Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• The corpse suddenly revives after consuming Dragon-Head Miasma and attacks Xu Feng at close range. Xu Feng’s usual techniques are ineffective, so he relies on physical strength and his Yellow River Carp enhancement.
• Master Zhao Er arrives with an Iron Shovel. Together, he and Xu Feng batter the corpse until it is helpless; Zhao Er decapitates it and pins it down with a Yellow Cloth Bag of incense ash.
• The two move the three damaged bodies into the West Room. Zhao Er explains that the county office is unlikely to intervene because none of the dead were local and they had been bought through an Official Broker. He intends to stitch them up and settle their spirits.
• Xu Feng asks about his wound and follows Zhao Er’s instructions to make an offering and use incense ash and the Alms Bowl Hand. He privately knows he has no poison effect, but hopes to learn how to treat one.
• On examining the corpse, Zhao Er finds its body is completely empty of its usual contents.
• With little time before morning, Zhao Er says he cannot teach Xu Feng the Augmenting Method or how to retrace the lines. When Xu Feng asks to watch, however, Zhao Er agrees, saying the opportunity will help him understand the heart of Corpse Stitching and the essence of Stitching Calamity.

Character developments

• Xu Feng reacts quickly under pressure, fights despite injury, and shows initiative by improvising with the stretcher frame. His curiosity also leads him to probe for instruction, even though asking directly may violate apprentice etiquette.
• Master Zhao Er proves both capable and protective in the fight, but his remark that he “got greedy” hints at regret or a hidden miscalculation. He is distracted by the corpse’s condition, yet ultimately welcomes Xu Feng’s interest in his craft.

Significant themes

• Practical survival over formal technique: Xu Feng’s physical strength and improvised weapons matter more than his usual supernatural abilities.
• The dangers of greed and incomplete knowledge: Zhao Er’s cryptic admission and the corpse’s unnatural emptiness suggest that the night’s events stem from something more complicated than a simple attack.
• Social neglect and responsibility: The dead are unlikely to receive justice through official channels, leaving Zhao Er to take responsibility for their bodies and spirits.
• Apprenticeship and guarded knowledge: Mastery depends on rare opportunities and careful observation, but a student’s initiative can open the door to learning.

Character interactions

• Zhao Er saves Xu Feng by telling him to duck, then joins him in defeating the corpse.
• Xu Feng checks on his master, asks practical questions about the bodies and his wound, and tries to understand Zhao Er’s cryptic reaction.
• Zhao Er directs Xu Feng’s ritual tasks and, after Xu Feng asks to observe, agrees to let him witness the Augmenting Method.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Feng assists Master in restoring Zhao San’s altered corpse. He observes advanced corpse-stitching: cleaning and treating the body, filling it with organs arranged according to yin-yang and Five Elements principles, stitching it closed, and smoothing its qi.
• Master teaches Xu Feng to grasp the corpse’s “spirit” rather than reproduce its exact anatomy, and sends him to fetch brushes and pigments for the final painting.
• Near dawn, they leave the other two corpses for later. They find Mr. Zhou’s severed head, but Master says his body is likely inside someone’s stomach or somewhere at the Qian Family estate, and cannot be restored without it.
• After carrying out cleansing rituals, Xu Feng lies down but mentally reviews every detail of Master’s work. Master stays awake, troubled by the night’s events and uncertain what to do.
• Xu Feng eventually falls asleep. When he is awakened, Master says it is time to tell him the truth about Lost-Trace Forest and Master’s own teacher.

Character developments

• Xu Feng moves beyond initial nausea and shows a calm, focused interest in the craft. His anatomical knowledge and basic grasp of yin-yang and the Five Elements help him understand the techniques, and he diligently memorizes them.
• Master continues teaching Xu Feng, but his private unease suggests he is weighing a serious decision. He finally chooses to reveal important truths about his past.

Significant themes

• Craft as more than technique: Corpse restoration involves symbolic, abstract principles as well as physical skill.
• Learning through observation and preparation: Xu Feng can recognize the method because he has relevant knowledge, though he still has much to master.
• Limits of duty and compassion: Master accepts that Corpse Sewers cannot save everyone and advises Xu Feng not to dwell on what they cannot fix.
• Secrets and revelation: The chapter closes with a promise that hidden truths about the forest and Master’s lineage will soon come to light.

Character interactions

• Master instructs Xu Feng throughout the restoration and entrusts him with practical tasks, treating him as a genuine apprentice.
• Xu Feng asks what can be done for Mr. Zhou; Master explains the limits of their work and counsels him to let the matter go.
• While Xu Feng sleeps, Master watches him in conflicted silence. When Xu Feng wakes, Master begins a candid conversation about the past.

Plot points and events

• After Master admits that taking Xu Feng to Lost-Trace Forest was partly selfish, he confesses the forest’s harmful miasma may have drawn the corpse that nearly killed Xu Feng.
• Master, shaken by the danger, decides they should stop entering the forest and find another way for Xu Feng to build courage.
• Xu Feng argues that the forest has already benefited him, that danger is part of a difficult fate, and that they should plan carefully rather than abandon their goal. He persuades Master to continue working with him.
• Master then explains that the corpse they encountered is a Demon Corpse. Its transformation starts when its organs liquefy and proceeds through stages called “Cicada-Shedding and Snake-Sloughing.” The corpse was in its second transformation, with scales beginning to grow on its mouth and tongue.

Character developments

• Xu Feng shows determination and strategic thinking. Though he knows Master’s account of the miasma is partly true, he conceals his own knowledge and focuses on keeping their partnership intact.
• Master reveals guilt and fear that his choices endangered his disciple. He initially retreats from their plan, but Xu Feng’s reassurance restores some of his resolve.

Significant themes

• Perseverance in the face of danger: Xu Feng insists that a setback should not end their efforts.
• Shared responsibility and loyalty: He frames their journey as a shared fate, not a burden Master must carry alone.
• Fate and fortune: The characters weigh whether Xu Feng’s supposedly tough fate can turn danger into good fortune.
• Knowledge and uncertainty: Xu Feng knows little about the forest’s origins or how to solve its mysteries, making Master’s cooperation essential.

