Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Twenty-six-year-old Wen Ning is struggling to keep his tiny urban-village storefront agency open. His last employee has quit, he is months behind on rent, and he has only 223.70 yuan left.
• After graduating with a marketing degree, Wen Ning’s hopes of building a successful business have dwindled into low-paying odd jobs. His girlfriend has also left him, and he feels unable to return home in failure.
• Alone in the shop, he speaks to the statue of Wen Zhong, whom he has called his godfather since childhood, pleading for help making money.
• After Wen Ning falls asleep, the incense ash forms a perfect circle and the statue’s eyes move. A deep voice asks, “What is there to seek in the wealth of the mortal world?” Wen Ning sleeps through the apparent miracle.

Character developments

• Wen Ning is presented as hardworking but discouraged, ashamed of his setbacks and nearing despair. His long-standing bond with his godfather remains a source of comfort, even though he doubts the deity is real.
• Wen Zhong, the Thunder Ancestor enshrined in the statue, appears to awaken or respond to Wen Ning—though Wen Ning does not notice.

Character interactions

• Wen Ning apologizes to his landlord, who gives him a final deadline to pay rent.
• He confides in his godfather’s statue, mixing desperation with familiar, joking pleas for financial help.
• The chapter’s final exchange is one-sided: Wen Zhong speaks, but Wen Ning is asleep.

Significant themes

• Dreams versus hardship: Wen Ning’s youthful ambitions have collided with financial insecurity and disappointment.
• Faith and family-like bonds: His lifelong devotion to Wen Zhong offers emotional refuge, while the statue’s response hints that the bond may be more than symbolic.
• The limits of worldly wealth: Wen Zhong’s cryptic question suggests the story may challenge Wen Ning’s assumption that money is the answer to his troubles.

Plot points and events

• Wen Ning falls asleep and wakes in an apparently real heavenly realm, where a crowd of supernatural beings is gathering for the Heavenly Court civil service interviews.
• A Thunder Department official identifies him and says Wen Zhong, Wen Ning’s godfather and a powerful Thunder Department deity, registered him for an interview. Wen Ning has no idea how he got there or whether he completed any earlier exam stages.
• At the interview office, Wen Ning meets other candidates, most of them relatives of gods or other influential supernatural figures. His fellow candidate Lu Ming is astonished to learn that Wen Ning is mortal and that his godfather is the Thunder Department’s chief deity.
• Bai Lu, another candidate, lends Wen Ning a jade slip of past interview questions. The questions concern bureaucratic rules, environmental protection, disaster accountability, and the modernization of Three Realms governance.
• When Group C is called, Wen Ning sees his number, C-74, and decides that since he is already there, he should at least try.

Character developments and interactions

• Wen Ning moves from bewilderment to reluctant determination. His ordinary mortal life—an underperforming agency, a marketing degree, and little money—contrasts sharply with the privileged world of his fellow candidates. The interview questions make him reconsider whether he wants this career, but he chooses to face the opportunity.
• Lu Ming, a young deer demon and son of a minor mountain god, is initially friendly and curious. Once he learns Wen Ning’s godfather’s identity, he becomes deferential, revealing how strongly candidates respond to status and connections.
• Bai Lu, niece of Changbai Mountain’s mountain god, is calm and helpful. She lends Wen Ning study material and gently points out that other candidates also come from influential families.
• Other candidates—including relatives of the Yellow River’s River Earl and Meng Po—reinforce the sense that the interview pool is made up largely of divine families.

Significant themes

• Connections and privilege: Many candidates have powerful divine relatives, and Wen Ning’s unexpected recommendation gives him access despite his ignorance of the process.
• Bureaucratic satire: The Heavenly Court operates like a modern government agency, complete with recruitment quotas, interviews, regulations, and exam preparation.
• Culture shock and social contrast: Wen Ning’s ordinary mortal background places him among beings for whom heavenly bureaucracy and supernatural lineage are normal.
• Adaptability: Though completely unprepared, Wen Ning shifts from confusion and reluctance toward making the best of the situation.

Plot points and events

• Lu Ming emerges from his Heavenly Court interview devastated. The examiners tested his knowledge of obscure legal rules and pressed him on whether he would enforce them equally against a powerful figure. Though he insisted he would, they accused him of inconsistency and advised him to return to Mount Tai for centuries of cultivation.
• Wen Ning is then called in. Nervous after hearing Lu Ming’s account, he enters the interview room and recognizes the presiding official as Wen Zhong—his godfather and a deity he has worshipped since childhood.
• Wen Ning instinctively kneels and kowtows. Wen Zhong reprimands him for treating an interview like a family visit, then publicly confirms their relationship while insisting that recruitment be based on merit and that the examiners test Wen Ning properly.
• The interviewers appear to interpret Wen Zhong’s insistence as a hint to favor his godson. They ask Wen Ning only easy questions: his name, age, whether he offered incense to Wen Zhong, and what he knows about the Thunder Department. One officer even answers the last question for him, describing the job’s benefits.
• Wen Ning concludes that his godfather is arranging his entry through connections. Wen Zhong maintains a stern, impassive pose, though subtle signs suggest he is amused or uneasy.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Ming goes from confident to shaken and nearly tearful after being challenged on whether he would apply the law impartially to influential people.
• Wen Ning begins apprehensive, then relaxes as the interview’s questions seem suspiciously simple. He recognizes the advantage of having a powerful connection and misreads the situation as straightforward favoritism.
• Wen Zhong presents himself as strict and impartial, but his announcement of the family relationship is understood by the other officers as an indirect instruction to go easy on Wen Ning.
• The interviewers shift from rigorous scrutiny in Lu Ming’s account to conspicuously lenient treatment of Wen Ning, creating a contrast between their stated principles and apparent conduct.

