Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• A constable recruits Xu Feng to serve as a Spirit Suppressor during the county magistrate’s mother’s seven-day birthday rites. Xu is to remain in a pavilion near the stage, oversee offerings, and prevent wandering ghosts from disrupting the celebration. He accepts, receiving payment.
• Xu asks the constable for help obtaining the county gazetteer and learning about Fisherfolk Village. Old Ma warns that reaching the village requires lighting three incense sticks outside it, and advises Xu to avoid provoking its inhabitants—especially near the Yellow River.
• While waiting for the yamen to close, Xu considers whether Fisherfolk Village is connected to the coming Yellow River Demon Corpse. Unlike his former self, he now has foreknowledge and suspects the disaster has been preceded by clues.
• Old Ma takes Xu into the yamen’s restricted records room, where clerk Shen Jicheng provides gazetteers and historical volumes. Xu finds an account of a geomancy master who exposed the Yellow River’s riverbed, discovered a tomb beneath it, and moved its remains elsewhere.
• Further records mention an ox-shaped bronze suppressing object, a fork in the road near Fisherfolk Village, and a dangerous object relocated to an unidentified temple. Xu cannot determine where the grave or object ended up.
• Before Xu leaves at dawn, Shen reveals that Executioner Liu’s father also investigated the Yellow River’s ancient history. Shen arranges to meet Xu at the pavilion during his upcoming assignment and share something important.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng accepts a risky public role but remains more focused on gathering intelligence than gaining status. His growing knowledge lets him connect local legends and historical records to the looming river disaster.
• Old Ma acts as Xu’s guide and warns him about Fisherfolk Village, while downplaying the danger of the birthday assignment.
• The constable treats Xu as valuable because of his reputation, despite his youth, and helps him access the archives.
• Shen Jicheng is a cautious, knowledgeable keeper of local records. His unusual decision to stay and assist Xu suggests a personal interest in the investigation.

Significant themes

• Foreknowledge and preparedness: Xu hopes to avoid the mistakes of his previous life by recognizing warning signs early.
• Hidden history and accumulating clues: The coming disaster appears connected to old river events, buried remains, and a missing suppressing object.
• Reputation and responsibility: Xu’s past achievements earn him a role in county affairs, whether or not he seeks recognition.
• Folklore and danger: Fisherfolk Village and the Yellow River are surrounded by rules and warnings that hint at supernatural forces.

Plot and events

• After leaving the County Yamen, Xu Feng realizes Shen Jicheng’s cryptic remark concerns a corpse that will be unusually difficult to stitch. Shen likely chose Xu Feng over his master because Xu is exceptionally hard to kill, not because he is the more accomplished corpse-stitcher.
• Xu Feng visits the City God Temple and discovers that, thanks to his new Favored by the Gods boon, his offering raises his affinity with the City God. He decides to wait a few days before trying again.
• He inspects the Qian Family Mansion, where a thorough ritual has sealed the site’s dangerous areas. The burial courtyard’s temple is enclosed by Four-Forms Pillars and red thread. Reassured that capable people are handling it, Xu Feng turns his attention to the already-breached Three Matron Temple and Lost-Trace Forest.
• Back at the Earth God Shrine, Xu Feng gives his master money for the shrine’s reconstruction and insists that he can now help carry its responsibilities. His master accepts the money and acknowledges Xu Feng’s growing role.
• Concerned about the risks of lighting the shrine’s Fire Hearth, Xu Feng wants to gather more Yin Virtue first. He proposes catching the villagers of Li Family Village, who remain in the Lost-Trace Forest in altered, potentially dangerous forms. Though this is outside their usual work, Xu Feng argues that stitching and releasing them could earn Yin Virtue and test the soup from the Corpse-Liberation Coffin.
• His master agrees. They buy coffins and a Fishing Net, then head toward the forest. At dusk, Xu Feng sees that the strange Earth Qi near its edge has become more defined, suggesting it is undergoing Form Transformation.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng grows more confident and independent. He interprets Shen’s warning, uses his new divine favor strategically, contributes financially to the shrine, and takes initiative in addressing the forest’s danger.
• His master remains cautious but is willing to yield authority and accept Xu Feng’s support. Their exchange is affectionate and teasing, yet shows a shift toward Xu Feng carrying more of the burden.
• Shen Jicheng offers Xu Feng a pointed warning that implies the upcoming corpse job will test both his survival and his craft.
• Xu Feng and his master ultimately cooperate on Xu Feng’s risky plan after discussing whether the work is appropriate for corpse-stitchers.

Significant themes

• Growing responsibility and succession: Xu Feng begins to assume practical and financial responsibility for the Earth God Shrine.
• Risk, preparation, and survival: The Fire Hearth may consume Yin Virtue unpredictably, so Xu Feng seeks to build up his reserves before taking that risk.
• Faith and supernatural reciprocity: Xu Feng’s new divine favor changes how the City God responds to his worship.
• Boundaries of duty: Xu Feng argues that dealing with the forest’s transformed villagers is worthwhile even if it falls outside the usual role of corpse-stitchers.

Plot points and events

• Xu Feng and Master return to Li Family Village, where the Earth Qi has grown far more violent. It now throws up wind, sand, and stones, and even extinguishes a torch. Master warns that it could cause a disaster and discusses whether they can contain it with the Lesser Calamity-Stitching Art.
• Xu Feng wants to test the Corpse-Liberation Decoction formula to capture a corpse. He and Master also discuss taking on more disciples, but Master cautions that they would have to support them and that the area may not sustain more Corpse Sewers.
• Xu Feng argues that the unsettled political situation makes strength in numbers prudent. He suspects the court’s delegation of execution powers signals growing instability, perhaps even a coming period of civil war. Master urges patience and says to watch what happens at the next Autumn Execution.
• Xu Feng believes Ghost Face may be a ghost or god, and that the Greater Calamity-Stitching Art may be needed to deal with it. Master dismisses the idea as far beyond their abilities.
• In County Town, Shen Jicheng examines a notebook containing human skin and a bundle of preserved bodily remains. He calls on the Joyful Lord and gathers his research into a disturbing supernatural account. He had tried to share his discoveries with Executioner Old Liu, who refused to listen, and now considers approaching Xu Feng because of his reputation.
• The following morning, Xu Feng and Master return with a net, a basin, and a ladleful of Corpse-Liberation Wine to capture a corpse. The village has suffered further collapses: Li Family Village and the underground palace have sunk into a vast funnel-shaped pit, where Black Qi coils among ruins and buried corpses. They begin searching for the Earth Qi.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng is becoming more ambitious and outspoken. He thinks beyond immediate corpse work, hopes to train disciples, and links their future to the broader political turmoil. His easy teasing of Master also shows growing confidence.
• Master remains practical and wary, challenging Xu Feng’s plans but taking his concerns seriously. Xu Feng’s talk of Ghost Face makes the other risks seem less daunting to him.
• Shen Jicheng emerges as a secretive investigator who has uncovered something frightening through county records. His decision to approach Xu Feng suggests he may become a source of important information.

