Recaps

Wen Ning, Lu Ming, and Feng Dema learned how Lin Feng’s daughter Lin Jin died after a classmate spread false rumors about her, while the classmate’s influential family escaped consequences. After the family insulted them outside the police station, Wen Ning vowed to act if the law would not.

• Wen Ning, Lu Ming, and Feng Dema told the police how they had stopped Lin Feng from putting an unconscious girl into his van.
• The officer explained that Lin Jin had died by suicide after her classmate spread a false online post accusing her of being a kept woman, and that the family’s connections had helped the classmate avoid consequences.
• Wen Ning, Lu Ming, and Feng Dema saw the girl leave the station with her parents, who mocked Lin Feng and planned to seek a harsher charge against him.
• As the three walked away, Feng Dema asked whether Lin Jin had died for nothing, and Wen Ning vowed to take action if the law would not.

After Lin Feng died by suicide in police custody, Wen Ning explained that his resentment likely kept him from entering the Underworld. That night, Xie Bi'an arrived with two battered Ghost Messengers to report that Lin Feng had escaped and ask Wen Ning for help.

• Wen Ning learned from a news article that Lin Feng had died after striking his head against a wall at the police station.
• Zhou Ming returned to town after hearing about Lin Jin and asked Wen Ning whether the people responsible could be made to pay, but Wen Ning insisted they could not act outside the law.
• Wen Ning told Lu Ming that Lin Feng's resentment probably prevented him from following the Ghost Messengers into the Underworld.
• Xie Bi'an arrived at Wen Ning's shop with two injured Ghost Messengers and said Lin Feng had beaten them and escaped.
• Xie Bi'an asked Wen Ning for help because pursuing Lin Feng again risked more Ghost Messenger casualties.

Wen Ning accompanied Xie Bi'an to find Lin Feng, who had returned home and remained consumed by grief and resentment over his daughter. Xie Bi'an agreed to give Lin Feng three days to take revenge before the Underworld pursued him again.

• Wen Ning agreed to accompany Xie Bi'an, leaving Lu Ming and Feng Dema waiting at the shop.
• Xie Bi'an told Wen Ning that Lin Feng had returned home because he could not leave his mentally unstable wife behind.
• Lin Feng attacked Wen Ning, and Wen Ning struck him with lightning and knocked him into a wall.
• Xie Bi'an dismissed the Ghost Messengers and told Lin Feng that the Underworld knew what had happened to his daughter.
• Lin Feng asked for three days to make those responsible pay in blood, and Wen Ning and Xie Bi'an agreed.

Lin Feng rejected Xie Bi'an’s offer to wait for the Underworld’s judgment and chose revenge, while Wen Ning explained that mortal time made delayed justice meaningless. The next morning, the family responsible for Lin Jin’s death begged Wen Ning for help, but he told them they had three days to repay their debt to Lin Feng themselves.

• Lin Feng left to take revenge, choosing it over a good next incarnation, and Xie Bi'an and Wen Ning discussed how delayed justice differed for mortals and underworld officials.
• Xie Bi'an returned to the Underworld, while Wen Ning told Lu Ming and Feng Dema that Lin Feng had been given three days for revenge.
• The family arrived at Wen Ning’s shop after finding the words “A life for a life” written in blood in their home.
• The mother admitted that Zhao Qi had spread rumors about Lin Jin and that her father had used his influence to bury the matter.
• Wen Ning told them that Lin Feng had come for them and that their debts were recorded in the Book of Karma.
• Zhao Qi offered to confess to the police, but Wen Ning said that confession could not undo the deaths or guarantee Lin Feng would spare them.

Wen Ning refused to save Zhao Qi and her parents, but agreed to help Lin Feng get past a Maoshan Taoist by giving him protection from Thunder Arts. At Zhao Qi's home, Shi Dajian learned the truth about Lin Jin's death and demanded that the family apologize and make amends within three days.

• Wen Ning sent Zhao Qi and her parents away, warning them not to threaten him, and Feng Dema escorted them out.
• Lin Feng returned injured after Shi Dajian's Lightning Thunderclap Fist drove him back, and begged Wen Ning for help.
• Wen Ning gave Lin Feng a strand of the Five Thunder Righteous Method, making him immune to Thunder Arts while warning him not to harm innocents.
• Shi Dajian placed House-Guarding Talismans around Zhao Qi's home and asked her family why Lin Feng's ghost was haunting them.
• Zhao Qi's father admitted that Zhao Qi had spread exaggerated claims about Lin Jin, who later killed herself, and that Lin Feng had also died in custody.
• Shi Dajian agreed to protect the family only if they told the truth and apologized at Lin Jin's grave within three days.