Significant themes

• Merit versus nepotism: Wen Zhong invokes merit-based hiring, yet the examiners’ behavior suggests that connections shape the process.
• Impartial justice and political pressure: Lu Ming’s interview exposes the difficulty of applying rules equally when powerful people are involved.
• Public principle versus hidden meaning: Wen Zhong’s formal words say one thing, while the officers’ interpretation—and Wen Ning’s experience—suggest another.

Key plot points and events

• Wen Ning’s Thunder Department interview continues with increasingly absurd questions. When asked whether Heaven should strike people who invoke lightning during storms, Wen Ning is saved from answering by Wen Zhong, who tells the interview panel not to go easy on him.
• The panel’s “hard” follow-up is the multiplication question “What is three times seven?” Wen Ning answers correctly, and the officials enthusiastically praise him as an excellent candidate.
• Wen Zhong asks Wen Ning one final, personal question: how he compares to the God of Wealth. Wen Ning says his godfather is more powerful, then admits he spoke carelessly in the past because he didn’t know Wen Zhong was real.
• Wen Zhong gives Wen Ning a measured smack on the back of the head, tells him, “As long as you know,” and sends him outside to await the result. The panel privately records an excellent assessment and recommends hiring him immediately.
• Outside, Wen Ning reunites with Lu Ming and Bai Lu. He tells Lu Ming the interview was terrifying, while choosing not to reveal how easy the questions were. He stays to wait because Wen Zhong instructed him to—and because he does not know how to get back alone.
• Lu Ming also remains, explaining that his ancestor told him to wait. Wen Ning realizes Lu Ming may likewise be relying on family connections.

Character developments

• Wen Ning moves from nervous anticipation to amused confidence as the interview’s contrived difficulty becomes clear. His answer to Wen Zhong’s question shows respect and affection, while his admission acknowledges his earlier ignorance and careless remarks.
• Wen Zhong maintains his stern, authoritative manner but reveals concern and relief at Wen Ning’s performance. His brief, familiar gesture and words suggest affection beneath the formality.
• The interviewers are openly anxious to satisfy Wen Zhong and ensure Wen Ning passes, despite pretending to conduct a rigorous assessment.
• Lu Ming appears to be waiting on help from his own influential ancestor, paralleling Wen Ning’s situation.

Significant themes

• Nepotism and connections: Wen Ning’s interview is heavily tilted in his favor, and Lu Ming may also be relying on family influence.
• Authority versus affection: Wen Zhong’s imposing public role contrasts with his protective, almost parental treatment of Wen Ning.
• Humor through absurdity: The officials frame basic questions and blatant favoritism as a serious professional assessment.
• Respect and reconciliation: Wen Ning openly acknowledges Wen Zhong’s status and his own past mistake, allowing their relationship to settle warmly.

Character interactions

• Wen Zhong controls the interview panel, urging them to make the questions harder while clearly steering the process toward Wen Ning’s success.
• The officials exchange nervous looks and exaggerated praise, collectively seeking Wen Zhong’s approval.
• Wen Ning and Wen Zhong share a sincere moment when Wen Ning affirms his godfather’s power; Wen Zhong responds with a familiar smack and restrained acceptance.
• Wen Ning and Lu Ming compare their reasons for waiting, and Wen Ning recognizes that both may be benefiting from powerful relatives.

Summary

Key events

• Wen Ning and Lu Ming are the last candidates waiting after their Thunder Department interviews. Lu Ming worries that his poor performance—especially struggling with a question about the appendix—has ruined his chances.
• Lu Ming’s ancestor, the powerful Lord of Mount Tai, arrives and takes him into the interview room, claiming he is only there to catch up with Wen Ning’s godfather, Wen Zhong.
• Lu Ming returns after being asked just three easy questions: his name, age, and when he sheds his velvet. He admits he does not know the last answer, but the interviewer reassures him that he can learn it later.
• Wen Zhong and the Lord of Mount Tai emerge together, laughing and teasing each other about how badly they acted as stern interviewers. The Lord of Mount Tai takes Lu Ming home and invites Wen Ning to visit Mount Tai.
• Wen Zhong then tells Wen Ning to come with him.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Ming shifts from anxious despair to confidence when his ancestor intervenes, then becomes delighted by his easy second interview. His childish, chatty nature contrasts with his age and his ancestor’s imposing stature.
• The Lord of Mount Tai scolds Lu Ming affectionately, openly advocates for him, and shows a much gentler manner toward Wen Ning. He and Wen Zhong share an easy, familiar friendship, joking about their conduct during the interviews.
• Wen Ning remains calm and observant, gently teasing and reassuring Lu Ming. He recognizes that he, too, benefits from influential connections.
• Wen Zhong is warm and playful with his old friend, but remains brisk with Wen Ning, directing him onward.

Significant themes

• Connections and privilege: Lu Ming’s interview is dramatically eased by his ancestor’s presence, prompting Wen Ning to reflect on his own advantages.
• Family affection: The Lord of Mount Tai’s harsh-sounding scolding masks deep fondness and protectiveness.
• Power beneath comedy: The gods’ immense authority is softened by their casual banter and the farcical, uneven interview process.