Significant themes

• Instability and looming catastrophe: The worsening Earth Qi, collapsing village, and signs of political upheaval suggest danger on both supernatural and governmental fronts.
• Limits of ambition and responsibility: Xu Feng wants to expand their craft, while Master stresses the resources and obligations involved.
• Hidden knowledge and trust: Shen Jicheng has assembled evidence he fears to reveal, and must decide whom he can trust.
• Escalating supernatural threat: The destruction of the underground palace and the mysterious Ghost Face imply that the dangers may exceed the pair’s current abilities.

Plot points and events

• Xu Feng and Master inspect the huge collapse that buried Li Family Village and Lost-Trace Forest, leaving the Underground Palace flooded and the Earth Qi’s source exposed. The unstable terrain makes reaching the far side far more dangerous than facing corpse monsters.
• Master anchors himself with a bamboo pole and rope while Xu Feng descends. Xu Feng finds bodies buried in the earth but avoids disturbing them, hoping instead to recover valuable Underworld Life-Buying Money.
• The ground gives way beneath Xu Feng, and the rope saves him from a deadly fall onto a pointed root. He continues carefully to the pit’s outer bottom, where he spots a body beneath a fallen mass of earth.
• As Xu Feng bends to retrieve it, Master urgently pulls him away. A boulder crashes down where he had stood. Master then calls him back: the Earth Qi is rising. They flee as it becomes a powerful, ghost-like whirlwind, but escape beyond its reach.
• After recovering, Xu Feng suggests hiring specialists to retrieve the bodies or suppress the Earth Qi. Master says they lack the reputation needed to attract capable helpers. Xu Feng begins forming a new plan based on the appeal of fame or fortune.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng remains bold and practical, but the near-disasters teach him to respect the collapse’s hazards. Rather than insist on handling everything himself, he recognizes that the work is outside his specialty and considers recruiting others.
• Master proves cautious, prepared, and decisive: he anchors the rope, spots the Earth Qi’s approach, and pulls Xu Feng to safety. Their trust is evident in Xu Feng’s immediate obedience and concern for Master afterward.
• The pair work closely throughout the descent and escape, relying on rope signals, warnings, and mutual support. Their discussion afterward shifts from survival to how they might enlist outside help.

Significant themes

• Knowing one’s limits: Xu Feng realizes that being a Corpse Sewer does not make him suited to every danger.
• Preparation and cooperation: The rope system and Master’s quick intervention show how planning and trust can avert disaster.
• Nature as a supernatural threat: The unstable earth and unpredictable, daylight Earth Qi are more dangerous than ordinary enemies.
• Reputation and incentives: Master’s comments about fame and fortune suggest that attracting skilled allies will require more than simply asking for help.

Key plot points and events

• At a burial pit, Xu Feng explains that he and his master lack the status and connections to recruit help through reputation or profit. Their master agrees and promises to seek assistance from Doctor Qi or his brother to retrieve the corpses.
• Xu Feng argues that learning Stitching Calamity would let them take on apprentices without sacrificing their livelihood. His master does not agree outright, but seems more receptive than before.
• Xu Feng proposes two ways to get help: write to Grandpa Li, and involve the county magistrate. His master rejects the magistrate idea at first, but after considering Xu Feng’s argument that a dangerous corpse outbreak would make the magistrate responsible, he agrees the plan could work—with careful preparation and the right people to bring the case forward.
• Back at the Earth God Shrine, they find Uncle Sun arriving with a dripping, flimsy coffin. It reeks of decay but also carries an oddly alluring fragrance. The coffin is bound with corpse restraints and retrieval hooks, and something inside is scraping at the boards—evidence of reanimation.
• The Old Shopkeeper calls Uncle Sun a “water ghost,” meaning he has brought a grave danger to their doorstep. Sun begs Xu Feng’s master to save him. Xu Feng notices the shrine’s incense reacting strangely and sees yin mist trailing the coffin.

Character developments

• Xu Feng shows strategic ambition and growing confidence, using practical reasoning and knowledge of how people and institutions operate to find ways around their lack of influence.
• His master remains cautious and protective, but increasingly recognizes Xu Feng’s initiative. He starts mentoring him in the subtleties of recruiting support and taking a case to the authorities.
• Uncle Sun arrives frightened and desperate, suggesting the coffin’s danger has placed him in serious peril.

Significant themes

• Resourcefulness and boldness: Xu Feng believes difficult problems may be solvable if approached from a new angle.
• Power and responsibility: The magistrate’s authority could be mobilized because public safety makes the matter his responsibility.
• Mentorship and trust: The master tempers Xu Feng’s boldness with experience rather than dismissing it outright.
• Unintended consequences: Their plans to seek help are overtaken by a sudden, seemingly worse crisis.

Character interactions

• Xu Feng and his master debate reputation, recruiting apprentices, and seeking outside support; their teasing familiarity sits alongside genuine respect.
• The master ultimately validates Xu Feng’s magistrate proposal while warning him that success depends on knowing how to navigate official proceedings.
• Uncle Sun’s urgent plea contrasts with the calm planning of Xu Feng and his master, while the shopkeeper’s warning and Xu Feng’s supernatural observations signal that the coffin threatens everyone nearby.

