Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng negotiates with He Bishu, an elderly casino owner who wants someone to eliminate Jiang Weisheng, leader of the Starfish Gang. He Bishu fears Jiang’s threat to take over the New Grape Hotel.
• He Bishu initially tries to bargain indirectly, but Liu quickly recognizes his hidden motives and forces him to state the real issue.
• The two sides exchange verbal jabs and threats, each implying they have influential connections at City Hall.
• He Bishu’s subordinate throws Liu a photograph of Jiang Weisheng. Niu Daji catches it effortlessly and trades insults with the subordinate, an alligator-like fighter named Shortmouth.
• Ace investigates the Starfish Gang and explains its history: it was founded by a starfish-human hybrid and built its wealth through the addictive substance “Sea Blue Enchantment.” Recent anti-smuggling operations connected to the Mermaid Princess kidnapping have cut off the gang’s supplies, motivating its attempt to enter the hotel business.
• He Bishu reveals that the Starfish Gang is internally divided and believes killing Jiang would plunge it into chaos. Liu refuses to take the job because the gang would likely retaliate against him and those around him.
• Ace identifies himself as Beers of the Public Security Bureau and as the son of the powerful Archmage Charles, causing He Bishu to become more cautious and respectful.
• He Bishu proposes a life-and-death arena arrangement: Liu must provide a fighter to win one of three matches against Jiang’s champion, in exchange for one of Hou Taotao’s hands.
• Liu counters by demanding both of Hou Taotao’s hands and feet, though he offers no guarantee of victory. When He Bishu suggests gambling instead, Liu chooses to bet on whether Shortmouth has an odd or even number of teeth.
• He Bishu’s daughter counts eighty-five teeth, suggesting an odd number, but Tangzi points out that some teeth are decayed and half-rotted. Liu graciously accepts He Bishu’s win, but still insists that Hou Taotao’s remaining hand be cut off as punishment.
• Liu later retrieves Hou Taotao, now badly beaten and missing all but its left hand. Hou signs for the delivery meal under threat of losing the last hand.
• On the way out, Hou asks Liu for gambling money, claiming it wants to win back its losses. Liu instead orders Niu Daji to take Hou to the Sewer and force it to eat one hundred pounds of feces.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates increasing authority, confidence, and ruthlessness. He controls the negotiation, refuses an unprofitable assassination job, manipulates the gambling terms, and enforces Cow-Horse’s punishment without sympathy.
• He Bishu is shown as calculating and politically connected. Though initially attempting to manipulate Liu, he recognizes Liu’s sharpness and negotiates pragmatically when intimidation fails.
• Niu Daji becomes more assertive as Liu’s subordinate. He successfully catches the photograph and confidently provokes Shortmouth, though he remains attentive to Liu’s approval.
• Ace/Beers reveals his extensive knowledge and his important identity as a Public Security Bureau officer and Archmage Charles’s son. He claims neutrality but subtly strengthens Liu’s position through his presence.
• Hou Taotao remains greedy, cowardly, and addicted to gambling despite being severely injured. Its concern about losing its final hand contrasts with its immediate desire to gamble again.
• Shortmouth is aggressive but subordinate, obeying He Bishu even when embarrassed by the tooth-counting wager.
• He Bishu’s daughter and Guokou Tangzi act as representatives of their respective sides during the bet, demonstrating the formal and hierarchical nature of the negotiation.

Significant Themes

• Power through reputation and connections: Both Liu and He Bishu invoke relationships with City Hall, while Ace’s identity further shifts the balance of power.
• Negotiation and psychological dominance: Liu gains control by refusing to be rushed, identifying He Bishu’s motives, and setting terms that leave the older man little room to maneuver.
• Punishment and accountability: Hou Taotao’s lost hands and impending punishment in the Sewer reflect the harsh consequences of betrayal, cheating, and misuse of Cow-Horse’s trust.
• Crime and political instability: The Starfish Gang’s business crisis illustrates how law enforcement, international smuggling restrictions, and internal gang conflict affect criminal organizations.
• Dark comedy and absurdity: Serious threats are repeatedly undercut by ridiculous exchanges, such as gambling over an alligator’s decayed teeth and punishing a gambling monkey by making it eat sewage.
• Loyalty and collateral consequences: Liu refuses to kill Jiang because doing so could provoke retaliation against his associates, showing that he weighs the broader consequences of violence rather than acting solely for profit.

Character Interactions

• Liu and He Bishu engage in a tense battle of indirect threats, sarcastic remarks, and strategic bargaining.
• Niu Daji and Shortmouth nearly escalate their insults into a fight, but both bosses intervene.
• Liu and Ace present a united front: Ace claims neutrality, while his official identity implicitly supports Liu’s leverage.
• He Bishu’s daughter and Tangzi cooperate in the tooth-counting wager, with Tangzi’s observation overturning the apparent result.
• Liu treats Hou Taotao as both a criminal debtor and a delivery recipient, forcing it to sign for its meal before handing it over for punishment.
• The chapter ends with Liu rejecting Hou’s attempt to return to gambling and ordering an even harsher punishment, reinforcing his authority and merciless sense of justice.

Chapter Summary: “Who the Hell Wants to Be Buried with You?!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng orders Niu Daji to take Hou Taotao to the Xi Family Army for harsh discipline after Hou Taotao’s gambling-related misconduct. Hou Taotao protests, demanding to see Cow-Horse, but Liu Zheng insists it must be taught a lasting lesson.
• Liu Zheng discusses the Red Witch Board-Game Hall’s dangerous game, Thought Vortex, with Ace. Ace previously failed the game and endured an intense simulated electric shock. Liu Zheng shares Sea Woman’s advice: whenever the game offers a choice, select a designated advantage rather than a random one. Ace agrees to try again, hoping success will help his promotion prospects.
• Ace explains that his possible promotion depends partly on the success of the upcoming birthday celebration. Although being the son of a Planeswalker gives him advantages, it also leaves him vulnerable to a difficult future if his father remains absent or dies.
• Back at the clinic, Liu Zheng asks Nile Doctor whether his dirty Bloodstained Restaurant uniform is suitable for taking Sesha to the Grand Theater. Nile Doctor is horrified and lends him a magical item, Lazy Automatic Formalwear, which transforms into an appropriate outfit based on the occasion.
• Nile Doctor reveals that he is saving the formalwear for Sesha’s eventual wedding because traditional Ra’s Lineage formalwear is no longer available. His comments also expose his sadness over Sesha’s transformation into a Half-Mummy and her inability to bear children.
• Liu Zheng returns to the Restaurant and reports to Cow-Horse about Hou Taotao. He admits that he deliberately arranged for He Bishu to cut off one of Hou Taotao’s hands, believing that severe punishment is necessary to curb its gambling addiction.
• Cow-Horse is angry because Hou Taotao is his only nephew, but eventually accepts Liu Zheng’s authority to deal with the problem. Liu Zheng also reveals that He Bishu has demanded a death match against the Starfish Gang, which the Restaurant must win.
• Liu Zheng receives a delivery order from Deer Child: one portion of Hundred-Herb Rouge Rice Cake, to be delivered to the Grand Theater within two hours. The food restores stamina, especially for herbivores. Liu Zheng worries that Deer Child may be in danger but prepares to deliver it.
• Liu Zheng drives to Green Laurel Garden Crazy City to pick up Novelist. She arrives elegantly dressed in a Tang-style outfit, accompanied by her close friend Hishikibe.
• Novelist takes Hishikibe’s shawl after Liu Zheng comments that she is underdressed. Hishikibe jokingly accuses the pair of abandoning her and calls them adulterers.
• Novelist admires Liu Zheng’s upgraded hearse, which he enhanced with netherworld aura from the Cemetery. Hishikibe makes a dark joke about burying him in it, prompting Liu Zheng to tease that riding in his car implies they will be “together in life and death.” Hishikibe angrily rejects the idea.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to act as a forceful but protective leader. He uses extreme methods to discipline Hou Taotao, believing that gambling addiction threatens the entire group. He also shows concern for his companions’ safety and appearance, particularly Novelist’s comfort and Deer Child’s survival.
• Hou Taotao is punished severely for its gambling behavior and loses a hand as a result of its misconduct. It is sent to the Sewer/Xi Family Army for further rehabilitation.
• Ace is presented as ambitious but insecure about his future. His status as a Planeswalker’s son provides opportunities while also making his eventual failure or downfall more dangerous. Liu Zheng’s support becomes important to his career.
• Nile Doctor reveals a more emotional and vulnerable side. His concern for Sesha’s future and his wish to preserve Ra’s Lineage traditions suggest grief over what she has lost.
• Cow-Horse displays affection and protectiveness toward Hou Taotao despite its anger over Liu Zheng’s punishment. It ultimately trusts Liu Zheng to manage the situation.
• Novelist appears eager to impress Liu Zheng and openly admires him. Her playful possessiveness and willingness to borrow Hishikibe’s shawl suggest growing romantic closeness.
• Hishikibe acts as a sarcastic but close companion to Novelist. Her teasing and outrage conceal a strong familiarity with both Novelist and Liu Zheng.

