discusses his plans for Red Pig and Chihaya with Cow-Horse, showing that he treats dead allies as deserving continued care.
• Liu Zheng gives Niu Daji a morally ambiguous mission: not to rescue the mother and daughter, but to ensure that their family portrait reaches them—or punish the group responsible.
• Niu Daji and Floral Tie engage in a tense exchange shaped by threats, bravado, and competing interpretations of Liu Zheng’s intentions. Floral Tie ultimately refuses cooperation, setting up a larger confrontation.
• The chapter ends with Niu Daji’s realization that the attackers may not be Redwood Culture, creating uncertainty about who is truly responsible for the villa incident and why they are so confident.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Niu Daji reports that four suited men escaped, Liu Zheng reasons that the temple they visited is probably connected to a powerful organization or is confident it can withstand his retaliation. Niu Daji captured no prisoners, though it did stab one fleeing man with a steel fork.
• Rather than blame Niu Daji, Liu Zheng promises to find it suitable extraordinary items at the upcoming auction so it can improve its offensive strength. He formally establishes the “Delivery Gang,” naming Niu Daji its third-in-command and instructing it to work with the Ultimate Flavor Group.
• Cow-Horse objects to Liu Zheng creating a gang and appointing underlings without consulting it. Liu Zheng explains that he wants reliable people to support Cow-Horse while he is away—or in case he is killed, given the many powerful enemies he has made.
• Liu Zheng admits that he may not survive long, but insists he must return to Metropolis. He hints that, before dying, he intends to create one enormous “firework” in the city he despises. Cow-Horse jokingly agrees to write his epitaph.
• Liu Zheng then discusses funeral arrangements with an elderly Bound Spirit. He has purchased an elaborate funeral package, including a mansion, entertainment, escorts, and a nanmu coffin. The Bound Spirit demands a more luxurious Golden Phoebe Wood coffin, but eventually accepts an upgraded “eighteen bronze men” escort after bargaining.
• Because Liu Zheng’s dangerous delivery work may kill him at any time, he insists on holding the Bound Spirit’s funeral immediately. The Bound Spirit agrees, though it is reluctant to miss the chance to show off at its own funeral.
• Liu Zheng arranges the funeral remotely with Manager Xu of the “Died Happily” Funeral Home, authorizing the manager to handle the ceremony and providing an additional deposit through Imhotep Clinic. He also informs the Nile Doctor.
• Liu Zheng reflects that Green Laurel Garden Crazy City’s property management will probably cooperate enthusiastically because the Bound Spirit is such a troublesome presence, though he suspects the management itself is far from ordinary.
• While waiting for another delivery order, Liu Zheng is visited by Ghost Hand. He gives it drinks and desserts, then tries to persuade Cow-Horse to distribute the remaining refreshments to the Customer Service Department and Kitchen. Cow-Horse initially refuses, but becomes interested when Liu Zheng suggests that maintaining good relationships will matter once Cow-Horse becomes independent.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng picking up Ghost Hand’s next delivery order.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates a pragmatic but generous leadership style. He does not punish Niu Daji for failing to capture an enemy and instead focuses on strengthening it. He also begins deliberately building a support network in preparation for his possible death or departure.
• He reveals a fatalistic attitude toward his own survival, openly acknowledging that numerous enemies may kill him. However, he remains defiant and plans to leave behind a final destructive act in Metropolis.
• Niu Daji becomes increasingly loyal and enthusiastic after Liu Zheng treats it fairly and promises to improve its strength. It eagerly adopts gang hierarchy and terminology, though it still does not fully understand the organization it has joined.
• Cow-Horse remains sarcastic and exasperated but is clearly concerned about Liu Zheng’s safety. Its objections to the Delivery Gang also reveal anxiety about being left alone and uncertainty about leading independently.
• The Bound Spirit is portrayed as greedy, demanding, and manipulative, but also dependent on Liu Zheng. It quickly changes from anger to praise when Liu Zheng offers a better funeral package.
• Ghost Hand continues to appear as a small, affectionate companion-like figure. Liu Zheng’s fondness for it hints at a softer side beneath his usual bluntness.

Significant Themes

• Leadership through trust rather than intimidation: Liu Zheng believes a boss should address failures rationally, reward loyalty, and avoid abusing subordinates merely to assert authority.
• Preparation for mortality: Funeral arrangements become both practical planning and dark comedy, reflecting Liu Zheng’s dangerous occupation and awareness of his many enemies.
• Found family and mutual dependence: Liu Zheng, Cow-Horse, Niu Daji, and the Bound Spirit rely on one another despite constant insults and bargaining.
• Defiance in the face of death: Liu Zheng accepts that he may die but refuses to retreat permanently, intending to make his final actions meaningful and disruptive.
• Bureaucracy and commerce in the supernatural world: Funerals, property fees, deposits, delivery orders, and organizational politics are treated with the same practical importance as battles and supernatural threats.
• Humor through negotiation and role reversal: Liu Zheng treats spirits and monsters like difficult customers, while the Bound Spirit behaves like a spoiled parent and Liu Zheng like an exasperated son.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Niu Daji: Their exchange establishes a mentor-and-subordinate relationship based on encouragement, loyalty, and future training.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: They argue over authority and responsibility, but their banter reveals genuine comradeship and concern. Liu Zheng is trying to ensure Cow-Horse will not be helpless if he dies.
• Liu Zheng and the Bound Spirit: Their conversation resembles a quarrel between a miserly son and an entitled father. Liu Zheng pays for and organizes the funeral, while the Bound Spirit repeatedly demands upgrades.
• Liu Zheng and Manager Xu: Their businesslike discussion shows Liu Zheng’s influence and willingness to delegate. Manager Xu is cautious about payment but quickly cooperates after receiving a larger deposit.
• Liu Zheng and Ghost Hand: Their interaction is gentle and affectionate compared with the chapter’s other relationships, emphasizing Ghost Hand’s unusual place in Liu Zheng’s life.

Summary: “Cow-Horse: This Isn’t About the Money”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng receives a suspicious delivery order for Thick Puke Chocolate to the entrance of Bright Center, addressed to Park Chang-beom, with a forty-minute time limit.
• Cow-Horse quickly recognizes that the order is likely a trap arranged by Redwood Culture, probably to negotiate over Stag Beetle’s wife and daughter. The public meeting place suggests they want to avoid provoking Liu Zheng into another destructive attack.
• Liu Zheng prepares for the encounter by contacting Niu Daji and arranging for members of Ultimate Flavor Group to gather near Bright Center. However, several allies—including the group’s “big sister” and the Seasoning Quartet—are unavailable because they are drunk or caring for her.
• Liu Zheng borrows Cow-Horse’s Memorial Medal, paying him for it despite Cow-Horse’s insistence that their relationship is based on brotherhood rather than money. The medal embeds itself into Liu Zheng’s body and presumably provides protection or another useful effect.
• He inspects the bizarre delivery item. The Thick Puke Chocolate is made from “selected thick puke” and temporarily increases Charm, while Liu Zheng consumes a Blazing Ice Cube to gain a temporary Mental attribute boost.
• Liu Zheng rents a tank from the driver, who is disappointed that the mission may involve negotiation rather than another explosion. Liu Zheng promises him an opportunity to destroy mountains in the Hundred Thousand Mountains later.
• Before going to Bright Center, Liu Zheng detours to Green Laurel Garden Crazy City to visit his “godfather,” a Bound Spirit living in Building 15, Room 304.
• He deceives and bribes the security guard into allowing him inside, claiming he has come to arrange the Bound Spirit’s funeral.
• At the apartment, Liu Zheng discovers that the funeral has already been organized by the funeral company. The Bound Spirit is literally hanging upside down behind the funeral portrait, while the bald manager acts as the mourner.
• Liu Zheng performs three kowtows and loudly declares that he has arranged everything for his godfather’s death. Because the dead are forbidden to speak during the ceremony, the Bound Spirit is unable to protest.
• When Liu Zheng attempts to carry the funeral portrait away, the Bound Spirit stubbornly clings to it. Liu Zheng gives him five minutes to communicate his objection without speaking and begins trying to guess what he wants.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains cautious and pragmatic, recognizing the Bright Center order as a likely trap while still accepting it as a possible negotiation opportunity. He prepares backup forces and a tank in case talks fail.
• His humorous, morally flexible personality is emphasized through bribery, deception, and his willingness to exploit funeral customs to control the Bound Spirit.
• Liu Zheng also shows responsibility toward his allies and associates by arranging resources, checking on the Bound Spirit, and trying to understand the silent spirit’s objection.
• Cow-Horse is established as cynical, sharp-minded, and openly greedy despite pretending that his relationship with Liu Zheng is based on brotherhood. His willingness to lend the Memorial Medal for increasing amounts of money reinforces their comedic friendship.
• Niu Daji is enthusiastic and eager for action, especially explosions, but is also unreliable because he and the others are celebrating and drinking.
• The tank driver is revealed to be emotionally attached to destruction and disappointed when Liu Zheng chooses negotiation. Liu Zheng successfully motivates him by promising future large-scale demolition.
• The Bound Spirit appears intimidating in his own home but becomes submissive around professional funeral staff. His refusal to release the funeral portrait shows that he still has a grievance or unmet demand.
• Manager Xu, the bald funeral manager, is competent, calm, and authoritative. Even the Bound Spirit is frightened into following his instructions.

Significant Themes

• Negotiation versus violence: Liu Zheng prepares for both diplomacy and combat, while the driver’s disappointment humorously highlights his reputation for explosions.
• Money and transactional relationships: The exchange over the Memorial Medal mocks the idea that friendship and business can be separated, as both characters openly assign monetary value to favors.
• Death and funeral rituals: The chapter uses exaggerated funeral customs for comedy while emphasizing beliefs about the dead, spiritual merit, feng shui, and the consequences of speaking during a funeral.
• Deception and social manipulation: Liu Zheng repeatedly uses polite behavior, bribery, false identities, and cultural etiquette to get what he wants.
• Absurdity and dark humor: Grotesque food, a funeral for a living—or undead—spirit, and a tank used as transportation combine violence, bureaucracy, and slapstick comedy.
• Preparation and contingency: Liu Zheng assumes every situation may contain hidden dangers, so he gathers allies, obtains protective equipment, and keeps an escape vehicle ready.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: Their banter mixes insults, bargaining, and genuine familiarity. Cow-Horse analyzes the trap, while Liu Zheng pays him to borrow the Memorial Medal.
• Liu Zheng and Niu Daji: Liu Zheng gives orders while trying to control Daji’s excitement and drinking. Daji’s absence of the larger group forces Liu Zheng to proceed with fewer allies.
• Liu Zheng and the tank driver: Liu Zheng tries to reassure the driver and eventually wins his cooperation by promising future destruction in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
• Liu Zheng and the security guard: Liu Zheng manipulates the guard with a convincing story and a bribe, demonstrating his ability to turn suspicion into cooperation.
• Liu Zheng and Manager Xu: Xu guides Liu Zheng through the funeral procedures and prevents the Bound Spirit from speaking, maintaining professional control over the strange ceremony.
• Liu Zheng and the Bound Spirit: Their relationship is playful but coercive. Liu Zheng treats him as a troublesome godfather, while the Bound Spirit silently resists the funeral procession by gripping the portrait and pointing toward Manager Xu.

