Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Chen Miao attempts to draw a Yin-Gathering Talisman, but ruins fourteen sheets before completing one continuous stroke. He discovers that blood ink requires careful pressure control because it runs differently from ordinary ink.
• He pricks his middle finger to activate the finished talisman. It absorbs the blood but produces no visible effect, even after half an hour.
• After making more ink, Chen Miao draws thirteen additional talismans with improved technique. None works, leaving him puzzled.
• Reviewing the instructions, he realizes talismans must be drawn in a place rich in yin energy so the ink can absorb enough energy during the process. Rather than seeking a yin ground, he can use his Yin Gathering ability to bring yin energy to his hand while drawing.
• Drawing under this concentrated energy, he completes three talismans and begins a fourth, but stops when his hand stiffens and the cold seems to penetrate his flesh and bones.
• He activates the second talisman with blood. Within five minutes, the room begins cooling, confirming that the Yin-Gathering Talisman has succeeded.

Character development

• Chen Miao is patient and methodical: he studies each failed attempt, adjusts his technique, and persists despite wasting materials.
• His practical, analytical nature helps him move beyond simply following the book’s instructions and identify their underlying principle.
• His success brings confidence, but the painful chill also makes him cautious about the physical risks of using his ability.

Significant themes

• Learning through failure: Repeated mistakes improve Chen Miao’s control and reveal what the process requires.
• Understanding principles, not just rules: His breakthrough comes from recognizing why talismans need a yin-rich environment.
• Resourcefulness and economy: He considers how low success rates consume scarce materials and yin virtue.
• Power carries risks: Gathering yin energy enables success but may harm his body if he overdoes it.

Character interactions

• Chen Miao has no direct interaction with other characters in the chapter. His main exchange is with the instructions in Zhong Family Talismans, whose guidance he questions and ultimately interprets for himself.

Key events

• Chen Miao tests a Yin-Gathering Talisman and discovers that it draws existing yin energy rather than creating it. It covers a much larger, spherical area than his own Yin Gathering state, so the two methods serve different purposes.
• He destroys the talisman once he has gathered enough energy. At dawn, a sudden surge of yang energy wipes out most of the yin energy in the room.
• After working through the night and failing to produce another genuine talisman, Chen Miao sleeps late, then checks the Funeral Home for any effects of his experiment. He finds nothing unusual.
• Over the following week, he earns the staff’s confidence by personally handling supplies, family arrangements, transport, and memorial-service coordination.
• His talisman-drawing success rate proves to be only about 3%. Although his materials could yield roughly forty-five genuine talismans, Chen realizes their true cost lies in the time, danger, and difficulty of making them—not just the materials.
• He continues practicing talisman drawing, carving, and incantations. He also makes a Corpse-Control Bell by commissioning its shell and drawing runes inside it with blood ink.
• Just as his routine seems settled, business representative Kong Fang reports an unusual, potentially lucrative job and asks Chen Miao whether the Funeral Home should accept it.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao is methodical and cautious: he tests the talisman, investigates the dawn effect, and avoids making more talismans than he currently needs.
• His diligence and professional competence as director quiet doubts about his appointment; employees begin to trust that he can at least maintain the Funeral Home’s operations.
• He learns that his advantages—Iceheart State and concentrated yin energy—make talisman-making safer and more efficient than it would be for most people.
• Li Fu, the quiet new Cold Storage attendant, declines to discuss his long experience guarding the tomb. Chen Miao accepts this patiently, expecting they will have time to talk later.
• Kong Fang turns to Chen Miao for a decision on the unusual job, reflecting his growing authority at the Funeral Home.

Significant themes

• Limits and trade-offs: Talismans gather energy but cannot create it; different techniques have different ranges and uses.
• Hidden costs of expertise: Materials are only one part of a talisman’s value; risk, time, skill, and access to instruction matter more.
• Competence earns trust: Chen Miao’s steady work wins over employees who were initially uncertain about his leadership.
• Persistence and preparation: He steadily develops his skills and builds a supply of tools, even before a clear need arises.

Key plot points

• Old Master Xie returns to his mountain hometown, Blue Stone Village, with his family to revisit his roots and pay respects to his ancestors.
• The family cleans the neglected old house and stays an extra night because the old man wants to explore the village. During the night, he falls at the threshold, loses consciousness, and dies.
• His children want to honor his plan to be buried beside his late wife in Shannan City, but the remote location makes transporting his body difficult.
• Local carriers demand exorbitant fees, and the Fushou Funeral Center quotes an even higher price while requiring an expensive package. Shannan City’s sole funeral home cannot collect the body for three days.
• Desperate, Xie Songde turns to Tianmen Funeral Home. Director Chen Miao agrees to the offered price and refuses to add unnecessary services. When Songde questions his willingness, Chen explains the principle taught by his elder uncle: “The dead deserve respect.”

Character developments

• Xie Songde begins focused on getting his father home and arranging a dignified funeral. His grief is compounded by practical obstacles, price-gouging, and concern that the body cannot be preserved for long. Though initially skeptical of Chen’s youth and easy agreement, he questions him cautiously rather than accepting blindly.
• Old Master Xie is portrayed as nostalgic and attached to his hometown, whose memories lead him to prolong the visit. His death leaves his family struggling to carry out his burial wishes.
• Chen Miao emerges as young but principled. He treats funeral work as a responsibility to families, not merely a business.
• The elder uncle is absent but influential: his ethical lesson shapes Chen’s approach.

