Chapter Summaries

Song Ning fled toward Yu City and met Changmei and Chunlan on the train, then stopped to help Chunlan after she dangled from a platform railing. A group of pursuers arrived and ordered all three women taken back to their Village Elder.

• Song Ning called Zheng Zhenguo's home, but a man denied it was the right number and hung up.
• Song Ning evaded anyone pursuing her and boarded the train to Gui City.
• Song Ning overheard Changmei explain that she and Chunlan were returning home after a disaster and a landslide.
• Song Ning arrived in Gui City and hesitated outside the station guesthouse, worried Gu Zheng might find her there.
• Song Ning and Changmei pulled Chunlan up from a steep drop as pursuers arrived and ordered them all taken back to the Village Elder.

Song Ning woke in Zhanli Village after being captured and learned from Changmei that the village had sealed itself off until Chunlan’s forced wedding. She realized Chunlan was the chosen successor to the village pharmacist, but still wanted to know when she could leave.

• Song Ning woke in a wooden stilt house, where Changmei apologized for her capture and offered her medicine to counteract the mawu grass.
• Song Ning questioned why she had been taken, and Changmei explained that the village had mistaken her for an accomplice and sealed Zhanli until Chunlan’s wedding.
• Changmei told Song Ning that a collapse had buried six households, including Chunlan’s family, and that villagers blamed the disaster on Chunlan and Changmei breaking ancestral customs.
• Changmei explained that Chunlan was chosen to inherit the pharmacist’s secret sex-swapping herb formula and therefore could not refuse the marriage arranged by the village elders.
• Song Ning recognized Zhanli as the Dong village from later reports and asked Changmei how much longer she would have to wait before leaving.

Song Ning explored Zhanli village, discovered a house containing the landslide victims’ corpses, and lost her way while trying to return to Changmei’s home. After hearing someone inside the locked house, she opened a barred window and was grabbed and dragged inside.

• Changmei told Song Ning that Chunlan was imprisoned and being forced to marry a close relative chosen by the village elders.
• Song Ning learned about Zhanli’s history and its secret Sex-Swapping Herb formula, then left the unlocked house to explore.
• Song Ning found a row of corpses inside a stilt house and was chased away by an angry young man carrying a hunting rifle.
• Song Ning became lost, found Changmei’s locked house, and heard someone making noises inside.
• Song Ning opened the barred window, and someone grabbed her collar and dragged her inside.

Song Ning escaped from a gorilla called Saba, only to learn that killing it had made her an enemy of the village. As she planned to flee after dark, Changmei begged her to take her along and offered to guide her.

• Song Ning fought Saba with a broken cage bar, struck its eye, and escaped through a window with Changmei's help.
• Changmei treated Song Ning's wounds and explained that the villagers revered Saba as an offering to Sasui for Chunlan's wedding.
• Changmei warned that the Village Elder and the healer would force Song Ning through a cruel punishment for killing Saba.
• Song Ning decided to escape before the villagers discovered Saba's death, and Changmei suggested waiting until the village gathered for a ceremony after dark.
• Song Ning asked Changmei to explain the village's terrain, but Changmei knelt and begged Song Ning to take her along as a guide.

Song Ning helped Changmei rescue Chunlan and led the three women out of the village, but they reached a guarded checkpoint blocking their route through the gorge. Song Ning began planning how to get past it.

• Changmei persuaded Song Ning to help her and Chunlan escape while the villagers attended a funeral ceremony.
• Song Ning and Changmei knocked out Chunlan’s guards, found her unconscious, and revived her with food and acupuncture.
• The three women hid the guards and slipped through the village into the mountains, following Changmei’s remembered herb-gathering trail.
• Changmei told Song Ning they still had to pass a second guarded checkpoint in a narrow gorge.
• Song Ning smeared mud on Chunlan’s face and began explaining her plan to Changmei and Chunlan.

