Chapter Summaries

Aze stole temple offerings and left Ye Chu to face the villagers, but Ye Chu talked his way out of danger and received cryptic advice from an old man. The chapter ended with Aze returning to Ye Chu, prompting Ye Chu’s heart to skip a beat.

• Aze took Ye Chu to the temple to steal offerings, then slipped away after giving him a steamed bun as villagers closed in.
• Ye Chu claimed an immortal had given him the bun, persuading the crowd to stop accusing him until Old Zhang challenged his story.
• An old man warned Ye Chu that a calamity threatened the village and said Ye Chu shared a deep bond and entwined lives with another child.
• The old man told Ye Chu to follow his heart and pointed him toward town.
• Aze ran back toward Ye Chu with a smile, and Ye Chu’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan investigated the deserted town and learned that a family had gone mad and died after a nighttime outing, with locals blaming the Ghost Opera Singer. The owner directed them to the old opera stage south of town, and they prepared to investigate it.

• Ye Chu told Pei Yanchuan about the Ghost Opera Singer and the mayor’s suspicious behavior, and they went to explore the town together.
• Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan found roadside braziers filled with joss-paper ashes and noted that the streets were empty.
• Pei Yanchuan hurt his foot trying to stop a resident from shutting his door, so Ye Chu treated him inside the man’s home.
• The owner said the family next door had gone out at night, returned mad, and died a few days later, and that people suspected the Ghost Opera Singer.
• Ye Chu asked where the old opera stage was, and the frightened owner pointed south of town.

Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan investigated the opera stage, where Pei discovered that black liquid attracted wood-corroding bugs and that camphor-wood stool legs repelled them. As Pei pressed Ye Chu about their relationship, Ye Chu struggled to understand his feelings, and Pei asked him to choose him.

• Ye Chu carried the injured Pei Yanchuan to the deserted opera stage, where they escaped a swarm of black bugs by climbing onto stools.
• After the bugs dispersed, Pei Yanchuan found black liquid in a broken stool that attracted the bugs, which spat out liquid that corroded wood.
• Ye Chu recognized the stool legs as camphor wood and gave Pei Yanchuan steamed buns, but one contained bright red liquid, so Ye Chu threw them away.
• Pei Yanchuan stopped Ye Chu from leaving and told him he was upset, then said he would stop bothering Ye Chu if Ye Chu did not like him.
• Ye Chu panicked at the thought of Pei Yanchuan leaving and recalled several puzzling voices as Pei took his hand and said, "Star, choose me."

Ye Chu accepted Pei Yanchuan’s confession, and the two shared their first kiss before waiting for the Ghost Opera Singer to appear. They witnessed a bizarre performance at the haunted opera stage, but the singer vanished without revealing anything about the mystery.

• Pei Yanchuan asked Ye Chu to choose him, and Ye Chu chose him and kissed him.
• Pei Yanchuan admitted he had been jealous because Ye Chu had worried about Su Fengzi first, and Ye Chu comforted him.
• Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan hid by the opera stage to see the Ghost Opera Singer appear.
• A green-lit audience and a costumed performer appeared, and Ye Chu recognized the song as “Weiyang Palace.”
• Ye Chu accidentally snapped a branch, making the audience turn their heads toward him and Pei Yanchuan.
• The performer vanished after the song, and Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan wondered if a projector had broken.

Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan investigated the household where a man had supposedly died after disrespecting the Ghost Opera Singer, discovering he had been murdered. They opened the gate to help a frightened girl who had been beaten by her father and had nowhere else to go.

• Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan returned to town and learned that a man in the household they had stayed at had died, supposedly as punishment from the Ghost Opera Singer.
• Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan climbed into the empty house and found the corpse in an unsealed coffin.
• Pei Yanchuan formed a wolf paw and used its claws to open the corpse’s throat, revealing a bead that had suffocated the man.
• Ye Chu found fresh offerings and a portrait of the Ghost Opera Singer, then he and Pei Yanchuan heard a girl say that people had died at the mayor’s house.
• Pei Yanchuan startled the girl’s abusive father into fleeing, and Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan opened the gate as the girl begged them not to kill her.

Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan found Cuihua hiding outside the house and learned that three people had died mysteriously at the Town Chief's home. After feeding her and hearing about a strange master there, they left to investigate while Cuihua hid in the house.

