Chapter Summaries

Plot and events

Wen Ning takes Chen Mu to a café and tells her he has met her deceased parents. Chen Mu reacts angrily and suspects he investigated her, but Wen Ning insists he knew nothing about her beforehand and has unusual abilities. He says her parents contacted him through the Underworld because they feared she might be in trouble.
When Wen Ning asks whether anything strange has happened, Chen Mu quickly denies it, though he senses a disturbing coldness beneath her composed manner. He offers his phone number and says she can contact him anytime. As he leaves, Chen Mu asks whether her parents are well. Wen Ning answers with their ordinary, affectionate reminders: her father tells her to order less takeout, and her mother reminds her to wear long underwear in winter. Chen Mu quietly accepts the message.

Character development and interactions

• Chen Mu shifts from irritation and suspicion to guarded acceptance. Her questions reveal that, despite claiming her parents’ deaths are settled, she still longs to know how they are. Her quick denial and clenched hands suggest she is concealing a troubling experience.
• Wen Ning remains calm and direct, offering help without pressuring Chen Mu to explain herself. He acts as a messenger between her and her parents, conveying their concern through familiar, everyday details.
• Their conversation is cautious but grows more intimate: Chen Mu challenges Wen Ning’s claims, then trusts him enough to ask about her parents.

Significant themes

• Grief and continued connection: Chen Mu’s parents remain emotionally present through their concern and practical advice.
• Hidden distress and denial: Chen Mu insists nothing is wrong, while her behavior and Wen Ning’s perception suggest otherwise.
• Trust amid the unexplained: Wen Ning offers an extraordinary explanation that Chen Mu cannot verify, yet she chooses not to press him and accepts his offer of help.

Plot points and events

• Outside the café, Chen Mu tells Wen Ning about a frightening encounter from the previous month. After visiting her parents’ graves, she found a weasel blocking a narrow village road.
• The weasel stood upright like a person and spoke, asking, “Do you think I look like an immortal?” Chen Mu fled without answering.
• Wen Ning explains that a weasel seeking ordinary human recognition asks whether it looks human. An affirmative answer can help it take human form; a negative one can destroy its accumulated cultivation.
• This weasel’s question was different: it sought immortal investiture—for a human to recognize it as a deity. Wen Ning says only an emperor, whose words carry the fortune of a dynasty, can traditionally confer godhood.
• Because Chen Mu is an ordinary person, answering could have consumed her own fortune and accumulated merit, potentially bringing severe misfortune or death. Though she escaped without replying, Wen Ning warns that the danger is not over.

Character developments

• Chen Mu moves from hesitation to confiding in Wen Ning, seeking his help because he had told her to come to him if anything strange happened. Her fear grows as she understands the stakes.
• Wen Ning shifts abruptly from gentle listener to visibly angry and grave once he hears the weasel’s exact wording. His expertise reveals both his seriousness and concern for Chen Mu.

Character interactions

• Chen Mu pursues Wen Ning outside the café and recounts the encounter in detail.
• Wen Ning questions her closely, confirms that the weasel asked about looking like an immortal—not a human—and explains the supernatural rules and consequences.
• Chen Mu challenges his explanation with questions, while Wen Ning’s blunt warning leaves her alarmed.

Significant themes

• Words have power: A human’s answer can affect a supernatural being’s form or status.
• Authority and legitimacy: Godhood is linked to the emperor’s mandate and the fortune of the state.
• Personal cost and fate: Chen Mu’s words could have spent her own fortune and merit, making an apparently casual response dangerous.
• Unresolved danger: Escaping the encounter does not necessarily end its consequences.

Key plot points and events

• Wen Ning explains that the weasel chose Chen Mu not because of any special power of her own, but because of the enormous merit her late parents accumulated through decades of teaching.
• The creature wants to steal that merit through Chen Mu. Had she answered its request for investiture, it could have used her words to drain her parents’ blessings and advance its cultivation.
• Chen Mu’s silence made the attempt fail, but the weasel has not given up and may approach her wherever she is alone.
• Wen Ning promises to deal with the threat. He tells Chen Mu to avoid isolated places, traveling alone at night, and returning to her hometown. She agrees to follow his advice and contact him if needed.
• Before leaving, Wen Ning relays her parents’ message: they have always loved her.

Character developments

• Chen Mu moves from fear and uncertainty toward cautious trust. She accepts that she cannot handle the supernatural danger herself and agrees to rely on Wen Ning.
• Wen Ning reveals both his knowledge of supernatural affairs and his connection to Chen Mu’s parents, who used favors in the Underworld to find him. His confidence suggests he has a plan, though he keeps its details private.
• Chen Mu gains a new understanding of her parents’ sacrifices and love, especially after learning that their merit—and their efforts to protect her—brought Wen Ning to her.