Significant Themes

• Discipline versus indulgence: Liu Zheng argues that harsh consequences are necessary to prevent Hou Taotao’s gambling from worsening, especially when Cow-Horse’s affection prevents effective discipline.
• The danger of gambling: Gambling is portrayed as an addiction capable of ruining individuals, families, and souls. The chapter treats it as more dangerous than physical mutation.
• Political hierarchy and inherited privilege: Ace’s position illustrates both the benefits and burdens of being connected to powerful figures. Advancement depends on political backing, achievements, and the balance between human and nonhuman factions.
• Loss, legacy, and transformation: Nile Doctor’s comments about Sesha and Ra’s Lineage highlight the sorrow of cultural traditions disappearing and individuals becoming fundamentally altered.
• Death and intimacy: The chapter repeatedly combines romance with burial and death imagery. Liu Zheng’s hearse, Hishikibe’s burial joke, and the “together in life and death” exchange turn death into both comic material and a symbol of closeness.
• Found family and loyalty: Despite arguments and harsh punishments, the Restaurant group functions as a tightly connected community whose members protect, discipline, and depend on one another.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Niu Daji cooperate in punishing Hou Taotao.
• Liu Zheng encourages Ace to retry Thought Vortex and offers him strategic advice.
• Liu Zheng and Nile Doctor exchange sarcastic remarks while discussing formalwear, Sesha, and possible divine subordinates.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse argue over Hou Taotao’s punishment, balancing family affection against responsibility.
• Liu Zheng, Novelist, and Hishikibe share flirtatious and comedic banter, with Novelist showing interest in Liu Zheng and Hishikibe reacting protectively and mockingly.
• The chapter ends with Hishikibe angrily rejecting Liu Zheng’s joke about sharing his grave, reinforcing the story’s blend of dark humor, romance, and morbid imagery.

Chapter Summary: “Black Swan, I'll Screw Your Eggshells”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Novelist, Liu Zheng, and Hishikibe travel together in a hearse to the Grand Theater. Hishikibe and Liu Zheng immediately resume their habitual bickering, forcing the Novelist to threaten them with editing work to make them stop.
• Outside the theater, they meet Deer Child, who gives them their tickets. He has ordered two hours of bloody takeout as part of a dangerous bargain for Liu Zheng’s protection. Liu Zheng reassures him that he will save him if possible—or at least arrange a proper burial if he dies.
• The group enters the Grand Theater and is escorted to an expensive private box. Liu Zheng learns about the theater’s legendary founders, Xu Suzhen and White Fairy, whose statues stand above the entrance.
• Liu Zheng tries to arrange a private meeting with Black Swan, the evening’s star performer, but she is preparing to go onstage. He refuses to have the attendant deliver flowers, intending to give them to her personally later.
• At seven o’clock, Black Swan begins her dance, “Swan’s Lament.” Her supernatural beauty and flawless performance captivate the theater. Liu Zheng compares her appearance to Big White Goose/Ottawa, whose body and identity were stolen, and reflects on the brutality of the supernatural world.
• Near the end of the performance, Liu Zheng changes his appearance using the “Blissful Bathhouse Pleasure Outfit,” becoming a heavily muscled, hairy punk with a Mohawk.
• He leaves the private box and waits near the first-floor audience. As the dance reaches its conclusion, he consumes “Longjing Shrimp with Pig Heart” and activates the “Swearword Compendium,” which generates insults specifically tailored to Black Swan’s species.
• Liu Zheng loudly humiliates Black Swan with obscene accusations about her childhood and sexual history, interrupting the performance. The staff move to arrest him, but the audience becomes fascinated by the spectacle and begins chanting for him to continue.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains irreverent, provocative, and strategically reckless. He uses humor, deception, supernatural items, and public humiliation to provoke Black Swan rather than confronting her directly.
• Hishikibe continues to act proud, abrasive, and contemptuous of Liu Zheng, though their hostility is mostly performative. Her status as a renowned Platinum Writer is emphasized when she claims that performers would gladly meet her.
• The Novelist serves as the group’s mediator and practical observer. She is irritated by Liu Zheng and Hishikibe’s constant arguments but supports Liu Zheng’s plan and remains amused by his absurd disguise.
• Deer Child appears healthier but remains fearful and dependent on Liu Zheng’s protection. His willingness to pay for protection demonstrates how desperate he is to avoid becoming prey again.
• Black Swan is introduced as an extraordinarily beautiful and powerful performer. Her calm, elegant performance is shattered when Liu Zheng publicly attacks her with species-specific insults, hinting that he intends to provoke a violent reaction.
• The audience shifts from passive spectators to enthusiastic participants in the disruption, revealing their appetite for scandal and spectacle.

Significant Themes

• The cruelty of the supernatural world: Liu Zheng reflects that supernatural beings can steal not only bodies and possessions, but also souls, memories, histories, futures, and existence itself.
• Beauty, identity, and stolen potential: Black Swan’s perfection contrasts with Big White Goose’s ruined condition, raising questions about whether one being’s beauty or life was taken from another.
• Spectacle and performance: The theater’s formal dance is interrupted by Liu Zheng’s crude “performance.” The audience quickly prefers the scandalous disruption to the carefully prepared art.
• Power and social status: Hishikibe’s reputation, Liu Zheng’s money, Black Swan’s celebrity, and Deer Child’s vulnerability all demonstrate how status determines who receives protection and attention.
• Humor as a weapon: Liu Zheng uses insults not merely for comedy but as a supernatural attack, exploiting Black Swan’s species and the audience’s fascination with controversy.
• Moral ambiguity and survival: Deer Child’s bloody bargain and Liu Zheng’s willingness to provoke a dangerous enemy show how survival in this world often requires disturbing compromises.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Hishikibe trade constant insults, competing over pride and influence while refusing to acknowledge any genuine mutual tolerance.
• The Novelist repeatedly mediates their arguments and later encourages Liu Zheng’s disruptive plan.
• Liu Zheng comforts Deer Child in his own blunt, morbid way, promising either rescue or a respectable funeral.
• Liu Zheng negotiates with the theater attendant using money, but the exchange also highlights his desire to meet Black Swan personally.
• During the performance, Liu Zheng’s admiration for Black Swan’s beauty turns into deliberate provocation. His insults interrupt her dance and draw the entire audience into the confrontation.
• The chapter ends with the theater audience siding with Liu Zheng’s disruption, chanting for him to continue while the staff attempt to stop him.

Chapter Summary: “Death of the Black Swan”

Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng’s public insults provoke Black Swan and throw the Grand Theater into chaos. The staff hesitate to intervene because audiences at the theater are capable of extreme violence, and Black Swan’s supernatural bloodline makes the situation dangerous.
• From a private box, Novelist and Hishikibe discuss Liu Zheng’s growth and Novelist’s feelings for him. Novelist admits she is willing to wait patiently for Liu Zheng to love her, while Hishikibe warns that his rapid improvement may eventually leave her behind.
• Black Swan orders the staff to remove Liu Zheng, but he threatens to expose all of its past crimes throughout the district. The audience becomes interested in the scandal and enthusiastically applauds Liu Zheng, enraging Black Swan, which believes the stage and its applause belong exclusively to it.
• Black Swan attacks Liu Zheng, using powerful wingbeats and razor-sharp feathers to trap him in a violent whirlwind. It announces its intention to torture him and terrify the audience.
• Liu Zheng reveals that Ottawa sent him, confirming that Black Swan was responsible for her suffering. He breaks free with the Dragon-Scale Blade and confronts Black Swan over its crimes.
• Black Swan argues that its privileged birth as a black swan was unjust compared with its former identity as an “ugly duckling.” Liu Zheng counters that inherited status and personal wrongdoing are different matters, and that Black Swan has enjoyed decades of privilege at Ottawa’s expense.
• Black Swan uses its hardened, ore-enhanced feathers as armor and then activates its ultimate survival ability, transforming into an egg that suppresses damage and negative effects.
• Liu Zheng initially fails to break the eggshell, but sharpens the Dragon-Scale Blade with a special whetstone from the Bloodstained Restaurant. The enhanced blade cracks and shatters the egg.
• Exposed and featherless, Black Swan is devastated by humiliation more than by the prospect of death. It accepts its fate with a theatrical final speech, after which Liu Zheng decapitates it.
• Liu Zheng threatens the theater staff with the Citizen’s Last-Wish Recorder, stores Black Swan’s body in the Headless Mandarin Ducks Pouch, and escapes with Deer Child toward the hearse.
• The Grand Theater’s mysterious Vice Dean attempts to crush Liu Zheng with a gigantic skeletal claw. Liu Zheng evades the attack using the Legendary Deliveryman’s sunscreen mask, then reaches the hearse.
• The Bone Dragon-powered vehicle fires a blue energy blast that destroys the skeletal claw and surrounding vehicles. Liu Zheng escapes while the Vice Dean is distracted by a bishop, who reports unrest among the VIP guests.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates increasing confidence, combat ability, and strategic resourcefulness. He uses provocation to control the audience, exploits Black Swan’s emotions, combines several unusual items effectively, and remains focused even while badly wounded.
• Black Swan is revealed as vain, possessive, cruel, and deeply insecure. Its obsession with applause and status exposes its dependence on public admiration. Though powerful and capable of survival, it ultimately collapses emotionally when stripped of its feathers and prestige.
• Novelist openly acknowledges her attachment to Liu Zheng and shows remarkable patience and long-term calculation. She is willing to accept almost any relationship with him, even friendship, so long as she remains connected to him.
• Hishikibe acts as the more perceptive and skeptical observer. She recognizes Liu Zheng’s cautious attitude toward Novelist and warns that his growth may outpace Novelist’s ability to influence or follow him.
• Ottawa remains absent but becomes central to the chapter through Liu Zheng’s mission to avenge her and recover justice from Black Swan.
• The Vice Dean is introduced as a powerful authority figure within the Grand Theater, but his immediate attempt to punish Liu Zheng fails.

Significant Themes

• Justice versus inherited privilege: Black Swan claims that its birthright was unjust, but Liu Zheng distinguishes between suffering caused by circumstance and harm caused by deliberate actions.
• Public image and humiliation: Black Swan’s identity depends on being admired. Its loss of feathers and exposure before the audience is more psychologically devastating than death.
• Theater and performance: Nearly every confrontation is framed as a performance. Black Swan speaks theatrically, craves applause, and treats violence as a final show, while Liu Zheng turns the audience against it through shameless improvisation.
• Growth and changing power dynamics: Liu Zheng’s rapid advancement alters his relationships with Novelist and the wider supernatural world. Formerly dependent on others, he can now escape dangerous places and defeat major enemies himself.
• Revenge and delayed justice: Ottawa’s justice arrives through Liu Zheng, emphasizing that justice may be delayed but can still be fulfilled.
• Death and spectacle: Black Swan’s death is both a literal execution and the collapse of its public persona, turning its final “performance” into a humiliating tragedy.

