Chapter Summaries

Guan Xinrui concealed the murder investigation in a memorial about an auspicious dragon scale, while the murderer secretly returned to the County Office to find it. The scale’s uncanny influence appeared to reveal a bloodied vision targeting Madam Guan, leaving the murderer afraid that the treasure was tied to an evil force.

• Guan Xinrui voided his original report and drafted a new memorial describing the dragon scale as an auspicious sign, omitting the murder.
• The bailiffs returned from a dangerous sea search without finding any scales, and Guan Xinrui rewarded them for their efforts.
• The murderer slipped into Guan Xinrui’s study, read the documents, and spotted the hidden wooden box containing the dragon scale.
• Madam Guan and Qiao'er entered the study and discussed Guan Xinrui’s plan to obtain the Zhou family’s dragon scale.
• The murderer saw a vision of bloodied water and a disheveled woman staring toward Madam Guan, then suspected the dragon scale was uncanny and connected to the voice from his dream.

Guan Xinrui changed his report about the dragon scale after Liu Shi challenged his motives, while Chai Wang encountered a terrifying black-robed man at the County Office. Yi Shuyuan sensed the man’s draconic might and transformed himself into a white-haired elder as Chai Wang fled.

• Liu Shi confronted Guan Xinrui over his attempt to hide the murder connected to the dragon scale, and he agreed to discard the report and write it anew.
• Guan Xinrui took the dragon scale away, and Chai Wang abandoned his plan to steal it from the County Office.
• A black-robed man seized Chai Wang with a gesture, frightened him into answering questions, and vanished into the rain.
• Yi Shuyuan left his illusory double at the restaurant and joined Hui Mian near the County Office, where they saw birds felled by the man’s draconic might.
• Yi Shuyuan transformed into a white-haired elder, and the fleeing Chai Wang glimpsed him while leaping over a courtyard wall.

Yi Shuyuan avoided entering the County Office, while Daoist Xue and Shopkeeper Zhang examined unusual copper coins from an unknown dynasty. Outside the official residence, the Black-Robed Man Chai Wang secretly altered Guan Xinrui’s dragon scale, and Guan Xinrui later forced Qiao’er to go to bed with him.

• Yi Shuyuan decided to shelter from the rain rather than provoke the black dragon at the County Office, and said a clash with him was inevitable.
• Daoist Xue told Shopkeeper Zhang that the unusual Hongxing Tongbao coins came from a foreign dynasty and offered silver to buy some.
• The Black-Robed Man Chai Wang sensed the dragon scale on Guan Xinrui and sent a drop of blood into it, causing a brief change in the scale.
• After Liu Shi said she was unwell and directed Guan Xinrui to Qiao’er, Guan Xinrui entered Qiao’er’s room while she was bathing.
• Guan Xinrui ordered Qiao’er out of the bath, carried her to the bed, and acted roughly toward her.

The White-Haired Old Man realized the North Sea Dragon Lord had contaminated the dragon scales and set events in motion, while Liu Shi suffered a terrifying nightmare linked to a vengeful spirit. After Daoist Xue and Shopkeeper Zhang encountered the old man sheltering from the rain, they invited him inside, impressed by his appearance.

• The White-Haired Old Man explained to Hui Mian that the North Sea Dragon Lord had contaminated the dragon scales, and said their contest of magic had already begun.
• Liu Shi fell asleep, dreamed of a blood-covered woman accusing her of murder, and woke screaming; Guan Xinrui comforted her.
• Hui Mian questioned why the vengeful spirit targeted Liu Shi instead of Guan Xinrui, while the White-Haired Old Man and Hui Mian watched the County Office.
• Daoist Xue rushed out after sensing something unusual, startled when he found the White-Haired Old Man sheltering by the gate, and Shopkeeper Zhang arrived with an umbrella.
• Shopkeeper Zhang and Daoist Xue invited the White-Haired Old Man inside for food and warmth, then marveled at his extraordinary appearance.

Yi Shuyuan took the guise of Old Man Yu, drank with Xue Yuan and Shopkeeper Zhang, and learned more about Xue Yuan before leaving at dawn. Xue Yuan missed him, then returned to the County Office and spotted a woman who appeared surrounded by foul energy.

• Old Man Yu joined Daoist Xue and Shopkeeper Zhang for wine, introduced himself as Yu Kang, and told them the copper coins came from Great Yong.
• As they ate and drank, Old Man Yu learned about Xue Yuan and tested his resolve to banish evil spirits while Xue Yuan was half-asleep.
• Xue Yuan woke to find Old Man Yu gone and hurried out after him, but missed him at a nearby eatery.
• Xue Yuan returned to the County Office to investigate the strange sound he had heard the previous day.
• Xue Yuan saw two women leave the official residence and sensed foul energy around one of them.