Character interactions

• Xu Feng uses encouragement—and a string of dramatic sayings—to persuade Master not to withdraw. Master teases him for sounding like a storyteller but ultimately listens.
• Their conversation shifts from personal guilt over the corpse’s attack to a more practical discussion of what the creature is and how it transforms.

Key plot points and events

• Master explains that some transformed corpses become demons through a process called Cicada-Shedding and Snake-Sloughing. There are nine stages; after the ninth, the creature may become an Immortal. The transformations take increasingly long, from days at first to centuries or longer.
• Xu Feng worries that members of the Earth-Fire Cult might undergo the same process after death. Master doubts it, explaining that the body must be whole and buried in an earth vein.
• Master reveals that Lost-Trace Forest may contain another transformed ancient corpse. Xu Feng’s Grandmaster sealed it, and Master brought Xu Feng there because his unusually strong birth chart might let them approach the village and eventually rescue him.
• Master admits he had been reckless to take Xu Feng there before he was ready. Xu Feng insists they should keep trying to save Grandmaster, even if it takes time—and jokes that they could clear the forest tree by tree.
• The idea sparks a new plan: instead of entering the forest all at once, they may clear it gradually. Master decides they will go to the county town the next day to recruit help and gather equipment.

Character developments

• Xu Feng shows courage, loyalty, and practical optimism. He remains troubled by the Earth-Fire Cult but refuses to give up on rescuing Grandmaster.
• Master becomes more candid, sharing what he knows and acknowledging his selfishness and fear. Xu Feng’s determination restores his hope and helps him reconsider his approach.

Character interactions

• Master treats Xu Feng as a young adult and explains the dangers and history behind the transformations.
• Xu Feng questions and challenges Master’s assumptions, then reassures him that they can keep working toward a rescue.
• Their conversation shifts from confession and concern to shared resolve, ending with Master committing to prepare for a larger effort.

Significant themes

• Hope and perseverance: A seemingly impossible rescue may become achievable through patience and incremental work.
• Trust and mentorship: Master’s honesty deepens their bond, while Xu Feng responds with openness and resolve.
• Knowledge and uncertainty: Master’s explanations clarify the supernatural process, but the Earth-Fire Cult and Lost-Trace Forest remain unresolved mysteries.

Plot points and events

• After working through the night, Zhao Er falls asleep while considering a solution to the problem in town. Xu Feng lets him rest, tidies the courtyard, and then reviews Zhao Er’s corpse-stitching from memory.
• Xu Feng reconstructs the technique and realizes it goes beyond ordinary corpse stitching. He begins to understand the principles behind the Lesser Calamity-Stitching Art, though one crucial insight remains out of reach.
• To learn from the corpses, he respectfully asks their permission and studies their stitches and anatomy. Examining the transformed “demon,” he discovers that its bones and chest cavity changed shape, while Zhao Er’s arrangement of its organs helped preserve a human form after death.
• Xu Feng connects his observations to medical texts and the Zhu You Art. He concludes that substitute materials can work if they fit the symbolic logic of yin, yang, and the Five Elements, and that leaving a path for qi to flow is essential.
• His deepened understanding advances his Corpse Stitching skill from Proficient to Expert, though he does not notice. He studies his books further but recognizes that thought alone cannot supply the missing piece; knowledge must be tested through action.
• As he prepares to cook, someone knocks at the door.

Character development

• Xu Feng grows from an observant practitioner into a more independent, analytical student. Instead of merely copying Zhao Er’s technique, he investigates its purpose and principles, showing respect, patience, and intellectual curiosity.
• Zhao Er is shown as exhausted after a demanding night’s work. His technique remains the example from which Xu Feng learns.

Significant themes

• Understanding versus imitation: True expertise comes from grasping why a craft works, not simply memorizing its steps.
• Knowledge joined to practice: Xu Feng recognizes that reasoning must eventually be verified through action.
• Respect for the dead and the craft: He treats the corpses as teachers and approaches the work with courtesy and solemnity.
• Harmony and wholeness: Corpse stitching is framed as helping the dead depart peacefully by preserving balance and allowing qi to flow.

Character interactions

• Xu Feng quietly gives Zhao Er time to recover rather than waking him.
• He addresses the corpses respectfully, asks their permission to study them, and treats them as his teachers.
• His final preparations are interrupted by an unknown visitor at the door.

Key plot points and events

• Uncle Liu visits the Earth God Shrine in the middle of the day, surprising Xu Feng. Xu Feng cautiously checks the visitor with the Broken Blade before letting him in.
• Uncle Liu praises Xu Feng’s growing reputation and his master, Old Zhao, for finding a capable apprentice. Old Zhao’s invitation for Xu Feng to sit beside him signals that he regards him as an equal.
• Uncle Liu reports that the Qian family’s recent actions have caused trouble in the county. The Qian family’s leader is dead, and people are seeking compensation from the magistrate. Captured members of the Earth-Fire Cult have been sentenced to execution, but must wait months for approval from the capital; a Daoist from Cloud Dragon Temple has been brought in to guard against supernatural danger.
• Old Zhao guesses Uncle Liu has come about the Broken Blade and tells Xu Feng to return it. Uncle Liu explains that his father wants to see Old Zhao—and Doctor Qi—before he dies.
• Uncle Liu’s father believes his death is imminent, based on ominous signs: a black snake in a vision, mice seeming to count, and a tree falling onto his roof. He wants help settling affairs and has matters to discuss.
• Old Zhao retrieves the Iron Shovel for Uncle Liu. After he leaves, Old Zhao reveals that Uncle Liu’s father is an unusually significant figure. They will visit him both to see him off and to ask whether he knows how to clear the Lost-Trace Forest or locate useful sha artifacts.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng acts cautiously and responsibly, guarding the shrine before admitting Uncle Liu. Though reluctant to lose the Broken Blade, he accepts that it belongs to someone else and should be returned.
• Old Zhao demonstrates trust in Xu Feng by seating him as an equal in the conversation. His sharp humor and ability to read Uncle Liu’s unspoken purpose contrast with his serious interest in the old Executioner’s impending death.
• Uncle Liu moves from friendly praise to a grave request. His respect for Old Zhao is evident, though he initially tries to delay explaining why he came.
• Uncle Liu’s father, though absent, emerges as a respected man with knowledge of omens and possibly supernatural matters. His summons connects the characters’ personal obligations to their search for answers.