Key Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Black Swan: Their verbal and physical battle centers on humiliation, privilege, revenge, and public recognition. Liu Zheng ultimately defeats Black Swan by exploiting both its physical vulnerability and its obsession with appearances.
• Novelist and Hishikibe: Their conversation reveals Novelist’s devotion and Hishikibe’s pragmatic skepticism. Hishikibe understands Liu Zheng’s emotional distance better than Novelist does, though she ultimately tolerates Novelist’s attachment.
• Liu Zheng and Ottawa: Though Ottawa is not present, Liu Zheng acts as her avenger and messenger, explicitly delivering her “worst regards” to Black Swan.
• Liu Zheng and the Grand Theater authorities: The staff are intimidated into inaction, while the Vice Dean later attempts to stop Liu Zheng. Liu Zheng escapes despite the theater’s institutional power.
• Liu Zheng and the hearse/Bone Dragon: He treats the vehicle almost like a partner, encouraging it to unleash its power and using it to destroy the Vice Dean’s attack.

Chapter Summary: “Back into the Black Market”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After the chaos at the theater, an influential old man spares Liu Zheng because Minister Dante’s brother was involved. Liu Zheng escapes in the Restaurant’s hearse.
• About ten kilometers from the Bloodstained Restaurant, the hearse runs out of netherworld energy and breaks down. Liu Zheng worries about leaving it unattended, pushing it back himself, or paying for possible damage.
• He calls Cow-Horse for help, luring them out by promising food. Cow-Horse agrees only after arranging for Liu Zheng to cover their expenses at the Black Market, which happens to be open that night.
• Cow-Horse easily pushes the hearse at high speed, revealing their considerable physical strength. They also explain that they once earned money transporting questionable goods, demonstrating their practical experience in the city’s criminal underworld.
• The pair enter the Black Market and visit Oink at the slaughterhouse. Liu Zheng offers alcohol as a respectful tribute.
• Liu Zheng asks to buy “Flesh” for Gravekeeper’s grave-robbing request. Oink allows him to choose one piece for one million, but warns him not to buy anything.
• Using his Lucky Clown Card, Liu Zheng randomly selects a piece and obtains a rare Flesh Bone, a highly nourishing and valuable item. Oink’s apparent assistance suggests he may have deliberately allowed Liu Zheng to receive it.
• Cow-Horse wants to taste the Flesh Bone, but Liu Zheng refuses unless Cow-Horse joins him in robbing graves. Cow-Horse declines and leaves to spend Liu Zheng’s money elsewhere in the market.
• Cow-Horse directs Liu Zheng to a mysterious establishment, the Quirky Mystery Box House, likely setting him up for trouble. Inside, a talking gift box welcomes him and mentions Cow-Horse’s recommendation, causing Liu Zheng to suspect a trap.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains resourceful, shameless, and opportunistic. He manipulates Cow-Horse into helping him, uses luck-based abilities to secure the Flesh Bone, and carefully avoids spending more than necessary.
• He also shows increasing caution and awareness of hidden motives. Although he benefits from Oink’s transaction, he recognizes that the Black Market and Cow-Horse may both be dangerous.
• Cow-Horse is shown to be physically powerful, financially opportunistic, and experienced in illegal transport. Their relationship with Liu Zheng is openly antagonistic but cooperative, built on insults, bargaining, and mutual usefulness.
• Oink continues to be intimidating and emotionally unreadable. Despite claiming the sale is merely a transaction, his willingness to let Liu Zheng obtain the Flesh Bone suggests a subtle protective or guiding role.
• Liu Zheng’s relationship with Oink becomes more respectful, as he offers valuable liquor and expresses sincere gratitude for the rare item.
• The mysterious gift box introduces a new potential adversary or challenge, while Cow-Horse’s recommendation raises questions about whether they intentionally sent Liu Zheng into danger.

Significant Themes

• Survival through manipulation and improvisation: Liu Zheng repeatedly solves problems through bargaining, deception, and clever use of his abilities rather than brute force.
• Trust and hidden motives: Nearly every interaction carries an ulterior motive—Cow-Horse demands payment, Oink may be covertly helping Liu Zheng, and the mystery box’s welcome feels suspicious.
• The criminal economy of the supernatural world: The Black Market operates through questionable trade, dangerous goods, tribute, and informal protection networks.
• Luck versus skill: Liu Zheng relies on the Lucky Clown Card to obtain the Flesh Bone, but his success also depends on recognizing which risks are worth taking.
• Transactional relationships: Friendship and loyalty are largely expressed through exchanges of money, food, favors, and protection, though genuine cooperation still exists beneath the insults.
• Moral ambiguity: Grave robbing, illegal hauling, and the sale of mysterious flesh are treated as ordinary business, emphasizing the warped norms of the world.

Character Interactions

• The old man and the theater staff discuss Liu Zheng’s escape, establishing the political influence surrounding Minister Dante.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse trade insults while negotiating assistance, revealing their familiar but combative partnership.
• Cow-Horse’s comments about their former hauling work expose their criminal connections and practical background.
• Liu Zheng offers alcohol to Oink through Cow-Horse, maintaining proper social etiquette in the Black Market.
• Oink questions Liu Zheng’s need for Flesh and indirectly tests his intentions before allowing the purchase.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse argue over the Flesh Bone, with Liu Zheng using the item to tease Cow-Horse into joining the grave robbery.
• Cow-Horse sends Liu Zheng to the Quirky Mystery Box House, ending the chapter on a suspicious cliffhanger as Liu Zheng realizes he may have been deliberately set up.

Summary of “Quirky Mystery Box House”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng visits the Quirky Mystery Box House, accompanied indirectly by his connection to Cow-Horse, and initially considers leaving.
• He offers the unseen shopkeeper, later revealed as Clown Box, a bottle of Silver Label liquor and dried fish. This earns him favorable treatment and establishes a more cordial relationship.
• Clown Box explains the three mystery-box systems:
  1. Spend money for points, miscellaneous items, or extraordinary items.
  2. Spend “flesh” for points, flesh, or extraordinary items.
  3. Spend extraordinary items for points or extraordinary items.
• Liu Zheng chooses to test the money-based system but ultimately uses an extraordinary item instead, preserving his limited flesh for future needs.
• Before drawing, Clown Box recognizes that Liu Zheng possesses the Lucky Clown Card, which Cow-Horse had stolen from it. Clown Box threatens Liu Zheng and demands its return.
• Liu Zheng negotiates rather than surrendering the card outright. He agrees to return it in exchange for the chance to win an item of equal or greater value from the mystery-box prize pool.
• Clown Box places the Lucky Clown Card into the round’s prizes and promises to include it—or an equivalent treasure—in the prize pool. Liu Zheng returns the card reluctantly.
• Clown Box introduces the capsule-machine rules: each round has nine capsules, escalating draw costs, and prizes ranging from consolation rewards to grand prizes.
• Liu Zheng sacrifices a useless Colorful XX Jelly, which gives him six drawing chances.
• He begins drawing:
  • The first capsule yields 100 points, an unusually good consolation prize.
  • The second gives one additional drawing chance, nearly breaking even.
  • The third successful draw produces a Little Rifleman figurine, a single-use item that summons a temporary obedient soldier.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng continuing to evaluate the machine and its rewards, while the Lucky Clown Card remains part of the prize pool.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates pragmatism, caution, and bargaining skill. He avoids wasting valuable flesh, uses an otherwise worthless item as payment, and negotiates cleverly when confronted over the stolen card.
• He also shows confidence in dealing with supernatural beings. The grotesque appearance of Clown Box does not intimidate him, and he treats the encounter almost like a business transaction.
• Clown Box is revealed to be a sarcastic, greedy, emotionally volatile but commercially minded shopkeeper. It is resentful toward Cow-Horse, especially over the theft of the Lucky Clown Card, but can be appeased through liquor, food, and the prospect of valuable exchanges.
• Clown Box’s affection for the Lucky Clown Card reveals its collector-like attachment to rare objects, even though it insists it is now a merchant rather than a collector.
• Cow-Horse does not appear directly, but its poor reputation influences the encounter. Both Liu Zheng and Clown Box criticize it, while its theft and recommendation of the shop drive the chapter’s central conflict.

