Recaps

Wen Ning agreed to help Tu Shan Qingqing at Mount Li, where Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng was buried, and learned why she had waited for him to return. Back at his shop, Wen Ning decided Lu Ming would accompany him the next day, despite Lu Ming’s protests.

• Wen Ning returned to his hometown, visited Tu Shan Qingqing at The One Bar, and agreed to go to Mount Li after hearing about her promise with Ying Zheng.
• Wen Ning stayed for a meal with his mother, then returned to the shop and called Meng Jiang to ask about Mount Li.
• Meng Jiang warned Wen Ning that no one dared collect souls at Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum and joked that she would save him a place if he lost a limb.
• Zhang Siyu challenged Wen Ning about helping Tu Shan Qingqing, and Wen Ning insisted he was going on business.
• Wen Ning ordered Lu Ming to accompany him to Mount Li the next day and frightened him by threatening to offer him up as food; Lu Ming reluctantly gave in.

Wen Ning brought Lu Ming to Mount Li to meet the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, and discovered that powerful yin energy sealed the mountain. After Qin Shi Huang summoned them into a hidden palace, he greeted Wen Ning as an old acquaintance.

• Wen Ning dragged a reluctant Lu Ming from the shop and flew with him to Mount Li.
• Wen Ning sensed disciplined yin energy beneath the mountain that kept it sealed, and Lu Ming felt it too.
• An unseen ancient general appeared among the tourists and said that His Majesty requested Wen Ning's presence.
• The general opened a hidden doorway, and Wen Ning pulled Lu Ming through into a magnificent palace.
• Wen Ning met Qin Shi Huang on the dais and joked that the meeting was going too smoothly.
• Qin Shi Huang smiled at Wen Ning and said it had been a long time.

Wen Ning met Qin Shi Huang, who recognized him from a future encounter and offered him Human Dao Fortune in exchange for returning when the time came. Qin Shi Huang gave Wen Ning the Imperial Seal of China, and Wen Ning left with Lu Ming, still uncertain about the king’s cryptic request.

• Qin Shi Huang greeted Wen Ning as an old acquaintance and hinted that Wen Ning had not yet been to a place they would both know.
• Qin Shi Huang revealed that Wen Ning had told him he sought Human Dao Fortune and showed him the Imperial Seal of China, explaining that its spirit had returned it to him.
• Qin Shi Huang teased Lu Ming by calling him a deer brought to nourish him, and Wen Ning reassured the frightened Lu Ming.
• Qin Shi Huang gave Wen Ning the Imperial Seal of China and promised him Human Dao Fortune on the condition that he return when the time came.
• Wen Ning took Lu Ming through the black door and remembered something just before crossing the threshold.

Wen Ning asked Qin Shi Huang whether he had lied to Tu Shan Qingqing, and Qin admitted that he had later chosen his duty to the realm over staying with her. Wen Ning confirmed the truth to Tu Shan Qingqing, who sent him away after hearing his answer.

• Wen Ning asked Qin Shi Huang whether he remembered promising to stay with Tu Shan Qingqing and whether he had lied to her.
• Qin Shi Huang admitted he later broke his promise because he believed the realm needed him to rebuild and govern after unification.
• Wen Ning left Mount Li with Lu Ming, then sent Lu Ming home and went to The One Bar.
• Wen Ning told Tu Shan Qingqing that Qin Shi Huang had lied to her, and she dismissed Wen Ning.

Wen Ning rushed to the Heavenly Court to stop Feng Dema from harassing female immortals after Feng Dema mistakenly believed a permanent position came with a wife. He brought Feng Dema back to the Misfortune Department, where Broom Star warned him to focus on his duties or risk losing his job.

• Broom Star called Wen Ning and said Feng Dema was asking every female immortal at the Southern Heavenly Gate to be his wife.
• Wen Ning arrived at White Jade Square and saw Feng Dema blocking a fairy with a flower basket to advertise his permanent position.
• Wen Ning confronted Feng Dema, while Broom Star warned that complaints could get him fired.
• Wen Ning dragged Feng Dema back to the Misfortune Department as the onlookers laughed and dispersed.
• Broom Star told Feng Dema to learn his duties and stop harassing immortals, and Feng Dema reluctantly agreed.

