Chapter Summaries

Zhong Zhicheng gathered the Able-Bodied Team to return to Qiang Village, investigate what happened there, and hunt the Two-Legged Sheep. As the group set out, Luo Bin worried about You Jiang and realized they needed a code phrase to guard against disguised sheep.

• Zhang Li slept soundly after taking the sleeping pills Luo Shan had given him, while Zhong Zhicheng stayed awake worrying that Qiang Village might hold no answers.
• Zhong Zhicheng gathered the Able-Bodied Team, and You Jiang joined them carrying a large basket as he promised to hunt the Two-Legged Sheep.
• He Gui arrived with two staffs, and Zhong Zhicheng urged him to bring everyone back alive before Luo Feng led the team out.
• Luo Bin counted at least twenty-three Two-Legged Sheep, including one at a stopping point, and He Gui praised the information.
• Luo Feng proposed that the team agree on a code phrase at the first stopping point, while Luo Bin worried about You Jiang and the danger of disguised Two-Legged Sheep.

Luo Feng and Luo Bin reached the first Resting Place with their group, where You Jiang taunted them about Gu Ya and tried to provoke them into attacking him. Luo Feng restrained Luo Bin and urged him to stay calm, leaving them focused on protecting Gu Ya and surviving the journey.

• Luo Feng's group arrived at the first Resting Place, and the Able-Bodied Team pitched tents because the Wooden House could not hold everyone.
• You Jiang quietly pleaded with Luo Feng and Luo Bin to let him go, then taunted them about what he had done to Gu Ya.
• Luo Feng stopped Luo Bin from drawing his knife while You Jiang described the pleasure he took in tormenting Gu Ya.
• Luo Feng arranged who would rest in the Wooden House and tents, then called for the group to discuss matters at three.
• Luo Bin urged Luo Feng to kill You Jiang, but Luo Feng explained that You Jiang was provoking them and warned him to remain calm.
• Luo Feng told Luo Bin that Gu Ya was still alive and that they had to protect her without making another mistake.

Zhang Li reached You Jiang's House, hoping to rescue Gu Ya, but found the basement entrance secured by a heavy chain and heard a woman calling for help below. As strange hair surfaced in the river behind him, Zhang Li tried to think of a way to open the locked entrance.

• Luo Feng began teaching Luo Bin that steady hands and a steady heart were essential to the Luo Family's knife technique.
• Zhang Li woke at noon and hurried discreetly toward You Jiang's House, worried that he had slept too long.
• Zhang Li followed the stream to its source and discovered that water gushed from a huge opening in the mountain, feeding a river in two directions.
• Zhang Li mistook a black plastic bag caught in weeds for something dangerous, while several clumps of hair surfaced behind him unnoticed.
• Zhang Li found an iron basement cover chained to a buried bar behind You Jiang's House and heard a woman crying for help below.
• Zhang Li began searching for a way to open the locked entrance.

Zhang Li broke into You Jiang’s cellar and found the tortured Gu Ya imprisoned there. Meanwhile, Zhang Yunling refused to help a sick child and secretly agreed with the Cloth Doll that Zhong Zhicheng should die.

• Zhang Li decided he could not leave to seek help and entered You Jiang’s house to find tools for opening the cellar.
• Zhang Yunling refused Zhong Zhicheng’s request to prepare medicine for a sick child, accusing him of failing to give her parents justice.
• The Cloth Doll urged Zhang Yunling to kill Zhong Zhicheng, and she told it he would die soon.
• Zhang Li opened the cellar and found Gu Ya locked in a cage among hanging strips of cured meat.
• Zhang Li told Gu Ya that Luo Shan had sent him to rescue her, and Gu Ya rejoiced that her son had sent help.

The Able-Bodied Team prepared to travel to Qiang Village, while Luo Bin struggled with his growing monstrous fingernail and dependence on Lamp Oil. That night, evil spirits sowed suspicion among the men in the tents, and a nearby group accused Yu Wen of being an evil spirit as he tried to open a window.

• He Gui organized the Able-Bodied Team into groups and assigned You Jiang to travel with him toward Qiang Village.
• Luo Feng explained that the group would leave in the morning and reach Qiang Village before dark, avoiding the Two-Legged Sheep.
• Luo Bin noticed his little-finger nail had grown thick and gray, and he swallowed two portions of Lamp Oil to ease his throat's itching.
• An evil spirit outside the tent tried to frighten Old Kong and convince the men that one of them was an evil spirit.
• Luo Feng shouted that the spirits were trying to confuse them, but men in a nearby tent soon accused Yu Wen of being an evil spirit as they struggled to restrain him from opening a window.