Significant Themes

• Negotiation and self-interest: Liu Zheng survives by identifying what each party wants and turning a dangerous confrontation into a trade.
• Value is subjective: Items considered useless by Liu Zheng may still be valuable to the mystery-box system, while seemingly minor prizes can have strategic worth.
• Luck and uncertainty: The Lucky Clown Card, escalating draw costs, and random prize pools emphasize the tension between calculated risk and chance.
• Commerce in a dangerous supernatural world: The shop operates according to bizarre but clearly defined economic rules, making monsters and magical artifacts part of an ordinary marketplace.
• Racial prejudice and social absurdity: Clown Box openly refuses Liu Zheng’s flesh because of his Black Goat’s Young nature, treating supernatural racism as commonplace and even daring him to seek help from the authorities.
• Mistrust beneath cooperation: Although Liu Zheng and Clown Box reach an agreement, both remain wary of one another and continually look for ways to gain the advantage.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng builds rapport with Clown Box through liquor, food, politeness, and shared criticism of Cow-Horse.
• Clown Box alternates between sympathy, mockery, hostility, and salesmanship, creating a tense but humorous relationship.
• Their dispute over the Lucky Clown Card becomes a negotiation between two collectors who understand the rarity and usefulness of exceptional items.
• Liu Zheng’s calm references to “good-faith acquisition” contrast with Clown Box’s blunt threat to kill him, highlighting his use of logic and legalistic humor against supernatural intimidation.
• Once the capsule machine is activated, Clown Box shifts into the role of guide and commentator, explaining the rewards while Liu Zheng tests the system cautiously.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng calculates the most efficient way to use the gacha machine. Since the chance requirements increase sharply—1, 2, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96, and 192—he concludes that stopping at the fifth draw in each prize pool offers the best odds for the cost.
• He learns from Clown Box that excellent-quality items can provide up to 50 draw chances, while perfect-quality items can provide up to 400. Because the grand prize is probably only fine-quality, he decides that sacrificing perfect items would be wasteful.
• Liu Zheng exchanges several unwanted excellent items for drawing chances:
  • Blazing Ice Cube: 3 chances
  • Exquisite Abalone: 7 chances
  • Magma Strawberry Cake: 6 chances
  • Edible Coal: 9 chances
• He draws consolation prizes worth points and eventually obtains a Little Grenade Launcher Soldier, an excellent-quality single-use toy soldier that can become a temporary obedient combatant. Clown Box reveals that the soldiers are part of a potentially unlimited military set.
• With only three chances remaining, Liu Zheng switches prize pools. He uses Ottawa’s Special Perfume for 30 chances and begins a new series of draws.
• This pool yields several point rewards, a Little Hand Grenade for the soldier series, and eventually the Ace of Diamonds from the Joker Playing Cards, an excellent-quality card capable of turning an entire deck into steel once completed.
• Clown Box demands the card. Liu Zheng refuses to trade it for the Lucky Clown Card and instead bargains for more Little Soldiers. After negotiation, he receives a Little Machine Gunner and an improved promise that the next pool’s grand prize will become a “super grand prize.”
• Liu Zheng changes pools again, exchanging the Hellish Big Scrap Pot for 40 chances. He quickly accumulates 1,000 points but resists stopping to investigate the points shop, choosing to continue pursuing the grand prize.
• Even after drawing several poor rewards, Liu Zheng keeps going, treating the process like a high-stakes mobile game. The chapter ends as he prepares to use a potion for another draw.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng becomes increasingly strategic and calculating about the gacha system. He carefully weighs item value, draw-chance efficiency, and the odds of obtaining the desired luck-related prize.
• Despite recognizing the gambling-like nature of the machine, Liu Zheng shows growing willingness to continue investing resources. His self-control is tested by sunk-cost thinking and the temptation of a potentially valuable grand prize.
• He also demonstrates strong bargaining skills, refusing poor trades and successfully obtaining an additional soldier by negotiating with Clown Box.
• Clown Box is shown to be secretive, profit-driven, smug, and manipulative. It tries to encourage Liu Zheng to collect the Little Soldiers series while insisting on strict trade rules and reserving the right to sell unwanted items to players.
• Their relationship remains adversarial but familiar, with both characters enjoying sarcastic banter and competitive bargaining.

Significant Themes

• Gambling and addiction: The gacha system is directly compared to pay-to-win mobile games, emphasizing escalating costs, consolation prizes, sunk-cost pressure, and the temptation to keep spending after a “ten-pull.”
• Value and exchange: The chapter explores how an item’s practical value differs from its perceived or machine-assigned value. Liu Zheng is surprised that the Exquisite Abalone and Magma Strawberry Cake provide more chances than expected.
• Risk versus efficiency: Liu Zheng tries to maximize his odds while minimizing waste, but his rational calculations gradually give way to continued risk-taking.
• Consumer manipulation: Clown Box functions like a predatory game operator, encouraging collection of a larger series and using exclusive availability to increase perceived value.
• Persistence and greed: Liu Zheng’s desire for the luck-related grand prize causes him to ignore accumulating rewards and continue spending valuable resources.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng repeatedly consults Clown Box about exchange rates and prize-pool mechanics, treating it as both an information source and an opponent.
• Their negotiations over the Ace of Diamonds highlight their conflicting priorities: Clown Box wants rare cards and collectible items, while Liu Zheng values a complete squad of Little Soldiers.
• Clown Box mocks Liu Zheng by comparing him to Cow-Horse, while Liu Zheng counters with insults and deliberately challenges Clown Box’s double standards.
• Their banter masks a serious commercial struggle, with both trying to obtain the more favorable deal.

Chapter Summary: “Falling Out with Cow-Horse”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng exchanges an Enlightenment Potion for nine drawing chances and uses them to continue playing the supernatural gacha machine.
• He first draws a Little Firepower Squad Leader, a single-use Excellent-quality item that summons a temporary soldier equipped with grenades.
• Uncertain whether to change the prize pool, Liu Zheng offers Clown Box a bottle of Gold Label liquor in exchange for assistance. Clown Box lends him the Lucky Clown Card, allowing him to benefit from its luck once more.
• Liu Zheng exchanges several items—including Britannia’s Personal Handkerchief, Madness Facial Cleanser, and Thick Puke Chocolate—for additional chances. His total reaches forty-eight, enough to make another draw.
• The next capsule contains only fifty points, increasing Liu Zheng’s total to 1,050.
• With three capsules remaining, Liu Zheng questions Clown Box about the location and quality of the lucky prize, but Clown Box refuses to reveal useful information.
• While searching for another item to exchange, Liu Zheng takes out his Chaos Club Membership Card, a Perfect-quality item. Clown Box panics, warning him never to expose or place it into the gacha machine because of its dangerous connection to the Chaos Club and City Hall.
• Clown Box explains that Cow-Horse once fell out with it after persuading a Deliveryman to gamble away all his “Flesh,” apparently resulting in the person’s death. Cow-Horse’s sudden repentance may have caused the conflict, though Liu Zheng remains unsure of its true motives.
• Liu Zheng ultimately sacrifices the Eight-Faced Die, a Perfect-quality item that randomly resets his total attributes to between 50% and 200% of their current value. The exchange grants him 302 drawing chances, confirming that the item is not especially valuable by Perfect-quality standards.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to display strategic caution, weighing the long-term value of his supernatural items against the possibility of obtaining the gacha machine’s grand prize. However, he also shows a willingness to gamble heavily when the potential reward is high.
• He strengthens his relationship with Clown Box, treating it respectfully and using humor and gifts rather than coercion. His sincere praise and gift of Gold Label persuade Clown Box to lend him the Lucky Clown Card.
• Liu Zheng’s attitude toward the Lucky Clown Card becomes comically affectionate, as he speaks to it like an old companion and credits it for carrying him through difficult situations.
• Clown Box becomes increasingly impressed and alarmed by Liu Zheng’s collection of rare items. Its fear of the Chaos Club Membership Card reveals that Liu Zheng possesses resources and connections far beyond what Clown Box expected.
• Clown Box also reveals resentment toward Cow-Horse, suggesting their former partnership ended because Cow-Horse’s actions caused a Deliveryman’s death.

Significant Themes

• Gambling and risk: Liu Zheng repeatedly sacrifices valuable items for uncertain rewards, reflecting the danger and temptation of the gacha system. The chapter emphasizes that even rational calculations can lead to reckless decisions when the stakes are high.
• Luck versus strategy: The Lucky Clown Card represents the unpredictable influence of luck, while Liu Zheng’s calculations and careful item selection represent strategy. His success depends on both.
• Trust and transactional friendship: Liu Zheng and Clown Box begin developing genuine rapport, but their relationship remains shaped by bargaining, compensation, and mutual benefit.
• Moral ambiguity: Clown Box considers persuading people to gamble away their lives a form of “professional ethics,” while Cow-Horse may have developed a conscience only after someone died. The chapter questions whether either character’s apparent morality is sincere.
• Hidden power and dangerous knowledge: The Chaos Club Membership Card demonstrates that seemingly useless items may possess terrifying significance. Liu Zheng’s ignorance of its danger contrasts with Clown Box’s immediate fear.
• Uncertainty about Cow-Horse: Cow-Horse’s motives remain ambiguous. Its decision to send Liu Zheng to the Mystery Box House may have been an attempt to repair its relationship with Clown Box—or simply another act of manipulation.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Clown Box exchange liquor and favors, gradually moving from a purely commercial relationship toward an uneasy friendship.
• Their conversations are dominated by teasing, sarcasm, and contrasting attitudes: Liu Zheng remains relaxed and shamelessly opportunistic, while Clown Box is increasingly exasperated by his behavior.
• Liu Zheng’s playful “confessions” to the Lucky Clown Card disgust Clown Box, creating comic tension and highlighting Liu Zheng’s eccentricity.
• Clown Box urgently intervenes when Liu Zheng reveals the Chaos Club Membership Card, exposing its fear of the item and its concern that Liu Zheng might trigger a catastrophe.
• Their discussion of Cow-Horse reveals an old betrayal: Cow-Horse allegedly abandoned or turned against Clown Box after one of its gambling schemes led to a Deliveryman’s death.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng uses his remaining drawing chances at the Quirky Mystery Box House and obtains two notable items:
  • Lucky Luke’s Evil Cowboy Hat, a Fine-quality equipment item that increases Luck in proportion to the wearer’s evil deeds, punishes good deeds by damaging the wearer’s head, and may grow stronger after defeating Lucky Luke.
  • Little Rambo, a Perfect-quality, one-of-a-kind item that grants Liu extensive combat and survival skills. It can also temporarily revive and summon Little Rambo for thirty minutes, with his weapons functioning at full normal power.
• The Evil Cowboy Hat immediately turns blood-red and activates at a high level, revealing that Liu Zheng has committed far more crimes than he considers significant. He casually admits to thousands of killings, arson, robbery, abduction, and other offenses while insisting that he has not done anything truly bad.
• Clown Box explains that Little Rambo is unique: no duplicate can appear while Liu’s item remains intact. This makes it valuable to collectors, and Liu considers auctioning it.
• After leaving, Liu meets Cow-Horse, who demands reimbursement for an expensive medical treatment. Liu pays the money, and Cow-Horse later extorts a bottle of Silver Label before going to sleep.
• Ace calls Liu about the Grand Theater incident. Liu admits to killing Black Swan but denies responsibility for another spectator’s death, which was caused by someone detonating Fel Energy inside the victim. Ace warns him not to become addicted to killing or act without restraint.
• Liu remembers that he has not yet reported the completed commission to Big White Goose. He delivers Black Swan’s corpse, and Big White Goose consumes it in a disturbing mixture of grief, admiration, and rage.
• Big White Goose then offers Liu protection from everyone in the Bloodstained Restaurant in exchange for one additional favor, but Liu immediately corrects him: he wants protection from the entire Restaurant, suggesting the next request may be dangerous.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to display extreme moral blindness and a flexible sense of legality. He genuinely sees himself as a law-abiding person despite casually describing mass murder, arson, and numerous other crimes.
• His luck and power increase through the Evil Cowboy Hat, while Little Rambo gives him a broad set of practical combat-related abilities and a potentially powerful temporary ally.
• Liu also shows his usual opportunism, immediately recognizing Little Rambo’s rarity and auction value, while maintaining his habit of bargaining and profiting from every situation.
• Clown Box becomes increasingly irritated by Liu’s success and apparent lack of remorse. It also reveals its concern for profit, admitting that flashy capsule effects increased its revenue.
• Cow-Horse remains exploitative and sarcastic but is also dependent on Liu’s financial support for treatment. Their relationship retains a familiar, bickering tone.
• Ace demonstrates trust in Liu but is pressured by his superiors to monitor him, reflecting growing official concern over Liu’s destructive potential.
• Big White Goose reveals intense obsession with Black Swan. Its reaction combines love, possessiveness, hatred, and cannibalistic revenge, showing how emotionally unstable and dangerous it is.