Significant themes

• Trust and apprenticeship: Old Zhao’s public gesture toward Xu Feng affirms their bond and Xu Feng’s growing standing.
• Duty and ownership: Xu Feng sets aside his attachment to the Broken Blade because it is not his to keep.
• Mortality and omens: The old Executioner’s signs of approaching death give the visit urgency and frame death as something intertwined with folk beliefs.
• The supernatural amid ordinary disorder: County politics, compensation, and executions coexist with cultists, protective rites, and the search for sha-related knowledge.

Plot points and events

• Master tells Xu Feng that Uncle Liu’s father, Old Master Liu, was a legendary executioner who possessed secret techniques and lived through dangerous times. Though a fortune-teller predicted he would have no children, he raised Uncle Liu to adulthood.
• Master hopes Old Master Liu can help them understand and disrupt the feng shui of the Lost-Trace Forest. This would be safer than Master’s rough plan involving a Baleful Object, which might leave their survival to chance.
• Xu Feng remains wary of Master’s claim that he has already devised a plan, suspecting he may have had little time to think it through. Still, he accepts that Old Master Liu’s help could improve their odds.
• While digging in Uncle Liu’s courtyard, Xu Feng and Master uncover 174 Soul Bottles, apparently accumulated over Old Master Liu’s lifetime. The number suggests he executed an unusually large number of people, likely during a period of turmoil.
• Uncle Liu and Master prepare to transport the bottles to the County Town in Rooster Carts and visit Old Master Liu. Uncle Liu says the trip has an auspicious omen and has brought food.
• Xu Feng worries the corpses left in the courtyard might transform and escape. Uncle Liu reassures him that a Suppressing Object will hold down their restless energy.

Character developments and interactions

• Master explains Old Master Liu’s reputation and seeks his help, while revealing that his own proposed solution to the forest’s feng shui is risky. He remains confident—perhaps overconfident—about having a plan.
• Xu Feng is practical and cautious: he questions the corpse security, thinks ahead about the four-month execution process, and worries about the Earth-Fire Cult prisoner escaping. He privately doubts Master’s planning but goes along with him.
• Uncle Liu shows trust in his father’s abilities and judgment, especially through the auspicious divination. His humor and preparation help keep the group moving.
• Master and Uncle Liu banter over the transport, the danger of the journey, and Master’s hunger; their familiarity contrasts with Xu Feng’s more guarded outlook.

Significant themes

• Legacy and inheritance: Old Master Liu’s knowledge, reputation, and Soul Bottles embody the weight of a life’s work passed down to his son.
• Fate versus preparation: Predictions and omens shape the characters’ expectations, but practical precautions—such as securing the corpses—remain essential.
• Risk and uncertainty: The group faces supernatural dangers and an unpredictable timeline, relying on experience, cooperation, and luck to improve their chances.

Plot points and events

• Uncle Liu gives Xu Feng a Willow-Branch Suppressing Object, a low-grade, relatively safe charm that can restrain weak wandering spirits. Xu Feng decides not to equip it yet, intending to save it for a future retreat.
• At Uncle Liu’s instruction, Xu Feng hangs the charm facing the corpse, careful not to point it at a deity.
• The group loads more than a hundred Soul Bottles onto two Rooster Carts and hauls them back toward Luoyin County. The journey is quiet and unsettling, but nothing attacks them.
• Master says they should buy a donkey for the Earth God Shrine. He recalls that a past Spirit-Baiting job earned him a plate of copper coins, though a promised draft animal never materialized after the Qian Family’s troubles.
• At the county gate, the soldiers avoid the two elders. Once inside, Master and Uncle Liu warn Xu Feng about several suspicious townspeople.
• Master explains that Luoyin County has become a refuge for criminals driven out of larger places: child abductors, fences, and thieves. They are difficult to arrest without evidence and accomplices.
• Xu Feng asks whether the town also has people who finance tomb raids. Uncle Liu confirms that it does, prompting Xu Feng’s question.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng shows cautious judgment by declining to equip the new charm, and growing respect for Master’s practical experience and instinct—especially Master’s unnoticed recovery of the copper-coin plate. He also recognizes that he has much to learn about the town’s underworld.
• Master treats Xu Feng as a partner in household decisions, while remaining watchful and authoritative around potential threats. He takes time to explain the local criminal world rather than dismissing Xu Feng’s questions.
• Uncle Liu is practical and knowledgeable, supplying the charm and warning that livestock prices are rising. His relaxed teasing contrasts with his formidable presence in town.
• The elders look after Xu Feng on the crowded streets, while their guarded stares and the locals’ wary responses reveal a mutual awareness among dangerous, experienced people.

Significant themes

• Experience versus book learning: Xu Feng admires the instincts acquired through practice and hardship.
• Prudence and safety: The charm offers protection without the risks of Xu Feng’s more dangerous weapon, and the elders repeatedly urge caution.
• A town with its own hidden order: Luoyin County appears small and quiet, yet sustains a network of criminals and specialists largely beyond effective official control.
• Community and shared responsibility: Master’s willingness to consult Xu Feng suggests their household is becoming a cooperative partnership.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Feng jokes that tomb robbers might damage corpses or provoke them into reanimating. Uncle Liu explains that a tomb-robbing crew would kill a reanimated corpse rather than seek help, while Xu Feng quietly realizes his master also knows about the crew.
• Xu Feng, his master, and Uncle Liu bring Soul Bottles to Uncle Liu’s family residence, a maze-like house decorated with silent copper bells and crowded birdcages.
• Uncle Liu’s father—an elderly executioner Xu Feng thinks of as “Old Owl”—inspects Xu Feng by gripping his face and checking his body. He then criticizes Xu Feng’s master for taking another apprentice, predicting the master may soon die.
• Old Owl asks how much Corpse Stitching Xu Feng has learned. Xu Feng evades the question and hides behind his master.
• Old Owl describes Xu Feng as a fool holding a peerless sword and threatening revenge, suggesting that Xu Feng possesses dangerous potential he may not understand.

