Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Xu Feng learns from Shen Jicheng that a remote, abandoned Daoist temple stands on the mountain. It has historical ties to the Charity Nunnery, and Shen says only he and Old Owl may still know how to reach it.
• Shen reveals that he sent his son away to pursue another livelihood rather than inherit his secure Yamen position. He believes Luoyin’s soil can keep the dead from resting peacefully, so his son must not be buried there.
• After Xu Feng completes a ritual burning paper god tablets, he, Master, and Shen set out before dawn to find the temple. Shen leads, carrying mountain talismans; Xu brings the Sacrificial Flame.
• On the way, Shen explains that Daoist Master Li Changle founded the temple at the former Qian residence with the City God’s help. A cauldron once contained the human-skin remains’ Earth Qi; after the cauldron disappeared, a sword took its place.
• Shen’s research led him to conclude that the Daoist who slew the dragon came from Luoyin and lived at the mountain temple. He identifies it as the Three Shu Monastery.
• Xu and Master react strongly, recognizing that Shen’s discovery connects with truths they have been pursuing. Shen notices their response and asks Xu what he is hiding.

Character developments

• Shen Jicheng emerges as a determined, perceptive investigator who pieced together the monastery’s history through poems, letters, local records, and painstaking travel. His decision to send his son away also reveals a serious, protective streak and a deep fear of what Luoyin’s soil can do.
• Xu Feng increasingly admires Shen and recognizes the significance of his discoveries, while keeping his own knowledge and reaction guarded.
• Master shares Xu’s shock at the monastery’s connection to the dragon-slaying Daoist, though he says little.

Significant themes

• Buried history and connecting clues: Poems, records, relics, and oral knowledge gradually reveal the hidden past.
• Death and inheritance: Shen’s choice to keep his son away from Luoyin reflects the danger attached to the land and the burden of inherited roles.
• Knowledge and secrecy: Shen openly shares his findings, while Xu and Master conceal what they know.
• Fate and convergence: Shen’s independent investigation unexpectedly intersects with Xu and Master’s own search.

Character interactions

• Xu questions Shen about the temple, Old Owl, and his absent children; Shen answers candidly.
• Shen leads Xu and Master into the mountains, drawing on his experience and knowledge of the route.
• When Shen reveals the Three Shu Monastery’s history, Xu and Master exchange a loaded look, signaling shared understanding that Shen does not yet possess.
• Xu praises Shen’s investigative skill, but Shen turns the conversation around and asks Xu to explain his reaction.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Jicheng explains that the remote mountain route will take more than a day, so the three travelers keep one torch and expect to spend a night on the way.
• Xu Feng reveals that he and his companions learned skills descended from the Dragon-Slaying Daoist. Shen’s account of the Daoist’s history connects their training to Three Shu Monastery, giving Xu Feng hope that he might find further guidance about the Greater Calamity-Stitching Art there.
• While traveling, Shen is delighted to become part of the historical story he has spent years pursuing. He and Xu Feng discuss why the Daoist sought to slay a dragon and why the monastery’s lineage faded.
• The group reaches the abandoned Joyful Lord Nunnery, also known as Charity Nunnery. Shen says its feng shui is troubling and refuses to enter; Master stays outside as well.
• Xu Feng enters respectfully, places Joyful Lord’s spirit tablet in the main hall, and discovers a foul, neglected site. Side rooms contain old coffins, some leaking foul, vividly colored fluid, with no proper protection or care.
• Master warns that the bodies could become Zombies or Corpse Demons. Xu Feng agrees they should leave for now, but intends to return and deal with the corpses.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng gains hope that the monastery may hold knowledge about his art, but his discovery of the coffins leaves him uneasy. His decision to return reflects a growing sense of responsibility: he wants to do good, not merely earn Yin Virtue.
• Shen Jicheng shows how deeply he loves old stories and their connections to the present. Though eager to investigate, he recognizes the site’s danger and remains outside.
• Master is protective and practical, warning Xu Feng to call for help and identifying the supernatural risk posed by the bodies.
• The three share food and conversation during the climb, but Xu Feng avoids telling ghost stories in the mountains, fearing they might attract unwanted attention.

Significant themes

• History linking past and present: The Daoist’s legacy may connect Xu Feng’s abilities to the monastery.
• Duty and moral growth: Xu Feng chooses to return to address the dangerous, abandoned dead.
• Neglect and impending danger: The ruined nunnery and unmanaged corpses suggest that forgotten places—and perhaps the wider world—are becoming perilous.
• Curiosity tempered by caution: Shen’s scholarship and Xu Feng’s investigation are balanced by awareness of supernatural risks.

Key events

• As the group prepares to enter the mountains, Shen Jicheng warns Xu Feng and his master that the deep range is far more dangerous than its outskirts. He sets a strict schedule: rest briefly, then travel without stopping and reach the chains and locks near Three Shu Monastery before sunset.
• During the rest, Xu Feng practices the Breathing Method and reflects on its role in restoring both mental energy and the deeper reserves that sustain it. He also tests the abandoned Charity Nunnery nearby with incense. Since the incense burns normally and no corpse-like smell appears, he concludes that the creature inside is likely dormant in daylight.
• Xu Feng tells his master that something has moved into the nunnery and is feeding on offerings, perhaps becoming a monster. His master improvises a pole sword, but Xu Feng persuades him to postpone confronting the creature so they can conserve their strength for the climb.
• Xu Feng and his master discuss why the Daoist Li—who supposedly dealt with the river creature—would return, and what secrets Three Shu Monastery may hold, including the Calamity-Stitching Art. His master warns him not to assume Shen Jicheng will share anything they find.
• Shen Jicheng wakes before the rest period ends. The group agrees to set out.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng shows growing skill and composure: his breathing practice now settles him quickly, and he reasons carefully about the nunnery’s creature and the risks of fighting before a difficult climb. His curiosity about Three Shu Monastery and its teachings remains strong.
• Xu Feng’s master is practical and protective. He readily prepares to fight the nunnery creature, but accepts Xu Feng’s argument to conserve their strength. He reassures Xu Feng that, whatever others may do, they are family and he will help him.
• Shen Jicheng demonstrates the experience and caution of a seasoned mountain traveler, carrying specialized tools and setting the group’s pace. Though he appears to sleep, Xu Feng suspects he may be keeping watch; he wakes promptly despite the noise around him.
• Xu Feng and his master share a trusting exchange, while the master cautions him to stay wary of Shen Jicheng and the interests of the yamen.