Significant themes

• Parental love and sacrifice: Chen Mu’s parents’ lifelong work helped protect her, and their final message reassures her of their affection.
• Merit and exploitation: The weasel seeks to turn a family’s accumulated virtue into a shortcut to power.
• Trust and humility: Chen Mu recognizes the limits of her knowledge and chooses to heed someone better equipped to help.
• Vulnerability and protection: The danger is persistent, making ordinary precautions and support from others essential.

Character interactions

• Wen Ning bluntly explains the threat, while Chen Mu asks practical questions about what happened and how to stay safe.
• Their exchange shifts from her skepticism about his abilities to a working agreement: he will handle the creature, and she will follow his precautions.
• Wen Ning’s final message from her parents turns a frightening conversation into a moment of emotional reassurance.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Mu accepts Wen Ning’s reassurance that he will handle the danger in her hometown, Linhe Village, and returns to school.
• Wen Ning travels to the village and summons its Earth God by stamping the ground.
• The frightened Earth God tells him that Third Master Huang, a powerful weasel spirit, leads the local weasels and has cultivated for centuries.
• Third Master Huang has been waiting for someone suitable to grant him verbal investiture. Chen Mu is that person: her deceased parents were respected teachers who accumulated great merit.
• Though the Earth God knew about the situation, he says he was too weak to intervene. Wen Ning asks where Huang’s lair is and sets off for an abandoned temple in the nearby forest.

Character developments and interactions

• Wen Ning is decisive and protective. He comforts Chen Mu, then investigates the threat himself. His calm authority intimidates the Earth God, who suspects Wen Ning has a personal connection to Chen Mu.
• Chen Mu trusts Wen Ning enough to leave the matter in his hands, despite briefly questioning how simple his plan sounds.
• The Earth God is deferential and afraid. He explains his inability to challenge Huang, then privately concludes that Huang has provoked someone far beyond his reach.
• Third Master Huang does not appear, but is established as a formidable, long-waiting spirit whose target is Chen Mu.

Significant themes

• Power and responsibility: The Earth God’s weakness leaves mortals exposed, while Wen Ning chooses to intervene.
• Merit and opportunity: Chen Mu’s parents’ good deeds made her a rare candidate for Huang’s investiture.
• Protection and trust: Chen Mu relies on Wen Ning, who takes the danger on himself.
• Supernatural rules and moral ambiguity: Huang’s pursuit may skirt the rules rather than openly violate them, complicating the Earth God’s ability to act.

Key plot points and events

• Wen Ning flies to the woods where the Land God said Huang San lived, finding the grove saturated with powerful demonic aura. He estimates its source has cultivated for four or five hundred years.
• He reaches Huang San’s ruined temple, surrounded by dead grass and small-animal bones, including chicken bones.
• Two young weasel spirits emerge. They have only partially transformed into human-like forms and act as though they control the territory.
• Wen Ning says he has business with Huang San. The weasels demand to know what it is, but he refuses to explain to them.
• One threatens to keep Wen Ning there “to feed the mosquitoes.” Wen Ning calmly accepts the challenge.

Character developments

• Wen Ning is confident and composed, even amused by the young spirits’ bravado. He keeps his aura concealed and does not let their threats intimidate him.
• The two weasels are boastful and accustomed to frightening villagers, but their swagger depends on Huang San’s reputation. Their limited power and small stature contrast with their claims of authority.
• Huang San does not appear, but the immense demonic aura around the grove establishes him as a formidable presence.

Character interactions

• Wen Ning privately criticizes the Land God for failing to protect the Chen family, then sets that grievance aside to focus on the task at hand.
• The two weasels interrogate Wen Ning, whisper about his lack of scent, and try to intimidate him.
• Wen Ning’s blunt replies—especially “What’s it to you?”—break their expectation that visitors will be frightened and deferential.

Significant themes

• False authority and intimidation: The young spirits rely on Huang San’s power and villagers’ fear rather than their own strength.
• Composure in the face of threats: Wen Ning’s calmness exposes the gap between the weasels’ boasting and their actual ability.
• Responsibility and merit: Wen Ning’s thoughts about the Land God highlight the duty of local spirits to protect people and the value of the Chen couple’s lifetime of teaching.

Chapter Summary

• Wen Ning enters the ruined temple after two weasel demons try to stop him. One attacks with a rusty knife while the other lunges for his leg, coordinating their assault.
• He effortlessly subdues them with a hand seal and the word “Freeze.” His imperfect technique immobilizes their lower bodies and seals their mouths, leaving them stuck in awkward poses. Wen Ning brushes past them and continues inside.
• The weasels communicate through exaggerated eye movements as they panic about being unable to warn their master, Third Master. Their fear turns into comic bickering when one worries about needing to poop while frozen; its “big brother” tells it to go in its pants.
• Wen Ning explores the temple’s hidden depths. Past the ruined main hall, he finds an underground passage lit by eerie green stones. The demonic aura grows stronger as he descends, and he jokes that Huang San has spent centuries cultivating an impressive stink.