Significant Themes

• Moral hypocrisy and self-justification: Liu’s claim that he has “done nothing bad” is comically contradicted by his history. The chapter satirizes how people redefine morality to excuse their own actions.
• Luck and wrongdoing: The cowboy hat literalizes the idea that evil deeds bring advantages in a corrupt world, while punishing goodness.
• Power and commerce: Even dangerous supernatural abilities are treated as commodities. Liu evaluates his rewards through rarity, usefulness, and auction value.
• Violence as entertainment: The capsule machine’s flashy presentation parallels gambling and pay-to-win games, contrasting cheerful spectacle with weapons, death, and destruction.
• Loyalty, revenge, and obsession: Big White Goose’s treatment of Black Swan shows how love and vengeance can become indistinguishable from brutality.
• Institutional distrust: Ace’s warning suggests that official authorities view Liu as a possible threat, even while relying on him to resolve dangerous problems.

Character Interactions

• Liu and Clown Box exchange sarcastic banter over the hat’s effect and Liu’s criminal record, with Clown Box ultimately losing patience and ordering him to leave.
• Liu and Cow-Horse continue their insulting but cooperative relationship, negotiating money through threats, jokes, and mutual dependence.
• Ace questions Liu about the Grand Theater deaths, revealing that authorities are investigating his actions and monitoring his behavior.
• Liu delivers Black Swan’s body to Big White Goose. The goose’s ecstatic recognition quickly turns into violent consumption, after which it attempts to bind Liu to a new favor by promising protection.

Chapter Summary: The Secret of the Legendary Deliveryman Set

Key Plot Points and Events

• Big White Goose secretly speaks with Liu Zheng, assuring him that the Bloodstained Restaurant cannot hear their conversation because it trusts the goose as a former Customer Service Department employee.
• The goose warns Liu Zheng not to follow the path of the Legendary Deliveryman, Li, who once sought to overthrow the Restaurant and end its system of forced deliveries.
• Big White Goose explains that Li was extraordinarily talented, powerful, lucky, and arrogant. Though not truly evil, he was immature, impatient, and difficult to understand.
• The goose recounts how it and Li became acquainted: Li once wanted to eat goose, but Big White Goose disgusted him by consuming Concentrated Stinky Mud Sauce. Their relationship later developed through repeated loans, meals, and favors.
• Despite their closeness, Li refused when Big White Goose asked him to kill Black Swan, showing that he viewed the goose more as an acquaintance than a true friend.
• Liu Zheng tells Big White Goose that he has no intention of overthrowing the Restaurant. As long as it does not harm him or his allies, he is willing to remain an Outstanding Employee.
• Big White Goose gives Liu Zheng several valuable items:
  • An expired Bloodstained Restaurant Cosplay Outfit that temporarily grants the abilities of a character present in the instance.
  • A Bloodline Extractor with a 50% chance of stealing a target’s bloodline power.
  • A section of Black Swan’s intestine, since the goose has already eaten the corpse.
  • The Qipiniang Belt, which increases charm and can temporarily suppress the resistance of male targets or the wearer’s offspring.
• Liu Zheng considers using the Bloodline Extractor on Niu Daji to enhance his strength, durability, and healing, but stores the item for later.
• Big White Goose’s final warning is that Liu Zheng should not rely too heavily on the Legendary Deliveryman Set. The Restaurant originally created it as Li’s reward, making it a deliberate temptation that grants power quickly and easily.
• After the goose leaves, Liu Zheng tells Cow-Horse about the conversation while flattering him by claiming that Cow-Horse’s teachings are more important than the goose’s advice.
• Liu Zheng sleeps and awakens on his twelfth day in Metropolis. Cow-Horse wakes him by throwing a jar after repeated verbal attempts fail.
• Liu Zheng prepares Cow-Horse’s breakfast and remembers to ask about Novelist and Deer Child.
• During a call with Red-Crowned Crane, Liu Zheng learns that Deer Child has reverted permanently—or nearly permanently—to the form of a white deer. Returning to human form would likely require centuries of cultivation.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates pragmatism and caution. Unlike Li, he does not want to rebel against the Restaurant without reason. He also shows resourcefulness in evaluating how the gifted items might benefit his allies.
• Big White Goose is revealed as a knowledgeable former Restaurant employee with a complicated history. It is loyal enough to warn Liu Zheng but remains somewhat dissatisfied with his willingness to cooperate with the Restaurant.
• The Legendary Deliveryman, Li, is characterized as a gifted but arrogant and impulsive “overgrown child.” His enormous power and lack of hardship prevented him from developing humility or emotional maturity.
• Cow-Horse continues acting as Liu Zheng’s demanding superior and self-appointed mentor, though Liu Zheng skillfully placates him with exaggerated loyalty.
• Deer Child suffers a major loss of identity and freedom by reverting to a white deer, with little realistic hope of becoming human again.

Significant Themes

• Power and temptation: The Legendary Deliveryman Set represents an attractive but potentially dangerous shortcut to strength. The Restaurant may have designed it to encourage dependence and control.
• Loyalty versus rebellion: Liu Zheng chooses cooperation over revolution, believing that the Restaurant and City Hall may serve a necessary role in controlling Metropolis’s dangerous inhabitants.
• The consequences of exceptional talent: Li’s extraordinary gifts isolated him from others and allowed his arrogance and immaturity to persist.
• Friendship and unequal relationships: Big White Goose’s bond with Li grew from shared experiences and favors, but Li never regarded the goose as an equal friend.
• Identity and transformation: Deer Child’s loss of human form highlights the permanence and cost of supernatural changes.
• Pragmatism and adaptation: Liu Zheng focuses on surviving, strengthening his allies, and making practical use of whatever resources become available.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Big White Goose: They discuss Li’s history, the Restaurant, and Liu Zheng’s intentions. The goose tests Liu Zheng’s attitude before rewarding him with several powerful items and advice.
• Big White Goose and Li: Their relationship began comically with Li’s attempt to eat the goose and developed through borrowing money and exchanging food, but it never became a genuine friendship.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: Liu Zheng reports the conversation while pretending that Cow-Horse’s teachings are superior. Cow-Horse is satisfied and immediately returns to sleeping and demanding breakfast.
• Liu Zheng and Red-Crowned Crane: Liu Zheng checks on Deer Child and learns the bleak consequences of the transformation.
• Liu Zheng and his allies: His thoughts about giving Niu Daji the Bloodline Extractor show that he is increasingly focused on improving the combat and survival abilities of those around him.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng checks in with Red-Crowned Crane, Novelist, and Hishikibe after the Black Swan incident. Although the Public Security Bureau knows Liu Zheng was responsible, it lacks conclusive evidence and chooses not to act.
• Liu outlines several immediate tasks:
  1. Deliver Black Swan’s goose intestines to Miniature Man.
  2. Check on Bobo’s recovery and relocate her and Luoluo.
  3. Begin helping Killer Bro remove his wanted notice.
  4. Potentially attack the Jorden Family’s illegal clinics and factories.
  5. Join Gravekeeper and Thin Horse for the planned tomb raid.
• Ghost Hand delivers a new order: a bottle of Rat-Tail Juice must be delivered to Ma Baoli at the Primordial Form-Intent Tai Chi Sect within one hour.
• The Rat-Tail Juice is a bizarre, single-use item that restores stamina and temporarily gives the drinker a controllable rat tail. Liu Zheng is disgusted by it and hopes never to need it.
• Liu visits the clinic during the rain. He obtains a huge sun umbrella from Nile Doctor for Sphinx, who insists it does not need protection but grudgingly remains beneath it.
• Bobo has recovered enough to leave the clinic. Liu moves her and Luoluo to Niu Daji’s house in the Verdant Residential Complex, intending to arrange schooling for them later.
• Luoluo becomes frightened when Liu threatens to abandon them if they refuse his arrangements. He reassures them indirectly by having them drink honey wine.
• After dropping them off, Liu heads toward the Primordial Form-Intent Tai Chi Sect and calls Lin Zhengzong of the Authentic Massage Clinic to ask whether he knows anything about it.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues becoming more organized and proactive. He is balancing humanitarian responsibilities, criminal investigations, political connections, and dangerous supernatural missions.
• His apparent procrastination has paid off: obtaining “Flesh Bone” and other new items has significantly strengthened him before the upcoming tomb raid.
• Liu remains outwardly cold and pragmatic, especially with Bobo and Luoluo, but his actions show protective concern. He arranges safe housing, medical care, food, and eventually education for them.
• Red-Crowned Crane, Novelist, and Hishikibe remain loyal to Liu and depend on his protection after the Black Swan affair.
• Bobo and Luoluo are physically recovering but emotionally insecure after leaving the Red Spider Clubhouse. They fear losing Liu’s protection and resist another change in residence.
• Nile Doctor is portrayed as dependable and unusually considerate, particularly toward Sphinx and his fellow townspeople from Ra’s Lineage.
• Sphinx maintains its proud, hostile attitude but accepts Liu’s presence and the umbrella without actually leaving, suggesting a begrudging tolerance.
• Lin Zhengzong is grateful to Liu because Liu’s business referrals greatly increased the Authentic Massage Clinic’s success.

