Recaps

After Wen Ning resolved Zhou Hu’s haunting, Meng Jiang explained why the Japanese soldier’s remnant soul had stayed quiet while Old Mr. Zhou was alive and agreed to pass along Wen Ning’s message. The Underworld investigated the lead about General Yamamoto, while Wen Ning received 1,700 merit points and a private note from Wen Zhong urging him to stay safe.

• Zhou Hu transferred Wen Ning 18,888 yuan and treated Wen Ning and Gong Kai to hot pot.
• Wen Ning asked Meng Jiang why the arm bone’s remnant soul had only started causing trouble after Old Mr. Zhou died, and Meng Jiang explained that the veteran’s Military Sha had suppressed it.
• Wen Ning asked Meng Jiang to tell Old Mr. Zhou that Zhou Hu was safe and had his military medal; Meng Jiang agreed to pass on the message.
• Wen Ning asked about General Yamamoto, and Meng Jiang said the Underworld had formed a task force to investigate the lead.
• The Heavenly Court awarded Wen Ning 1,200 merit points for resolving the incident and another 500 for his use of the Five Thunder Righteous Method.
• Lu Ming complained about Wen Ning’s reward and was muted, while Wen Zhong privately praised Wen Ning’s progress and told him not to face danger alone.

Wen Ning took the local Land God, Tian Fu, to a mortal bathhouse, where they encountered Zhong Kui. Zhong Kui revealed that the Underworld was tracking General Yamamoto and might need the Thunder Department’s help.

• Tian Fu visited Wen Ning’s Heavenly Court Bathhouse and asked to experience the rumored Jade Pool water and scrubbing.
• Wen Ning explained that his shop lacked proper bathing facilities and took Tian Fu to a nearby bathhouse instead.
• Tian Fu enjoyed the showers and hot pool, then recognized Zhong Kui when the celestial master arrived.
• Zhong Kui told Wen Ning that General Yamamoto was a murderous Japanese biological-warfare officer who had resurfaced and was difficult to track.
• Zhong Kui said the Underworld task force was verifying Yamamoto’s location and might seek the Thunder Department’s cooperation, and Wen Ning agreed to help.
• Tian Fu decided to visit the bathhouse once a month.

Xiong Batian and his chief scrubber challenged the Heavenly Court Bathhouse to a back-scrubbing contest, and Lu Ming accepted on Wen Ning’s behalf. The Land God agreed to judge while Bai Lu added the contest to her sanitation inspection, and the competition began.

• Xiong Batian arrived with his chief scrubber and challenged Wen Ning’s bathhouse to prove its back-scrubbing skills.
• Lu Ming arrived with office supplies, accepted the challenge, and offered to scrub alongside Wen Ning.
• Bai Lu arrived to inspect the Mortal Realm Office and warned Xiong Batian that his shop could face a Heavenly Court Health Department inspection for lacking paperwork.
• Xiong Batian proposed a timed contest judged by a customer, but the Mushroom Spirit refused to serve as the test subject.
• Wen Ning asked Elder Tian to judge, and the Land God agreed to assess how the scrubbing felt.
• Xiong Batian’s team prepared its herbal brew and brush as Bai Lu recorded the contest in her inspection booklet, and the Land God declared the competition underway.

Wen Ning and Lu Ming competed against Xiong Batian’s scrubber in a Heavenly Court scrubbing contest, winning the visual appeal category with Wen Ning’s extra arms. The sanitation inspection passed, and Xiong Batian agreed to stop causing trouble and volunteer as a bath scrubber once a month.

• The Mushroom Spirit withdrew as judge, so Lu Ming persuaded the golden retriever to take his place with the promise of KFC.
• Xiong Batian’s tall, skinny contestant scrubbed the golden retriever skillfully, while Bai Lu deducted points from both sides for splashing the floor.
• Lu Ming and Wen Ning used their scrubbing techniques in tandem, and Wen Ning grew two extra arms with the Eight-Nine Mysteries to scrub with four hands.
• The Land God ruled that Wen Ning’s magic was allowed and awarded his side the visual appeal category by half a point, while both sides tied in cleanliness and customer comfort.
• Xiong Batian accepted the result, promised not to cause trouble again, and offered to volunteer as a bath scrubber one day a month.
• Bai Lu declared Wen Ning’s shop’s sanitation inspection a pass, and the Land God announced the First Scrubbing Championship had concluded.

Wen Ning received his first Heavenly Court salary and used his merit points to cultivate, advancing to the middle stage of Earth Immortal. Wen Zhong refused to let him remove the bathhouse sign and told him to identify and solve problems in the mortal realm.

