Chapter Summaries

Key events

• Three days after applying, Chen Miao collects the Seven-Star Peach Wood Sword instructions from Chen Guokun at the bureau. They are stored on a password-protected USB drive that expires after three months, and come with a full-scale ordinary-wood replica.
• The illustrated instructions are detailed enough that Chen Miao decides to practise with ordinary peach wood, making a model for each major stage, before risking his rare Century-Old Peachwood Sword Blank.
• Back at the Funeral Home, Chen Miao spends three qian of yin virtue on cinnabar, rooster blood, and talisman paper. He cuts the paper into fifteen sheets and uses the materials to practise drawing.
• After an hour, he has drawn fifteen talismans. Three respond to yin energy: one Spirit-Sealing Talisman, one Yin-Dispelling Talisman, and one Corpse-Control Talisman. His three Yin-Gathering Talismans fail; he does not try drawing Heart-Linked Talismans.
• He stores the successful talismans and leftover chicken blood in his book, keeps the ten failures for study, and ends the evening by checking the news and messages before going to bed. The chapter closes with someone arriving to see him the next day.

Character development

• Chen Miao is practical and resource-conscious: rather than risk wasting expensive century-old wood, he plans a careful practice process using ordinary materials.
• He is increasingly capable at talisman-making, raising his success rate from three percent to twenty percent, but remains dissatisfied and blames his technique rather than the materials.
• His caution is balanced by curiosity: he wants to test the talismans’ effects, but cannot bring himself to use up such scarce successes.

Themes

• Preparation and thrift: Chen Miao weighs the cost of materials and protects rare resources by practising first.
• Learning through failure: He saves unsuccessful talismans as examples to examine and learn from.
• Progress versus frustration: His improved success rate is encouraging, but the expense makes each result feel costly.
• Supernatural craft as technique: Talisman effects depend on how the strokes are made, not simply on copying their visible shapes.

Character interactions

• Chen Miao’s exchange with Chen Guokun is brief and professional: he completes the certification process, receives the sword-making materials, and leaves.
• Most of the chapter focuses on Chen Miao working alone, evaluating his supplies and results. A new visitor appears at the end, setting up the next chapter.

Plot points and events

• Xiang Shang visits Chen Miao, claiming he missed him, though his private thoughts reveal he is upset about his romantic troubles. Chen Miao indulges him, even fetching Coke and beer.
• Kong Fang reports a difficult case: Luo Yucheng died in a motorcycle accident, leaving his face severely damaged. His parents want the funeral home to restore his appearance as much as possible.
• The family had already clashed with two funeral homes. At the first, they disputed the cosmetologist’s work and obtained compensation; at Fushou, owner Du Xiang insisted they sign an agreement limiting complaints. Their encounter ended with police involvement.
• Chen Miao meets Luo Yucheng’s parents, Luo Yang and Liao Fang, and treats their grief with care, explaining that the cosmetologist must inspect the body before promising results.
• In Cold Storage, Li Fu opens the body bag for Chen Miao and Shi Manman. Seeing the badly reconstructed head convinces Chen Miao not to buy a motorcycle.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao remains calm and considerate: he looks after Xiang Shang, avoids making promises to the bereaved parents, and approaches the case cautiously. The accident also immediately changes his mind about riding.
• Xiang Shang is emotionally low over his love life but appreciates Chen Miao’s kindness. While Chen is away, he respects the instruction not to touch the desk or filing cabinet, while mischievously handling nearly everything else.
• Kong Fang is troubled by the case but follows Li Fu’s warning and leaves before the body is exposed.
• Luo Yang and Liao Fang appear to be grieving parents seeking dignity for their son, contrasting with the more suspicious impression Chen Miao initially expected.

Significant themes

• Dignity in death and the limits of funeral work: The family wants their son to leave with dignity, while restoration has practical limits.
• Trust and accountability: Earlier disputes have made the family wary and the funeral homes cautious, highlighting how expectations can strain professional relationships.
• Care expressed through everyday actions: Chen Miao’s small gestures toward Xiang Shang and his patient response to the parents reveal his considerate nature.

Key plot points and events

• Shi Manman examines Luo Yucheng’s face and estimates she can restore only about 25% of his original appearance. A more precise assessment would require removing the materials already used in prior attempts.
• Chen Miao offers to take the case but presents Luo Yucheng’s parents with an agreement to protect the funeral home from liability for their previous interference. They protest, accusing him of avoiding responsibility.
• Chen Miao calmly points out that three funeral homes have reached the same conclusion and challenges them to consider whether they have acted responsibly toward their son. He also offers free paper offerings and crafts, plus a video of the memorial service.
• Luo Yucheng’s parents accept the agreement and tell Chen Miao about their son so he can write the eulogy. Chen sends Shi Manman a message to begin preparations.
• Later, Chen notices a new chapter in his mysterious book. It reveals that he will die after being struck by a Dayun truck, despite the protective weapons and talismans he has acquired.

Character development

• Chen Miao demonstrates composure, empathy, and firm leadership, balancing respect for the grieving parents with his duty to protect the funeral home.
• Kong Fang recognizes that his own prejudice and agitation made him less effective. He admires Chen’s calmness but doubts whether he could maintain it himself.
• Luo Yucheng’s parents move from anger and resentment toward cooperation after Chen gives them a face-saving way to accept the funeral home’s terms.
• Shi Manman provides a realistic assessment of what can be done for Luo Yucheng’s appearance.