Character Developments and Interactions

Wen Ning is calm, confident, and dismissive of the weasels’ threats, showing both formidable power and imperfect control of his spell. The two weasels’ bravado collapses into helpless panic; their eye-only exchange reveals their contrasting personalities, with one anxious and hopeful and the other resigned and unsympathetic. Wen Ning remains unaware of their exchange and focused on reaching Huang San.

Significant Themes and Tone

The chapter contrasts supernatural danger with slapstick comedy: a tense attack is ended almost instantly, then gives way to an absurd conversation about bodily needs. It also highlights the gap between Wen Ning’s power and the weasels’ helplessness, while setting up the deeper confrontation through the growing demonic presence underground.

Key plot points and events

• Wen Ning enters Huang San’s cavern and wakes the enormous weasel by stomping on his tail.
• After learning the beast is Huang San, Wen Ning provokes him. Huang San attacks, but Wen Ning’s “Freeze” spell only holds him briefly.
• Wen Ning then uses the Five Thunder Righteous Method, which blasts Huang San into the cavern wall and leaves him defeated and smoking.
• Sitting on Huang San’s belly, Wen Ning confronts him about approaching Chen Mu and asking her to confer godhood on him. Huang San initially denies it, then admits he did.

Character developments

• Wen Ning remains calm and irreverent throughout the confrontation. Though his immobilizing spell proves unreliable, he quickly switches to a stronger technique and takes control of the fight.
• Huang San shifts from arrogant, violent menace to helpless submission. Once Wen Ning exposes his actions, he drops his pretense of innocence and openly defends his ambition.

Character interactions

• Wen Ning deliberately insults and physically dominates Huang San, using humor and blunt questioning rather than treating him with reverence.
• Huang San first responds with threats and aggression, then attempts to feign innocence. Wen Ning’s lightning—and a shock-enhanced slap—discourages further evasion.
• Their exchange reveals that Wen Ning distinguishes between Huang San’s ordinary desire to gain human form and his much grander demand to become a god.

Significant themes

• Ambition and entitlement: Huang San believes five hundred years of cultivation should make him worthy of godhood, comparing himself to beings worshipped in temples.
• Power and authority: Huang San’s local reputation means little against Wen Ning’s effective supernatural techniques.
• Comedic irreverence: The dramatic clash between Huang San’s grandiose self-image and Wen Ning’s casual mockery gives the confrontation a humorous tone.

Key plot points and events

• Huang San argues that becoming an immortal should be easy, but Wen Ning mocks the idea and reveals that he himself is an immortal.
• Wen Ning describes the demanding process: nine written subjects, interviews, background checks, and tribulation trials. He spent over 300 years preparing, while Huang San has not even studied the Three Realms’ Basic Law.
• Wen Ning prepares to kill Huang San. In desperation, Huang San invokes his uncle, the famous weasel immortal Huang Er, claiming he is registered with the Guardian Immortals and commands hundreds of disciples.
• Wen Ning has never heard of Huang Er and remains unimpressed, partly because he rarely visits the cold northeast. He starts forming a spell again.
• Bai Lu arrives, calling for Wen Ning. Recognizing her voice, he stops. She enters and finds him unharmed, standing over a huge, scorched, smoking Huang San.

Character developments

• Wen Ning comes across as confident, dismissive, and darkly humorous. He uses his own grueling path to immortality to challenge Huang San’s assumptions, and shows no fear of Huang San’s powerful-sounding connections.
• Huang San shifts from stubborn confidence to shock, terror, and desperate pleading. His appeal to Huang Er briefly restores his confidence, but Wen Ning’s indifference quickly deflates it. Bai Lu’s arrival gives him an unexpected reprieve.
• Bai Lu enters at the end, apparently concerned about Wen Ning’s safety; she checks that he is unharmed before examining Huang San.

Significant themes

• Immortality as earned achievement: The chapter contrasts Huang San’s wish for an easy elevation with the arduous study, testing, and trials Wen Ning endured.
• Power and reputation: Huang San expects his uncle’s fame to intimidate Wen Ning, but status matters little to someone who does not know or care about the name.
• Bravado versus vulnerability: Huang San’s confidence collapses when confronted with immediate danger, revealing how dependent it is on his family connection.

Character interactions

• Wen Ning patronizes Huang San while explaining the requirements for immortality, then threatens to kill him.
• Huang San tries to save himself by invoking Huang Er, but Wen Ning’s lack of recognition turns the exchange into an awkward anticlimax.
• Bai Lu’s arrival interrupts the imminent attack. She silently assesses Wen Ning’s condition, then takes in Huang San’s badly burned state.