Lin Feng returned to Zhao Qi’s home and killed her mother despite Shi Dajian’s lightning attacks. After visiting his mentally fragile wife, Lin Feng vanished into the night, while Wen Ning learned that his aid had entangled him in Lin Feng’s karmic debts.

• Lin Feng resisted Shi Dajian’s Lightning Thunderclap Fist, killed Zhao Qi’s mother, and promised Zhao Qi and her father that two more deaths would follow.
• Shi Dajian failed to stop Lin Feng and wondered who had empowered him.
• Lin Feng watched his wife from the darkness without speaking to her, then left after listening to her murmur about Lin Jin.
• Xie Bi'an told Wen Ning that Lin Feng had killed Zhao Qi’s mother and incurred another karmic debt.
• Wen Ning confirmed he had given Lin Feng the Five Thunder Righteous Method, accepted that he was entangled in Lin Feng’s karma, and agreed that Xie Bi'an would return in three days.

Shi Dajian and the Maoshan Taoists tried to stop Lin Feng from killing Zhao Qi’s father, but Lin Feng overpowered them and warned that he would return for the last victim the next day. Afterward, the Taoists resolved to find Lin Feng’s backer and negotiate.

• The Four-Eyed Taoist theorized that someone had stabilized Lin Feng’s ghostly body with a Thunder Art, countering Shi Dajian’s attacks.
• Shi Dajian and the other Taoists gathered at Zhao Qi’s home to guard against Lin Feng, who arrived that night and brushed off their attacks and formation.
• Lin Feng killed Zhao Qi’s father and told Shi Dajian that the last victim would be next.
• Lin Ba questioned whether Lin Feng would stop after killing two people, and Lin Feng said no one else’s life mattered compared with his daughter’s.
• Shi Dajian agreed they had to try to stop Lin Feng, while the Four-Eyed Taoist proposed finding his backer and talking to them.

Maoshan disciples came to Lu Ming’s agency to find Wen Ning and demand that he remove the Thunder Arts spell protecting Lin Feng. Wen Ning refused, saying Lin Feng’s revenge would be over in three days, and acknowledged Lin Ba’s warning about karma without explaining why he still helped.

• Shi Dajian and Lin Ba arrived at Lu Ming’s agency and asked whether he had seen Lin Feng.
• Lu Ming called Wen Ning out, and Wen Ning admitted he had placed the Thunder Arts spell on Lin Feng.
• Lin Ba and Shi Dajian confronted Wen Ning about helping Lin Feng, who had killed two people.
• Wen Ning asked whether the Maoshan disciples knew the Zhao Family had caused Lin Feng’s daughter’s death and still accepted the family’s request to stop him.
• Lin Ba warned that helping Lin Feng would entangle Wen Ning in karma, and Wen Ning agreed but remained unwilling to remove the spell.

Wen Ning intervened before Lin Feng could kill Zhao Qi, persuading him to spare her in exchange for caring for his wife. Lin Feng then visited his wife one last time before Xie Bi'an took him to the Underworld.

• Lin Ba and Shi Dajian returned to Zhao Qi’s home and tried to stop Lin Feng, but he defeated them and entered her bedroom.
• Lin Feng prepared to kill Zhao Qi, but Wen Ning and Xie Bi'an arrived and Wen Ning persuaded him to spare her and make her care for his wife.
• Zhao Qi promised to look after Lin Feng’s wife, and Lin Feng left with Xie Bi'an.
• Lin Feng visited his wife, watched her speak to a pillow as if it were their daughter, and left without revealing himself.
• Xie Bi'an took Lin Feng into the Underworld, while Wen Ning returned to the shop and told Lu Ming that one person had survived.

Lin Feng was sentenced in the Underworld for killing two people, while Judge Lu reprimanded Xie Bi'an for letting him remain free. On Maoshan, Daoist Wuji decided to investigate Wen Ning, who was also scolded by Wen Zhong for allowing Lin Feng to kill mortals.

• Judge Lu sentenced Lin Feng to fifty years of punishment for killing Zhao and his wife after death.
• Judge Lu let Xie Bi'an off with a warning and told him to pass Wen Zhong's message to rein in his temper.
• Shi Dajian, Lin Ba, and the Four-Eyed Taoist reported Wen Ning's power and strange companions to Daoist Wuji.
• Daoist Wuji decided to descend the mountain and investigate Wen Ning.
• Wen Zhong scolded Wen Ning by message for letting a dead soul murder mortals, and Lu Ming laughed at him until Wen Ning threatened to send him to India.