Plot and events

• A coffin arrives at Xu Feng’s Earth God Shrine with Sun Dashi, a Yellow River corpse collector, and a dangerous dark mist. Xu Feng sends the craftsmen away, pays for their lodging, and relies on the shrine’s divine power to keep the mist from entering.
• Sun Dashi reveals the corpse is a head-down floater, a resentful body that should normally be avoided, pinned in the Dragon’s Nest, or burned. It belongs to Boss Li, a notorious river bandit.
• Master agrees to help with Corpse Stitching after learning Boss Li never harmed people from their county and sometimes helped them.
• Xu Feng and Master open the coffin. Boss Li’s swollen corpse suddenly tries to sit up, exposing a second, thin, green-haired corpse hidden beneath it. The green corpse is apparently animating Boss Li’s body.
• While Xu Feng restrains the bodies, Master makes offerings to drive off nearby ghosts. Xu Feng offers incense to the river god, but the incense reveals no omen or desire from either corpse. When he turns back, the dark mist has breached the shrine.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng remains composed under pressure, protects bystanders, and takes an active role in handling the corpse. His practical, craftsman-like eye helps him notice the hidden body. He also questions Master’s decision to help Boss Li, but focuses on the immediate danger.
• Master guides Xu Feng through the ritual and explains the local customs and Boss Li’s reputation. He takes responsibility for making offerings and asks Xu Feng to hold the corpse.
• Sun Dashi is wary of Xu Feng’s ringing blade and initially withholds the corpse’s identity and danger. He agrees to hold the entrance with a protective scroll, though the spreading mist suggests he may not be keeping it back.
• The craftsmen leave promptly after Xu Feng pays for their rooms, keeping them clear of the danger.
• Xu Feng and Master work together to restrain the corpse and investigate it; their exchange shows trust, though Xu Feng remains skeptical of the stories used to justify helping Boss Li.

Significant themes

• Duty and compassion versus danger: The characters risk themselves to handle a threatening corpse, partly out of obligation and partly because of Boss Li’s past conduct.
• Folk belief and ritual: Incense offerings, divine protection, corpse-handling customs, and local slang shape how the characters understand and manage the supernatural.
• Reputation and moral ambiguity: Boss Li was a violent bandit, yet Master views him as a “righteous outlaw” because he spared and sometimes aided locals.
• Appearance concealing danger: The coffin appears to contain one corpse, but a second body is hidden beneath it—and the visible corpse may be only the means by which the true threat acts.

Plot points and events

• Xu Feng enters the hut during a night of supernatural danger. Master has returned, and Sun Dashi is trying to restrain two corpses that are bound together.
• The hut’s fire is failing, but Xu Feng’s lantern restores the flames and helps hold the corpses in check. He pins them down, then uses the Longflow River God’s power to light incense for a ritual.
• The fused corpse breaks its wet hemp bindings and charges for the door. Xu Feng strikes it with burning incense, then scatters his anti-spirit tools, setting the body and nearby objects alight.
• Xu Feng and Master force the corpse back onto the table. Xu Feng stuffs medicinal cloth into its mouth and pins it down with a Sword-Finger Gesture. He notices a wound matching A Qing’s, suggesting both were killed by blades.
• Sun Dashi recognizes the lower corpse as the Gloomwood Duke and hesitates, fearing the consequences of opposing it. Xu Feng’s angry rebuke brings him back to the fight. Sun hooks the creature and chants a prayer to the Lady of the Yellow River, after which it quiets somewhat.
• Xu Feng cuts the Gloomwood Duke free from Li Laoda’s corpse. He decides they will sew up the upper corpse and burn the one below at dawn. Sun Dashi accepts Xu Feng’s leadership.
• While they work through the night, Xu Feng asks what a Gloomwood Duke is. Sun explains it is the vengeful ghost of someone who died lying on “Yellow River gloomwood”—a term Xu Feng has never heard.

Character development and interactions

• Xu Feng acts decisively under pressure, combining ritual knowledge, divine protection, practical tools, and sheer force. He takes command of the crisis and refuses to be intimidated by the Gloomwood Duke.
• Master works to keep the fire alive and helps restrain the corpse, trusting Xu Feng’s judgment and handing him the medicinal cloth.
• Sun Dashi shifts from treating Xu Feng as an inexperienced youth to respecting his skill and deferring to his decisions. His fear of the Gloomwood Duke briefly endangers the group, but Xu Feng’s sharp rebuke restores his resolve.
• The three men cooperate in a desperate struggle, with Xu Feng’s initiative and Sun Dashi’s corpse-handling skills complementing Master’s support.

Significant themes

• Courage and leadership under pressure: Xu Feng takes responsibility when others falter.
• Ritual knowledge and practical action: Incense, talismans, divine invocation, tools, and physical force all prove necessary.
• Respect earned through competence: Sun Dashi’s attitude changes after witnessing Xu Feng’s abilities.
• The unknown and the supernatural: The Gloomwood Duke’s identity raises new questions, ending the chapter on a note of uncertainty and dark humor.

Key plot points and events

• After the fight, Xu Feng discovers that two fingers on his right hand are badly swollen. Nothing is broken, but he may be unable to hold a needle for days. He is also dissatisfied with his lack of technique, despite having been the strongest fighter present.
• Sun Dashi explains that the corpse they handled was a Gloomwood Duke, a rare and dangerous Yellow River phenomenon. Gloomwood appears mysteriously on the river, sometimes bearing ghostly figures, and may attack boats.
• He describes local rites for the river dead: informal soul-calling observances and larger ceremonies organized by authorities or prominent groups. Fisherfolk Village’s public offerings may conceal worship of something other than the River God.
• Sun Dashi recalls a Gloomwood incident in which a cargo ship was overturned and all aboard vanished without a trace. He speculates that the wood may seek a successor, or become human after killing enough people. This idea sharply interests Xu Feng.
• At dawn, Master finishes stitching the corpse. Xu Feng notices water ripples outside and wonders whether Boss Li’s death and A Qing’s troubles involved the same force.
• Xu Feng burns the Gloomwood Duke. The Longflow River God’s favor rises by one heart, giving him a temporary three-day blessing. Xu Feng hopes to use the boost to question Shen Jicheng and handle trouble at the County Magistrate’s mother’s birthday celebration.
• Xu Feng asks whether he can move the fire to a fire basin, but Master warns that a fire fueled by Yin Virtue attracts dangerous beings and must stay in one protected place for seven days. Xu Feng plans to leave it in the county town, under the City God’s protection.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng shows growing strength and confidence but recognizes that physical power without proper technique leaves him injured and exhausted. His craft also gives him an unusual way of seeing the Gloomwood Duke: its skin-like, boneless form appears beautiful to him and may help him improve his Depiction Method.
• Sun Dashi is shaken by Xu Feng’s abilities and becomes more open with him, sharing lore and secrets he would normally keep quiet. His respect for Xu Feng grows, though he remains wary of the Yellow River’s supernatural dangers.
• Master continues his corpse-stitching work and gives Xu Feng a practical warning about the risks of moving Yin Virtue fire. Xu Feng withholds his insight about the corpse’s unusual beauty until Sun Dashi is gone.