Daoist Xue followed Liu Shi to the City God Temple, learned about her nightmares and chill, and went with her to inspect the county office. His compass reacted near Guan Xinrui’s study, and seeing the magistrate left Daoist Xue wondering whether Guan Xinrui was human.

• Xue Yuan followed Liu Shi and Qiao'er to the City God Temple and decided that Liu Shi’s darkened countenance meant she faced an imminent calamity.
• Daoist Xue questioned Liu Shi about her recent chill and nightmare, then persuaded her to let him inspect the county office.
• Old Man Yu told Hui Mian that Xue Yuan was meant to disrupt the county magistrate’s schemes, not confront the North Sea Dragon Lord.
• Daoist Xue searched the county office and slipped past two runners to reach Guan Xinrui’s study, where his compass showed no movement.
• Guan Xinrui opened the study door, and Daoist Xue felt an uncanny coldness as he wondered whether the magistrate was human.

Daoist Xue searched the County Office for the source of Liu Shi’s nightmares, but Guan Xinrui’s dragon might frightened him into leaving without revealing his suspicions. After divining that Liu Shi was in danger, he returned to give her talismans and urgent warnings, then resolved to prepare for a confrontation.

• Guan Xinrui ordered the bailiffs to release Daoist Xue and allowed him to search the County Office, while Daoist Xue privately feared the magistrate’s overwhelming power.
• Daoist Xue questioned the bailiffs about recent cases and used copper coins, including a Hongxing Tongbao, to divine during lunch; the result alarmed him.
• Daoist Xue told Liu Shi and Qiao'er that he had found nothing, accepted Liu Shi’s silver, then returned to give Liu Shi talismans and urge her to stay with her parents and avoid marital relations.
• Daoist Xue left the County Office and decided to prepare to confront whatever was causing trouble, while a White-Haired Old Man remarked that he had confused two things.

Daoist Xue sought the City God's guidance on saving Liu Shi and learned that he might succeed only by sacrificing his life. As he left the temple, he chased Old Mr. Yu but found a divination stick bearing a cryptic verse before the old man vanished.

• Daoist Xue performed an elaborate incense ritual and asked whether he could save Liu Shi and whether Liu Huifang was innocent; the City God answered both questions with sacred divination signs.
• Daoist Xue's third question caused the divination tube to break and two incense sticks to snap, prompting the City God to investigate and recognize a complicated connection to the matter.
• Daoist Xue concluded that saving Liu Shi would likely cost him his life, while the City God watched and returned to his statue.
• Daoist Xue gathered the incense ash and belongings, then left the temple in a troubled state.
• Daoist Xue recognized Old Mr. Yu singing across the street and ran after him, but stumbled when a bamboo divination stick pierced his foot.
• Daoist Xue read the stick's lower-middle fortune verse, and the White-Haired Old Man vanished.

Daoist Xue repaired a roadside Land God temple and met an old man who revealed that County Magistrate Guan Xinrui had hired killers to target his first wife. The old man vanished, and Daoist Xue realized the Land God had guided him toward the truth about Liu Shi’s nightmare.

• Daoist Xue followed Old Mr. Yu out of town, found a bamboo lot’s meaning troubling, and repaired a collapsed Land God temple beside an abandoned road.
• Daoist Xue offered a steamed bun to the Land God, then gave food and water to a destitute old man who had taken the offering.
• The old man told Daoist Xue that Guan Xinrui had sent men to hire killers to murder his first wife, whom Daoist Xue connected to Liu Shi’s nightmare.
• The old man suggested the County Magistrate’s strange behavior might relate to dragon scales fishermen had found and sold at Haiyu Harbor.
• The old man disappeared, and Daoist Xue recognized the statue as the Land God and bowed in thanks for the guidance.

Daoist Xue followed the Land God's clues to investigate the dragon scales and the County Magistrate, then began preparing talismans to help Liu Shi. He ended the chapter writing with resolve, while Hui Mian watched from the rafters.

• Daoist Xue returned to the County Office residence and bribed two runners to summon Qiao'er, then asked Liu Shi detailed questions about her marriage and the County Magistrate.
• Daoist Xue went to Haiyu County's harbor market and learned that Li Laosan of White Wave Village had sold three dragon scales and that officials had urged his family to find more.
• Daoist Xue bought shellfish and a live chicken, returned to his rented home, and prepared ink from cinnabar, chicken blood, and incense ash.
• Hui Mian watched as Daoist Xue wrote unusual talismans containing details about Guan Xinrui and references to someone's first wife.

