Chapter Summaries

Chapter 21 Summary

• After his soul body recovered, the protagonist used a bead to return to the Mortal World. He arrived in a secluded alley and killed a man who had struck him from behind with a club.
• While exploring a much larger city than any he had seen before, he wondered who he was in this life. A group of Yin Cultivation practitioners soon supplied the answer: he was a Corpse Driving apprentice, sent with the dead man to obtain corpses. The man had apparently tried to kill him, likely to save money.
• The apprentices’ powerful elder arrived, making clear that their group could kill the protagonist, but he could not retaliate without consequences. The protagonist let them capture him, expecting to escape once they took him beyond the city, where the law would be less of a concern.
• Outside the city, yin energy awakened his cultivation, bringing him close to the Underworld Communion level. He killed the gathered corpse drivers and fled, but a Grandmaster riding a Flying Jiangshi pursued him. He escaped using Wood Escape.
• Hoping a smaller county town would be safer, he entered one, only to find the Demon-Suppressing Bureau had activated a feng shui formation to trap him. He seized a Demon-Suppressing Token from the local chief, then used his feng shui knowledge to break the formation and escape.
• The pursuit resumed, now with the elder and reinforcements. His usual escape routes—Wood Escape and the Mirror Realm—were blocked. Cornered, he fought back, killing the elder, but the elder’s silver-marked Flying Jiangshi pierced him. The creature’s strange power made his body itch and stiffen; he died and became a zombie.

Character Development and Interactions

The protagonist shifts from curious visitor to hunted fugitive, repeatedly adapting to danger with calculation, unusual abilities, and knowledge of feng shui. He prefers evasion and exploration, but becomes increasingly violent when trapped. His encounters reveal a brutal hierarchy among the corpse drivers, while the Demon-Suppressing Bureau treats him as a threat and mobilizes against him.

Significant Themes

The chapter explores identity and reincarnation, power and unequal justice, and the tension between freedom and control. The protagonist’s wish to experience the Mortal World without restraint is repeatedly thwarted by powerful factions—and ends with his transformation into the very kind of being that defines its supernatural dangers.

Key plot points and events

• Reflecting on his previous Mortal World entry, Chen Miao concludes that Passerby A’s death was difficult to avoid: the man already suspected him, and Chen had no way to prevent the initial club strike that exposed his unusual resilience. Rather than risk another entry with too many unknowns, he abandons that scenario.
• With his soul power restored, Chen Miao tests the third-tier Blood Pupil status, hoping its abilities might help him overcome the Soul-Inquiry Hall. He travels to Twin Ridge Mountain using Wood-Merging Art, which lets him move between trees while remaining concealed, and finds a ghost to use as a test subject.
• Over the following week, Chen Miao makes six more Notebook-guided attempts to enter the Mortal World. Each gives him a different identity, but he remains an apprentice because yin cultivators below underworld communion enter through an Aperture Key in that role.
• The Notebook reveals that the Soul-Inquiry Hall regularly screens yin cultivators every month or two. Chen Miao is exposed in all six scenarios, and each exposure leads to another battle royale. Since these are only predictions, none has actually happened—but Chen decides he must solve the soul-inquiry problem before entering again.
• Zhao Gongzi calls unexpectedly. Chen Miao jokes about his success in the big city, then hears the fear in Zhao’s voice as Zhao urgently asks him to save his girlfriend.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao is more cautious than before. He weighs the risks of changing the previous scenario, then abandons it because doing so would leave him without reliable knowledge of what comes next. He also shifts toward methodical experimentation, testing Blood Pupil rather than rushing into another entry.
• Chen learns that being an apprentice is not necessarily a disadvantage: apprentices have fewer relationships and complications. However, that benefit is outweighed by the Soul-Inquiry Hall’s repeated screenings.
• Xiao Bai’s earlier explanation helps Chen understand the rules governing Mortal World identities and advancement.
• Chen’s connection with Zhao Gongzi, previously limited to business and protective talismans, becomes urgent and personal when Zhao asks for help saving his girlfriend.

Significant themes

• Knowledge versus uncertainty: The Notebook provides previews, but altering events can erase the advantage of knowing what will happen.
• Caution and adaptation: Chen recognizes that strength alone cannot solve problems caused by suspicion, limited information, and institutional scrutiny.
• Entrapment by systems: Repeated Soul-Inquiry Hall screenings make temporary evasion useless, turning each exposure into a fight for survival.
• Power and its limits: Chen has formidable abilities, yet his current cultivation rank still restricts his identity and leaves him vulnerable to the Mortal World’s rules.

Chapter Summary

• After learning that Zhao Gongzi’s girlfriend, Shen Xi, has been chosen by the Blood Gate and may face another mission, Chen Miao realizes he cannot safely resolve the situation. The Administration might seize her for research, and he fears that could effectively doom her. Despite having no solution, he books a ticket to visit Zhao Gongzi.
• In Tianyang City, Zhao Gongzi tries to reassure Shen Xi, praising Chen Miao—whom he calls San Shui—and showing her the peachwood sword and talisman Chen Miao gave him. Shen Xi’s fear fades, not because she is convinced Chen Miao can help, but because she does not want Zhao Gongzi to worry. She then tries to comfort him in turn. Zhao Gongzi remains terrified that she might not survive her next mission and calls Chen Miao again.
• On the train, Chen Miao recalls classified findings about the Blood Gate:
  • It chooses ordinary people, not Yin Cultivation practitioners or Investigators with vital-blood power. Attempts to give Apostles other powers are purged by the Gate.
  • During its first appearance, another person could enter ahead of the chosen target and take their place; after that, the target cannot be replaced. Since the Gate’s appearances are unpredictable, the Administration cannot reliably exploit this.
  • Ordinary weapons and talismans are rejected by the Blood Gate World, while polluted objects can enter—but carrying one makes its bearer the Ghosts’ preferred target. Such objects may also be consumed by the Gate, so the Administration has stopped using them for now.
  • The Gate’s power grows with each survival: Apostles can rise from little initial power to Grade-C strength after two missions, Grade-B after four, and peak Grade-B after five. Missions occur about a week apart, offering extraordinary growth but exposing Apostles to repeated danger.
  • The Administration is considering whether Apostles could become a rapidly trained combat force, while fearing the Gate might eventually control them.
• Chen Miao wonders why Chen Jizhen shared such sensitive information and suspects the Administration may view him as a contingency if the Blood Gate gets out of control. He accepts that he could be conscripted and resolves to grow stronger beforehand. He arrives in Tianyang City after three hours.