After Yu Wen was beaten and restrained for supposedly being an evil spirit, He Gui discovered that he was human. Yu Wen explained that he had tried to close an open tent flap after seeing an evil spirit approach, leaving everyone to reconsider whether the violence had begun over a misunderstanding.

• At daybreak, the Able-Bodied Team dragged the bruised and bound Yu Wen out of his tent, and the crowd demanded that Luo Feng decide his fate.
• He Gui cut Yu Wen's arm and found that he bled like a living person, confirming that he was not an evil spirit.
• Luo Bin and Luo Feng questioned why Yu Wen had tried to open the tent if no evil spirit had bewitched him.
• Yu Wen said someone had left the flap open, and he had tried to close it after seeing an evil spirit approach.
• Luo Feng treated Yu Wen's wound, and Old Kong suggested that they untie him because he had been trying to protect the group.

Luo Bin used Rewind to prove Zheng Tong had left the tent flap open, clearing Yu Wen of suspicion and exposing Zheng Tong as the cause of his injuries. As the team pressed on toward Qiang Village, Luo Bin realized Zheng Tong had been behaving strangely even before the night at the first Resting Place.

• Luo Bin reviewed the previous night's events with Rewind and identified Zheng Tong as the last person to enter Yu Wen's tent, leaving its flap open.
• Luo Feng freed Yu Wen and sentenced Zheng Tong to three days in solitary confinement when they returned to the village.
• The team set out toward Qiang Village, delayed by two members' illness, and continued past the second and third Resting Places without stopping to rest.
• As the group traveled into the evening, Luo Bin noticed Zheng Tong walking hunched over and stroking the hair on his mole.
• Luo Bin used Rewind to confirm Zheng Tong had acted strangely before the night at the first Resting Place and suspected he was the one with something wrong with him.

The Able-Bodied Team reached Qiang Village’s ridged outskirts, where Two-Legged Sheep lured them into stopping to help a trapped old man. After Zeng Shi was gored to death, Luo Feng led the survivors deeper into the village to find shelter before nightfall.

• Luo Feng led the team into the ditches between the ridges as darkness approached, while Luo Bin recognized the old man trapped in barbed wire from their previous visit.
• The old man pleaded for help, and more than twenty apparent people emerged and accused the team of abandoning him.
• Zeng Shi tried to pass the tall figure blocking his way, and the figure revealed itself as a Two-Legged Sheep and pierced his head with a horn.
• The Two-Legged Sheep gored Zeng Shi repeatedly as the surrounding creatures revealed their true forms.
• Luo Feng ordered the survivors to follow him into Qiang Village, where they knew of a shelter that could barely hold everyone.

Luo Feng and Luo Bin led the survivors into an underground room after escaping the Two-Legged Sheep, while Luo Bin grew suspicious of Zheng Tong. Inside, You Jiang questioned whether they had reached Qiang Village, and a strange carving left Luo Bin fearing another danger was nearby.

• Luo Feng led the remaining thirty-four people to an underground room and warned Luo Bin that Zheng Tong seemed suspicious.
• Zheng Tong apologized for his earlier mistake and offered to keep watch, but Luo Feng told him to go downstairs.
• Someone imitating the dead Zeng Shi begged to be let into the room, and Luo Feng locked the hatch before joining the others.
• Luo Feng warned everyone to stay away from the passage and ignore any calls from Zeng Shi, while He Gui examined two people suffering from diarrhea.
• You Jiang questioned whether they were truly in Qiang Village, and Old Kong pointed out a carved character for Qiang on the wall.
• Luo Bin saw that the carving resembled a sheep above another animal and wondered whether a second threat lurked in the village.

Luo Feng organized the exhausted men in Qiang Village and prepared them to investigate the village and hunt the Two-Legged Sheep. As two sick men’s vomiting and diarrhea worsened into bloody stools, Luo Bin feared the illness could spread through the crowded Underground Room.

• Luo Feng addressed the men, explaining Zeng Shi’s death and assigning some to hunt Two-Legged Sheep while the others searched Qiang Village for information.
• Old Kong guarded the passage to the Underground Room as Luo Bin swallowed Lamp Oil and used Rewind to study the Qiang character on the wall.
• The two men with vomiting and diarrhea suffered severe stomach pain, and one soiled himself while the other rushed to a corner and vomited.
• Luo Bin warned Luo Feng that the illness might spread, so the men covered their mouths and noses with cloth.
• The two sick men’s condition worsened, and the nearby men cried out when they saw blood in the stool.