Significant Themes

• Protection and responsibility: Liu’s growing group of dependents forces him to act as a protector and organizer rather than merely a survivor.
• Trust and hidden loyalties: The Public Security Bureau knows the truth about the Black Swan incident but chooses restraint, demonstrating the importance of unofficial understandings and political connections.
• Pragmatism versus compassion: Liu speaks harshly to Bobo and Luoluo, yet repeatedly provides for their safety and well-being.
• The absurdity of the supernatural world: The grotesque Rat-Tail Juice, talking animals, supernatural clinics, and giant umbrellas create a humorous contrast with serious dangers.
• Preparation and delayed action: Liu’s earlier reluctance to act immediately has allowed him to grow stronger and gather useful items before confronting future threats.

Character Interactions

• Liu reassures Red-Crowned Crane and Novelist that he will help if problems arise.
• He jokes with Cow-Horse about Ghost Hand and the grotesque delivery item, while Cow-Horse warns him not to underestimate supernatural beings.
• Liu and Sphinx exchange sarcastic remarks over the umbrella, revealing their familiar but antagonistic relationship.
• Nile Doctor and Liu discuss Sphinx, Ando, and the difficulties of caring for powerful, stubborn beings.
• Liu confronts Bobo and Luoluo about leaving the clinic. Luoluo pleads not to be abandoned, while Liu softens the situation by arranging honey wine and safe accommodation.
• The chapter ends with Liu contacting Lin Zhengzong, beginning his investigation into the mysterious Primordial Form-Intent Tai Chi Sect.

Liu Zheng investigated the Primordial Form-Intent Tai Chi School and went there to pay his respects to Ma Fuguo, only to find his daughter Ma Baoli running the school while her father was gravely ill. After Ma Baoli attacked him and refused to let him see her father, Liu Zheng offered to examine Ma Fuguo and then asked to spar with her.

• Liu Zheng learned from Lin Zhengzong that Ma Fuguo had fallen seriously ill and Ma Baoli had taken charge of the school.
• Liu Zheng prepared a visiting card and a bottle of Copper-Label Liquor, then persuaded Guo Xiaolu to take his message to Ma Baoli.
• Ma Baoli read Liu Zheng's card and told Guo Xiaolu to offer him liniment and turn him away, but she hurried to the gate after learning he had brought expensive liquor.
• Ma Baoli recognized Liu Zheng as the Bloodstained Restaurant's Deliveryman and attacked him with her Lightning Double Lash, but he dodged.
• Liu Zheng identified himself as a Chen-style Bajiquan inheritor and asked to see Ma Fuguo's lightning technique; Ma Baoli refused and ordered him to leave.
• Liu Zheng offered to bring a priest and doctor to treat Ma Fuguo, then asked Ma Baoli to spar, prompting her to threaten to treat him as a challenger.

Chapter Summary: “Champion Cow-Horse and the Five Consecutive Lightning Whips”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng argues with Ma Baoli, insisting that he can treat her seriously ill father, Ma Fuguo. Ma Baoli suspects he has ulterior motives, and Liu Zheng admits that he originally hoped helping her father would persuade her to accept a delivery.
• Ma Baoli challenges him to a fight rather than accept his help. Her Xingyi Splitting Fist displays overwhelming power, damaging Liu Zheng’s blade and injuring his tentacle.
• Realizing that Ma Baoli is far stronger than expected, Liu Zheng uses an expired Cow-Horse cosplay outfit. It draws on the lingering will and power of Champion Cow-Horse, especially the strength gained from the Champion Cow-Horse Father-and-Son Offal Soup.
• The transformed Liu Zheng battles Ma Baoli. His roar produces powerful sound waves, but Ma Baoli counters with Xingyi Cannon Fist. Their clash demonstrates that both possess extraordinary martial abilities.
• Liu Zheng reveals that Panda and his companions are already attacking Ma Fuguo’s location to treat him. Ma Baoli attempts to return and protect her father, but Liu Zheng blocks her.
• Enraged, Ma Baoli unleashes the Hunyuan Xingyi Taiji School’s ultimate technique, Five Consecutive Lightning Whips, concentrating the “five internal thunders” of the human body into a devastating multicolored lightning weapon.
• Liu Zheng allows Champion Cow-Horse’s will to take over the cosplay outfit. Champion Cow-Horse bites the lightning whip and defeats Ma Baoli with a powerful hoof strike, though the uncontrolled lightning subsequently destroys the avatar and nearly kills Liu Zheng.
• Ma Baoli survives but is pinned to the ground by Champion Cow-Horse’s hoofprint. Liu Zheng confronts her with his weapons and claims that destroying his avatar cost him one of his lives.
• Rather than kill her, Liu Zheng offers to save both Ma Baoli and her father if she accepts the delivery and agrees to one condition. Ma Baoli refuses, assuming he wants to possess her or obtain her martial arts.
• The chapter ends humorously with Liu Zheng clarifying that he wants neither her body nor, necessarily, her techniques, while Ma Baoli insists that both are sacred and cannot be taken or shared.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Displays greater tactical cunning and willingness to use underhanded methods. He begins with a genuine desire to treat Ma Fuguo but manipulates Ma Baoli by revealing the attack on her father’s location. He also demonstrates increasing mastery of the Cow-Horse power and a willingness to rely on Champion Cow-Horse’s lingering consciousness.
• Ma Baoli: Is revealed to be exceptionally powerful, far surpassing Liu Zheng’s expectations and apparently stronger than the other disciples of her school. Her confidence grows after overpowering him initially, but she becomes fiercely protective of her father when his safety is threatened.
• Champion Cow-Horse: Appears as a powerful residual will within Liu Zheng’s disguise. Even after its avatar is destroyed, it proves capable of overwhelming Ma Baoli’s ultimate technique. Its silent, fearless fighting style contrasts with Liu Zheng’s more talkative and opportunistic personality.
• Ma Fuguo: Remains physically absent, but his illness and Ma Baoli’s devotion to him motivate the entire conflict. His relationship with his daughter shows how strongly family loyalty shapes Ma Baoli’s decisions.

Significant Themes

• Strength versus strategy: Ma Baoli possesses superior direct martial power, but Liu Zheng compensates through deception, psychological tactics, and unconventional abilities.
• Family loyalty and sacrifice: Ma Baoli is willing to fight and die for her father, even believing that his life would not be worth living without her.
• Honor and unconventional morality: Ma Baoli clings to the rules and reputation of her martial school, while Liu Zheng openly embraces discourtesy and manipulation rather than traditional heroism.
• Life, death, and responsibility: Liu Zheng argues that dying is easy but living carries responsibility, especially toward loved ones who depend on a person.
• Miscommunication and comedy: The tension of the duel is repeatedly undercut by misunderstandings about Liu Zheng’s intentions. Ma Baoli interprets his “condition” as a demand for sexual or romantic access, producing the chapter’s final comedic exchange.
• Inherited will and power: Champion Cow-Horse’s strength survives through Liu Zheng, suggesting that memory, sacrifice, and identity can continue influencing the living.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Ma Baoli begin with mutual suspicion and quickly escalate from verbal confrontation to physical combat.
• Ma Baoli treats Liu Zheng as an intruder challenging her school’s dignity, while Liu Zheng views her as an obstacle preventing him from completing the delivery.
• Their fight shifts when Liu Zheng threatens Ma Fuguo indirectly, exposing Ma Baoli’s deepest vulnerability and forcing her to abandon restraint.
• After defeating her, Liu Zheng chooses negotiation over execution, offering medical help in exchange for cooperation.
• Their final misunderstanding emphasizes their contrasting personalities: Liu Zheng is exasperated and pragmatic, while Ma Baoli is rigidly honorable, defensive of her school, and comically preoccupied with preserving both her chastity and martial inheritance.