Wen Ning’s Jade Emperor’s Golden Register absorbed the fortune stored in the Imperial Seal of China and gained authority over the mortal world’s rightful rulers. A little cat spirit then begged him to save her owner, who was dying of leukemia, and Wen Ning agreed to go to the hospital.

• Feng Dema promised Wen Ning and Broom Star that he would stop causing trouble and work properly at the Misfortune Department.
• Wen Ning opened the box containing the Imperial Seal of China, and its human fortune flowed into the Jade Emperor’s Golden Register.
• The register transformed and gained authority over the rightful rulers of the mortal world, while the Imperial Seal of China became an ordinary jade seal.
• A little cat spirit arrived at Wen Ning’s bathhouse and begged him to save her owner, who had leukemia and was worsening despite hospital treatment.
• Wen Ning asked the cat spirit to take him to the hospital to see her owner.

Wen Ning followed the cat demon to the hospital, where she revealed that her owner, Zhou Wan, was dying of leukemia. After learning that Zhou Wan had no stem cell donor and only an estimated three months to live, Wen Ning was left to consider how he could help without directly changing the natural course of life.

• Wen Ning followed the cat demon to Zhou Wan’s hospital room, where she transformed into a cat and reunited with her owner.
• Wen Ning learned that Zhou Wan had leukemia and had chosen to spend her remaining time with Mimi rather than endure risky treatment.
• Wen Ning told Zhou Wan he would speak to her doctor before leaving the ward.
• Doctor Chen explained that Zhou Wan’s leukemia had relapsed, she urgently needed a stem cell transplant, and no suitable donor had been found.
• Doctor Chen estimated that Zhou Wan might have around three months left, and Wen Ning recognized that she had no time to wait for a donor.

Wen Ning learned from Judge Lu that Zhou Wan had four months left and that a willing life exchange could extend her lifespan. Back at the shop, the little cat demon offered to give Zhou Wan all of her own life, insisting she had thought it through.

• Wen Ning visited Judge Lu and learned that Zhou Wan had four months left to live.
• Wen Ning asked whether Zhou Wan's fate could be changed, and Judge Lu revealed that someone could willingly give her part of their lifespan through a life exchange.
• Wen Ning returned to the shop and told Zhang Siyu, Lu Ming, and the little cat demon about Zhou Wan's remaining time and the possible exchange.
• The little cat demon offered to give Zhou Wan all of her life and explained how Zhou Wan had cared for her.
• Wen Ning asked the little cat demon whether she had thought through the choice, and she said she had.

The little cat demon Mimi exchanged her remaining life for Zhou Wan’s, and Zhou Wan’s illness suddenly disappeared. The chapter ended with Zhou Wan sensing that she had lost Mimi as the little cat demon’s spirit departed.

• Mimi insisted she understood that exchanging lives would kill her, and Wen Ning agreed to take her to the hospital.
• Mimi visited Zhou Wan’s ward and clung to her while Zhou Wan affectionately told her to be strong.
• Wen Ning took Mimi to the rooftop and used Judge Lu’s talisman to transfer her life force to Zhou Wan.
• Mimi died and returned to her original form, and Wen Ning gently laid her body down and closed her eyes.
• Zhou Wan’s pain vanished, and she called for a doctor as her health rapidly improved.
• A little gray bird flew away from Zhou Wan’s windowsill, while Zhou Wan felt a deep sadness and called out for Mimi.

Mimi, a stray kitten, was rescued and adopted by a frail young woman who named her and cared for her. After learning she could cultivate to become human and protect her owner, Mimi began practicing at night as her owner's health worsened.

• A girl rescued Mimi from a rain-soaked cardboard box, took her home, and named her.
• The girl brought Mimi to a clinic for a checkup and deworming, then comforted her with treats afterward.
• Mimi grew healthy and playful, keeping her sick owner company and becoming deeply attached to her.
• An orange-and-white cat told Mimi that she could cultivate, become human, and protect the people she loved.
• Mimi asked neighborhood cats about cultivation, then began practicing beneath the moon while her owner's breathing and heartbeat weakened.

Mimi cultivated human form but could not hide her cat ears, and grew desperate to save her gravely ill owner. After Big Orange-and-White Cat told her about a shop run by a Deity, Mimi went there and knocked on its door, hoping for help.