Significant themes

• Knowledge and danger: Understanding the river’s customs and supernatural beings offers insight, but also reveals how little people truly know.
• Craft as a way of seeing: Xu Feng’s work as a corpse sewer lets him perceive beauty and structure where others see only horror.
• Strength versus skill: Xu Feng has become powerful, but his injuries and poor technique show that raw force is not enough.
• The cost of supernatural favor: Divine blessing brings opportunity, yet Yin Virtue fire can attract calamity and must be carefully protected.
• Hidden beliefs and uncertain identities: Public river worship may mask other loyalties, while the Gloomwood’s origins and intentions remain mysterious.

Key plot points and events

• After upgrading the Earth God Shrine, Xu Feng finds he can better withstand the Gloomwood Duke. He burns the weakened evil god using incense from the Longflow River God, though attempting the Sword-Finger Gesture causes him pain.
• Sun Dashi insists on paying fairly for the corpse-stitching work, despite Master telling him to charge the usual rate. Master and Xu Feng let him, and Master observes that Sun now owes them a substantial favor—one Xu Feng may use to visit the dangerous Fisherfolk Village.
• Master is badly hurt and asks Xu Feng to apply Dragon-Tiger Plasters. Their roles have shifted: Xu Feng is now shrine master, and Master relies on him.
• After Xu Feng remarks that the Gloomwood Duke’s inhuman form still follows a recognizable logic, Master gives him six handwritten books, saying he has nothing more to teach him. They cover corpse-stitching, sutures, corpse reanimation, and Zhu You Art; most material is either unnecessary or, in the Zhu You books, dismissed by Master as worthless.
• Xu Feng tends the shrine, its spirits, and Master, then cleans up and prepares food. Once free, he studies the books and practices drawing strange markings while waiting to kindle his own flame.
• A young craftsman, Master Liang, arrives to ask whether the workers may return. Xu Feng welcomes them back and offers them food. He then discovers that both the Old Shopkeeper and Sun Dashi have appeared on his Character Panel under “Affection.”

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng takes on more responsibility as shrine master, caring for Master and managing the shrine’s practical duties. He shows greater confidence, curiosity, and commitment to learning, while remaining cautious about wasting scarce supplies.
• Master acknowledges that Xu Feng has outgrown his instruction and entrusts him with his accumulated notes. His dependence on Xu Feng—especially for care and healing—makes their changing master-apprentice roles clear.
• Sun Dashi demonstrates a strong sense of fairness by refusing to exploit the agreed price. His insistence earns him, and Xu Feng, a lasting favor.
• Xu Feng and Master Liang share a polite exchange: Xu Feng reassures him that the workers can return and apologizes for the previous night’s disruption.
• Xu Feng notices that Boss Li’s death resembles A Qing’s, but Master dismisses the connection as irrelevant for now.

Significant themes

• Responsibility and succession: Xu Feng’s new position brings chores, care, and authority, not just status.
• Trust and reciprocity: Sun Dashi refuses an unfair bargain, while Master’s gift of his notes expresses confidence in Xu Feng.
• Knowledge and discernment: Xu Feng receives years of gathered information but must judge what is useful, outdated, or fraudulent.
• Humor amid danger: The serious supernatural aftermath is punctuated by banter, Master’s bluntness, and Xu Feng’s bafflement at the game-like “Affection” system.

Key plot points

• The craftsmen learn that Xu Feng’s shrine houses the Longflow River God. Impressed by the earlier supernatural events, they offer three copper coins for incense. Xu Feng asks the god’s permission to return them, and the coins land with their “Tongbao” sides up. He gives them back as blessed good-luck charms, warning that divine protection is no excuse for wrongdoing.
• The craftsmen work with renewed energy, and their account of the incident spreads through nearby villages, strengthening Xu Feng’s growing reputation as a skilled Corpse Sewer.
• While waiting, Xu Feng practices the Breathing Method and worries about his master’s safety during the coming corpse-stitching work.
• Xu Feng asks his master how to kindle a fire with Yin Virtue. His master warns that the process cannot be stopped once begun, failed attempts are limited, and burned Yin Virtue cannot be recovered.
• Xu Feng begins the first stage, Receiving the Fire: he uses incense offerings to light a Fire Basin, then protects its flame by burning paper. His master builds a brick windbreak around him.
• Xu Feng appears to doze but is actually drawn into a hazy, incense-filled vision. A voice asks what he seeks. He names his goals—stitching the Yellow River Demon Corpse, securing his master’s peaceful old age, and achieving a good outcome himself—but the voice says his thirty percent Yin Virtue is not enough. Xu Feng jolts awake beside the still-burning fire and wonders whether the encounter was a dream.

Character developments

• Xu Feng acts as the shrine’s representative, taking on a more authoritative role with the craftsmen. He remains cautious about the god’s offerings and determined to protect his master, while also committing to the dangerous fire ritual despite its risks.
• Xu Feng’s master is uneasy at his apprentice’s growing independence, but still guides him through the rite and warns him plainly about its consequences.
• The Old Shopkeeper and craftsmen shift from impressed observers to willing participants in the shrine’s growing religious significance, accepting Xu Feng’s admonition and working more enthusiastically.

Significant themes

• Faith and reciprocity: Offerings are treated as belonging to the god, and even small signs—like the coins’ orientation—carry religious meaning.
• Moral responsibility: Xu Feng stresses that charms cannot shield people who choose to do evil.
• Reputation and rumor: A single strange event quickly grows into a larger story as it travels through a small community.
• Sacrifice and ambition: Xu Feng risks an irreversible loss of Yin Virtue to pursue his goals, only to learn that his current reserve may be inadequate.
• The boundary between ritual and reality: The flame remains physically alight while Xu Feng experiences a vision, leaving the nature of the encounter uncertain.

