Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• In Fog City’s dangerous outskirts, transmigrator Ye Qianfan confronts his sharp-tongued aunt, who wants him out of the family home so she can rent his room to a man named Yang Hua for 500 copper coins a year.
• Qianfan argues that the house was bought by his late father, who died after being pressured into carrying a dangerous corpse. Since then, his aunt has exploited Qianfan for labor while feeding him poorly.
• His aunt feigns victimhood and threatens to run into the deadly Fog Forest. His uncle, Ye Fu, stops her and reveals the real motive: the tempting rent money.
• Qianfan decides to become a corpse carrier to earn money and pursue his goal of entering the city. Ye Fu objects, warning that the work requires strength and a hardy constitution.
• Scouts announce recruitment for fifty corpse carriers, offering 100 copper coins a day and unlimited flatbread to transport bodies to the mass grave and burn them. The high pay attracts attention, but the risk that the corpses may rise frightens the locals.

Character developments

• Ye Qianfan is newly arrived in this world and quickly shows resolve and resourcefulness. Rather than remain trapped in a family dispute, he chooses dangerous work as a path toward independence and a better future.
• Ye Fu appears worried and reluctant to endanger his nephew, though the household’s poverty—and the possibility of earning money—also affects him.
• The aunt is revealed as manipulative and financially motivated, using dramatic accusations and threats to pressure her husband and nephew.

Significant themes

• Survival and ambition: Poverty leaves Qianfan few options, and earning money is essential to gaining freedom.
• Exploitation and family conflict: Qianfan’s labor and his claim to his father’s house are overshadowed by his aunt’s pursuit of profit.
• Dangerous supernatural world: The ever-present fog, wandering spirits, and potentially reanimated corpses make ordinary work a matter of life and death.
• Risk versus reward: The corpse-carrier job offers unusually high pay, but its danger explains why workers are difficult to recruit.

Character interactions

• Qianfan challenges his aunt’s claim to the house and reminds her of the work he has done and his father’s death.
• The aunt turns the dispute into a public spectacle, accusing Qianfan of bullying her; Ye Fu recognizes her routine and tries to control the situation.
• When Qianfan announces his decision to carry corpses, Ye Fu attempts to dissuade him, but Qianfan stands firm.
• The scouts’ recruitment announcement shifts the family dispute toward an immediate opportunity—and a potentially fatal choice.

Plot points

• No one initially volunteers to carry corpses to the Mass Burial Ground, despite the offer of 100 copper coins per person, until the Patrol Army promises an armed escort.
• Ye Qianfan tries to sign up but is rejected as too young. When the last places are nearly filled, he smashes a stone against his own head to prove his toughness. The registrar accepts him and assigns him to carry an infant’s corpse.
• Elder Uncle urges Ye Qianfan not to go, but the boy insists he wants to earn money himself. When another recruit is needed, Elder Uncle joins to protect him.
• The Patrol Army welcomes Elder Uncle, whose reputation for sensing fortune and avoiding danger reassures the other bearers. Some people then try to bargain for Ye Qianfan’s place, but Elder Uncle refuses to go if the boy is excluded. The group sets out.
• From the city wall, the city lord and his strategist reveal that the trip is a trap: they intend to sacrifice the corpse bearers and wronged spirits to a mountain god in order to seize the Mirror of a Hundred Demons before the Longevity Festival.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qianfan is resourceful, determined, and willing to hurt himself to gain a chance to earn money. He accepts the dangerous work rather than depend on others.
• Elder Uncle moves from worried adviser to active protector, risking his retirement to accompany Ye Qianfan. His ultimatum prevents the Patrol Army from replacing the boy with a stronger recruit.
• Auntie Fatty mocks Ye Qianfan for being unwanted and dependent, while Elder Uncle counters her contempt with concern and support.
• The Patrol Army treats corpse bearing as a necessary but low-status task and initially dismisses Ye Qianfan, yet values Elder Uncle’s reassuring reputation.
• The city lord and strategist appear confident and calculating; their secret plan makes the escort’s promise of safety deeply ironic.

Significant themes

• Self-reliance and perseverance: Ye Qianfan refuses to be turned away and pursues a chance to support himself.
• Loyalty and protection: Elder Uncle’s commitment to Ye Qianfan outweighs his retired status and the risks.
• Prejudice and social vulnerability: The boy is judged by his age and frail appearance, while corpse bearers are treated as expendable despite the city’s dependence on them.
• False security and exploitation: The recruits believe military protection makes the work safe, but the authorities intend to use them as sacrifices.

Plot points and events

• Ye Qianfan joins a procession carrying corpses through dense mist toward a mass burial ground. The bearers are warned to keep silent, lower their eyes, and avoid upsetting the corpses’ yin energy.
• Ye Qianfan hears a woman’s voice whisper, “Keep walking forward, until blood rains down,” but his uncle tells him not to dwell on it.
• A bearer reports seeing something move, then another man screams. Panic spreads as the group claims a corpse rose from Wang Er’s back and Wang Er vanished.
• A scout dismisses one frightened bearer, then orders the procession to close ranks and open umbrellas. The abandoned man is left muttering incoherently.
• As Ye Qianfan and his uncle hurry forward, they spot a ghostly woman in red standing on a tree trunk. Her heels are raised off the ground, and corpse blotches mark her hands.