Significant themes

• The danger of the unknown: The deep mountains contain threats beyond ordinary predators and spirits, making caution essential.
• Preparation and restraint: The group must manage time, strength, and risk rather than pursue every immediate danger.
• Knowledge, ambition, and trust: Xu Feng seeks the monastery’s hidden teachings, but his master reminds him that valuable discoveries may create conflict.
• Practice and vitality: Xu Feng’s reflections on the Breathing Method distinguish quick recovery from sustaining the underlying source of one’s energy.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Jicheng performs several protective rites before leading Xu Feng and Master deeper into the mountains.
• The mountain route is dangerous and unnerving: eerie cloud formations, offerings and decaying remains, venomous creatures, and bells that Shen avoids. Xu Feng’s game-like vision marks the area as the Two-Deity Mountain Territory.
• Shen explains that the Three Shu Monastery lies beyond a stretch called Immortal Spreads His Hands. Its unusual layout includes a small main hall, large side halls, and thirty-nine graves.
• Shen recalls that the monastery’s founding Daoist asked him to remember the dead—ideally by name—when he returned. This prompts Xu Feng to connect the practice of naming the dead with the Calamity-Stitching Art, which he suspects may be hidden in the mountains.
• The party reaches a long, black pool beneath a steep mountain. After resting, they begin climbing an iron chain up the cliff.
• As Xu Feng climbs, he hears voices from Yin Virtue Protection and spots a rock-carved shrine beside the chain.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Jicheng demonstrates his knowledge through ritual and careful route choices, but the harsh trek reveals his age and physical limits. He resists admitting weakness and still scolds Xu Feng for lacking youthful drive.
• Xu Feng remains composed despite growing danger. He is alert to the environment, protects the others, and makes an important connection between Shen’s account of honoring the dead and the art he seeks.
• Master follows the others, tiring during the climb but continuing onward.
• Shen’s fond, teasing exchanges with Xu Feng show their familiarity, while Xu Feng answers patiently rather than taking offense.

Significant themes

• Ritual and protection: Traditional rites and objects offer guidance—or at least a means of confronting the mountains’ dangers.
• Memory and naming: Remembering the dead by name may have spiritual significance, and Xu Feng suspects this principle underlies the Calamity-Stitching Art.
• Age and perseverance: Shen’s pride clashes with his physical decline, but his determination keeps the group moving.
• The uncanny landscape: The mountains feel hostile and supernatural, blurring the boundary between natural danger and spiritual threat.

Key plot points

• Xu Feng follows a pull from his Yin Virtue to a remote shrine of the Divine Marshal. He respectfully offers incense, which the statue accepts, easing the concern of his master and Shen Jicheng.
• A gust reveals a hidden sheet beneath the statue. It lists thirty-nine supposed graves on the mountain; Xu Feng realizes that fewer than half contain actual people and identifies the site as a place where the corpse-transforming technique Stitching Calamity was practiced.
• The note’s author is Master Liu, who explains that he discovered the site but lacked the means to help the Daoist priests, so he left information for whoever came next. Xu Feng is surprised to find Master Liu’s traces in yet another remote place.
• At the County Yamen, Third Master Wang and a colleague discuss the recent events, Xu Feng’s growing importance, and their donations toward a temple. They expect the County Magistrate to tolerate irregularities if Xu Feng can help suppress dangerous enemies.
• The magistrate issues a sweeping internal order involving public safety, charity, education, examinations, and social order. The clerks recognize his urgency to build a record of achievement and win promotion, while much of the work is pushed onto subordinates.
• The Ritual Office is told to summon the local Temple Priest and Zhao San—Xu Feng—for questioning about the temple being built.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng shows confidence in his spiritual guidance and respect for the Divine Marshal. His insight lets him interpret the hidden record and connect it to the mountain’s corpse-transforming practices and Master Liu.
• Xu Feng’s master remains wary of wilderness shrines but accompanies him, ready to protect him; he relaxes after the offering is accepted.
• Shen Jicheng offers Xu Feng a protective talisman, then stands beside him with his awl. His concern is evident, and he pays his own respects to the deity.
• Third Master Wang and his colleague trade gossip and cynical observations about the magistrate’s ambitions, the temple project, and the bureaucracy. Their easy camaraderie contrasts with their reluctance to work.
• The County Magistrate, though absent, emerges as ambitious and impatient: he intends to demonstrate effectiveness through rapid crackdowns and reforms, even if some rules are bent. The order brings Xu Feng and the temple project under official scrutiny.

Significant themes

• Faith and practical caution: Xu Feng’s reverence coexists with his companions’ suspicion of an isolated shrine.
• Hidden history and uneasy burial: The mountain’s false graves point to the abuse of corpses and the concealment of past wrongdoing.
• Master Liu’s lingering influence: His note suggests a network of traces and unfinished efforts that continues to guide later discoveries.
• Bureaucratic ambition and compromise: Officials’ public reforms are shaped by personal advancement, and rules are treated as negotiable when politically convenient.
• Growing responsibility and scrutiny: Xu Feng’s rising reputation brings both influence and attention from the authorities.

Key plot points

• Xu Feng, Master, and Shen Jicheng reach Three Shu Monastery after dark. The monastery is exposed to landslides and floods, poorly maintained, and surrounded by bamboo whose roots have disturbed the graveyard.
• Xu Feng studies the thirty-six graves and matches the inscriptions to the monastery’s history. Ten Daoist priests appear in the lineage, but only six are buried here. He suspects the main lineage was genuine while some side branches were fabricated through calamity-stitching.
• He concludes that most graves pose no concern, but one or two still require checking after a sixty-year cycle. The inscriptions use unfamiliar era names, so he asks Shen Jicheng about their dates.
• While Shen burns offerings, Xu Feng joins him in honoring the dead. His mourning begins as a performance but becomes sincere, and he weeps so intensely that Shen has to lead him away.
• Shen explains that the last priest he knew had two senior fellow disciples: one had been dead for sixty-five years, while the other would reach the sixty-year mark in three years. Xu Feng realizes that one body may not yet be fully at rest—and that a calamity-stitcher could die before the transformation of a buried calamity was complete.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng shows himself to be observant and methodical, piecing together the graveyard’s history from the inscriptions and the disturbed earth. His respect for the deceased grows into genuine grief; he recognizes that, despite human flaws, the priests had helped others.
• Shen Jicheng acts as guide and caretaker, warning Xu Feng not to wander and tending the monastery. His scholar’s sense of propriety makes him uncomfortable with Xu Feng’s display of grief, especially once he realizes it is real.
• Master helps inspect the graveyard and notices the bamboo roots, but Xu Feng withholds the letter’s contents for now, intending to explain them after they leave.
• Xu Feng and Shen share a quiet act of remembrance, while Xu Feng’s questions about dates turn the mourning into an investigation of the monastery’s dangerous burial practices.