Chapter Summary: “Hound vs. Thin Horse”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng forces Ma Baoli to choose between cooperating with him or dying. Before she can fully decide, Panda arrives to assist him.
• Panda is astonished that Ma Baoli has mastered the Five Thunder True Method and internally cultivated the Five Thunders through her organs, recognizing her as an exceptionally powerful martial artist.
• Liu Zheng counts down to kill Ma Baoli, prompting her to agree to help him when needed.
• Panda seals Ma Baoli’s five organs with seven talisman nails, temporarily cutting off most of her qi and blood and reducing her strength. Liu Zheng has her sign for the delivery, treating the encounter as a business transaction.
• Although Ma Baoli asks Liu Zheng to treat her father, Ma Fuguo, Liu Zheng refuses unless she can pay with two fine-quality items or otherwise provide sufficient compensation. He agrees to help later if she fulfills a favor for him first.
• Liu Zheng leaves Panda behind to protect Ma Baoli while she remains immobilized. Their exchange reveals Liu Zheng’s practical but unexpectedly protective nature, while Panda remains offended at being treated like a pet.
• Ma Baoli begins to reconsider her father’s belief that outsiders are inherently evil. She accepts Liu Zheng’s claim that he keeps his promises and appears willing to cooperate, but the arrival of the cashier interrupts the conversation.
• Liu Zheng delivers the remaining piece of Black Swan’s goose intestine to Miniature Man. Miniature Man allows Tindalos to escort Liu Zheng back.
• Outside the Restaurant, Tindalos attacks Thin Horse after sensing and apparently being provoked by its overwhelming presence. Thin Horse easily catches Tindalos’s tongue and counters with black flames.
• Liu Zheng stops Thin Horse from killing Tindalos by offering three bottles of Gold Label liquor, adding two bottles of Silver Label as a further incentive. Thin Horse accepts the payment and destroys Tindalos’s attack without killing it.
• Thin Horse confirms that it has come to take Liu Zheng grave robbing. Liu Zheng enters the Delivery Passage first to make arrangements.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Demonstrates his increasingly transactional worldview, refusing to provide aid without compensation while still honoring agreements and preventing unnecessary deaths. He also shows concern for both Ma Baoli’s safety and Tindalos’s survival, despite his harsh manner.
• Ma Baoli: Reveals herself to be an extraordinary martial artist with mastery of the Five Thunders. Her attitude toward Liu Zheng softens as she recognizes his honesty and protective actions, moving from hostility toward tentative trust and cooperation.
• Panda: Provides exposition about Ma Baoli’s cultivation and demonstrates specialized sealing techniques. He remains sarcastic, prideful, and easily irritated by Liu Zheng’s teasing, but is ultimately obedient and dependable.
• Thin Horse: Establishes itself as immensely powerful, pragmatic, and fond of alcohol. It effortlessly overcomes Tindalos and accepts liquor as payment, showing that Liu Zheng can negotiate with it through gifts and mutual understanding.
• Tindalos: Displays instinctive aggression and pride, attacking Thin Horse simply because it senses the latter’s contempt. Its strength is considerable, but it is clearly outmatched.

Significant Themes

• Mutual obligation and fair exchange: Liu Zheng insists that help must be paid for, either through valuable items or future assistance. Trust is framed as something earned through fulfilled promises.
• Appearances versus reality: Ma Baoli initially views outsiders as dangerous because of her father’s teachings, but Liu Zheng’s actions reveal a more complicated moral character. Panda’s appearance also contrasts with his intelligence and status.
• Power and restraint: Ma Baoli’s frightening abilities, Tindalos’s aggression, and Thin Horse’s overwhelming strength all emphasize the dangers of uncontrolled power. Liu Zheng repeatedly intervenes to prevent unnecessary killing.
• Comedic contrast: Serious confrontations are undercut by insults, delivery paperwork, liquor bribes, and arguments over whether Panda is a pet. The chapter blends supernatural violence with mundane business-like behavior.
• Trust across rival groups: Despite fighting, Liu Zheng begins forming practical alliances with Ma Baoli and Thin Horse, relying on promises, payment, and demonstrated reliability rather than emotional friendship.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Ma Baoli: Their hostile confrontation evolves into a potential business alliance. Liu Zheng demands proper compensation, while Ma Baoli gradually accepts his reliability.
• Liu Zheng and Panda: Their banter highlights their familiar relationship. Liu Zheng mocks Panda, while Panda complains but follows his orders.
• Liu Zheng and Thin Horse: Liu Zheng successfully negotiates through alcohol, treating Thin Horse as a respected partner rather than a mere mount or servant.
• Tindalos and Thin Horse: Their encounter is an immediate clash between predatory instinct and overwhelming power. Tindalos attacks first, but Thin Horse decisively defeats it and spares its life after Liu Zheng intervenes.
• Liu Zheng and Miniature Man: Liu Zheng fulfills his delivery, while Miniature Man responds by providing Tindalos as an escort, indirectly setting up the confrontation with Thin Horse.

Chapter Summary: “Cosplay Outfit Pro Version”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng is summoned by the Cemetery for an official tomb-robbing assignment. Before leaving, he reports to Si Xue, the Bloodstained Restaurant’s boss.
• Si Xue explains that because the mission is official, Liu Zheng may request one item to assist him. He chooses a cosplay outfit, hoping to obtain one comparable to a perfect-quality item.
• Si Xue forces the Lake God to provide a special cosplay outfit cultivated in Spirit Treasure Lake. The Lake God initially refuses, fearing that using it prematurely will waste years of nurturing, but Si Xue threatens to let Liu Zheng fish it out himself using powerful treasures.
• The outfit is revealed to be an evolving, semi-living prop. Once fully developed, it could imitate anyone it has seen and reproduce that person’s abilities and characteristics. Its current effect allows Liu Zheng to temporarily assume the appearance and abilities of characters present in the current instance for one hour.
• Liu Zheng asks to cosplay Si Xue, but she refuses because she finds the idea disgusting. He instead asks her to order takeout for him, which she accepts.
• Si Xue warns Liu Zheng that failing the assignment—especially failing to locate the Nine-Dragon Coffin—will have serious consequences because the Restaurant has invested heavily in him.
• Liu Zheng reveals that he has already completed half of the coffin-related objective by obtaining the Northern Yin Heaven-Mending Coffin. He still needs nine dead dragons, though acquiring them would be extremely expensive.
• Back in the break room, Liu Zheng receives a delivery order from Si Xue for steamed Peacock flesh. He suspects she mainly wants an excuse to kill a Peacock rather than actually eat it.
• Liu Zheng asks Big White Goose to help prepare the cosplay outfit. Big White Goose suggests that Liu Zheng imitate Napoleon rather than Cow-Horse, since Liu Zheng possesses Anger, and Napoleon’s kitchen knife could become extraordinarily powerful in his hands.
• Liu Zheng calls Napoleon, who agrees to come to the break room and assist with the costume.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng becomes increasingly resourceful and confident. He understands the risks of the mission but is not overly nervous because he has already secured the Northern Yin Heaven-Mending Coffin. He also demonstrates growing familiarity with the Restaurant’s people and resources.
• Si Xue is shown as pragmatic, intimidating, and performance-oriented. She is willing to exploit the Lake God’s reluctance, but she also provides Liu Zheng with valuable support and tolerates his jokes and requests as long as he performs well.
• The Lake God displays a strong attachment to the treasures he cultivates. His reluctance to lend the cosplay outfit reflects his belief that nurturing a treasure is valuable for the process and insight, not merely its final usefulness.
• Cow-Horse acts as a reliable intermediary and offers insight into Si Xue’s management style. It explains that Si Xue is more tolerant than the previous boss as long as employees perform well and do not violate her taboos.
• Big White Goose has moved past its former sarcastic hostility after Liu Zheng helped avenge its grudge. It now cooperates willingly and uses its knowledge to improve Liu Zheng’s chances.
• Napoleon is established as an efficient and respected head chef, immediately agreeing to help and promising to arrive within ten minutes.

Significant Themes

• Power through cooperation and resources: Liu Zheng’s strength comes not only from his own abilities but also from the Restaurant’s network of powerful allies and artifacts.
• Authority and leadership: The contrast between Si Xue and the former boss shows two models of leadership—Si Xue values results and tolerates minor insolence, while the former boss prioritized unquestioned authority.
• Treasure cultivation and purpose: The Lake God values the process of nurturing an artifact, contrasting with Si Xue and Liu Zheng’s practical focus on immediate utility.
• Risk and obligation: Liu Zheng’s access to rare resources creates a corresponding obligation. Failure to complete the Nine-Dragon Coffin mission could cost him his life.
• Appearance versus true identity: The evolving cosplay outfit blurs the line between imitation and genuine transformation, suggesting that power and identity can be temporarily borrowed or reproduced.
• Humor amid danger: Liu Zheng’s teasing, Si Xue’s dry responses, and the employees’ banter lighten an otherwise threatening mission involving tomb robbery, deadly artifacts, and severe consequences.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Si Xue: Their relationship combines authority, trust, teasing, and mutual dependence. Liu Zheng jokes with her but remains aware of her power and expectations; Si Xue supports him while making clear that failure is unacceptable.
• Si Xue and the Lake God: Si Xue dominates the exchange through threats and practicality, while the Lake God protests from an emotional and scholarly attachment to his cultivated treasure.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: Cow-Horse helps him contact Si Xue and provides commentary on the boss’s personality and leadership style.
• Liu Zheng and Big White Goose: Their relationship has become cooperative after Liu Zheng helped settle Big White Goose’s grudge. Big White Goose uses its expertise to recommend a stronger cosplay target.
• Liu Zheng and Napoleon: Liu Zheng respectfully requests Napoleon’s assistance, and Napoleon agrees without hesitation, setting up the next stage of preparing for the official assignment.

Liu Zheng received a copied cosplay suit and supplies before heading to the Cemetery to rob the tomb with the Nine-Dragon Pulling Coffin. Gravekeeper set the tomb’s rules and started a chase between Liu Zheng and a Ghoul, leaving Liu Zheng racing toward the tomb under a ten-minute deadline.

• Big White Goose gave Liu Zheng a detailed cosplay suit, and White-Feather Chicken animated it briefly with its chef’s hat before taking Anger to prepare an ingredient.
• Liu Zheng rode Thin Horse to the Cemetery, where Gravekeeper ordered the drunken horse to run through the Gobi Desert and explained the conditions for entering the tomb.
• Liu Zheng agreed to Gravekeeper’s three conditions and learned he could take the nine dragons and coffin, though not necessarily what was inside.
• Gravekeeper assigned the Ghoul to chase Liu Zheng until he reached the tomb, and offered an angel’s corpse if Liu Zheng killed it.
• The Ghoul’s Gloomy Gaze failed to daunt Liu Zheng, but Gravekeeper warned that Cemetery aura would corrode him after ten minutes, prompting Liu Zheng to sprint toward the tomb while the Ghoul pursued.