Character developments

• Ye Qianfan is frightened by the voices and strange events, but tries to follow instructions and keep moving.
• His uncle acts as an experienced, authoritative guide, though the sight of the woman makes him falter.
• The scout responds to danger with commands but shows little concern for the men’s fear.
• The abandoned bearer is driven into madness by the ordeal.

Significant themes

• Fear of the supernatural: The mist, apparent breathing corpses, and unseen attacks blur the line between illusion and reality.
• The danger of curiosity: The uncle warns that looking and thinking too much can expose bearers to evil.
• Collective panic and vulnerability: Confusion spreads quickly, while the men have little control over what is happening.

Character interactions

• Ye Qianfan confides in his uncle about the whisper, but is told to stay quiet and focus on the road.
• The scout interrogates and then abandons a terrified bearer before ordering the group into defensive formation.
• Ye Qianfan follows his uncle through the panic, and together they witness the woman in red.

Plot points and events

• Ye Qianfan and Uncle rejoin the porter group. They are assigned to guard the rear with yellow paper umbrellas, while Ye remains uneasy about the red-clad woman, who seemed to be watching the baby on his back.
• At the scout’s command, everyone opens the umbrellas and points them outward, forming a defensive barrier. Red talisman patterns appear on the canopies, and the woman disappears.
• The group presses deeper into the forest, carrying corpses and struggling along the difficult path. Uncle explains that the scouts’ promise of returning by evening was likely a way to recruit more porters.
• An unnaturally heavy rain begins. The scouts warn everyone not to use the umbrellas as rain cover, but many have already raised them. The rain dissolves the red talisman patterns, and the runoff smells faintly of blood.
• Ye recognizes this as the “blood rain” mentioned by the mysterious voice. The voice begins telling him what to do with the child, but Uncle cuts it off by dragging him into a run.
• A porter, Wang Er, is possessed by a vicious corpse and attacks the group. The umbrella formation collapses. The scouts abandon the rear porters as bait and rush toward a nearby cave, claiming it will be safe.
• Ye and Uncle fall behind. Porters vanish one by one, apparently taken by the corpse. The red-clad woman’s voice then roars beside Ye, demanding that he leave the child behind.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qianfan remains frightened but observant: he notices the woman’s interest in the baby, recognizes the significance of the blood-stained rain, and follows Uncle’s lead when danger erupts.
• Uncle proves experienced and protective. He helps maintain the formation, sees through the scouts’ false promises, and acts decisively by pulling Ye away before the attack.
• The scouts reveal their ruthless priorities: they issue strict orders about the umbrellas, then abandon the people at the rear rather than risk stopping to help.
• The red-clad woman shifts from watching the child to openly demanding that Ye abandon it, making her threat immediate.
• The porters move from uneasy cooperation to panic as the formation fails and the corpse attacks.

Significant themes

• Trust and exploitation: The scouts’ promises conceal self-interest, and the porters are treated as expendable.
• Survival and sacrifice: Uncle’s quick judgment saves Ye from the initial attack, while the scouts preserve themselves by sacrificing those behind them.
• Supernatural danger and foreboding: The talisman umbrellas, blood-scented rain, corpse possession, and the woman’s demand reveal that the group’s protections are failing and that the baby is central to the threat.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Qianfan tells Elder Uncle that the corpse he carried was not his own burden to begin with: the dead infant’s mother has come back to life. The female corpse attacks a corpse bearer who is handed the baby, killing him for harming her child.
• Ye Qianfan and Elder Uncle flee. Ye urges Elder Uncle to discard his own corpse so they can move faster; Elder Uncle hesitates over possible punishment, but drops it after seeing the monster close behind.
• The unburdened pair reach the cave where the Patrol Soldiers have taken shelter. Many other corpse bearers also abandon their loads, leaving the soldiers furious. One soldier whips several people and insults them as “Bait Soldiers.”
• General Bai interrupts the beating and says the cave is a shortcut to the mass graveyard. He orders its entrance sealed with a web of inked line and foul-smelling golden liquid.
• The preparations and the soldiers’ remarks deepen Ye Qianfan’s suspicion. He quietly warns Elder Uncle that the soldiers may have hired them not to transport corpses, but to use them as bait—or kill them.

Character developments

• Ye Qianfan stays observant and clear-headed under pressure. He spots contradictions in the soldiers’ explanation and begins to suspect their true intentions.
• Elder Uncle is fearful and practical, initially more concerned about being fined for abandoning the corpse than escaping. Ye’s reasoning persuades him to act.
• General Bai presents himself as an authoritative leader and offers a reassuring explanation, but his order to seal the cave raises further doubts.
• The ordinary Patrol Soldier reveals contempt for the corpse bearers and accidentally lets slip the term “Bait Soldiers.”

Significant themes

• Survival versus obedience: Ye and Elder Uncle must decide whether to follow the soldiers’ rules or do what gives them the best chance to live.
• Class exploitation: The corpse bearers are treated as disposable labor, beaten and demeaned by the armed patrol.
• Deception and suspicion: The soldiers’ explanation conflicts with the evidence, leaving the characters unsure whether they are being protected or deliberately led into danger.
• Parental protection: The revived mother’s violent response to the infant being thrown underscores the chapter’s horror and the ferocity of her attachment to her child.