• Mimi worried that her visible cat ears would frighten her owner and feared the owner’s weakening heartbeat as she went to the hospital.
• Mimi promised her sleeping owner that she would take her illness and pain in her place so the owner could live.
• Mimi tried wrapping her ears and wearing a hat, but remembered how much her owner loved stroking them and decided not to remove them.
• Big Orange-and-White Cat told Mimi about a shop run by a Deity that could handle matters in the world and the Underworld.
• Mimi slipped out at night, searched the next street until dawn, and found the tiny shop with a Bathhouse sign.
• Mimi removed her crooked hat, revealed her ears, and knocked three times; the door opened.

Zhou Wan learned that she had completely recovered from her illness, and she suspected the sudden change in her body had happened after Wen Ning and Mimi visited. Outside the hospital, she discovered Mimi had died, leaving her devastated as Wen Ning stood beside her.

• Doctor Chen told Zhou Wan that all signs of her illness had vanished and that she had made a complete recovery.
• Zhou Wan underwent a full battery of tests, which confirmed that her results and organ function were normal.
• Zhou Wan recalled feeling a sudden surge of energy that morning and learned that Wen Ning had taken Mimi to the rooftop.
• Zhou Wan left the hospital in good health and found Wen Ning waiting outside with Mimi in his arms.
• Zhou Wan realized Mimi was dead, and Wen Ning confirmed it as she clutched the kitten and grieved.

After Mimi sacrificed her life to save Zhou Wan, Zhou Wan grieved, brought her home, and buried her in her favorite place. She believed Mimi remained with her in a tiny, warm beat in her chest.

• Wen Ning told Zhou Wan that Mimi had given her life for the miracle that saved Zhou Wan.
• Zhou Wan mourned Mimi and asked whether she had suffered; Wen Ning said she had died peacefully and willingly.
• Zhou Wan took Mimi home, prepared her body with a blanket, toys, a collar, and baby's breath, then buried her in the park.
• Zhou Wan thanked Wen Ning and said she felt Mimi's gentle purring beat inside her chest.
• A faint meow seemed to answer Zhou Wan as a shooting star crossed the night sky.

Wen Ning visited Zhou Wan after Mimi sacrificed her lifespan to save her, then went to the Underworld to check on Mimi. Judge Lu revealed that Mimi would be reborn as Zhou Wan’s human child, and Mimi eagerly accepted the chance to live with her again, even though she would lose her memories.

• Wen Ning told Zhou Wan to cherish the miracle of her survival, and she promised to treasure the life Mimi had given her.
• Wen Ning returned to his shop, then went to the Underworld to see what had become of Mimi.
• Wen Ning found Judge Lu petting Mimi, and Mimi asked whether Zhou Wan was all right.
• Judge Lu said Mimi’s virtue had earned her a human rebirth as Zhou Wan’s child.
• Mimi asked when she could be reborn, and Judge Lu said it would take one or two years.
• Wen Ning warned Mimi that she would forget her past life, but Mimi accepted and thanked him.

Wen Ning learned that Zhou Ming had become the province’s top science-track scorer and welcomed Zhou and Ma Lanlan when they came to thank him. Zhou shared his dream of advancing Huaguo’s aerospace technology, and Wen Ning agreed to attend the family’s celebration banquet.

• Wen Ning saw a notification announcing Zhou Ming as the province’s top scorer and learned that Zhang Siyu had known for two days.
• The next morning, Ma Lanlan and Zhou Ming visited Wen Ning’s shop and thanked him for helping Ma Lanlan give Zhou room to pursue his studies.
• Zhou told Wen Ning that he planned to attend Huaguo University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and hoped to lead Huaguo’s aerospace technology forward.
• Ma Lanlan invited Wen Ning to Zhou’s university celebration banquet at Yuebin Restaurant on Saturday, and Wen Ning accepted.
• After Ma Lanlan and Zhou left, Zhang Siyu joked with Wen Ning about the rockets Zhou might build.

Wen Ning attended Zhou Ming’s celebratory banquet and saw that the Star of Literary Excellence had fully awakened in him. When he returned to his shop, Xiao Ya and Xiong Batian told him that a demonic presence had appeared near Black Wind Mountain and that a Heavenly Court visitor who knew Wen Ning had asked for him.