Character interactions

• Xu Feng and the Old Shopkeeper negotiate the craftsmen’s offering, with Xu Feng returning the coins as blessed charms and delivering a stern moral warning.
• Xu Feng and his master exchange teasing remarks before the master agrees to teach him the fire rite; their relationship shows both tension over authority and continued care.
• In the vision, Xu Feng answers an unseen voice’s questions honestly, but its judgment—that his goals are insufficient for his present Yin Virtue—leaves him with a troubling mystery.

Summary

Xu Feng realizes his encounter with the Longflow River God was real: the brief communion has consumed the three days of divine favor shown on his Status Bar. The god has revealed that Xu Feng needs more Yin Virtue to suppress the Yellow River Demon Corpse. Xu Feng tells his Master, who is relieved that the threat may be manageable and agrees that they must keep accumulating Yin Virtue while continuing their corpse-stitching work.
Xu Feng reflects on the enormous snake-like creature connected to earlier supernatural events. He believes it is too powerful to confront directly and that the shrine—or a boat on the river—could not withstand it. For now, he relies on Yin Virtue, tends the sacred fire, and practices his Breathing Method.
The next day, Xu Feng travels by mule cart to County Town, where he will tend a fire for seven days in a pavilion dedicated to the county magistrate’s late father. He offers incense to the spirits honored there, replenishes incense for wandering ghosts and the mountain lord, and settles into the pavilion. Old Ma brings food, helps make him comfortable, and asks him to avoid the magistrate during his morning and evening visits. Xu Feng gives Old Ma a letter to deliver to Third Grandpa Temple Village.
Later, Shen Jicheng visits with books and a disturbing secret. He cites ancient stories about Gun—whose spirit was said to become a bear, fish, or dragon—and presents a piece of human skin stolen from a temple after the Earth-Fire Cult arrived. Shen claims the texts and artifact point to a path to immortality and reveal why the Earth-Fire Cult chose the area: the cult originated there.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng becomes more certain that divine intervention is real, but remains cautious and practical about the dangers ahead. He recognizes that he cannot defeat the river creature through force and must build Yin Virtue instead.
• The Master moves from disbelief to serious interest after seeing Xu Feng’s conviction. He responds to the possibility of a solution with hope rather than fear.
• Old Ma acts as a considerate, dependable ally, bringing supplies and helping Xu Feng observe the pavilion’s customs.
• Shen Jicheng shifts from evasive hints to an urgent, unsettling revelation. He is frustrated when Xu Feng treats the ancient Gun stories as familiar legends rather than evidence of an immediate threat.
• Xu Feng and Shen Jicheng clash over how to interpret the clues: Xu Feng demands a clear explanation, while Shen sees them as signs of a deeper supernatural design.

Significant themes

• Faith, offerings, and reciprocity: Incense, spirit money, and ritual acts connect the living, gods, and wandering dead; divine help appears possible but comes with conditions.
• Practicality amid the supernatural: Xu Feng accepts what he cannot control and focuses on preparation, discipline, and accumulating the resource most likely to protect him.
• Ancient history as living danger: Myths and old texts may describe real forces, making the past relevant to present threats.
• Hope and uncertainty: The River God offers a possible path to safety, while Shen’s revelation opens a more ominous mystery about immortality and the Earth-Fire Cult.

Key plot points and events

• Clerk Shen explains his forty-year theory about the Yellow River’s hidden “person”: its soul and body were split, creating a yin–yang pair. The body was worn away in the river, while the soul became the Joyful Lord, worshipped locally.
• Shen reveals that a former River God was divided by Li Changle at the order of a high official who later became the City God. Xu Feng listens closely and connects this account to the mysteries beneath the river.
• Shen shares an old Eastern Han collection of strange tales. It describes bodies washed out by Yellow River floods that remained lifelike and undecayed, though harmless. An official, Wang Zhongtong, identified them as ancient practitioners and advised letting any further remains drift downriver rather than burning them.
• Shen argues that the region’s geography may explain why undecaying bodies are found there. Xu Feng quickly reads and memorizes the collection, then interprets the story of Gun as describing three transformations: bodily, spiritual, and immortal.
• Xu Feng asks whether the divided being was a failed Corpse-Liberation Immortal. Shen corrects him: the being was an ancient undecaying corpse, not a later Corpse-Liberation Immortal. Local Earth Qi triggered its first transformation—Cicada-Shedding and Snake-Sloughing, turning it into a great fish. The human skin Xu Feng holds is its shed shell.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng shifts from listening to actively synthesizing evidence. His clear-minded reasoning lets him connect folk history, ancient texts, Corpse-Liberation practices, and the human skin. He also calmly defends his work as a Corpse Stitcher when Shen pities his apparent wasted talent.
• Shen Jicheng finally shares the conclusions of decades of research, cautiously watching for signs that Xu Feng will dismiss him. Xu Feng’s serious engagement—and his questions—delights and encourages him.
• Their exchange becomes a collaboration: Shen supplies historical evidence, while Xu Feng tests it against a broader framework of transformation and immortality.

Significant themes

• Yin and yang as complementary opposites: soul and body can be separated yet remain linked concepts; yin is not synonymous with evil.
• Transformation and immortality: the chapter distinguishes changes of body, spirit, and undying state, connecting ancient beliefs with later Corpse-Liberation practices.
• Knowledge built from fragments: old records, local geography, ritual objects, and oral accounts converge into a coherent explanation.
• Being understood: Shen’s long-suppressed research matters to him not merely as information, but because he has finally found someone willing to take it seriously.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Feng examines a remarkably fresh piece of skin from the Yellow River Undecaying Corpse, which seems almost alive despite its age.
• Shen Jicheng recounts the corpse’s history from years of research. After a change in the Earth Vein, it regained awareness and terrorized the river, devouring people and livestock and capsizing boats. Locals eventually worshipped it as “Grandpa River.”
• A Daoist from the Grand Astrologer Bureau used a technique called Soul-Splitting and Spirit-Settling, separating the corpse’s soul in the yin realm from its body in the yang realm and giving the soul the form of the Joyful Lord.
• Xu Feng recognizes a possible connection between that technique and the Greater Calamity-Stitching Art: changing a thing’s identity and nature until the imposed form becomes real.
• Interrupted by preparations for the night opera, Xu Feng leaves with Shen Jicheng for noodles, where they continue their discussion. Xu must still tend the spirit-tablet lamps through the performance, which is held for the living and the dead alike.
• Meanwhile, Sun Dashi returns home after delivering Boss Li’s corpse to a corpse-nurturing pool. His family performs a ritual to sweep away the ill fortune he may have brought back.
• Sun Dashi tells his father that a Gloomwood Duke was beneath Boss Li and that Xu Feng’s master’s apprentice held it down. His father refuses to believe him, insisting that surviving such a creature should have been impossible.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng shows respect for Shen Jicheng’s decades of painstaking research and listens closely. His questioning and insight turn the historical account into a practical clue about supernatural transformation.
• Shen Jicheng is thrilled to find someone who values his work. His trust in Xu Feng grows, and he eagerly shares a story he has long kept to himself.
• Sun Dashi returns safely but treats the corpse and his family’s protective customs with care. He is playful with his children, then serious when reporting the Gloomwood Duke.
• Sun Dashi’s father reacts with fear and disbelief, revealing how formidable the Gloomwood Duke is considered. Their exchange contrasts firsthand testimony with the limits of what the older man believes possible.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus understanding: The chapter’s title reflects Xu Feng’s effort to look beyond the corpse’s appearance and grasp the principles behind its transformation.
• Knowledge, recognition, and perseverance: Shen Jicheng’s research gains meaning when Xu Feng recognizes its value.
• Transformation and constructed identity: Soul-Splitting and Spirit-Settling may work by erasing or altering a being’s original nature and imposing a new one.
• Tradition and danger: Rituals surrounding corpses, spirits, and the night opera coexist with practical work, while the Gloomwood Duke’s reputation marks the limits of human safety.