Significant themes

• Duty, service, and flawed virtue: Xu Feng honors the priests because their work benefited others, without pretending they were perfect.
• Mortality and unfinished consequences: The sixty-year cycle makes timing crucial; a practitioner’s death may leave a buried calamity unresolved.
• Appearance and authenticity: The monastery’s lineage may contain both genuine priests and fabricated identities, while Xu Feng’s initially performed grief becomes sincere.
• The dangers of neglect: The unstable site and invasive bamboo suggest that what is buried can still affect the living.

Plot points and events

• After mourning at the first grave, Xu Feng’s sincere grief raises Shen Jicheng’s affinity by ten points. Shen praises Xu’s compassion, and Xu is reassured that his companion means him no harm.
• Shen invites Xu to call him “Uncle Shen.” Xu agrees to do so in private, but keeps the formal name in public to avoid creating awkwardness or trouble.
• The three pay respects in the abandoned Main Hall, where no supernatural response occurs. They also visit the grave of Water-Walker, whose cracked tomb reveals roots and a hollow space beneath it. Xu notices a straight bamboo stalk that may have supernatural potential.
• They spend the night in the side hall and divide watch duty. During his shift, Xu suspects the site may conceal something left by its former Daoist resident. He performs the full Inviting the Gods ritual, using his protective talisman as a safeguard.
• Four knocks sound from the newest grave. Remembering the saying “Three knocks for the living, four for the dead,” Xu recognizes a ghostly presence but stays put rather than provoke it. He privately wonders whether the corpse he treated with Stitching Calamity is restless.
• When Master wakes, Xu insists the knocks are only bamboo striking stone. Master accepts the explanation and agrees to repeat it to Shen.
• While meditating, Xu experiences a vision of a butterfly emerging from Water-Walker’s grave and settling on his shoulder. He falls asleep and wakes at dawn with the butterfly still there. Shen identifies the phenomenon as “Cicada-Shedding and Snake-Sloughing” and suspects the butterfly is Water-Walker.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng shows empathy, caution, and growing confidence. He protects Master from Shen’s teasing pressure, handles the ghostly knocking without panic, and conceals its significance to keep Master calm.
• Shen Jicheng grows more warmly attached to Xu and seeks a familial bond by asking to be called “Uncle Shen.” He also recognizes the supernatural significance of the butterfly.
• Master trusts Xu’s judgment and supports his effort to reassure Shen about the night’s sounds.
• The three men’s companionship deepens through shared mourning, hospitality, and watch duty, while Xu’s deference to Shen remains balanced by his protectiveness toward Master.

Significant themes

• Compassion and affinity: Xu’s sincere mourning strengthens his relationship with Shen, suggesting that emotional bonds have tangible consequences.
• Tradition and the supernatural: Rituals, offerings, graves, and customs such as the four knocks shape how characters interpret uncanny events.
• Caution and concealment: Xu chooses restraint over confrontation and offers a mundane explanation to prevent alarm.
• Death and transformation: The ghostly knocking and butterfly emerging from Water-Walker’s grave link burial, restless spirits, and the possibility of supernatural transformation.

Plot points and events

• Daoist Water-Walker’s butterfly appears to Xu Feng as a remnant of the ascended daoist. Shen Jicheng interprets it as a sign that Xu Feng has reached a destined opportunity.
• The butterfly leads Xu Feng to Daoist Feng Youming’s grave. Xu Feng burns a prayer petition, then he, Master, and Shen Jicheng dig up the coffin.
• Digging teaches Xu Feng to use the Breathing Method during physical work. He gains [Breathing (Initial Exposure)], improving his endurance.
• The coffin contains no body—only grave goods, including jade burial pieces and a name tablet. Xu Feng concludes that Daoist Feng ascended and that the black vapor released from the coffin was a vanished calamity.
• The butterfly then guides Xu Feng to a nearby spot. He digs up a large Yellow Cloth Bag, after which the butterfly disappears. Shen Jicheng says Xu Feng’s connection with Water-Walker has ended, and Xu makes an offering.
• Inside the bag is a note addressed to Master, left by Liu Family Grandpa. It was meant for him in case he ever came to the site.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng grows more confident in interpreting signs and acting on his insight. His digging also turns the Breathing Method from a meditation aid into a practical skill that strengthens his endurance.
• Shen Jicheng acts as guide and witness. He trusts Xu Feng, respects the idea of a destined opportunity, and is delighted to witness events that resemble a supernatural tale.
• Master supports Xu Feng’s decisions and shares in the excavation, but is startled to learn that the recovered note is intended for him.
• Xu Feng, Master, and Shen Jicheng cooperate throughout the dig, while Shen defers to Xu Feng’s right to open what he has uncovered.