Character Developments and Relationships

• Chen Miao is concerned for Shen Xi and takes action even though he has no clear answer. The Blood Gate’s potential connection to the Administration also strengthens his resolve to prepare for future threats.
• Zhao Gongzi reveals how deeply he cares for Shen Xi. His frantic attempts to comfort her mask his own fear, and his repeated call to Chen Miao shows how helpless he feels.
• Shen Xi moves from anxiety toward calm, largely to spare Zhao Gongzi distress. She responds to his concern by reassuring him, shifting from the person being comforted to the one offering comfort.

Significant Themes

• Love and mutual reassurance: Zhao Gongzi and Shen Xi ease each other’s fear, even as neither can control the danger.
• Power at a cost: The Blood Gate offers rapid, remarkable advancement, but forces Apostles into repeated deadly trials and may threaten their autonomy.
• Institutional secrecy and moral risk: The Administration’s research may turn vulnerable Apostles into instruments, while Chen Miao suspects he too could be treated as a resource.
• Preparation in the face of uncertainty: With no immediate way to stop the next mission, Chen Miao focuses on becoming stronger before the danger escalates.

Plot points and events

• Chen Miao meets Zhao Gongzi and his girlfriend, Shen Xi, who has encountered a Blood Gate.
• On the way back to Chen’s shop, Zhao and Shen Xi recount how they became a couple: Zhao had loved Shen since childhood, quietly followed her life for years, and eventually opened a shop in her city as an excuse to reconnect. Shen, who had once fallen for someone else, grew close to him again.
• Chen tells them that Blood Gate missions are extremely dangerous: of hundreds of known cases, the most successful Apostle has survived only five missions. There is currently no reliable way to eliminate the threat.
• He shares the Administration’s findings: guidance based on patterns in the first three missions can raise survival odds by about 20%, but does not help with later missions, which remain poorly understood.
• Chen offers an unusual method that might help Shen inside the Blood Gate, warning that it would expose some aspects of her private life to him. Zhao agrees, prioritizing Shen’s safety; Chen promises to sever the connection whenever she is outside the Blood Gate World.
• Shen accepts. Chen produces a blood-red eyeball in his palm, frightening her. The chapter ends before the implantation takes place.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Gongzi reveals the depth of his long-standing love for Shen and shows that protecting her matters more to him than his privacy or pride.
• Shen Xi responds to the danger with composure and determination, supports Zhao, and willingly considers Chen’s proposal. Her tenderness toward Zhao is mixed with unease at the prospect of separation.
• Chen Miao is candid about the risks and the limits of his knowledge. He is careful to get their consent rather than conceal the personal cost of his method.

Significant themes

• Love and sacrifice: Zhao’s years of devotion culminate in his willingness to accept an uncomfortable arrangement for Shen’s sake.
• Uncertainty and survival: Blood Gate missions remain deadly and unpredictable, with only limited research offering hope.
• Trust and consent: Chen’s honesty about the method’s intrusion helps Zhao and Shen decide whether to accept it.
• Courage under pressure: Shen faces both the prospect of deadly missions and the unsettling sight of Chen’s proposed aid.

Plot points and events

• Chen Miao gives Shen Xi a blood-red eyeball, explaining that it may let him see through her eyes and help her while she is inside the Blood Gate. He hopes its connection to the Blood Gate will allow it to pass through, though he is unsure whether the plan will work.
• As a fallback, he intends to teach Shen Xi practical techniques she can use as an ordinary person, including Yin Dart and talisman-drawing.
• After a brief hesitation, Shen Xi swallows the eyeball. It moves down her throat on its own, startling her.
• Chen Miao connects to it, tinting Shen Xi’s vision red and changing her eyes: their whites turn blood-red and her pupils black.
• Shen Xi briefly loses control of her body, then realizes she can resist Chen Miao’s influence and move by her own will.
• Chen Miao explains that he can see and hear what she experiences, and that he will communicate by projecting blood-red words into her vision. Shen Xi also learns to use the energy in the eyeball to change those words herself, and the two begin exchanging messages.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao shows careful, pragmatic concern for Shen Xi, weighing the risks of Blood Pupil while preparing backup methods. He guides her through using the eye’s power and clarifies that he is controlling her only when she is startled by the loss of control.
• Shen Xi moves from reluctance and fear to curiosity and cooperation. She discovers both that she can resist the eye’s influence and that she can use its power to communicate.
• Zhao Gongzi supports Shen Xi’s decision and helps her inspect her transformed eyes by showing her a phone camera image.
• The scene’s central interaction is Chen Miao and Shen Xi establishing a private, visual method of communication for when speech may not be possible beyond the Blood Gate.