• Pei Yanchuan pulled Ye Chu out of reach when Cuihua panicked, and Ye Chu persuaded her to come inside.
• Cuihua saw the corpse and feared the Ghost Opera Singer had reopened its eyes, but Ye Chu explained that this could happen naturally after death.
• Cuihua ate the offerings and told Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan that three people had died after collapsing in the Town Chief's courtyard at night.
• Cuihua described the Town Chief's wealth and mentioned that he had brought in a powerful-looking master in a long robe.
• Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan left for the Town Chief's house, telling Cuihua to hide if anyone came.

Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan investigated the Town Chief’s suspicious plan and learned more about Aze’s death. They found Lu Rui trying to help Aze’s starving grandson, while the old woman blamed the Ghost Opera Singer.

• Pei Yanchuan and Ye Chu entered the Town Chief’s house and overheard the Town Chief and a robed master stage a conversation about taking a concubine to dispel bad fortune.
• Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan met people carrying Aze’s body and learned that Aze and his mother had both died after he found valuables and held a ritual.
• Ye Chu told Pei Yanchuan about meeting Aze and led him to Aze’s house to investigate.
• Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan overheard Lu Rui arguing with Aze’s grandmother, who refused to let her feed the starving grandson for fear of the Ghost Opera Singer.
• Lu Rui told Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan that she had been staying with the old woman and her grandson, whose family had mostly died.

Ye Chu, Pei Yanchuan, and Lu Rui uncovered evidence that the Town Chief was behind the village deaths, while Lu Rui learned that Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan were together. The Town Chief’s motive remained uncertain as the group returned to the house.

• Lu Rui told Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan about Aze’s death and described seeing a thin man with messy hair enter Aze’s mother’s home carrying something gold and leave with fuller pockets.
• Ye Chu, Pei Yanchuan, and Lu Rui found the Town Chief and the Master in the courtyard, where the Town Chief admitted killing someone who knew too much and discussed searching for a missing girl.
• Ye Chu accidentally made a noise while spying, then fooled the Town Chief and the Master by meowing like a cat.
• Pei Yanchuan suggested that the Town Chief might be causing deaths to make a disaster-relief claim seem convincing, but Ye Chu said it was only a guess.
• Ye Chu told Lu Rui that he and Pei Yanchuan were together, and Lu Rui celebrated winning a bet about which of them would confess first.

Ye Chu and his companions investigated the Town Chief’s suspicious behavior while growing closer as a couple. They planned to search for Youyou and Feng Zi, then learned that Feng Zi was being forcibly prepared to become the Town Chief’s concubine.

• Cuihua recalled that the Town Chief had once become cautious after answering a phone call, leading Ye Chu to suspect someone more powerful was directing him.
• Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan spent the night holding hands and woke up affectionate with each other.
• Ye Chu proposed checking the coffin repair shop and then visiting the Town Chief’s house to look for Youyou and Feng Zi.
• Ye Chu and Lu Rui suspected that the Town Chief had taken Feng Zi because he intended to make someone his concubine.
• At the Town Chief’s house, Su Fengzi protested that he was a man and refused to marry the Town Chief, but guards kept him from escaping.

Su Fengzi learned that the Town Chief's Wife was imprisoned by her family and would eventually be killed by her father, even as he was forced to prepare for marriage. Meanwhile, Ye Chu confronted Old Zhang and learned that the Town Chief had paid him to murder Aze and his mother and frame the Ghost Opera Singer.

• Su Fengzi learned that the Town Chief's Wife had never seen the outside world and that her father pursued immortality by killing people.
• Su Fengzi saw a vision of the Wife's father killing her and warned her to be careful.
• Su Fengzi was surrounded by men and prepared for a wedding, while he wondered where Ye Chu and the others were.
• Ye Chu threatened Old Zhang with a knife and forced him to confess to killing Aze and his mother.
• Old Zhang revealed that the Town Chief had paid him to commit the murders and blame the Ghost Opera Singer.
• Ye Chu promised to leave Old Zhang's corpse intact, then stabbed him.

Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan infiltrated the Town Chief’s wedding feast and rescued Su Fengzi from the bridal sedan chair. Su Fengzi shared what he had learned about the Town Chief’s crimes, while Youyou remained missing.