Chapter Summary: “The Hole Is Found, But How Do We Get In?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng flees from the ghoul, which reveals itself to be far more powerful than a normal undead minion. The ghoul was once a Shadow Dragon-blooded sorcerer, and its dragon lineage has combined with its ghoul abilities.
• Using Empowered Metamagic: Haste, the ghoul catches up and releases Corrupted Miasma, a poison-and-darkness cloud that blinds Liu Zheng, poisons him, drains life energy, and slows movement.
• Rather than risk using his teleportation item inside the cloud, Liu Zheng uses Peng Breath to fly upward and escape the miasma. He then counters the ghoul’s ambush from its shadow, striking it with his blade and kicking it back into the cloud.
• The ghoul retaliates with Any Door, creating portals that allow it to launch a powerful Netherworld fireball directly at Liu Zheng. Liu Zheng sacrifices one of his tentacles to block the attack, then cuts away the body parts touched by the lingering ghost flames.
• Impressed and alarmed by Liu Zheng’s extreme regeneration, the ghoul decides it would be safer to destroy him completely rather than preserve his body. It coats itself in corpse oil, which protects it from its own flames, and attacks Liu Zheng while boasting that it will eat his brain.
• Liu Zheng uses the previously unused Spirit Realm Coin Pouch, spending all thirty-two coins to summon Yaskulan, a powerful dragon-snake-like spirit.
• Yaskulan’s Detect Evil spell produces an ambiguous result: Liu Zheng appears both holy and evil, confusing both him and the summoned creature. Unable to fully manifest in the Cemetery, Yaskulan agrees to restrain the ghoul instead of killing it.
• Yaskulan traps the ghoul inside a temporary Temple Spell, which can hold it for up to eight minutes. Liu Zheng uses the opportunity to continue following the mysterious bullet.
• The bullet leads Liu Zheng to what appears to be a gigantic stone wall over one hundred meters tall. Scraping it with his blade reveals that it is actually made of metal, suggesting that this is the exterior of the Cemetery’s hidden tomb.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng realizing that although they have located the tomb, they still have no idea how to enter it.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Liu Zheng demonstrates adaptability and resourcefulness. He survives blindness, poison, fire, severe mutilation, and the loss of a tentacle by combining his skills, regeneration, combat instincts, and summoned assistance.
• His confidence and irreverent humor remain intact despite his injuries. He taunts the ghoul even while badly burned and treats Yaskulan’s moral warning with skepticism.
• The ghoul is established as an intelligent and versatile antagonist rather than a disposable monster. Its sorcerous heritage, custom spell, portals, defensive preparation, and tactical thinking make it a serious threat.
• The ghoul becomes increasingly wary of Liu Zheng’s unnatural body and regeneration. Its desire to consume him is balanced by fear that his body may possess unknown divine or supernatural enhancements.
• Yaskulan is introduced as a polite, order-aligned summoned creature. It refuses to directly kill the ghoul because its true body cannot fully descend into the Cemetery, but it honors Liu Zheng’s modified request and restrains the enemy.
• The exchange between Liu Zheng and Yaskulan highlights their contrasting values: Yaskulan speaks of order and goodness, while Liu Zheng views survival and practical results as more important.
• The rivalry between Liu Zheng and the ghoul intensifies. Their exchange becomes openly personal, with the ghoul threatening to eat Liu Zheng’s brain and Liu Zheng promising to deal with it after completing the tomb robbery.

Significant Themes

• Adaptability and survival: Liu Zheng repeatedly turns apparent disadvantages—blindness, poison, fire, and lost limbs—into manageable problems through quick thinking.
• The ambiguity of good and evil: Detect Evil fails to classify Liu Zheng cleanly, suggesting that his nature is morally or supernaturally mixed. The chapter questions whether alignment can accurately define a person.
• Power versus control: Both Liu Zheng and the ghoul possess unusual abilities, but victory depends on tactical judgment and creative use of those powers rather than raw strength alone.
• The unnatural and the unknown: Liu Zheng’s hybrid body, the ghoul’s altered bloodline, Yaskulan’s partial manifestation, and the mysterious metal Cemetery all reinforce the chapter’s atmosphere of bizarre supernatural transformation.
• Discovery without resolution: Finding the tomb’s outer structure is a major breakthrough, but the lack of an entrance creates a new obstacle and maintains the mystery surrounding the Cemetery.

Summary: “Bronze Human Face, Spirit Mountain Ten Shamans”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng arrives at a concealed tomb entrance and attempts to persuade the stone wall to let him in through humor, threats, and shameless bargaining.
• The stone wall reveals a Bronze Human Face, who identifies himself as Wu Qi. He initially refuses Liu Zheng entry because the tomb permits only pure-blooded humans or those connected to the tomb master’s bloodline.
• Liu Zheng offers Wu Qi expensive Silver-Label Liquor. Wu Qi enjoys the wine, and their hostile exchange develops into a more cooperative conversation.
• Wu Qi tests Liu Zheng’s blood but confirms that he lacks both the tomb master’s bloodline and pure human ancestry.
• Wu Qi discovers that Liu Zheng carries the Nightmare Suppression Art, which Liu Zheng accepted from Gongyang Xin to save her granddaughter. Wu Qi recognizes the technique as connected to the Gongyang Family.
• Wu Qi explains the history of the Spirit Mountain Ten Shamans, descendants of Nuwa’s transformed intestines. Their ancestors possessed extraordinary abilities involving heaven, earth, ghosts, medicine, divination, and calamity prevention.
• Internal conflict eventually divided the Ten Shamans. Wu Xian, their leader, separated their descendants across distant regions to stop escalating violence. The other nine shamans opposed him, sealed Wu Xian and Spirit Mountain, and disappeared.
• Wu Qi reveals that his ancestors belonged to the Wu Zhen Tribe, while the Gongyang Family descended from Wu Di. The Gongyang Family once betrayed and massacred much of the Wu Zhen Tribe while pretending to seek Spirit Mountain.
• The Wu Zhen survivors later learned that the Gongyang Family had already been destroyed in a political struggle, preventing them from taking revenge.
• Wu Qi learns that Gongyang Xin lived in Metropolis. Liu Zheng admits he killed her, and Wu Qi orders him to eliminate any surviving Gongyang descendants.
• Wu Qi confirms that the Wachang Clan descends from Wu Gu. He gives Liu Zheng a bloodstained wooden fragment from Wu Gu’s shattered mask, hoping Liu Zheng will trade it to the Wachang Clan for a reward.
• Wu Qi secretly modifies the Nightmare Suppression Art in Liu Zheng’s body so that it will identify Gongyang descendants and punish Liu Zheng if he refuses to kill them.
• As Liu Zheng begins freezing to death outside the tomb, Wu Qi finally offers a possible solution: Liu Zheng may enter if he possesses something related to dragons.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates his characteristic mixture of cleverness, audacity, flattery, opportunism, and willingness to negotiate. Rather than attack the enormous guardian, he uses logic and alcohol to gain its trust.
• He also shows compassion and loyalty by explaining that he took on the Nightmare Suppression Art to save a friend’s granddaughter, although he remains ruthless toward enemies.
• Liu Zheng accepts Wu Qi’s imposed condition with irritation but little genuine resistance, treating both the magical restriction and the wooden fragment as useful opportunities.
• Wu Qi, initially hostile and dismissive, becomes friendlier after drinking Liu Zheng’s liquor. He is proud, sarcastic, knowledgeable, and deeply resentful of the Gongyang Family.
• Wu Qi’s memories reveal that he is a survivor of a nearly destroyed lineage and remains committed to avenging the Wu Zhen Tribe, despite existing in a strange state between life and death.
• Their relationship shifts from adversarial gatekeeper and trespasser to informal allies, though Wu Qi still manipulates Liu Zheng by placing a supernatural obligation on him.

Significant Themes

• Cunning over brute force: Liu Zheng succeeds through deduction, psychological tactics, humor, and negotiation rather than combat.
• Bloodline and inherited identity: Access, abilities, memory, and obligations are all tied to ancestry and bloodline.
• Cycles of betrayal and revenge: The history of the Ten Shamans and the Wu Zhen–Gongyang conflict shows how family disputes grow into massacres and long-lasting hatred.
• Unity versus division: Wu Xian’s decision to separate the tribes reflects the difficulty of maintaining harmony when populations and conflicts grow too large.
• Memory and historical survival: Metropolis’s inhabitants retain buried cultural memories, while Wu Qi’s recollections gradually return over time.
• Moral flexibility: Liu Zheng can be generous and loyal toward those he values while remaining merciless toward enemies, using both kindness and manipulation as practical tools.
• The boundary between life and death: Wu Qi’s condition, Liu Zheng’s worsening cold, and the supernatural tomb all emphasize uncertain states of existence.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Wu Qi begin by trading insults and threats, but their verbal battle establishes mutual respect.
• Liu Zheng uses wine to soften Wu Qi’s hostility, while Wu Qi responds by sharing his history and family connections.
• Their discussion connects Gongyang Xin, the Wu Zhen Tribe, the Gongyang Family, the Wachang Clan, and the broader history of the Spirit Mountain Ten Shamans.
• Wu Qi gives Liu Zheng both a potential commercial opportunity—the Wu Gu relic—and a dangerous obligation to hunt Gongyang descendants.
• The chapter ends with Wu Qi still controlling access to the tomb, asking whether Liu Zheng possesses an item associated with dragons.