As a storm gathered over Haiyu County, Daoist Xue prepared talismans and Hui Mian noticed a birthmark on his arm that suggested a past life. At the County Office, resentful energy formed into a ghost outside Liu Shi’s protected room, and she recognized its accusation from her dream.

• Ya You watched the storm over Haiyu County and resolved that whoever was helping Ya Ci would eventually have to reveal himself.
• Daoist Xue finished his talismans and meal, while Hui Mian spotted a pale red birthmark on his right arm and suspected it was linked to a previous life.
• Guan Xinrui left for North Sea Commandery with the Zhou family's dragon scale, while Liu Shi stayed behind at the County Office.
• Qiao'er placed Daoist Xue's talismans around Liu Shi's room, and Liu Shi reassured her that they would face Guan Xinrui's future together.
• Resentful energy gathered around the study, became a disheveled figure, and reached Liu Shi's door, where the talismans kept it back.
• The ghost accused Liu Shi of killing it, and Liu Shi told Qiao'er that its voice matched the one from her dream.

A ghost attacked Liu Shi and Qiao'er at the County Office, but Xue's talismans drove it away, leaving Old Zheng unconscious. Xue returned to the office and restored Old Zheng's spirit, while suspecting the ghost was more powerful than he had expected.

• Liu Shi and Qiao'er called for help, and a ghost appeared behind Old Zheng as he stood outside their room.
• The ghost rushed toward the doorway, but Xue's talismans burned it and blasted it into the rain; Old Zheng collapsed unconscious.
• The constables summoned Xue, who arrived at the County Office and found his door talismans damp and icy from the attack.
• Xue burned a talisman, fed its ashes to Old Zheng, and called his spirit back into his body.
• Old Zheng woke coughing up the ashes, and Xue wondered why the spirit-returning spell had worked so remarkably well.

Daoist Xue heard Old Zheng’s account of seeing a Vengeful Ghost and inferred that she had been wounded and drowned, while reassuring the County Office that he had a plan to deal with her. Chief Constable Zhong left to rest before the night watch, but an encounter with a White-Haired Old Man left him wondering about his own fate.

• Old Zheng recovered enough to recount seeing a blood-covered Vengeful Ghost, watching her get blasted away from Liu Shi’s room, and hearing a voice send him back to his body.
• Liu Shi identified Gong Mizhi and Jiao Liangyi as the county’s Left and Right Day Patrol Envoys, while Daoist Xue deduced that the Vengeful Ghost had likely been cut and thrown into water, perhaps a well.
• Daoist Xue told Chief Constable Zhong that Madam Guan was connected to the Vengeful Ghost’s grievance, though she had not caused it, and the County Commandant arranged night watches and a Divine Altar.
• Chief Constable Zhong left early to rest but continued his patrol route and passed the inn where he had investigated a murder.
• Chief Constable Zhong helped a fallen White-Haired Old Man, who warned him that releasing his righteous spirit might cost him his life before he left.

Chief Constable Zhong joined Daoist Xue and the other constables to guard Liu Shi from the vengeful ghost, which attacked her during a storm. As the ghost overwhelmed their defenses, a rooster’s crow rang out and the talisman net shone again.

• Chief Constable Zhong asked his wife whether ghosts remembered their lives and whether unjustly killed ghosts could identify their killers.
• Chief Constable Zhong arrived at the County Office for the midnight watch, and Daoist Xue warned that the vengeful ghost would be stronger on its third appearance.
• As rain fell, the ghost attacked Liu Shi through a dream, and Qiao'er found her choking herself while possessed.
• Daoist Xue drove black vapor from Liu Shi with a talisman, revealing the vengeful ghost outside as it battered the warded room.
• Daoist Xue summoned a talisman net, but the ghost’s power and the rain weakened it before he could activate his rooster talisman.
• A rooster crowed from outside the County Office, and the talisman net began shining as the ghost screamed.

Ya You watched the roosters’ crowing disperse the storm over Haiyu County, while Daoist Xue and Chief Constable Zhong fought the ghost at the county office. Daoist Xue unleashed a fire dragon made from talismans as Zhong escaped with Liu Shi, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Ya You heard the roosters crowing across Haiyu County, realized the storm had been dispelled by mortal power, and suspected a sorcerer was at work.
• Daoist Xue’s talismans trapped and engulfed the ghost, but its scream disrupted his spell and its explosion injured him, Chief Constable Zhong, Liu Shi, and the bailiffs.
• The ghost broke through the barrier and attacked, but Daoist Xue pushed Zhong out of its reach and used his remaining talismans to drive it back.
• Daoist Xue told Zhong to take Liu Shi to the City God Temple, and Zhong carried her out while Daoist Xue confronted the ghost in the garden.
• Daoist Xue formed a seal and transformed his blood-powered talismans into a fire dragon that charged at the ghost.