Plot points and events

• Wen Zhong tells Wen Ning that his interview omitted the Thunder Department’s signature spell, the Five Thunder Righteous Method.
• He transfers the method directly into Wen Ning’s mind. Wen Ning can produce a small spark of lightning, but Wen Zhong warns that without magical power, using it will quickly exhaust him.
• Wen Zhong officially appoints Wen Ning a probationary Heavenly Official in the Thunder Department’s Celestial Registry and tells him to wait for his reporting date.
• Wen Ning returns to his storefront in the mortal world, where physical evidence—the appointment scroll and a brief burst of lightning—confirms that his experience was real.
• He burns incense and bows to the statue, then receives an invitation to the Thunder Department’s work group. Lu Ming welcomes him enthusiastically.
• Despite his new celestial appointment, Wen Ning’s earthly troubles remain: little money, overdue rent, and the threat of eviction. He nevertheless faces the day with renewed hope.

Character developments and interactions

• Wen Ning moves from uncertainty about whether his heavenly visit was real to confidence in his new role. He is grateful to Wen Zhong and more solemn in his devotion, while remaining grounded in his ordinary financial problems.
• Wen Zhong shows care through practical actions: teaching Wen Ning the secret method, approving his appointment, and leaving a note saying Wen Ning can still reach him through the statue. His concern is expressed in a stern, teasing manner, including a complaint about Wen Ning’s noisy fan.
• Lu Ming reinforces Wen Ning’s sense of belonging by celebrating his acceptance into the work group.
• Wen Ning and Wen Zhong’s bond is affectionate but understated: Wen Ning wants ongoing contact, and Wen Zhong reassures him that he can hear him without offering a sentimental response.

Significant themes

• Faith made tangible: The scroll, lightning, and work-group invitation validate Wen Ning’s supernatural experience.
• Care expressed through action: Wen Zhong’s mentorship and quiet reassurance reveal his affection more clearly than words.
• Hope amid hardship: Wen Ning’s circumstances have not improved yet, but his new purpose changes how he sees them.
• Learning and responsibility: Wen Ning gains powerful knowledge, along with a warning to respect his limits.

Chapter summary

Wen Ning’s luck seems to improve after his return from the Heavenly Court: his struggling agency suddenly attracts customers. His first client, Sister Zhou, pays him 3,000 yuan to investigate whether her husband is having an affair. Wen Ning follows Old Zhou and discovers that the retired teacher has been secretly visiting an internet café to play Game for Peace. When Wen Ning tells Sister Zhou, she is relieved but annoyed that her husband hid such a harmless hobby—and decides she will download the game and join him.
Wen Ning’s next job is arranging a cheap apartment for two college students, earning a 400-yuan fee. When they ask what kind of agency he runs, he describes it as offering “comprehensive cross-industry services.” The young woman notices the deity statue in his office; Wen Ning jokes that his godfather, though not the God of Wealth, is just as effective.
With the new income and earlier small jobs, Wen Ning’s available funds rise above 4,000 yuan—enough to cover several months of rent and utilities. He celebrates his modest financial recovery, then notices what seems like a disapproving flicker from the statue. He apologizes to his godfather and says he is working on it.
Just as Wen Ning is about to eat instant noodles, his college roommate Gong Kai calls and quickly comes to the shop. The two friends reunite with easy, familiar teasing, but Wen Ning senses that something is troubling Gong Kai. Gong says he has recently felt that something has happened to him, setting up the chapter’s next conflict.

Character developments and interactions

• Wen Ning shows practical business instincts, reassuring clients even when he privately doubts their assumptions. His agency’s success gives him temporary financial breathing room, though he remains self-deprecating about his lowly circumstances despite being a Heavenly Court civil servant.
• Sister Zhou and Old Zhou are revealed to have a comic but affectionate domestic dynamic. She initially suspects infidelity, then reacts with relief and irritation when the truth is a secret gaming hobby.
• Gong Kai arrives as a familiar, trusted friend whose strained tone hints at trouble. Their reunion highlights how little time apart affects their friendship.

Significant themes

• Ordinary life after extraordinary circumstances: Wen Ning’s heavenly connections coexist with rent payments, small jobs, and instant noodles.
• Trust and communication: Old Zhou’s secrecy creates unnecessary suspicion, while the couple’s underlying familiarity suggests they can repair the misunderstanding.
• Friendship and loyalty: Wen Ning and Gong Kai resume their banter immediately, but Wen Ning quickly recognizes that his friend is not all right.

Plot points and events

• Gong Kai tells his former college roommate Wen Ning that his apartment has been mysteriously cleaned every day while he is at work.
• He rented the unusually cheap two-bedroom apartment after his previous lease became unaffordable. The elderly landlady claimed she was moving away and left Gong Kai with the place—and its spare key—for a year’s rent paid up front.
• When the cleaning began, Gong Kai assumed the landlady had entered. She denied doing so and said she was out of town. The apartment continued to be cleaned daily, despite his attempts to explain it away.
• Gong Kai installed a camera, but the mysterious cleaning stopped temporarily. When it resumed, the footage from 4–5 p.m.—the apparent cleaning time—showed only static.
• Too frightened to investigate alone and unable to afford moving, Gong Kai asks Wen Ning for help finding someone who can deal with supernatural matters.
• Wen Ning accepts the case, admitting he has no experience but knows people who might help. He agrees to inspect the apartment and quietly asks his godfather—the divine statue on his altar—to watch over him.

Character developments

• Gong Kai shifts from trying to rationalize the strange events to admitting he is terrified and desperate. Financial hardship leaves him feeling trapped.
• Wen Ning is sympathetic because he has recently faced his own financial difficulties. Though uncertain about the case, he takes responsibility for helping his old friend and draws on his newly revealed supernatural connections.

Character interactions

• Gong Kai cautiously confesses his story, worried Wen Ning will think he is crazy. Wen Ning listens without dismissing him, having himself learned that supernatural forces are real.
• Their shared college history and current financial struggles create a sense of loyalty and mutual vulnerability.
• Gong Kai’s relief at Wen Ning’s offer contrasts with Wen Ning’s calm, practical manner—and Gong Kai’s confusion when Wen Ning speaks to the statue.