Significant themes

• Respect for the dead: The chapter’s central idea is that funeral work must honor the deceased, not exploit families in mourning.
• Family duty and filial devotion: Songde and his relatives try to fulfill the old man’s wishes despite logistical and financial difficulties.
• Greed versus compassion: The carriers and Fushou Funeral Center take advantage of the family’s desperation, contrasting with Chen’s willingness to help fairly.
• Rural hardship and isolation: Blue Stone Village’s remoteness makes even basic funeral arrangements arduous.

Character interactions

• The family cooperates in visiting the old village and cleaning the family home, though the younger relatives grow tired and want to leave.
• Songde negotiates with villagers and funeral businesses, encountering demands that deepen his frustration and anxiety.
• In the closing exchange, Songde challenges Chen’s unusually quick agreement; Chen acknowledges his caution and explains the ethical principle guiding him, establishing a contrast between the two funeral providers.

Key plot points

• Chen Miao accepts Xie Songde’s request to retrieve his father’s body from Blue Stone Village and transport it intact to Shannan Funeral Home for 100,000 yuan, with half paid in advance. He insists that the dead deserve respect.
• Chen assembles driver Jiao Zhiyong, sales representative Kong Fang, and guard Cao Jun. He prepares a lightweight coffin, preservation supplies, and protective talismans and equipment.
• The group hikes for nearly four hours to the village. The return journey will be harder because they must carry the body securely, so Chen recommends preservation measures and using a quilt to keep it from shifting.
• At Xie’s family home, they discover a dispute: Xie’s brother-in-law is being pressured by the bald landlord and his associates, who demand 100,000 yuan to let the family remove the corpse after keeping it in the house for two days. Xie agrees to pay so they can proceed.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao demonstrates professionalism and compassion, prioritizing the deceased’s dignity over profit. He plans carefully and takes precautions for the difficult journey.
• Xie Songde trusts Chen’s judgment and accepts his advice. Though angry at the landlord’s extortion, he restrains his brother-in-law and agrees to the payment to avoid delaying the body’s removal.
• Xie’s brother-in-law becomes enraged at the landlord’s demands, but Xie holds him back.
• The bald landlord and his companions exploit the family’s predicament, threatening to burn the corpse unless they are paid.

Significant themes

• Respect for the dead: Chen’s guiding principle contrasts with the landlord’s greed and the earlier example of a funeral-home owner who cares only about money.
• Exploitation in a vulnerable moment: The family’s grief and urgency are used to extract an outrageous fee.
• Duty and practical care: Chen’s preparations show that honoring the dead also requires careful, physical work.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Miao prepares Old Master Xie’s body for transport: he cleans and redresses it, arranges the medicinal-herb packets in the coffin, and packs the body securely with pieces of quilts.
• At dinner, Xie Songde explains that Xie Yong—the bald man who had earlier demanded an exorbitant fee to carry the corpse—reappeared in Blue Stone Village. After failing to get the job, Xie Yong claimed the body had brought bad luck and pressured the family for money.
• Xie Songde had already promised Xie Yong’s mother a 2,000-yuan thank-you payment, so he accepts the situation rather than risk a fight. He insists the group focus on bringing the old master home and deal with any grievance later.
• That night, Chen Miao checks the Funeral Home’s accounts and is relieved that the trip should still earn about 60,000 yuan. He then tests his Yin Gathering ability outdoors and finds that mountain conditions let him gather yin energy roughly twice as quickly as at the Funeral Home.
• Chen Miao estimates that his ability can concentrate yin energy more densely than a Yin-Gathering Talisman. He concludes that ghosts are difficult to form under ordinary conditions, then returns to rest.
• The chapter ends with Xie Yong planning the following day’s actions with three other men.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao proves conscientious and practical, carefully completing the body preparation despite having little experience. He also remains attentive to the Funeral Home’s finances and continues investigating his supernatural ability.
• Xie Songde displays restraint and good judgment, refusing to endanger the group over money. He reminds Leng Zhiyuan that the hired workers came to transport the body, not to fight, while hinting that the matter may be addressed after the funeral arrangements are settled.
• Kong Fang argues that the group should stand up to the men, but Xie Songde’s caution quiets him. He shares a cramped room with Chen Miao and quickly falls asleep while Chen reads.
• Leng Zhiyuan initially agrees with Kong Fang’s confrontational stance, but backs down after Xie Songde’s warning.
• Xie Yong shifts from seeking payment for corpse-carrying to using the family’s vulnerable position to pressure them.

Significant themes

• Prudence over pride: Xie Songde prioritizes everyone’s safety over retaliation or recovering money.
• Duty and professionalism: Chen Miao treats the body with care and takes responsibility for the work.
• Financial responsibility: Chen’s relief at the expected earnings reflects his concern for the Funeral Home and his obligation to its owner.
• Supernatural rules and uncertainty: Chen’s measurements of yin energy clarify how concentration may relate to ghost formation, while leaving the limits of his ability to be tested.