Chapter Summary: “If You Don’t Take Medicine, You’re Not Sick”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng realizes the Bound Spirit’s funeral needs mourners to appear legitimate, but the apartment residents hate the deceased and would never attend voluntarily.
• He asks Manager Xu to lend him the funeral-home employees. He pays them to visit every household, offer money, and pressure residents into attending.
• Liu Zheng publicly announces himself as the Bound Spirit’s godson, apologizes for the deceased’s past behavior, and performs a dramatic mourning ritual. He then threatens the residents with retaliation during their own future funerals if they refuse to attend.
• His plan works: the mourning hall fills with invisible mourners. Liu Zheng leaves Manager Xu to complete the ceremony and gives him money to distribute.
• The Bound Spirit rewards Liu Zheng with the promised Honorary Homeowner Recommendation Letter. It also produces a Buddha’s Tear, proving that it has emotionally released its grudges and transcended.
• Liu Zheng immediately leaves for Bright Center, accepting that he must postpone collecting the remaining recommendation letters.
• Niu Daji joins him, followed by Zhizi, a dangerous and mentally unstable woman sent by the Queen of the Ultimate Flavor Group. Zhizi’s faction owes Liu Zheng assistance after he helped the Pink Kingdom.
• Zhizi’s gaze causes Liu Zheng intense phantom pain, and she cannot speak normally because her voice apparently inflicts severe pain on anyone who hears it. Niu Daji translates her lip movements.
• Zhizi oddly asks why Liu Zheng does not want to possess her. Liu Zheng dismisses her advances and boasts competitively about his own destructive abilities.
• The group reaches Bright Center, where Park Chang-beom, a representative from the company, confronts Liu Zheng. A suspicious attack shatters a nearby window, suggesting that Bright Center’s security concerns are justified.
• Park asks whether the chairman’s wife and daughter are under Liu Zheng’s control. Liu Zheng denies controlling them but admits that the chairman paid him to protect them. Since they refused to leave with Niu Daji, Liu Zheng ordered Daji to observe them secretly and begins explaining the situation.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates ingenuity, shamelessness, and practical ruthlessness. He combines bribery, intimidation, performance, and ritual to solve the funeral problem quickly. He also remains focused on his larger objectives, abandoning the ceremony as soon as he receives the recommendation letter.
• The Bound Spirit progresses from a disruptive, hostile ghost to one capable of emotional release. Its production of the Buddha’s Tear indicates that it has transcended and possibly attained Buddhahood.
• Manager Xu becomes increasingly willing to cooperate with Liu Zheng because of financial rewards and the prospect of future business, despite finding Liu Zheng’s requests bizarre.
• Niu Daji proves useful beyond combat. His knowledge of languages, lip-reading, and sign language allows him to communicate with Zhizi and serve as an interpreter.
• Zhizi is introduced as powerful, unstable, socially unusual, and potentially dangerous. Although she appears emotionally detached, her behavior suggests an unusual interest in Liu Zheng and a desire to be recognized for her abilities.
• Park Chang-beom acts as a cautious intermediary for Bright Center, attempting to negotiate while carefully avoiding direct hostility toward Liu Zheng.

Significant Themes

• Performance and manipulation: Liu Zheng turns mourning into a staged social performance, using money and threats to manufacture the appearance of respect.
• Death and emotional release: The funeral represents more than ceremony; it allows the Bound Spirit to resolve its resentment and transcend.
• Pragmatism versus morality: Liu Zheng is willing to exploit money, fear, and social obligations, but he still fulfills his promises and protects those connected to his contracts.
• Madness and self-denial: The chapter humorously explores mental instability through Zhizi and Liu Zheng’s insistence that he is not sick because he does not need medicine.
• Power and usefulness: Characters are evaluated according to what they can contribute—whether through combat, communication, money, supernatural abilities, or connections.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Manager Xu form a transactional partnership based on cash, future cooperation, and mutual usefulness.
• Liu Zheng addresses the invisible residents as if they are ordinary mourners, combining formal courtesy with coercive threats.
• Liu Zheng’s farewell to the Bound Spirit is both respectful and practical: he performs the required ritual but immediately considers canceling the rest once he receives the reward.
• Liu Zheng and Zhizi have an antagonistic, comedic dynamic. Her dangerous powers and strange questions clash with his bluntness and competitive pride.
• Niu Daji mediates between them, translating Zhizi’s silent speech and explaining her condition.
• Liu Zheng and Park Chang-beom begin negotiations with mutual suspicion. Park seeks information about the chairman’s family, while Liu Zheng openly mocks Bright Center’s apparent fear and security precautions.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Niu Daji reports that four attackers abducted Redwood Culture’s chairman’s wife and daughter, but admits he was quickly beaten and the kidnappers escaped. He cannot provide a drawing or reliable identification.
• Liu Zheng and his companions confront Park Chang-beom at Redwood Culture’s headquarters. Park demands an explanation and compensation for the damage Liu caused, but Liu argues that Redwood’s origins and actions are equally questionable and redirects responsibility to Green Shade Culture.
• When Park refuses to accept the food delivery, Liu orders Zhizi to “settle” the matter. Zhizi unleashes an intimidating sword technique, covering the office building with hundreds of slash marks before Liu tells her to stop. The damage mysteriously disappears.
• Park considers hiring Liu to rescue the kidnapped mother and daughter. Liu agrees to discuss it only if Redwood finds leads first, then completes the delivery and leaves.
• After Liu departs, Park’s disguise is revealed: he is actually a dark-brown, butterfly-like Aberrant Insect. He decides not to pursue Liu because the Lie-Detecting Insect confirms that Liu’s group does not possess the hostages. He instead prioritizes investigating rival interests in Redwood Culture and stabilizing the company.
• Liu uses a special “Ration Cigarette” that temporarily preserves his delivery-state power. He explains that businesspeople generally avoid killing opponents because excessive violence damages future business and unsettles other customers.
• Liu sends Niu Daji and Zhizi to repay 700,000 for the Dragon Egg, purchase Inferior Senzu Beans, and return safely. He then goes back to the Restaurant alone.
• At the Restaurant, Liu relaxes on Cow-Horse’s unusually clean Haystack and calls the Novelist. Hishikibe answers by imitating her voice, leading to a teasing and hostile exchange.
• Hishikibe eventually calls the Novelist back to the phone. Liu asks the Novelist for a recommendation letter to become an Honorary Owner of her residential complex. He also asks about another potential recommender, a pajama-wearing man who likes slurping intestines.
• Hishikibe claims to know the man and theatrically demands that Liu beg her for the information. Both Liu and the Novelist comply, prompting her to finally agree to explain.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to act irreverently and confidently, using humor, intimidation, and transactional logic to handle dangerous negotiations. He also shows practical judgment by avoiding unnecessary conflict, preparing stamina-recovery supplies, and ensuring Zhizi has protection.
• Niu Daji remains loyal, excitable, and somewhat foolish. He is impressed by Liu’s trust when entrusted with a large sum of money and promises to protect Zhizi, though Liu mocks his priorities.
• Zhizi demonstrates terrifying combat ability despite her quiet, childlike, and seemingly limited manner of communication. Her sword technique is powerful enough to threaten an entire building, but she obeys Liu immediately when ordered to stop.
• Park Chang-beom is revealed as a disguised Aberrant Insect and as a rational, calculating business leader. Rather than seek emotional revenge, he assesses the evidence and focuses on protecting Redwood Culture’s interests.
• The Novelist is portrayed as straightforward, trusting, and warmly attached to Liu. She readily agrees to recommend him and eagerly seeks Hishikibe’s help.
• Hishikibe appears proud, provocative, and easily embarrassed, masking jealousy and affection with arrogance. Her irritation at Liu’s closeness with the Novelist suggests she cares about their relationship, while her eventual cooperation shows she is not genuinely malicious.

3. Significant Themes

• Pragmatism over revenge: Park chooses investigation and damage control instead of attacking Liu, emphasizing the chapter’s view that rational calculation is more valuable than emotional retaliation.
• Power hidden beneath appearances: Zhizi’s demure exterior conceals overwhelming swordsmanship, while Park’s human disguise hides his Aberrant Insect identity.
• Business as controlled violence: Liu and Niu compare corporate dealings to street merchants beating and ejecting troublemakers without killing them. Conflict is treated as negotiation, with violence used mainly as leverage.
• Trust and unconventional relationships: Liu’s circle includes humans, monsters, objects, and former enemies. Friendship is presented as something built through shared experiences rather than species, status, or conventional boundaries.
• Humor as social defense: Liu and Hishikibe trade insults to conceal vulnerability, jealousy, and affection. Their banter keeps dangerous or emotionally tense situations from becoming overly serious.
• The value of admitting mistakes: Liu claims that surviving in society requires apologizing when wrong and accepting punishment when necessary, reflecting his flexible and socially pragmatic worldview.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu and Park engage in a tense negotiation shaped by mutual suspicion. Liu uses Zhizi’s strength to intimidate Redwood Culture, while Park maintains composure and evaluates the situation strategically.
• Liu, Niu Daji, and Zhizi function as a comedic but effective team: Niu interprets Zhizi’s statements, Liu gives blunt orders, and Zhizi provides the overwhelming force.
• Park’s subordinates show concern after his encounter with Liu, but Park prevents them from pursuing the delivery group.
• Liu and Hishikibe exchange increasingly personal insults, with Hishikibe showing jealousy toward the Novelist and Liu deliberately provoking her.
• Liu and the Novelist share an affectionate, trusting relationship. They ignore Hishikibe’s interruptions and cooperate in begging her for information.
• Hishikibe’s rivalry with Liu and closeness to the Novelist create a playful triangle based on teasing, possessiveness, and reluctant mutual respect.