• Ye Chu, Pei Yanchuan, and Lu Rui entered the Town Chief’s courtyard, where townspeople gathered for a lavish feast and a guarded bridal sedan chair stood outside.
• Pei Yanchuan drew the townspeople into the courtyard, allowing Ye Chu to poison the sedan chair’s guards.
• Su Fengzi emerged from the sedan chair in a wedding dress, and Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan tore the dress off him.
• Su Fengzi explained that the Town Chief had killed an opera troupe after its leader refused to give him his daughter, and that the Town Chief and his powerful father-in-law sought a Longevity Elixir.
• Su Fengzi said he had not seen Youyou, leaving Ye Chu concerned that she was missing from the village, town, and Town Chief’s house.
• Pei Yanchuan disguised Ye Chu and Su Fengzi with mud, then revealed that he and Ye Chu had made their relationship official.

The Town Chief revealed that the banquet guests were meant to be poisoned as ingredients for his father-in-law’s immortality scheme. Su Fengzi and the others realized the feast was a trap and began considering how to save everyone, while Wu You arrived in disguise.

• The Town Chief told the Master that the banquet guests were meant to die, and his wife overheard him.
• The Town Chief’s wife found Old Granny dead, then warned Su Fengzi that her husband planned to kill many people.
• Su Fengzi told Ye Chu and the others that the Town Chief was ready to close the net, and they realized the banquet food was poisoned.
• The Town Chief’s father-in-law arrived with several burly men to inspect the gathered villagers as Alchemy Ingredients.
• Ye Chu spotted Wu You among the men, and she silently acknowledged Lu Rui’s signal to keep her cover.
• Ye Chu considered how to stop the courtyard’s guests from dying despite their belief in the Ghost Opera Singer.

Ye Chu and his companions exposed the old man’s plan to kill the townspeople and stop him from attaining immortality, but the lady of the house died saving Su Fengzi. The players completed the Ghost Opera Singer Instance, while Su Fengzi was left grieving and Ye Chu gave Cuihua a Bodhisattva Painting to show the villagers.

• Ye Chu poisoned the townspeople at the wedding feast while Lu Rui arrived disguised as a bodhisattva on Pei Yanchuan, and the old man revealed his plan to kill enough people to become immortal.
• The Town Chief fled to the bridal chamber, where Su Fengzi’s remote-controlled paper effigy frightened him into fainting.
• Wu You defeated the old man’s bodyguards and joined Lu Rui’s side, but the old man escaped into the house and attacked Su Fengzi.
• The lady of the house took the old man’s knife meant for Su Fengzi, and Wu You killed the old man with a knife to the heart.
• Su Fengzi held the dying lady as Ye Chu comforted him and gave Cuihua a Bodhisattva Painting to show the townspeople after they awoke.
• The players received notice that they had successfully completed the Ghost Opera Singer Instance.

After returning to the Rest House, Ye Chu checked on Su Fengzi, and the group gathered to celebrate with drinks and a game of spin the bottle. The game brought out Ye Chu and Pei Yanchuan’s feelings, leaving Ye Chu caught in a pointed question about whether he would choose Pei Yanchuan if he had other options.

• Ye Chu found Su Fengzi peeling an orange, and Su Fengzi said he needed time to recover from the lady’s death and wondered whether foreseen events could be changed.
• Pei Yanchuan joked that Su Fengzi had lost a bet despite seeing the future, and Lu Rui suggested a celebration after their latest three Instances.
• The group played spin the bottle, and Ye Chu said he had accepted Pei Yanchuan’s confession because Pei Yanchuan’s devotion had moved him.
• Pei Yanchuan asked Su Fengzi about his ex-boyfriend, and Su Fengzi said the breakup had mostly been his fault and that having loved him had been a blessing.
• Wu You asked whether Ye Chu would accept someone else who pursued him as passionately as Pei Yanchuan, and Ye Chu said he thought he would but added that Pei Yanchuan was his only option here.
• Su Fengzi pressed Ye Chu about whether he would choose Pei Yanchuan if he had other options, and Pei Yanchuan interrupted to keep the game moving.

During a bottle game, Pei Yanchuan’s answer upset Ye Chu, who then got drunk and revealed how much he liked him. The next morning, they reconciled and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

• Pei Yanchuan teased Ye Chu by saying he first liked him because he was good-looking, and Ye Chu grew upset.
• Lu Rui asked Ye Chu about secret crushes, and he said he admired his missing older brother before alcohol made him emotional.
• Pei Yanchuan carried the drunken Ye Chu upstairs, where Ye Chu confessed that he liked only him and kissed him.
• Ye Chu became angry when Pei Yanchuan admitted he was still upset, but forgave him after Pei Yanchuan coaxed him.
• The next morning, Pei Yanchuan apologized for sulking, and Ye Chu drifted back to sleep in his embrace.