Key plot points and events

• Xie Yong persuades his three accomplices to sabotage the funeral procession after taking Xie Songde’s 100,000-yuan corpse-storage payment. Their plan is to disable the pallbearers so the family will be forced to hire them at a much higher price.
• The next morning, two pallbearers and two other men become strangely disoriented after eating porridge containing poisonous mushrooms. An elderly villager directs them to Old Cripple, who treats them, but they must rest for two days.
• Xie Yong exploits the delay, offering to carry the coffin for a steep fee. Xie Songde reluctantly considers hiring him, though he suspects Xie Yong caused the poisoning.
• Chen Miao proposes another way to get the body to Shannan City. Xie Songde agrees to give him until noon the next day. Chen and Jiao Zhiyong take the coffin back to Xie Yong’s courtyard, and Jiao leaves the village alone to carry out Chen’s plan.
• That night, Xie Yong hears a bell and sees a figure hopping out of the coffin. He hides, then spots a shadow rising inside his room. He collapses in terror.

Character developments and interactions

• Xie Yong is revealed as calculating and greedy: he plans not only to keep most of the original payment but to profit further by engineering the family’s desperation. His confidence gives way to panic when confronted by an apparent supernatural presence.
• Xie Songde remains focused on protecting his father’s body and preserving his dignity. Though he distrusts Xie Yong, he initially feels trapped by the delay; he ultimately places limited trust in Chen Miao.
• Chen Miao stays composed and resourceful, offering an alternative rather than letting Xie Yong’s scheme succeed. His respect for the dead shapes his insistence that Xie Songde make the choice.
• Jiao Zhiyong helps carry the coffin back and follows Chen’s instructions, leaving the village alone as part of the plan.
• Xie Yong’s mother appears considerate and embarrassed by her son’s behavior, emphasizing that the corruption is his, not hers.

Significant themes

• Greed and exploitation: Xie Yong turns a family’s grief and urgency into an opportunity for extortion.
• Respect for the dead: Xie Songde and Chen Miao are motivated by the need to transport the deceased with dignity.
• Trust under pressure: Xie Songde must choose between a dubious but available solution and Chen’s untested promise.
• Supernatural justice and fear: The chapter ends with Xie Yong facing a mysterious apparition, suggesting his scheme may carry consequences beyond the practical.

Plot points and events

• Xie Songde discovers that Chen Miao and hearse driver Jiao Zhiyong are missing, then learns by phone that Chen secretly transported Xie Songde’s father out of the mountains overnight and placed him in cold storage at Tianmen Funeral Home.
• Chen advises Xie Songde to call the police before Xie Yong’s family realizes the body is gone. Xie Songde suspects Chen or Jiao may have experience as a Corpse Bearer, recalling the practical truth behind old corpse-transporting traditions and the legends surrounding them.
• Reassured that his father has been removed safely, Xie Songde visits Xie Yong’s house and confirms the coffin is empty except for herbs and quilts.
• Xie Yong is barricaded in his room, trembling and unresponsive. When his friends try to take him to Old Cripple, he sees the coffin, screams that a ghost jumped out of it, and runs back inside.
• Xie Yong’s small-eyed friend accuses Xie Songde of frightening him and demands 100,000 yuan. Xie Songde transfers the money to the friend, who threatens to demand more if anything happens to Xie Yong.
• Xie Yong is carried away with his eyes covered to see Old Cripple. Xie Songde follows.

Character developments and interactions

• Xie Songde shifts from anxious concern for his father’s safe departure to confidence and calculated resolve once he learns the body is out of the mountains. He quietly uses the situation to expose the greed of Xie Yong’s companions, paying the demanded sum without surrendering control.
• Chen Miao demonstrates resourcefulness and discretion by moving the body overnight, while warning Xie Songde that the family may cause trouble.
• Xie Yong appears terrified and psychologically disturbed, especially at the sight of the coffin; his fear contrasts sharply with his earlier shamelessness.
• The small-eyed friend exploits Xie Yong’s distress to demand money and threatens Xie Songde, while Xie Yong’s mother pleads with her son and the other friends try to intervene.

Significant themes

• Folklore versus reality: The chapter explains that corpse drivers’ supposed supernatural powers often had practical explanations, though the mysteries and rumors endured.
• Fear and superstition: Xie Yong’s reaction to the coffin suggests that ghost stories and guilt may shape what he believes he sees.
• Greed and intimidation: The demand for 100,000 yuan shows how Xie Yong’s companions exploit a crisis for personal gain.
• Tradition and modernity: Old funeral practices persist alongside modern transport, phones, and financial transfers.

Plot points and events

• While Xie Yong is being examined, his three companions try to get his remaining money. They persuade Xie Songde to pay them by threatening to disturb his father’s coffin, then urge Xie Yong’s mother not to take him to a larger hospital because they hope to divide his money and the fee for carrying the coffin.
• Police arrive and investigate. Xie Songde provides transfer records and recordings documenting Yong’s threats and the companions’ suspected extortion. The group, including Yong, is taken in for questioning.
• Police reveal a little-known route out of Blue Stone Village that takes less than an hour by SUV, rather than the four- or five-hour mountain journey Xie Songde had expected.
• Xie Songde reaches Tianmen Funeral Home with Kong Fang and the others, confirms his father is safe in cold storage, pays Chen Miao, and arranges for his father’s transport to Shannan City. He gives Chen his contact information and asks about the “Corpse Bearer” trade.
• Chen reveals to the reader that he used a Corpse-Control Bell and several talismans to move Old Master Xie through the mountains, while keeping the body cold and preventing it from becoming a reanimated corpse. He also performed two funeral incantations; the second’s effect suggests the old man may have died because his time had come, not solely from his fall.
• Chen realizes he accidentally frightened Xie Yong while practicing corpse control. He returns to replenish his talismans. Meanwhile, at another funeral home, owner Du Rui respectfully welcomes an old man into Zhong Fa’s former office, setting up a new development.