Wen Ning reflected on his punishment for the Zhao Family affair and learned that Zhao Qi had chosen to care for Lin Jin's mother. Daoist Wuji came to Wen Ning's shop to confront him, but first found himself arguing with the harmless Squirrel Spirit.

• Wen Ning saw that the Golden Register recorded his punishment of Lin Feng as promoting good, with nineteen deeds completed and seventeen remaining.
• Zhou Ming told Wen Ning that Zhao Qi planned to look after Lin Jin's mother, and Wen Ning said it was a good thing.
• Daoist Wuji left Maoshan to investigate the mysterious man who could summon lightning without Taoist energy.
• Lin Feng began his fifty-year punishment in the Underworld's torture chamber while Xie Bi'an listened outside.
• Daoist Wuji entered Wen Ning's shop and condemned the Squirrel Spirit, who insisted it was clean and had harmed no one.
• Lu Ming and Feng Dema defended the harmless spirit, and Daoist Wuji demanded that Wen Ning come out to see him.

Daoist Wuji, the Sect Master of Maoshan, came to confront Wen Ning, but Wen Ning easily defeated him. Wuji demanded 3,800 yuan in compensation, then accepted Wen Ning's offer to take him to a bathhouse.

• The Squirrel Spirit and Lu Ming argued with Daoist Wuji after he called the shop a den of filth and demanded to see Wen Ning.
• Wen Ning emerged and faced Wuji, who introduced himself as the Sect Master of Maoshan before launching a series of attacks.
• Wen Ning blocked Wuji's attacks and knocked him onto the threshold with a burst of thunderlight.
• Wuji wrote a demand for 3,800 yuan in medical expenses, robe compensation, and emotional distress, but Wen Ning refused to pay.
• Wen Ning offered to treat Wuji to a bath, and Wuji accepted; Lu Ming asked to come along, but Wen Ning told him to stay at the shop.

Wen Ning took Daoist Wuji to a bathhouse, where Wuji accidentally entered a massage parlor and was rescued after being teased. Back at the shop, Wuji invited Wen Ning to Maoshan’s Dharma Assembly next month, but Wen Ning declined, leaving his decision open.

• Wen Ning and Wuji soaked in the bathhouse, and Wuji explained that he had asked Wen Ning to pay his medical bills because he knew Wen Ning was not a bad person.
• Wuji followed Wen Ning upstairs but entered a massage parlor by mistake, where women tugged him inside until Wen Ning pulled him free.
• Back at the shop, Wuji crossed out the medical expenses in his notebook and invited Wen Ning to Maoshan’s Dharma Assembly.
• Wen Ning declined because the journey would take too long, while Lu Ming and the Squirrel Spirit showed interest in going for the food and pine cones.
• Wuji left after asking Wen Ning to reconsider, and Wen Ning told Lu Ming they would see.

Wen Ning attended a Heavenly Court performance review, where Wen Zhong reprimanded him over the Lin Feng affair and advised him how to report it. Back at the shop, Wen Ning learned that the leopard spotted in the city was Sparrow Spirit’s relative, and Sparrow Spirit agreed to contact his cousin.

• Wen Ning, Lu Ming, and Feng Dema received notices to report for performance reviews, while Squirrel Spirit stayed behind to watch the shop.
• Wen Zhong criticized Wen Ning for mishandling the Lin Feng affair and told him to report it as assisting the Underworld with a case involving a lingering wronged soul.
• Lu Ming, Feng Dema, and Wen Ning completed their reviews at the Personnel Office, then returned to the mortal world.
• Wen Ning read a news report about a leopard in the city and asked Sparrow Spirit whether he had seen it.
• Sparrow Spirit explained that the leopard was his cousin’s husband’s younger cousin, who had run away after an argument and was hiding in an abandoned place.
• Wen Ning asked if Sparrow Spirit could contact his cousin, and Sparrow Spirit borrowed Wen Ning’s phone to call her.

The Sparrow Spirit reunited with her runaway brother, the Leopard Spirit, who revealed he wanted to live as a zoo animal instead of working construction. His sister took him home, while he left still hoping Wen Ning could help him get into a zoo.

• The Sparrow Spirit called her cousin and told her where to find her missing brother.
• The woman arrived and found the Leopard Spirit smoking in an abandoned storage room, then scolded him for running away.
• The Leopard Spirit transformed into a leopard and explained that he wanted a zoo’s food, housing, and easy life, but his sister pointed out he had no pedigree certificate.
• The Leopard Spirit argued that life as a zoo exhibit would be better than his construction job and admitted he felt lonely and lacked anything to look forward to.
• The woman took the Leopard Spirit home to talk later, and he asked Wen Ning whether he knew anyone at a zoo; Wen Ning said he did not.