Key plot points and events

• Bai Lu arrives at the cave and explains that Huang San’s uncle, a respected weasel immortal, learned through divination that his nephew faced a fatal calamity and asked her to intervene.
• Wen Ning learns that Huang Er—Huang San’s uncle—has earned major merit for helping civilians and the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army during the war. Huang Er offers that merit as a ransom for his nephew.
• Wen Ning accepts the exchange under the Three Realms Law and spares Huang San, though he condemns him for exploiting his uncle’s reputation and warns that his uncle’s merit, not his own worth, saved him.
• Bai Lu tells Huang San that his uncle cannot keep saving him if he continues courting danger.
• Outside the cave, Wen Ning reprimands two young weasels for stealing chickens. They promise to stop; when one admits he soiled himself after Wen Ning immobilized them, Wen Ning kicks him away to clean up.

Character developments

• Wen Ning remains stern and contemptuous of wrongdoing, but agrees to follow the law and honor Huang Er’s sacrifice. He shows little sympathy for Huang San, while dealing more leniently with the young weasels.
• Huang San learns for the first time that his uncle’s standing and offerings come from genuine service and sacrifice. His relief at being spared is mixed with shame and dawning understanding.
• Bai Lu acts as intermediary, bringing the ransom offer and delivering her uncle’s warning to Huang San.
• Huang Er is characterized as a courageous, generous protector whose wartime deeds carry lasting merit.

Significant themes

• Merit and responsibility: Past good deeds can have real value, but Huang San’s life is saved by his uncle’s virtue, not his own.
• Accountability and redemption: Huang San is warned that he cannot rely indefinitely on others to rescue him; even lesser offenses, like stealing chickens, are challenged.
• The hidden cost of reputation: Huang San admired his uncle’s status without understanding the sacrifices behind it.
• Law and compassion: Wen Ning allows a lawful ransom, balancing justice with respect for earned merit.

Character interactions

• Wen Ning and Bai Lu negotiate Huang San’s fate: Bai Lu explains the ransom, and Wen Ning ultimately accepts it.
• Wen Ning confronts Huang San with the truth about his uncle’s achievements, while Bai Lu adds a direct warning on Huang Er’s behalf.
• Wen Ning disciplines the two young weasels, combining a stern lesson with comic frustration when one admits to soiling himself.

Plot points

• After Huang San’s attempt to trick Chen Mu into granting him godhood is resolved, Wen Ning worries that Chen Mu remains vulnerable to future supernatural threats.
• He decides Huang San should become her Guardian Immortal: Huang San is powerful enough to protect her, and the role will let him earn merit and pursue cultivation legitimately.
• Wen Ning proposes the plan to Huang San, who initially hesitates because he previously targeted Chen Mu. Remembering that his uncle’s accumulated merit saved his life, Huang San agrees.
• Wen Ning gives him three days to recover and clean up before reporting for duty. Bai Lu approves the arrangement, and she and Wen Ning leave Huang San to recuperate.

Character developments

• Wen Ning shows concern for Chen Mu’s long-term safety and takes a practical, redemptive approach to Huang San rather than simply punishing him.
• Huang San shifts from a cowardly trickster to someone willing to accept responsibility. His agreement is reluctant but becomes sincere, shaped by gratitude for his uncle’s sacrifice.
• Bai Lu supports Wen Ning’s judgment, seeing the appointment as beneficial to both Chen Mu and Huang San.
• Chen Mu, though absent, becomes the focus of the plan because her lack of cultivation leaves her exposed.

Themes

• Redemption and responsibility: Huang San is offered a chance to make amends by protecting the person he tried to deceive.
• Merit and sacrifice: His uncle’s earned merit saved Huang San, reminding him that spiritual advancement should come through worthwhile deeds.
• Protection and vulnerability: Chen Mu’s ordinary status makes lasting protection necessary, not just resolving one immediate threat.
• Turning harm into purpose: Huang San’s failed scheme becomes the starting point for a more honorable role.

Character interactions

• Wen Ning intimidates Huang San into listening, then persuades him by framing the Guardian Immortal role as both protection for Chen Mu and a path forward for himself.
• Huang San responds with fear and embarrassment but ultimately accepts the responsibility.
• Bai Lu endorses the decision, affirming Wen Ning’s solution as good for both parties.