Character developments

• Xu Feng continues to conceal his knowledge and intentions by acting naïve. He also starts connecting his master to the tomb-robbing mission and wonders whether the original Zhao San’s fate contributed to his master’s declining prospects.
• Xu Feng’s master remains calm under Old Owl’s criticism and confirms that Xu Feng is the last apprentice he will take, intensifying the sense that his time may be limited.
• Old Owl emerges as physically formidable, sharp-tongued, and perceptive. Beneath his teasing, he seems genuinely concerned about his old neighbor and intrigued by Xu Feng.
• Uncle Liu acts as a mediator, challenging his father when the interrogation becomes excessive.

Significant themes

• Appearance as a tool: Xu Feng uses his age and seemingly foolish manner to hide what he knows.
• Fate and mortality: Old Owl’s warnings about the master’s possible death—and his own—cast a shadow over the meeting.
• Hidden potential and danger: The “fool with a peerless sword” image suggests Xu Feng may be more powerful or consequential than he realizes.
• The uncanny: The silent bells, maze-like residence, and ominous atmosphere make the setting feel unsettling.

Character interactions

• Uncle Liu humorously corrects Xu Feng’s ideas about tomb robbers, while Xu Feng picks up that his master knows about them too.
• Old Owl physically examines Xu Feng, then needles the master about his decision to take an apprentice.
• Xu Feng avoids Old Owl’s questions with polite evasiveness; his master stays composed, and Uncle Liu steps in to defend him.

Key events

• Xu Feng, his master, and Uncle Liu meet Liu Family Old Master “Old Owl,” the Executioner. Old Owl confronts Xu Feng’s master with cutting, almost familial scorn, then fixes an unnerving, penetrating gaze on Xu Feng.
• Doctor Qi arrives with theatrical sarcasm about the Soul Bottles piled outside the Liu residence. His entrance breaks the tension, and he leads the others out to bring the bottles inside.
• Old Owl keeps Xu Feng behind and invites him into his house. There, Xu Feng respectfully bows to a Fish-Basket Guanyin shrine.
• Old Owl tests Xu Feng with a wave of murderous pressure. Xu Feng holds his ground, helped by his unseen Yin Virtue Protection.
• Old Owl says the test was meant to toughen Xu Feng’s temperament to match his difficult fate. He criticizes Xu Feng’s master as an inadequate teacher and offers to teach Xu Feng a method involving his birth date and hour. He stresses that it is not a spell, has strict taboos, and can be used only by a good person. The chapter ends as he introduces its sacred name: “Heavenly Venerable of Universal Transformation, Whose Voice of Thunder Resonates from the Nine Heavens.”

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng stays observant and composed, refusing to be intimidated by Old Owl. His resolve is quietly reinforced by Yin Virtue Protection.
• Old Owl shifts from aggressive provocation to mentorship, revealing that his harshness is partly a test and offering Xu Feng a guarded form of instruction.
• Xu Feng’s master shields him from Old Owl’s initial stare, then leaves him in Old Owl’s care, apparently trusting the situation.
• Uncle Liu attempts to mediate between his volatile father and his old friend, but is unable to change Old Owl’s behavior.
• Doctor Qi uses mockery and exaggerated politeness to defuse the standoff and redirect everyone’s attention.

Significant themes

• Strength and fate: A difficult fate alone is not enough; Xu Feng must develop a strong temperament to meet it.
• Trust and mentorship: Old Owl challenges Xu Feng’s master while positioning himself as a potential teacher.
• Moral limits on power: The new method carries taboos and is explicitly reserved for good people.
• Seen and unseen protection: Xu Feng’s resistance appears to come from his own resolve, but spiritual protection helps him endure Old Owl’s force.

Key plot points and events

• Old Owl teaches Xu Feng how to recite a sacred name for protection. The name is not a spell: its power comes from attracting a god’s attention, and a sincere, upright heart and accumulated Yin Virtue may earn divine favor. Old Owl warns Xu Feng against disrespectful circumstances and against using Daoist visualization techniques.
• Xu Feng understands the advice and realizes his ability to accumulate Yin Virtue could give him an unusual advantage. He is pleased to have a more dignified defense against ghosts than his usual crude gestures and curses.
• A sound from the rafters prompts Old Owl to explain that rats grinding their teeth are said to signal misfortune.
• Old Owl reveals a treasured Bronze Mirror that can show hidden energies and traces, though it cannot attack or repel evil. He offers it to Xu Feng, who suspects the gift has conditions and asks what it will cost.
• Old Owl explains that he is near death. He has killed many people and provoked dangerous forces that are waiting to claim what he has after he dies. Rather than let them take it, he intends to fight back.
• Believing Xu Feng can help with a better plan, Old Owl asks him to carry a Soul Banner, hang a Soul Lamp on a boat, and take a Soul Bottle into the Yellow River at midnight.

Character developments

• Xu Feng shows growing confidence and discernment: he grasps the spiritual logic behind the sacred name, recognizes his advantage in building Yin Virtue, and doesn’t accept Old Owl’s valuable offer without first asking about the price.
• Old Owl emerges as a formidable, calculating man with a violent past and fierce determination. Though dying, he remains defiant and is now willing to involve Xu Feng in his final plan.

Significant themes

• Faith, virtue, and protection: Divine aid depends on sincere conduct and moral merit, not merely reciting a name.
• Respect and ritual boundaries: The sacred must be approached with decorum and the right frame of mind.
• Gifts and obligations: Xu Feng understands that valuable help may come with a hidden cost.
• Death, consequences, and defiance: Old Owl’s past has created enemies, and he refuses to surrender quietly to the forces awaiting his death.