Character interactions

• Ye informs Elder Uncle of the mother’s return, prompting both men to abandon their corpses and flee.
• Ye persuades Elder Uncle to prioritize escape over fear of punishment.
• The Patrol Soldiers punish and insult the corpse bearers, while General Bai stops the beating and tries to reassure the group.
• Ye whispers his suspicions to Elder Uncle, who is startled but cannot dismiss the evidence.

Key plot points and events

• Trapped after the expedition enters a cave, Ye Qianfan asks Elder Uncle Fu how they can escape. Fu consults divination blocks: the first cast gives an ominous sign, but the second approves a path deeper into the cave.
• Fu leads Ye away from the others, claiming they need a place to relieve themselves. In the darkness, they find enormous characters on the wall. Fu pretends they mark the way out, but they actually read “sacrificial altar.”
• Fu stabs Ye in the waist, badly injuring his lung and leaving him unable to speak. He reveals that Ye’s blood is needed to fill the altar and complete a ritual that Fu believes will make him immortal.
• Fu explains that he fled Fog City after powerful people pursued him for being caught practicing sexual “immortal arts” with a woman. He later found a supposed route to immortality in ancient texts.
• As Ye bleeds onto the altar’s patterned grooves, Fu appears to receive a supernatural response. He first exults in his transformation, but black tentacles emerge from wounds across his body, draining and deforming him.
• Fu’s euphoria shifts into terror and then vacant, ecstatic babbling. As Ye begins to lose consciousness, an eerie voice remarks that another fool has been deceived. Ye struggles to ask who is there.

Character developments

• Ye Qianfan begins by trusting Fu’s experience and relying on him for a way out. After the betrayal, Ye is horrified and furious, but remains observant, recognizing the altar and witnessing the grotesque consequences of Fu’s ritual.
• Elder Uncle Fu is exposed as a calculating fraud rather than a kindly guardian. His ambition and desperation to regain the life he lost in Fog City lead him to sacrifice Ye. His supposed “immortality” proves monstrous, and his confidence collapses into madness.

Character interactions

• Ye initially seeks Fu’s guidance, while Fu reassures bystanders and quietly draws Ye away from the group.
• Fu exploits Ye’s trust and knowledge of the cave wall, then reveals his plan only after stabbing him.
• Their relationship shifts from familiar dependence to betrayal: Fu treats Ye as sacrificial material, while Ye silently condemns him and struggles to understand what is happening.
• An unknown voice enters at the end, hinting that another presence may intervene.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and corrupted trust: A trusted elder uses Ye’s faith in him to lure him into danger.
• The cost of ambition: Fu’s pursuit of immortality turns him into a victim of the very forces he hoped to control.
• The horror of the divine: In this world, gods and immortals may be sinister entities rather than benevolent beings.
• False hope and deception: The divination and promise of a path to survival conceal a sacrificial scheme.

• Plot: While Ye Fu is on the verge of becoming immortal by transforming into a monster, Ye Qianfan encounters Qinggu, a mist-like being who says he was once a human sacrificed by his own master. Qinggu explains that Ye Fu has already used Qianfan as a sacrifice, but Qianfan can disrupt the process by willingly offering himself. Qianfan recites the ritual and asks for Ye Fu to die. The sacrifice takes effect: Ye Fu’s karmic power drains away, his transformation collapses, and he is reduced to a slug-like creature. Qianfan then receives Ye Fu’s memories, cultivation methods, and power.
• Character developments: Qianfan’s anger at being exploited turns into determined self-sacrifice; he accepts the painful cost to stop Ye Fu. Qinggu reveals a long history of betrayal and loss, and his loneliness makes him eager to help—though he also hints that he hopes Qianfan might restore his body. Ye Fu’s attempted ascension ends in total ruin.
• Themes: The chapter contrasts coerced sacrifice with voluntary sacrifice, suggesting that intention and consent carry power. It also emphasizes betrayal, the futility of comparing suffering, and the dangerous, monstrous price of immortality.
• Character interactions: Qianfan and Qinggu bond over having been deceived, though Qianfan repeatedly corrects Qinggu’s self-important objections to being called a ghost. Qinggu guides him through the ritual. Qianfan’s self-offering directly overturns Ye Fu’s attempt to use him as a stepping stone.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Qianfan discovers that he survived the ascension ritual as a spirit, despite his Three Souls and Seven Spirits supposedly having been sacrificed. He suspects his original soul remained inside the body he had taken over, but keeps the truth from the Daoist.
• Ye Fu has not died, but has transformed into a writhing mass of flesh that crawls onto the altar and licks up the blood.
• The Daoist explains that Ye Qianfan and he are now trapped in the cavern as spirits. They might escape by making puppets or rebuilding bodies, but doing so seems nearly impossible.
• An earthquake shakes the cavern. The Daoist investigates and reports that the mountain god has slaughtered the Military School group, leaving the cave strewn with blood and body parts.
• The Daoist says the group carried Yellow-Paper Talisman Umbrellas, which could help make a Paper Puppet. If they can also obtain a Bodhi Heart from the mountain god, he believes he can find a way for them to escape.
• Though warned that the Military School fighters and mountain god are far beyond him, Ye Qianfan heads toward the massacre site, intent on taking the umbrellas and settling the score. He emerges into the blood-soaked cavern and asks what the mountain god is.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qianfan shifts from shock at becoming a spirit to determination: he refuses to accept being trapped and sees a possible escape plan as an opportunity. His unusual survival raises questions about his soul and transmigration.
• The Daoist is sardonic and fatalistic, treating their predicament as a natural consequence of the Path of Ascension. He nevertheless offers practical help, then tries to dissuade Ye Qianfan from confronting dangerous enemies.
• Ye Fu becomes a grotesque, seemingly mindless creature rather than ascending or dying, adding another strange presence to the cavern.
• Ye Qianfan and the Daoist disagree over risk: the Daoist expects defeat, while Ye Qianfan insists he has little left to fear.