Song Ning and Changmei tried to smuggle Chunlan out of the stockade by using Chunlan’s bracelet to persuade the guards to open the gate. As Chunlan neared the exit, a blue signal revealed trouble inside the stockade, and Song Ning knocked out a guard before urging them to run.

• Changmei and Song Ning persuaded Uncle Jingnan to let them leave for Baolin Stockade by showing Chunlan’s bracelet and claiming Song Ning needed medicine.
• Two young guards opened the gate and went to fetch a torch while Changmei distracted one of them.
• Song Ning signaled for Chunlan, who had been hiding nearby, to slip through the gate.
• A blue signal flared three times over the stockade, and the guard spotted Chunlan trying to escape.
• Song Ning knocked the guard unconscious and shouted for Chunlan and Changmei to run.

Song Ning helped Changmei and Chunlan escape Dong Village, then fought off their pursuers and fled into the mountains. As the villagers closed in, she jumped into a torrent, unaware that someone had followed her in.

• Chunlan and Changmei ran from Dong Village while Song Ning stayed behind to hold off their pursuers.
• Song Ning fought the guards, took Jingnan hostage, and stabbed his calf before fleeing when more villagers approached.
• Song Ning climbed the mountain to avoid the pursuit and spotted villagers spreading through the valley with torches.
• Song Ning followed the sound of water toward a torrent, then jumped in as the pursuers climbed after her.
• Another figure rushed to the torrent and jumped in after Song Ning.

Song Ning survived a plunge down a mountain waterfall after Gu Zheng caught up and pulled her into his arms. After waking beside him at a riverside fire, she attacked him, broke down in tears, and demanded that he stop following her and ask his questions directly; Gu Zheng agreed.

• Song Ning drifted toward a waterfall, and Gu Zheng caught her and shielded her as they plunged into the water together.
• Song Ning woke at dawn beside a fire, where Gu Zheng was keeping watch.
• Song Ning attacked Gu Zheng, and he restrained her until she exhausted herself and began crying.
• Gu Zheng carried Song Ning to the fire and gave her warm water.
• Song Ning accused Gu Zheng of following her because he suspected her and demanded that he ask what he wanted to know.
• Gu Zheng agreed that he had many questions for Song Ning.

Song Ning explained that her unusual knowledge came from her teacher Jiang Chengshi and that she was pursuing a mission entrusted to her grandfather, with “Blue Tears” as her lead. Gu Zheng recognized the locations she had circled as top-secret research bases, and the chapter ended with Song Ning realizing her kidnapping had brought her to the area of the famous 022 Base.

• Song Ning told Gu Zheng that Jiang Chengshi had taught her for two years, and Gu Zheng believed her after recognizing Jiang Chengshi as the gifted son of a military commander he knew.
• Song Ning explained that her grandfather had inherited a comrade’s unfinished mission and that she was trying to follow its geographic clues.
• Song Ning said she needed to find “Blue Tears” first, and Gu Zheng realized the circled locations matched the country’s top-secret research bases targeted by the “K” organization.
• Gu Zheng told Song Ning that the evidence found in Yanling County had made following her worthwhile.
• Gu Zheng revealed that they were in Qiuyun Town, Pingshun County, Gui City, and Song Ning recognized it as the location of the famous 022 Base.

Song Ning and Gu Zheng reconciled after she confronted him about suspecting her, then followed the stream and found their way back near Dong Village. They planned to search the landslide site while avoiding the villagers.

• Song Ning apologized for striking Gu Zheng, then explained how betrayed she had felt when she learned he had suspected her from the start.
• Gu Zheng said he still needed evidence to assess her connection to K, but trusted her as a person, and the two agreed to speak honestly and work together.
• Song Ning learned Gu Zheng had followed her since Yakou Village and laughed off her frustration after he offered to let her hit him again.
• Song Ning and Gu Zheng followed the stream downstream until it disappeared underground, then spotted prayer flags that Song Ning identified as likely soul-calling banners near Dong Village.
• Song Ning and Gu Zheng found a path and saw stilt houses on the mountainside; Song Ning said they should search the landslide site and avoid the villagers.