Key plot points and events

• Sun Dashi’s father refuses to believe that Zhao Er survived because of powerful Eight Characters, insisting there must be another explanation. Sun Dashi avoids arguing with his stubborn father.
• Sun Dashi’s father has come down from the family’s mountain refuge to move his grandchildren to safety. Recent deaths—river bandit Boss Li and A Qing—along with unfamiliar boats on the Yellow River have convinced Sun Dashi that trouble is brewing.
• Sun Dashi suspects a bandit force is targeting Fallen Dragon Cliff, a site linked to legends of buried treasure and a headless dragon. He fears violence could spread through the riverside villages, so he plans to keep watch while his family hides in the mountains.
• Sun Dashi reveals that Zhao San has invited the Longflow River God. His father is astonished, immediately repents of his earlier criticism of Zhao Er, and urges Sun Dashi to donate the family’s silver and a bronze bell to the god’s shrine in exchange for having their names recorded on its stele.
• In Luoyin County Town, a ghost intrudes on the offerings before the county magistrate’s father’s memorial tablet. Xu Feng warns it away, then cuts it down when it persists. He afterward tells the sleepless Shen Jicheng to rest.

Character developments and interactions

• Sun Dashi is cautious and pragmatic: he prepares his family for danger but stays behind to monitor events. He also tempers his father’s excitement about the new god.
• Sun Dashi’s father remains domineering and stubborn, but his skepticism turns instantly to awe when he learns the Longflow River God has been invited. He becomes eager to support the shrine and secure the family’s religious merit.
• Xu Feng shows increased confidence and authority. He first gives the ghost a chance to leave, then uses his blade decisively when it refuses.
• Shen Jicheng watches the confrontation, still awake and apparently preoccupied; Xu Feng’s final remark shows concern for his health.

Significant themes

• Danger and uncertainty: Unexplained deaths and strange boats are treated as signs of impending unrest, prompting preparations before the threat is clear.
• Folk belief and religious power: Legends, Eight Characters, gods, and shrine worship shape how characters interpret events and make decisions.
• Family duty and survival: Sun Dashi prioritizes protecting the family, even while choosing to remain exposed himself.
• Authority and changing times: The Longflow River God’s unofficial invitation matters all the more because established rules are weakening amid wider conflict.
• Courtesy backed by force: Xu Feng’s encounter with the ghost reflects his principle of offering warning before resorting to violence.

Chapter Summary

• A dangerous night: Xu Feng watches from the pavilion as mist gathers beneath a troupe’s stage and restless spirits fill the area. The troupe’s incense and prayers seem inadequate. Xu Feng’s status shows protection from Luoyin County’s Land Spirit and City God, yet some visiting souls appear powerful enough to ignore ordinary warnings. Spirits steeped in savage malevolence are left to the Day and Night Wandering Gods and their officers.
• Shen Jicheng studies Xu Feng’s blade: Shen, who refuses to leave and has been staying up with Xu Feng for seven days, recognizes the Meteoritic Iron Treasure Blade’s baleful force. He explains that its aura can frighten people, ghosts, and gods, but says the blade is not yet fully developed.
• The blade’s stages: Shen claims the blade needs to kill more to develop blood patterns, which would act like channels of energy and raise it to a second stage. Its growth depends not simply on the number killed, but on whom it kills and why: indiscriminate slaughter would make it more dangerous to its owner and could ultimately turn it against him. Shen describes a rare third stage in which a blade becomes fully sentient and powerful enough to threaten even a righteous god.
• Xu Feng’s reaction: Xu Feng is initially intrigued by the prospect of strengthening his weapon, but Shen’s claim that it must kill more alarms him because the blade already has frightening side effects. He is also unimpressed by Shen’s grand historical examples, especially when they offer little practical guidance.
• A promised solution: Just as Xu Feng is ready to question Shen further, Shen reveals that he has devised a specific way to advance the blade. He asks Zhao San for permission, ending the chapter with the offer: “Little Zhao, do you want a treasure blade?”

Character Developments and Interactions

• Xu Feng remains practical and cautious. He wants useful knowledge, but values control and safety more than raw power.
• Shen Jicheng shifts from a sleepy guest into an animated expert on strange weapons. His confident, theatrical explanation raises Xu Feng’s hopes, though his lack of concrete detail initially frustrates him.
• Xu Feng and Shen develop a teacher-and-questioner dynamic: Xu seeks knowledge, while Shen insists on directing the conversation and eventually teases a hands-on solution.
• Zhao San is drawn into Shen’s proposal, setting up the next step in the blade’s development.

Significant Themes

• Power and its cost: A weapon’s strength may grow through violence, but uncontrolled bloodshed can corrupt both blade and wielder.
• Purpose and moral limits: The blade’s advancement depends not merely on killing, but on the nature and justification of its targets.
• Knowledge versus practical wisdom: Elaborate lore is less useful to Xu Feng than a clear, safe method he can actually apply.