Significant themes

• Destiny and timing: Shen sees Xu Feng’s meetings and discoveries as an opportunity that could only happen at this moment.
• Ascension and transformation: The butterfly, the empty coffin, and the vanished vapor suggest that “Cicada-Shedding and Snake-Sloughing” can signify different kinds of transcendence.
• Inheritance and connection: Water-Walker’s guidance ends once Xu Feng finds the bag, while Liu Family Grandpa’s note reaches Master across time.
• Learning through practice: Xu Feng’s new skill emerges not from deliberate meditation but from sustained, purposeful labor.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Feng, his master, and Shen Jicheng open a bundle left for Xu Feng by Old Master Liu. It contains eleven lifelike human skins, apparently shed by the same male corpse over many years.
• One skin proves to be a Calamity-Stitching Meridian Chart Summary, a guide to the art Xu Feng needs. A Cloud-Dispersing Rain-Bringing Five-Thunder Command Arrow falls from it. The powerful Daoist artifact can summon storms and attack evil, but Xu Feng cannot use it yet because he lacks sufficient Yin Virtue.
• A letter contains a calculation pointing to a date fifty-four years in the future. Xu Feng connects it to the predicted appearance of the Yellow River Demon Corpse and wonders whether the disaster follows a known pattern.
• After resting, the three descend the mountain and pay respects at the graves. Once they are safely out of the dangerous terrain, Shen Jicheng presses Xu Feng to explain what he has been concealing.
• Xu Feng reveals the Calamity-Stitching Art and recounts the events that led him and his master to learn it. Shen Jicheng listens closely, especially when Xu Feng describes the four knocks and the possibility of stitching a calamity.
• That evening, Xu Feng detects the source of a strange theft of incense offerings at the Charity Nunnery: a deity statue whose empowered contents had climbed out of a well.
• Back at the mountain’s foot, Xu Feng plans to hide the human skins and summons Da Wa. County Yamen officials come looking for him, but he instead goes to meet the Temple Priest at the City God Temple.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng gains crucial materials and knowledge for the Calamity-Stitching Art. Though frustrated that he cannot yet use the command arrow, he considers finding a way to earn the Yin Virtue it requires. He also chooses to trust Shen Jicheng with his secrets.
• Shen Jicheng shows both reverence for the extraordinary finds and curiosity about Xu Feng’s hidden business. He refuses to take the command arrow, encouraging Xu Feng to keep it, then listens eagerly to Xu Feng’s explanation.
• Xu Feng’s master supports Xu Feng’s decisions, helps assess the discoveries, and gives him space to speak privately with Shen Jicheng.
• Xu Feng and Shen Jicheng’s relationship shifts toward greater openness, though Shen Jicheng may misunderstand or infer more than Xu Feng actually says.

Significant themes

• Inheritance and responsibility: The discoveries were deliberately left for Xu Feng, who must decide how to use them.
• Power has a cost: The command arrow offers immense abilities but demands qualifications Xu Feng does not yet possess.
• Secrets and trust: Shen Jicheng’s discomfort with being kept in the dark leads Xu Feng to share what he knows.
• Fate and foreknowledge: The dated calculation raises the possibility that the Yellow River Demon Corpse’s future emergence has been predicted—or follows a pattern.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Feng discovers that the County Magistrate plans to reorganize the Charity Nunnery and needs someone to oversee the work. Xu Feng accepts, intending to collect and dispose of the decaying remains there and keep the area calm.
• The magistrate also wants a report on illicit cults and improper worship. Since the Temple Priest is reluctant to get involved, Xu Feng agrees to report the Earth-Fire Cult to both the authorities and the City God.
• Xu Feng and his master plan to build pressure for official action: first encourage ordinary people to complain, then involve the local gentry, and ultimately have them thank the magistrate publicly. They intend to report both the Earth-Fire Cult and the disturbances connected to the Qian Family Mansion.
• Xu Feng’s master returns with word that local support is available; nearby wealthy families want the Qian mansion dealt with. The trio then walks back with Da Wa carrying a large bundle of eleven human skins. Xu Feng eventually takes the bundle from the exhausted boy.
• At the Earth God Shrine, donations of building materials and labor exceed expectations. Xu Feng approves hiring more craftsmen so the shrine can be completed before winter.
• Xu Feng withdraws to study the Calamity-Stitching Meridian Chart Summary. He works out how corpse-stitching uses talismans and interrupted qi flow to make a malign force respond and contain it. He recognizes that the technique behind Old Master Liu’s “Ghost-Trapping Method” likely came from these records, not from the source Liu had claimed.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng becomes more established as a practical religious and civic figure: he accepts responsibility for the Charity Nunnery, uses his favor with the City God to assist official investigations, and presses ahead with the shrine’s construction. His study also shows growing technical insight into supernatural methods.
• Xu Feng’s master backs his plans, helps mobilize complainants, and takes charge of arranging support. He also gently teases Da Wa about carrying the bundle.
• Da Wa is anxious to prove his usefulness and fears being dismissed, so he insists the bundle is not heavy. Xu Feng reassures him and later takes the load when Da Wa is worn out, revealing Xu Feng’s concern for him.
• Xu Feng and his master work in close agreement, coordinating civic pressure and official action. Xu Feng’s discovery also changes how he views Old Master Liu, whom he now sees as having embellished the origin of his method.

Significant themes

• Public action and official power: Xu Feng aims to make the authorities act by combining popular complaints, gentry support, and formal reporting.
• Duty and practical mercy: Clearing the Charity Nunnery’s remains is both a public-health necessity and a virtuous deed; Xu Feng also protects Da Wa from overexertion.
• Knowledge, tradition, and deception: Xu Feng’s research reveals a rational mechanism behind seemingly mysterious techniques and exposes a likely false story about their origins.
• Building community: Donations and shared labor for the Earth God Shrine show growing collective support for Xu Feng’s work.

Key plot points and events

• While studying the Three Shu Monastery’s notes, Xu Feng realizes that its ghosts were contained by three linked Ghost-Trapping Arrays: the corpses, graves, and mountain bamboo each formed part of the system. The final calamity remains trapped despite the monastery’s decline.
• The notes describe a method for simulating death and gradually shutting down the senses. Xu Feng thinks he could adapt it with needles rather than acupoint strikes, though he worries it might resemble witchcraft.
• His study advances unevenly: the Lesser Calamity-Stitching Art remains at Initial Exposure, the Greater Art does not appear, but he unlocks a Breathing Method at Initial Exposure. He suspects movement, not just sitting or lying down, may be key to understanding it.
• After spotting someone nearby, Xu Feng draws his blade and challenges the intruder. The stranger turns out to be Coiling Dragon Daoist, sent by Grandpa Li after Xu Feng requested help.
• Coiling Dragon arrives with striking martial skill and an eccentric manner. Grandpa Li’s letter confirms his expertise in earthbreaking and dispelling malign forces, and warns Xu Feng to accommodate his temperament with food, wine, and poultry organs.
• Coiling Dragon agrees to break the site’s Earth Vein, but warns that his work will split the damaged vein into three sections, creating harmful winds. He also disclaims responsibility for a demon lurking there.
• He is ready to begin immediately, but Xu Feng stops him because they are unprepared. Xu Feng gets his master to entertain the Daoist with drinks while he goes to consult Shen Jicheng about arranging for the County Yamen to handle the demon.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng shows growing insight into arrays and occult techniques, and learns to temper his initial suspicion with courtesy once Coiling Dragon proves his connection to Grandpa Li. He remains practical, planning separate solutions for the Earth Vein and demon.
• Coiling Dragon Daoist is revealed as powerful, blunt, and quick to act, with a strict view of what he is and is not responsible for. His eccentric demands contrast with his formidable skill.
• Grandpa Li helps from a distance by sending Coiling Dragon and providing Xu Feng with crucial background and instructions.
• Xu Feng’s master responds to Xu Feng’s alarm and helps manage the unexpected guest, while Shen Jicheng remains a potential source of institutional help through the County Yamen.