Character developments and interactions

• Xie Songde remains protective of his father and takes responsibility for getting him safely home. He expresses gratitude to Chen and offers his future help.
• Xie Yong’s companions reveal their greed and cowardice: they scheme to exploit his condition and money, then falter when police arrive.
• Xie Yong is taken for questioning despite his apparent mental derangement.
• Chen Miao’s expertise and caution become clearer: he uses multiple safeguards when controlling the corpse and reflects on the risks of the work. He is also curious about the Corpse Bearer trade.
• Xie Songde and Chen part on friendly terms, while Chen’s interaction with the old man’s spirit remains indirect, through ritual and incense.

Significant themes

• Greed and exploitation: Yong’s companions prioritize money over his health and use threats to extract payment.
• Duty and compassion: Xie Songde’s concern for his father contrasts with the companions’ self-interest, while Chen handles the deceased with care.
• Tradition, ritual, and uncertainty: Chen’s talismans and incantations have practical and spiritual effects, but he cannot fully explain the old man’s death or the absence of yin virtue.
• Hidden knowledge and overlooked choices: The village’s undisclosed exit route shows how lack of information made a difficult situation seem far more complicated than it was.

Key plot points

• Du Rui hires Elder Lai Feipeng to kill Chen Weiyi and the unknown expert at Tianmen Funeral Home, fearing the expert may retaliate after Zhong Fa’s death.
• Lai reveals that he once knew Zhong Fa and regarded him as a mediocre practitioner, despite Zhong Fa’s famous master. Du Rui accepts Lai’s confidence and gives him information about the funeral home.
• Lai plans to target Chen Weiyi, expecting the hidden expert to emerge to protect his patron. He says he can finish the job within three days, then heads out to find Chen.
• Outside Du Rui’s office, Lai encounters Chen Guokun and Tong Yu from the Emergency Affairs Administration. Tong can identify lies with a simple “False.” Lai admits he will leave Shannan City and immediately agrees to return.
• Once the investigators leave, Lai realizes they were targeting Du Rui, not him. Relieved that he had not yet acted, he abandons the job and hurries away with the tea Du Rui gave him.

Character developments and interactions

• Du Rui is anxious and deferential, offering expensive tea and full disclosure to secure Lai’s help. He believes Lai can protect him but is left bewildered when Lai suddenly flees.
• Lai Feipeng begins as a boastful, self-assured assassin, dismissing Zhong Fa and promising swift results. The Administration’s intervention exposes his vulnerability: he has previously violated its rules and is on its watchlist. His fear of arrest outweighs the promised payment.
• Chen Guokun and Tong Yu remain calm and authoritative. Their questioning—and Tong’s lie-detection—quickly puts Lai under pressure.
• The scene contrasts Du Rui’s attempt to use Lai as a weapon with Lai’s self-preservation: despite taking the tea and accepting the assignment, Lai abandons the scheme as soon as he senses danger.

Significant themes

• Self-preservation over loyalty or profit: Lai readily drops the job when it threatens his safety.
• Power and institutional authority: The Administration’s presence proves more effective than Lai’s reputation or Du Rui’s plans.
• Appearances versus reality: Lai’s confident promises collapse under scrutiny, while his claim that he is visiting a friend is exposed as false.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Guokun and Tong Yu arrest Du Rui for disturbing public order. Chen Guokun plays a recording in which Du Rui admits hiring Lai Feipeng to target Chen Miao and Elder Uncle, as well as previously hiring Zhong Fa against Tianmen Funeral Home.
• Du Rui protests that the arrest is unlawful, but Chen Guokun says the case involves matters beyond ordinary procedures. Lai Feipeng escaped before acting; the Administration intends to deal with him when he returns to Shannan City.
• News of Du Rui’s arrest quickly reaches Tianmen Funeral Home. His younger brother, Du Xiang, takes over Fushou Funeral Center and raises employees’ salaries, prompting Chen Miao to consider whether he should match them.
• Rumors about Du Rui spread publicly, damaging Fushou’s reputation and boosting Tianmen’s business. Chen Miao then announces raises for his own staff, lifting morale.
• A week later, Chen Guokun visits Chen Miao with another Administration member. He explains Du Rui’s plot, and Chen Miao learns that Elder Uncle had also been targeted. After thanking Chen Guokun, Chen Miao offers to help him—only to learn that the Administration has a problem requiring his assistance.

Character developments and interactions

• Du Rui goes from blustering confidence to panic when confronted with recorded evidence and handcuffs. His attempt to accuse the investigators of a cover-up fails.
• Chen Guokun is controlled and intimidating during Du Rui’s arrest, but later approaches Chen Miao openly and warmly.
• Chen Miao weighs business strategy against fairness to his employees, then acts when Fushou’s troubles improve Tianmen’s prospects. Learning Elder Uncle was endangered strengthens his gratitude toward the Administration.
• Du Xiang takes charge of Fushou and raises wages, briefly putting pressure on Chen Miao’s management decisions.
• Chen Miao’s promise to repay the Administration’s help turns into an immediate offer of assistance, setting up the next development.