Significant themes

• Preparation amid uncertainty: Chen Miao’s plan may fail, so he prepares several alternatives.
• Control and agency: Though the eye initially lets Chen Miao control Shen Xi, she discovers she can reclaim control through her own will.
• Trust and adaptation: Shen Xi accepts a frightening procedure and quickly learns to use its unfamiliar power.
• Communication across separation: Their new “chat” offers a way to stay connected even when ordinary communication is unavailable.

Plot points and events

• Chen Miao and Shen Xi speak through Blood Pupil for about ten minutes. He learns that maintaining the link drains Blood Pupil’s energy, so their conversations in the Blood Gate world will need to be brief and carefully timed.
• Chen Miao refuses to strengthen Blood Pupil just to extend their talks: its power could harm Shen Xi or even reduce her to a mindless servant. He plans instead to guide her with his knowledge while conserving its energy.
• As Chen Miao prepares to continue their training, the Blood Gate’s power activates inside Shen Xi. It rushes toward her head, producing a frightening display of swollen, blood-red vessels around her eyes and across her face.
• Rather than harming her, the power rapidly replenishes Blood Pupil. As its energy returns, the raised vessels fade to thin red lines. Shen Xi reports that the power initially gave her a violent urge to destroy things, but the feeling stopped once it flowed into her eyes.
• Chen Miao tests Shen Xi’s abilities. The Blood Gate’s power modestly improves her strength and speed, and its visible effects disappear when she disperses it.
• He concludes that Blood Pupil and the Blood Gate’s power interact: the latter can recharge Blood Pupil, while Blood Pupil may weaken or regulate the power within Shen Xi.

Character development and interactions

• Chen Miao acts cautiously and protectively, treating control of Shen Xi as a last resort rather than something to intensify. He recognizes the possible importance of their discovery but decides not to tell the Administration until he can handle the risks.
• Shen Xi remains uncertain about her new abilities; she had sensed a change after returning from the Blood Gate but had never tried to use it. Her instinctive attempt to recharge Blood Pupil reveals an unexpected link between the two powers.
• Chen Miao and Shen Xi work together through questions, observation, and controlled tests. Zhao Gongzi remains a silent, anxious bystander.

Significant themes

• Power carries a cost: Blood Pupil can help Shen Xi, but excessive use may damage or corrupt her.
• Control versus danger: Chen Miao weighs the advantages of Blood Gate power against its volatility and Shen Xi’s inexperience.
• Discovery and secrecy: Their interaction may offer a way to counter the Blood Gate, but Chen Miao keeps the possibility to himself for now.
• Trust and dependence: Chen Miao becomes Shen Xi’s private source of guidance—a “cheat” who may help her survive without needing to fight.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Miao decides the safest preparation for Shen Xi’s next Blood Gate entry is to transfer skills she can retain inside that world. He teaches her Yin Dart’s ordinary throwing techniques and how to draw talismans; she needs to learn the actual yin-dart-making process herself.
• After two transfers, Shen Xi has solid technique but weak wrists. The Blood Gate power she received compensates for her lack of strength, sparing Chen Miao the cost of another transfer.
• Chen Miao assigns Shen Xi to practice making yin darts and identifying yang woods, and to prioritize Spirit-Sealing and Evil-Breaking Talismans. With only five days until her next entry, preparation is urgent.
• Chen Miao begins an intensive training schedule for Shen Xi and Zhao Gongzi. Shen Xi produces her first Spirit-Sealing Talisman on the first day, despite wasting many materials.
• Training covers talisman drawing, yin-dart making, ghost-survival knowledge, and familiarization with Blood Pupil. Chen Miao teaches Shen Xi how its visual controls can hide dangers or highlight suspicious people.
• To sustain the demanding schedule, Chen Miao collects energy-restoring elixirs from the Administration.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao acts as a thoughtful instructor, tailoring Shen Xi’s training to what she can carry into the Blood Gate and using his experience to improve her chances. He is also careful about Blood Pupil’s risks and does not intend to overuse it.
• Shen Xi accepts that Chen Miao has done what he can and commits to the remaining work. She shows promise with talismans and adapts to the training.
• Zhao Gongzi joins the lessons despite not receiving a skill transfer. His professional experience gives him a strong foundation in talisman design, and Chen Miao’s help is framed as a favor to a friend. Zhao is touched, though somewhat exasperated by Chen’s explanation.
• The trio work closely together, but Chen Miao sets a punishing pace: training runs from early morning until late at night, leaving Shen Xi and Zhao exhausted.

Significant themes

• Preparation under pressure: With little time before the next Blood Gate entry, practical training and careful prioritization matter more than mastering everything.
• Trust and mutual support: Chen Miao invests his time and resources in Shen Xi, partly out of friendship with Zhao; Shen Xi, in turn, trusts his guidance.
• Adaptation and risk: Blood Gate powers can compensate for weaknesses and help with training, but relying on them carries uncertainty and potential danger.
• Limits of control: Chen Miao doubts the Administration could fully control the Blood Gate, even if its power might help Great Xia withstand the resurgence of yin energy.