Significant themes

• Knowledge through practical engagement: Xu Feng’s insight into the Breathing Method comes while working, prompting him to reconsider movement as part of cultivation.
• Responsibility and boundaries: Coiling Dragon clearly separates the Earth Vein problem from the demon, leaving Xu Feng to arrange another solution.
• Tradition versus pragmatism: Xu Feng adapts old ritual techniques with needles, while Coiling Dragon is willing to start work without ceremony or auspicious timing.
• The supernatural as a managed system: Arrays, Earth Veins, and demons pose distinct problems that require different expertise and coordinated action.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Feng reads Shen Jicheng’s freshly written ghost-story booklet, which wildly praises Xu Feng while thinly disguising criticism of Old Owl. Xu Feng is embarrassed, but Shen insists his low rank makes publication harmless.
• Shen teaches Xu Feng a practical method for getting official attention: stir up public complaints, carry them upward through intermediaries, and have a local notable or deputy official speak to the County Magistrate.
• Xu Feng uses that method to prompt action on the dangers around Lost-Trace Forest. He has allies spread reports that corpse monsters are attacking transport carts, helping bring Daoist Chu and his group to investigate.
• In the intervening days, Daoist Panlong clears some of Xu Feng’s Earth Veins as payment for wine, tours the region, and admires its local spiritual features. He requests a handful of soil from the Longflow River God’s rammed-earth site, explaining that soil from outside one’s home region can serve as “foreign soil.” He gives Xu Feng a sealed IOU in return.
• Panlong judges Xu Feng’s companion Da Wa too rigid to become an Earthbreaking master, then resumes his travels.
• Xu Feng studies Meridian Chart Essentials, using his knowledge of acupuncture and extra-meridian points to supplement its instructions for disabling a corpse’s senses and bodily functions. He wonders whether he might revive the tradition.
• Daoist Chu arrives with two younger Daoists. Though he recognizes Xu Feng’s name, the younger men react with alarm. On seeing Lost-Trace Forest, Chu immediately admits he cannot handle it and refuses to proceed, saying only a more capable Daoist—or perhaps his late master—could manage the danger.

Character developments

• Xu Feng is increasingly resourceful: he applies Shen’s political advice, mobilizes his reputation and connections, and expands his technical knowledge through careful study. He also has broader ambitions, including restoring the Charity Funeral Home and Charity Nunnery for both public benefit and official credit.
• Shen Jicheng emerges as a worldly mentor who understands how influence and public pressure work. He is also an aspiring storyteller, though his praise of Xu Feng and attack on Old Owl are conspicuously exaggerated.
• Daoist Panlong is shown to be exceptionally capable and independent, able to travel quickly and work on Earth Veins. His unexplained interest in foreign soil hints at a private purpose. He is blunt about Xu Feng’s and Da Wa’s prospects as apprentices.
• Daoist Chu proves cautious rather than heroic: despite formal ordination and a respectable background, he knows his limits and withdraws instead of risking a task beyond his ability.

Character interactions

• Shen gives Xu Feng tea, shares his booklet, and offers practical guidance on influencing officials.
• Panlong repays Xu Feng with help on the Earth Veins, asks for local soil, and leaves him a sealed promise of future assistance.
• Panlong critiques Da Wa’s temperament in Xu Feng’s presence, while Xu Feng accepts the judgment without protest.
• Xu Feng escorts Chu’s party to Lost-Trace Forest; Chu’s immediate refusal leaves the danger unresolved and suggests that the forest poses a serious challenge.

Significant themes

• Influence and local power: Official action depends not only on facts but on organizing public concern and guiding it through social and bureaucratic channels.
• Knowing one’s limits: Panlong’s blunt assessments and Chu’s refusal contrast competence and caution with empty bravado.
• Knowledge as adaptation: Xu Feng combines written instruction with prior medical understanding to extend the use of the Meridian Chart.
• Reputation and storytelling: Xu Feng’s growing fame precedes him, while Shen’s embellished account shows how narratives can elevate one person by diminishing another.
• Local belonging and hidden purposes: Panlong’s distinction between local and foreign soil underscores the importance of place while leaving his intentions mysterious.

Key plot points and events

• Daoist Chu tries to withdraw from the dangerous mission, but Xu Feng stops him, desperate to act before his Yin Virtue runs out and before the County Magistrate leaves.
• Coiling Dragon Daoist provokes Chu with insults, arguing that the growing earth qi must be dealt with now. Chu explains that his thunder magic is still weak: he can summon only two bolts, and someone would still have to enter the haunted site and confront the demonic qi.
• Panlong proposes a division of labor: he will break through the earth qi, Chu will provide thunder, and Xu Feng will go inside to fight. Xu Feng agrees readily, eager to proceed.
• Chu accepts the plan and prepares an altar, thunderbolts, command arrows, and other ritual materials. Panlong promises to lead Xu Feng inside if the earth qi emerges.
• While preparations are made, Xu Feng writes petitions to the gods and reviews his skills, especially the Ghost-Trapping Method and its possible use in his Greater Calamity-Stitching Art.
• The next day, Panlong gives Xu Feng a lantern fueled by Xu Feng’s Sacrificial Flame. Calling it “Earth Lord’s Guidance,” he prepares to enter with him and boasts that he will kill the Earth Dragon with one swing of his hoe.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng remains determined despite the danger. His urgency comes from practical pressures—his dwindling Yin Virtue and the approaching departure of the County Magistrate—as well as his eagerness to uncover what lies within.
• Daoist Chu is angry at Panlong’s taunts but ultimately reveals that his hesitation comes from conscience, not cowardice: he refuses to accept payment for a mission he believes would send someone to their death. Xu Feng’s reputation and willingness to enter persuade him to cooperate.
• Coiling Dragon Daoist acts as Xu Feng’s blunt, aggressive advocate. His insults nearly provoke a fight, but they also push Chu to explain himself and commit to a workable plan.
• Master and Da Wa briefly intervene to keep Panlong and Chu from clashing; Da Wa obediently clings to Panlong’s leg despite not understanding why.
• The surrounding Daoists watch the confrontation, while Chu’s companions are unsure whether to intervene.