Character interactions

• Old Owl patiently instructs Xu Feng and watches to see whether he understands.
• Xu Feng listens thoughtfully, then questions both the strange sound in the rafters and the terms of the mirror offer.
• Old Owl answers Xu Feng’s skepticism with a confession about his approaching death and recruits him into a dangerous plan.

Key plot points

• Old Owl proposes that Xu Feng undertake the dangerous nighttime crossing of the Yellow River on a sheepskin raft. He promises support from Fisherfolk Village and a share of the treasures he has prepared, arguing that the trip could lead to a major payoff.
• To persuade Xu Feng, Old Owl shows him a chemical-treated lambskin map depicting the county and the Mysterious Womb. He reveals that Xu Feng’s grandmaster vanished at Li Family Village, where an ancient burial site collapsed, killing everyone underground and leaving the Lost-Trace Forest behind.
• Old Owl explains that Xu Feng’s master has long been haunted by the tragedy and may eventually return to it. He claims Xu Feng could help break through the site’s malignant fengshui using his birth characters, though the attempt would still be dangerous.
• Xu Feng refuses to commit, pointing out how much more Old Owl knows and how easily the older man could manipulate him. Old Owl admits he is dying, says he has been honest, and leaves the choice to Xu Feng.
• Alone, Xu Feng compares the lambskin map with his own. He suspects the Lost-Trace Forest and Third Grandpa Temple Village correspond to features of the Mysterious Womb, and wonders whether the Earth-Fire Cult, the Ancient Corpse, and the Yellow River Demon Corpse are all connected to its underground palace.
• While reciting the Heavenly Venerable’s Name, Xu Feng experiences a sudden insight. Though his Status Bar does not change, he feels he may have remembered a forgotten method and decides to perform divination before going to the Yellow River.
• Meanwhile, an argument breaks out in the main hall, leaving Uncle Liu caught between the opposing sides.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng remains cautious and independent. He recognizes the imbalance between himself and Old Owl, weighs the risks rather than accepting a tempting offer, and actively investigates the clues. His insight during recitation suggests his intuition or spiritual awareness may be developing.
• Old Owl reveals both his desperation and his vulnerability: he is dying, wants to settle unfinished matters, and sees Xu Feng as a possible means to confront the past. He tries to persuade Xu Feng but ultimately gives him the map and allows him to decide.
• Xu Feng’s master is absent from the conversation, but Old Owl’s account portrays him as deeply burdened by his grandmaster’s disappearance and potentially driven to revisit the danger.
• Uncle Liu becomes the target of competing arguments in the main hall.

Significant themes

• Risk, choice, and responsibility: Xu Feng must decide whether to protect himself or take a dangerous chance that could affect his master and others.
• Trust and manipulation: Old Owl may be sincere, but Xu Feng understands that their unequal knowledge makes his offer difficult to judge.
• Buried history and interconnected mysteries: The map suggests that local tragedies, strange entities, and the Yellow River may all trace back to the Mysterious Womb underground palace.
• Faith and insight: Xu Feng’s habitual recitation unexpectedly precedes a new idea, hinting that spiritual practice may yield benefits beyond visible changes to his Status Bar.

Plot points and events

• Zhao Er (Xu Feng’s master) and Old Owl argue violently over sending Xu Feng across the Yellow River at night. Old Owl insists Zhao Er lacks the knowledge and resolve to rescue their grandmaster from Li Family Village and Lost-Trace Forest; Zhao Er accuses Old Owl of using Xu Feng as bait.
• Xu Feng consults the local Earth God for guidance. The answer suggests the trip is neither clearly fortunate nor disastrous, but he recognizes that crossing the Yellow River at night will be dangerous. He also realizes Old Owl’s map and knowledge of Lost-Trace Forest may be crucial.
• Xu Feng enters the argument and takes his furious master aside. He says he is willing to go, arguing that the mission could provide the resources and support needed to reach Lost-Trace Forest and rescue their grandmaster.
• Xu Feng understands that Old Owl intends to use his birth chart to lure dangerous beings toward the Yellow River, where they may lose their way. He asks his master to negotiate better protection or compensation rather than simply forbid the trip.
• Zhao Er warns that nobody can guarantee survival on the Yellow River, regardless of their birth chart. Xu Feng answers that the risk is part of their life as Corpse Stitchers and that he wants to repay his master’s care.
• When Zhao Er points out that Xu Feng has not yet learned the Five Viscera, Xu Feng reveals that he has already mastered the technique.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng shows growing independence, courage, and strategic judgment. He accepts the danger but tries to turn Old Owl’s plan to his advantage, and his unexpected mastery of the Five Viscera suggests his abilities have advanced beyond his master’s expectations.
• Zhao Er is fiercely protective of Xu Feng and sees the proposed mission as a likely death sentence. His anger reflects both distrust of Old Owl and deep affection for his disciple.
• Old Owl is blunt and provocative, criticizing Zhao Er’s hesitation and apparently planning to use Xu Feng’s birth chart as part of the Yellow River mission. Despite his hostility toward Zhao Er, he lets Xu Feng remain and appears amused by the boy’s remarks.
• Uncle Liu and Doctor Qi try to restrain the two men and prevent the dispute from becoming physical. Uncle Liu is especially concerned about the conflict between his father and Zhao Er.