Significant themes

• Fear and the unknown: Repeated unexplained events and corrupted camera footage make ordinary explanations increasingly implausible.
• Poverty and limited choices: Gong Kai cannot easily leave a frightening home because he has spent nearly all his savings on rent.
• Friendship and responsibility: Wen Ning helps despite his own precarious circumstances and lack of experience.
• The supernatural intruding into ordinary life: A cheap rental and routine housework become the setting for an uncanny mystery.

Chapter Summary

Plot points and events

• Wen Ning accompanies Gong Kai to his apartment to investigate a recurring disturbance: every day between four and five in the afternoon, the apartment is cleaned while the security camera stops working.
• The apartment is spotless, but Wen Ning finds no obvious supernatural presence. The Five Thunder Righteous Method in his dantian does not react, despite what Lu Ming had previously told him.
• Wen Ning notices that the camera has been left in place, suggesting the unseen cleaner knows about it but prefers not to be seen.
• He asks the Heavenly Court Work Group for advice. Lu Ming offers an elaborate theory that the phenomenon is likely a harmless but territorial “Screw Spirit” or “Broom Spirit.” Bai Lu gives a simpler assessment: since Gong Kai has lived there for over a month without harm or missing belongings, it probably means no ill will.
• Bai Lu advises Wen Ning to return after four the next day and try speaking to the entity. Wen Ning agrees to investigate while Gong Kai is at work, takes his key, and tells him to wait for a call before coming home.

Character development

• Wen Ning is cautious but increasingly self-assured. Rather than panic over the supernatural explanation, he evaluates the evidence, seeks advice, and volunteers to meet the entity himself.
• Gong Kai remains frightened and comic, clinging to a cushion and dreading the prospect of speaking to the thing that cleans his home. He nevertheless trusts Wen Ning enough to hand over his key.
• Lu Ming shows off his knowledge through a rapid, overcomplicated explanation, while Bai Lu is direct and practical, cutting through his speculation.

Character interactions

• Wen Ning teases Gong Kai for being afraid in his own home, then reassures him that the cleaner has not shown signs of hostility.
• In the group chat, Lu Ming’s long-winded theories contrast with Bai Lu’s concise advice. Wen Ning jokes that Lu Ming will be muted, immediately stopping his message barrage.
• As Wen Ning leaves, Gong Kai remarks that he seems more confident than before. He cannot identify why, and instead jokes that Wen Ning must have secretly gotten rich—reinforcing their familiar, irreverent friendship.

Significant themes

• Judging danger by evidence: A strange supernatural event is not automatically malicious; its consistent, harmless behavior matters.
• Knowledge versus practicality: Lu Ming’s detailed theories are entertaining, but Bai Lu’s straightforward guidance is what helps Wen Ning decide what to do.
• Growing confidence and friendship: Wen Ning’s willingness to face the unknown contrasts with Gong Kai’s fear, while their teasing shows the ease and trust between them.

Key plot points and events

• Wen Ning returns to Gong Kai’s apartment to catch the mysterious presence that has been cleaning it. He waits inside, expecting something supernatural but unsure what to expect.
• At exactly four o’clock, he hears a faint dripping sound and smells the same laundry detergent as the night before. His Five Thunder Righteous Method responds to the presence, though not as if it were an evil creature.
• A young woman appears and silently tidies the apartment, seemingly unaware of Wen Ning until the energy in his dantian flares and sparks faintly at his fingertips.
• She senses him, identifies his scent as that of an immortal, and considers erasing his memory. After studying him, she decides he does not seem dangerous.
• Wen Ning asks whether she is a Screw Spirit or Broom Spirit. She reveals that she is a fox spirit. He then asks why she cleans Gong Kai’s apartment.

Character developments

• Wen Ning moves from cautious observer to direct participant in a supernatural encounter. Though nervous and inexperienced, he tries to appear confident and says he expects to become an immortal soon.
• The young woman shifts from focused, silent housekeeper to wary and inquisitive supernatural being. Wen Ning’s lack of cultivation initially complicates her judgment, but his answer seems to reassure her and lift a burden.

Significant themes

• The hidden supernatural world: An apparently ordinary apartment conceals a fox spirit who visits regularly.
• Uncertainty and first impressions: Wen Ning’s assumptions about the cleaner—and about fox spirits—are challenged by what he encounters.
• Power and identity: The woman senses Wen Ning’s connection to immortality despite his having no cultivation yet, while his spiritual energy reacts to her presence.

Character interactions

• Wen Ning observes the woman cleaning before his supernatural energy alerts her to him.
• She assesses whether he is an immortal and whether he poses a threat; he answers honestly that he is not one yet but soon will be.
• Their tense first meeting becomes a cautious conversation. She identifies herself as a fox spirit, and Wen Ning presses her about her connection to Gong Kai.

Plot points

• Hu Jiumei introduces herself to Wen Ning and explains that she means Gong Kai no harm. Wen Ning’s Thunder Arts reacted to her demonic aura.
• She recounts meeting Gong Kai as a child, when she was a fox caught in a hunter’s trap during her “human tribulation.” Gong Kai freed her despite being bitten and secretly cared for her, calling her Little Red.
• After a neighbor reported the wild animal, Gong Kai’s father released her. Gong Kai called for Little Red at the foot of the mountain until he was dragged home.
• Hu Jiumei survived her tribulations and spent twenty years attaining human form. Hoping to repay Gong Kai, she returned—but her limited cultivation lets her stay in the human world for only one hour each day, from four to five.
• Unable to improve his luck or circumstances, she quietly cleans his home, partly because she remembers how carefully he cared for her and finds his current mess unbearable.
• Wen Ning points out that her daily visits have frightened Gong Kai. Hu Jiumei knows he installed a camera but fears that revealing herself will make him reject her. Wen Ning realizes the situation is difficult because she seems sincere and fond of Gong Kai.