Key plot points and events

• Five days after Shen Xi’s training began, the Blood Gate appeared in Chen Miao’s bathroom. Chen Miao and Shen Xi sensed its arrival through their abilities.
• Before entering, Shen Xi said goodbye to her fiancé, Zhao Gongzi. They promised to marry when she returned. Chen Miao reassured Zhao Gongzi that she would come back and promised to watch over her.
• Inside the Blood Gate, Shen Xi joined four other Apostles beneath a pagoda tree in Ten Thousand Gold Village. Their appearances and physical traits had been obscured, making them difficult to identify.
• Luo Sheng took charge, citing his experience and the support of the Administration. The other four—including Shen Xi—joined his group.
• A mission appeared: resolve the resentment of the vengeful ghost Lin Xiurou and lay her to rest.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Xi faces the Blood Gate with growing urgency, but remains composed enough to say goodbye to Zhao Gongzi. Inside, she struggles to contact Blood Pupil, then receives its privacy warning and gives the group a false name, “Zhao Xi,” while describing her ability as enhanced vision.
• Chen Miao supports Shen Xi and appears confident she will return. The blood-red light in his eyes suggests a deeper connection to the Gate.
• Zhao Gongzi is frightened for Shen Xi but encourages her and insists they will marry after her return.
• Luo Sheng acts as a forceful, pragmatic leader, demanding cooperation while promising not to assign danger deliberately. Sun Run, another Administration-backed Apostle, openly supports him. Shen Xi and the remaining Apostles follow.
• The group’s reliance on concealed identities and hand signals reflects the Administration’s difficulty identifying Apostles across missions.

Significant themes

• Separation and hope: Shen Xi’s farewell and promise to return contrast with the uncertainty of the mission.
• Trust and leadership under pressure: The Apostles must decide whether to follow Luo Sheng before they know one another’s abilities or character.
• Privacy and hidden identity: The Gate conceals appearances, and Shen Xi is explicitly warned not to reveal real information.
• Preparation versus uncertainty: Chen Miao’s training and the Administration’s research offer some support, but the mission’s dangers remain unknown.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Sheng, Shen Xi, and three other Apostles arrive at Chen Family Village to investigate a Blood Gate mission involving a ghost in the village pond.
• The Village Chief explains that Lin Xiurou, a young widow, was drowned under the clan’s harsh rules after being accused of secretly meeting a peddler. Later, two children drowned in the pond, each found with black marks around the ankles. Villagers suspect Lin Xiurou’s vengeful spirit, though a Yin-Yang practitioner claimed there was no ghost.
• The Village Chief has hired the five Apostles to suppress or kill the supposed ghost.
• After eating at the Village Chief’s house, the group inspects the village and discusses how to approach the mission. They agree not to rush into the pond, and Luo Sheng orders them to split up and investigate before regrouping in two hours.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Sheng takes charge, initially pretending to sense resentment so the Village Chief will trust the team. He asks the others for ideas both to assess them and to demonstrate the Administration’s value. He approves of Ren Chuan and Yin Yu’s suggestions, then explains that a ghost may have a physical anchor. He also tries to signal Shen Xi with hand gestures, but she cannot understand him.
• Ren Chuan, a teacher who has survived one Blood Gate incident, suggests that Lin Xiurou may have an unresolved obsession keeping her in the world.
• Yin Yu, an anxious laborer, proposes retrieving and properly burying her body as a way to bring her peace.
• Shen Xi argues for caution and a fuller investigation. She warns that the pond may be dangerous, questions the Village Chief’s account, and notices that he wants the ghost destroyed rather than its resentment resolved. She also observes that the group is called “suppression specialists,” raising questions about the mission and their role.
• Luo Sheng publicly endorses Shen Xi’s reasoning, then adds his own theory about the ghost’s physical anchor to maintain his authority as leader.

Significant themes

• Justice versus tradition: Lin Xiurou was executed under rigid clan rules based on accusations and assumptions.
• Truth and unreliable authority: The Village Chief’s account may be incomplete or biased, making independent investigation essential.
• Caution and unresolved grief: The team considers that the ghost may be tied to an unfinished obsession, while direct confrontation could endanger them.
• Leadership and trust: Luo Sheng balances genuine teamwork with his ambition to recruit the unaffiliated Apostles into the Administration.

Plot points and events

• After separating from Luo Sheng, Shen Xi asks Chen Miao for guidance. He advises her to investigate Lin Xiurou’s death without entering her home or touching anything connected to her, and to seek aged yang wood and a talisman-materials shop.
• Shen Xi befriends Chen Zhen, a twelve-year-old boy, by asking him to pick persimmons and impressing him with a trick shot. She promises to teach him, and he agrees to guide her to Lin Xiurou’s home.
• Lin Xiurou’s in-laws refuse to speak with Luo Sheng, and the neighbors shut their doors. The man who reported Lin Xiurou is home but too frightened to answer.
• Chen Miao’s prompt leads Shen Xi to ask Chen Zhen what happened. He describes Lin Xiurou as gentle and dutiful, and says the village drowned her based only on Chen Ergou’s accusation, without checking it with the peddler.
• Chen Zhen had tried to defend Lin Xiurou and was punished by the elders and his parents. He also reveals that, on the day two children drowned, he saw Lin Xiurou holding them underwater—but believes she saved him when he passed out.
• As Shen Xi absorbs his story, she senses a presence and sees a head lurking in the pond beneath the willow’s shadow.

Character development and interactions

• Shen Xi shows patience and social skill in winning Chen Zhen’s trust, then recognizes him as a valuable source rather than dismissing him as a child.
• Chen Zhen emerges as brave and compassionate: he risked speaking up for Lin Xiurou and entered the pond to rescue the children, despite the consequences he faced.
• Luo Sheng’s failed attempts to question the household and neighbors underline how strongly the village refuses to discuss the case.
• Shen Xi and Chen Zhen develop a trusting rapport, though her promise to teach him is also what persuades him to follow her.