• Ma Lanlan welcomed Wen Ning to the banquet, where Zhou Ming teased him about being single and Wen Ning urged Zhou Ming to study hard.
• After the banquet, Wen Ning saw Zhou Ming’s brilliant scholarly aura and realized that the Star of Literary Excellence had fully awakened.
• Wen Ning returned to his shop and found Xiao Ya and Xiong Batian waiting with news of a demonic presence near Xiao Ya’s village.
• Xiao Ya said she had reported the presence to the Heavenly Court, which had sent someone to Black Wind Mountain and instructed her to bring Wen Ning.
• Xiao Ya told Wen Ning that the visitor claimed to know him, leaving Wen Ning surprised.

Wen Ning went with Xiao Ya and Xiong Batian to meet the acquaintance waiting at the Mountain God Temple on Black Wind Mountain, accompanied by Lu Ming and Big Yellow. He reunited with Yang Jian and discovered that the Howling Celestial Dog could speak and take human form.

• Big Yellow tugged at Wen Ning's trousers until he agreed to bring her, and Lu Ming joined Wen Ning while Zhang Siyu stayed at the shop.
• Xiao Ya and Xiong Batian led Wen Ning, Lu Ming, and Big Yellow to the Mountain God Temple on Black Wind Mountain.
• Wen Ning recognized Yang Jian, who was waiting outside the temple with the Howling Celestial Dog.
• Big Yellow and the Howling Celestial Dog eyed each other, and Yang Jian teased his dog for being smitten with a female dog.
• The Howling Celestial Dog spoke to Wen Ning, transformed into a white-haired man, and proudly introduced himself as the Sun-Swallowing Divine Lord.

Yang Jian told Wen Ning that demonic energy had corrupted everyone in the village, so the group entered after dark to investigate. As the mist attacked them, an old man pulled Wen Ning into a house and urgently warned them they were fools to be out at night.

• Yang Jian explained that the village’s residents were alive but mentally corrupted, and that the corruption worsened after nightfall.
• Wen Ning, Yang Jian, and Lu Ming descended to the village while Xiong Batian stayed to guard the entrance.
• Yang Jian used his third eye to repel the demonic energy as the group entered the mist-shrouded village.
• An old man grabbed Wen Ning and pulled him toward his doorway, warning the three to stay inside because it was dangerous to be out at night.

Wen Ning, Yang Jian, and Lu Ming learned from Wang Laoshuan that the village’s troubles began after Erping returned with a golden cicada and claimed a well could multiply offerings into money. As villagers grew obsessed with the well and one family considered sacrificing its young daughter, Wen Ning and Yang Jian resolved to investigate it.

• Wang Laoshuan warned Wen Ning, Yang Jian, and Lu Ming that the village had become unnaturally silent and dangerous after nightfall.
• Wang Laoshuan explained that Erping had returned with a golden cicada and claimed it was a treasure that could make the village rich.
• Wang Laoshuan said Erping demonstrated the well’s supposed power by throwing in rough paper and showing the crowd new banknotes afterward.
• Wang Laoshuan revealed that villagers who offered an old hen received money, and some families had begun considering offering their children.
• Wen Ning and Yang Jian decided to deal with the well before anyone sacrificed a child, and Yang Jian asked Wang Laoshuan what else had happened there.

Wen Ning and Yang Jian discovered that the village well seemed ordinary and suspected the golden toad was behind its money-granting power. The next morning, Wen Ning rushed to stop Old Zhao and his wife from sacrificing their daughter at the well, but arrived as they prepared to throw her in.

• Wang Laoshuan told Wen Ning and Yang Jian that young men who spent the well's money had grown weak, and Wen Ning concluded their vital energy was being drained.
• Yang Jian examined the well and found no demonic energy, then agreed with Wen Ning that the golden toad might be the true source of its power.
• Wen Ning sent Lu Ming to watch the village at dawn and dusk; Lu Ming observed sluggish villagers and a woman repeatedly staring toward the western end.
• At dawn, Lu Ming warned Wen Ning that Old Zhao and his wife were preparing to throw their five-year-old daughter into the well as an offering.
• Wen Ning rushed to the village and found the couple, their faces changed and their minds clouded, holding the crying child over the well; he released a wave of golden-red energy and shouted at them.

Wen Ning confronted Golden Toad, who had taken Erping’s body and used the villagers’ greed to obtain people from the well. Lu Ming, Yang Jian, and Howling Celestial Dog arrived and helped subdue the villagers, but Golden Toad attacked as Wen Ning prepared to fight.