Daoist Xue defeated the vengeful ghost with a fire dragon spell but collapsed from exhaustion. After awakening, he told Chief Constable Zhong that the ghost had died unjustly and that the true culprit remained free, leading Zhong to suspect County Magistrate Guan Xinrui.

• Daoist Xue summoned a fire dragon that destroyed the ghost, then passed out as Chief Constable Zhong and the others watched.
• The next morning, the County Commandant praised Zhong and ordered him to recuperate while the County Office cared for the unconscious Daoist.
• Zhong recalled the ghost's cries for her husband and her life, and began to suspect the case involved Madam Guan.
• Daoist Xue woke and told Zhong that the ghost had died unjustly and that the true culprit was still at large.
• Zhong considered the evidence and concluded that County Magistrate Guan Xinrui might be the true culprit.

After the vengeful ghost was destroyed, Liu Huifang searched Guan Xinrui’s study and found a clan genealogy with a name blotted out beside her husband’s. She gave Zhong Xingwen information about Guan Xinrui’s origins and urged him to uncover the truth, and he set out to pursue justice.

• Landowner Liu and his wife thanked Daoist Xue and Chief Constable Zhong for saving Liu Huifang, and offered rewards to the County Office’s men.
• Liu Huifang refused her mother’s suggestion that she return to her parents’ home and searched Guan Xinrui’s study with Qiao'er.
• Liu Huifang and Qiao'er found an intimate illustrated album and Guan Clan genealogy showing Guan Xinrui’s name beside a blotted-out entry.
• Liu Huifang spoke privately with Daoist Xue, then gave Zhong Xingwen a slip of paper containing Guan Xinrui’s original residence and other details.
• Zhong Xingwen accepted Liu Huifang’s request to investigate the ghost’s accusation and left determined to seek justice.

Zhong Xingwen returned home with a County Office reward and prepared to leave for a month to visit an old senior, while Old Man Yu reflected on how the previous night had changed ordinary lives. Daoist Xue warned Zhong about possible danger on his journey and secretly left him more than two hundred taels, then disappeared before Zhong could return the money.

• Zhong Xingwen reassured his wife about the County Office haunting and told her he had received a month off to visit an old senior.
• Zhong Xingwen showed his wife the County Office reward of more than a hundred and twenty taels, and the family celebrated their plans to visit her parents.
• Old Man Yu told Hui Mian that an insignificant game to the North Sea Dragon Lord had stirred waves in other people's lives.
• Daoist Xue visited Zhong Xingwen, gave him a copper coin sword and talismans, and warned that another vengeful ghost might await him.
• Zhong Xingwen refused Daoist Xue's offer of money, but discovered after Daoist Xue left that he had secretly placed more than two hundred taels in his robes.

After surviving the Ghost Demon, Daoist Xue returned home and met Old Man Yu, who explained how one crow had awakened the roosters across the city and gathered the force of heaven and humanity. Old Man Yu disappeared by dawn, leaving Daoist Xue with a profound new understanding of the Dao.

• Daoist Xue left the County Office and went home, suspecting that Old Man Yu had helped him defeat the Ghost Demon.
• Old Man Yu was waiting outside Daoist Xue's home with his Backpack and divination banner, and Daoist Xue thanked him for saving his life.
• Old Man Yu said that the roosters' answering calls had gathered the momentum of the mortal world and stirred the momentum of heaven.
• Daoist Xue listened through the night, realizing the explanation was an imparting of the Dao.
• At dawn, Daoist Xue found Old Man Yu gone and sat in quiet contentment, reflecting on what he had learned.

Guan Xinrui brought two mysterious scales to Prince Xin and demonstrated their supernatural properties, convincing the prince that they were genuine dragon scales. Prince Xin became captivated by the treasure and its strange aura.

• Guan Xinrui arrived in North Sea Commandery and went directly to Prince Xin's Residence with a box containing two scales.
• Prince Xin agreed to meet Guan Xinrui after learning that he was Liu Yanchong's son-in-law.
• Guan Xinrui presented the scales as a treasure worthy of the imperial clan and described their appearance at sea.
• Prince Xin examined a scale and felt a peculiar aura, then asked Guan Xinrui how he could prove it was from a dragon.
• Guan Xinrui had the servants darken the reception hall, where the scales glowed, then placed one in water and showed how it produced rippling light.
• Prince Xin declared the objects genuine dragon scales and praised them as an extraordinary treasure.