Luo Bin suspected Zheng Tong had caused Zhang Kai and Tang Liang to become ill, but Zheng Tong raised fears that they had caught a contagious epidemic. As the group pressured Luo Feng to cast the sick men out, He Gui joined those questioning his decision, leaving the crisis unresolved.

• Luo Bin watched Zheng Tong act furtively near the corpses and suspected he had tampered with something to make Zhang Kai and Tang Liang sick.
• Zheng Tong warned that the men might have caught the epidemic that killed Qiang Village, alarming the group and urging Luo Feng to decide what to do.
• Luo Feng said he would keep Zhang Kai and Tang Liang apart from the others and take them back, but the group muttered against his decision.
• Luo Bin defended Luo Feng and argued that the group should not abandon sick companions, but the crowd continued demanding that the two men leave.
• He Gui questioned Luo Feng's judgment, and Chen Zhi again pressed him to cast out Zhang Kai and Tang Liang.

Luo Bin watched the villagers force Zhang Kai and Tang Liang out of the passage despite Luo Feng’s objections, and recognized the Cabinet Mountain Village people’s self-serving nature. Two days earlier, Zhang Li freed Gu Ya from a cage, but her panic suggested You Jiang had an accomplice, and she reacted with horror when Zhang Li described his route out.

• He Gui ordered Chen Zhi and two others to take Zhang Kai and Tang Liang outside after they showed signs of illness.
• Luo Feng objected, but the team blocked him, and Luo Bin urged him not to escalate the confrontation.
• Chen Zhi knocked Zhang Kai and Tang Liang unconscious and dragged them through the passage while the others waited.
• After Chen Zhi returned, the group heard agonized screams, and Luo Bin eventually fell asleep while watching You Jiang and Zheng Tong.
• Two days earlier, Zhang Li unlocked Gu Ya’s cage beneath You Jiang’s window and helped her out.
• Gu Ya urged Zhang Li to hurry, then asked in horror which way he had come.

Zhang Li rescued Gu Ya from You Jiang’s underground room, but a disheveled man ambushed them and abducted her. After waking, Zhang Li ran to find the Village Chief, while Zhang Lingyun headed toward You Jiang’s House with food for Gu Ya.

• Gu Ya urged Zhang Li to take her through the village to find the Village Chief, warning him that You Jiang ate people.
• A disheveled man dropped a sack on Zhang Li, knocked him unconscious, and dragged Gu Ya away.
• The man took Gu Ya to his courtyard, beat her, and vowed to make people pay for what they had done to his daughter.
• Zhang Li woke, found Gu Ya missing, and hurried toward the Village Chief, suspecting the attacker was connected to You Jiang.
• Zhang Lingyun collided with Zhang Li, spilling the food she had brought for Gu Ya, and Zhang Li ran on without stopping.

Zhang Yunling discovered that Gu Ya had disappeared from You Jiang’s Underground Room, while Luo Bin and Luo Feng examined the aftermath of the night’s deaths and suspected further dangers in Qiang Village. The chapter ended with someone entering the room as Luo Bin and Luo Feng fell silent.

• Zhang Yunling found the iron cover to You Jiang’s Underground Room open and blood inside, then concluded that Gu Ya had been taken.
• Zhang Li told Zhong Zhicheng that Gu Ya had been snatched after he was attacked, and the two set off to search for her as villagers followed.
• Luo Feng and Luo Bin emerged from the Underground Room and found Zhang Kai and Tang Liang’s mutilated corpses.
• Luo Feng assigned the group to investigate Qiang Village or hunt Two-Legged Sheep, then he and Luo Bin moved the bodies inside.
• Luo Bin told Luo Feng he suspected Zheng Tong had poisoned the two men and that Qiang Village held another terrifying creature, which he inferred from the character 羗.
• Luo Feng signaled Luo Bin to be quiet when someone entered the Underground Room.

Luo Bin and Luo Feng searched Qiang Village while He Gui watched Zheng Tong and the others split into teams. They discovered a hidden Underground Room, where three shadowy figures stood waiting in the darkness.

• Luo Feng told He Gui about his suspicions regarding Qiang and Zheng Tong, and He Gui agreed to watch Zheng Tong.
• Luo Feng divided the Able-Bodied Team, sending You Jiang and half the group into the woods while he, He Gui, and the others searched Qiang Village.
• He Gui explained the Qiang Character discovery to the group and assigned You Jiang to organize the forest search.
• Luo Bin saw what looked like sheepskin-clad people among the village’s sheep-skull poles, but his vision cleared after he bit his tongue.
• Luo Feng, Luo Bin, and Old Kong opened a concealed iron door beneath a bramble-covered mound and crawled into an Underground Room.
• Old Kong lit a miner’s lamp, revealing three shadowy figures standing at the far end of the Underground Room.