Significant themes

• The cost of ambition: Ascension is presented as a brutal contest in which failure can mean a fate worse than death.
• Transformation and uncertain identity: Ye Qianfan’s survival as a spirit and Ye Fu’s bodily mutation unsettle the boundary between life and death.
• Defiance amid danger: Ye Qianfan responds to an apparently hopeless situation with bold action, while the Daoist emphasizes caution.
• Violence and consequence: The massacre shows the mountain god’s terrifying power and the folly of the Military School group’s confidence.

Key plot points and events

• The Daoist explains that the mountain god is close to advancing and is ravenously hunting anything it can swallow.
• As they travel through the caves, Ye Qianfan learns that a foul-looking pool contains flammable “fire oil” (petroleum). He briefly considers its value but decides the soldiers are the immediate problem.
• Ye Qianfan and the Daoist find General Bai and about twenty surviving Patrol Soldiers. The soldiers’ intense killing intent makes the cave dangerous even to Ye Qianfan in his soul form, but he steadies himself with a technique from Ye Fu’s memories.
• General Bai reveals that the Demon-Quelling Office manipulated both the soldiers and the mountain god, hoping they would weaken each other before the Office seized the god’s Exquisite Heart.
• Bai orders the soldiers to prepare a Heaven-Trapping Formation, intending to lure the mountain god into it and kill it. Ye Qianfan recognizes the formation and, through Ye Fu’s memories, learns how it is constructed and used.
• Rather than attack the soldiers immediately, Ye Qianfan plans to wait until the soldiers and mountain god have badly weakened each other. The Daoist doubts he can pull this off and tries, indirectly, to discourage him.
• After the formation is completed, the soldiers bring several corpses into the cave as bait. Ye Qianfan realizes he can see different kinds of qi: the soldiers’ murderous aura is red, corpse qi green, and the qi of beings in soul form white. The Daoist wonders how the mountain god has not detected the crowded cave.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qianfan remains opportunistic and confident: he notes the petroleum’s potential, absorbs the Heaven-Trapping Formation’s workings through Ye Fu’s memories, and chooses patience over a risky direct attack.
• The Daoist acts as guide and cautioning companion. Though he mocks Ye Qianfan’s bravado, his contradictory warnings reveal concern for his safety. He is also surprised by Ye Qianfan’s knowledge of the formation.
• General Bai is furious at the Demon-Quelling Office’s betrayal and takes charge, planning to use the formation to turn the danger against the mountain god.
• The Patrol Soldiers are frightened but follow Bai’s orders, completing the formation and carrying in corpses.

Significant themes

• Survival through strategy: Ye Qianfan avoids a direct confrontation and seeks to exploit the conflict between two dangerous sides.
• Hidden knowledge and inherited memory: Ye Fu’s memories give Ye Qianfan practical expertise and help him survive unfamiliar supernatural threats.
• Manipulation and shifting alliances: The Demon-Quelling Office has engineered a conflict for its own gain, while the soldiers and mountain god become unwilling participants.
• The supernatural made legible: Ye Qianfan’s ability to perceive qi offers a new way to interpret the dangers around him.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Qianfan reveals that he knows about the Concealment Talisman, surprising the Taoist.
• General Bai arranges corpses around the Heaven-Trapping Formation, then burns the talisman blocking the cave. Killing intent and corpse energy spill out, drawing the Mountain God toward them.
• The Mountain God charges into the cave, devours one Patrol Soldier, and tries to push past the corpse barrier. General Bai sacrifices another subordinate to buy time.
• The soldiers complete the formation, binding the monster with golden light and inked cords. General Bai and the soldiers attack, severing its antenna, limbs, and eventually bringing it down.
• As the soldiers celebrate and press their assault, Ye Qianfan uses a corpse-raising spell from Ye Fu’s memories. The corpses awaken and attack the soldiers, turning the apparent victory into fresh chaos.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qianfan draws on Ye Fu’s knowledge to anticipate the Mountain God’s weaknesses and later acts despite the Taoist’s warning that, without a body, he cannot use magic.
• General Bai proves ruthless: he pushes a subordinate into the Mountain God’s path without hesitation, then leads the attack once the formation is active.
• The Taoist is first astonished by Ye Qianfan’s knowledge, then incredulous about his ability to cast a spell. Seeing the corpses rise leaves him shocked.
• The Patrol Soldiers move from terror to confidence as the Mountain God is restrained, only to panic again when the dead attack. One soldier is also sacrificed by General Bai, while another becomes the first victim of the risen corpses.

Significant themes

• Knowledge and resourcefulness: Ye Qianfan’s inherited memories give him an advantage in a dangerous situation.
• The cost of victory: The soldiers’ success against the Mountain God is built on expendable subordinates and is immediately undermined by another threat.
• The dead as a weapon: Corpses shift from obstacles and bait to active combatants, making the battlefield unpredictable.
• Overconfidence: The soldiers celebrate before the danger is truly over, leaving them vulnerable to Ye Qianfan’s spell.