Significant themes

• Professional responsibility and boundaries: Chen must care for the deceased while also protecting his staff and business from unreasonable blame.
• Grief, respect, and restraint: Chen argues that continuing to pursue an unrealistic restoration may cause further distress rather than help Luo Yucheng rest peacefully.
• Emotional discipline: Kong Fang’s reflection highlights how prejudice and strong emotions can undermine sound judgment.
• Fate and uncertainty: The book’s sudden prediction of Chen’s death contrasts sharply with his apparent readiness and defenses.

Character interactions

• Chen negotiates directly with Luo Yucheng’s parents, confronting their accusations without hostility and offering concessions that help restore trust.
• Kong Fang observes the exchange and later asks Chen how he handled it, prompting Chen to explain his approach to grief and responsibility.
• Chen and Shi Manman coordinate the funeral preparations, while Chen gathers information from the parents for the eulogy.

Chapter 4 Summary

• Events: A chapter from Chen Miao’s book recounts a funeral-home worker whose best friend, Xiang Shang, is possessed by a newly dead motorcyclist’s ghost. The possessed Xiang rides down and kills his friend, who realizes too late that the ghost is reenacting a fatal motorcycle accident and targeting Xiang. Chen Miao then considers how to deal with the ghost described in the book.
• Character developments: The story’s narrator trusts his close friendship with Xiang and assumes Xiang will stop when he sees him, but that trust is fatally misplaced. Chen Miao, meanwhile, recognizes that even an experienced ghost-handler with powerful tools can be vulnerable to an unpredictable threat. This realization dispels his recent overconfidence.
• Decision and stakes: Chen Miao could use incense sticks to send the ghost on at lower cost, but instead chooses the Southern School Corpse-Sewing Art. It costs two qian of yin virtue and offers little direct reward, yet could restore the dead motorcyclist’s face, comfort his family, and improve Tianmen Funeral Home’s reputation. Chen Miao decides those benefits justify the expense and prepares to redeem the required materials.
• Themes and interactions: The chapter highlights the limits of supernatural power, the danger of underestimating a threat, and the painful vulnerability of trust between friends. It also contrasts simple efficiency with compassion and practical responsibility. Chen Miao’s choice reflects his concern for both the deceased and their family, as well as the funeral home’s role in serving them.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Miao needs four basic materials for corpse-sewing, each costing one qian of yin virtue. He decides to obtain or make two himself before redeeming the others: human-skin paper and mulberry-bark thread are too difficult to source or produce that day, while fishbone needles and corpse wax seem feasible.
• He buys carp and sturgeon for their bones, tools for grinding and polishing them, and beeswax. He plans to make fishbone needles despite having to improvise around the required seven-day drying period.
• For corpse wax, he also needs cremated ashes. He asks Old Yu for some, and Old Yu gives him ashes but cautions him not to do anything reckless.
• Chen Miao drags the still-sleepy Xiang Shang along to help. Xiang Shang admits he gave away the protective Peachwood Talisman Chen had previously given him—apparently to his crush. Chen gives him three more talismans, one for Xiang Shang and one each for his parents.
• Back at the funeral home, Chen boils the fish bones to clean them and sends Xiang Shang to collect firewood ashes.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao is practical and cautious: he avoids spending scarce yin virtue until he knows which materials he can obtain himself, and adapts the traditional needle-making process to his time constraints.
• Xiang Shang is impulsive and embarrassed about giving away his talisman. Chen both teases him and looks after his safety, insisting he keep a replacement and share others with his parents.
• Old Yu’s warning suggests he suspects Chen’s plans may be dangerous or inappropriate, though Chen does not understand why.

Significant themes

• Resourcefulness and cost: Chen balances limited supernatural resources against what he can make or acquire in the ordinary world.
• Tradition versus practical constraints: He follows ancient corpse-sewing methods but improvises where modern time and circumstances make them impractical.
• Protection and responsibility: Chen’s concern for Xiang Shang and his family contrasts with Xiang Shang’s casual treatment of protective charms.
• Humor amid the uncanny: Their banter and the awkward misunderstanding over the ashes lighten the chapter’s macabre preparations.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Miao makes corpse wax from cremated ashes, then prepares fish bones in wood-ash water to craft Fishbone Needles.
• After drying and carefully sanding the bones, he produces nine polished needles. Xiang Shang helps finish one, becomes proud of it, and wants to give it to the woman he is courting. Chen Miao takes it back, pointing out that a Fishbone Needle is an inappropriate gift.
• Chen Miao completes the needles by adding eyes, then redeems mulberry-bark thread and human-skin paper—the remaining materials needed for corpse sewing—and packs them with the tools.
• He refuses to let Xiang Shang accompany him to his next job: restoring the face and body of Luo Yucheng, whose motorcycle accident left his head severely damaged. The description frightens Xiang Shang into retreating.
• In Shi Manman’s preparation room, Chen Miao watches her remove old filler from Luo Yucheng’s face. Though he uses his iceheart state to steady himself, he doubts he can perform the corpse-sewing work himself.
• Seeing Shi Manman’s calm, skilled hands, Chen Miao considers asking her to do the work. He offers her extra money; she immediately counters with her usual “twenty percent off” deal.

Character developments

• Chen Miao shows patience and practical skill in crafting the tools, but recognizes that knowing a technique does not guarantee he can endure performing it. He begins considering delegation.
• Xiang Shang starts out complaining about the tedious work, then takes pride in the needle he sands. His romantic enthusiasm remains comically misguided, and he proves unable to face the corpse-restoration job.
• Shi Manman is presented as steady and capable around a severely damaged body, while her eagerness to negotiate reveals a shrewd, business-minded side.