• Wen Ning received 5,000 merit points as his monthly salary while scrubbing the big golden retriever’s back.
• Lu Ming invited Wen Ning to shop at the Heavenly Court Shopping Center and asked to borrow merit points, but Wen Ning ignored him.
• Wen Ning prayed to Wen Zhong for guidance and followed a new cultivation circulation method, making the qi in his dantian denser and his lightning stronger.
• Wen Zhong told Wen Ning that he had reached the middle stage of Earth Immortal and that advancing again would require 12,000 merit points.
• Wen Zhong refused Wen Ning’s request to remove the bathhouse sign and instructed him to do his job by identifying and solving problems.

Wen Ning began his first Heavenly Court patrol, handling minor disturbances before discovering a nameless young ghost who asked him for help. Unable to identify her or locate her file, he brought her along rather than leave her wandering alone.

• Wen Ning received a routine patrol assignment and set out to inspect the Urban Village.
• Wen Ning stopped two rat spirits from fighting over expired cat food and made them clean up the scattered trash.
• Wen Ning photographed the Sparrow Spirit speeding through the air and reported it to the Heavenly Court Work Group.
• Wen Ning sensed a young ghost following him and learned that she had forgotten her name and home and wanted his help.
• Wen Ning invited the nameless little ghost to follow him, and she hesitantly went with him.

Wen Ning learned that Xiao Ya had endured illness and bullying, but one boy had protected her in middle school. Xiao Ya wanted to thank him, and Wen Ning promised to find him and help fulfill her final wish.

• Wen Ning brought Xiao Ya to his agency and gently asked about her name and why she had followed him.
• Xiao Ya explained that cerebral palsy had affected her speech, mobility, and development, and that classmates had mocked and bullied her.
• Xiao Ya recalled that a tall, thin boy in the back row had stood up for her when others mistreated her.
• Xiao Ya told Wen Ning she had never managed to thank the boy before she died and had stayed behind because she wanted to find him.
• Wen Ning promised Xiao Ya he would find the boy and make sure he heard her thank-you.

Wen Ning sought Meng Jiang’s help identifying Xiao Ya, a lingering soul who wanted to thank the boy who once protected her. Xiao Ya recalled her village was Liujiabao and other clues, and Wen Ning resolved to travel to help her fulfill her wish.

• Wen Ning asked Meng Jiang to search for Xiao Ya, but she explained that without Xiao Ya’s Eight Characters of Birth, the Underworld could only conduct a difficult fuzzy search.
• Wen Ning questioned Xiao Ya, who remembered living among many mountains and attending a school with a large white-flowered tree by its gate.
• Xiao Ya recalled that the boy who protected her was called A Cheng, and Wen Ning passed her memories to Meng Jiang.
• At Meng Jiang’s suggestion, Wen Ning asked Xiao Ya to remember her village, and she managed to say Liujiabao.
• Meng Jiang said there were dozens of villages with that name but promised to narrow the search using the mountain clue, while Xiao Ya grew exhausted and dissolved into the Thunder Department Token to rest.
• Wen Ning prayed to his godfather and said he would take a few days off to travel and help Xiao Ya fulfill her wish.

Wen Ning traveled to three villages named Liujiabao to find Xiao Ya and discovered the remote village west of Black Wind Mountain was the right one. He learned that Xiao Ya had died years ago and headed to her former home.

• Wen Ning visited the southern Liujiabao but found no girl named Xiao Ya or a tree with white blossoms.
• Wen Ning visited the eastern Liujiabao and learned its Xiao Ya had been an old woman who died two years earlier.
• Wen Ning called Xiong Batian, who met him near Black Wind Mountain and drove him toward the remote third village.
• Wen Ning found a cherry tree at the third Liujiabao's entrance and asked an elderly woman about Xiao Ya.
• The elderly woman told Wen Ning that Xiao Ya had drowned in a river years earlier and pointed him toward her house.

Wen Ning brought Xiao Ya to her parents’ home and learned how poverty and her desire to help her sick mother led to her drowning at fourteen. He comforted her grieving parents and decided to help Xiao Ya find the boy she wanted to thank, hoping she could then let go of her regrets and depart in peace.

• Wen Ning visited Xiao Ya’s parents and asked them about her.
• Xiao Ya’s parents described how they loved her and tried to support her despite their poverty and her cerebral palsy.
• Her parents explained that Xiao Ya drowned after falling into a river while washing clothes for her sick mother in winter.
• Xiao Ya tried to comfort her grieving parents, but they could neither hear nor touch her.
• Wen Ning comforted the couple and resolved to help Xiao Ya find the boy who had protected her at school.