Significant themes

• Consequences and accountability: Du Rui’s own recorded words expose his schemes and bring about his arrest.
• Gratitude and duty: Chen Miao believes that people who help others deserve appreciation, even when helping is part of their job.
• Leadership and fairness: Chen Miao considers how raises affect both morale and future expectations.
• Reputation and rivalry: Rumors undermine Fushou while improving business at Tianmen.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Guokun, a Grade-D Investigator responsible for mountainous Tianmen County and its surrounding communities, relies on ten auxiliary Investigators to monitor remote areas. Their abilities vary, and the usually unreliable Hua Yi reports a disturbing death at Longtang Town’s Future Aesthetic Medical Center.
• During an operation, surgeon Li Ming abruptly says, “Why is it you!” before carving a hash-shaped pattern into his anesthetized client’s face and peeling off her skin. He seems absorbed in examining it and ignores the scrub nurse’s attempts to stop him.
• The nurse fetches the manager. When they return, the client’s face is mutilated, while Li Ming has covered his own face with pieces of her skin. He asks whether his new face is pretty; a piece of skin falls onto the horrified manager.
• The staff flee, then return to find the client gone and Li Ming dead on the operating table, still wearing the patchwork face. The medical center is shut down.
• Chen and his partner, Tong Yu, investigate but find no clear explanation. After they leave, Hua Yi reports another death at the closed center: his sister-in-law, the scrub nurse, has been killed in the same way.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen is established as a capable but overextended investigator who depends on local auxiliaries; even an unreliable report from Hua Yi proves important.
• Hua Yi’s family connection to the clinic gives him detailed information, making the case personal when his sister-in-law becomes the second victim.
• Li Ming transforms from a surgeon into a horrifying, apparently entranced figure. His cryptic remark, facial mutilation, and fascination with the stolen skin suggest something beyond an ordinary breakdown.
• The nurse tries to intervene, while she and the manager respond with terror and flee. Chen and Tong investigate together but leave without resolving the mystery.

Significant themes

• The limits of ordinary explanations: The first investigation yields no evidence, yet the repeated death suggests a supernatural or otherwise inexplicable threat.
• Appearance and identity: Li Ming’s grotesque attempt to remake his face using another person’s skin raises disturbing questions about beauty and selfhood.
• Duty and vulnerability: Chen’s reliance on scattered local reports reflects how difficult it is to protect remote communities—and how quickly a seemingly contained incident can continue after investigators depart.

Plot points and events

• Chen Guokun tells Chen Miao that three people—a surgeon, a nurse, and a sales representative—have died at the same aesthetic medical center. Each apparently cut the skin from their face before dying of sudden cardiac arrest. Investigators have found no evidence of murder, and Chen Guokun suspects a hidden supernatural presence.
• Since Chen Miao has previously detected threats before they struck, Chen Guokun asks him to help locate the entity, not fight it. Chen Miao agrees, provided his funeral-home duties are covered. Chen Guokun arranges a substitute officiant in case the investigation runs late.
• Chen Miao prepares his talismans, Corpse-Control Bell, and a peachwood sword blank before traveling with Chen Guokun and Tong Yu to Longtang Town.
• When Chen Miao asks why they did not call on Zhong Cai, Chen Guokun explains that Zhong Cai falls under another investigator’s jurisdiction and that experience does not always equal skill; different practitioners specialize in different tasks.
• At the aesthetic center, plainclothes officers let the group enter after Chen Guokun shows his credentials. Tong Yu notices Chen Miao lingering at the entrance to consult his book. Its status page now lists “haunted by resentment (∞)” among the current conditions.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao is cautious and practical: he agrees to help but makes sure his funeral-home responsibilities are protected. He also prepares carefully and feels reassured by having his tools on hand.
• Chen Guokun treats Chen Miao as a valued specialist and accommodates his work schedule. He explains the limits of his authority and emphasizes that each practitioner has particular strengths.
• Tong Yu follows Chen Guokun into the center, then turns back when Chen Miao stops to read. He accepts the unusual habit as one of the quirks of their trade.
• Chen Miao’s memories of Old Wang’s sudden death make the repeated “sudden death” findings especially unsettling.

Significant themes

• Specialization and collaboration: No one practitioner can handle every kind of supernatural problem; the investigators recruit Chen Miao for his ability to detect hidden threats.
• Duty and preparedness: Chen Miao balances his professional obligations with the investigation and relies on careful preparation.
• Hidden danger and uncertainty: The deaths look like self-harm and natural cardiac arrest, while the suspected entity may be concealing itself. The new “haunted by resentment” status hints that the case is tied to a broader supernatural condition.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Miao discovers that the “haunted by resentment” status now has an ∞ duration, unlike the temporary status he experienced before. The book offers no new chapter to explain it.
• Chen Guokun explains that ghosts form when a strong fixation combines with yin energy. Most spirits dissipate after seven days; an unfulfilled fixation may become resentment and produce a vengeful ghost, while a rare spirit may attach to an object and create a “tainted object.”
• A vengeful ghost usually focuses on the targets of its resentment and ignores others until its fixation is fulfilled—unless someone interferes. Afterward, it may attack randomly or target someone it has encountered.
• The ghost’s altered yin energy can cling to people like a territorial mark. If Chen Miao remains marked when the ghost finishes its revenge, he may become its next priority. Chen Guokun promises to remove the aura before Chen Miao goes home.
• Chen Miao prepares for danger by carrying a Peach Wood Sword Blank, a Spirit-Sealing Talisman, a blood lancet, and Peachwood Talismans.
• The group searches the cosmetic surgery center’s first floor, but Chen Miao finds nothing. They head to the second floor, where the fatal incident occurred.