Chapter Summary: “Liu Zheng: I’m the All-You-Can-Eat Buffet”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hishikibe explains the history of the Wachang Clan, descendants of the legendary Nuwa’s Intestines. The clan is an ancient and powerful noble family involved in constructing Bloodstained Restaurant and the Sewer.
• The Wachang Clan is nearly extinct. Wachang Mingming—known as “Pajama Guy”—is its only remaining heir, and at more than three hundred years old, he risks dying without producing descendants.
• The Great River Family has a long-standing relationship with the Wachang Clan because the Wachangs favor eating fresh ghost intestines. The Great River Family raises ghosts, whose intestines are considered especially high quality.
• Liu Zheng learns that Hishikibe’s family once had connections to Mount Oe and its monsters, giving him two potentially useful leads: the Wachang Clan and Mount Oe.
• Liu Zheng asks Hishikibe to help persuade Wachang Mingming to write him a recommendation letter and, ideally, place a delivery order. He offers a supply of low-level deity intestines as a possible gift.
• Hishikibe agrees to help, though she demands that Liu Zheng repay the favor in the future. Her promise potentially secures him an Honorary Homeowner Medal from Green Laurel Garden Crazy City.
• Cow-Horse returns and threatens to punish Liu Zheng for sleeping in his bed. Liu Zheng narrowly avoids being beaten when Salmon arrives with a delivery.
• Salmon delivers Bloodstained Restaurant’s food order and drinks. Liu Zheng sends food back to the Kitchen and gives Salmon a drink as thanks.
• Among the delivered items are “Steamed Oedipus’s Feet,” a special dish made for the Sphinx. The food restores stamina and guarantees that the eater will solve the next riddle correctly, though its ingredients are grotesque imitations created through a rejuvenation technique.
• Liu Zheng receives a massive drink order from Bloodstained Restaurant. Payment will be handled through credit, and the suppliers will deliver the goods directly.
• He discovers that he can use the restaurant’s restocking system to gain extra time outside. By completing restocking during his delivery period and then officially requesting three hours to purchase supplies, he may have enough time to travel to the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to use wit, bargaining, and calculated opportunism to advance his goals. He is willing to work with morally dubious systems but remains uncomfortable with the cruelty behind items such as the imitation Oedipus’s Feet.
• He demonstrates growing strategic skill by recognizing how delivery and restocking schedules can be manipulated to extend his time outside.
• Hishikibe reveals extensive knowledge of the Wachang Clan and her family’s history. Though she mocks Liu Zheng constantly, she ultimately agrees to assist him, showing that their antagonistic relationship includes a degree of trust.
• Novelist acts as Hishikibe’s restraining influence, interrupting her provocations and forcing her to return to the matter at hand. Their close friendship is shown through playful physical teasing and threats.
• Cow-Horse maintains his intimidating “boss” role, but his interactions with Liu Zheng are largely comic and familiar rather than truly hostile.
• Salmon is portrayed as obedient, helpful, and affectionate, efficiently handling deliveries and accepting Liu Zheng’s praise.

Significant Themes

• Strategic relationships and mutual exchange: Liu Zheng advances by connecting people, resources, and favors rather than relying solely on strength.
• Ancient bloodlines and declining clans: The Wachang Clan’s dwindling population highlights the fragility of powerful hereditary families.
• Morality in a monstrous society: The chapter presents disturbing practices—such as raising ghosts for food and manufacturing mythological ingredients—as normal features of Metropolis. Liu Zheng is repulsed but recognizes that he cannot reform the entire world.
• Resourcefulness and loopholes: Liu Zheng’s ability to identify hidden advantages in delivery rules reflects his adaptability and practical intelligence.
• Comedy amid horror: Threats of bodily violence, grotesque food, and dark mythology are balanced by banter, teasing, and absurd workplace interactions.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Hishikibe trade insults throughout their conversation, with Liu Zheng alternately teasing her and respectfully flattering her when he needs assistance.
• Hishikibe and Novelist behave like close friends, with Novelist repeatedly stopping Hishikibe from derailing the conversation.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse maintain a subordinate-and-boss dynamic filled with mock threats, excuses, and mutual familiarity.
• Liu Zheng treats Salmon warmly, praising it, petting it, and rewarding it with a drink.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng privately planning how to exploit his delivery duties to reach the Hundred Thousand Mountains, while preparing to rely on Hishikibe’s connection to the Wachang Clan.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng gives Calico Cat strawberry chiffon cake and asks it to share the rest with the others. The cat leaves happily.
• Cow-Horse teases Liu Zheng about the cat, leading to a humorous exchange about pets, Napoleon, and Cow-Horse’s dangerous history with White-Feather Chicken.
• Liu Zheng admits that he is fundamentally cautious and considers himself a coward, believing that “cowards live longer.”
• He massages Cow-Horse after its strenuous delivery work. His improved abilities allow him to give an exceptionally effective treatment, putting Cow-Horse into a deep sleep.
• While resting beside Cow-Horse on the Haystack, Liu Zheng receives a system notification: his Sanity Value limit has increased by one, and three points of Sanity Value have been restored.
• Liu Zheng realizes that the Haystack is a powerful treasure with long-term effects on sanity. He speculates that Cow-Horse’s years of sleeping on it may have greatly increased its resistance to madness and considers obtaining or trading for it.
• Wang Manni calls to ask whether the wife and daughter of Redwood Culture’s chairman are in Liu Zheng’s possession. Liu Zheng denies having them, suggests another party may have kidnapped them, and asks the company to meet him in person if they want more information—partly because he hopes to obtain another delivery order.
• Manager Xu then informs Liu Zheng that his “godfather” has been buried and requests that he attend the funeral. Liu Zheng agrees, feeling obligated to honor the deceased because the godfather left him a rare item.
• Manager Xu explains that Liu Zheng should bring elegiac couplets written by a powerful living person, preferably on valuable material. Liu Zheng offers Ten-Thousand-Year Yinwood talisman paper, which Manager Xu confirms would be suitable.
• When the funeral home quotes one hundred thousand for its own treasured paper, Liu Zheng asks what benefit he would receive. Manager Xu hints at a secret known only within the funeral home.
• Liu Zheng deliberately misinterprets the statement, asking whether Manager Xu personally has an “unspeakable secret,” ending the chapter on a teasing joke.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Demonstrates his usual combination of caution, opportunism, and humor. He is willing to fulfill obligations and show respect to his deceased godfather, but he also expects compensation for going beyond what is necessary. His growing physical strength and knowledge of Cow-Horse’s body are highlighted, as is his increasing awareness of valuable supernatural resources.
• Cow-Horse: Acts teasing and irreverent but trusts Liu Zheng enough to accept his massage and sleep beside him. Its long relationship with the Haystack suggests it may possess exceptionally high Sanity Value.
• Calico Cat: Shows affection and gratitude toward Liu Zheng, reinforcing his growing relationships with the strange beings around him.
• Manager Xu: Reveals that the funeral home possesses a restricted internal secret and appears reluctant to disclose it, suggesting future intrigue.
• Wang Manni: Maintains a professional relationship with Liu Zheng but is amused by his fixation on securing delivery work.

Significant Themes

• Caution and survival: Liu Zheng’s self-described cowardice reflects the chapter’s recurring idea that prudence is more useful than bravado in a dangerous supernatural world.
• Value and negotiation: Liu Zheng treats favors, funeral rituals, rare materials, and information as commodities, constantly weighing whether an action is worth its cost.
• Sanity in a bizarre world: The Haystack’s ability to increase and restore Sanity Value emphasizes the importance of psychological resilience in the Metropolis.
• Humor amid danger: Dark supernatural circumstances are repeatedly undercut by banter, pet jokes, massage comedy, and Liu Zheng’s deliberate misunderstanding of Manager Xu.
• Ritual and social obligation: Liu Zheng’s attendance at his godfather’s funeral shows that respect, status, and ceremonial actions have real consequences among the Dead.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Calico Cat share a warm, caretaker-like relationship.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse engage in affectionate but insulting banter, with Liu Zheng ultimately caring for Cow-Horse through massage.
• Liu Zheng and Wang Manni discuss the kidnapping investigation, while Liu Zheng tries to turn the conversation into a business opportunity.
• Liu Zheng and Manager Xu negotiate over funeral requirements and the price of ceremonial materials, ending with Liu Zheng teasing Xu about his “unspeakable secret.”

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng tries to befriend Manager Xu of the Funeral Home, offering him a “gift” and asking about his troubles. Manager Xu, sensing madness beneath Liu Zheng’s calm exterior, cautiously contacts his superior instead of accepting directly.
• The Funeral Home agrees to help Liu Zheng in exchange for bark and branches from the intelligent French Plane Tree on Rose Street. After learning that the tree has evolved, they reduce their demand from a coffin to raw materials.
• Liu Zheng delivers a bizarre food item, Colorful XX Jelly, to Deputy Director Li. The item restores stamina and temporarily enhances sexual ability and fertility, but its unsettling origin makes Liu Zheng unwilling to consume it himself.
• During the delivery, Liu Zheng feeds the mysterious Delivery Passage’s entity drinks and desserts. The entity consumes the food and leaves the delivery intact, suggesting that Liu Zheng has gained some favor or at least avoided conflict.
• Manager Xu explains the Funeral Home’s secret fortune-borrowing technique. By using the sincere consent of a funeral-couplet writer and the Dead, it can transfer fortune and accumulated virtue to another person, granting extraordinary luck. However, the borrowed fortune is permanently lost by its original owners and the process may cause backlash.
• Liu Zheng considers paying one million to use the technique for lottery winnings, hoping to fund his future plans and maintain his access to important resources such as White-Feather Chicken, Kitchen, and Calico Cat.
• He debates whom to ask to write the funeral couplet. Possible candidates include Novelist and Red Ghost, whose luck and status appear far more substantial than those of his other acquaintances.
• Liu Zheng decides to approach Red Ghost first, since he must visit the French Plane Tree anyway.
• During the drive, the Colonel—now working as Liu Zheng’s driver—drives recklessly and discusses his former military faction. He compares Liu Zheng to the Führer and attempts to psychologically test him with an illusion or vision of desperate masses seeking leadership.
• Liu Zheng refuses to promise food, wealth, power, or glory, recognizing that he cannot provide them and has no desire to revive the Empire. He dispels the vision by gouging out his own eyes with his tentacles.
• The Colonel apologizes after Liu Zheng objects, and Liu Zheng forgives him before approaching the French Plane Tree.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Demonstrates his usual combination of calculated pragmatism, social manipulation, and bizarre composure. He is willing to invest heavily in fortune if it helps secure his long-term resources, but he also maintains firm moral and practical limits: he refuses to exploit people with a fortune-borrowing technique without consent and rejects political power he cannot responsibly wield. His resistance to the Colonel’s ideological provocation confirms that he does not seek to become an imperial leader.
• Manager Xu: Becomes increasingly wary of Liu Zheng, sensing that his polished behavior conceals dangerous instability. Nevertheless, he acts as a competent intermediary, negotiating with Liu Zheng while protecting the Funeral Home’s interests.
• The Colonel/Driver: Reveals ideological loyalty to his former Empire and admiration for authoritarian leadership. He sees traits of the Führer in Liu Zheng and tests whether Liu Zheng might become a new leader. Despite his troubling worldview, he is capable of apologizing and maintains a relatively familiar relationship with Liu Zheng.
• The Delivery Passage’s entity: Shows signs of preference or tolerance by consuming Liu Zheng’s gifts while leaving the delivery box intact, suggesting that Liu Zheng’s attempts at relationship-building may be working.
• Red Ghost and Novelist: Though absent, they are characterized through Liu Zheng’s thoughts as the most promising sources of fortune, with Red Ghost representing political survival and power, and Novelist representing wealth and stable good luck.