Character developments and interactions

• Hu Jiumei is revealed as a grateful, gentle fox spirit whose devotion to Gong Kai has lasted for decades. Her calm manner conceals regret over her limited powers and anxiety about being sent away.
• Wen Ning moves from suspicion and joking disbelief to sympathy. He recognizes that Hu Jiumei is not a threat but understands that her secrecy has unsettled Gong Kai.
• Gong Kai, though absent, is shown through Hu Jiumei’s memories as a compassionate child who risked getting hurt to rescue and care for her.
• Hu Jiumei and Wen Ning speak candidly: he asks why she does not tell Gong Kai, challenges her about the fear she has caused, and identifies her fear of rejection.

Significant themes

• Kindness and lasting gratitude: Gong Kai’s childhood compassion shapes Hu Jiumei’s life and her wish to repay him.
• Limits of devotion: Hu Jiumei’s affection cannot overcome her weak cultivation, short visits, or fear of rejection.
• Secrecy and misunderstanding: Her well-intended cleaning appears frightening to Gong Kai because he does not know who is responsible.
• Human–demon boundaries: Wen Ning is left wondering whether a human and a demon can have a future together.

Key plot points and events

• After Hu Jiumei leaves, Wen Ning calls Gong Kai and tells him the apartment is safe, but avoids explaining what happened because Gong Kai is an ordinary person.
• Wen Ning returns to his shop and asks the Heavenly Court Work Group whether a human and a demon can be together. He explains that Hu Jiumei, a young fox demon, has returned to repay Gong Kai for saving her life by secretly cleaning his apartment.
• Lu Ming explains that human-demon relationships are permitted under current Heavenly Court law, provided both parties consent and the demon can control their demonic aura so it does not harm the human.
• Wen Ning confirms Hu Jiumei cannot yet contain hers: his lightning technique sensed it immediately. Lu Ming estimates she needs another ten-odd years of cultivation before she can safely live with Gong Kai. Until then, brief daily visits are acceptable.
• Heavenly Venerable Wen advises Wen Ning to have Hu Jiumei register her identity and handle her relationship with Gong Kai herself. Wen Ning accepts the guidance and ends the day tired but relieved.

Character developments

• Wen Ning acts cautiously and protectively, withholding details from Gong Kai and seeking informed advice before intervening further. He also shows a playful side in the group chat.
• Hu Jiumei is revealed as devoted and patient: after years of cultivation, she returns first to repay Gong Kai, though she is not yet strong enough to be with him safely.
• Gong Kai remains unaware of Hu Jiumei’s presence but trusts Wen Ning enough to return when reassured.
• Lu Ming provides practical guidance, then admits he envies the deep affection Hu Jiumei shows—revealing his own loneliness.
• Heavenly Venerable Wen offers calm, authoritative advice and shares a warm, teasing rapport with Wen Ning.

Significant themes

• Changing social rules: Human-demon relationships, once forbidden, are now legally accepted under revised Three Realms regulations.
• Love and responsibility: Affection alone is not enough; consent, safety, and patience matter.
• Devotion and repayment: Hu Jiumei’s return reflects lasting gratitude and care.
• Loneliness and longing: Lu Ming’s envy highlights the emotional cost of being alone, even after centuries of cultivation.

Character interactions

• Wen Ning reassures Gong Kai without revealing Hu Jiumei’s secret.
• Wen Ning consults the group, where Lu Ming explains the laws and risks of human-demon relationships.
• Lu Ming’s longing prompts a joking offer from Wen Ning to let him clean Heavenly Venerable Wen’s office; the godfather then redirects the discussion with serious advice.
• Wen Ning responds playfully to both Lu Ming and his godfather, while accepting the guidance to let Hu Jiumei make her own choices.

Key plot points and events

• Wen Ning tells Hu Jiumei that human–demon relationships are legal under the Three Realms Intermarriage Regulations. They can register with the Marriage Bureau, provided they both consent; marriage can follow once she learns to control her demonic aura.
• Hu Jiumei is relieved to learn she has not been endangering Gong Kai by violating heavenly law. Wen Ning warns, however, that her current aura could harm Gong Kai, so she must limit her visits.
• Wen Ning plans to help with the registration paperwork after he begins working for the Heavenly Court. He asks Hu Jiumei to stop visiting Gong Kai until she can contain her aura.
• Wen Ning tells Gong Kai only that the strange occurrences at home are over, withholding the truth about Hu Jiumei.
• During dinner, Wen Ning learns that Gong Kai once rescued a fox as a child and named it Little Red. Gong Kai still remembers it fondly. Wen Ning hints that Gong Kai may receive a reward for his kindness.

Character developments

• Hu Jiumei moves from fear and secrecy toward cautious hope: she now believes she may one day be with Gong Kai openly, and commits to cultivating until her aura is safe.
• Wen Ning acts as mediator and protector, balancing Hu Jiumei’s hopes against Gong Kai’s safety. He chooses to keep Gong Kai uninformed for now, while planning to help the couple reunite later.
• Gong Kai remains curious and somewhat frustrated by Wen Ning’s evasiveness, but trusts his friend’s assurance. His childhood kindness to the fox suggests an enduring bond with Hu Jiumei.