• Wen Ning protected the child from the villagers and confronted the man who emerged from Erping’s house.
• The man revealed himself as Golden Toad and admitted that he had taken Erping’s body and manipulated villagers into sacrificing people for wealth.
• Golden Toad turned the villagers against Wen Ning, but Lu Ming arrived with Yang Jian and Howling Celestial Dog.
• Lu Ming used the Lu Shu Bell to knock the villagers unconscious, and Wen Ning handed the child to Lu Ming.
• Wen Ning and Yang Jian faced Golden Toad, who launched himself at them through black mist rising from the well.

Wen Ning discovered that Golden Toad could endlessly rebuild himself through the villagers’ greed, even after destroying his body. He rejected the demon’s demand to kill the villagers and prepared to remove their greed another way.

• Wen Ning struck Golden Toad with the Phoenix-Wing Gilt Trident, but Golden Toad emerged unharmed and claimed the villagers’ greed made him immortal.
• Wen Ning charged again as Lu Ming used the Lu Shu Bell to hold back Golden Toad’s black rain, and Wen Ning shattered the demon’s head and body with the trident.
• Golden Toad’s scattered flesh gathered and re-formed, while Yang Jian explained that the demon was fused with the village’s greed.
• Golden Toad taunted Wen Ning to choose between killing the villagers and letting him live, but Wen Ning said greed could not be erased by killing.
• Wen Ning let the trident’s red light fade and summoned a brilliant strand of light, declaring that he would deliver the villagers’ greed from the world.

Wen Ning destroyed Golden Toad by burning away the well that sustained him, then left the village with the rescued girl and Yang Jian and Lu Ming. As they departed, Wen Ning and Yang Jian argued over his hands-off support, while Lu Ming joked about joining the next fight.

• Wen Ning exposed that Golden Toad's well was drying up because Old Wang Laoshuan and the little girl had resisted him, then burned the well with the Phoenix-Wing Gilt Trident.
• Golden Toad withered as the well dried, and Wen Ning condemned him for using money to drive parents to sacrifice their children and other villagers to trade lives for wealth.
• Wen Ning destroyed Golden Toad's remaining body with a heated pebble, then said the villagers would have to earn money themselves.
• Wen Ning left with the sleeping girl as Yang Jian and Lu Ming followed, and Yang Jian explained he had planned to intervene only if Wen Ning could not win.
• Wen Ning told Yang Jian they should fight together next time, and Lu Ming joked that he wanted to be backup too.

Wen Ning returned to Black Wind Mountain with Yang Jian and Lu Ming after settling the matter, then told Xiao Ya he planned to leave after lunch. Their meal was interrupted by Howling Celestial Dog proudly revealing that he and Wen Ning’s Big Yellow had become a couple.

• Lu Ming refused to lend Wen Ning his bonded Lu Shu Bell, and Yang Jian teased Wen Ning about helping villagers fill in a well.
• Wen Ning, Yang Jian, and Lu Ming returned to Black Wind Mountain, where Xiao Ya welcomed them and learned the matter was settled.
• Wen Ning told Xiao Ya he would leave after lunch, and she invited everyone to eat.
• Howling Celestial Dog rushed to greet Big Yellow and called her Sweet Yellow, leaving Wen Ning stunned.
• Howling Celestial Dog said he had won Big Yellow over the previous night, while Wen Ning tried to warn her away from him.

Zhang Siyu prepared to leave Wen Ning’s shop and return to Dragon-Tiger Mountain, while privately resolving to cultivate so she could stand beside him. The chapter ended with her setting out to pursue that goal.

• After dinner with Xiao Ya and Xiong Batian, Wen Ning and Lu Ming returned to the shop, where they found Zhang Siyu packed and ready to leave.
• Zhang Siyu told Wen Ning and Lu Ming that she was returning to Dragon-Tiger Mountain the next morning because she missed home, and they agreed to give her a send-off.
• Zhang Siyu cooked a farewell dinner, and Wen Ning told her she would always be welcome to visit and that her room would remain available.
• After Zhang Siyu retired to her room, she recalled telling Zhang Qingxuan that she had fallen for Wen Ning but felt unable to keep up with him.
• Zhang Qingxuan urged Zhang Siyu to return to the mountain, cultivate, and gain the strength to stand beside Wen Ning; she affirmed her resolve to do so.