Plot points and events

• Wen Ning visits Chen Mu after resolving the earlier trouble with Huang San. He tells her he has arranged for the weasel spirit to become her guardian immortal.
• Chen Mu is initially shocked and suspicious, since Huang San recently deceived her. Wen Ning reassures her that Huang San has never killed anyone, is strong enough to handle ordinary wandering ghosts, and will take the duty seriously in exchange for accumulating merit.
• Trusting Wen Ning, Chen Mu agrees. She sets up a spirit tablet for “Third Master Huang,” burns incense, and prepares a roast chicken.
• Three days later, Huang San arrives. Chen Mu welcomes him into the apartment, and Wen Ning formally entrusts her safety to him.
• After Wen Ning leaves, Chen Mu lets Huang San eat the chicken. He settles into his new role, watching over her from nearby while staying mostly out of sight.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Mu moves from disbelief to cautious acceptance. Her trust in Wen Ning outweighs her doubts about Huang San, and she treats the weasel kindly when he arrives.
• Wen Ning acts as mediator and protector, persuading Chen Mu to accept the arrangement and firmly holding Huang San accountable for her safety.
• Huang San makes a sincere effort to begin anew: he cleans himself up, repairs his scorched fur, and behaves respectfully in Chen Mu’s home. His delight in the roast chicken reveals a playful, still somewhat mischievous side.
• The three form a practical alliance: Wen Ning entrusts Chen Mu to Huang San, Chen Mu welcomes her new guardian, and Huang San accepts the responsibility.

Significant themes

• Trust and second chances: Chen Mu agrees to rely on someone who previously wronged her, while Huang San is given an opportunity to make amends.
• Protection and responsibility: Huang San’s new position turns his strength toward safeguarding Chen Mu.
• Humor and the ordinary: The unusual spiritual arrangement is made warm and domestic through incense, a tablet, and Huang San’s comic enthusiasm for his chicken.

Key plot points

• Wen Ning returns to the Underworld and tells Chen Mu’s parents that the crisis is resolved. Huang San tricked Chen Mu into granting him divine status, but his uncle gave up merit to save him. Wen Ning has arranged for Huang San to serve as Chen Mu’s guardian immortal.
• Chen Mu’s parents approve of the arrangement: it protects their daughter and gives Huang San a chance to change. Wen Ning reassures them that Chen Mu is thriving as a teacher and is in good spirits.
• Back at his shop, Wen Ning reports the matter to his godfather, Wen Zhong. The Jade Emperor’s Golden Register records it as Wen Ning’s eleventh meritorious deed, bringing him another step closer to reclaiming the Jade Emperor’s throne.
• Zhang Siyu returns with a box of discounted shower gel and asks how Wen Ning’s trip went. His brief explanation prompts her to ask whether the young woman involved was pretty and whether he added her on WeChat.

Character developments and interactions

• Wen Ning shows compassion and practical judgment by finding a solution that protects Chen Mu while offering Huang San a path to reform. He also comforts Chen Mu’s parents and continues steadily accumulating merit.
• Chen Mu’s parents move from anxiety to relief and gratitude after learning their daughter is safe and supported. Her mother is especially emotional but reassured.
• Xie Bi’an appears exhausted from the Underworld’s crushing workload, adding a humorous contrast with Wen Ning’s growing supernatural responsibilities.
• Zhang Siyu remains casual and lively with Wen Ning, borrowing his cup and jokingly probing about his interactions with another woman, revealing a hint of jealousy.

Significant themes

• Mercy and accountability: Huang San is spared but must take responsibility as Chen Mu’s guardian.
• Family love and reassurance: Chen Mu’s parents’ concern persists beyond death, and Wen Ning’s update lets them finally rest easier.
• Merit and duty: Wen Ning’s helpful actions are formally counted toward his return to divine power.
• Everyday humor alongside the supernatural: Underworld bureaucracy and Zhang Siyu’s ordinary, playful concerns keep the chapter light.

Key plot points and events

• After returning from the Underworld and speaking with Chen Mu’s parents, Wen Ning feels mentally exhausted. He jokes with Zhang Siyu, who insists that he should focus on work rather than get a girlfriend.
• That night, Wen Ning dreams of a gigantic blue-green snake coiled in a misty forest. He feels no fear, and the silent snake simply watches him before disappearing into the fog.
• Wen Ning wakes unsettled. Since gods don’t normally dream, he concludes the vision must be a divine warning or sign of approaching karma—but he cannot identify what the snake means.
• The next morning, Zhang Siyu is busy photographing discounted shower gel to resell for a small profit. Wen Ning tells her about the dream. Taking its possible significance seriously, she asks whether the snake attacked him; when he says it did not, she calls it a “polite prophecy” and treats that as reassuring.

Character developments

• Wen Ning shifts from relaxed banter to unease as he realizes the dream is unusual for a god and may signal events to come. His humor remains, especially in his complaint that heaven could have warned him more directly.
• Zhang Siyu remains practical, frugal, and entrepreneurial, but drops her usual disdain when Wen Ning mentions a dream. She recognizes its importance and responds with concern.

Significant themes

• The supernatural intruding on ordinary life: Wen Ning’s quiet routine is disrupted by a vision that may carry divine meaning.
• Uncertainty and fate: The dream appears significant, but its symbolism is unknown, leaving Wen Ning to guess at what lies ahead.
• Humor amid the uncanny: Casual teasing and Zhang Siyu’s mundane resale scheme contrast with the mysterious prophecy.