Wen Ning met a young spirit with amnesia who remembered only that he had been a soldier going to defend a city. Suspecting he belonged to a famous city defense battle from decades ago, Wen Ning let him stay at the shop and decided to investigate in the Underworld.

• Wen Ning, Lu Ming, and Feng Dema found a young spirit waiting outside the shop, asking for help to find his home because he remembered neither his name nor where he lived.
• The spirit recalled waking in a bustling place with tall buildings, bright lights, cars, and crowds, but could provide no location.
• The spirit remembered that he had been going to defend a city, and Wen Ning prompted him to recognize that he had been a soldier.
• Wen Ning reasoned that the spirit might have fought in the War of Resistance against Japan or the Chinese Civil War, and possibly in a famous city defense battle.
• Wen Ning let the spirit stay at the shop and told Lu Ming he would investigate by going to the Underworld.

Wen Ning learned that the nameless young soldier’s missing records could only be traced by visiting battle sites and seeing what he recognized. He arranged to leave the next day with Meng Jiang, Lu Ming, and Feng Dema, while Lu Ming worried that Wen Zhong had seen his complaints about leave.

• Wen Ning visited Judge's Hall, where Judge Lu explained that wartime records were incomplete and suggested searching battle sites one by one.
• Meng Jiang agreed to join the search while on leave, and Wen Ning returned to the shop to announce that they would depart the next day.
• Lu Ming complained in the Thunder Department group chat about not knowing leave was allowed, then fell silent when Wen Zhong warned he could be placed on leave for life.
• Feng Dema chose to join the trip despite worrying about Fang Qingqin, and he messaged her that he would be out of town for a few days.

Wen Ning took Wang Lei on a trip to Beijing before returning him to his hometown, so the fifteen-year-old soldier could see the country he had died defending. After visiting Tiananmen and the Great Wall, Wang Lei asked what his death had meant, and Wen Ning told him they were enjoying this peaceful life because of people like him; the group prepared to go to Nanjing the next day.

• Wen Ning read Wang Lei's hometown and death details in the Jade Emperor's Golden Register, then decided to show him modern China before taking him home.
• Meng Jiang joined Wen Ning, Lu Ming, Feng Dema, and Wang Lei on their trip, and the group boarded a high-speed train to Beijing.
• Wang Lei marveled at the train and the wind turbines, then saw Tiananmen and learned that the people, rather than an emperor, ran the country.
• At the Great Wall, Wang Lei asked whether his death had meant anything, and Wen Ning pointed to the people living freely and visiting the wall as proof that it had.
• That night, Wen Ning called Wang Lei a hero and told him they would go to Nanjing the next day.

Wen Ning and the others traveled to Nanjing with Wang Lei, who tasted ice cream and cola for the first time and began recalling his poor childhood and why he had joined the war. Wang Lei remembered that he had fought to protect peaceful days like the ones he now saw, and the group prepared to continue to the next place.

• Lu Ming bought Wang Lei a boxed meal on the train after seeing him watch the others eat.
• In Nanjing, Wen Ning gave Wang Lei ice cream and cola, and Wang Lei savored the unfamiliar treats.
• Wang Lei said he wished his mother and little brother could taste the cola, then recalled how his mother had saved money for his father's medicine and shared malt candy with the children at New Year.
• Wang Lei remembered joining the army to keep the Japanese invaders out and traveling farther from home as war displaced people and destroyed their homes and fields.
• Wang Lei reflected that he had fought to protect peaceful days like the ones he now saw, and Wen Ning led the group onward.

Wen Ning took Wang Lei and the others to the Memorial Hall of the Victims, where Wang Lei struggled with grief and anger as he confronted the names and remnants of those killed in the Nanjing Massacre. After Wen Ning reminded him that they had won, Wang Lei calmed down and asked whether such humiliation could happen again; Wen Ning assured him it would not, then said they would next visit the place where Wang Lei had fought.

• At the Memorial Hall entrance, Wang Lei sensed the victims’ resentment and nearly lost control until Wen Ning reminded him that they had won.
• Wen Ning led Wang Lei, Lu Ming, Feng Dema, and Meng Jiang through the memorial, where Wang Lei saw photographs, personal belongings, and the victims’ names.
• Overwhelmed by the wall of names, Wang Lei left the memorial and asked Wen Ning whether anyone would ever bully them like that again.
• Wen Ning told Wang Lei it would never happen again and revealed that their next destination was where Wang Lei had fought.
• Wen Ning suggested they try Nanjing salted duck first, and Wang Lei and Lu Ming eagerly agreed.