Significant themes

• Duty and chosen family: Xu Feng sees risking himself as a way to repay the man who raised him like a son.
• Courage versus protection: Zhao Er wants to shield Xu Feng, while Xu Feng insists that care cannot mean avoiding every dangerous responsibility.
• Risk and uncertainty: The divine consultation offers no guarantee, underscoring that the mission’s outcome cannot be known in advance.
• Hidden capability and agency: Xu Feng’s final revelation challenges the assumption that he is unprepared and changes the balance of the discussion.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Feng tells Master he has mastered the Five Viscera stitching technique by watching him work, then practicing on his own. He explains the Five Elements correspondences and demonstrates the method.
• Master verifies that Xu Feng has reproduced the technique accurately. He admits Xu Feng has surpassed him and that he may have held his disciple back.
• Seeing Xu Feng’s ability, Master decides to stop withholding information and explains that corpse stitchers elsewhere usually only stitch heads; Luoyin County’s broader practices come from an unusual local tradition.
• Master recounts how their ancestor learned from a wandering Daoist who had once slain a Flood Dragon and predicted that Luoyin’s troubled feng shui would produce an Immortal—or great monster. The Daoist later disappeared, apparently while pursuing the threat in a tomb.
• The Daoist taught the ancestor the Calamity-Stitching Art. Its lesser form makes an Ominous Fiend tangible so it can be contained or destroyed; its greater form stitches a Major Ominous Sign into a convincing corpse and buries it so it dissolves into the earth.
• Master emphasizes three requirements for the greater art: likeness, proper funeral rites, and truth. He leaves the meaning of “truth” for Xu Feng to discover.
• Having revealed the branch’s secrets, Master tells Xu Feng he is free to decide whether to go to the Yellow River. Xu Feng checks his Favorability System and realizes his standing has risen dramatically.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng proves his talent through observation, practice, and thoughtful reasoning. His broad learning and rapid recall help him progress exceptionally quickly, surprising even Master.
• Master moves from anger and disbelief to humility and respect. Rather than trying to restrain Xu Feng, he acknowledges the gap between them and entrusts him with the tradition’s hidden knowledge.
• Their relationship shifts from one in which Master directs and withholds to one grounded in mutual respect and openness. Xu Feng listens closely and asks whether the Daoist’s predicted Immortal might be the snake-like creature they encountered.

Significant themes

• Knowledge and the generation gap: Xu Feng’s access to broader knowledge and his habit of drawing general principles let him advance faster than those who came before.
• Respect versus control: Master recognizes that caring for Xu Feng means respecting his choices, even if he may leave.
• Tradition and hidden inheritance: The local corpse-stitching craft is not merely practical labor but a secret art passed down through an extraordinary encounter.
• Appearance, ritual, and truth: The greater Calamity-Stitching Art depends not only on making a corpse look human, but also on treating it as genuinely dead—suggesting that belief, propriety, and reality are intertwined.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Feng realizes Master’s sudden openness—including teaching him the secret Calamity-Stitching Art—signals that he has finally been accepted into the Earth God Shrine. Old Owl’s blunt remarks may have helped prompt Master’s change of heart.
• Xu Feng and Master agree to cross the Yellow River at night while carrying the Soul Banner. In exchange, they demand three fingers’ worth from Old Owl’s pot and a promise; Old Owl accepts.
• Old Owl gives Xu Feng a blood-soaked robe once belonging to Mr. Zhou, who was eaten. Doctor Qi identifies it as the “robe of merit.”
• The item is revealed to be a cursed Lower Nine Classes object, the Robe of a Hundred Virtues—also called a Corpse-Wrapping Bag. Its history of betrayal and killing has corrupted it, and holding it suppresses Xu Feng’s Yang energy and weakens his Three Flames.
• The robe’s effects intensify until Xu Feng becomes more susceptible to ghosts and fear, then stop worsening. Old Owl explains that, if Xu Feng can tame and cultivate it, the robe could suppress vicious corpses and even Ominous Fiends. It is intended to help someone enter Li Family Village.

Character developments

• Xu Feng recognizes that Master now trusts him, and proves unusually resilient when the robe’s curse fails to overwhelm him. He remains focused and composed despite its effects.
• Master has accepted Xu Feng as a trusted disciple, but his concern for Xu Feng shows how anxious he is about the dangerous gift.
• Old Owl demonstrates both his sharp tongue and a more generous, strategic side: he gives Xu Feng a valuable object that may be uniquely suited to their craft.
• Doctor Qi remains observant and skeptical, questioning both the robe’s danger and Master’s willingness to take on such an extraordinary disciple.

Significant themes

• Trust and inheritance: Master’s disclosure of a guarded technique marks Xu Feng’s passage into the inner circle.
• Danger turned into utility: A cursed object that would ruin most people may become a powerful tool in the hands of someone with the right skills and constitution.
• Fortune, strength, and risk: Xu Feng’s unusual resilience lets him endure a perilous object, but its effects are real and may still threaten him.

Character interactions

• Xu Feng looks to Master before answering Old Owl, reflecting their newly deepened trust.
• Old Owl and Master negotiate the river crossing, with Old Owl later presenting the robe as a personal gift.
• Doctor Qi intervenes when Master moves to protect Xu Feng, arguing that Xu Feng’s condition shows he is not yet in immediate danger.
• Master and Old Owl differ in manner but share an understanding of how the robe could serve their corpse-stitching lineage.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Feng tests the Robe of a Hundred Virtues and discovers it suppresses his Yang Energy more effectively than Dragon-Head Miasma. It drifts toward Uncle Liu until Xu Feng pins it down.
• Old Owl makes funeral arrangements, asking for a ritual master, a coffin, suona players, and guests from Fisherfolk Village. The burial will take place in a few days, not that night.
• After dinner, Old Owl gives Xu Feng a reusable Protective Tiger Talisman. He explains that it came from the Qian Family Estate, where a peach-charm maker’s house had resisted ghosts even after soldiers massacred the family.
• Old Owl asks Xu Feng to accompany him to the old Qian residence. Xu Feng’s role is only to help him get through the entrance and wait outside; Old Owl hopes to settle one last matter and may find something connected to Lost-Trace Forest.
• Xu Feng asks about the Earth-Fire Cult. Old Owl confirms it came to Luoyin because of the Mysterious Womb Underground Palace and suspects it may know how to hasten the path to immortality, but admits he has no proof.
• Old Owl decides Master should come too, predicting he would never allow Xu Feng to go alone with him.