3. Significant Themes

• Trust, manipulation, and transactional relationships: Nearly every interaction is framed as an exchange. Liu Zheng tries to establish friendships through gifts, while the Funeral Home demands valuable materials in return for its service.
• The morality of borrowed fortune: The secret technique raises ethical questions because it permanently consumes another person’s luck and virtue. Liu Zheng recognizes its exploitative nature even while considering using it.
• Power and responsibility: The Colonel’s vision tests whether Liu Zheng will accept the role of a charismatic leader. Liu Zheng rejects the promise of mass loyalty because he lacks the resources and desire to fulfill it.
• Legacy and ideological influence: The Colonel and Red Ghost are both shaped by the legacies of larger political forces. The Colonel’s behavior shows how the will of past leaders can continue influencing survivors.
• Pragmatism versus madness: Liu Zheng acts rationally and strategically, yet his methods—such as removing his own eyes to escape a psychic vision—appear grotesquely insane to others. The chapter repeatedly contrasts his controlled reasoning with the disturbing nature of his actions.
• Luck as a resource: Fortune is treated like money, energy, or equipment: something that can be transferred, spent, and optimized. Liu Zheng’s interest in using it for gambling emphasizes his practical, almost game-like approach to survival.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Manager Xu: Liu Zheng pressures Xu with unusual friendliness, while Xu responds with caution and professional diplomacy. Their negotiation becomes more honest once Xu explains the Funeral Home’s fortune technique and its cost.
• Liu Zheng and the Delivery Passage: Liu Zheng attempts to cultivate goodwill by feeding the passage’s hidden entity. Its acceptance of the food establishes a tentative, nonverbal relationship.
• Liu Zheng and the Colonel: Their banter mixes humor, suspicion, and familiarity. The Colonel provokes Liu Zheng with imperial ideology, while Liu Zheng rejects the comparison and demands an apology. Their exchange reveals both mutual trust and significant ideological tension.
• Liu Zheng and potential fortune-bearers: Liu Zheng evaluates acquaintances according to their strength, social stability, and likely fortune. His thoughts about Red Ghost and Novelist show that even personal relationships are being considered within his broader survival strategy.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng visits the French Plane Tree, bringing drinks and desserts from Bad-Luck Coffee instead of the wine she wanted.
• He asks for branches and bark to make another coffin. The Tree complains that he has needed three coffins in seven days and accuses him of exploiting her.
• Liu Zheng reveals that the Funeral Home has been spying on the Tree and that he traded information about her for a secret technique. The Tree is offended, but Liu argues that her rapid development would have attracted attention regardless and that he helped enable her growth.
• Through bargaining and manipulation, Liu persuades the Tree to exchange enough branches and bark to bury his entire family for liquor from Du Kang Liquor Shop. They settle on two bottles of Gold Label, three Silver Label, and five Copper Label liquor.
• Liu then goes to the Sewer seeking to borrow Red Ghost’s luck, but Red Ghost refuses to meet him.
• The Fisherman explains that he cannot lend Liu luck because his fortune is bound to the Sewer and Metropolis. Borrowing it would be dangerous and could provoke City Hall.
• Instead, the Fisherman suggests a man whose luck alternates between extreme good fortune and extreme misfortune. If Liu can convince him that the two are inseparable and offer to remove both, the man may allow Liu to borrow his luck.
• The Fisherman gives Liu a bucket of unusual pink bait as a gift for the prospective contact. He also warns Liu about Killer Bro, who is devoted to justice and might eventually try to eliminate Liu if Liu ever becomes truly evil.
• Liu contacts Napoleon and has Calico Cat wake Pond Master. Pond Master confirms that he probably knows the man with alternating luck and agrees that his good and bad fortune may be connected, but questions whether the man would actually cooperate.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to demonstrate his talent for bargaining, psychological manipulation, and adapting his attitude to different people. He shifts between arguing forcefully, flattering others, acting shamelessly, and appearing respectful when useful.
• French Plane Tree remains proud, suspicious, and greedy, but her relationship with Liu has become a practical partnership. She dislikes his methods yet acknowledges that he has contributed significantly to her transformation.
• The Fisherman reveals himself to be more knowledgeable and helpful than his abrasive attitude suggests. Although he mocks Liu, he offers a plausible solution and valuable information.
• Pond Master remains slow and irritable in its parasitic state but provides useful confirmation about the mysterious lucky man.
• Killer Bro is characterized as extremely righteous and principled. The Fisherman suggests that this virtue could eventually put him at odds with Liu.
• Liu’s family-related background is briefly clarified: he considers himself his only remaining family, since the cheap godfather he once acknowledged has already been buried.

3. Significant Themes

• Trust versus exploitation: Nearly every relationship is framed as a transaction. Liu insists that his dealings are trades, while others accuse him of theft or manipulation.
• The value of luck and its consequences: Luck is treated as a tangible force that can be borrowed, transferred, or removed, but doing so may carry serious political and supernatural consequences.
• Mutual dependence: Liu and the French Plane Tree distrust each other, yet both have benefited from their partnership and continue relying on one another.
• Adaptability and social manipulation: Liu consciously changes his behavior depending on whom he is dealing with, using intimidation, flattery, bargaining, or shamelessness to achieve his goals.
• Moral uncertainty: The discussion of Killer Bro raises the possibility that Liu could one day become morally corrupt, while also emphasizing that justice and loyalty may conflict.
• Power and hidden influence: The Funeral Home, City Hall, the Cemetery, the Hell Game, and other major forces monitor or influence events, making even seemingly personal choices politically significant.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and French Plane Tree: Their banter is hostile but familiar. They trade insults, argue over whether their exchanges are theft or trade, and negotiate liquor for tree material. Their relationship is based on reluctant trust and mutual advantage.
• Liu Zheng and the Fisherman: The Fisherman mocks Liu’s misfortune and rejects his initial request, but ultimately helps him by explaining the risks of borrowing luck and suggesting another candidate.
• Liu Zheng and Pond Master: Liu relies on Pond Master’s knowledge to verify the Fisherman’s theory. Pond Master supports the idea but warns that securing the man’s cooperation will be difficult.
• Liu Zheng and Calico Cat: Liu speaks affectionately to Calico Cat, which happily helps him contact Pond Master.
• The Fisherman and Killer Bro: Though not shown directly, the Fisherman describes Killer Bro as a sincere, justice-driven person whose principles could eventually place him against Liu.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Liu Zheng asks Pond Master about a dangerous, unlucky man known as “Flop,” whose curse causes misfortune but is not always immediately fatal. Pond Master explains that Flop’s ancestral home stabilizes his luck and gives Liu Zheng his address: 188 Hat Street.
• Pond Master reveals that Flop’s curse made him hazardous to be around, but the Long-Lived Species kept bringing him along because his misfortune created constant entertainment. He also warns Liu Zheng to stay away from people with malicious intentions.
• Liu Zheng visits the newsstand to buy a lewd gift for Flop. The newsstand owner, who secretly sells unusual supernatural goods, helps him select an expensive item.
• After bargaining, Liu Zheng purchases the Super Lewd VR Goggles for 220,000. The item generates customized lewd content and provides realistic sensory experiences. The goggles are rare because their craftsman disappeared after producing them.
• As a free gift, the owner gives Liu Zheng a Pure Meat Sausage, which restores stamina and grants temporary immunity to hunger. Though disgusted by its appearance and origin, Liu Zheng stores it for later use.
• Liu Zheng arranges for Manager Xu to deliver a black talisman to Flop’s address. In exchange, Liu Zheng gives Manager Xu spiritually powerful wood from the intelligent French Plane Tree, intended for use in constructing a coffin.
• At 188 Hat Street, Liu Zheng meets Manager Xu and prepares to visit the Cemetery after completing his business. He then approaches Flop’s old ancestral home and knocks on the door.

Character developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates increasing initiative and resourcefulness. Rather than relying entirely on others, he uses information from Pond Master, negotiates a major purchase, and organizes a supernatural exchange involving the talisman and coffin materials.
• He also shows greater confidence in dealing with eccentric and dangerous figures, while maintaining his cautious, sarcastic personality.
• Pond Master is portrayed as knowledgeable but limited in power. Although he knew about Liu Zheng’s previous encounter with the bird-woman, he admits he was too weak to help. His advice establishes him as an experienced source of information rather than a reliable combatant.
• Flop remains offscreen but is characterized as a man whose extreme bad luck affects everyone around him. His attachment to his ancestral home suggests that his circumstances are tragic as well as bizarre.
• The newsstand owner is revealed as a shrewd supernatural merchant with extensive knowledge of rare items. He is greedy but straightforward, openly explaining his prices, merchandise, and the risks surrounding his goods.
• Manager Xu continues acting as Liu Zheng’s reliable business associate, handling the delivery and exchange of supernatural materials.

