Recaps

Li Jie told Jiang Chen and Zhao Erhu that two ghosts had revealed plans to kill him, and Jiang Chen promised he would keep him safe. While investigating reports of drownings at the manor, Jiang Chen noticed that an employee’s WeChat name did not match the name on her badge.

• Zheng Shaoming arranged for several female classmates to stay in the best rooms at the Resort Manor, and the students dispersed after dinner to explore.
• Li Jie told Jiang Chen and Zhao Erhu that he had heard ghosts plotting to kill him, then found the restroom empty and the word “death” written in red across a stall.
• Jiang Chen saw black resentment around Li Jie and told him to stay close to him or Zhao Erhu for protection.
• Jiang Chen approached an employee sweeping the Arch Bridge and learned that several people had drowned in the lake after a woman died there.
• The employee shared her WeChat code with Jiang Chen, whose screen showed the name Sun Die even though her badge read Liu Guihua.

Jiang Chen learned more about the manor’s disappearances from Sun Die, then returned to the guest rooms with Li Jie and Zhao Erhu. Meanwhile, Jiang Xinyi faced a shadowless woman trying to enter her room, and the chapter ended as Jiang Chen and the others arrived in the corridor.

• Sun Die told Jiang Chen that former employees had vanished, warned him to avoid rooms near the lake after dark, and described a wet female ghost and nighttime intruders.
• Sister Wu reprimanded Sun Die for talking during work and dismissed her warnings as nonsense to Jiang Chen.
• Jiang Chen sent Sun Die three thousand yuan and returned toward the rooms with Li Jie and Zhao Erhu as darkness fell.
• In Guest Room 106, Jiang Xinyi saw a wrinkled woman peering through her open doorway and realized the woman cast no shadow.
• The woman announced she would enter to take things, while Jiang Xinyi stayed hidden under the covers and silently prayed for her not to come in.
• Jiang Chen, Li Jie, and Zhao Erhu arrived outside Jiang Xinyi’s room.

Jiang Chen confronted a middle-aged ghost by startling her with a megaphone, then kicked her severed head away and destroyed her lingering soul. After celebrating the Ghost Qi he gained, he joined Li Jie and Zhao Erhu to investigate a commotion among the students, Sun Zhibing, and Sister Wu.

• Li Jie and Zhao Erhu spotted a middle-aged ghost creeping toward Jiang Xinyi's room as Jiang Chen sneaked up behind her with a megaphone.
• Jiang Chen startled the ghost with loud shouts, and she dropped her head to frighten him.
• Jiang Chen carried the severed head outside and kicked it across the artificial lake into the parking lot.
• Jiang Chen repeatedly tripped the headless ghost as she chased her head, then destroyed her lingering soul with a punch and gained nearly four hundred Ghost Qi.
• Jiang Chen left Jiang Xinyi alone and went with Li Jie and Zhao Erhu to investigate a commotion involving students, Sun Zhibing, and Sister Wu.

Jiang Chen investigated Zhao Qian’s disappearance after learning that a fake gardener had taken her and the resort was haunted by rumors of people being turned into potted plants. The chapter ended with Zhao Qian bound among the killer’s grotesque creations as Jiang Chen headed toward the place where he had noticed something across the lake.

• Zhang Lu and another student told Sun Zhibing that Zhao Qian had disappeared after approaching a gardener who was pruning trees and potted plants.
• Jiang Chen questioned Zhang Lu about the plants, prompting Supervisor Wu to admit that the resort had no person-sized ornamental trees and that its last gardener had died mysteriously.
• Supervisor Wu explained that the gardener drowned after claiming lake weeds had tangled his shears, despite the resort regularly clearing the lake, and that people later went missing and were rumored to appear as potted plants.
• Jiang Chen noticed something across the lake and went there alone without alerting the others.
• Zhao Qian remained tied to a post in a pot while the middle-aged gardener pruned other victims and cut off one of her fingers.

Jiang Chen found Zhao Qian being tortured by the Gardening Ghost and used its potted corpses to approach without being noticed. He killed the ghost, freed Zhao Qian, and took her toward their waiting classmates.

• The Gardening Ghost prepared to cut off Zhao Qian’s fingers after clipping her nails, while she trembled in terror.
• Jiang Chen reached the clearing, saw the ghost’s corpse-filled potted plants, and concealed himself among them as he moved closer.
• The Gardening Ghost sensed something behind him, then realized an unfamiliar potted plant had appeared beside him.
• Jiang Chen revealed himself and killed the Gardening Ghost with the Great Strength Bull Demon Fist.
• Jiang Chen dispelled the lingering ghost qi from Zhao Qian, freed her, and caught her when she collapsed.
• Zhao Qian recognized Jiang Chen and thanked him through tears, and he set off with her toward their classmates.