Significant themes

• Prejudice and injustice: Lin Xiurou was condemned on rumor and an unverified accusation.
• Silence and fear: Neighbors, relatives, and witnesses avoid speaking, while authority figures punish dissent.
• Contradictory accounts: Chen Zhen’s testimony challenges the village’s accepted story but also introduces a disturbing possibility about Lin Xiurou.
• Compassion and loyalty: Chen Zhen’s belief in Lin Xiurou persists despite the village’s rejection of him—and the chapter ends with an apparent supernatural threat.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Xi notices a fleeting, shadowy head beneath a tree, but it disappears before she can investigate. She hides her unease and spends time teaching Chen Zhen to throw stones.
• Using a promise to make him darts, Shen Xi asks Chen Zhen about an old jujube or peach tree. He leads her to the Village Chief’s courtyard, where an old jujube tree grows.
• Chen Zhen explains that the courtyard now houses a Yin-Yang Practitioner brought in by the Village Chief. The practitioner has refused to leave, despite being unable to find the Ghost in the pond. Shen Xi suspects there may be more to his presence and goes to question him.
• Meanwhile, Blood Gate Apostles Luo Sheng and Sun Run compare findings. They believe Lin Xiurou’s death is suspicious and that the missing Peddler—or the person who reported the affair—may hold the key to the mission.
• They discuss Shen Xi, suspecting she may have received training from the Administration or an independent Yin Cultivation practitioner. They plan to learn more about her after the mission.
• Unable to find the informant, Chen Ergou, at home, Luo Sheng and Sun Run break into his house. They overpower and bind him, then begin questioning him. His answers make them increasingly suspicious.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Xi remains cautious but resourceful: she builds rapport with Chen Zhen, gathers local information, and follows up on the suspicious practitioner.
• Chen Zhen trusts Shen Xi and eagerly helps her in exchange for the promise of darts.
• Luo Sheng shows confidence in his Administration training and sees recruitment into the organization as a way to help Apostles survive, though he knows outsiders may distrust official authorities.
• Sun Run supports Luo Sheng’s investigation and shares his impression that Shen Xi knows more than an ordinary Apostle.
• Luo Sheng and Sun Run work closely as partners, coordinating their break-in and interrogation of Chen Ergou.

Significant themes

• Appearances and concealed motives: The practitioner’s unexplained stay, the mystery around the Peddler and Lin Xiurou’s death, and the shadow Shen Xi glimpses all suggest hidden dangers.
• Trust and information-gathering: Shen Xi gains knowledge by befriending Chen Zhen, while Luo Sheng and Sun Run resort to intimidation to extract answers.
• Institutional authority and survival: Luo Sheng believes joining the Administration offers protection, but recognizes that outsiders may see it as a threat to their freedom.

• Chen Ergou’s confession: Sun Run and Luo Sheng force Chen Ergou to explain why he framed Lin Xiurou. Deep in gambling debt, he stole offerings from the ancestral hall and feared Lin had seen him. To silence her and avoid punishment, he falsely accused her of adultery, leading the villagers to drown her. The group suspects Chen Ergou may be the focus of Lin’s lingering resentment.
• The group’s plan: Sun Run suggests sacrificing Chen Ergou at the pond, but Luo Sheng doubts that will resolve the haunting. They decide to use him as bait and summon the villagers, while following the village’s rules rather than taking matters into their own hands. Ren Chuan warns that the chief may protect Chen, but Luo Sheng argues that acting unlawfully could turn the villagers against them. Ren Chuan and Yin Yu go to spread the news; Sun Run stays to guard Chen. Zhao Xi remains missing.
• Shen Xi and Wu Feng: Elsewhere, Shen Xi speaks with Wu Feng, a self-proclaimed Yin-Yang Practitioner. Though she had doubted his abilities, he reveals that he knows about the ghost in the pond and says its power comes from yin energy and resentment, not simply how recently it died. He claims the resentment is so strong that even he would avoid confronting it. A red prompt tells Shen Xi to feign ignorance and draw out what he knows, so she does.
• Jujube branches: When villagers begin shouting that Chen Ergou will atone by the pond, Wu Feng says the time to act is near. Shen Xi leaves to gather information and asks to take branches from his old jujube tree. Wu Feng recognizes their potential and lets her take some, suggesting he understands their usefulness.
  Character developments and interactions: Luo Sheng leads cautiously, balancing the need to investigate with the danger of provoking the village. Sun Run is angered by Chen Ergou’s cruelty but follows the plan. Ren Chuan challenges the group’s approach, while Luo Sheng persuades him to respect the local social order. Shen Xi carefully tests Wu Feng’s knowledge rather than revealing her own understanding; Wu Feng presents himself as confident and experienced, though his remark about how few young people may survive hints at danger ahead.
  Themes: The chapter explores the consequences of injustice and resentment, the risks of acting outside social rules, and the tension between apparent expertise and hidden knowledge.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Xi arrives at the pond, where villagers have gathered around Luo Sheng and his companions. Chen Ergou is tied up, and the Village Chief has arrived with five clan elders.
• Luo Sheng says the team plans to use Chen Ergou as bait to draw out the dangerous creature in the pond. The villagers protest, so Luo Sheng explains that Chen Ergou confessed to stealing from the ancestral hall and lying about Lin Xiurou.
• Pressured by the Village Chief’s hostile look, Chen Ergou denies everything and accuses Luo Sheng and his companions of being frauds. Villagers check the ancestral hall and find nothing missing, strengthening their suspicion of the outsiders.
• The Village Chief gives Luo Sheng an ultimatum: solve the pond problem or leave. Luo Sheng proposes testing Chen Ergou’s innocence by having him enter the water near the edge. Chen refuses, insisting the creature attacks anyone.
• Chen signals several village idlers to attack Luo Sheng. Luo Sheng effortlessly stops them, sends one flying, and reveals blood-red veins spreading across his body, frightening the crowd.
• Luo Sheng confronts the Village Chief. The Chief, now intimidated, agrees with Luo Sheng’s reasoning and pushes Chen Ergou forward.

