Chapter Summaries

Sanhe, a frustrated teacher, met an old Taoist who predicted he would leave his job and offered cryptic directions toward success. After the Taoist vanished, Sanhe chose to believe a broader path awaited him and resolved to pursue great ambitions.

• Sanhe reflected on his unfulfilled ambitions while walking home from work.
• An old Taoist stopped Sanhe and correctly identified his C9 University education, teaching job, and recent employee award.
• The old Taoist challenged Sanhe’s confidence in science and said he must go up before going down, with south as up and north as down.
• The old Taoist walked away before Sanhe could ask what his words meant.
• Sanhe decided to believe that a road to success existed and vowed to reach for great heights.

Wang Sanhe remembered how the brutal 2003 college entrance exam had affected him and He Xiang, then asked her to explain the phrase “south is up, north is down.” He Xiang explained its historical background and began to hint at other reasons behind old directions for toilets and kitchens, but stopped before revealing them.

• Wang Sanhe recalled how he had stayed confident during the 2003 math exam while He Xiang lost her chance at Tsinghua or Peking University.
• Wang Sanhe asked He Xiang what “south is up, north is down” meant, pretending he had seen the phrase on a scrap of paper.
• He Xiang explained how ancient Chinese maps and customs treated south as the honored, upper direction and north as the lower one.
• He Xiang said there were additional reasons people called going south to the toilet “going up” and going north to the kitchen “going down,” then stopped her explanation.
• Wang Sanhe urged He Xiang to finish explaining the other reasons.

After Uncle Feng promised Sanhe a prosperous future studying and working in Singapore, Sanhe quit his teaching job and prepared to leave. Holding his visa and ticket, he realized Singapore lay directly south of China and wondered whether the old Taoist’s prediction had come true.

• He Xiang explained the meanings of shang and xia, and Sanhe later remembered that their conversation was the last time he saw her.
• Sanhe’s mother introduced him to Uncle Feng, who praised his daughter’s success in Singapore and offered to help Sanhe study there.
• Uncle Feng promised that Sanhe could attend the National University of Singapore and earn a high income through a part-time job.
• Sanhe persuaded his hesitant parents and decided to go to Singapore.
• Sanhe applied for his passport and visa, resigned from his teaching job, and bought a plane ticket.
• Sanhe realized Singapore was directly south of China and wondered whether the old Taoist’s prediction had been fulfilled.

While traveling to Singapore, the narrator reunited with the old Daoist in Shanghai and accepted his offer to teach divination. The old Daoist explained that predictions were mathematical deductions based on known conditions and that outcomes could be changed, leaving the narrator eager to learn marriage divination.

• The narrator encountered the old Daoist at a Shanghai airport bookstore and greeted him as his master.
• The old Daoist accepted the master-disciple relationship and offered to teach the narrator divination to avoid trouble in his marriage prospects.
• The narrator expressed disappointment that he was not being taught a miraculous supernatural art.
• The old Daoist explained that predictions followed from correctly identified conditions, and that interventions could avert predicted outcomes.
• The narrator understood the old Daoist's explanation and eagerly asked to learn marriage divination.

The narrator learned marriage-partner direction divination and Minor Six Ren from the old Taoist, then received an ominous Red Mouth reading about studying in Singapore. He pressed the old Taoist to explain how he had identified the narrator’s university at their first meeting.

• The old Taoist explained how to calculate a marriage partner’s direction and cautioned the narrator to judge divination results objectively.
• The narrator asked for a more practical technique, and the old Taoist taught him Minor Six Ren finger-counting divination.
• The narrator divined the outcome of his upcoming studies in Singapore and got Red Mouth, which foretold disputes and trouble.
• The old Taoist said the reading was accurate because the narrator had chosen that moment to ask, while the narrator privately doubted it.
• The narrator asked how the old Taoist had identified his school when they first met, and the old Taoist called it a trifling trick.
• The narrator urged the old Taoist to explain the trick anyway.