Significant themes

• Misfortune and perspective: Pond Master emphasizes that a curse is not necessarily viewed as a curse by its victim. Even Flop’s terrible luck may provide occasional pleasures compared with the ordinary hardships faced by others.
• Survival through adaptation: Liu Zheng and the other characters repeatedly accept bizarre, dangerous circumstances as practical problems to be managed rather than moral or emotional crises.
• Commerce and exploitation: Supernatural items, bodily materials, and even dangerous powers are treated as commodities. The chapter humorously presents rare magical goods as products to be bargained over.
• The grotesque mixed with the mundane: Lewd merchandise, living body parts, coffins, talismans, and funeral arrangements are handled like ordinary shopping and delivery services.
• Death and transformation: The coffin materials and the upcoming Cemetery visit introduce a darker funerary thread, while the missing craftsman of the VR goggles reinforces the recurring idea of people sacrificing themselves to create powerful objects.

Character interactions

• Liu Zheng and Pond Master: Their conversation combines practical information with sarcastic banter. Liu Zheng questions Pond Master’s past inaction, while Pond Master offers warnings and directions.
• Liu Zheng and the newsstand owner: They haggle over the goggles, exchange insults and compliments, and establish a familiar business relationship. The owner’s grotesque free sausage highlights the absurd intimacy of their dealings.
• Liu Zheng and Manager Xu: Their exchange is professional and cooperative. Liu Zheng provides spiritually potent wood, while Manager Xu supplies the talisman, demonstrating their growing partnership.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng knocking on Flop’s door, setting up their first direct encounter.

Chapter Summary: “The Gravekeeper: Help Me Add Fuel”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng visits Flop, an extremely unlucky man, claiming to be a junior of Fisherman and Pond Master.
• Flop initially panics at Liu Zheng’s Bloodstained Restaurant uniform, fearing he has come to deliver food, but allows him inside after Liu Zheng explains that he is only visiting.
• Liu presents Flop with gifts from the two elders: Fisherman’s powerful bait and Pond Master’s “Super Lewd VR Goggles.” Flop is delighted and becomes more cooperative.
• Liu proposes borrowing Flop’s good luck while avoiding his bad luck. Flop explains that his luck was inherited through an agreement made by his ancestor with an unknown existence. The family’s good and bad fortune has fluctuated across generations, sometimes nearly wiping out the family.
• Flop warns that Liu’s plan may fail because the good luck and bad luck may be inseparable, and the unknown entity may refuse to lend the luck. Nevertheless, he agrees to help.
• Before writing the funeral couplets, Flop tests his current luck through repeated rock-paper-scissors matches with Liu. After initially losing, he wins nineteen consecutive rounds, confirming that his luck is favorable.
• Flop writes the couplets, though his handwriting is crude. He then eagerly puts on the VR goggles, prompting Liu to leave quickly.
• Liu and the bald manager travel to the Cemetery, where Liu encounters the Gravekeeper. He sends the manager ahead and privately asks about the Nine-Dragon Coffin.
• Liu explains that the coffin is needed for Fool of the Writers Association, whose president is suffering from a terrifying affliction involving red fur and the Blood Moon.
• The Gravekeeper says the Nine-Dragon Coffin cannot suppress the president’s condition. Liu therefore proposes replacing it with the Nine-Dragon Pulling Coffin.
• The Gravekeeper agrees to consider helping, but demands that Liu “add some fuel to the fire” because his own fire has grown cold.
• The Gravekeeper reveals his terrifying true form: a flaming skeleton with blazing, lava-like eyes. Liu is nearly bewitched by the eyes, but the Gravekeeper’s hat shields him and breaks the spell.
• The Gravekeeper concludes that Liu is not truly sinful, explaining that Metropolis itself determines who is sinful.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates increasing confidence, resourcefulness, and social intelligence. He uses gifts and humor to win Flop’s trust, openly negotiates with the Gravekeeper, and strategically pursues the Nine-Dragon Pulling Coffin.
• Flop is shown to be fatalistic but practical after centuries of uncontrollable luck. Though suspicious of Liu’s motives, he responds warmly to the gifts and agrees to participate. His gambling test reveals that his luck can shift dramatically.
• The Gravekeeper appears more perceptive and powerful than expected. He immediately understands Liu’s intentions, protects Liu from his own supernatural gaze, and sets a mysterious condition for cooperation.
• The bald manager remains cautious and deferential, avoiding involvement in Liu’s dangerous conversation with the Gravekeeper.
• Fisherman and Pond Master, though absent, influence events through their gifts and their connection to Flop.

Significant Themes

• Luck and fate: Flop’s fortune is portrayed as an inherited supernatural force rather than ordinary chance. Good luck and bad luck appear linked, raising doubts about whether either can be separated or controlled.
• Inherited consequences: Flop’s family has suffered for generations because of an ancient bargain, suggesting that supernatural agreements impose consequences far beyond the original participants.
• Negotiation with dangerous powers: Liu relies on wit, honesty, gifts, and calculated risks when dealing with Flop and the Gravekeeper.
• Appearance versus reality: Flop looks like a handsome, refined man despite his miserable life, while the Gravekeeper’s ordinary cowboy appearance conceals a terrifying skeletal form.
• Sin and judgment: The Gravekeeper’s statement that Metropolis itself judges sinners introduces a broader supernatural system of moral evaluation and hints that Liu’s morality may be more complicated than it appears.
• Practicality amid the supernatural: Both Liu and Flop treat bizarre phenomena—immortal bad luck, deadly bait, magical coffins, and flaming skeletons—with a mixture of caution and everyday pragmatism.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu and Flop establish trust through teasing, gifts, and honest discussion of Flop’s curse.
• Flop’s hospitality improves after receiving the bait and VR goggles, showing how personal incentives influence his cooperation.
• Their rock-paper-scissors game serves both as a test of Flop’s luck and as a humorous demonstration of the curse’s unpredictability.
• Liu and the Gravekeeper engage in a direct negotiation: Liu requests access to the Nine-Dragon Coffin, while the Gravekeeper demands a service in return.
• The Gravekeeper’s supernatural transformation demonstrates the power imbalance between them, but his intervention also suggests a degree of protection or interest in Liu.
• The chapter ends with Liu learning that Metropolis itself, rather than the Gravekeeper alone, determines who is considered sinful.

Chapter Summary: “What Five-Star McLuther Once Said”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng asks the Gravekeeper for a flame hot enough to help him with an unspecified commission. The Gravekeeper explains that ordinary cold flames will not suffice, though flames ignited by sunlight are acceptable.
• Liu Zheng considers several powerful flames he could provide, including Si Xue’s Golden Fluid, Red Ghost’s flame, Ra’s Radiance, and the wrathful fire associated with “Seven Sins: Wrath.”
• The Gravekeeper gives Liu Zheng a corncob pipe to store the flame. The pipe initially increases charm and can absorb flames, but its storage capacity is limited.
• To strengthen the pipe, the Gravekeeper summons a powerful Corpse Walker—a sea-buried zombie. When it behaves aggressively, the Gravekeeper brutally disciplines it with a horsewhip.
• Following the Gravekeeper’s instructions, Liu Zheng extracts intestinal oil from the Corpse Walker and applies it to the pipe. The item transforms into a Zombie Intestinal-Oil Pipe, which can store much larger amounts of flame but slightly decreases charm instead of increasing it.
• Liu Zheng mocks the Corpse Walker, which attempts to retaliate, but the Gravekeeper orders it to stop and dismisses it. Liu Zheng questions why the Cemetery’s inhabitants can openly defy the Gravekeeper.
• The Gravekeeper explains that the Cemetery’s dead are not his employees. They are bound only by the Cemetery’s rules and otherwise remain free, making his authority weaker than that of other landmark rulers.
• Liu Zheng asks the Gravekeeper to help deal with the Loser Family’s curse. In exchange, the Gravekeeper pressures him into buying ten barrels of Hell Honey Yogurt for one million, claiming it will support struggling dairy farmers.
• As a “free gift,” the Gravekeeper gives Liu Zheng a brass bullet but cryptically explains that Liu Zheng must fire it—even though he has no gun. The Gravekeeper refuses to lend him one.
• Before departing, the Gravekeeper knocks Liu Zheng’s cowboy hat off with his whip, catches it, and rides away on an invisible horse, creating a dramatic but absurd farewell.
• Liu Zheng then heads to the cemetery. Protected by the bullet’s aura, he reaches the funeral home safely, where the bald manager takes him to Bound Spirit’s underground residence.
• Liu Zheng and the manager perform a shortened ritual before Bound Spirit’s portrait. Liu Zheng asks his “Godfather” to seek aid from their ancestors and places two black talismans beside the portrait.
• He adds humorous elegiac couplets praising good deeds and noble conduct. Bound Spirit initially frowns at the calligraphy but smiles after understanding Liu Zheng’s intentions.
• The ritual is ready to begin.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains irreverent, pragmatic, and fearless. He casually insults both the Gravekeeper and the Corpse Walker, treats grotesque supernatural procedures as ordinary work, and readily adapts to unpleasant circumstances.
• He also shows resourcefulness by identifying multiple powerful flames that could fulfill the Gravekeeper’s commission and by accepting the charm penalty in exchange for a more useful storage container.
• The Gravekeeper is revealed as eccentric, powerful, and mischievous. He is easily offended by laughter about his baldness, yet his humor is dry and theatrical. Despite possessing overwhelming strength, he does not exercise complete control over the Cemetery’s inhabitants.
• The Corpse Walker is portrayed as terrifying but unruly. Its ability to survive immense physical punishment contrasts comically with its immediate submission to the Gravekeeper’s whip.
• Bound Spirit continues to demonstrate a complicated relationship with Liu Zheng. Though he disapproves of Liu Zheng’s crude or irreverent presentation, he ultimately appears amused and cooperative.
• The bald manager remains eager to flatter Liu Zheng and assist him, though he accidentally implies that Liu Zheng may eventually need to live in an above-ground house.