Character developments

• Luo Sheng remains composed under public pressure and uses both intimidation and force to control the situation. His supernatural-looking strength makes clear that he is no ordinary fraud.
• Chen Ergou shifts from a possible confession to a denial when he sees the Village Chief’s expression. He tries to turn the villagers against Luo Sheng and evade being used as bait.
• The Village Chief initially allows the villagers to challenge Luo Sheng and later threatens to send the outsiders away. After Luo Sheng demonstrates his power, the Chief quickly changes course and sacrifices Chen Ergou’s protection.
• Shen Xi observes the confrontation and learns that the village’s suspicions, internal politics, and the danger in the pond are complicating the team’s work.
• Ren Chuan and Yin Yu are shaken by the crowd’s hostility and realize they could have been in serious danger if they had acted rashly.

Significant themes

• Truth versus self-preservation: Chen Ergou’s fear and desire to escape blame lead him to deny his earlier confession.
• Mob suspicion and scapegoating: Once the ancestral hall appears untouched, the villagers readily turn on the outsiders, while Chen tries to redirect blame.
• Authority and pragmatism: The Village Chief’s stance changes according to who holds the advantage, revealing how power shapes his decisions.
• Power as persuasion: Luo Sheng’s physical strength transforms the crowd’s judgment more effectively than his explanation did.

Character interactions

• Luo Sheng challenges the Village Chief to honor the agreement to deal with the pond creature, while the clan elders and villagers demand evidence and object to using Chen as bait.
• Luo Sheng privately warns Chen Ergou that the pond creature may kill him regardless, urging him to confess and cooperate.
• Chen Ergou appeals to the elders and villagers, accuses the team of fraud, and recruits village idlers to attack Luo Sheng.
• After Luo Sheng overwhelms the attackers, he confronts the Village Chief, who backs down and puts Chen Ergou in front of himself.

Plot points and events

• Luo Sheng reluctantly uses the power within him to subdue Chen Ergou, then challenges the Clan Elders and villagers to object. Nobody does.
• Shen Xi gives the team branches of thirty-year-old jujube wood, which can harm ghosts, and tells Luo Sheng about a local Yin-Yang Practitioner. Luo Sheng’s earlier displeasure with her fades.
• The team ties Chen Ergou to a raft and sends it into the water as bait. When the ropes suddenly go taut, Luo Sheng and the others cannot pull the raft or Chen Ergou back.
• Shen Xi spots ghostly hair binding Chen Ergou beneath the raft. The Village Chief eventually gets villagers to help pull, but the raft suddenly shoots back to shore—empty. Chen Ergou has been dragged into the water.
• Chen Ergou’s corpse surfaces, followed by the Female Corpse’s. Luo Sheng believes the Water Ghost’s resentment has ended and that recovering and burying the bodies will complete the mission.
• Shen Xi receives a warning in red text: “Don’t enter the water!”

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Sheng shows restraint about spending his limited power, but acts decisively when challenged. His respect for Shen Xi returns when she proves useful by supplying yang wood and useful information.
• Shen Xi remains loyal to Luo Sheng despite tension between them, contributes the jujube wood, and uses her enhanced sight to detect the ghost’s hair. Her final warning suggests she senses the apparent resolution may be a trap.
• The Village Chief moves from directing events to urging villagers to help once the danger becomes undeniable. The villagers’ fear makes them reluctant, though some eventually assist.
• The team and villagers work together to pull the raft, but the encounter leaves them frightened by the ghost’s strength.

Significant themes

• Scarce power and survival: Luo Sheng must conserve a difficult-to-replenish ability for a mission where it may be needed later.
• Fear versus responsibility: The villagers hesitate to help, even as danger threatens the whole community.
• Appearances can mislead: The surfaced corpses seem to signal victory, but Shen Xi’s warning casts doubt on Luo Sheng’s conclusion.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Xi recognizes that Lin Xiurou’s corpse surfacing may not mean the danger is over. Chen Miao’s reasoning suggests the body could have freed itself from whatever had restrained it underwater, and its accumulated resentment may still be powerful.
• Shen Xi shares this concern with Luo Sheng and the others. With night approaching, Luo Sheng argues they must investigate while it is still daylight, but proposes staying out of the pond and using rope hooks to retrieve the bodies.
• The group pulls Chen Ergou’s body ashore. His mouth is stretched unnaturally wide, and his tongue is missing, suggesting the deaths involved something more disturbing than ordinary drowning.
• Retrieving Lin Xiurou’s body proves difficult: the wet ropes and heavy hooks are hard to throw far enough. Luo Sheng uses the Blood Gate’s power to reach beyond the corpse, then works with Sun Run to cross their ropes and snag it.
• The hook catches Lin Xiurou’s body, which begins to move.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Xi acts cautiously but cooperatively, sharing Chen Miao’s warning rather than withholding useful information. She questions Luo Sheng’s plan but accepts it as a practical attempt to avoid entering the pond.
• Luo Sheng balances the risk of a possible trap against the approaching night. He takes charge of the retrieval plan and uses his abilities to make it work.
• Sun Run supports Luo Sheng, helps retrieve Chen Ergou’s body, and joins the effort to hook Lin Xiurou.
• Ren Chuan notices Chen Ergou’s abnormal mouth and prompts the group to inspect it.
• The group generally shares information and works together, though Shen Xi remains alert to the possibility that the corpse is bait.