Character developments

• Xu Feng remains wary and practical: he recognizes that Old Owl’s gift likely comes with a request, asks directly what is expected, and probes for information about the Earth-Fire Cult. He is also interested in obtaining more Dragon-Tiger Plaster for future fights.
• Old Owl reveals a fatalistic view of life and death, yet still has an unfinished task he wants to complete before dying. He demonstrates knowledge of the Mysterious Womb’s rules and acknowledges the limits of what he knows about the Earth-Fire Cult.
• Master respects Xu Feng’s judgment about speaking privately with Old Owl but is expected to join the expedition.
• Uncle Liu is identified by his full name, Liu Sheng; his old talisman is revealed to share its origin with Old Owl’s new one.

Significant themes

• Heaven’s laws and mutual restraint: Old Owl argues that everything has something that can restrain it. The Mysterious Womb’s own features, shaped by the Five Elements, may provide a way to counter the tomb.
• Fate, mortality, and limits: Old Owl likens people to fish in the Yellow River, subject to forces they cannot control. Even protective crafts cannot prevent every kind of death.
• Caution versus defiance: Old Owl contrasts rigidly obeying rules with charging past them, and his own refusal to investigate immortality reflects his fear of crossing that boundary.
• Inheritance and lingering value: The talismans connect Xu Feng to the history of the Qian family and show how objects can retain protective power even after their makers are gone.

Character interactions

• Old Owl gives Xu Feng the talisman and speaks candidly about his past, but Xu Feng insists on knowing the price of the gift.
• Xu Feng and Old Owl negotiate the visit to the Qian residence, with Xu Feng agreeing after securing answers about the cult and the tomb.
• Master allows Xu Feng to decide whether to meet Old Owl privately, while Old Owl later insists Master join them.
• Xu Feng’s interest in Doctor Qi’s medicine remains unresolved; he hopes Master can obtain Dragon-Tiger Plaster for him.

Key plot points and events

• At night, Xu Feng, his Master, and Old Owl secretly enter the abandoned Qian Family Mansion to follow the Compass toward a hidden destination.
• Old Owl navigates with a Compass weighted by a Copper Coin, while Xu Feng walks ahead and bears the brunt of the estate’s eerie, unseen force.
• Along the way, Old Owl points out where Mr. Zhou was killed and reveals that he knew about Lost-Trace Forest but kept it secret. He also admits he found the “malevolent thing” attached to Master.
• Xu Feng glimpses what may be a crouching figure, but Old Owl tells him to ignore it. The group presses on through a place that seems to stir memories of the Qian family’s dead.
• They reach a low wall covered in yellow talismans and desperate warnings. Old Owl tells Xu Feng to climb; when Xu Feng asks for help, Old Owl throws him over. Xu Feng hits his head on something unseen.

Character developments

• Xu Feng is frightened by the mansion and its unseen presences, but continues leading the way. He also speaks up plainly when he cannot climb the wall himself.
• Old Owl remains capable and brisk despite his age and supposed proximity to death. He reveals long-kept secrets and offers Master a blunt assessment of his limits and abilities.
• Master learns that Old Owl deliberately withheld knowledge about Lost-Trace Forest and was responsible for finding the malevolent thing attached to him. He has no reply to Old Owl’s explanation.

Character interactions

• Old Owl guides the expedition while relying on Xu Feng to lead through the dangerous areas; Master helps Xu Feng over the mansion’s outer wall.
• Old Owl’s teasing, practical manner eases Xu Feng’s fear, though he also deliberately exposes him to frightening places.
• Old Owl and Master confront their shared history through a frank exchange about secrets, talent, and the malevolent presence.

Significant themes

• Fear and courage: Xu Feng remains afraid but keeps moving, while the others treat danger as something to face rather than avoid.
• Hidden knowledge and responsibility: Old Owl’s revelations suggest that withholding information—and causing harm in secret—has shaped Master’s past.
• Death’s lingering presence: The bloodstained mansion and its oppressive atmosphere show how violence continues to haunt a place after its victims are gone.

Summary

• Old Owl identifies the courtyard as a tomb. Xu Feng reports seeing a bleak, moonlit courtyard containing a ruined building that resembles a grave mound. Old Owl locates a tiny, unusually placed door in the surrounding wall and explains that its upside-down design and outward-opening direction indicate it is meant to let the dead out—not keep intruders away. He infers that the mound marks the main tomb, with a front hall for ritual feasts, a burial chamber beyond, and side chambers for buried servants.
• Old Owl teaches Xu Feng practical tomb knowledge. By sketching the underground layout, he shows Xu Feng how to recognize and interpret a tomb’s structure. Xu Feng takes the lesson seriously, anticipating that he may have to handle corpses and enter dangerous burial sites in future.
• Old Owl prepares to enter the tomb. He sets out incense and ritual fire, then arranges twenty-one stones before the door in what he calls the “Yellow River Bend Formation.” He admits the name is mostly a bluff: it is a simple trick meant to confuse pursuing ghosts and buy time to escape. Xu Feng’s Skill Bar registers the technique as Ghost-Trapping Method (Initial Exposure).
• The group establishes an escape signal. Old Owl marks Xu Feng’s wrist with an invisible cord and tells him to run if he feels it tug inward three times. He then casts spirit money and burning ritual paper before slipping through the strange door and disappearing inside.
• Xu Feng’s Master warns that the danger is real. He tells Xu Feng to remove his Protective Talisman and keep it ready to swing, noting that Old Owl’s excessive explanations suggest the situation is dangerous. The Master also uses a needle and thread to sew a barrier—a “moat”—in front of the stones.
• The warning signal comes, and they flee. While Xu Feng tends the fire, his hand is yanked repeatedly. He immediately calls for the Master, and they run along their planned escape route. At the same time, the moonlight inside the courtyard gathers into the grave mound, then slithers through the small door and into the Qian Family Mansion.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng proves observant and teachable: he studies the tomb layout, recognizes that he can reproduce the stone arrangement, and responds instantly when the escape signal comes.
• Old Owl acts as a blunt but capable guide, sharing practical knowledge while trusting Xu Feng to keep watch. His warnings and precautions reveal that he expects serious danger despite his confident manner.
• Xu Feng’s Master is more openly cautious than Old Owl. He distrusts the apparent simplicity of the plan and equips Xu Feng to defend himself before preparing his own escape.
• The two older men’s guidance shapes Xu Feng’s actions, while their contrasting approaches—Old Owl’s risky expertise and the Master’s defensive caution—underscore the uncertainty of the expedition.