Significant themes

• Craft and preparation: Specialized work requires careful materials, time, and precision.
• Knowledge versus ability: Chen Miao may understand corpse-sewing techniques but still struggle with the emotional and physical reality of using them.
• Practical collaboration: Recognizing one’s limits can mean relying on another person’s expertise.
• Dark humor amid death: Xiang Shang’s gift-giving and fear, alongside Shi Manman’s bargaining, lighten the grim setting.

Character interactions

• Chen Miao directs Xiang Shang through the needle-making process, then confiscates the finished needle when Xiang Shang plans to give it away.
• Chen Miao refuses Xiang Shang’s request to join the restoration job; blunt details about the body send Xiang Shang back to the bedroom.
• Chen Miao observes Shi Manman at work and, impressed by her composure, offers her a paid role. She responds by negotiating a discount.

Plot and key events

• Chen Miao asks Shi Manman to perform the restoration of Luo Yucheng’s face while he explains the technique. She agrees, saying she can adapt his instructions if he demonstrates the important steps.
• Shi Manman prepares a damaged model head resembling Luo Yucheng’s and a model torso. Chen Miao also asks her to find practice substitutes for the unusual materials in his kit.
• After returning with supplies, Shi Manman watches as Chen Miao demonstrates two procedures: sewing down the spine and stitching the lips shut.
• Chen Miao explains the spiritual purpose behind these steps: the Soul-Guiding Needle stabilizes the corpse and its soul, while the Throat-Sealing Knot suppresses resentment. He plans to use yin energy during the real procedure to activate their effects.
• He then roughly shapes the model’s face with filling clay, covers it with skin, and begins demonstrating the Eighteen Skin-Painting Forms.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao shows practical trust in Shi Manman’s expertise, delegating the delicate work to her while providing guidance. He remains secretive about the full purpose of the spiritual techniques.
• Shi Manman proves adaptable and resourceful: she prepares custom practice models, finds substitute materials, and confidently assures Chen Miao she can manage the difficult lip stitching.
• Their relationship is cooperative and professional. Shi Manman is curious about Chen Miao’s methods, while he focuses on teaching her the steps needed for the real restoration.

Significant themes

• Practical skill and collaboration: Chen Miao recognizes his own limits and relies on Shi Manman’s experience.
• The uncanny beneath ordinary work: What appears to be facial reconstruction also involves rituals to control a corpse’s soul and resentment.
• Preparation and risk management: The practice models and spiritual safeguards reflect Chen Miao’s effort to make the real procedure both accurate and safe.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Miao teaches Shi Manman the Corpse-Sewing Art by first showing her the procedure on practice materials. His own stitching is clumsy, but Shi Manman’s work is precise and closely matches the face in the photograph.
• He pays her 2,000 yuan after a discount, and she agrees to help sew Luo Yucheng’s face without pressing him about his unusual methods.
• During the real procedure, Chen Miao pauses Shi Manman at several points to use his Yin Gathering ability to make yin energy linger around Luo Yucheng’s head and upper back. Shi Manman notices the cold, but keeps working. The sewing takes about forty minutes; Chen Miao postpones makeup until just before the memorial service.
• The chapter in Chen Miao’s book updates with a successful outcome: Luo Yucheng’s parents are moved by his restored appearance, and his family thanks Chen Miao. However, the reward is not settled yet. Chen Miao suspects he must wait until the memorial service, as he did with Old Wang’s resentment.
• Chen Miao has Luo Yucheng moved to Cold Storage and asks that the compartment not be too cold. The next morning, he finds the stitches fading and the human-skin paper beginning to resemble real skin. He adds more yin energy and leaves.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao grows more confident in his secret art and realizes that Yin Gathering’s ability to concentrate yin energy is crucial to the procedure. He believes Shi Manman cannot reproduce the technique without knowing the materials and conditions required.
• Shi Manman demonstrates far greater needlework skill than Chen Miao. Though puzzled by the cold and his unexplained pauses, she honors their agreement and accepts his instructions, encouraged by the payment.
• Chen Miao and Shi Manman maintain a practical employer–contractor relationship: he gives directions and conceals the reason for them, while she chooses not to interfere.
• Chen Miao’s interactions with Li Fu are limited to arranging safe storage for Luo Yucheng.

Significant themes

• Trust and secrecy: Chen Miao reveals parts of his method while carefully keeping its essential requirements hidden.
• Dignity after death: Restoring Luo Yucheng’s face offers his family comfort and lets them remember him with dignity.
• Uncertainty and delayed consequences: The book records a promising outcome, but Chen Miao must wait for the memorial service to learn whether he has truly succeeded and receive his reward.
• The uncanny made practical: Supernatural cold and yin energy are treated as necessary elements in a procedure carried out with ordinary tools, skill, and paid labor.

Key plot points and events

• Disturbed by Chen Miao’s strange treatment of Luo Yucheng’s face, Shi Manman returns to Cold Storage the next morning. She is shocked to find the face has improved to roughly 50% restoration, despite the poor results she saw the previous day.
• Shi Manman considers several explanations, including that Chen Miao secretly performed more work, but finds none convincing. She suspects his unusual tools and methods—including a sheet she recognizes as human skin—may be connected.
• Before Luo Yucheng’s memorial service, Shi Manman opens his body bag and discovers that all the stitches have vanished, leaving a natural-looking face. Chen Miao tells her to focus on applying the makeup and not worry about the rest.
• At the service, relatives are astonished by Luo Yucheng’s appearance. His parents thank Chen Miao, who accepts their envelope and says the dead deserve the utmost respect.
• Chen Miao completes Chapter Four, “Knightly Spirit.” He receives two qian of Yin Virtue and Luo Yucheng’s gratitude, which grants him mastery of horsemanship and motorcycling—rewards he considers of little use.
• Shi Manman visits Chen Miao with an even thicker envelope and asks him to teach her.