Character developments

• Chen Miao is anxious about the seemingly permanent status and the lack of guidance from his book. Though unable to track ghosts, he takes practical steps to protect himself.
• Chen Guokun acts as an informed guide, explaining ghost lore patiently and reassuring Chen Miao that the team has no reason to sacrifice him.
• Tong Yu stays behind Chen Miao as protection, while privately becoming curious about the book Chen Miao keeps reading.

Significant themes

• Fixation and unfinished business determine how spirits form and what they do.
• Knowledge versus uncertainty: Chen Guokun’s explanations provide rules, but Chen Miao’s unexplained status and silent book leave him unsure of what will happen.
• Risk and preparedness: The characters must balance the danger of a lingering ghost with the limited protection and knowledge they have.

Character interactions

• Chen Miao questions Chen Guokun about ghosts and what may happen once the ghost completes its revenge; the answers make clear that Chen Miao could then become a target.
• Chen Guokun reassures him and leads the search, while Tong Yu quietly watches over him.
• Chen Miao’s repeated attention to his book catches Tong Yu’s notice, prompting his private interest in reading it himself.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Miao accompanies Chen Guokun and Tong Yu to an operating room at the aesthetic medical center, where three people have died.
• He senses that the yin energy grows stronger near and inside the operating room. Chen Guokun explains that although the area is haunted, the ghost’s anchor is elsewhere.
• Chen Miao says he cannot track the entity without a ghost present. He nevertheless offers to stay with the investigators for the next few days, hoping to help and learn from them.
• The Administration sends information linking the deaths to an incident from a year earlier. Sales representative Ji Jia, a surgeon, and a nurse were involved in Yue Na’s cosmetic surgery and its promotion.
• The clinic used Yue Na’s before-and-after photos and livestream clips under a publicity clause in her contract. The publicity damaged her online career; her lawsuit failed, and she later died by suicide. Her images are still displayed at the clinic.
• Chen Miao questions whether Yue Na could be the ghost: she died a year ago, which seems inconsistent with what Chen Guokun previously said about the entity. Chen Guokun agrees the situation may be difficult.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao’s ability to sense subtle changes in yin energy surprises Chen Guokun, who wonders whether he has an unusual constitution. Chen Miao is cautious about what he can do, but chooses to cooperate for practical benefits, learning, and possible rewards.
• Chen Guokun and Tong Yu rely on Chen Miao less than they initially hoped, but accept his offer to stay. They then turn to the Administration’s information for leads.
• Chen Miao and Chen Guokun both recognize that Yue Na’s apparent connection raises questions rather than providing an easy answer.

Significant themes

• Exploitation and accountability: The clinic’s contract protects it while Yue Na bears the consequences of the publicity.
• Grief and injustice: Yue Na’s humiliation, lost livelihood, and failed attempt at legal redress culminate in her death.
• Uncertainty in the supernatural investigation: The stronger yin energy, the absent anchor, and the one-year delay leave the investigators unsure what they are facing.

Summary

This is an author’s announcement rather than a story chapter. The author says the book has updated unusually quickly: it reached 60,000 Chinese characters in eight days, and its chapters have often exceeded the usual length. At the current pace, it may reach 200,000 characters—and leave the new-release rankings—before its 30-day launch period ends.
The author is confident in the story but worries that the new recommendation system is bringing in few readers, and that visibility will drop sharply once the book leaves the rankings. They ask readers to keep reading during the launch period and, if possible, cast monthly votes to help the book gain exposure.
As an incentive, the author promises one additional chapter after the book becomes paid for every 200 monthly votes received in September. They note that they are writing two books while caring for a child, so extra updates are possible only in occasional bursts.
Key points: The announcement emphasizes the book’s fast release pace, the importance of reader support during its launch window, and the author’s limited capacity. It contains no fictional characters, plot developments, or character interactions.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Guokun explains that Yue Na’s Vengeful Ghost appearing a year after her death is unusual. He considers three explanations: her resentment became a Polluted Object, a feng shui formation trapped her, or someone refined her soul to control it. He dismisses the first two? No—he rules out the Polluted Object explanation and judges that a damaged formation is most likely.
• Tong Yu suggests someone close to Yue Na might have refined her ghost to help her seek revenge. Chen Guokun argues against it: Yue Na’s victims were chosen with precise knowledge of her cosmetic-surgery experience, and she was an orphan with no boyfriend.
• The likely next target is Han Chen, owner of the clinic where Yue Na underwent surgery. He is overseas, however, and ordinary Vengeful Ghosts are generally confined to the town where their remains are. If Yue Na cannot reach her remaining targets, she may kill at random and grow stronger.
• Chen Guokun identifies three other possible targets: branch manager Ding Ze, lawyer Wang Yating, and the marketing employee who publicized Yue Na’s photos and story.
• To prevent more deaths, Chen Guokun proposes that he, Tong Yu, and Chen Miao each guard one target after nightfall. Chen Miao objects to splitting up, but Chen Guokun explains that Yue Na is hard to detect and could kill all three if they are kept together and the group fails to stop her.
• Chen Guokun gives Chen Miao a small, perforated silver cube called the Ghost Cube.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao recognizes how much he lacks foundational knowledge about ghosts and resolves to learn from Chen Guokun and Tong Yu. He is also eager to help send ghosts on, but cautious about taking risks.
• Chen Guokun demonstrates his expertise by reasoning through Yue Na’s history and prioritizing the threat of her becoming a Malevolent Fiend. His sense of duty motivates his plan to protect the potential targets.
• Tong Yu contributes a plausible alternative explanation and then carries out Chen Guokun’s request to check Han Chen’s location.
• Chen Guokun’s discussion with Chen Miao is partly instructional: he explains ghost restrictions and the danger of a Vengeful Ghost becoming a more powerful Malevolent Fiend.