Wang Lei recovered his memories of fighting and dying as a fifteen-year-old soldier in the Battle of Shanghai. Seeing modern Shanghai, he realized the peace and prosperity he had fought for had endured, and told Wen Ning, “We won.”

• After dinner in Nanjing, Lu Ming asked Wen Ning why he had brought Wang Lei to see the country instead of taking him straight home, and Wen Ning said Wang Lei deserved to see the world he had protected.
• The next morning, Wen Ning, Lu Ming, and Wang Lei traveled by high-speed train to Shanghai.
• On seeing modern Shanghai, Wang Lei relived the Battle of Shanghai and remembered his childhood, his comrades, and his death defending the city.
• Wang Lei wept as he saw the peaceful, prosperous city and said, “We won.”
• Wen Ning affirmed that the land was safe, the nation was prosperous, and the people were at peace.

Wang Lei recounted his poor childhood in a remote Huaining village, where his family called him Dog Leftover and he worked from a young age to help support them. As war spread and refugees increasingly passed through the village, fifteen-year-old Wang Lei began to fear that the mountains might not keep his family safe.

• Wang Lei explained that his father named him Dog Leftover because he had been frail at birth and the family hoped a humble name would help him survive.
• Wang Lei described working in the fields and mountains while his younger brother followed him and their parents struggled to feed the family.
• Wang Lei recalled the small pleasures of malt candy, market trips, and listening to village elders describe the outside world.
• When Wang Lei was thirteen or fourteen, refugees brought news of war and the Japanese invasion, but villagers believed the fighting was too distant to reach them.
• More refugees arrived with injuries and frightening accounts, market activity dwindled, and the village grew anxious.
• At fifteen, Wang Lei sensed that the world was changing but still hoped the mountains would shelter his family.

Wang Lei struggled between fear of war and the thought of protecting his family and village from the Japanese advance. After Captain Fang gave him a proper name and invited him to enlist, Wang Lei was left weighing whether he could hide while others fought.

• Recruiters arrived in Wang Lei’s village seeking men to fight the Japanese, but most villagers refused or tried to evade them.
• Wang Lei told his mother and father about the recruitment, and his father begged him not to go.
• Wang Lei visited the village entrance out of curiosity and met Captain Fang, who named him Wang Lei.
• Captain Fang invited Wang Lei to join the soldiers but told him he would not force him.
• Wang Lei remembered refugees fleeing Japanese violence and wondered who would stop the Japanese if everyone hid.

Fifteen-year-old Dog Leftover impulsively agreed to enlist after seeing refugees and hearing Captain Fang say that people had to stand up against the Japanese. At home, his family begged him to stay, and he was left torn between his loved ones and the suffering caused by the war.

• Dog Leftover told Captain Fang he would enlist, though he was frightened and had not thought the decision through.
• Captain Fang warned Dog Leftover that he might not return alive and told him to discuss it with his family.
• Dog Leftover told Ma and Pa that he had signed up to fight the Japanese, and Ma tearfully tried to stop him.
• Pa warned Dog Leftover that the family depended on him, while Ma pleaded for them to hide and stay safe.
• Dog Leftover remembered the refugees and Captain Fang's warning, but his little brother clung to him and begged him not to leave.
• Dog Leftover broke down in tears and admitted to himself that he was scared and did not want to go.

Fifteen-year-old Dog Leftover returned to Captain Fang after backing out of enlistment and asked why the soldiers were willing to go to war despite fearing death. Captain Fang explained that they kept going because they feared others would die in their place, leaving Dog Leftover torn between his fear and the thought of living with regret.

• Dog Leftover stayed away from the village entrance for several days after withdrawing his offer to enlist, but he kept wondering why Captain Fang and the soldiers did not hide from the war.
• Dog Leftover went to the village entrance and asked Captain Fang whether he was afraid to die at the front.
• Captain Fang admitted that he and the other soldiers were afraid, but said they could not retreat because the villagers and their families would suffer in their place.
• Captain Fang told Dog Leftover that he would not force a fifteen-year-old to enlist and encouraged him to care for his family and live peacefully.
• Dog Leftover realized the soldiers were risking their lives to protect people like him and feared that he would regret hiding for the rest of his life, though he was still afraid to die.