Significant themes

• Virtue versus power: Chu insists that moral character matters more than inherited magical artifacts, and that refusing a reckless mission is an ethical choice.
• Courage and responsibility: Xu Feng accepts the risk willingly, while the group must divide duties according to their abilities.
• Urgency and irreversible choices: With time, resources, and opportunity running short, Xu Feng feels that waiting is itself a danger.
• Reputation and identity: Xu Feng’s grim nicknames embarrass him, but they reassure Chu that he has the standing and experience to undertake the mission.

Plot and events

• Xu Feng confirms that the Earth Dragon lies where his Precious Mirror indicated, matching Daoist Panlong’s findings. When Xu Feng mentions seeing the Dragon-Head Miasma, Panlong admits he had underestimated him and warns that the miasma is an extraordinary, dangerous phenomenon.
• Panlong explains the martial world through an animal hierarchy: Xu Feng is a powerful “toad” among ordinary pond-dwellers, Panlong is a “serpent” of the rivers, and Mountain Lords and Roaming Dragons represent progressively rarer levels of power and freedom. Xu Feng’s ability to perceive the miasma might help him rise, but Panlong cautions him not to interfere unless he has the ability and fortune to survive.
• Asked whether a toad could become a Roaming Dragon, Panlong offers a path of fate, fortune, feng shui, Yin Virtue, and study, then leaves. Xu Feng and Master joke about his standing and the immense effort required to advance.
• Daoist Chu prepares a thunder-summoning rite. Da Wa sits motionless at the center of a miniature shrine built from tiles, incense ash, a fire basin, cords, and copper coins, anchoring the place the ritual master intends to summon. Chu explains that the arrangement will let him invite the City God and attendants to hold the summoned location in place.
• After a careful altar-opening ceremony, unnatural wind and thunder begin. Chu gives Xu Feng a command token and signals him to act. Panlong takes Xu Feng to the Earth Dragon’s marker, opens the ground with his hoe, and sends him into the passage to follow the thunder.
• Xu Feng enters a dark underground hall. Something blows out his lantern, but his Owl Button lets him see the room: it is crowded with ghosts, gathered and working like clerks in a yamen.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng learns that his ability to see the Dragon-Head Miasma marks him as unusual, though he remains humble about his prospects and focuses on the immediate task. He follows the ritual instructions and enters the dangerous passage.
• Daoist Panlong reveals both his power and his limits, speaking candidly about the hierarchy of practitioners and warning Xu Feng against reckless ambition. He later carries Xu Feng swiftly to the Earth Dragon and opens the way inside.
• Master shares what he has learned about Chu’s spell and teases Xu Feng about whether he can even hold his place among the “toads.”
• Da Wa shows his obedience by remaining still as instructed, despite confusion and strange thunder.
• Daoist Chu demonstrates disciplined ritual expertise, carefully coordinating the altar ceremony and using Xu Feng as part of the operation.

Significant themes

• Ambition and limits: Advancement is possible, but rare and dependent on more than strength; even extraordinary practitioners have ceilings.
• Fate, effort, and virtue: The stated path to greatness balances fortune and circumstances with sustained study and moral accumulation.
• Knowledge as danger: Seeing the Dragon-Head Miasma gives Xu Feng insight, but also exposes him to risks beyond his understanding.
• Ritual order amid the uncanny: Precise rites and symbolic objects are used to control supernatural forces, while the final sight of industrious ghosts hints at a strange, organized world beneath the surface.

Plot

• Xu Feng is trapped behind a Ghost Wall in the Lost-Trace Forest and finds himself in a hall full of Ghost Clerks. They mistake his burning courage and spiritual power for signs that he is a heroic spirit, let him pass through the First Palace, and direct him toward the Palace of Absolute Yin.
• Xu Feng realizes the place is an apparition of Mount Feng, formed from the failed Corpse-Liberation Immortal’s final experience. Though it seems vast and real, his map shows he remains in the Lost-Trace Forest.
• Knowing he is neither a heroic spirit nor in the Han dynasty, Xu Feng rejects the idea that Mount Feng’s usual rites will help him. He invokes the Longflow River God and prepares to use Daoist Chu’s command arrow.
• Daoist Chu’s three promised thunderclaps arrive. On his command, Xu Feng runs toward the distant palace as lightning strikes it.
• The thunder shatters the illusion. Xu Feng finds himself in a tomb chamber beside a corpse whose back has been pierced and whose face resembles the Flame Emperor: a bull-headed, human-bodied immortal. The corpse’s “Mount Feng” apparition arose from the failed practitioner.

Character development and interactions

• Xu Feng’s composure breaks when the Ghost Clerks close in, but he turns fear into action, relying on his blade, spiritual strength, and breathing technique. He reasons through the supernatural rules rather than trusting appearances.
• The Ghost Clerks treat Xu Feng as a heroic spirit and politely guide him onward, revealing that they follow Mount Feng’s customs but cannot distinguish his true nature.
• Daoist Chu remains at a distance, communicating through the promised thunder and a single command: “Go!” Xu Feng trusts the signal and acts without hesitation.
• Old Owl’s warning—not to believe anything seen in these tombs—proves crucial to interpreting the corpse.

Significant themes

• Illusion and unreliable appearances: The immense Mount Feng is only an apparition, and the corpse’s face reflects the immortal figure the failed practitioner last saw.
• Tradition versus changed times: Xu Feng recognizes that Mount Feng’s old system of honoring loyal, fallen heroes no longer applies; he must find another way through.
• Courage under fear: Xu Feng is terrified, yet acts decisively, combining physical resolve with faith and clear judgment.
• Failure leaving its mark: The practitioner’s failed attempt at Corpse Liberation shapes both the apparition and the corpse’s final form.