Wen Ning visited Qingshan Township Middle School to ask Xiao Ya’s former homeroom teacher, Teacher Wang, about the boy who had protected her. Teacher Wang identified him as Lin Cheng and gave Wen Ning his contact information, leaving Wen Ning and Xiao Ya ready to find him in the city.

• Wen Ning traveled with Xiao Ya to Qingshan Township Middle School to meet Teacher Wang.
• Teacher Wang recalled Xiao Ya’s struggles with illness, bullying, and isolation, and described how she had tried to protect her.
• Teacher Wang identified Lin Cheng as the quiet boy who had stood up for Xiao Ya and helped her at school.
• Teacher Wang gave Wen Ning Lin Cheng’s WeChat contact and asked him to pass along her greetings.
• Wen Ning promised Xiao Ya they would return to the city and find Lin Cheng so she could thank him.

Wen Ning brought Xiao Ya to meet Lin Cheng, the former classmate whose kindness she had long hoped to thank. After Xiao Ya finally thanked him, her lingering attachment faded, and Black and White Impermanence took her to the Underworld to be reincarnated.

• Wen Ning found Lin Cheng at the school gates and told him that Xiao Ya, whom he had protected in middle school, was there with him.
• Wen Ning explained Xiao Ya’s hardships, her death at fourteen, and her long-held wish to thank Lin Cheng.
• Lin Cheng mourned Xiao Ya and told her that protecting her had been the right thing to do.
• Xiao Ya thanked Lin Cheng, and the grief and attachment around her faded.
• Xie Bi'an and Black and White Impermanence arrived, and Xiao Ya bowed to Wen Ning and Lin Cheng before leaving for the Underworld to be reincarnated.

After Xiao Ya passed on in peace, Lin Cheng told Wen Ning how he had protected her from bullying during middle school so she could have happier memories. Wen Ning left knowing Xiao Ya was free of her regrets and Lin Cheng could finally put his worries to rest.

• Wen Ning and Lin Cheng reflected on Xiao Ya's peaceful departure and the gratitude she had finally expressed.
• Lin Cheng told Wen Ning that he had first seen Xiao Ya bullied when they registered for middle school and decided to protect her.
• Lin Cheng recalled stepping in when classmates mocked Xiao Ya, following her home, and helping her through their school years.
• Wen Ning assured Lin Cheng that Xiao Ya had remembered his kindness and that her middle-school years had been beautiful to her.
• Lin Cheng resolved to do his best as a teacher and hoped Xiao Ya could grow up happily in another world.

After the Underworld restored Xiao Ya’s soul and body, she became the Mountain God of Black Wind Mountain and began improving life for its monsters. Wen Ning learned she was a Nine-Lifetime Good Person and joined the banquet celebrating her new position.

• Meng Jiang told Wen Ning that Xiao Ya had become Mountain God of Black Wind Mountain and explained that the Underworld had restored her ability to speak and move.
• Lu Ming, Bai Lu, and Xiong Batian celebrated Xiao Ya’s appointment, and Xiong Batian described her plans to help the mountain’s monsters.
• Meng Jiang revealed that Xiao Ya was a Nine-Lifetime Good Person whose accumulated merit earned her an official Heavenly Court position.
• Wen Ning traveled to Black Wind Mountain and found its monsters gathered for Xiao Ya’s Mountain God banquet.
• Xiao Ya thanked Wen Ning and welcomed him to the mountain, while Xiong Batian promised him free baths, meals, and back scrubs.
• Xiao Ya and the monsters began the banquet.

Wen Ning received ten thousand merit points for helping Xiao Ya resolve her fixation and was summoned to the Heavenly Court for a debriefing. He arrived at the Thunder Department with gifts for Wen Zhong and began recounting Xiao Ya’s story.

• Wen Ning received a message awarding him ten thousand merit points and requiring him to report to the Heavenly Court within three days.
• Wen Ning promised Lu Ming he would visit, then prepared cigarettes and liquor as gifts for Wen Zhong.
• Wen Ning flew to the Heavenly Court, where Lu Ming met him and Bai Lu reminded him to follow the proper report format.
• Wen Zhong summoned Wen Ning to his office, accepted the gift, and asked him to explain how he resolved Xiao Ya’s fixation.
• Wen Ning began describing Xiao Ya’s story from the beginning.