Significant Themes

• Power and authority: The Cemetery differs from other landmarks because its inhabitants are not direct employees of the Gravekeeper. His authority depends on rules and force rather than absolute control.
• Humor amid horror: Zombies, corpse dissection, curses, and death rituals are consistently presented through slapstick comedy and sarcastic dialogue.
• Pragmatism over dignity: Liu Zheng repeatedly accepts disgusting, humiliating, or expensive solutions if they advance his goals.
• Commerce and exploitation: The Gravekeeper turns assistance into a sales transaction, using promotional language to persuade Liu Zheng to purchase yogurt at an exorbitant price.
• Improvisation and transformation: The pipe’s transformation demonstrates how supernatural items can be modified through bizarre materials, trading one benefit for another.
• Death and unconventional family bonds: The ritual involving Bound Spirit and the ancestors highlights Liu Zheng’s growing reliance on supernatural allies and surrogate familial relationships.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng jokes about the Gravekeeper’s baldness and is punished by being shoved headfirst into the ground, followed by a demand for emotional and property damages.
• The Gravekeeper and Liu Zheng negotiate over the type of flame, the pipe’s durability, the price of yogurt, discounts, and the mysterious bullet.
• The Gravekeeper disciplines the rebellious Corpse Walker while Liu Zheng taunts and harvests its intestinal oil.
• Liu Zheng compares the Gravekeeper’s loose management style with the harsher authority exercised by Si Xue and other landmark rulers.
• The Gravekeeper manipulates Liu Zheng into purchasing ten barrels of yogurt, while Liu Zheng attempts—and fails—to negotiate a discount.
• The bald manager guides Liu Zheng through the cemetery and helps prepare the ritual for Bound Spirit, who silently reacts to Liu Zheng’s offerings and inscriptions.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng participates in a bizarre funeral ritual organized by the bald manager to create a Fortune Golden Lotus. The funeral band performs while Liu kowtows to his ancestors, provoking them when they initially fail to respond.
• A portrait of Liu’s Bound Spirit enters the violent yin wind and helps suppress the ancestral ghosts. Liu’s ancestors ultimately contribute karmic virtue, which is absorbed into the funeral couplets.
• The ritual produces a three-rank Fortune Golden Lotus, far more powerful than expected. The bald manager realizes that the fortune being borrowed must belong to someone extraordinarily lucky and warns Liu about the potential backlash.
• When the manager attempts to set the lotus’s duration to one hour, a Wishing Monkey’s Paw emerges from the lotus. The paw threatens to activate its dangerous wish-granting ability.
• Liu counters the paw with his bizarre but effective method of producing a special bullet. The bullet pierces the paw, allowing the distant gravekeeper to judge it through the wound. The gravekeeper’s Eye of Judgment burns away the paw’s power.
• The resulting item becomes a powerless Non-Wishing Monkey’s Paw, which Liu stores as a Perfect-quality ingredient.
• The ritual completes, creating a Three-Rank Fortune Golden Lotus Seed. When used, it will raise Liu’s Luck to near maximum for one hour. Its note jokingly says Liu must become the Bound Spirit’s biological son in his next life.
• Liu affectionately calls the Bound Spirit “Dad,” receives the spirit’s approval, and leaves the cemetery to deliver takeout before his limited time runs out.
• He travels to West River Center and meets Deputy Director Li, who is exhausted from repeatedly ordering takeout. Li asks about the kidnapping of Redwood Culture’s chairman’s wife and daughter. Liu denies involvement, explaining that another group kidnapped them.
• Liu defends his honesty by pointing out that anyone placed in the Sewer would be nearly impossible to rescue. Li says the company only doubts Liu as a formality, prompting Liu to mock the company’s bureaucratic habits.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains fearless, irreverent, and opportunistic. He openly insults his ancestors, confronts the Monkey’s Paw, and treats the dangerous ritual as a means to obtain better luck for future schemes.
• His relationship with the Bound Spirit becomes more affectionate and familial. Liu recognizes that the spirit aided him during the ritual and jokingly embraces him as his father.
• The bald manager demonstrates expertise and composure while conducting the ritual, though the appearance of the Monkey’s Paw genuinely alarms him. His concern also shows that he values Liu and understands the risks of Liu’s reckless behavior.
• The gravekeeper again acts as a powerful but distant protector. He judges the Monkey’s Paw with minimal effort and reminds Liu that the victory was partly due to the paw’s mistake.
• Deputy Director Li is portrayed as physically and mentally worn down by his company’s demands, but he remains polite, dutiful, and willing to mediate between Liu and Redwood Culture.

Significant Themes

• Fortune and karmic debt: The Golden Lotus depends on ancestral virtue and borrowed luck, emphasizing that extraordinary fortune comes with risks and consequences.
• Greed and dangerous wishes: The Monkey’s Paw embodies the temptation to seek easy rewards despite knowing that wishes bring distorted outcomes and disaster.
• Power through absurdity and preparation: Liu’s strange methods appear ridiculous but are carefully designed and ultimately effective, reflecting his unconventional survival style.
• Family and inherited protection: Liu’s ancestors and Bound Spirit aid him, suggesting that supernatural familial ties can provide both power and emotional connection.
• Bureaucracy versus personal trust: The conversation with Deputy Director Li contrasts formal corporate procedures with Liu’s demand for direct trust and practical judgment.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu clashes verbally with his ancestors before the Bound Spirit intervenes on his behalf.
• The bald manager guides Liu through the ritual, warns him about the Fortune Golden Lotus, and reacts with shock to both Liu’s behavior and the Monkey’s Paw.
• The gravekeeper judges and cripples the Monkey’s Paw after Liu’s attack, strengthening the sense that Liu survives partly through powerful supernatural allies.
• Liu and the Bound Spirit share a brief, affectionate father-son exchange after the successful ritual.
• Liu and Deputy Director Li engage in sarcastic but cooperative banter while discussing the kidnapping and the company’s excessive formalism.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng meets Associate Director Li of Green Shade Culture, who asks him to help locate and rescue a mother and daughter connected to the company. The company promises humane treatment and offers him one million in compensation.
• Liu refuses the investigative work because he is already busy with numerous commissions, but agrees to assist with the final rescue operation. Instead of money, he requests bombs similar to the one used against Redwood Culture. When the original missile is unavailable, he asks for several weaker explosives, reasoning that insufficient power can be compensated for by quantity.
• Associate Director Li gives Liu a rare Phoenix-Blood Pu’er Mini Dragon Cake, which permanently increases Constitution by two points upon first use. The tea was made from a now-extinct Blood-Phoenix Tea Tree and is highly valuable.
• Li reveals that Six-Feather Tea House is offering a reward for information about a living phoenix. Their apparent plan to raise the price of Blood-Phoenix tea suggests they may have discovered a new phoenix or know its whereabouts.
• Liu and Li become more familiar, changing from formal titles to the nicknames “Ah Zheng” and “Old Li.” Li also hints at Liu’s relationship with Wang Manni, but Liu declines to meet her.
• After Liu leaves, President Cai, a green insect and powerful company figure, asks whether Liu was truthful. Li defends Liu, explaining that the company must compromise when dealing with dangerous but useful people. Cai rewards Li by promising to nominate him for director.
• Cai refuses to promote Wang Manni because her advancement has been too rapid, but orders that she receive other benefits, including Cai’s place in an elite executive training course.
• Cai approves Liu’s request for explosives, encouraging the company to let him cause destruction so long as he avoids City Hall; the more damage he causes elsewhere, the less conspicuous Green Shade Culture will appear.
• Back at the clinic, Liu shows Cow-Horse the Third-Grade Golden Lotus Seed, obtained successfully through his ritual. He then asks Cow-Horse to arrange a meeting with Si Xue so he can request “fire” for the gravedigger’s mission.
• Cow-Horse initially suggests using gasoline but agrees to contact Si Xue. Liu goes to meet her, interacting casually with the sentient elevator along the way.
• The chapter ends as Liu enters Si Xue’s office, which has been transformed into a pastoral rice-field setting, with Si Xue dressed like a rural village woman.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to establish himself as a valuable and dangerous fixer. He refuses unnecessary work, negotiates confidently, and prefers practical compensation—especially weapons—over money.
• He strengthens his relationship with Associate Director Li, recognizing Li’s competence and loyalty while also using humor and calculated favors to maintain the alliance.
• Liu’s success in obtaining the Golden Lotus Seed reinforces his growing luck and resourcefulness. He also shows increasing confidence in approaching powerful figures such as Si Xue.
• Associate Director Li demonstrates political intelligence, investigative ability, and genuine concern for Liu’s affairs. His usefulness is rewarded when President Cai promises him a promotion.
• President Cai is pragmatic and ruthless, willing to tolerate Liu’s destructive methods because they can benefit Green Shade Culture. Cai also shows a calculated approach to internal politics by supporting Wang Manni without formally promoting her.
• Wang Manni remains largely offstage, but her rapid rise creates tension within the company. She is denied a promotion yet receives valuable opportunities that preserve her future prospects.
• Cow-Horse remains lazy, sarcastic, and fearful of Si Xue, contrasting with Liu’s boldness. Despite his complaints, he continues helping Liu.
• Si Xue is presented as powerful yet eccentric, with her office and appearance changing dramatically according to a pastoral theme.

Significant Themes

• Pragmatism and calculated compromise: Characters repeatedly choose practical solutions over idealistic ones, whether Liu accepts explosives instead of money or Green Shade Culture tolerates his violence for strategic benefit.
• Power through usefulness: Liu’s safety and influence come from being exceptionally valuable, while Cow-Horse notes that even Si Xue treats him carefully because of the risks he has taken and the benefits he provides.
• Political maneuvering and patronage: Promotions, training opportunities, and company resources are distributed according to loyalty, influence, and organizational stability rather than pure merit.
• Risk and reward: Liu’s dangerous activities produce extraordinary gains, such as the Golden Lotus Seed and rare tea, supporting his belief that high risks bring high rewards.
• Absurdity within normality: The chapter treats impossible events—sentient elevators, phoenixes, living insects, supernatural tea, and destructive missiles—as ordinary business matters, emphasizing the bizarre logic of Metropolis.
• Friendship as exchange: Relationships are built through reciprocal favors, gifts, protection, and shared interests. Liu and Li’s shift to informal names symbolizes growing trust.

Character Interactions

• Liu and Associate Director Li combine mutual respect, teasing, and negotiation, ultimately becoming more personal friends.
• Li and President Cai discuss Liu’s reliability and the company’s strategy, with Cai rewarding Li while managing Wang Manni’s career.
• Liu and Cow-Horse maintain a comedic relationship in which Liu makes unreasonable requests and Cow-Horse complains but still assists him.
• Liu treats the elevator as a person, offering it drinks and desserts; the elevator silently refuses.
• The chapter concludes with Liu approaching Si Xue, setting up a likely negotiation for the supernatural “fire” needed for his next mission.