Character developments and interactions

• Shi Manman shifts from confusion and suspicion to accepting that she cannot explain what happened. Although she tells herself she is only an ordinary makeup artist, she is fascinated enough by Chen Miao’s work to seek his instruction.
• Chen Miao remains composed and guarded about his methods. He directs Shi Manman to do her job, then receives sincere thanks from Luo Yucheng’s parents.
• Luo Yucheng’s parents express profound gratitude to Chen Miao for restoring their son’s appearance and helping them say goodbye.
• Shi Manman’s growing curiosity contrasts with Chen Miao’s refusal to explain himself; their relationship ends the chapter with her asking to become his student.

Significant themes

• Dignity in death: Chen Miao’s belief that the dead deserve respect guides his work and earns the trust of grieving families.
• The unexplained and supernatural: Luo Yucheng’s face appears to repair itself, leaving Shi Manman unable to account for the transformation.
• Recognition and gratitude: The family’s thanks—and the system’s reward—affirm the importance of Chen Miao’s service, even if he finds the reward underwhelming.

Plot points and events

• Shi Manman returns to Tianmen Funeral Home with a large sum of money and asks Chen Miao to teach her the mortuary-restoration craft he demonstrated. She nearly kneels to plead, but Chen Miao stops her.
• Chen agrees to teach her the Southern School Corpse-Sewing Secrets under two conditions: she must work at Tianmen Funeral Home for ten years, and she must not share or use the techniques without his permission. Shi accepts. Chen refuses payment, though she takes the money back when he says he will donate it.
• Chen decides Shi could be a useful partner as his workload grows. He plans to withhold instructions for making rare materials and supply them himself, both to control access to the craft and to allow time to judge her character.
• Chen calls Chen Guokun to ask whether yin energy at the funeral home could produce a ghost. Guokun says it would take unusually strong resentment unless Chen had placed a yin-gathering talisman in the cold storage, and warns him not to use such talismans carelessly.
• Chen wonders whether Luo Yucheng’s intense resentment—or prior exposure to a yin-rich place—caused him to become a ghost. With no memory fragments to clarify what happened, Chen practices making a Seven-Star Peach Wood Sword.
• Meanwhile, Xiang Shang meets Li Zi, who invites him to accompany her to her team’s escape-room outing. He is delighted, though he tries to appear composed.

Character developments and interactions

• Shi Manman shows determination, humility, and a strong desire to learn, even physically stopping herself from kneeling when Chen threatens to refuse her. She accepts strict limits in exchange for access to knowledge.
• Chen Miao balances mentorship with caution: he recognizes Shi’s potential and trusts her enough to teach her, but keeps control of the materials and use of the techniques. His conversation with Guokun also shows him investigating the supernatural risks surrounding his funeral home.
• Xiang Shang shifts from earlier dejection to hopeful excitement after Li Zi initiates a meeting, suggesting his feelings for her remain strong.
• Chen and Shi’s relationship becomes a cautious teacher–apprentice partnership; Xiang and Li’s interaction introduces a possible opportunity for closer connection.

Significant themes

• Ambition and apprenticeship: Shi is willing to accept long-term obligations to pursue extraordinary skills.
• Trust tempered by caution: Chen offers knowledge while guarding against misuse and betrayal.
• The supernatural and uncertainty: Chen investigates how resentment and yin energy may create ghosts, but the cause of Luo’s transformation remains unknown.
• Hope and emotional vulnerability: Xiang’s renewed optimism follows Li’s invitation.

Key plot points and events

• Xiang Shang’s visit to his best friend Chen Miao’s Funeral Home seems to lift his spirits about Li Zi. He eagerly accepts her invitation to join her team-building outing, then arranges a car for her rather than offering his motorcycle, remembering Chen Miao’s advice about road safety.
• Two days later, Xiang Shang meets Li Zi and five of her colleagues at a café near a popular escape-room venue.
• The colleagues know about the handmade peachwood talisman Xiang Shang gave Li Zi. Jia Bo mocks it as an old-fashioned, unfinished gift, but Xiang Shang calmly explains that it came from his best friend and that he plans to give similar talismans to his parents.
• Jia Bo makes further pointed remarks and appears jealous of Xiang Shang’s closeness with Li Zi. Sun Yi also needles Jia Bo, suggesting Li Zi attracts wealthy men.
• Sun Yi deliberately spills one coffee, leaving Xiang Shang without a drink. Li Zi offers him hers and takes bottled water instead, making her regard for him clear to the group.

Character developments

• Xiang Shang is excited and optimistic about Li Zi, while remaining considerate of her boundaries. He handles Jia Bo’s mockery without embarrassment and interprets the rivalry with humor.
• Li Zi is comfortable with Xiang Shang and values the thought behind his unusual gift more than expensive presents. Her willingness to share her coffee shows growing warmth, though she is still taking the relationship slowly.
• Jia Bo is revealed as antagonistic and jealous, using the talisman to belittle Xiang Shang and reacting angrily to Li Zi’s attention toward him.
• Sun Yi appears sharp and mischievous: she teases Jia Bo about his jealousy, then seemingly manipulates the coffee situation to test or expose Li Zi’s feelings.
• Chen Miao does not appear in the outing, but Xiang Shang recalls his practical advice about the motorcycle.