Luo Bin discovered a diary linking poison cats to Qiang Village’s sickness and realized Zheng Tong had been possessed by one. Luo Feng’s group captured Zheng Tong, and He Gui attacked him after reading the evidence.

• Luo Bin found a diary beside the corpses of a family who had hanged themselves, documenting poison cats and the villagers’ persecution of the writer’s wife.
• Luo Bin connected the diary’s poison cats to Zheng Tong’s strange behavior and concluded that one had possessed him.
• Luo Feng hurried the group out of the underground chamber and confronted Zheng Tong as he emerged from another passage.
• Luo Feng ordered Old Kong, Yu Wen, and another man to tie Zheng Tong up while Luo Bin gave the diary to He Gui.
• He Gui read the final pages, accused Zheng Tong of being vicious, and kicked him until he passed out.

Luo Bin and the others identified Zheng Tong as possessed by the Poison Cat and prepared to burn him according to the method used in Qiang Village. The group returned from hunting with You Jiang carrying a severed head, while Luo Bin stayed alert for the Poison Cat to possess someone else.

• Luo Feng told Yu Wen and the others that Zheng Tong had killed Zhang Kai and Tang Liang, and He Gui explained that the Poison Cat possessed him.
• He Gui tied up the unconscious Zheng Tong, ordered the others to gather firewood, and drew talismans while Luo Bin watched him.
• The group built a bonfire and placed Zheng Tong inside as he woke and begged them to release him.
• He Gui circled the woodpile, muttered an incantation, and scattered uncooked rice into it while everyone waited for the hunting party.
• You Jiang returned with a bloody human head, and Luo Bin watched him cautiously while keeping most of his attention on Zheng Tong.

Luo Bin and the Able-Bodied Team learned that three people had not returned, while You Jiang’s successful hunt brought six Two-Legged Sheep back to Qiang Village. As He Gui burned Zheng Tong to kill the poison cat possessing him, Luo Bin watched the flames and remained convinced the creature was still trapped inside.

• You Jiang returned with six Two-Legged Sheep and reported that three people from another group had gone missing after his teams set traps.
• Luo Bin realized You Jiang had tampered with events to make him leave Qiang Village, and He Gui asked Luo Feng and Luo Shan to search for the missing people the next day.
• He Gui explained that Zheng Tong was possessed by the poison cat and ordered him burned, while You Jiang arranged for the sheep carcasses to be taken to a cellar.
• He Gui lit the woodpile with Paper Talismans as Zheng Tong pleaded and screamed, and Luo Bin watched from an elevated spot in case the poison cat escaped.
• Luo Bin heard shrill cries from the flames and concluded that the poison cat was still inside Zheng Tong.

After the Poison Cat died, You Jiang led the survivors to a cave shelter and proposed eating the Two-Legged Sheep bodies piled inside. Luo Bin warned them against it, and Luo Feng drew a machete on Chen Zhi after Chen Zhi hurt Luo Bin, leaving the group on the brink of conflict.

• The survivors watched Zheng Tong and the Poison Cat die in the fire and worried about what danger might come next.
• You Jiang led the group to a cave that He Gui had found and prepared it as their shelter for the night.
• Luo Bin saw the supposed sheep carcasses turn into human bodies and noticed the woman's severed head move.
• You Jiang announced that he would cook the Two-Legged Sheep, but Luo Bin shouted that they could not eat them.
• Chen Zhi jabbed Luo Bin's wounded shoulder and mocked him, prompting Luo Feng to point a machete at Chen Zhi's chest.
• Chen Zhi challenged Luo Feng to stab him, and He Gui shouted for Chen Zhi to back off.

Luo Feng stabbed Chen Zhi after he attacked Luo Shan, then warned him never to hurt his son again. As You Jiang roasted Two-Legged Sheep for the group, Luo Bin began craving the meat, while You Jiang secretly planned to kill Luo Feng and Luo Shan and feed Gu Ya to the village.

• Luo Feng stabbed Chen Zhi in the chest and threatened to kill him if he hurt Luo Shan again.
• Chen Zhi backed down, and He Gui lit three oil lamps and helped calm the group.
• You Jiang argued that the Two-Legged Sheep were safe to eat, then began carving and roasting their meat.
• Luo Bin resisted his disgust but started wanting to taste the meat, while Luo Feng remained grim.
• You Jiang privately resolved to kill Luo Feng and Luo Shan and feed Gu Ya to the village.
• Old Kong asked Luo Feng whether he should get some meat for them to try.