Key plot points and events

• General Bai orders the Patrol Soldiers to abandon their search for the mountain god and destroy Ye Qianfan’s Corpse Demons. The soldiers rapidly kill them, with Bai leading the slaughter.
• Desperate to change the battle, Ye Qianfan orders Little Fu to break the Heaven-Trapping Formation. The Daoist realizes that Little Fu—not Ye Qianfan’s soul—has been casting spells and raising the corpses.
• Little Fu cuts the formation’s cords, freeing the wounded mountain god. It immediately attacks the Patrol Soldiers, killing all but General Bai and one subordinate.
• Bai’s subordinate uses a Military Tally to bind the mountain god with a black dragon made of killing intent, while Bai summons the ancestral Heavenly General Ma Sheng. The summoning drains blood energy from nearby corpses and lends Bai divine power.
• Bai wounds the mountain god, but Ye Qianfan and Little Fu stab him from behind. With Bai’s strength gone, the summoned god departs; the mountain god then devours him.
• The mountain god turns on Little Fu. Ye Qianfan and Little Fu narrowly evade its first attack, and the Daoist urges them to run.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qianfan shifts from directing the fight to making a risky move: freeing the mountain god, then exploiting Bai’s distraction to seek revenge and seize his valuables.
• Little Fu is revealed as the actual source of the spellcasting and corpse-raising. He obeys Ye Qianfan, mirrors his movements, and becomes an active combatant.
• General Bai proves formidable, first devastating the Corpse Demons and then fighting the mountain god with summoned divine power. His confidence and strength are undone by Ye Qianfan and Little Fu’s ambush.
• The Daoist moves from questioning Ye Qianfan’s actions to recognizing Little Fu’s role, then warns Ye Qianfan when the mountain god remains alive.
• The Patrol Soldiers act decisively but are overwhelmed once the mountain god is freed; Bai’s lone surviving subordinate is incapacitated by the Military Tally’s backlash.

Significant themes

• Power and survival through unlikely means: Ye Qianfan’s survival as a soul and his control of Little Fu give him influence despite his apparent weakness.
• The cost of power: Bai’s divine summoning consumes the corpses’ blood energy, while the battle leaves both Bai and the mountain god gravely wounded.
• Revenge and shifting alliances: Ye Qianfan targets Bai for the deaths and deception that brought him there, while temporarily freeing a dangerous enemy to disrupt the soldiers.
• Violence without control: Each faction’s attempt to dominate the cavern escalates the danger, leaving the survivors facing yet another threat.

Plot points and events

• After the mountain god collapses, Ye Qianfan, Little Fu, and the Daoist survive the fight against the mountain ghost and Patrol Soldiers.
• Ye Qianfan asks why he possesses Ye Fu’s memories. The Daoist explains that Ye Fu’s failed sacrifice likely caused the immortal to return Ye Fu’s memories to Ye Qianfan, while Ye Fu became a mountain ghost with an unawakened mind.
• Learning that the Puppet Sect may be able to rebuild his body, Ye Qianfan decides to leave and seek materials.
• The group makes a crude paper-puppet body from talisman-paper umbrella ribs and canopies, placing the mountain god’s jade-like heart inside. The heart begins beating.
• The Daoist enters the puppet to complete its construction. Though Ye Qianfan suspects betrayal, the Daoist admits he considered taking the body but chooses cooperation, hoping to return to the Puppet Sect with Little Fu’s help.
• Using a borrowed technique, the Daoist grows sinews and bones through the puppet’s frame. He then prepares to perform the Eye-Dotting Art, which will seal the souls inside, and calls Ye Qianfan into the puppet. The chapter ends as he dips a makeshift brush into blood and invokes another spell.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qianfan is determined to regain a human body, but his experience with deception makes him cautious. He keeps the Daoist under control until convinced that cooperation is in everyone’s interest.
• The Daoist proves useful and unexpectedly candid about his selfish motives. He shifts from an apparent threat to a pragmatic ally, guiding the puppet’s creation.
• Little Fu follows Ye Qianfan’s orders, helping build the puppet and standing ready to attack when Ye Qianfan distrusts the Daoist.
• Ye Fu’s fate is clarified: he has become a mountain ghost, though his consciousness has not yet awakened.

Significant themes

• A “blessing in disguise”: Ye Qianfan’s unusual condition grants him Ye Fu’s memories and may offer a path toward rebuilding his body.
• Cooperation built on mutual interest: The Daoist and Ye Qianfan do not fully trust one another, but shared goals make an alliance practical.
• Life fashioned from death: The group uses the mountain god’s heart, umbrella materials, and battlefield remains to construct a new body.
• Power and transformation: The puppet’s growth from a crude frame toward a living form suggests that identity and embodiment may be reconstructed.

Key plot points and events

• The Daoist paints a face onto the faceless Paper Puppet and uses a spell to make it a living, controllable body for Ye Qianfan.
• Ye can move and see through the puppet, but it is extremely light. The Daoist suggests filling it to add weight.
• Dirt proves unsuitable: once swallowed, it makes the puppet too heavy to move. The Daoist explains that the puppet can only be filled with material associated with the wood element.
• Ye discovers he cannot travel more than forty-nine steps from the altar. The Daoist explains that they must take the altar’s formation core with them to escape its influence.
• Little Talisman is too frightened to dig up the core, so Ye tries using a blade. The puppet is too light to strike the hard ground effectively.
• With the Mountain God expected to emerge from its cocoon, Ye presses for a solution. The chapter ends with the Daoist wondering what substance outside the five elements might work as filler.