Character interactions

• Wen Ning teases Zhang Siyu by asking if she has fallen for him; she rebuffs him and urges him to work hard.
• In the morning, Wen Ning’s dream turns their lighthearted rapport serious. Zhang Siyu listens, asks whether the snake harmed him, and offers a cautiously comforting interpretation.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Ming arrives at Wen Ning’s shop in tears, saying he has been posted away from the Heavenly Court.
• He claims the punishment came because he entered the Thunder Department office with his left foot first. His ancestor, the Lord of Mount Tai, refused to intervene and agreed he needed to be sent out to gain experience.
• Wen Ning learns that Lu Ming has been assigned to his shop, the Heavenly Court’s Mortal Realm Office. He suspects his godfather, Wen Zhong, arranged the posting to provide him with a useful, well-connected assistant.
• Wen Ning accepts his new authority as Lu Ming’s boss and immediately puts him to work. Zhang Siyu assigns him to move a shipment of shower gel, warning that damage will be deducted from his pay.

Character developments

• Lu Ming begins as a devastated, self-pitying exile, but quickly accepts that he will have to work for Wen Ning. His established reputation as a gossip and source of information may make him valuable despite his laziness.
• Wen Ning shifts from surprise and curiosity to practical acceptance, then gleefully takes advantage of his authority over Lu Ming.
• Zhang Siyu responds matter-of-factly, treating Lu Ming’s arrival as a welcome solution to the shop’s need for help.

Character interactions

• Lu Ming clings to Wen Ning and pours out his grievances; Wen Ning listens, questions him, and initially jokes about where he might have been sent.
• Wen Ning and Zhang Siyu quickly turn Lu Ming’s posting into a work assignment, with Wen Ning presenting the task and Zhang Siyu setting the terms.
• Big Yellow watches Lu Ming warily but otherwise ignores the commotion.

Significant themes

• Authority and nepotism: Lu Ming’s posting appears to be a deliberate decision by powerful Heavenly Court figures, not merely punishment for a trivial breach of etiquette.
• Friendship versus workplace hierarchy: Wen Ning calls Lu Ming a brother, then immediately treats him like an employee.
• Humorous misfortune and adjustment: Lu Ming’s dramatic complaints contrast with the ordinary, practical work awaiting him in the mortal realm.

Summary

• Lu Ming settles into the shop: Though he talks incessantly and shares plenty of Heavenly Court gossip, Lu Ming proves hardworking—moving stock, cleaning, and bathing Big Yellow. Zhang Siyu considers him useful despite his chatter.
• A household of sparrows: Sparrow Spirit’s family has grown to six, including four unnamed-in-practice chicks whom Wen Ning calls Big Mao through Fourth Mao. Lu Ming’s first clash with them begins when Big Mao dives into his bag of chips and scatters them.
• The feud begins: Sparrow Spirit mocks Lu Ming for being expelled from the Heavenly Court after entering with the wrong foot, a story he overheard when Lu Ming arrived. Lu Ming is embarrassed and angry, but ends up sweeping the mess. Their quarrels escalate: the sparrows leave tracks on Lu Ming’s clean floor, while he hides their millet. Sparrow Spirit retaliates by finding it and leaving droppings on Lu Ming’s suitcase.
• Wen Ning intervenes: Because their bickering slows the shop’s work, Wen Ning persuades Lu Ming that arguing with a sparrow will look ridiculous on his résumé when he returns to Heaven. Lu Ming agrees to ignore Sparrow Spirit’s provocations. Wen Ning separately tells Sparrow Spirit that Lu Ming has been warned not to challenge his supposedly formidable magic. Satisfied, Sparrow Spirit lets the matter go, and the feud ends.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Ming is diligent but prideful and easily provoked, especially by reminders of his expulsion. Wen Ning’s appeal to his future reputation helps him restrain himself.
• Sparrow Spirit is fiercely protective of his chicks and delights in teasing Lu Ming. He is quick-witted and mischievous, but accepts Wen Ning’s face-saving explanation.
• Wen Ning observes the rivalry with amusement, then mediates pragmatically when it disrupts work.
• Zhang Siyu values Lu Ming’s labor but objects when the feud interferes with productivity.

Themes

The chapter plays comic status rivalry against the everyday demands of working together. It also highlights pride, provocation, and the value of self-control—though Wen Ning resolves the conflict through tactful manipulation rather than honesty.