Song Ning and Gu Zheng explored a mountainside collapse and found a buried passage ending at a hidden metal door. They opened it with the same weight-activated mechanism as the base in Yanling County and prepared to investigate what lay beyond.

• Song Ning and Gu Zheng found a concealed opening in the collapsed mountainside and dug their way into a passage.
• Gu Zheng led Song Ning through the dirt-filled passage, where they discovered a solid metal door with no visible way to open it.
• Song Ning asked Gu Zheng to test whether the door responded to a combined weight, and he lifted her in his arms.
• Song Ning heard a faint sound after Gu Zheng moved near the door, and the door slid open.
• Song Ning and Gu Zheng recognized the matching weight-activated mechanism and suspected they had found another base belonging to the same people.

Song Ning and Gu Zheng uncovered evidence that the hostile operatives had been conducting aerospace materials research, then searched the facility for equipment and weapons. After finding iron weights used to operate weight-triggered doors, they discovered the passage ahead had been completely blocked by earth.

• Song Ning found research documents on a new material and told Gu Zheng the experiments involved aerospace applications, linking the facility to the K organization and Old Man Song.
• Song Ning and Gu Zheng packed important documents as evidence, then searched an equipment room and took working lights and a sheathed dagger.
• Gu Zheng explained how he had followed Song Ning out of the village and admitted he had feared she would get into a fight.
• Song Ning and Gu Zheng put on lab coats and entered a passage, where they found iron weights that had been used to activate the facility's doors.
• The weight-triggered door would not open again, and Song Ning ran to the end of the passage, where she found it blocked by earth.

Gu Zheng and Song Ning deduced that a laboratory explosion had collapsed the passage and began searching for a hidden exit. They found a concealed iron platform that lowered them underground, where an unexpected sight awaited.

• Gu Zheng and Song Ning reasoned that a laboratory explosion had caused the collapse and that the fleeing workers must have used another exit.
• Gu Zheng reflected on his feelings for Song Ning and decided to trust her judgment and help her uncover the truth.
• Song Ning found an iron plate in the passage, and Gu Zheng stepped onto it with her.
• The iron plate descended into an underground space, and Gu Zheng and Song Ning were surprised by what they saw when it stopped.

Gu Zheng and Song Ning searched the underground shrine for a way out, realizing the Dong villagers had sealed the passage with explosives. When Song Ning fell through a hole beneath the altar, Gu Zheng jumped after her and found her unconscious in a chamber ringed with statues of Sasui.

• Gu Zheng and Song Ning explored the lamp-filled underground space and found an old shrine dedicated to Sasui.
• Gu Zheng concluded that the villagers had lit the lamps as funeral lights and that an explosion had joined the shrine to the base’s second basement.
• Gu Zheng discovered that the Dong people had used explosives to block the passage, leaving them trapped underground.
• Song Ning and Gu Zheng searched the patterned wall and then moved the shrine table to look beneath it.
• Song Ning fell through a hole beneath the altar, and Gu Zheng jumped down after her.
• Gu Zheng found Song Ning unconscious in a circular chamber lined with niches containing statues of Sasui.

Gu Zheng discovered that Song Ning had a severe infection and a rapidly worsening fever after the gorilla wounded her, while they were trapped beneath the worship chamber. Unable to find an exit, he tried to keep her warm and hydrated, then prayed to Sasui for help.

• Gu Zheng examined Song Ning and found her arm badly bruised and clawed, with a dangerous fever.
• Gu Zheng searched the shrine chambers for an exit but could not open the massive door beside the bull's head ornament.
• Gu Zheng cooled Song Ning with a wet towel, then held her when feverish chills made her shiver.
• Gu Zheng gave Song Ning water mouth-to-mouth after she could no longer swallow from a flask.
• Gu Zheng carried Song Ning before Sasui's statue and prayed for a way out and for her protection.