Significant themes

• Thoughtfulness over material wealth: Li Zi treasures a handmade talisman despite having access to designer goods; sincerity matters more to her than price.
• Respecting boundaries: Xiang Shang’s considerate choices help Li Zi feel comfortable and allow their relationship to develop at her pace.
• Jealousy and social judgment: Jia Bo’s mockery and Sun Yi’s comments reveal how the group interprets the developing romance.
• Romantic misreading and optimism: Xiang Shang is delighted by Li Zi’s gestures, while humorously dismissing Chen Miao’s expertise in love.

Character interactions

• Xiang Shang and Li Zi share an easy, warm rapport, with Li Zi’s colleagues teasing them about whether they are “just friends.”
• Jia Bo challenges Xiang Shang indirectly through sarcasm, while Xiang Shang responds with confidence rather than defensiveness.
• Sun Yi and Jia Bo exchange barbs about Li Zi and Xiang Shang; Sun Yi’s spilled coffee creates an awkward moment that Li Zi resolves by giving Xiang Shang her drink.
• The colleagues observe Li Zi’s gesture with amused or displeased reactions, leaving Xiang Shang grinning happily.

Key plot points and events

• Li Zi, Xiang Shang, and their coworkers enter a psychiatric-hospital escape room. Xiang Shang quickly spots clues but pretends not to, staying close to Li Zi so she can solve things herself.
• A jump scare sends Li Zi into Xiang Shang’s arms. He comforts her, privately pleased, while she soon pulls away, blushing faintly.
• Sun Yi tries to use the scare to get close to Jia Bo, but he recoils from her strong perfume. Seeing Li Zi and Xiang Shang embrace, Sun Yi grows resentful and throws a doll aside; its eyes briefly glow red.
• In a two-person room, Sun Yi presses a false switch. It triggers a trap that leaves the others wet, and she implies Zhang Ya caused it. Zhang Ya confronts her, but Sun Yi denies knowing what happened.
• Sun Yi wins a later one-person stage, finds a token, and chooses to keep it rather than trade it for information about the difficult final exit. She secretly uses a phone she failed to hand in to take photos and post to social media.
• Xiang Shang eventually activates the mechanisms he had noticed, helping the group find the final exit. Staff catch Sun Yi’s rule-breaking on camera and refuse her reward. She denies taking photos and leaves after pushing past Zhang Ya; the whole group is blacklisted.
• The outing ends with a meal and a subdued farewell. Xiang Shang remains happy about his time with Li Zi, anticipating another date, unaware that their next meeting will bring trouble.

Character developments

• Xiang Shang shows affection through attentiveness, but also quietly manipulates events: he withholds clues and allows a scare because he wants Li Zi to lean on him. He later helps the group once Li Zi is tired.
• Li Zi grows more confident as she becomes absorbed in the puzzles. Her brief closeness with Xiang Shang hints at mutual attraction, though she quickly regains her composure.
• Sun Yi becomes increasingly jealous and hostile toward Li Zi, Jia Bo, and Zhang Ya. Her deception, rule-breaking, and cold exit suggest worsening isolation and resentment.
• Zhang Ya is outspoken and protective of Li Zi, but is angered when Sun Yi shifts blame onto her.
• Jia Bo enjoys showing off his puzzle-solving skill and tries to help Li Zi, but rejects Sun Yi’s attempt at intimacy.

Significant themes

• Jealousy and resentment: Sun Yi interprets Li Zi’s attention and affection as unfair advantages.
• Deception and manipulation: Xiang Shang hides his knowledge for personal reasons, while Sun Yi lies about the trap and her photos.
• Trust and workplace relationships: Sun Yi’s social-media post claims coworkers cannot be true friends, and her behavior deepens the group’s distrust.
• Fear and intimacy: The escape-room scares create moments of closeness, especially between Li Zi and Xiang Shang.
• Uncanny suspense: The doll’s glowing eyes suggest a supernatural thread beyond the ordinary game.

Character interactions

• Xiang Shang stays close to Li Zi, comforts her during the jump scare, and later helps her finish the game.
• Jia Bo gives Li Zi hints, prompting her frustration, while Sun Yi draws him away; he later rejects Sun Yi because of her perfume.
• Sun Yi’s resentment surfaces in her actions toward Zhang Ya and in her hostility toward Li Zi.
• Zhang Ya challenges Jia Bo’s speed-solving, partners with Sun Yi, then confronts her over the apparent trap.
• The group’s final confrontation with Sun Yi ends in mistrust, a blacklist, and an uneasy separation.

Key events

• Li Zi discovers that Xiang Shang’s Peachwood Talisman has broken into three pieces. Worried he’ll be disappointed, she plans to glue it back together.
• At work, news that Sun Yi has resigned sets off a bitter argument among the team. Wang Hongjun attacks Jia Bo, the others join the fray, and Zhang Ya accidentally splashes Li Zi with warm water while trying to intervene. Shaken, Li Zi leaves and takes two days off.
• The following day, Li Zi meets Xiang Shang and returns the shattered talisman. She rejects his gift and his familiarity, tells him not to contact her again, and leaves him stunned.
• At Tianmen Funeral Home, Chen Miao has grown used to Shi Manman’s attentive help. In return, he takes teaching her corpse-sewing techniques more seriously and gives her a spare copy of his book. Their new routine is interrupted by the arrival of a motorcycle rider.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi shifts from guilt over damaging Xiang Shang’s gift to confusion and distress over her coworkers’ sudden hostility. At the meeting, she acts cold and decisive, apparently treating the broken talisman as a reason to end their connection.
• Xiang Shang arrives eager to see Li Zi and appears to be thinking about marriage, but her rejection leaves him bewildered.
• The team reveals how fragile its apparent harmony was: Jia Bo’s insults provoke Wang Hongjun, Zhao Yongsheng tries to intervene, Zhang Ya joins the chaos, and Li Zi is caught in the middle.
• Chen Miao and Shi Manman grow closer through a mutually beneficial routine. His increasing appreciation of her care leads him to become a more committed teacher; she remains devoted and eager to learn.