Significant themes

• Knowledge as power: Chen Miao’s lack of specialized knowledge limits his deductions, while learning from experienced people offers a path to growth.
• Escalation and responsibility: Failing to stop Yue Na could lead to more killings and a stronger, harder-to-control ghost.
• Teamwork under risk: The characters must balance safety and strategy, even when their plans require separating.
• Justice and revenge: Yue Na’s apparent revenge raises questions about who bears responsibility for her death and how far vengeance may spread.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Guokun gives Chen Miao a Ghost Cube, a government-developed device that can trap one vengeful ghost when touched. If broken, it releases the ghost in a berserk state. Chen Miao accepts it as extra protection.
• The group visits Yue Na’s grave, hoping to find the feng shui formation that may have trapped her and locate her remains. They find nothing unusual, so they abandon the search and proceed with their plan to guard the people connected to her case.
• Chen Miao is assigned to protect lawyer Wang Yating, considered the least likely target because she only drafted the clinic’s contract. Chen Guokun gives him a police ID to help establish his credibility.
• At Wang’s law office, Chen Miao waits and makes plans to compile his supernatural knowledge and experiences into a searchable reference book he calls Mortal Notes.
• When Wang returns, Chen Miao tells her that three people involved in Yue Na’s operation have died and warns her of the possible danger. Wang dismisses him as a scammer and threatens to call the police. Chen Miao notices a new “Chapter Three” heading in his mysterious Notes and responds by showing her his police ID.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao accepts practical protection, thinks systematically about the failed grave search, and shows a growing desire to organize what he learns for future use. He remains calm when Wang rejects his warning.
• Chen Guokun acts protectively by lending Chen Miao scarce equipment and assigning him the least risky target.
• Wang Yating is skeptical and defensive, treating Chen Miao’s warning as an accusation or a scam.
• Xiao Xiao, the trainee lawyer, helps Chen Miao wait for Wang and alerts her when he arrives.

Significant themes

• Preparation against supernatural threats: the Ghost Cube, police ID, and assigned protection detail show the group combining specialized tools with practical precautions.
• Limits of investigation: Yue Na’s grave offers no evidence, leaving the team unable to resolve the threat before nightfall.
• Knowledge and legacy: Chen Miao’s plan to record supernatural facts and experiences reflects his wish to learn methodically and preserve what he discovers.
• Belief versus skepticism: Chen Miao’s warning about ghosts clashes with Wang’s rational dismissal, setting up uncertainty about whether she will accept the danger in time.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Miao shows lawyer Wang Yating his credentials from the Emergency Affairs Investigation Bureau. Though a phone call confirms they are genuine, Wang refuses to cooperate without formal paperwork and has him escorted out.
• Before leaving, Chen gives Wang a crude century-old peachwood talisman for protection. She initially tosses it aside, then picks it up and leaves it on her desk.
• Across the street, Chen reads a chapter describing what will happen next. He follows Wang home and waits outside her apartment with incense and a peachwood sword. When a supernatural attack begins, he chants an incantation; the ghost retreats, but Wang is found dead, her face partly skinned.
• The following night, the ghost attacks Chen in his hotel room. His sword fails, and a cube meant to trap the entity breaks before he can complete a ritual. The ghost kills him.
• Reading this account, Chen concludes that Wang is the first target and that the ghost, Yue Na, grows stronger over time.

Character developments

• Chen Miao remains calm when Wang challenges his credentials and accepts her distrust without anger. He treats the chapter as a source of actionable clues, carefully analyzing how to prevent the predicted deaths.
• Wang Yating is skeptical and self-reliant, insisting on proper procedure despite the credentials’ legitimacy. Her brief hesitation over the talisman hints at uncertainty, but she does not accept Chen’s warning.
• Yue Na emerges as a rapidly strengthening and increasingly dangerous ghost: the measures that initially affect her later fail.

Character interactions

• Wang confronts Chen over his authority and rejects his offer of help; Chen responds by inviting her to verify his credentials and then leaves her the talisman.
• Chen’s account connects him to Chen Guokun and Tong Yu, who arranged his assignment and provided protective tools. After Wang’s death, Chen Guokun’s people open her apartment.
• Chen’s failed attempts to stop Yue Na establish the growing gap between the investigators’ preparations and the ghost’s power.