Significant themes

• Love across boundaries: The chapter presents human–demon relationships as legally possible, challenging old stories of persecution and forbidden love.
• Patience and responsibility: Hu Jiumei must develop her powers before she can safely be near Gong Kai.
• Kindness and reward: Gong Kai’s childhood act of compassion may have led to his connection with Hu Jiumei.
• Protection through secrecy: Wen Ning withholds the supernatural truth to spare Gong Kai fear and confusion.

Character interactions

• Wen Ning gives Hu Jiumei both reassurance and a practical warning, then offers to help her pursue a lawful future with Gong Kai.
• Hu Jiumei responds with heartfelt gratitude and agrees to wait until she can control her aura.
• Wen Ning and Gong Kai share a familiar, teasing friendship over dinner; Gong Kai presses for details, but Wen Ning keeps the supernatural explanation private and gently hints at good fortune to come.

Plot points and events

• Wen Ning receives his official notice to report to the Heavenly Court’s Thunder Department at midnight, at the Southern Heavenly Gate.
• In the group chat, Lu Ming and Bai Lu announce that they also passed and will report that night. Lu Ming eagerly promises to guide Wen Ning around.
• Worried about arriving empty-handed to see his godfather, Wen Ning gathers cigarettes and liquor, then cleans his shop and prepares for the journey.
• His soul rises from his body and carries the gifts with him to the Southern Heavenly Gate.
• Wen Ning meets Lu Ming, who proudly shows off his new robe and insists that the bell on his antlers is a treasured gift from his ancestor. Lu Ming realizes Wen Ning has brought a present and panics that he has no gift of his own.
• Bai Lu arrives with a bag too, intensifying Lu Ming’s worry. Wen Ning jokingly warns that he could be sent to a remote posting in America; Bai Lu tells him to stop teasing Lu Ming, and the two laugh at the flustered deer.

Character developments

• Wen Ning is excited about his new position but also shows thoughtfulness and practical concern by preparing a gift and making his shop presentable.
• Lu Ming remains boastful and enthusiastic, proudly displaying his outfit, but is easily rattled when he fears he has neglected proper etiquette. He is also attached to his ancestor’s bell.
• Bai Lu is composed and observant, arriving prepared and stepping in to defend Lu Ming from Wen Ning’s teasing.

Significant themes

• New beginnings and anticipation: The three friends begin their Heavenly Court careers together.
• Etiquette and preparation: Wen Ning’s concern about bringing a gift contrasts with Lu Ming’s oversight.
• Friendship and humor: Their teasing and shared laughter establish a lively, affectionate group dynamic.
• Mortal and celestial worlds meeting: Wen Ning brings ordinary cigarettes and liquor into the Heavenly Court, underscoring the comic blend of everyday customs and divine bureaucracy.

Character interactions

• Wen Ning and Lu Ming exchange playful banter: Lu Ming shows off his clothing, while Wen Ning pokes fun at his jingling bell.
• Lu Ming’s confidence gives way to anxiety when he sees Wen Ning’s gift and then Bai Lu’s bag.
• Bai Lu gently rebukes Wen Ning for frightening Lu Ming, and the scene ends with her and Wen Ning laughing together.

Plot points and events

• The white-bearded Heavenly Official escorts Wen Ning, Bai Lu, and Lu Ming to the Thunder Department to report to Wen Zhong.
• Bai Lu and Wen Ning present their gifts. Lu Ming admits he had prepared two thousand-year-old lingzhi mushrooms, but ate them before he could give them to Wen Zhong.
• Wen Zhong assigns the new workers: Bai Lu will organize and archive paperwork, while Lu Ming will copy and proofread it. Wen Ning’s small agency is requisitioned as the Thunder Department’s mortal-world office, where he will work for a monthly salary of five thousand merit points.
• Wen Zhong tells Wen Ning to stay, then announces that Meng Jiang, Meng Po’s niece, is being seconded from the Underworld to help the Thunder Department. She brings Wen Zhong a bowl of Meng Po’s famously unpleasant soup.
• Meng Jiang quickly notices that Lu Ming brought no gift and teases him about his excuse. She also hints that he could be sent to sweep the Bridge of Helplessness. After frightening him, she greets Wen Ning and Bai Lu and looks forward to working with them.

Character development and interactions

• Lu Ming is exposed as impulsive and easily embarrassed: his appetite cost him his gift, and Meng Jiang’s teasing leaves him visibly panicked. He tries to hide behind Bai Lu, who steps aside and leaves him to face Meng Jiang.
• Wen Ning accepts his new role with practical satisfaction, recognizing that turning his modest agency into a Heavenly Court office is a good bargain. He anticipates that Meng Jiang’s arrival will make the workplace lively.
• Bai Lu remains composed and quietly amused, while carrying out her duties without fuss.
• Meng Jiang appears polite and innocent but is sharp, observant, and mischievously confident, especially around Lu Ming. Her easy rapport with the group suggests she will disrupt its routines.
• Wen Zhong handles the ceremony briskly, assigning work and formalizing Wen Ning’s office arrangement.

Significant themes

• The chapter blends bureaucratic work with supernatural life, treating divine offices, paperwork, salaries, and secondments as ordinary workplace matters.
• Social etiquette and gift-giving create comic embarrassment, while appetite and evasiveness make Lu Ming an easy target.
• The emerging workplace dynamic—particularly Meng Jiang’s teasing of Lu Ming—sets up lively future interactions.