Chapter summary

• Wen Ning receives an assignment from his godfather, Wen Zhong: investigate a Dragon King Temple where a monster has taken over the divine seat and is posing as the Dragon King. The temple, long neglected, has recently regained offerings after a worshipper’s prayer was answered. Its impostor accepts practically anything—from roast chicken and meat to beer. The real Dragon King reported the impersonation to the Heavenly Court.
• Wen Ning asks Wen Zhong why Lu Ming was assigned to work with him. Wen Zhong explains that the “left foot first” excuse was only a pretext: Lu Ming could not remain in the Thunder Department, and his useful connections could help Wen Ning. More importantly, Wen Ning’s identity from a previous life is significant. Lu Ming’s service beside him is meant to give him experience and merit, opening up future prospects. The Lord of Mount Tai knew and supported the arrangement.
• The revelation leaves Wen Ning with mixed feelings. He had been content with ordinary life, but he realizes that his past and his role in the mortal realm are drawing him into greater responsibilities. He agrees to handle the temple and decides to bring Lu Ming along.
• Wen Ning announces the trip in deliberately suggestive terms, causing Lu Ming to panic and accuse him of planning to take advantage of him. Lu Ming even uses Big Yellow as a shield. Wen Ning bonks him on the forehead, mocks his appearance, and clarifies that it is genuinely a business trip.

Character developments and interactions

• Wen Ning shifts from frustration and curiosity to a more serious acceptance of his duties. He begins to see that he must take responsibility for the Mortal Realm Office and act on the significance of his past-life identity.
• Lu Ming is presented as excitable, suspicious, and comically dramatic, but Wen Zhong’s explanation reveals that his assignment is intended to help him mature and build a future.
• Wen Ning and Lu Ming maintain a teasing, familiar dynamic: Wen Ning’s prankish wording sparks Lu Ming’s exaggerated alarm, which ends in a playful reprimand.
• Wen Zhong and the Lord of Mount Tai have arranged Lu Ming’s assignment as a form of support for both Lu Ming and Wen Ning, even though Lu Ming does not yet understand the plan.

Significant themes

• Duty and destiny: Wen Ning’s quiet life is increasingly shaped by responsibilities tied to his divine role and past.
• Mentorship and opportunity: Lu Ming’s posting is not simply punishment; it is a chance to gain experience and earn merit.
• Humor amid the supernatural: The serious case of a false Dragon King is paired with mundane offerings and comic banter, keeping the chapter’s tone light.

Key plot points and events

• Wen Ning tells Lu Ming that an abandoned Dragon King Temple has suddenly become popular. Someone is impersonating the Dragon King and accepting offerings, and the real Dragon King has reported the matter to the Heavenly Court. Wen Zhong has assigned Wen Ning and Lu Ming to investigate.
• After Wen Ning admits his earlier “casting couches” remark was only a joke, the pair fly to the temple.
• They find a shabby but busy shrine, with incense burning and offerings left outside. An elderly worshipper explains that several locals credit the temple with answered prayers—including a pregnancy, a business turnaround, and his grandson’s admission to a top university.
• The old man has never seen the supposed Dragon King, but says the shrine welcomes any offering and has become well known nearby.
• Once the man leaves, Wen Ning senses a faint, cleverly concealed demonic aura. Lu Ming wants to rush inside, but Wen Ning stops him: the impostor is not there.

Character developments

• Lu Ming shifts from grumbling and suspicion to enthusiasm about the Heavenly Court mission, hoping success might help him return sooner. His eagerness to confront the impostor is tempered by Wen Ning’s restraint.
• Wen Ning approaches the investigation carefully, gathering information from worshippers before relying on his supernatural senses. He remains composed, though he is amused by the temple’s unusually casual approach to offerings.
• The elderly worshipper is sincerely grateful and convinced the temple is effective, reflecting how strongly its reputation has taken hold among locals.

Significant themes

• Faith and appearances: The shrine’s miracles may be genuine, but its unseen “Dragon King” is a suspected demon in disguise.
• Popular belief and reputation: Stories of answered prayers have quickly made the neglected temple a local success.
• Deception and investigation: The pair must look beyond appearances and public testimony to uncover who is behind the shrine.

Character interactions

• Wen Ning teases Lu Ming, who angrily calls him out for the “casting couches” joke.
• During their flight, Lu Ming complains that Wen Ning ruined his hairstyle.
• Wen Ning and Lu Ming question the old man discreetly, using his stories to gauge the shrine’s popularity and whether anyone has seen the supposed god.
• After sensing demonic aura, Lu Ming urges immediate action; Wen Ning pulls him back and insists they wait for the absent impostor.