The old Taoist explained how observation and independent judgment could guide divination, and why surrendering to fortune-telling could make a person’s life feel more chaotic. He then began teaching the narrator to question assumptions, leaving him stunned by a new interpretation of the story of Old Man Sai losing his horse.

• The old Taoist explained that he inferred the narrator’s university through face reading and clues about his background, rather than divination.
• The old Taoist taught the narrator to treat divination as a tool and warned him not to let it control his choices.
• The old Taoist connected blindly relying on fortune-telling to increased inner uncertainty, explaining that cultivation meant building inner stability.
• The old Taoist told the narrator not to fear ghosts if he acted conscientiously and urged him to cultivate independent judgment.
• The old Taoist recited the story of Old Man Sai and emphasized that the man was skilled in the arts, leaving the narrator astonished.

While waiting at the airport, the narrator looked up the origin of the old frontiersman story, then listened as the old Taoist explained how differing viewpoints cause arguments. The lesson left the narrator laughing at the arguing couple and feeling ashamed of their own habit of proving others wrong.

• The narrator searched online and discovered that the old frontiersman in the story was described in the original text as skilled in divination.
• The old Taoist told the narrator not to take everything too seriously, and the narrator quoted Chairman Mao in response.
• The narrator noticed a married couple arguing over whether to queue early or wait seated to board their plane.
• The old Taoist explained that arguments arise from differing viewpoints rather than facts, using water and its freezing point as examples.
• Little Bun recalled how altitude affected water in Lhasa, and the narrator realized the old Taoist's lesson also applied to their own arguments.

The narrator and Little Bun learned from the old Daoist about accepting different viewpoints, cultivating virtue, and studying the Dao. After giving the narrator three books on divination and related arts, Master warned him not to tell other people’s fortunes, leaving the narrator to explain that some matters depended on fate.

• Little Bun asked whether arguments came from people failing to understand their own viewpoints, and the old Daoist agreed that people should cultivate themselves and accept others’ positions.
• The narrator asked about a discipleship ceremony, and Master told him to remember that the Dao and virtue were one.
• Master explained how the Dao gave birth and virtue nurtured, then handed the narrator three books covering divination and other arts.
• Little Bun asked whether studying the books would make the narrator a great fortune-teller, and Master told him not to tell other people’s fortunes.
• The narrator quoted the Mencius to explain that some things could be sought within oneself while other outcomes depended on fate, but Little Bun remained baffled.

The narrator explained the risks and types of fortune-telling before Old Taoist asked about Duke Huan of Qi’s death. After the narrator clarified that several titles referred to Tian Wu, he asked Old Taoist whether Tian Wu had died of an illness.

• The narrator told Little Bun that studying fortune-telling could teach her its principles, though success also depended on outside factors.
• Old Taoist warned that fortune-tellers could be beaten whether their predictions were right or wrong and described three kinds of fortune-tellers.
• Old Taoist asked how Duke Huan of Qi died, and Little Bun wondered whether Bian Que had visited Duke Huan of Cai or Duke Huan of Qi.
• The narrator explained that Duke Huan of Cai and several other titles referred to Tian Wu, distinct from the earlier Duke Huan of Qi, Jiang Xiaobai.
• The narrator asked Old Taoist whether Tian Wu had died of an illness.

The old Taoist used the story of Bian Que and Duke Huan to teach that people should not offer help or pass on Taoist methods without sincerity and a proper connection. He explained why he had accepted the narrator as his disciple, leaving the narrator reverently wrapping and protecting the book he had received.