Significant themes

• Knowledge as preparation: Old Owl turns a supernatural encounter into a lesson in burial customs and tomb layout.
• Appearance versus reality: The “formation” is not the grand technique its name suggests, and the courtyard’s apparent emptiness conceals an active supernatural threat.
• Trust and caution: Xu Feng relies on both mentors, following Old Owl’s signal while heeding the Master’s warning.
• The boundary between the living and the dead: The tomb’s design—and the moonlight passing through its door—suggests that the dead are being invited into the world of the living.

Concise Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Xu Feng and his master flee the Qian Family Mansion as a deadly force spreads through it. The unseen threat animates the surroundings, blocking their path and apparently drawing on the Qian family’s missing dead.
• Xu Feng nearly loses the strength to keep going, but his desperate fury erupts into repeated cries of “Kill!” The forces hindering them suddenly vanish, allowing him and his master to escape over the wall.
• They take refuge in the City God Temple, where they offer money and incense and wait for daylight. Old Owl does not return during the night.
• While recovering, Xu Feng discovers that he has acquired [Ghost-Trapping Method (Initial Exposure)], apparently by observing its layout. He also finds a new favorability link to Liu Guang—Old Owl’s formal name—and sees the City God’s favorability jump to 45, with the Day and Night Wandering Gods at 60.
• At dawn, Xu Feng and his master leave the temple and find Old Owl at a breakfast stall. He says he removed the object from Mr. Zhou’s nose, gives Xu Feng a wrapped bundle, and reminds him to give his best effort on their future Yellow River matter.

Character developments

• Xu Feng reveals a fierce survival instinct and an unexpectedly powerful, rage-fueled response to supernatural pressure. His outburst clears the path, though he does not understand why.
• He continues developing his practical supernatural abilities, gaining the Ghost-Trapping Method, and grows more connected to the City God’s spiritual network.
• Master remains protective, repeatedly slowing down to help Xu Feng despite the danger, and reassures him that Old Owl is too capable to have died.
• Old Owl survives the night and completes his task, reinforcing his reputation as a skilled and resourceful executioner.

Significant themes

• Survival through resolve: Xu Feng’s refusal to give in—and his explosive anger—helps him overcome a supernatural obstacle.
• The uncertain rules of spiritual power: Xu Feng gains a skill and substantial divine favor without fully understanding how or why.
• Loyalty and mutual care: Master risks his own escape to support Xu Feng, while Xu Feng refuses to abandon him.
• Danger mixed with opportunity: The terrifying mission also brings new abilities, relationships, and possible divine protection.

Character interactions

• Xu Feng and Master flee together, with Master trying to help Xu Feng even as both are pursued.
• In the temple, they share offerings and quietly recover; Xu Feng asks after both Master’s condition and Old Owl’s survival.
• At dawn, Old Owl meets them at a breakfast stall, gives Xu Feng the recovered bundle, and reminds him of their upcoming Yellow River undertaking.

Key plot points and events

• Old Owl warns that knowledge of the Underground Palace’s supposed path to immortality is dangerous: its promise may be real, but curiosity can lead people astray.
• Xu Feng examines and equips the Owl Button, a powerful Middle Nine Classes item that grants full night vision and a chance to see spirits and the mist between life and death. Its description reinforces his suspicion that the Mysterious Womb and its occupant have a genuine, carefully developed method for attaining immortality.
• Xu Feng sleeps after the previous night’s ordeal, then wakes sore to find preparations underway for Old Owl’s funeral. Old Owl, however, is alive and cheerfully inspecting the arrangements.
• Old Owl urges Xu Feng to strengthen his body before attempting to retrieve his Grandmaster. He reveals that Doctor Qi’s medicine gourd can turn water into healing medicine, but Xu Feng declines Old Owl’s offer to obtain it, wary of the price attached to his favors.
• Old Owl explains how the Owl Button can help Xu Feng enter the Ancient Tomb beneath Li Family Village and locate his Grandmaster. He warns Xu Feng that everything inside the tomb is false and tells him not to stray onto a crooked path.
• Later, Old Owl introduces a foul-mouthed Yellow River expert, who argues that no auspicious timing or strong fate can protect someone from the river. He decides Xu Feng must cross that night—and jokingly predicts he will become fish food.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng gains a valuable supernatural tool but remains cautious about the tomb and the cost of accepting Old Owl’s help. He trusts that he knows his own path, even as Old Owl worries he may be tempted by what he finds.
• Old Owl is shrewd and generous, offering Xu Feng practical guidance and a healing plaster, yet withholding some information about the Underground Palace. His concern about Xu Feng’s moral direction suggests deeper knowledge of the dangers ahead.
• Xu Feng and Old Owl share a teasing but earnest exchange: Old Owl criticizes Xu Feng’s physical weakness, while Xu Feng resists becoming indebted to him.
• Doctor Qi is revealed to possess a hidden healing technique through his gourd, making him someone Xu Feng will likely need to negotiate with.
• The Yellow River expert is blunt, cynical, and contemptuous of conventional protections. His sharp banter with Old Owl and grim joke to Xu Feng set a threatening tone for the coming crossing.

Significant themes

• Knowledge and temptation: Learning about immortality can provoke dangerous curiosity.
• Prudence and self-reliance: Xu Feng weighs the benefits of help against its likely cost and is urged to plan for failure, not just success.
• The danger of false appearances: Old Owl’s warning that the tomb is deceptive foreshadows tests of judgment.
• Physical limits versus fate: A strong destiny may not matter if the body is too weak—or if the Yellow River itself overwhelms it.