Key events

• Bai Lu explains the long history between Lu Ming and Meng Jiang. As a child, Lu Ming repeatedly got himself into trouble in the Underworld: he drank ordinary soup made with the River of Forgetfulness and forgot he was a deer, then once botched a spell and turned himself into a tree. Meng Jiang teased him, but his mishaps were largely his own fault.
• Lu Ming’s apology gift was no better: he ate nearly all the immortal peaches he was carrying for Meng Jiang and presented her with the last peach’s pit, falsely claiming it would grow into a new variety. Meng Jiang believed him—and nearly took off his antlers when it failed to sprout.
• After the others leave, Wen Zhong asks Wen Ning about using the Five Thunder Righteous Method. He explains that the technique exhausts Wen Ning because he is mortal and lacks magical power.
• Wen Zhong gives Wen Ning a three-thousand-year immortal peach from the Queen Mother’s Peach Garden. Wen Ning eats it and gains the cultivation of an Earth Immortal, allowing him to use the thunder technique without collapsing.
• Wen Zhong advises him to practice, use his merit salary to improve his cultivation, and do good while stationed in the human world. Wen Ning is assigned to the Thunder Department Human World Office starting the next day.
• Outside, Lu Ming is amazed by Wen Ning’s sudden advancement, while Meng Jiang pulls him away from pestering him. A Heavenly Official arrives to usher the group into onboarding and collect their office supplies.

Character developments and interactions

• Wen Ning gains a major new ability and accepts his responsibilities seriously. He recognizes that Wen Zhong’s gift likely reflects genuine care, despite Wen Zhong’s claim that the peach was merely about to expire.
• Wen Zhong shows paternal concern by giving Wen Ning a rare, powerful peach, though he hides his affection behind brusque instructions.
• Lu Ming and Meng Jiang are revealed as longtime companions with a teasing, lopsided rivalry: Lu Ming fears Meng Jiang, but his own foolish actions have repeatedly caused their troubles. Their familiar banter continues when she tugs him away from Wen Ning.
• Bai Lu provides the comic backstory, while the Heavenly Official’s interruption shifts the scene from personal conversation to the practical business of beginning their new assignment.

Significant themes

• Care disguised as sternness: Wen Zhong’s apparent casualness masks a meaningful sacrifice for Wen Ning’s safety.
• Responsibility and growth: Wen Ning’s new power comes with an expectation to train, serve responsibly, and accumulate merit.
• Comedy through self-inflicted trouble: Lu Ming blames Meng Jiang for their feud, though the anecdotes show that his own impulsiveness is usually the cause.
• A new beginning: Wen Ning’s Earth Immortal cultivation and upcoming post mark his transition into active work in the human world.

Key plot points and events

• Wen Ning and his companions complete his Heavenly Court onboarding after officials verify their identities through their souls.
• Lu Ming offers to show the group around the Imperial Garden. As he guides them, Meng Jiang playfully questions his knowledge, while Wen Ning takes in the extraordinary sights.
• They encounter Dipper Mother, whose presence immediately puts Lu Ming and Bai Lu on their best behavior.
• Dipper Mother recognizes the Five Thunder Righteous Method in Wen Ning and learns that he is Wen Zhong’s godson and student. Wen Ning realizes she is his grandmaster—the teacher of the god he has worshipped for years.
• Dipper Mother gives Wen Ning a jade token containing the Eight-Nine Mysteries, a renowned divine art associated with True Lord Erlang. Before leaving, she asks Wen Ning to tell Wen Zhong to send her cigarettes.
• His companions are astonished by the gift and remark that Wen Ning’s Heavenly Court connections are exceptionally powerful. They do not ask to inspect the token, respecting that it is his.

Character developments

• Wen Ning moves from feeling like an inexperienced outsider to discovering that his family ties place him close to some of Heaven’s most important figures. He responds instinctively and respectfully to Dipper Mother, and receives a major opportunity for his cultivation.
• Lu Ming enthusiastically plays guide, though his confidence falters around Dipper Mother. His shifting bells reflect his pride and embarrassment as Meng Jiang corrects him.
• Meng Jiang is curious and teasing during the tour, but becomes serious in Dipper Mother’s presence. She recognizes the significance of Wen Ning’s new connection.
• Bai Lu is quick to show respect to Dipper Mother and later explains the importance of the Eight-Nine Mysteries.
• Dipper Mother appears formidable and composed, but her casual request for cigarettes offers a glimpse of personal warmth and humor.

Significant themes

• Identity and legitimacy: The Heavenly Court verifies newcomers through their souls, presenting identity as something deeper than paperwork.
• Connections and inheritance: Wen Ning’s bond with Wen Zhong gives him access to powerful figures and teachings, while also tying him to a larger spiritual lineage.
• Humility before power: The group’s behavior changes immediately in Dipper Mother’s presence, underscoring her authority.
• Wonder and culture shock: Wen Ning’s humble mortal background makes the Heavenly Court’s splendor—and his sudden place within it—feel surreal.

Character interactions

• Lu Ming welcomes Wen Ning and tries to show him the Heavenly Court, while Meng Jiang’s questions turn the tour into lighthearted teasing.
• The companions’ deference to Dipper Mother signals her extraordinary rank before Wen Ning even knows who she is.
• Wen Ning addresses her as his grandmaster once he understands their connection; she responds by acknowledging his relationship to Wen Zhong and gifting him a treasured art.
• Dipper Mother’s request that Wen Ning pass a message to Wen Zhong gives the grandmaster–granddisciple encounter an unexpectedly familiar, informal ending.