After Wen Ning recounted the Xiao Ya case, Wen Zhong praised his work and recognized the Bathhouse as an advantage built on the monsters’ trust in him. Wen Ning celebrated with his friends in the Heavenly Court, reaffirmed his attachment to the Bathhouse, and ended the chapter strolling there alone.

• Wen Ning told Wen Zhong how he had handled the Xiao Ya case, and Wen Zhong praised his effort and the trust he had built with the monsters.
• Wen Ning offered Wen Zhong Huazi cigarettes, but Wen Zhong refused after recalling the smoke caused by Wen Ning’s previous gift.
• Lu Ming and Bai Lu congratulated Wen Ning, and Bai Lu told him his ten thousand Merit reward had been credited.
• Lu Ming took Wen Ning to the Heavenly Court Food City, where Meng Jiang and Bai Lu stopped him from ordering an overly expensive dish and shared food with them.
• Wen Ning told his friends he preferred his Bathhouse, and they laughed together over his unusual career as a licensed back-scrubbing immortal.
• After his friends left, Wen Ning decided to take a stroll around the Heavenly Court alone.

Wen Ning wandered through the Imperial Garden, where an old man challenged him to Go and then learned Chinese chess from him. After Wen Ning won several games, the old man threatened to ask Dipper Mother to rename Wen Ning’s bathhouse, so Wen Ning deliberately let him win.

• Wen Ning explored the Imperial Garden and showed his Thunder Department Token to a Heavenly Soldier, who directed him toward the koi pond.
• Wen Ning saw Dipper Mother, who acknowledged him with a slight nod before continuing on her way.
• An old man invited Wen Ning to play Go, beat him, and mocked his skill.
• Wen Ning taught the old man Chinese chess and won three games against him.
• The old man threatened to have Dipper Mother change Wen Ning’s bathhouse sign, so Wen Ning threw a game and let him win.

After learning that the old man he had beaten at chess was the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning, Wen Ning opened an essential oil massage service at his shop. The service became popular with monsters and even drew Koi from the Heavenly Court, leaving Wen Ning needing to restock and considering immortal oils.

• Wen Ning left the Imperial Garden and asked Wen Zhong who the old man was; Wen Zhong confirmed that he was the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning and advised Wen Ning to keep him happy.
• Wen Ning put up a sign advertising discounted essential oil back massages and gave Weasel Old Man a free trial.
• Xiong Batian decided against trying the massage after Wen Ning pointed out that the shop and its oil supply could not accommodate him.
• The massage service grew popular, and Koi came down from the Imperial Garden to try it, saying it was better than the Heavenly Court's hot springs.
• Wen Ning saw that his essential oil supply was nearly gone and decided to ask Lu Ming about wholesale suppliers in the Heavenly Court.

Wen Ning introduced membership cards to control the crowds at his bathhouse after Essential Oil Back Massage became popular. The monsters signed up and filled in their birthdays in unusual ways, while several customers ran into problems with their cards.

• After a rush of new customers left Wen Ning exhausted, he made VIP cards offering one free massage after five paid visits.
• The Weasel Old Man received the first card, and the Sparrow Spirit demanded one too; Wen Ning wrote Beginning of Spring as its birthday.
• The Hedgehog Spirit, peony spirit, Stone Spirit, and Big Golden Retriever each filled in their birthday details in their own way.
• The Hedgehog Spirit misunderstood how the free visit worked, and Wen Ning explained that he needed five paid visits first.
• The peony spirit soaked her card and asked Wen Ning to laminate its replacement, so he offered to cover it with clear tape.
• The Stone Spirit accidentally ate his card, lost his accumulated visits, and got a replacement with a drawing of Wen Ning scrubbing a customer's back.

Wen Ning's Big Golden Retriever returned after helping a stray dog named Sang Biao settle a territorial dispute, and Wen Ning hired Sang Biao as the bathhouse's new security dog. The chapter ended with Wen Ning renaming him Big Yellow and assigning the Big Golden Retriever to train him.

• The Big Golden Retriever returned to Wen Ning's shop and explained that he had spent several days helping Sang Biao negotiate with the Wild Dog Gang.
• Wen Ning learned that Sang Biao was a stray dog guarding territory and invited him to the shop to assess him for a permanent security job.
• Sang Biao cautiously accepted Wen Ning's food and, after the Big Golden Retriever assured him Wen Ning was reliable, approached him and settled beside the entrance.
• Wen Ning hired Sang Biao on a trial basis, assigned him security duty, and demoted Sparrow Spirit to backup.
• Wen Ning told the Big Golden Retriever to train Sang Biao and renamed him Big Yellow.