Chapter Summary: “A Rank Higher Can Crush You”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng reports to Si Xue that he has negotiated with the Gravekeeper for entry into a tomb containing a Nine-Dragon Coffin. In exchange, he must provide extremely powerful flames.
• He asks Si Xue for some of her golden flames, but she warns that actively giving flames away weakens their anti-deciphering protections. Because Metropolis places great importance on status and ritual, gifts can carry dangerous implications.
• Si Xue nevertheless gives him a small amount of flame and upgrades his disgusting intestinal-oil-coated pipe with water from Spirit Treasure Lake. The pipe becomes a Super-Fireproof Corn Cob Pipe, capable of storing vast quantities of flame, though its material prevents it from reaching perfect quality.
• Liu Zheng worries that mixing different flames could cause the pipe to explode. Si Xue improves it further, but makes clear that she will not provide all the flames he needs.
• During their conversation, Si Xue comments on Liu Zheng’s extraordinary ability to acquire rare items, joking that he may be a “child of destiny.” Liu attributes his success to hard work, though their exchange remains full of mutual teasing and concealed calculation.
• Liu Zheng roasts corn for Si Xue using one of her hair sticks, transformed into an ebony arrow. He serves it with expensive Hell Honey Yogurt, which Si Xue enjoys.
• Their discussion turns philosophical. Si Xue says that ordinary people may live merely to survive, while people like them live to impose their will on reality and make it real.
• Before Liu Zheng leaves, Si Xue gives him additional corn. He returns to the break room, where Cow-Horse makes him grill all of it.
• Liu Zheng refuses to share the Hell Honey Yogurt with Cow-Horse, reminding him that the yogurt is valuable and that Si Xue’s rank places her above them. Cow-Horse backs down, reinforcing the chapter’s title: those of lower rank are easily crushed by those above them.
• Wang Manni calls to tell Liu Zheng that the items he requested are ready. Afterward, Liu Zheng begins considering how to kill the lottery-shop owner, setting up the next plot development.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to demonstrate resourcefulness, shameless bargaining, and survival instincts. He is skilled at flattering Si Xue without genuinely mistaking her practical concern for affection.
• His loyalty to Si Xue is partly sincere but clearly strategic. He understands that she regards him primarily as a useful subordinate and avoids overstepping.
• Liu Zheng’s ability to obtain powerful objects—including the enhanced pipe, yogurt, and tea—highlights his growing importance and unusual fortune.
• Si Xue shows restrained generosity toward Liu Zheng, helping him improve the pipe and sharing her flames, but she maintains firm boundaries and reminds him of the dangers associated with status, ritual, and giving.
• Her relationship with Liu Zheng becomes more familiar through teasing, shared food, and casual conversation, though it remains based on hierarchy and utility rather than romance.
• Cow-Horse is established as Liu Zheng’s superior in the break room. He is bossy and gluttonous but quickly becomes cautious when reminded that Liu Zheng has Si Xue’s backing.
• Wang Manni continues to function as Liu Zheng’s reliable contact, efficiently preparing the supplies he needs.

Significant Themes

• Hierarchy and power: The chapter repeatedly shows that rank determines who may command, give, refuse, or punish. Liu Zheng’s comment about “the rank above crushing the rank below” captures the social structure of Metropolis.
• Ritual and status: Si Xue explains that higher status brings stricter ritual constraints. Even the act of giving flames can have consequences beyond simple generosity.
• Survival versus self-determination: The contrast between Liu Zheng’s pragmatic survival mindset and Si Xue’s belief in carrying out one’s will reflects two different philosophies of life.
• Resourcefulness and opportunism: Liu Zheng constantly repurposes objects, negotiates for advantages, and turns ordinary materials—such as a corn cob pipe or a hair stick—into useful tools.
• Transactional relationships: Affection and loyalty are treated skeptically. Liu Zheng recognizes that in Metropolis, relationships are often based on usefulness, power, and exchange rather than genuine emotion.
• Humor amid danger: Mundane activities like roasting corn and sharing yogurt are placed alongside discussions of tombs, deadly flames, ritual consequences, and murder, creating a comic contrast.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Si Xue: Their exchanges combine deference, sarcasm, bargaining, and mutual awareness. Si Xue helps him but mocks his greed, while Liu Zheng flatters her and carefully avoids confusing her practical concern with romantic interest.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: Cow-Horse exploits his superior position by ordering Liu Zheng to grill corn. Liu Zheng resents this but obeys, using Si Xue’s authority as a subtle deterrent when Cow-Horse asks for the valuable yogurt.
• Liu Zheng and Wang Manni: Their brief phone call shows an efficient working relationship. She provides the preparations he requested, while he continues planning his next dangerous assignment.
• Liu Zheng and the Gravekeeper: Though the Gravekeeper does not appear directly, his deal with Liu Zheng drives the chapter’s main objective and illustrates the ruthless commercial culture of Metropolis.

Chapter Summary: “The Auction Was Moved Up?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng seeks powerful equipment or assistance from Cow-Horse so he can attack the lottery shop owner, a former Special Team member. Cow-Horse refuses, pointing out that Liu has already borrowed many valuable items and has not repaid them.
• Liu considers using his growing network of allies against the lottery shop but decides against involving them because the target’s former Special Team status could cause serious trouble for anyone living in the Metropolis.
• Wang Manni informs Liu that the Barter Auction, originally scheduled for the following night, has been moved up to eight o’clock that evening. The change was reportedly made at the request of an influential figure.
• Liu suspects Peacock arranged the schedule change, possibly to obtain a valuable collectible after their previous conflict with him.
• He contacts Si Xue through Cow-Horse and reports the change. Si Xue orders Liu to prevent Peacock from acquiring whatever she wants at the auction, or at least disrupt her plans enough to make her lose her composure.
• Liu realizes the assignment may force him to spend most or all of his wealth in a bidding war, but he cannot safely conceal the information from Si Xue.
• Si Xue promises a satisfactory reward if Liu succeeds, while also revealing that she can sense emotions, though not read minds.
• Liu and Cow-Horse argue humorously over a promised reward. Liu had offered Cow-Horse money and the Legendary Deliveryman Set if Si Xue punished them for making the call, but Liu insists Cow-Horse was not truly punished. He eventually gives them twenty thousand as a compromise.
• With only an hour and a half before the auction, Liu worries about maintaining enough delivery work to remain eligible to attend. He rules out several contacts, either because they have already helped too often or because placing an order would weaken them.
• Liu calls Guokou Tangzi and orders her and the Seasoning Quartet to meet him and place a one-hour takeout order. When she protests, Liu severely reprimands her for repeatedly allowing personal behavior—especially drinking—to interfere with missions.
• Liu reminds her how much he has done for the Ultimate Flavor Group and accuses her of treating the group like a game rather than rebuilding it seriously. Guokou Tangzi finally apologizes, and Liu orders her to carry out the task.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Demonstrates strategic caution, recognizing that brute force or mass retaliation could endanger his allies. He also shows increasing authority as a leader, balancing support for his subordinates with strict expectations and exploiting his network to solve problems.
• Cow-Horse: Remains miserly, sarcastic, and unwilling to endanger their resources, but still helps Liu contact Si Xue. Their comic arguments with Liu reveal a familiar, antagonistic friendship.
• Si Xue: Reinforces her position of power over Liu while rewarding loyalty and useful information. She is demanding and somewhat unreasonable, but she keeps her promises and offers meaningful compensation.
• Guokou Tangzi: Initially defensive and disrespectful, she is forced to confront her repeated failures to prioritize group responsibilities. Her eventual apology suggests a degree of humility and renewed willingness to follow Liu’s leadership.
• Liu’s leadership role: Liu increasingly acts as a commander rather than merely an individual operator. He expects discipline from allies but frames his demands as part of helping them regain strength and independence.

Significant Themes

• Power imbalance and dependence: Liu’s frustration reflects his awareness that, despite his growing influence, he remains vulnerable to stronger figures such as Si Xue.
• Leadership and accountability: The conflict with Guokou Tangzi emphasizes that loyalty and friendship do not excuse incompetence or repeated misconduct.
• Resource management: Liu must carefully balance money, delivery orders, supernatural items, allies, and time while preparing for both the auction and his ongoing missions.
• Manipulation and obligation: Information can create new burdens. Liu reports the auction change expecting perhaps a reward, only to receive a dangerous assignment.
• Found family and responsibility: Liu’s harsh treatment of the Ultimate Flavor Group is rooted in his desire to help them recover and become independent, rather than remain dependent or unserious.
• Humor amid danger: The exchanges with Cow-Horse provide comic relief while also highlighting the practical risks and strained alliances surrounding Liu.

Character Interactions

• Liu and Cow-Horse bicker over money, equipment, and promises, combining mutual familiarity with constant distrust and mockery.
• Liu reports to Si Xue through Cow-Horse, creating a tense chain of command in which Cow-Horse fears punishment and Liu fears failing his superior.
• Si Xue gives Liu a direct mission against Peacock, turning a piece of information into a high-stakes obligation.
• Liu and Guokou Tangzi clash over authority. His stern lecture forces her to acknowledge his past assistance and her repeated failures, ending with her apology and submission to his instructions.

Chapter Summary: “Moving on May Day, Taking a Day Off”

Plot points and events

The narrator moves into a cheaper, simply furnished two-bedroom apartment. Although moving is physically exhausting, the new place provides better living conditions and more space. Because the master bedroom lacks electrical outlets and the second bedroom lacks an internet port, the narrator chooses the second bedroom, relying on Wi-Fi rather than needing a wired connection. The cats are finally able to leave their cramped room and roam freely throughout the living room. The narrator then reflects on the connection between their own health and the recovery of Liu Zheng, the protagonist of the novel.

Character development

The narrator remains practical and undemanding, prioritizing comfort and suitability over luxury. Their improved home environment offers hope that their physical condition may improve as well. The narrator’s identification with Liu Zheng deepens, suggesting that the fictional character’s recovery serves as a symbolic reflection of the author’s own hopes.

Character interactions

There is little direct interpersonal interaction in the chapter. The narrator interacts indirectly with the cats by providing them with a larger, freer living space, and addresses readers directly to clarify the autobiographical nature of the story. The narrator also links their fate with Liu Zheng’s, presenting the two as progressing together.

Significant themes

The chapter explores recovery, hope, and the relationship between fiction and reality. Improved living conditions symbolize the possibility of physical and emotional healing. It also uses metafiction, openly acknowledging that Liu Zheng’s illness and recovery mirror the author’s own experience. The cats’ newfound freedom further emphasizes renewal and improvement after hardship.