Key plot points and events

• Seeing the failed Corpse-Liberation Immortal’s remains gives Xu Feng the insight he needs to advance Corpse Stitching from Furnace Mastery to Flawless Perfection.
• Xu Feng wraps the corpse in his Ritual Robe and carries it out, hoping to prevent it from causing further deaths.
• He correctly realizes that the ghost face is separate from the local Earth Qi. When it gathers around the corpse, he uses a City God’s Divine Thunder token and then an Earth God’s token to disperse and weaken it.
• Xu Feng pursues the ghost face, recognizing it as something formed from the failed Immortal and the surrounding Earth Qi. He continues after it despite suspecting that the thunder may not be enough to destroy it.
• Aboveground, Daoist Chu completes his part of the rite and sends a prayer petition to the Earth God, then anxiously waits for Xu Feng. Daoist Panlong, meanwhile, identifies and kills the “dragon” in the ground before rushing toward the thunder.
• Xu Feng emerges carrying the corpse and other “spoils,” returns the Thunder Command Tokens, and rides back to the shed. There, he sends the craftsmen away and reveals that the ghost face is trapped in the shroud, where he plans to wear it down using the Great Stitching Calamity.
• Xu Feng also discovers that the Underground Palace has a still older level beneath it: the upper palace was like a mouth, with the lower one like a tongue.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng gains a breakthrough in his craft and demonstrates sharper judgment: he distinguishes the ghost face from Earth Qi, uses the thunder strategically, and adapts to the danger as it changes. He treats the dead Immortal respectfully even while taking its body away.
• Daoist Chu has done nearly all he can through ritual and prayer. His concern for Xu Feng is mixed with anxiety over his missing Thunder Command Tokens, which he fears may be lost.
• Daoist Panlong remains calm and capable, trusting Xu Feng’s chances despite Daoist Chu’s growing worry. He acts independently by dealing with the underground “dragon” and then follows the thunder.
• Xu Feng and the others interact mostly at a distance: Chu and Panlong wait for the outcome, while Xu Feng returns without explaining himself, focused on securing the corpse and ghost face.

Significant themes

• Insight through direct experience: Xu Feng’s breakthrough comes from seeing the principle embodied, not merely studying it abstractly.
• Judgment and adaptability: Xu Feng succeeds by questioning assumptions, distinguishing related but separate threats, and changing tactics.
• Respect amid necessity: He apologizes to the dead Immortal and accepts the risk of offending the gods when desperate measures are required.
• Layered mysteries: The ghost face, Earth Qi, and deeper palace reveal that the apparent danger is more complex than expected—and that the underground structure has further depths.

Key events

• Xu Feng discovers that the Mouth Palace and Tongue Palace together form an Underground Palace with exceptional feng shui, potentially suited to Corpse Liberation. The Tongue Palace’s occupant nevertheless failed: groundwater from the Yellow River flooded and ruined the burial chamber, and the would-be immortal eventually dissolved into the earth.
• Xu Feng recovers a stubborn bolt of lightning he had hoped to sew onto his Ritual Robe, but cannot attach it. He also finds an “Earth Lung” source of Earth Qi and marks its location for a later return.
• With his Master away, Xu Feng decides to stitch the surviving body of the failed Corpse-Liberation Immortal. He prepares the site with lanterns, offerings, and protective corner pillars, then works through the night.
• During the stitching, Xu Feng reflects on his developing craft. He realizes that advancing beyond Furnace Mastery requires a broader understanding, not just finer technique. He considers how the theory that anything unmoving is a corpse might lead, at the highest level, to “Skill Nearing the Dao.”
• Xu Feng completes the work just before dawn. His Master and Da Wa inspect the stitched corpse, which has the appearance of a bull-headed figure associated with the First Heavenly Palace of Fengdu. Xu Feng explains what the immortal told him.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng shows growing confidence and independence by undertaking the difficult stitching without his Master present. His craft has matured from technical skill toward deeper principles, and he remains respectful of his Master despite joking with him.
• The Master waits outside, resisting the urge to interrupt because he knows the rules of the work. He is startled by the corpse’s appearance and openly praises Xu Feng, while Xu Feng insists that his own abilities rest on the Master’s teaching.
• Da Wa listens carefully as the Master explains the rules, then eventually goes to sleep while the adults keep watch.
• Xu Feng speaks to his absent Master as though he were beside him while stitching, using the familiar conversation to feel supported. When the real Master hears him, their exchange becomes a comic misunderstanding: Xu Feng explains he was “talking to himself” and jokes that sharing the task might earn his Master Yin Virtue.

Significant themes

• Fate and human limits: Even extraordinary planning and auspicious feng shui cannot overcome ill-timed disaster.
• Mastery through perspective: True progress comes not from polishing technique alone, but from seeing the work—and the nature of corpses—more broadly.
• Death, return, and restoration: Xu Feng’s stitching seeks to restore balance and allow the dead to “return,” reflecting the chapter’s meditation on the boundary between life and death.
• Respect and affection: The humor between Xu Feng and his Master sits alongside genuine gratitude, trust, and mutual esteem.

Plot points and events

• After Xu Feng safely stitches the ox-headed corpse, his master admits he always knew taking Xu Feng as an apprentice was dangerous. He believes Xu Feng’s good fortune has kept him alive and acknowledges that he has taught Xu Feng all he can.
• Xu Feng gives his master an illustrated scroll recovered from the Corpse-Liberation Immortal’s underground palace. It depicts a human-shaped Earth Vein beneath Luoyin County and appears to connect the palace’s immortality practices with drawing Earth Qi into the body.
• Xu Feng tells his master he intends to attempt their first Greater Calamity-Stitching Art, joining the Ghost Face—formed from the immortal’s thoughts and the Earth Vein—to a corpse. He asks his master to help ensure the process and burial are handled properly.
• Xu Feng proposes a public funeral system: establish a Charity Funeral Home under the Joyful Lord Charity Nunnery, where unidentified and dangerous corpses can be buried together. With the County Magistrate’s support and help from local officials, the project could earn Yin Virtue while improving funeral rites. His master agrees to help, starting by soliciting donations.
• Xu Feng then returns to the Lost-Trace Forest to gather Earth Qi and Dragon-Head Miasma for his Ritual Robe, hoping to resolve the remaining danger and earn more Yin Virtue. He finds Shen Jicheng still there; Daoist Panlong has already departed without explanation.
• Xu Feng begins stitching the strongest “earth dragon” into his robe. The Earth Vein fights back violently, nearly throwing off his first stitches.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng’s master openly recognizes Xu Feng’s greater ability and hands him authority over the work, while offering to teach Da Wa and any future apprentices. His respect is sincere, though he jokes about being assigned to beg for donations.
• Xu Feng shows growing confidence and strategic thinking: he combines supernatural work with civic institutions and political connections, seeking both public benefit and personal Yin Virtue.
• Shen Jicheng watches Xu Feng’s work and asks permission to observe; Xu Feng allows him, since this stitching is not the secret Greater Calamity-Stitching Art.
• Daoist Panlong’s unexplained departure leaves a small unanswered question.