• The narrator and Little Bun laughed with the old Taoist over his claim that Bian Que had angered Duke Huan of Cai to death, then joked that Duke Huan's murdered brother and nephew had returned as ghosts.
• The old Taoist explained that different medical and spiritual traditions described illness from different perspectives, and said their explanations could connect to the same underlying truth.
• The old Taoist taught that physicians should not intrude and that people should not rush to instruct or help those who had not asked.
• Little Bun asked whether supernatural help required payment, and the old Taoist said payment was only an outward form while sincerity was what mattered.
• The old Taoist told the narrator that his earnestness and devotion to the Way had led him to accept him as a disciple, and said sacred methods should be passed on carefully to worthy people.
• The narrator carefully wrapped the old Taoist's book in clean cloth and placed it in his backpack.

Master opened my Heavenly Eye and told me that many heaven-sent encounters awaited me, leaving me to experience and guide them toward resolution. After Master disappeared without telling me his name or teaching me to catch ghosts, I was left embarrassed by the airport crowd's stares and went outside with Little Bun.

• Master held his hand over my Baihui Acupoint and tapped between my eyebrows, opening my Heavenly Eye and letting me perceive the world through a boundless virtual screen.
• Master told me my unusual fate meant I could not return to the sect for quiet cultivation and urged me to keep morality and virtue in mind as I faced future encounters.
• I promised to remember Master's words, then eventually came back to my senses and saw him walking away.
• I shouted after Master to ask his name, whose disciple I was, and whether he could teach me to catch ghosts, but he vanished without answering.
• The airport crowd stared at me after hearing my shouts, and I told Little Bun I wanted some air.
• Little Bun agreed to walk outside with me.

After leaving the airport lounge, the narrator and Little Bun talked about their hopes for the future before boarding their flight to Singapore. The narrator was captivated by an elegant woman traveling with two children, then exchanged QQ details with Little Bun as they prepared to part ways on the plane.

• The narrator and Little Bun left the departure lounge and talked about Little Bun's café job in Singapore and the narrator's studies abroad.
• At the boarding gate, the narrator watched an elegant woman manage her luggage and two children, while Little Bun nudged the narrator to board.
• The narrator and Little Bun exchanged QQ details because they had separate seats and different agents meeting them in Singapore.
• The plane took off, carrying the narrator and Little Bun toward Singapore.

After studying the Tianyi Notes on the flight, the narrator arrived in Singapore and met Sister Feng, whose face suggested possible trouble with children and marriage. He traveled to his arranged accommodation, struck by the city’s lush greenery and imagining a bright future there.

• The narrator studied his master's Tianyi Notes during the flight and reflected on the Taoist principles of essence, qi, and spirit.
• After landing at Changi Airport, the narrator struggled to find Door 8 because a woman he asked for help could not understand Mandarin.
• The narrator found Door 8 and met Sister Feng, then noticed features beneath her eyes that his notes associated with childbearing difficulties and marital discord.
• Sister Feng drove the narrator toward his arranged accommodation, and he admired Singapore's greenery and prosperous surroundings.

Wang Sanhe and the other international students settled into life in Singapore, but their savings dwindled while the promised well-paid jobs failed to materialize. When Sister Feng finally arranged low-paying work, they realized they would have to survive by spending as little as possible.

• Wang Sanhe met Sun Qirui, Lu Chang, and Du Le, and the four students shared a cramped room in Balestier.
• The students explored nearby Singapore and tried durian, but their excitement faded as they worried about the cost of living and their shrinking savings.
• After repeated requests, Sister Feng arranged jobs for the students, who eagerly discussed how they would spend their wages.
• Sun Qirui and Du Le handed out newspapers, while Wang Sanhe and Lu Chang washed dishes at a hot pot restaurant for only a few hundred Singapore dollars a month.
• Wang Sanhe and the others began eating plain white bread and combining lunch and dinner to stretch their dwindling money.

The narrator and the other newcomers struggled to make ends meet after the promised high-paying jobs failed to appear, and the narrator used divination to glimpse how Sun Qirui and Du Le might earn money. When classes began, the narrator discovered they had been misled about the school, program, major, tuition, and legality of their jobs, leaving them with no clear way to support themselves.