On Children's Day, Ye Chu chose a black sleeveless short qipao as a surprise for Pei Yanchuan, who had once asked to see him in women's clothes. Pei Yanchuan was delighted, and the next morning he explained that Ye Chu was still asleep.

• Ye Chu saw Lu Rui's cash gift and decided to find a Children's Day present for Pei Yanchuan.
• Ye Chu remembered Pei Yanchuan asking to see him in women's clothes and chose a black sleeveless short qipao from the system's shop.
• Pei Yanchuan grew suspicious when Ye Chu seemed to avoid him, then eagerly waited after Ye Chu invited him to his room at eight.
• Ye Chu wore the qipao and revealed it to Pei Yanchuan in the darkened room; Pei Yanchuan carried him to bed and told him he liked him.
• The next morning, Pei Yanchuan told Su Fengzi that Ye Chu was still asleep.

Ye Chu entered the Amnesia Maze with no memories and began collecting glass shards that revealed fragments of his identity. After night fell, he sensed danger in the maze and heard heavy footsteps approaching from behind.

• Ye Chu entered the Amnesia Maze, found a backpack with food and water, and discovered a badge marked seven on his chest.
• Ye Chu found a shard reading “I'm afraid of the dark” and chose the right path at a fork by tossing the shard.
• Ye Chu found a shard reading “I'm very smart,” which became a badge and led him to realize that collecting his badges would restore his memories.
• Ye Chu ate a biscuit as the maze grew cold and dark, then continued onward while feeling uneasy about the vines and searching for a place to spend the night.
• Ye Chu found a shard reading “I hate guns,” put it in his backpack, and heard heavy footsteps approaching behind him.

Ye Chu was thrown out of the entrance by the Silver-Horned King, lost his memories again, and met Ye Mo, another amnesiac with a similar face. The two teamed up and fled when the Silver-Horned King appeared nearby.

• The Silver-Horned King expelled Ye Chu from the entrance, removed his badge, and returned his backpack with a compressed biscuit inside.
• Ye Chu forgot who he was, entered the maze again, and encountered Ye Mo, whose badge bore the number five.
• Ye Chu and Ye Mo agreed to travel together, and Ye Mo explained how Memory Fragments revealed whether memories belonged to someone.
• When they heard the Silver-Horned King approaching, Ye Mo grabbed Ye Chu and ran.

Ye Chu and Ye Mo explored the maze, where Ye Chu encountered a memory fragment that showed his painful childhood and the rejection he faced from his parents. After they returned to the maze, Ye Mo asked whether Ye Chu remembered him, but Ye Chu did not hear the question.

• Ye Chu absorbed the [I Need Praise] fragment and needed Ye Mo to praise him until his despair faded.
• Ye Chu and Ye Mo continued through the maze, and Ye Chu found a fragment reading [I hate Mom and Dad] that dissolved when Ye Mo touched it.
• Ye Chu witnessed memories of his parents punishing him for imperfect test scores and dismissing his attempt to celebrate his mother's birthday with a cake.
• Back in the maze, Ye Chu saw Ye Mo wiping away tears, and Ye Mo asked whether Ye Chu remembered him.
• Ye Chu did not catch the question, and Ye Mo said it was nothing.

Ye Mo told Ye Chu that they were brothers and explained how their parents had treated them as tools for academic achievement. As Ye Chu’s childhood memories returned, he confronted Ye Mo for disappearing and leaving him behind, while Ye Mo insisted he had not abandoned him but could not remember what happened next.

• Ye Mo revealed that he was Ye Chu’s older brother and described their parents’ pressure to excel in school.
• Ye Mo recalled secretly watching over Ye Chu and the brothers’ childhood visits, when they shared snacks and played together.
• Ye Mo explained that their parents separated them after blaming their time together for his poor exam performance.
• Ye Chu remembered that Ye Mo had left for Tsinghua and angrily accused him of disappearing and abandoning him.
• Ye Mo caught Ye Chu’s wrist and insisted he had not abandoned him, but admitted he could not remember what happened after leaving.