Significant themes

• Survival through cooperation: Sharing information and coordinating practical solutions is presented as essential in the Blood Gate World.
• Risk under time pressure: The group must act before nightfall despite uncertainty about whether the pond is a trap.
• The limits of apparent safety: A corpse surfacing does not necessarily mean the threat has ended; supernatural danger may persist.
• Unease and bodily horror: Chen Ergou’s missing tongue and the movement of Lin Xiurou’s corpse intensify the sense that the deaths conceal something unnatural.

Key plot points and events

• The group safely hauls Lin Xiurou’s corpse from the water using poles and hooks, avoiding direct contact. The Village Chief arranges for Chen Ergou to be buried in the Chen family graveyard and Lin Xiurou on the mountain, then leaves without acknowledging the village’s role in the injustice.
• Shen Xi remains uneasy that the mission may be too easy. Luo Sheng argues that careful teamwork and following the right steps prevented further deaths, and says Blood Gate missions are manageable when participants cooperate. He offers Shen a contact for his organization, which gathers information from many Apostles.
• Shen leaves to question Wu Feng, the village’s supposed yin-yang practitioner. At his home, she finds talisman-making tools and learns that he can draw talismans using a special stone slab that absorbs yin energy, though he has not “opened his aperture.”
• Wu Feng’s account of the world contradicts Shen’s knowledge: he says aperture-opening is the path to becoming a Master, recognizes Cangzhou and the Kong Paper Effigies, but has never heard of the Demon-Suppressing Bureau. Chen Miao, guiding Shen from the real world, has her ask what year it is. The chapter ends before Wu Feng answers.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Sheng presents himself as experienced and informed, explaining the value of cooperation and trying to recruit Shen by emphasizing his organization’s resources. He then turns to Sun Run and the others to promote the Administration.
• Shen Xi remains skeptical about whether the mission is truly resolved and follows up on the village’s supernatural claims. Her questions reveal that she has knowledge unavailable to Wu Feng and others.
• Wu Feng appears more credible than a simple fraud: he possesses specialized tools and genuine knowledge of local occult traditions, but his understanding is limited and differs sharply from Shen’s.
• Chen Miao communicates with Shen from outside the Blood Gate and directs her questions, especially as Wu Feng’s answers expose inconsistencies.
• The Village Chief and Clan Elders’ casual dismissal of Lin Xiurou’s fate contrasts with Luo Sheng and Shen’s efforts to investigate and settle the matter.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and preparation: Cooperation and caution can prevent a dangerous mission from escalating.
• Institutional knowledge and recruitment: Luo Sheng uses his organization’s accumulated data to distinguish it from individuals who rely on one person’s experience.
• Injustice and social hierarchy: The village’s leaders avoid admitting fault, reflecting a system that protects powerful families over outsiders.
• Conflicting realities and unreliable knowledge: Wu Feng’s familiar yet incompatible account of Cangzhou raises questions about the Blood Gate world’s history, timeline, and relationship to the mortal world.

Plot points and events

• While Shen Xi questions Wu Feng about the current year, Chen Miao reflects on the Blood Gate World’s unsettling similarities to—and differences from—the Mortal World.
• Chen Miao suspects the Administration may have withheld information about those connections, perhaps because the truth is highly sensitive. He decides to use Blood Pupil to make Shen Xi question Wu Feng further.
• Shen Xi asks to borrow Wu Feng’s supplies to draw talismans. Chen Miao takes control of her hands and produces a Spirit-Sealing Talisman, then an Evil-Breaking Talisman.
• Wu Feng is astonished: the technique resembles that of a master who once inspired him, and he cannot explain how Shen Xi could draw effective talismans without having opened her apertures.
• Shen Xi offers to teach Wu Feng her methods. Suspicious that she wants something in return, he asks what she is after.
• Her request is unexpectedly simple: “What year is it now?”

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao grows more distrustful of the Administration and more determined to investigate the Blood Gate World’s relationship to the Mortal World. He uses Shen Xi to gather information.
• Shen Xi remains outwardly composed while acting on Chen Miao’s instructions. Her extraordinary talisman work shocks Wu Feng, and she offers him instruction to build trust or obtain information.
• Wu Feng shifts from amused confidence to disbelief and suspicion. His memories of a gifted talisman master stir both admiration and regret over the limits of his own cultivation.

Significant themes

• A world of contradictions: The Blood Gate World shares familiar places and cultivation practices with the Mortal World, yet lacks its institutions and higher cultivation paths.
• Hidden knowledge and mistrust: Chen Miao suspects the Administration is deliberately concealing important discoveries.
• Appearances versus reality: Wu Feng assumes Shen Xi’s skill must have an ordinary explanation, unaware that Chen Miao is acting through her.
• The value of knowledge: Wu Feng’s longing to improve and Shen Xi’s offer to teach him make information and expertise potential forms of exchange.