After learning that Yamamoto was a Unit 731 member whose remnant soul was protected by Japanese Onmyoji, Wen Ning agreed to confront the sorcerers while the Underworld pursued Yamamoto. The team planned to leave for the north the next morning.

• Meng Jiang told Wen Ning that Yamamoto had belonged to Unit 731 and that Japanese Onmyoji were now involved with his remnant soul.
• Wen Ning went to the Underworld, where Xie Bi'an briefed him on Yamamoto's location and explained how Onmyoji had concealed the souls from the Underworld.
• Zhong Kui asked Wen Ning to handle the Onmyoji while the Underworld apprehended Yamamoto and his people, and Wen Ning agreed.
• Xie Bi'an warned Wen Ning not to strike the living Onmyoji directly unless they attacked first, then set the team to meet at the Thunder Department Office the next morning.

Wen Ning traveled with Zhong Kui, Xie Bi'an, Fan Wujiu, and the Underworld's Special Investigation Team to the northeast to deal with Yamamoto's remnant soul and three Onmyoji. An old man and the Immortal Spirit within him recognized Wen Ning's divine status and Zhong Kui's group as they approached the old house.

• Wen Ning told his godfather he would head to the northeast, and Wen Zhong advised him to use the Five Thunder Righteous Method against the Onmyoji.
• Zhong Kui and the Underworld's Special Investigation Team arrived at Wen Ning's shop, and Xie Bi'an identified the old house and basement air-raid shelter where the targets were hiding.
• Wen Ning and the Underworld officers traveled north and approached the woods near the old house.
• An old man warned Wen Ning to stay away from the woods and the old house, so Wen Ning pretended to leave and circled around with the group.
• The Immortal Spirit told the old man that Wen Ning carried the aura of a formally appointed Thunder Department deity and identified the approaching Underworld officers, including Zhong Kui.
• The old man concluded that the old house would likely be torn apart that night and returned to his village.

Wen Ning and the Ghost Messengers broke into the old house, destroyed its Shikigami and Japanese Onmyoji, and captured their souls. Zhong Kui subdued Yamamoto in the basement, and the group left after confirming the operation was complete.

• Wen Ning broke the Barrier around the old house with the Five Thunder Righteous Method and killed three Shikigami outside.
• Wen Ning used the Eight-Nine Mysteries and his Thunder Arts to destroy more than a dozen Shikigami inside the house.
• Wen Ning killed the three Japanese Onmyoji who had summoned the Shikigami, and Xie Bi'an shackled their souls.
• Fan Wujiu whipped the resisting Onmyoji ghosts while the Ghost Messengers returned with captured ghosts in World War II Japanese military uniforms.
• Zhong Kui entered the basement and emerged with Yamamoto bound in his chain.
• Wen Ning told Zhong Kui that the others had been dealt with, and the group left the old house.

Wen Ning completed his mission in the north, helping Zhong Kui’s team capture Yamamoto and clear the old house of its lingering evil. After returning to the shop, he received a merit reward and reported his success to his godfather’s statue.

• Wen Ning watched Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiu take Yamamoto and the other captured ghosts away for interrogation.
• A northeastern Spirit Medium thanked Wen Ning for cleansing the woods, then advised him to dress warmer.
• Wen Ning flew back to his shop, greeted Big Yellow, and slept until afternoon.
• The Heavenly Court Personnel Department notified Wen Ning that his mission was verified and a merit reward had been deposited.
• Lu Ming, Bai Lu, Meng Jiang, and Wen Zhong messaged Wen Ning about the mission and his safe return.
• Wen Ning offered incense and kowtowed to his godfather’s statue, reporting that the mission was complete and he had fought carefully.

Wen Ning discovered that Big Yellow had become the second-in-command of Big Golden Retriever’s dog gang, then welcomed him home with extra food. Big Yellow returned to his usual affectionate self, leaving Wen Ning to reflect on his many roles.

• Wen Ning noticed Big Yellow repeatedly leaving the bathhouse with Big Golden Retriever and wondered what they were doing.
• Wen Ning found Big Golden Retriever leading a meeting of more than twenty dogs, with Big Yellow seated beside him as the gang’s second-in-command.
• Big Golden Retriever told Wen Ning to call Big Yellow “Sang Biao” in front of the other dogs to protect his standing.
• Wen Ning called Big Yellow Sang Biao and told him to come home for dinner after the meeting, and Big Yellow gave a restrained wag of acknowledgment.
• Big Yellow returned to the bathhouse looking guilty, and Wen Ning gave him an extra bowl of dog food for his hard work at the meeting.