Key plot points

• Shen Jicheng agrees to help Xu Feng advance his strange knife. The blade needs more than innocent blood: it must be tempered by the force of law or military discipline, or its violence may turn against its owner. Shen promises to arrange suitable work and asks Xu Feng not to question his motives.
• Xu Feng helps a traveling opera troupe manage the ghosts drawn to its performance. After the audience disperses, the troupe leader, Gong, explains that the ghostly spectators include soldiers recently killed near Three Peaks Town and older spirits from disturbed graves.
• Shen explains the Yellow River Demon Corpse’s history: Li Changle and the City God split the original corpse into a body and spirit. The body was chained in the Yellow River and named its god; the spirit became the Joyful Lord, revered by worshippers. Xu Feng suspects the corpse’s escape is the source of the current trouble, but remains unsure where the calamity requiring his Greater Calamity-Stitching Art lies.
• Xu Feng’s seven-day Fire Hearth ritual progresses through its stages, but its Yin Virtue consumption accelerates dramatically—from burning faster than usual to consuming ten times as much. He fears the hearth may exhaust months of protection in less than one.
• When Yin Ghosts try to swallow the flame, Xu Feng prepares to fight. Instead, the Yin Virtue Flame reaches the gods: the Day and Night Wandering Gods answer his incense and seize the troublesome Wandering Soul Great Ghost.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng remains disciplined, but the hearth’s escalating cost rattles even his usually steady mind. He questions Shen’s help and seeks answers about the corpse, though Shen reveals little and stays busy forging a treasure.
• Shen appears experienced and well connected, hinting at hidden reasons for helping Xu Feng. He also teaches that power must be restrained and given legitimate purpose, not built on cruelty alone.
• Gong treats Xu Feng cautiously, recognizing his local authority and thanking him for helping protect the troupe.
• Xu Feng’s connection to the gods becomes more tangible: his offerings can summon divine agents capable of intervening against spirits.

Significant themes

• Power and restraint: The knife needs law or discipline to balance its murderous nature; raw violence alone becomes dangerous.
• The cost of cultivation: Xu Feng’s growing Yin Virtue Flame is powerful but consumes his hard-earned protection at an alarming rate.
• Hidden forces and uncertain knowledge: Shen knows more than he shares, and Xu Feng can only infer how the corpse, the Joyful Lord, and the looming calamity fit together.
• The living world’s disorder: Ghostly spectators include casualties of recent warfare, suggesting that conflict and human suffering continue beyond the immediate supernatural events.

Plot points and events

• After completing the sacrificial rite, Xu Feng’s fire cools into an item: Sacrificial Flame (Yin Virtue), an Upper Nine Classes object. It can burn offerings to make them acceptable to gods and spirits, and even the fragrance of Yin Virtue alone pleases them.
• Xu Feng recognizes that the flame could help him rise above his old status as a Corpse Sewer, but without a lineage to cultivate Yin Virtue, its supply may be limited. He therefore remains on duty as Spirit Suppressor until the final day ends.
• Xu Feng reunites with his master, who praises his unusually pure flame and jokingly addresses him as Shrine Master Zhao. Xu Feng and his master then discuss an unexpected flood of donations for the Earth God Shrine.
• The donations—already totaling thousands of taels—were prompted by news of the shrine spirit’s appearance. The Yellow River Corpse Collectors are funding a massive bronze bell, while local gentry also want to contribute. Xu Feng and his master suspect some donors may later try to claim influence over the shrine.
• Xu Feng agrees to accept the money, but makes clear that he will not surrender control of the shrine. Anyone who tries to take it from him will face his knife—and his ability to call on the gods.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng’s growing status becomes tangible when Stage Manager Gong calls him “Master.” The chapter contrasts this respect with Zhao San’s former lowly position, highlighting how far Xu Feng has risen.
• Xu Feng feels moved by his master’s generosity, realizing that the older man has shared the best of what he accumulated. Their reunion is affectionate and playful, but their discussion also shows the master’s trust: he leaves the shrine’s major decision to Xu Feng.
• Xu Feng’s master is proud of his talent, yet cautious about dealing with wealthy local patrons. Xu Feng, by contrast, is wary and decisive, accepting their support while asserting that the shrine remains under his authority.

Significant themes

• Social status and transformation: Recognition as a “Master” represents a profound rise from the lowest ranks, especially against Zhao San’s former lack of education, connections, or prospects.
• Faith, merit, and influence: The shrine’s spiritual significance attracts donations, but religious devotion is intertwined with social ambition and possible attempts to gain control.
• Inheritance and self-determination: Xu Feng benefits from his master’s accumulated knowledge and tools, yet must decide how to establish his own authority.
• Power through ritual rather than force: The Sacrificial Flame’s importance lies in its ability to reach gods and spirits, rather than in combat—an ability that reinforces Xu Feng’s confidence in defending the shrine.

Plot points and events

• Master Zhao agrees to help Xu Feng recruit two genuine apprentices who can learn the corpse-sewing craft, rather than merely hiring laborers. Xu Feng’s growing reputation gives them better options than buying children or taking in families’ unwanted dependents.
• Master Zhao urges Xu Feng to return to the Earth God Shrine after his work as a Spirit Suppressor, but Xu says he must investigate something first. They also agree to wait a few days before pressuring the County Magistrate again over the Lost-Trace Forest.
• Yamen Runner Shen Jicheng arrives with news: the County Magistrate is preparing a campaign against local Demon Cultivators and Water Bandits. The magistrate hopes a successful suppression will boost his career, especially because his Exam Mentor has been promoted to the Capital.
• Shen explains that the campaign requires the county gentry’s support for troops and supplies. Xu Feng recognizes the political opportunity—and questions whether the targets are truly bandits. Shen assures him that the suspects are genuine and that checks against killing innocents still apply.
• Xu Feng may be called upon to handle executions, including beheadings, though Shen says ordinary rules may be set aside for this assignment. Shen plans to tell him more the next day, when Xu takes the Joyful Lord back to the Charity Nunnery.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng shows confidence and generosity, arranging good wine for Master Zhao and insisting that he wants apprentices he can teach properly. He also demonstrates political awareness, connecting the magistrate’s plans to official evaluations and questioning the legitimacy of the campaign’s targets.
• Master Zhao is proud of Xu Feng’s success and eager to help him, even as he recognizes that his apprentice’s standing now exceeds his own. His loyalty remains clear, and he joins the conversation when Shen invites him.
• Shen Jicheng treats Xu Feng with increasing warmth and offers to recommend him for execution work, seeing the campaign as an opportunity for both the magistrate and Xu’s knife.
• Xu and Master Zhao agree to resume pressure on the magistrate after a short pause, while Shen’s news introduces a new, potentially dangerous route to influence and advancement.