• The narrator watched Sister Feng and her wealthy boyfriend socialize with the newcomers and judged that his features suggested a violent, abusive nature.
• The narrator divined that Sun Qirui would earn money by selling bodily pleasures, while Du Le would rely on hard labor.
• The narrator discovered that the school was private, the program and major were wrong, and only four months of tuition had been paid.
• The narrator learned private-school students could not legally work part-time in Singapore and faced deportation if caught.
• The narrator realized the family would have to send more money for living expenses and tuition, and their imagined future collapsed.

Sanhe tried to recover the unpaid portion of his tuition from Uncle Feng and Sister Feng, but they refused and threatened him. He chose not to press the matter so he could remain in Singapore, and accepted the ominous meaning of his earlier Red Mouth divination.

• Sanhe called Uncle Feng and learned that the school had received only four months of the year's tuition he had paid.
• Uncle Feng admitted that he had taken money from Sanhe and scolded him for asking about it.
• Sister Feng threatened to have Sanhe blacklisted and deported if he mentioned the money again.
• Sanhe decided that demanding his tuition back could cost him his chance to stay in Singapore, so he gave up seeking redress.
• Sanhe recalled his master's Red Mouth divination and concluded that its warning had come true.

The narrator accepted that his earlier prediction was Heaven’s will and decided to move away from the women he believed would face karmic retribution. Du Le later confirmed the narrator’s prediction about Sun Qirui, leaving the narrator eager to learn how Sun had found a wealthy American girlfriend despite their language barrier.

• The narrator decided to move away from the women he believed lacked virtue and searched online for a cheaper room near Paya Lebar MRT Station.
• The narrator invited Du Le to share the room, but Du Le insisted on asking Sun Qirui before agreeing.
• The narrator told Du Le that Sun Qirui had somewhere else to go, based on his hexagram and facial readings.
• The next day, Du Le told the narrator that Sun Qirui had a rich American girlfriend who lived nearby and that he would not move.
• The narrator wondered how Sun Qirui had won her over despite knowing little English and resolved to ask him for advice.

After Sun Qirui refused to move, Du Le chose to stay with him, while the narrator rented a place closer to school in Paya Lebar. She described Singapore’s housing types and noted that her wealthy landlord’s family helped her through a financially difficult period.

• Du Le decided to stay because he believed Sister Feng’s connections would be useful.
• The narrator moved out alone with only one suitcase and rented a place near school in Paya Lebar.
• Du Le stayed behind and witnessed the narrator’s predictions come true.
• The narrator described Singapore’s public housing, condominiums, and landed properties.
• The narrator explained that her landlord’s family rented out the terraced house and did not collect rent in person.
• The move ended just as school was about to start.

Wang Sanhe began accounting classes in Singapore, where he learned about the ACCA program and was dazzled by his classmates. During a break, he befriended Bai Zhigao, just as a timid voice approached them.

• Wang Sanhe explained how the CAT and ACCA programs worked, while Du Le admired his exam exemptions and the prospect of a degree from Oxford Brookes University.
• Wang Sanhe reflected that he had failed to research the school before traveling to Singapore, but decided to take things one step at a time with his visa and student pass.
• Wang Sanhe found the women in his accounting classes beautiful and struggled to focus amid their appearance and the English-language lectures.
• Wang Sanhe noticed another Chinese student who seemed equally captivated and judged him to be sensitive based on his facial features.
• Wang Sanhe introduced himself to Bai Zhigao during the break, and a timid voice spoke to them.

He and Bai Zhigao befriended Naja, a Sri Lankan classmate, on their first day of school. The three introverted friends stuck together until they left school, missing chances to mingle with women.

• Bai Zhigao excitedly tried out his English on Naja, while He struggled to understand his pronunciation.
• He learned that Naja was from Sri Lanka and had come to Singapore hoping to earn an ACCA qualification like his older brother.
• He interpreted between Naja and Bai Zhigao, and the three quickly became friends.
• He, Bai Zhigao, and Naja stayed together through school and rarely socialized with women.