Character developments

• Ye Qianfan gains mobility and bodily control through the puppet, but his impatience grows as each attempted solution fails. He remains willing to trust the Daoist, though he also threatens him when he suspects he is being toyed with.
• The Daoist demonstrates impressive Puppet Craft, but his teasing and improvised advice reveal a mischievous side. He is now effectively sharing Ye’s body while having no control over it, and the shortage of suitable materials leaves him stumped.
• Little Talisman is shown to be deeply afraid of the altar and refuses to approach its core.

Significant themes

• Ingenuity under constraint: The pair must adapt their plans to strict limits on movement, materials, and the puppet’s physical capabilities.
• Dependence and cooperation: Ye needs the Daoist’s knowledge, while the Daoist depends on Ye’s body and actions.
• Knowledge through trial and error: The Daoist’s “lesson” about dirt illustrates how experimenting can be costly, especially when time is running out.

Character interactions

• Ye and the Daoist bicker throughout: Ye challenges the Daoist’s advice, while the Daoist jokes and explains the puppet’s limitations.
• Despite their friction, they work together to escape the altar’s boundary and prepare to dig up its core.
• Ye tries to enlist Little Talisman, but its fear forces him and the Daoist to handle the task themselves.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Qianfan asks whether a corpse could provide flesh and blood for his paper-puppet body. The Taoist rejects the idea: corpses decay, and reviving the dead belongs to another sect and violates the Heavenly Dao. Pursuing corpse cultivation would also block the orthodox path to immortality.
• The Taoist searches for a suitable substance outside the five elements and realizes that Little Fu, a living, flexible mass of flesh and blood, could serve as Ye’s bodily material.
• Ye recoils at the suggestion of swallowing Little Fu—or having him enter another way—but agrees to eat him once Little Fu shrinks himself by expelling most of his water.
• Ye swallows the dried-up Little Fu. His body gains weight but feels stiff and uncomfortable, so the Taoist tells him to drink water. Little Fu absorbs it, filling out Ye’s limbs and giving his paper skin the springiness of real flesh.
• The Taoist warns that the Mountain God Hag may be waking and urges Ye to remove the altar’s formation core and escape before she finds them.

Character developments

• Ye Qianfan remains disgusted and anxious about using Little Fu, but accepts the unpleasant solution out of necessity. He begins to adapt to his new body and recognizes Little Fu’s remarkable usefulness.
• The Taoist shows firm adherence to the rules of his tradition, while also thinking pragmatically under pressure. He guides Ye through the procedure and remains focused on escape.
• Little Fu displays unusual intelligence and cooperation: he understands Ye’s wish to shrink, dries himself out, and willingly crawls into Ye’s mouth.

Significant themes

• Rules and boundaries of cultivation: The Taoist distinguishes legitimate puppet techniques from forbidden or improper corpse practices.
• Adaptation and bodily transformation: Ye’s paper body becomes more lifelike through an unconventional fusion with Little Fu.
• Trust and cooperation: Ye must rely on Little Fu and the Taoist, despite his discomfort.
• Urgency and danger: The looming threat of the Mountain God Hag turns the transformation into a race against time.

Character interactions

• Ye challenges the Taoist’s methods and protests the suggestion of consuming Little Fu; the Taoist answers bluntly and keeps pressing him to proceed.
• Little Fu responds to Ye’s concerns by shrinking himself and later cooperates in becoming part of Ye’s body.
• After helping Ye become more human-like, the Taoist abruptly shifts their attention to the altar’s formation core and the approaching danger.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Qianfan follows the Daoist’s instructions and digs into the altar with Ye Fu’s help from within his body. He finds and removes a bagua mirror buried at its center.
• Blood seeps from the altar and drains into the ground. As it fades, the altar’s restraining power breaks, and the Daoist says he can finally leave.
• On his way out, Ye Qianfan finds a string of copper coins—only to realize they are the hundred wen he himself dropped. He then searches for more valuables.
• He finds Ye Fu’s clothes and belongings, including silver, divination blocks, and a wooden plaque. The plaque proves to be a permit to enter Fog City.
• Ye Qianfan is delighted to gain the permit and imagines that he can now join the privileged city residents.
• A loud scraping noise comes from outside the cave. Ye Qianfan and the Daoist suspect a female Human-Faced Bug has emerged to avenge the dead Mountain God. The Daoist urges Ye Qianfan to hide.

Character developments

• Ye Qianfan remains practical, opportunistic, and preoccupied with money. His discovery of the permit shifts his hopes from mere survival toward gaining the status and security of city life.
• The Daoist is relieved that the altar has been disabled and can leave, but continues to guide Ye Qianfan. His philosophical reflections are undercut by Ye Qianfan’s impatience.
• Ye Fu, though absent, is revealed through his possessions and recovered memories as a former Fog City resident who lost his standing after reckless behavior.

Significant themes

• Survival and material desperation: Even filthy money and a handful of silver feel like a fortune to Ye Qianfan.
• Privilege and social hierarchy: The city permit represents access to safety and status, while the poor outside the walls risk their lives for those inside.
• Consequences of past choices: Ye Fu’s fall from privilege shows how squandered opportunities can lead to degradation.
• The uncanny alongside the mundane: A blood-soaked altar and a monstrous threat share the scene with the comic disappointment of finding one’s own lost money.