• Dipper Mother meets her master: In a secluded garden, Dipper Mother reports that Wen Ning—Wen Zhong’s newly appointed godson and a quick-witted new Heavenly Official—has begun his work. Her master asks whether she gave Wen Ning the Eight-Nine Mysteries. She confirms it, though she questions why such a powerful art for guardians of the Dao was given to an inexperienced earth immortal. The old man hints that the fifth Heaven and Earth Calamity is approaching, but offers no further explanation. He also critiques the name of Wen Ning’s new office, “Thunder Department Human World Office,” and says he may visit to tease Wen Ning.
• Wen Ning awakens to his new powers: Back at his shop, Wen Ning wakes feeling well and discovers he can summon and dismiss electricity effortlessly. He remembers the jade tablet Dipper Mother gave him and eventually activates it, receiving the first stage of the Eight-Nine Mysteries directly in his mind. Its “myriad transformations” let him change into different forms, with a restoration formula needed to return to human shape.
• His first transformations go poorly: Wen Ning successfully becomes a folding chair, but cannot move in that form. He then tries to become a black dog but turns into a weasel instead. A passerby spots the animal in the shop and leaves, muttering about its bad feng shui. Wen Ning restores himself and decides to practice more carefully.
• Wen Ning honors Wen Zhong: Before resuming practice, Wen Ning lights incense and bows to Wen Zhong’s statue. He tells his godfather he has started learning the Eight-Nine Mysteries and hopes to impress Wen Zhong’s master during her eventual visit. The chapter ends with someone knocking at the shop door.
  Character developments and interactions: Dipper Mother remains respectful toward her mysterious master, accepting that his decisions have reasons beyond what she knows. The old man shows both foresight and playful curiosity about Wen Ning. Wen Ning is excited by his new abilities but still inexperienced, approaching his divine training with humor and sincere devotion to Wen Zhong.
  Significant themes: The looming calamity suggests that Wen Ning’s training may serve a larger, dangerous purpose. The chapter also balances grand celestial stakes with comic trial-and-error, while emphasizing mentorship, trust, and the gap between extraordinary powers and a beginner’s practical skill.

Plot points and events

• Lu Ming and a Heavenly Official deliver Wen Ning a new plaque, altered at the order of Wen Ning’s godfather, the Heavenly Venerable Wen Zhong.
• The plaque reads “Heavenly Court Bathhouse, Mortal Realm Branch,” despite Wen Ning having asked for something inconspicuous. Lu Ming explains that Wen Zhong turned a joke about Wen Ning’s poorly equipped shop into the plaque’s official wording.
• Local spirits see the sign and assume the shop is a real Heavenly Court bathhouse offering miraculous Jade Pool water. A mushroom spirit, a rat spirit, and an elderly weasel spirit immediately demand baths and back scrubs.
• Unable to correct the misunderstanding—or resist the spirits’ enthusiasm—Wen Ning improvises a trial opening with a basin of hot water. He sets rules, including that customers must bathe in their original forms and bring or buy a towel.
• The spirits leave pleased with the service. Wen Ning is left cleaning up the mess, while Lu Ming has already fled.

Character developments and interactions

• Wen Ning moves from disbelief and embarrassment to pragmatic acceptance, turning an absurd mix-up into a temporary service. He remains dryly exasperated, especially when he realizes his shop lacks a water heater.
• Lu Ming delights in Wen Ning’s predicament and teases him, but quickly becomes alarmed when Wen Ning threatens to tell Meng Jiang that Lu Ming wants to marry her. He tries to make amends by offering his scrubbing skills, then escapes.
• Wen Zhong, though absent, shows a playful, mischievous side through the deliberately ridiculous plaque.
• The three spirits are eager customers, competing to be first; their satisfaction rewards Wen Ning’s improvised effort.

Significant themes

• Humor through misunderstanding: An official plaque transforms a joke into a very real business problem.
• Adaptability and unintended opportunity: Wen Ning makes the best of an absurd situation rather than simply turning customers away.
• Community and everyday life: Heavenly officials, spirits, and mundane neighborhood details coexist, giving the supernatural setting an ordinary, bustling feel.

Plot points

• Wen Ning’s small Heavenly Court Bathhouse quickly becomes popular after three minor spirits recommend it. New customers include a hedgehog offering its spines as a scrubbing brush, a peony spirit bringing its own petals, and a talking golden retriever paying with cash.
• Wen Ning struggles to manage the growing crowd and the spirits’ chaotic interactions, while the old weasel—now a regular—offers neighborhood gossip.
• Wen Ning asks whether anything strange has been happening nearby, but the weasel dismisses the idea: the university district’s scholarly atmosphere supposedly discourages trouble.
• Overwhelmed, Wen Ning asks the Heavenly Court work group for help. Lu Ming claims to be working overtime, but Meng Jiang reveals he was asleep at his desk.
• Wen Ning’s mortal friend Gong Kai arrives, unable to see the spirits. He sees only Wen Ning bathing a golden retriever and assumes Wen’s company has expanded into pet grooming.

Character development

• Wen Ning adapts to running the bathhouse, improvising with cheap secondhand equipment and accepting unconventional customers. His growing business brings both opportunity and mounting chaos.
• The old weasel becomes a dependable regular and informal source of local knowledge.
• Gong Kai begins to suspect that Wen Ning himself is connected to the supernatural, rather than merely helping others deal with anomalies.

Character interactions

• The spirits advertise Wen Ning’s services through enthusiastic stories and social media.
• Wen Ning trades dry humor with customers, especially the golden retriever, and tries to keep order as their mishaps set one another off.
• Wen Ning’s group-chat exchange exposes Lu Ming’s excuse and draws a brief reaction from Bai Lu.
• Gong Kai teases Wen Ning about his unlikely business ventures, comparing them to the many departments he visits while avoiding work.

Significant themes

• Ordinary life meeting the supernatural: spirits treat the bathhouse as a practical neighborhood business, while Gong Kai sees only an inexplicable pet spa.
• Improvisation and entrepreneurship: Wen Ning builds a service from limited resources and unusual customers.
• Comic disorder and community: the bathhouse’s growing clientele creates mishaps, but also makes it a lively gathering place.