Gu Zheng searched the altar for a way to treat the unconscious Song Ning and discovered a hidden box of medicinal pills. As Song Ning’s condition worsened, he tested a pill on himself before trying to give one to her, leaving him forcing it down while struggling to control his feelings for her.

• Gu Zheng carried Song Ning to the altar to retrieve a sealed wine jar, and her foot struck it, triggering an opening in the Sasui statue.
• Gu Zheng searched the opening and found a fragrant wooden box containing three pills.
• Song Ning collapsed, and Gu Zheng gave her water mouth-to-mouth before breaking away and resuming his efforts to help her.
• Gu Zheng swallowed one pill to test it, then used the wine to wipe Song Ning’s body while waiting for signs of poisoning.
• When Song Ning’s condition continued to worsen, Gu Zheng fed her a pill in pieces and sealed her mouth with a kiss so she would swallow it.

Gu Zheng cared for Song Ning through a dangerous fever, and the medicine from the Wooden Box helped her recover. After returning the remaining pill to the altar, Song Ning and Gu Zheng gathered their belongings and stood before the great door.

• Gu Zheng waited for Song Ning's fever to ease, then gave her water and noticed the swelling and discoloration on her arm had faded.
• Song Ning dreamed of her loved ones before waking in Gu Zheng's arms and thanking him for caring for her.
• Gu Zheng explained what had happened, and Song Ning suggested returning the last pill to the Wooden Box.
• Gu Zheng replaced the Wooden Box in the altar and closed its hidden compartment beneath the statue of Sasui.
• Song Ning and Gu Zheng gathered their belongings and stood before the great door with the bull's head hanging beside it.

Song Ning and Gu Zheng escaped Dong Village through a hidden passage, then hid in a supply truck that carried them to Gui City. They reached a guesthouse to recover, knowing a more difficult challenge still awaited them.

• Song Ning realized the Medicine Maiden's bracelet might serve as a token, and Gu Zheng fitted it into the bull's nose to open the hidden door.
• Song Ning pressed the bull's eyes to release the bracelet, and Gu Zheng led her through the passage into the village's ritual grounds.
• Gu Zheng and Song Ning sneaked through Dong Village and hid among melons in a small truck.
• The truck carried them out of the village and into Gui City, where Gu Zheng booked them two rooms at a guesthouse.

Song Ning returned to Rong City with Gu Zheng, where she learned Elder Zhou had been discharged and received an invitation to dine at Commander Jiang’s home. She prepared to have her account verified by Jiang Chengshi, who could confirm her training.

• Gu Zheng told Song Ning that he would report her account about Jiang Chengshi and that the higher-ups would decide whether her protection detail could end.
• Song Ning and Gu Zheng traveled back to Rong City, where Yang Qi picked them up and Gu Zheng checked her into the Military District Guesthouse.
• Song Ning visited the hospital to see Elder Zhou but learned that he had recovered and gone home to recuperate.
• The Guesthouse receptionist told Song Ning that people knew she and Lu Changqing had broken off their engagement, and Song Ning confirmed it.
• The receptionist informed Song Ning that Commander Jiang had invited her to dinner at his home, where she expected the higher-ups to verify her account through Jiang Chengshi.

Song Ning attended dinner at Commander Jiang’s home, where Jiang Chengshi revealed how excited he was to meet the woman who had written him a note claiming to be his friend from the future. The chapter ended with Jiang Chengshi eagerly holding Song Ning’s hand as his family and Gu Zheng watched in surprise.

• Song Ning bought gifts at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and learned Du Mei had been fired.
• Two men who had been told by Brother Yang to watch Song Ning recognized her at the cooperative.
• Gu Zheng drove Song Ning to Commander Jiang’s home after dismissing Yang Qi from the car.
• Commander Jiang and Lin Huiping explained that they had tricked Jiang Chengshi into returning home and called him downstairs without warning him Song Ning was there.
• Jiang Chengshi rushed to Song Ning, grabbed her hand, and showed overwhelming excitement at seeing the woman whose note said she was his future friend.