Significant themes

• Misunderstanding and emotional distance: Li Zi’s break with Xiang Shang contrasts sharply with his warm expectations.
• Hidden tensions beneath social harmony: Sun Yi’s departure exposes hostility within the workplace.
• Reciprocity and growing attachment: Chen Miao and Shi Manman’s practical arrangement gradually takes on the feel of a genuine mentor–apprentice relationship.

Plot points

• Xiang Shang arrives at Chen Miao’s office upset after Li Zi rejects him and returns a peachwood talisman he gave her, apparently smashed. Chen Miao listens to his account and advises him to be more considerate about gifts.
• Xiang Shang admits he has not yet delivered the talismans Chen Miao prepared for their parents. While unpacking them, he receives a call from Shannan Central Hospital: Li Zi has been injured in a traffic accident and is unconscious.
• Xiang Shang rushes to the hospital. Chen Miao notices that the talisman on Xiang Shang’s motorcycle key has broken and, unable to reach him, follows.
• At the hospital, Li Zi angrily orders Xiang Shang out despite his concern. Chen Miao learns that two talismans have broken recently, including one Xiang Shang had used as a replacement. Li Zi’s returned talisman shows no impact damage.
• Chen Miao tests a talisman on Li Zi and checks his book, but neither reveals anything. Convinced that three broken talismans cannot be coincidence, he asks Xiang Shang to recount the past two days, suggesting Li Zi’s sudden change may have an underlying cause.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiang Shang shifts from wounded pride and self-pity to alarm when he hears Li Zi is hospitalized. At the hospital, her hostility leaves him dejected, but he agrees to explain recent events when Chen Miao suggests he may be able to help.
• Chen Miao moves from awkwardly listening to his friend’s romantic troubles to actively investigating a possible supernatural threat. He stays practical and observant, following Xiang Shang and examining the talismans.
• Their friendship is marked by blunt teasing and trust: Chen Miao’s casual questions irritate Xiang Shang, but Xiang Shang ultimately confides in him and accepts his help. Li Zi’s harsh rejection contrasts with Xiang Shang’s concern and deepens the mystery around her behavior.

Significant themes

• The limits of romantic sincerity: Xiang Shang believes a talisman will show his devotion, while Chen Miao reminds him to consider what Li Zi would actually appreciate.
• Concern beneath embarrassment: Despite being rejected, Xiang Shang rushes to Li Zi’s side.
• A sudden change may signal something deeper: Li Zi’s abrupt hostility and the unexplained destruction of three talismans hint at an emerging supernatural danger.

Chapter Summary

Key events

• Chen Miao consults Chen Guokun about Li Zi and Xiang Shang. Guokun suspects a ghost is implanting people with resentment that distorts their behavior, potentially leading them into fatal accidents. Because resentment affects the mind rather than manifesting as yin energy, the Peachwood Talisman may not detect it. Destroying the ghost would likely end its influence.
• Guokun cannot intervene directly in Shannan City because it is outside his jurisdiction. He advises Chen Miao to gather evidence, then offers to contact the city’s Investigators.
• Chen Miao gives Xiang Shang three additional talismans, instructs him to keep them on his person and put one on Li Zi, and asks him to check on the others from their escape-room group. Xiang Shang places talismans on Li Zi and waits with her.
• Chen Miao learns that several of the seven players showed troubling changes: four coworkers fought, one was fired, three were put on leave, and another failed to appear at work.
• At the escape-room venue, Other Dimension, Chen Miao finds that the group played “Third Ward.” Online posts reveal other players have also experienced problems after playing it, suggesting the incident is not isolated. With no guidance from his unresponsive book and growing concerns about the ghost’s reach, Chen Miao calls Guokun again.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao acts cautiously: he wants to help Xiang Shang and Li Zi but recognizes the risks and gathers information before proceeding.
• Xiang Shang is confused by Chen Miao’s warnings and briefly feels he no longer knows his friend, but trusts him and follows his instructions.
• Guokun provides a supernatural explanation and practical advice while respecting jurisdictional limits.
• Chen Miao reassures Xiang Shang without fully explaining the danger, telling him Li Zi likely did not mean what she said.

Significant themes

• Resentment and agency: A ghost’s influence can warp a person’s decisions without completely erasing their will, making victims vulnerable to accidents.
• Caution amid uncertainty: Chen Miao must assess the threat before acting, since its victims, age, and targets remain unclear.
• Trust and responsibility: Xiang Shang relies on Chen Miao even without understanding the situation, while Chen Miao tries to protect his friends without exposing them to greater danger.