Character interactions

• Ye Qianfan and the Daoist cooperate to break the altar’s hold, though their priorities differ: the Daoist focuses on escape, while Ye Qianfan quickly turns to treasure-hunting.
• The Daoist teases Ye Qianfan for celebrating over his own lost coins; Ye Qianfan curses him and tells him to stop preaching.
• Ye Qianfan explains the city’s restrictive entry system to the Daoist, who accepts it as part of the world’s order.
• Their brief humor ends when the scraping sound signals a potentially immediate threat, prompting the Daoist to warn Ye Qianfan to hide.

Plot points and events

• Ye Qianfan and the Taoist are trapped in a small cavern as the Mountain God’s Wife approaches. With nowhere to hide, Ye Qianfan spots a pit beneath a mound on the altar and curls inside it.
• The enormous, wormlike creature squeezes into the cave and searches for them, leaving glowing slime on the walls. It gets close to the altar, but sneezes, apparently repelled by its smell, and leaves.
• Ye Qianfan climbs out and heads for the entrance. Hearing a scrape behind him, he checks the tunnel but sees nothing. A blob of slime lands on his hat; he assumes it fell from the cave ceiling and continues.
• The Taoist suddenly warns that the Mountain God’s Wife is above Ye Qianfan. Slime begins raining down around him, and Ye Qianfan looks up in terror.

Character developments

• Ye Qianfan stays focused under immediate pressure, finding a hiding place despite his panic. After escaping the creature’s first search, however, fear makes him doubt his own instincts and accept a reassuring explanation too quickly.
• The Taoist is also frightened, though he tries to sound confident. His warning at the end shows that he has recognized the danger Ye Qianfan missed.

Significant themes

• Survival through composure: Ye Qianfan’s ability to think clearly helps him hide, while panic and self-doubt leave him vulnerable afterward.
• Appearance versus reality: The apparent retreat is not a real escape; the creature has followed them and remains overhead.
• Dread and suspense: Close calls, strange sounds, glowing slime, and misleading signs steadily build tension.

Character interactions

• The Taoist urgently directs Ye Qianfan to hide and later encourages him to dismiss the sounds as nerves.
• Ye Qianfan relies on the Taoist’s warnings but also mocks his bluster; their uneasy exchange contrasts the Taoist’s performed confidence with their shared fear.

Key plot points and events

• In the cave, the Mountain God Hag attacks Ye Qianfan, but a deafening roar makes it disappear before it can eat him.
• Ye notices the Bagua Mirror glowing. The Daoist identifies it as a magical treasure that has captured the Hag, whose earth affinity corresponds to the Kun trigram.
• Ye recalls that the mirror is called the Mirror of a Hundred Demons and may be able to devour and command demons, though he does not know how to use it.
• Wanting to claim the treasure and recover what he believes is rightfully his, Ye decides to confront Fat Auntie.
• By the next evening, Ye returns to Fog City’s outskirts. Families are waiting for people who went to the mass grave; Ye avoids explaining where he has been or what happened.
• Fat Auntie recognizes the clothes he is wearing as belonging to her late husband, Fu, and stops him.

Character developments

• Ye Qianfan survives a seemingly fatal attack and learns that the mirror he carries has formidable, though mysterious, powers. He becomes more determined to pursue his claim against Fat Auntie.
• The Daoist is startled by the mirror’s ability but quickly adopts a confident, explanatory tone, despite neither of them understanding how to operate it.
• Fat Auntie re-enters the story as a forceful obstacle, identifying Ye through Fu’s clothes despite his changed appearance.

Character interactions

• Ye and the Daoist puzzle over the Hag’s disappearance and the mirror’s power; the Daoist offers an explanation but cannot provide instructions for using it.
• Ye brushes off the waiting families’ questions, while their hope and worry underline the danger facing those who entered the mass grave.
• Fat Auntie confronts Ye and demands to know why he is wearing her husband’s clothes.

Significant themes

• Power and uncertainty: The Mirror of a Hundred Demons may be immensely powerful, but its abilities remain largely unknown.
• Grief and suspense: The families waiting at the forest edge fear that their missing relatives may never return.
• Identity and transformation: Ye’s changed appearance lets him pass unnoticed, but the clothes he wears connect him to his former life and expose him to Fat Auntie.
• The supernatural: The chapter deepens the mystery surrounding demons, magical artifacts, and the White Jade Capital, an elusive realm associated with immortality.