• At the Dragon King Temple: Wen Ning and Lu Ming wait outside, arguing over whether they should take food offerings. Lu Ming is tempted by the apples and cookies but puts them back when Wen Ning reminds him they belong to the deity they are investigating.
• A desperate plea: A muddy, exhausted young man rushes in and repeatedly kowtows, begging the Dragon King to save his wife and unborn child. He explains that his wife is having a difficult birth and they cannot afford the surgery. Lu Ming initially questions why he is praying instead of going to the hospital, but Wen Ning quietly rebukes him: not everyone can access medical care. Lu Ming’s appetite fades as he takes in the man’s distress.
• The Dragon King appears: Wen Ning senses demonic energy, and he and Lu Ming spot a huge, comically fat green snake emerging from the nearby grove with half a roast chicken in her mouth. The kneeling man cannot see her, even as she passes close by. She glances at him, then casually slithers away.
• Wen Ning’s recognition: The snake’s appearance recalls the green snake from Wen Ning’s dream, suggesting a connection he has not yet explained. Though visibly affected, he tells Lu Ming to act as if they are ordinary people who cannot see her. Lu Ming quickly follows suit, pretending to scroll on his phone.
  Character development and interactions: Wen Ning is observant and compassionate, responding to the young man’s hardship with understanding. Lu Ming begins flippant and self-interested, but his reaction to the man’s plea shows him becoming more sympathetic. The two work together to conceal that they can see the snake.
  Themes: The chapter contrasts desperate human need with the Dragon King’s startlingly mundane, even absurd, behavior. It also highlights poverty and unequal access to medical care, while deepening the mystery linking Wen Ning’s dream to the supernatural world.

Plot points and events

• Wen Ning and Lu Ming follow the large green snake from the temple to a rural house, where a woman is in a dangerous, prolonged labor.
• The midwife fears that both mother and baby will die without a hospital, but one is hours away. The exhausted mother can barely continue.
• The snake transforms into a Green Flood Dragon and releases her incomplete Dragon Pearl. Its light surrounds the woman, helping her regain strength and deliver the baby safely.
• The dragon’s pearl loses much of its radiance, and the snake visibly shrinks after using it. She retrieves her leftover roast chicken and leaves without seeking thanks.
• Lu Ming recognizes that she sacrificed part of her cultivation to save them. He leaves an apple and biscuits as offerings, then promises to help her recover. Wen Ning teases him about being stingy with braised pork.

Character developments and interactions

• The Green Flood Dragon reveals her compassion through action: though she lacks the formal title of Dragon King, she fulfills its protective role at real personal cost.
• Lu Ming shifts from curiosity to respect and gratitude. His offerings and promise to help show that the rescue has changed his view of the snake.
• Wen Ning calmly points out the meaning of her actions and lightly mocks Lu Ming, maintaining their teasing rapport even amid the emotional scene.
• The family and midwife, unaware of the dragon’s intervention, credit the safe birth to the Dragon King. Their relief contrasts with the dragon’s quiet, unseen sacrifice.

Significant themes

• Deeds matter more than titles: the dragon earns the honor of “Dragon King” through what she does, not what she is called.
• Compassion and sacrifice: saving strangers costs the dragon strength and cultivation, yet she leaves without recognition.
• Faith and unseen aid: the family’s prayers are answered, though they never learn who helped them.
• Gratitude and generosity: Lu Ming’s small offerings begin to repay a kindness he has witnessed.

Key plot points and events

• Wen Ning and Lu Ming wait at the temple to confront the green snake, who returns after a night out with a roast chicken reduced to bones.
• They accuse her of impersonating the Dragon King. Her unexpectedly sweet, little-girl voice—and her casual, unbothered replies—undermine their attempts to sound authoritative.
• The snake explains that the temple has been without a Dragon King for nearly twenty years: the former deity was transferred, and no replacement arrived. She took the vacant role, accepting villagers’ offerings while helping them in return.
• Wen Ning confirms that she used the Dragon Pearl to save someone. She says she felt she owed the villagers for what she had eaten.
• Wen Ning and Lu Ming decide to report what they learned and determine how to handle the case. Before they leave, Wen Ning warns her that overusing the Dragon Pearl could force her back into her original form.
• The snake stops Wen Ning, says she has something to tell him, and Lu Ming suspects she is trying to bribe them.

Character developments and interactions

• Wen Ning remains composed and practical despite the snake’s disarming voice. He recognizes the good behind her actions but still treats the matter as an official investigation. His warning about the Dragon Pearl suggests concern beneath his professional manner.
• Lu Ming begins with stern, rehearsed authority, but the snake’s voice and nonchalance repeatedly throw him off. He regains his composure during questioning, then becomes wary again when she asks to speak with Wen Ning.
• The green snake is revealed as a pragmatic, seemingly good-hearted figure: she impersonates the Dragon King because the post is vacant and believes her service justifies accepting offerings. She is initially indifferent to the investigators’ threats, but becomes guarded when Wen Ning mentions her use of the Dragon Pearl, then appears surprised by his response.

Significant themes

• Duty versus rules: The snake breaks Heavenly law, yet fills an abandoned role and helps the community.
• Reciprocity and moral responsibility: She believes taking offerings creates an obligation to serve those who provide them.
• Appearances and expectations: Her imposing snake body contrasts comically with her childlike voice, while the supposedly fearsome officials struggle to maintain authority.
• Compassion within judgment: Wen Ning takes the violation seriously but responds with a warning rather than immediate punishment.