Plot points and events

• Shen Xi questions Wu Feng about the date, location, government institutions, and supernatural matters. He says he has never heard of an official yin-cultivation department or of Otherworldly Fiends.
• Wu Feng reveals he has been waiting for the drowned woman’s ghost to kill more people and come ashore, where she will be weaker and easier to handle. Shen Xi is disturbed by his willingness to let people die, though she accepts that he may ultimately save the village.
• They discover they hold different information about the woman’s death. Shen Xi says Chen Ergou’s death seemed to bring the corpse ashore; Wu Feng insists Chen Ergou was not the mastermind and doubts that his death could have resolved the ghost’s resentment. He realizes Shen Xi and her companions may not know the full story.
• Wu Feng identifies the Village Chief as the person who invited Shen Xi, but does not explain further. Concerned that events have escaped his control, he goes with Shen Xi to investigate at the pond.
• Meanwhile, Luo Sheng and the others arrange to move the two bodies for burial before nightfall. Local men divert them to the ancestral hall, explaining that rain is imminent and will make burial impossible.
• The approaching storm alarms Luo Sheng. He suspects the rain may mark the real start of the danger and warns Sun Run that they should stay together. They take the bodies to the hall’s morgue as the rain begins.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Xi is inquisitive and morally troubled by Wu Feng’s strategy. She compares his actions with what she knows of yin cultivators and openly challenges his assumptions about the haunting.
• Wu Feng appears knowledgeable but is unsettled when Shen Xi’s account contradicts what he believes. His confidence gives way to concern that his understanding—or control—of the situation may be incomplete.
• Luo Sheng shifts from managing the burial to suspecting the mission’s apparent simplicity is misleading. He urges the group to remain alert and not separate.
• The villagers’ practical response to the weather forces the outsiders to abandon their planned burial and use the ancestral hall instead.

Significant themes

• Moral compromise: Wu Feng is willing to let people die to weaken the ghost, raising questions about the cost of protecting the village.
• Incomplete and conflicting knowledge: Shen Xi and Wu Feng each possess only part of the story, making their conclusions unreliable.
• Rising dread: The sudden wind and rain, impending nightfall, and unburied bodies suggest the true danger is only beginning.

Key plot points and events

• A sudden downpour just as Luo Sheng’s group prepares to bury two bodies makes Luo Sheng suspect the mission may have a second, unpredictable stage.
• To prepare for trouble, he orders the group to keep watch and gather firewood so they can burn the corpses if necessary. Sun Run and Yin Yu remain at the Morgue while Luo Sheng and Ren Chuan go out for wood.
• Shen Xi and the Yin-Yang practitioner Wu Feng examine the Pond. Using a talisman, Wu Feng confirms that the resentment connected to the incident has disappeared.
• Shen Xi and Wu Feng meet Luo Sheng in the rain and follow him to the Morgue. Wu Feng checks the corpses again and confirms there is no lingering resentment, concluding that the group has resolved the problem.
• Wu Feng admits that his earlier information was mistaken, says he will not interfere further, and leaves.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Sheng shows caution and leadership: although the group appears to have completed its task, he treats the rain as a possible warning and prepares an emergency response.
• Sun Run initially questions the need for firewood but trusts Luo Sheng’s judgment. He is also reassured by the group’s numbers and Luo Sheng’s presence.
• Shen Xi stays composed and practical, seeking to reconnect with her companions and bringing Wu Feng to them.
• Wu Feng shifts from investigating the situation to acknowledging his error. His confirmation of the vanished resentment validates the group’s success, though his disappointed departure hints at unresolved uncertainty.
• Luo Sheng remains wary of Wu Feng but accepts his presence as potentially useful. Wu Feng, in turn, recognizes the group’s achievement.

Significant themes

• Preparedness amid uncertainty: A successful first stage may not mean the mission is over, so the group plans for risks they cannot yet understand.
• Trust and teamwork: Sun Run relies on Luo Sheng’s leadership, while the group’s cooperation and shared vigilance help them withstand the mission’s tension.
• Knowledge and fallibility: Wu Feng’s mistaken findings underscore that even specialists can misread events, and that conclusions must be tested against what actually happens.

Key plot points and events

• Luo Sheng tries to keep Wu Feng, recognizing the value of his talismans. Shen Xi persuades Wu to return with supplies by proposing an exchange of talisman knowledge.
• Before Wu leaves, a blood-red message directs Shen Xi to inspect the room and corpse. She finds nothing visibly unusual and is told to keep the Spirit-Sealing Talisman on her, prepare backups, and seal the corpse.
• Wu returns with materials. He and Shen Xi trade techniques: Wu teaches her the Grievance-Revealing Talisman, which reveals ghostly resentment; Shen Xi shares the Spirit-Sealing Talisman method.
• Shen Xi also carves yin darts using Wu’s yin stone. With Chen Miao’s help, she makes two true darts, while two flawed ones remain usable.
• The night passes without incident. Wu’s inspection reveals no resentment around the corpse, and the rain stops. The group prepares to bury the woman.
• Sun Run returns with alarming news: the Village Chief is dead.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Xi shows initiative and composure, gaining the group’s trust by sharing protective talismans and working with Wu. Her apparent expertise surprises others, though Chen Miao secretly guides her and helps complete the darts.
• Wu Feng proves knowledgeable but self-taught. He is impressed by Shen Xi’s systematic approach and generosity in letting him observe her work.
• Luo Sheng shifts from suspicion and curiosity to respect and gratitude. He hopes to reconnect with Shen Xi after the mission and considers telling the Administration about her unusual abilities.
• Ren Chuan and Yin Yu initially resent Shen Xi’s focus on talismans, but their doubts disappear once she gives them Spirit-Sealing Talismans.

Significant themes

• Cooperation and shared knowledge: Shen Xi and Wu exchange techniques, improving everyone’s chances of survival.
• Trust built through action: Shen Xi earns confidence by providing practical protection rather than explaining herself.
• Hidden abilities and uncertainty: Her talisman-making lies beyond what the Administration believes Blood Gate Apostles can do, leaving Luo Sheng puzzled.
• False security: The quiet night and apparently harmless corpse suggest the danger has passed—until the Village Chief’s death abruptly renews the threat.