Significant themes

• Foreknowledge and helplessness: Chen knows the deaths in advance but struggles to turn knowledge into prevention.
• Trust and skepticism: Wang’s reasonable demand for proof and procedure clashes with Chen’s urgent supernatural warning.
• Escalating danger: Spiritual defenses offer only temporary protection as Yue Na grows stronger.
• The cost of incomplete understanding: The investigators’ mistaken assumptions about who was most at risk may have contributed to Wang’s death.

Chapter Summary

• Chen Miao’s investigation: Chen Miao realizes Yue Na may have grown stronger by killing multiple people, so he concludes that no more than one of the three people under protection can die. To keep Wang Yating safe, he calls Chen Guokun and agrees to switch assignments. The book updates to reflect the change—but still predicts Chen Miao’s death the following night, even though Yue Na will supposedly be captured.
• The attack on Wang Yating: At 23:50, Chen Miao gets word that Wang Yating has been attacked and rushes to her apartment. He finds her dead, her face mutilated. Chen Guokun explains that Yue Na appeared inside a cabinet while Wang was reaching for cigarettes, escaping detection even at close range. Chen Guokun and Investigator Hua Yi captured Yue Na with the Ghost Cube, but arrived too late to save Wang.
• An unresolved threat: Chen Miao cannot understand why the book still says he will die after Yue Na’s capture. He suspects that his fate may depend on what happens next, so he decides not to return to Tianmen County immediately. Staying in Longtang Town may force the book to reveal a different version of events and clarify the danger.
• How ghosts and vessels work: Chen Guokun explains that ghosts depend on physical vessels steeped in yin energy. Destroying a ghost without dealing with its vessel may allow it to return; a vessel left behind can also release yin energy and potentially foster other ghosts. The team plans to find Yue Na’s vessel and inspect the feng shui formation.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Chen Miao is increasingly cautious and analytical, using the book’s changes to test possible outcomes. Despite Wang Yating’s earlier disdain and his own disappointment that Chen Guokun takes back the Ghost Cube, he continues cooperating and insists on investigating further.
• Chen Guokun acts on Chen Miao’s warning, arranging the switch in assignments, and explains the rules governing ghosts and their vessels. He acknowledges that Chen Miao’s instincts helped them capture Yue Na.
• Wang Yating remains skeptical enough not to keep Chen Miao’s Peachwood Talisman on her, which may have left her vulnerable.
• Hua Yi assists Chen Guokun during the emergency interview and capture, though the team’s precautions fail to detect Yue Na.

Significant Themes

• The limits of prediction: The book can change when events change, but its warning of Chen Miao’s death remains unexplained, leaving him uncertain whether capture has truly resolved the danger.
• Survival through investigation: Chen Miao responds to uncertainty by seeking more information and deliberately changing circumstances rather than accepting the predicted outcome.
• The hidden cost of victory: Capturing Yue Na does not undo Wang Yating’s death or eliminate the threat; the ghost’s physical vessel must also be found and dealt with.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Miao recounts the previous day’s search for Yue Na’s remains. When the group finds no clues, Chen Guokun decides to excavate her grave, believing it may conceal a feng shui formation.
• The grave contains only a small stone coffin. Its lid has been displaced, and the coffin is full of dirt—Yue Na’s urn and any burial goods are missing.
• Later that night, Chen Miao senses a sinister presence in Chen Guokun’s hotel room. He uses an incantation, but a shadowy figure bursts through the door and attacks him. Tong Yu throws a cube toward it; the account ends with Chen Miao’s apparent death.
• In the present, Chen Miao reads the account and suspects someone deliberately removed Yue Na’s remains and may be keeping her as a ghost. This could explain her escape after Chen Guokun captured her, though Chen Miao cannot understand why anyone would help her take revenge.
• Chen Miao asks Chen Guokun to visit the grave. Chen Guokun trusts his judgment and agrees. He and Tong Yu dig up the coffin, confirming that it is empty.
• The cemetery manager explains that cameras cover only the entrance and perimeter, not the grave itself. Chen Miao suggests locating the employee who originally handled Yue Na’s burial arrangements.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao becomes an increasingly influential investigator: Chen Guokun now takes his suspicions seriously, while Chen Miao conceals that he knows details from the account he has read. He also develops a theory about Yue Na’s disappearance but recognizes that it remains incomplete.
• Chen Guokun is practical and decisive. Though he originally focuses on a possible feng shui formation, he promptly investigates the empty grave and accepts Chen Miao’s suggestion without demanding an explanation.
• Tong Yu helps excavate the grave and is visibly shocked by its emptiness. In the account’s nighttime attack, he attempts to intervene by throwing the cube at the attacker.
• Chen Miao’s earlier narration also shows his unease with disturbing a grave, while acknowledging Chen Guokun’s belief that the investigation protects the living.

Significant themes

• The dead and the living: The missing remains raise questions about whether Yue Na’s haunting is natural or deliberately sustained.
• Uncertainty and incomplete evidence: The empty grave overturns the team’s initial assumptions, but surveillance gaps and unanswered questions leave the mystery unresolved.
• Trust and responsibility: Chen Guokun’s confidence in Chen Miao grows, and both men act according to what they believe is necessary to protect others.
• Disrespect for the dead versus public safety: The excavation highlights the conflict between honoring the deceased and pursuing a potentially dangerous supernatural threat.