Significant themes

• Mentorship and succession: the master accepts his limits and yields leadership to his apprentice.
• Risk, fate, and Yin Virtue: Xu Feng’s dangerous destiny remains a concern, and he measures the moral and supernatural consequences of his actions.
• Practical compassion and public service: Xu Feng turns the need to dispose of dangerous remains into a plan for dignified communal burial.
• Knowledge and control of nature: the scroll and the rebellious Earth Vein suggest that ancient immortality practices manipulate powerful forces that remain difficult to master.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Feng, masquerading as Zhao San, stitches corrupted Earth Qi into his Robe of a Hundred Virtues. Though even the weakest strand feels immensely heavy to work with, he gradually binds it to the robe using incense as thread.
• The Earth Qi forms overlapping scales on the dragon-serpent pattern already created by the robe’s miasma. Shen Jicheng watches and privately plans to exaggerate Zhao San’s role in his account of the work.
• Xu Feng’s first effort unlocks the robe’s Rock-Solid quality: its scales can stop ordinary blade thrusts, though they offer little protection from blunt attacks.
• After resting with tea and using a Dragon-Tiger Plaster on his aching hand, Xu Feng practices the Breathing Method. It rapidly restores his energy, allowing him to stitch in nearly all the remaining Earth Qi.
• The robe’s protection improves with each layer. It ultimately becomes Earth-Qi Dragon-Scale Treasure Armor, able to withstand attacks from Fierce-grade Magical Artifacts or lower—without becoming heavier.
• At dusk, a previously encountered, powerful corpse approaches. Shen Jicheng warns Xu Feng and prepares to defend himself; Xu Feng recognizes the creature as a chance to test his new armor.

Character developments

• Xu Feng demonstrates patience and endurance, repeatedly working through exhaustion rather than abandoning the difficult stitching. His Breathing Method proves a practical way to recover, and the upgraded robe gives him a major new form of protection.
• Shen Jicheng remains loyal and attentive, bringing Xu Feng tea and waiting beside him throughout the work. He is also eager to shape the story in Zhao San’s favor, particularly by highlighting his own family’s contribution.

Significant themes

• Effort and gradual improvement: The robe’s power grows stitch by stitch, with each layer producing incremental gains.
• Practical adaptation: Xu Feng turns a ritual garment into armor, finding protection that does not draw attention as conventional armor would.
• Storytelling and credit: Shen recognizes that accounts of shared work can be shaped by deciding whom to praise and how much to embellish.
• Courage through preparation: Xu Feng’s new protection lets him face dangerous creatures with greater confidence, but its limits still need testing.

Character interactions

• Shen supports Xu Feng during the exhausting work, offering tea and keeping his distance when the Earth Qi makes the area dangerous.
• Xu Feng cautions Shen to treat the bloodstained robe like a ghost, since it can still frighten him even though it can no longer harm him.
• When the corpse approaches, Shen warns Xu Feng and readies his dagger; Xu Feng reassures him and prepares to test the robe’s defenses.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Feng and Shen Jicheng retreat through the underground palace as a collapse threatens. On the way, Xu Feng notices that the crawling Corpse Demons seem to form patterns resembling talismans.
• Shen Jicheng suggests the corpses may embody principles of heaven and earth. Xu Feng realizes their transformations might follow the Earth Vein’s pattern, and that the corpses themselves could be a kind of natural talisman.
• A small group of Corpse Demons attacks. Xu Feng shields Shen Jicheng and withstands their blows with his newly made Ritual Robe, using his powerful sleeves and blade to fight them off.
• After escaping the pit, Xu Feng and Shen Jicheng haul the damaged corpses out. Xu Feng intends to sew them up so they can return safely to the earth.
• Xu Feng checks his status and discovers that repairing the damaged Earth Vein has earned him ten days of Yin God’s Favor, enough Yin Virtue to use the Five Thunder Token.
• Xu Feng plans to attempt a dangerous “Stitching Calamity” on Ghost Face, drawing on the Longflow River God’s protection. Shen Jicheng worries that interfering with life and death might offend heaven, but Xu Feng resolves to proceed.

Character developments

• Xu Feng gains a new insight into the relationship between Corpse Demon transformations, Earth Veins, and talismanic principles. He also shows greater confidence in his protective armor, combat ability, and willingness to take on a grave spiritual risk.
• Shen Jicheng remains cautious about the consequences of Xu Feng’s work, yet his admiration and commitment deepen. Despite his age and fears, he agrees to support Xu Feng’s undertaking.

Character interactions

• Xu Feng and Shen Jicheng rely on each other during their retreat and fight: Xu Feng protects Shen Jicheng, while Shen offers an interpretation that sparks Xu Feng’s insight.
• Their conversation about the boundary between life and death reveals their differing instincts—Shen questions the danger and possible heavenly disapproval, while Xu Feng argues that difficult righteous actions must still be carried through.
• When Xu Feng asks who will lead the mourning rites if the attempt goes badly, Shen promises to do so.

Significant themes

• Reading the natural order: Xu Feng’s craft allows him to perceive patterns in bodies and connect them to larger cosmic principles.
• Duty and risk: Xu Feng is prepared to face spiritual danger in the name of helping humanity.
• Life, death, and respect for the dead: His decision to repair and return the corpses reflects his belief that the dead deserve care and that they can be restored to their proper place in the world.
• Loyalty and companionship: Shen’s support balances his concern, showing steadfast friendship even in the face of possible disaster.