Chapter Summary: “Zhong Cai and Xiao Bai”

Key plot points and events

• Chen Guokun reports Chen Miao’s suspected supernatural case in Shannan City to Kui Yang, but makes clear that no Ghost has been confirmed. Kui Yang gives no indication that help will be sent.
• Guokun advises Chen Miao to contact Zhong Cai, who has local connections. He avoids doing more himself because of his strained relationship with Kui Yang.
• Chen Miao contacts Zhong Cai, who readily agrees to come. While waiting at the escape room, Chen Miao finds no sign of Yin Energy among the visitors.
• Zhong Cai arrives with Xiao Bai, his young apprentice, whose unusual eyes let him see certain supernatural beings. Zhong Cai has already contacted a local Grade-D Investigator.
• Chen Miao’s good-and-evil perception detects goodwill from both Zhong Cai and Xiao Bai, easing his suspicions about Zhong Cai. He gives Xiao Bai a Peachwood Talisman, which the boy accepts and thanks him for.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Guokun wants to help Chen Miao but is constrained by his relationship with Kui Yang. He discusses the situation with Tong Yu, who says little when Kui Yang is mentioned and returns to exercising.
• Chen Miao remains cautious about Zhong Cai because of the earlier Zhong Fa affair, but the goodwill he senses—and Zhong Cai’s quick cooperation—makes him more comfortable working with him. He also shows concern for Xiao Bai’s safety and gives him a protective talisman.
• Zhong Cai appears cooperative and protective of Xiao Bai, explaining the boy’s ability and arranging for an Investigator to join them.
• Xiao Bai, though described as withdrawn and quiet, speaks to thank Chen Miao and seems to regard him warmly. Zhong Cai is surprised by the boy’s unusual openness.

Significant themes

• Trust and suspicion: Chen Miao reassesses Zhong Cai when his supernatural perception confirms no ill will.
• Protection amid uncertainty: The group prepares to investigate a possible Ghost without knowing exactly what they will face.
• Fragility and capability: Xiao Bai is a child brought into a dangerous situation, yet his unusual perception may make him valuable.
• Institutional limits and personal connections: Getting help depends not only on official channels but also on local contacts and relationships.

Key plot points and events

• Qi Ning, a young Grade-D Investigator from Shannan City, arrives and examines Li Zi’s cracked Peachwood Talisman. His Revealing Spray exposes black marks, confirming that something supernatural is wrong. He takes the talisman as evidence.
• Chen Miao urges the group to inspect the escape room promptly, worried about Xiang Shang and the talisman’s protection. Qi Ning agrees, and Zhong Cai brings Xiao Bai along, saying the boy needs experience if he is to face such threats in the future.
• Qi Ning lends Xiao Bai a Ghost Cube for protection. At the escape room, he identifies himself to the owner, who verifies his credentials through an official contact. Qi Ning orders the Third Ward closed; the owner quickly refunds bookings and clears the attraction.
• As the group walks through the venue, Qi Ning checks a Yin Energy Detector Watch. Chen Miao senses that the area’s yin energy is elevated, around the level he has felt at the Funeral Home at night.
• Xiao Bai carefully surveys each area while holding Zhong Cai’s hand and the Peachwood Talisman. He appears able to detect more than ordinary supernatural traces—possibly resentment—as Zhong Cai watches his reactions.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao remains urgent and cautious, focused on finding out what happened to Xiang Shang. He observes the others closely and recognizes the limits of his own abilities, comparing himself unfavorably with the gifted Xiao Bai.
• Qi Ning comes across as reserved but capable and well-resourced. His spray, Ghost Cube, and specialized watch suggest he is willing and able to spend heavily on investigative tools. He acts decisively, using his authority to clear the site.
• Zhong Cai shows a protective, mentoring side toward Xiao Bai, bringing him into the investigation and expressing confidence in his potential.
• Xiao Bai is quiet but observant, systematically checking each area and communicating his findings through gestures. His apparent sensitivity to supernatural phenomena hints at unusual talent.
• The owner cooperates once Qi Ning’s identity is confirmed, illustrating the authority the Administration can wield.

Significant themes

• Unequal talent and experience: Chen Miao sees Xiao Bai as exceptionally gifted and himself as an ordinary beginner.
• Preparedness and resources: Specialized equipment can shape an investigation, and Qi Ning’s apparent wealth contrasts with the county investigators’ basic, bulky devices.
• Mentorship and responsibility: Zhong Cai believes Xiao Bai should learn to confront supernatural threats rather than remain unprepared.
• Urgency amid uncertainty: The group acts before the official process can delay them, since the danger and the talisman’s reliability remain unknown.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• During an inspection of the site, Qi Ning and the others find no major changes in the yin energy. They then hear a fight in the surveillance room.
• The owner and two employees escalate a workplace argument into a brawl. When Qi Ning tries to intervene, the owner insults the investigators and offers to double the staff’s wages if they attack them. More employees join, and a fight breaks out.
• Chen Miao grows increasingly irritated, recognizing that his emotions may be affected by a supernatural influence. Xiao Bai takes his hand, helping him notice the doll standing on a storage cabinet.
• Chen Miao consults his book, then lights incense and recites the Grievance-Resolving Mantra. The smoke enters the doll and the people fighting, easing their unnatural anger and restoring their clarity.
• With the disturbance ended, Qi Ning contains the doll in a D-grade Yin-Sealing Pouch. The group leaves to discuss what happened, and Chen Miao sees the book’s new chapter title: “Six Livestock Doll.”

Character developments

• Chen Miao recognizes and controls his own supernatural irritability by activating his Iceheart State. Rather than immediately attacking the doll, he consults the book and resolves the situation through the mantra.
• Xiao Bai demonstrates perceptiveness by identifying the doll and concern for Chen Miao by taking his hand when he is becoming agitated.
• Qi Ning acts quickly to stop the brawl, though his intervention helps intensify it. Once the influence is lifted, he returns to a calm, professional manner.
• The owner and employees are shown as resentful and financially motivated; the doll’s influence amplifies their anger and hostility.