Significant themes

• Social mobility and reputation: Xu Feng’s standing opens doors that were previously closed to people in his trade.
• Mentorship and legacy: Xu wants to pass on his craft, while Master Zhao takes pride in his apprentice’s achievements.
• Politics and opportunism: The magistrate’s campaign is presented as both a security operation and a bid for promotion.
• Justice versus ambition: Xu’s concern that the targets might not truly be bandits highlights the moral risk of using violence for political gain.

Plot points

• Shen Jicheng leaves Xu Feng with the impression that he may help advance Xu’s plans, then rushes off. Xu realizes that Shen is deeply invested in the larger scheme and may be a powerful ally.
• On the final day of the festival, Xu persuades his master, Zhao Er, to watch the Mulian performance from a nearby restaurant. Xu stays behind, reflecting that favorable connections and timing could help them draw the county’s attention to Lost-Trace Forest and promote their temple.
• Zhao Er returns with food for Xu and a prospective helper, Cheng Dawa. He makes clear that Dawa is not yet an apprentice and may have to spend decades learning the trade.
• Xu questions Dawa and learns the boy’s family sent him to the crowded festival, apparently unable—or unwilling—to keep supporting him. Xu suspects the boy may have been put in danger deliberately, though he and Zhao Er cannot change what has happened to the family. Dawa stays with them and is told simply to go by “Dawa.”
• After Dawa makes offerings to Joyful Lord, Xu shows Zhao Er a scrap of human skin. Zhao Er is startled, and Xu begins to explain where it came from, suggesting it may be important to their next steps.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Feng thinks strategically about how to use Shen Jicheng’s influence, while also showing compassion and caution toward Dawa. He recognizes the boy’s vulnerability but avoids hearing details of an unfixable family tragedy.
• Zhao Er is warm toward Xu—saving him food—and takes Dawa in as a helper, though he frames the decision as a practical apprenticeship rather than charity. His judgment appears informed by having noticed Dawa earlier and checking their astrological compatibility.
• Dawa is timid, obedient, and apparently slow to think things through. His eagerness to stay is driven largely by the promise of food; he seems intimidated by Xu despite their similar ages.
• Xu and Zhao Er share an unspoken understanding about Dawa’s family and their inability to intervene. Their conversation shifts abruptly when Xu presents the human-skin fragment.

Significant themes

• Networks and opportunity: Xu believes alliances and favorable timing can make difficult plans possible.
• Protection and vulnerability: The festival is both a communal celebration and a place where a child can be exposed to danger.
• Poverty and exploitation: Dawa is treated as a burden by his family and as potential labor, underscoring the harshness of his circumstances.
• Duty without power: Xu and Zhao Er care about Dawa’s plight but accept that they cannot undo the family’s fate.
• Apprenticeship and belonging: Dawa’s arrival echoes how Zhao Er once took Xu in, hinting at a developing family-like bond.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Feng shows Master the piece of human skin recovered from the Qian Family Mansion temple. He explains that it was once a whole shed skin, split down the spine; the rest may have been taken by the Earth-Fire Cult. They suspect it helped convince the cult that its method could grant eternal life.
• The skin gives Xu Feng a way forward with the Greater Calamity-Stitching Art. He realizes he has been limiting himself to modern science and materials, overlooking immortal cultivation. The art’s remaining weakness is his own practical skill, which he plans to develop through hands-on experience with a suitable opponent.
• Xu Feng observes Da Wa’s obedience and honesty, qualities he believes will make the boy suited to Stitching Calamity. When Da Wa’s legs go numb from sitting and burning paper, Xu Feng helps him recover, then takes him to dinner.
• The night’s final play concludes with a happy reunion. Xu Feng and Master watch from outside the pavilion while ghosts attend; afterward, the troupe performs rites to welcome the gods and send the ghosts away. Xu Feng stays behind to guard the pavilion.
• At the fourth watch, the County Magistrate completes the rites for his father’s spirit tablet and takes it home. Xu Feng is left to handle the remaining paper tablets and later send off the Joyful Lord.
• Old Ma thanks Xu Feng and says the pavilion need not be dismantled until morning. Shen Jicheng then appears and tells Xu Feng to rest before they go up the mountain. He mentions that Daoists there taught him breathing and guiding exercises, and that he intends to honor their graves.

Character development

• Xu Feng grows more confident in the Greater Calamity-Stitching Art, recognizing that practical experimentation—not theory alone—will advance it. He also takes a thoughtful, protective interest in Da Wa.
• Master remains watchful and supportive, even offering to accompany Xu Feng to the mountain. Their mutual teasing reflects trust and affection.
• Da Wa demonstrates patience, obedience, and honesty, though he is inexperienced and exhausted. Xu Feng begins treating him as someone to train.
• Shen Jicheng is revealed to have learned cultivation exercises from the mountain Daoists and to maintain a respectful connection to them.

Significant themes

• Theory versus practice: Xu Feng must test the art in real situations to uncover its flaws.
• Broader ways of knowing: His breakthrough comes from looking beyond modern science to immortal cultivation.
• Ritual and responsibility: Xu Feng must manage the spiritual aftermath of the performance carefully, despite lacking clear instruction.
• Apprenticeship and experience: Da Wa’s suitability matters, but he—and Xu Feng—still have much to learn through practice.

Character interactions

• Xu Feng explains the skin’s history to Master, who questions him and then agrees with his theory about the Earth-Fire Cult.
• Master worries about Xu Feng’s mountain meeting and offers to go with him; Xu Feng reassures him, and they share a warm exchange.
• Xu Feng cares for Da Wa when the boy is too embarrassed to complain about his numb legs, then ensures he can rest during the long night.
• Xu Feng and Master discreetly observe the ghostly audience and work together around the rites, while Xu Feng takes responsibility for guarding the pavilion.
• Old Ma addresses Xu Feng and Master formally after the ceremony, while Shen Jicheng gives Xu Feng instructions for their upcoming trip.