Chapter Summary: “Wipe the Nosebleed Before Showing Off”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng tries to borrow another extraordinary item from Cow-Horse for the Restaurant boss’s mission. Cow-Horse initially refuses, but Liu Zheng pressures him by reminding him that Liu’s punishment would increase Cow-Horse’s workload.
• Cow-Horse eventually lends Liu a dangerous metal fragment called the Tiger Soul Fragment. The fragment is actually the tip of a broken blade with a vertebra embedded in it.
• When Liu’s blood touches the fragment, it attempts to invade his mind, consume his flesh, and enslave him. Liu resists by using the killing intent and resentment sealed within his body, overpowering the fragment’s will.
• The fragment is identified as a Perfect-quality item that can either be used to forge equipment or cultivate the Killing Dao. Cow-Horse explains that it contains the power of an ancient slaughter god and could greatly accelerate Liu’s cultivation.
• Liu realizes that he needs to complete One-Shot Samurai’s commission and find the mysterious swordsmith before he can properly use the fragment or resolve the killing-intent seal within him.
• Liu persuades Cow-Horse to accompany him outside the Restaurant by offering him hazard pay and the possibility of profitable auction purchases. Cow-Horse reluctantly agrees, effectively becoming Liu’s bodyguard.
• The two travel through the Delivery Passage, which has mysteriously shortened after Liu’s previous interaction with it. Cow-Horse becomes increasingly wary of Liu’s strange influence over the Restaurant and its surroundings.
• They leave the Restaurant at night beneath the perpetually blood-red Blood Moon. Liu asks about the moon’s appearance, but Cow-Horse avoids revealing what he knows.
• Liu and Cow-Horse visit Nile Doctor’s clinic. Because nighttime is dangerous and impostors are common, Nile tests them with a beam of sunlight before allowing them inside.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to demonstrate his resourcefulness, shameless bargaining, and ability to manipulate stronger individuals. He turns Cow-Horse’s curiosity, fear of losing face, and desire for money into leverage.
• Liu also shows increased confidence and resilience. Although the Tiger Soul Fragment instinctively frightens him and attacks his mind, he quickly regains control and mocks it rather than allowing it to dominate him.
• His unusual nature becomes more apparent: he possesses both monstrous instincts and human cunning, can sense the fragment’s kinship with the Black Goat’s Young, and can draw upon powerful resentments sealed within his body.
• Cow-Horse is revealed to possess valuable and dangerous relics despite his lazy, comic behavior. His reluctance to use the Tiger Soul Fragment suggests that he is cautious and thinks strategically about preserving rare resources.
• Cow-Horse remains cynical and sarcastic, but he is also protective of his interests and willing to accompany Liu once properly compensated. His fear of Liu’s abnormal influence hints that he considers Liu increasingly dangerous or unpredictable.
• Nile Doctor is shown to be careful and security-conscious. He does not blindly trust Liu’s identity at night and verifies both visitors before opening the clinic.

3. Significant Themes

• Power, ownership, and bargaining: Liu’s repeated insistence that borrowed items always come with a price reflects the transactional nature of relationships in this world. Even when Cow-Horse lends the fragment, Liu understands that he will eventually owe him something valuable.
• Dangerous power and self-control: The Tiger Soul Fragment offers rapid advancement but carries a murderous will of its own. Liu’s ability to resist it highlights the danger of acquiring power without being consumed by it.
• The persistence of ambition: Cow-Horse claims that he has long since abandoned his dream of slaying the dragon, yet he still keeps looking toward the sky. The chapter suggests that old ambitions may survive even after years of defeat or compromise.
• Mystery and incomplete knowledge: The fragment, the Blood Moon, the Delivery Passage, and Liu’s sealed killing intent all point toward larger mysteries. Characters possess partial knowledge but frequently withhold it, reinforcing the dangers of learning too much.
• Humor amid horror: Grotesque threats—including a blade fragment that eats blood and attempts mental domination—are repeatedly undercut by banter about nosebleeds, idioms, body fat, sleep, and sperm vitality. This contrast defines the chapter’s tone.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu and Cow-Horse engage in constant teasing and manipulation. Their arguments over borrowing items gradually reveal a relationship built on mutual annoyance, familiarity, and practical dependence.
• Cow-Horse mocks Liu for showing off after defeating the fragment, pointing out that he has a nosebleed. Liu responds with bravado, preserving their comic rivalry even during a supernatural confrontation.
• Their discussion of the Tiger Soul Fragment combines useful exposition with insults: Cow-Horse explains the relic’s origin and abilities while refusing to teach Liu how to use it.
• Liu persuades Cow-Horse to join the nighttime mission by appealing to business interests and offering money, while Cow-Horse complains that he no longer knows whether he is working for the Restaurant or for Liu.
• At the clinic, Liu openly introduces Cow-Horse to Nile Doctor as a “big shot,” while Nile treats both men cautiously and verifies that neither is a hostile nighttime entity before admitting them.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse visit Nile Doctor’s clinic. The Sphinx is still recovering and remains asleep there overnight.
• Liu Zheng asks Nile Doctor for Sunfire on Gravekeeper’s behalf. Gravekeeper needs powerful fire because his own flame is weakening, leaving a bald patch on his flaming skeletal body.
• Nile Doctor hesitates because Gravekeeper is closely tied to death and decay, and involving him with Ra’s power could have dangerous consequences. He consults Ra through the stone coffin.
• While waiting, Cow-Horse jokes crudely with Liu Zheng, provoking him with its shameless behavior.
• Nile Doctor emerges from the coffin badly burned, demonstrating how dangerous Ra’s Sunfire is. He agrees to exchange it only for an equivalent amount of Liu Zheng’s own flame.
• Liu Zheng reveals the mysterious golden flame in his pipe. Nile Doctor recognizes it as vastly more destructive than ordinary fire and agrees that half of it will be sufficient.
• Liu Zheng receives permission from Si Xue to make the exchange, though she threatens to punish him with an equal amount of fire if he fails another mission.
• To obtain Ra’s Sunfire, Liu Zheng must personally enter the stone coffin and endure Ra’s trial. He suffers extreme heat, dehydration, sand invading his body, and intense psychological torment while counting to prove he remains conscious.
• After enduring for 784 counts, Liu Zheng is expelled. Nile Doctor is impressed by his endurance and returns the pipe, now containing Ra’s Sunfire. Some of the fire has also been absorbed into Liu Zheng’s body as a blessing from Ra.
• Liu Zheng thanks Ra but refuses to promise lifelong loyalty to Ra’s Lineage, limiting his commitment to Nile Doctor and Sesha personally.
• Liu Zheng reveals that he has established a connection with City Hall and believes the traitor they oppose will eventually be destroyed. Nile Doctor celebrates and promises to open his treasured amber mead when it happens.
• Liu Zheng then persuades Nile Doctor to lend him another extraordinary item. Nile Doctor gives him a “Ninefold Union Pill,” a perfect-quality, single-use item that dramatically enhances sexual ability and fertility. Its enormous size and absurd description leave Liu Zheng stunned.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues expanding his network among powerful factions, using dangerous missions and personal connections to gain influence. Although he jokes and acts shamelessly, he recognizes that his position is precarious: his survival and status depend on constantly strengthening these relationships.
• He demonstrates remarkable mental and physical endurance by surviving Ra’s trial. His willingness to endure suffering reflects both his resilience and his belief that hardship is necessary for advancement.
• Liu Zheng remains pragmatic rather than blindly loyal. He appreciates Ra’s generosity but refuses to claim allegiance to Ra’s entire lineage, distinguishing personal friendship from political commitment.
• Nile Doctor is shown as cautious, protective of Ra’s interests, and increasingly fond of Liu Zheng despite his irritation. He worries about the consequences of empowering Gravekeeper but ultimately trusts Liu Zheng enough to help him.
• Nile Doctor’s friendship with Liu Zheng deepens through their shared interest in defeating the City Hall traitor. He is generous with powerful artifacts but complains when Liu Zheng repeatedly takes advantage of that generosity.
• Cow-Horse continues acting as Liu Zheng’s comic foil and concerned partner. It mocks Liu Zheng’s dangerous lifestyle and repeatedly advises him to accept safer jobs, while still accompanying and supporting him.
• Si Xue remains a powerful and intimidating backer. Her permission allows Liu Zheng to complete the exchange, but her threat reinforces how dangerous his obligations have become.
• Ra, though largely unseen, is characterized as both terrifying and generous. His Sunfire nearly destroys Nile Doctor and subjects Liu Zheng to severe torment, yet Ra rewards Liu Zheng with additional power for enduring the trial.

Significant Themes

• Power through connections: Liu Zheng’s survival depends less on his personal strength than on his relationships with powerful beings and organizations. His growing network protects him from City Hall and gives him access to rare resources.
• The cost of advancement: Every gain requires risk, pain, or political obligation. Liu Zheng must suffer Ra’s trial and place himself under Si Xue’s threats to acquire greater power.
• Endurance and suffering: The chapter treats suffering almost humorously, but Liu Zheng’s ability to withstand it is presented as a genuine source of strength. His endurance may be both a survival skill and a trap that keeps him accepting increasingly dangerous tasks.
• Loyalty versus self-interest: Liu Zheng values Nile Doctor and Sesha personally but refuses to make broader promises to Ra’s Lineage. His relationships are sincere yet carefully bounded.
• Comedy amid danger: Vulgar jokes, absurd exchanges, and the ridiculous fertility pill contrast with the chapter’s serious supernatural threats, maintaining the story’s irreverent tone.
• Friendship and mutual exploitation: Liu Zheng and Nile Doctor genuinely trust one another, but their relationship also involves bargaining, favors, and Liu Zheng’s constant attempts to obtain more items.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse banter throughout the visit, with Cow-Horse mocking him and Liu Zheng reacting with reluctant embarrassment.
• Nile Doctor and Liu Zheng negotiate over Sunfire, with Nile Doctor demanding a fair trade and Liu Zheng trying to minimize his sacrifice.
• Si Xue authorizes the exchange but reminds Liu Zheng that his missions carry consequences.
• Ra communicates indirectly through Nile Doctor, testing Liu Zheng and rewarding his endurance.
• Nile Doctor and Liu Zheng bond over their shared desire to see the City Hall traitor defeated, while Cow-Horse joins their celebration.
• Their final interaction returns to comedy: Liu Zheng pressures Nile Doctor for another artifact, only to receive an enormous and bizarre fertility-enhancing pill.