Significant themes

• Supernatural influence and emotional control: The doll magnifies negative feelings, while Chen Miao’s discipline and the mantra counteract its effects.
• Restraint and understanding: Chen Miao investigates the situation before acting, choosing to resolve the spirit’s grievance rather than simply destroy the object.
• Conflict and authority: Tensions over money and rules expose the poor relationship between the owner and his employees, while the investigators’ presence further inflames matters.

Character interactions

• Xiao Bai quietly alerts Chen Miao to both his emotional state and the doll, and Chen Miao responds to his cue.
• Qi Ning’s attempts to manage the brawl clash with the owner’s hostility; after the doll’s influence fades, Qi Ning checks on him and directs everyone outside.
• Zhong Cai protects Xiao Bai during the fight, then follows Qi Ning out with him.

Plot points and events

• Chen Miao reads the afterword to Chapter Five. It reveals that after he laid the escape-room doll to rest, Zhong Cai used a jade pendant and talisman to briefly restore Li Zi’s awareness. Since the force attacking her remained active, Chen Miao took Li Zi and Xiang Shang to Tianmen County to escape its influence.
• The afterword describes a peaceful two-day respite, followed on the third day by a sudden crash: Xiang Shang shoves the steering wheel, sending the car off a mountain road. The narrator dies, and Chen Miao realizes the threat may strike in broad daylight within three days.
• At the escape room, Qi Ning orders the attraction closed pending an investigation and promises to report the incident. Chen Miao asks him and Zhong Cai to help check on his friends.
• At the hospital, Li Zi is increasingly weak and unresponsive, while Xiang Shang remains unharmed, apparently protected by his Peachwood Talisman. Qi Ning’s odor-removing spray has no effect, so he advises moving Li Zi out of Shannan City.
• Zhong Cai offers a Mind-Clearing Pendant and Talisman, which may ease Li Zi’s condition. Xiang Shang places the pendant in her hand as Zhong Cai prepares the talisman.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Miao grows more alarmed as the afterword hints at a near-future attack, but takes practical steps to protect his friends and seeks help.
• Xiang Shang is worried about Li Zi and stays by her bedside. The afterword’s account of his sudden, violent action in the doomed car makes his condition—and the danger to both friends—uncertain.
• Li Zi remains mentally afflicted and physically deteriorates despite resting; Zhong Cai’s earlier treatment had only temporarily restored her.
• Zhong Cai demonstrates knowledge of protective spiritual tools and steps in when Qi Ning cannot help.
• Qi Ning investigates Li Zi but admits his methods are ineffective, then coordinates the escape room’s closure and follow-up investigation.

Significant themes

• Protection versus unresolved danger: talismans and pendants can offer temporary relief, but do not necessarily remove the source of an attack.
• Uncertainty and foreshadowing: the afterword’s apparent future events suggest the threat is still active and may not follow ordinary rules.
• Trust and cooperation: Chen Miao relies on Qi Ning’s official investigation and Zhong Cai’s specialized knowledge to protect his friends.

Key plot points and events

• Zhong Cai uses his blood and a Mind-Clearing Talisman to help Li Zi regain consciousness. The talisman burns away without leaving ashes, and the Mind-Clearing Pendant emits a faint, mistlike aura.
• Li Zi remembers Sun Yi and says she appeared in a terrifying dream. Zhong Cai warns that the talisman and pendant offer only temporary protection; if the entity returns, Li Zi may fall under its influence again. Leaving town remains an option.
• Zhong Cai departs with Xiao Bai after receiving an urgent summons. Chen Miao gives him two talismans in thanks: a Yin-Dispelling Talisman and a Spirit-Sealing Talisman.
• Zhong Cai explains that talismans are valuable and difficult to make, typically selling for 10,000–50,000 Great Xia Currency each. Chen Miao learns that practitioners need to cultivate yin energy to make them freely, and proposes trading talismans with Zhong Cai in the future.
• After they leave, Chen Miao checks the reward for completing Chapter Five: two qian of yin virtue and “Curse Dao: Six Livestock Doll.” Comparing it with other entries, he suspects Curse Dao and Curse Buddha may be connected—and possibly linked to a dangerous organization.
• Reexamining the earlier incident, Chen Miao questions why Xiang Shang’s Peachwood Talisman shattered at a precise point on the road. He theorizes that the ghost may have been brought to Tianmen County and deliberately controlled to target them, rather than being a powerful ghost able to cross regions on its own.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zi awakens confused but gradually recognizes Xiang Shang. Her fear returns when she recalls her dream of Sun Yi, showing that her recovery may be fragile.
• Xiang Shang is overjoyed when Li Zi wakes and comforts her, dismissing the dream as a nightmare.
• Zhong Cai acts as a knowledgeable mentor, explaining the limits and value of talismans. He accepts Chen Miao’s gifts and agrees to trade with him later.
• Chen Miao shows gratitude and growing confidence in his talisman-making, while becoming more suspicious and analytical about the supernatural forces behind the case. Zhong Cai’s departure leaves him feeling alone again.

Significant themes

• Temporary protection and persistent danger: The ritual restores Li Zi, but does not eliminate the threat.
• Knowledge as power: Chen Miao’s questions reveal how much he still needs to learn about talismans, yin energy, and the supernatural world.
• Suspicion of hidden forces: The chapter shifts from treating the ghost as an isolated haunting to considering deliberate human control and a larger organization connected to Curse Dao and Curse Buddha.