Plot points and events

• Ye Qianfan tells the townspeople that the man whose clothes he is wearing—Old Fu, Auntie Fat’s husband—is dead. He says he found the corpse and took the clothes, refusing to send the worried women into the deadly Fog Forest.
• Auntie Fat focuses less on grieving than on reclaiming Old Fu’s clothes and money. Ye Qianfan lures her into an alley by promising to return them.
• Alone, he reveals that he is Little Fan and explains that Old Fu tried to sacrifice him at the Altar. Old Fu deceived the Deity and was transformed into a monster; Ye Qianfan demonstrates his own changed form with a dark tentacle. Auntie Fat faints.
• Ye Qianfan carries her to her home, revives her, and confronts her over the plot that cost him his house and body. He learns she knew that his father and Old Fu were only sworn brothers, not actual siblings, and that Old Fu concealed this truth to exploit Little Fan’s three flames of yang fire.
• Ye Qianfan finds the house deed and demands Auntie Fat sign it over. She refuses, attacks him with a human-hair brush, and tries to escape so she can report him to the authorities.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qianfan shows restraint: despite his power and anger, he avoids sending innocent women to their deaths and does not kill Auntie Fat, honoring his promise to avenge Little Fan’s grievances. He does, however, press his claim to the house.
• Auntie Fat shifts from greedy confidence to fear when she discovers Ye Qianfan’s identity and monstrous appearance. She admits Old Fu’s scheme but still tries to protect her property and summon the authorities.
• Their interaction moves from a public confrontation—where Auntie Fat demands Old Fu’s belongings—to a private reckoning over the deception, sacrifice plot, and disputed house.

Significant themes

• Greed and betrayal: Old Fu and Auntie Fat exploited Little Fan for personal gain, while Auntie Fat remains preoccupied with money and property.
• Justice and revenge: Ye Qianfan seeks to make those responsible answer for their actions, but his promise to Little Fan and concern about karmic debt restrain him from indiscriminate violence.
• Identity and transformation: Ye Qianfan’s changed body makes him appear monstrous, yet he retains moral agency and a sense of obligation.
• Truth and exploitation: The concealed truth about Little Fan’s family ties enabled Old Fu’s scheme and denied Little Fan control over his own life.

Key events

• Ye Qianfan orders Little Fu to kill Fat Aunt, who had refused to return his house. Little Fu snaps her neck and eats her; Ye Qianfan uses her bloody fingerprint to make it appear she consented to transferring the deed.
• Ye Qianfan argues that Fat Aunt brought her fate on herself and that Little Fu—not Ye Qianfan—killed her. The Daoist suspects he is trying to avoid the karmic consequences.
• To reach the Puppet Sect on Azure Cloud Mountain, Ye Qianfan needs a map of the Great Yao Kingdom. Such maps are restricted to members of the Demon-Quelling Office, which holds its annual assessment on June 1. Since it is May 31, the pair hurry toward Fog City before its gates close.
• Before leaving, Ye Qianfan searches Old Fu’s study and finds manuals on soul cultivation, corpse refining and control, and dual cultivation. He also recalls that Old Fu secretly kept three powerful zombies at a mass graveyard, but decides not to retrieve them yet.
• At the city gates, guards are searching ordinary travelers. Ye Qianfan fears they will discover that his body is made of paper or find the umbrella scraps he carries to repair it. Just before his turn, he spots an old man and comes up with a plan.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qianfan shows ruthless pragmatism: he offers Fat Aunt a chance to make amends, then uses Little Fu to kill her and secure the house.
• The Daoist challenges Ye Qianfan’s morality and cautions that keeping a ghostly companion could draw unwanted attention. His own urgent goal—getting back to the Puppet Sect in a body of his own—aligns him with Ye Qianfan’s plan.
• Ye Qianfan’s inherited memories reveal Old Fu’s hidden expertise, private life, and concealed zombie collection, expanding the resources and dangers surrounding his new identity.

Significant themes

• Revenge and justice: Ye Qianfan frames Fat Aunt’s death as the consequence of her choices, though his actions blur the line between justice and vengeance.
• Deception and survival: He falsifies the deed, hides his paper body, and seeks a way past the city guards.
• Power and secrecy: Restricted maps, concealed techniques, and hidden zombies show how knowledge and supernatural strength are controlled—and why keeping them secret matters.

Plot points and events

• Ye Qianfan bribes a city gate guard to let him enter without inspecting his disguise and bundle. The guard invents a harmless identity for him, but a captain recognizes the name “Ye Fu” and orders him watched, calling him a notorious lecher.
• As curfew approaches, Ye Qianfan and the Daoist hurry to find shelter. They discover a notice recruiting candidates for the Demon-Quelling Office, with its assessment scheduled for the next morning.
• Ye Qianfan considers taking the assessment but worries that the officials may see through his disguise. The Daoist insists that his Puppet Sect technique is good enough to fool them.
• At an inn, Ye Qianfan examines his body and discovers that his paper-puppet form is badly worn, especially at the feet. He patches it with paper and Little Talisman’s mucus.
• The Daoist reveals that the puppet’s internal frame may fail within half a month, or at best within a month even with repairs. Ye Qianfan realizes he must reach the Puppet Sect quickly to secure a more durable solution.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Qianfan is resourceful enough to bribe his way into the city, but his relief is undercut by the danger of being watched and the urgent weakness of his body. Learning how little time he has changes his priorities.
• The Daoist is confident in the concealment technique but has withheld crucial information about the puppet’s short lifespan, intending to explain it only after reaching the Puppet Sect. His teasing attitude frustrates Ye Qianfan.
• Little Talisman remains hidden inside the puppet and helps keep it functioning, with its mucus used to patch the damaged paper.

Significant themes

• Survival under pressure: Ye Qianfan faces curfew, surveillance, and a body that may soon collapse.
• Deception and disguise: His entry depends on a bribe and false identity, while the Daoist trusts the puppet’s magical concealment.
• Hidden costs and urgency: The puppet provides a temporary means of survival, but its fragility makes reaching the Puppet Sect an immediate necessity.