After Jiang Chen rescued Zhao Qian from a supernatural pursuer, the students regrouped, but three remained missing. Jiang Chen headed to the restaurant to investigate and learned that a murderous presence there attacked anyone who noticed it following them.

• Jiang Chen brought Zhao Qian back to the students, and she told them that a murderer had chased her before Jiang Chen saved her.
• Sun Zhibing counted the students and discovered that Yang Zhi, Zhao Xiaodong, and Zheng Shaoming were missing.
• Jiang Chen agreed to search the restaurant while Zhao Erhu stayed behind to protect the students.
• On the way, Jiang Chen questioned Supervisor Wu, who said previous resort staff had died in strange incidents.
• Supervisor Wu recounted how an old guard was killed after spotting a murderer following him, and warned that people at the restaurant must never look back if they heard extra footsteps.

Jiang Chen investigated the deaths linked to the lake and found Zhao Xiaodong cornered by two plotting ghosts in the dark restaurant. After rescuing him, Jiang Chen headed to the restroom to confront the ghosts and learn how they planned to kill him.

• Supervisor Wu told Jiang Chen that two armed guests who had plotted a murder had drowned in the lake, and Jiang Chen suspected the water ghost was tied to the resort’s secrets.
• Jiang Chen found a recently murdered resort employee in the restaurant and realized the plotting ghosts seemed to abandon their attacks when discovered.
• Jiang Chen found Zhao Xiaodong hiding against a corridor wall and learned the ghosts had planned to kill him after cutting the power.
• Zhao Xiaodong explained that he survived a knife attack by pressing his back to the wall, and Jiang Chen deduced that the ghosts would not attack while someone else was nearby.
• Jiang Chen dispersed the resentment from Zhao Xiaodong’s wound and led him toward the restroom to investigate the ghosts’ next plan.

Jiang Chen lured two ghosts into listening to a staged conversation, then killed Zhou Hai and Zhang Jianguo in a restroom. After Zhao Xiaodong suggested finding Yang Zhi, Jiang Chen headed to the restaurant’s forbidden second floor, where Yang might be in danger.

• Jiang Chen and Zhao Xiaodong waited in a dark restroom stall as Zhou Hai and Zhang Jianguo entered the neighboring stall.
• Jiang Chen kept the two ghosts hooked on a fake conversation, earning over six hundred Ghost Qi before announcing that he planned to kill them.
• Jiang Chen stabbed Zhou Hai through the partition and crushed Zhang Jianguo’s neck after dragging him into the stall.
• Zhao Xiaodong recovered from the killings and told Jiang Chen that Yang Zhi might be in danger on the restaurant’s closed-off second floor.
• Jiang Chen headed upstairs and told Zhao Xiaodong to alert him if he heard an extra set of footsteps.

Jiang Chen and Zhao Xiaodong encountered Yang Zhi chasing a Back-Sticking Ghost through the dark dining hall. Jiang Chen followed the ghost from behind and stabbed it, but when it struck back, he punched through its body as Yang Zhi screamed.

• Jiang Chen warned Zhao Xiaodong to stay calm, then hid in a room as Yang Zhi ran toward them with a security baton.
• Zhao Xiaodong saw the Back-Sticking Ghost copying Yang Zhi’s movements and persuaded Yang Zhi to search the bathroom.
• Jiang Chen followed behind the ghost, copying its movements as they approached the bathroom mirror.
• Yang Zhi noticed the figures in the mirror, and the ghost froze when it saw Jiang Chen behind it.
• Jiang Chen stabbed the ghost in the back, but it survived and swung its knife at him.
• Jiang Chen punched through the ghost’s body, spraying flesh over Yang Zhi, who screamed.

After gaining the Great Strength Bull Demon Fist, Jiang Chen joined the students at the guest rooms and learned that the Lake’s Water Ghost had attacked them. Steward Zhang then revealed himself as Zhang Xianhai of the Ghost Refining Sect and sent his Ghost Infant after Zhao Erhu, who prepared to fight back.

• Jiang Chen completed his demon transformation and permanently gained the divine ability Great Strength Bull Demon Fist.
• Zhao Qian told Jiang Chen that the Water Ghost had attacked a resort employee and that Zhao Erhu had forced her back into the Lake.
• Steward Zhang appeared and introduced himself as Zhang Xianhai of the Ghost Refining Sect, revealing a Ghost Infant from a porcelain jar.
• Zhang Xianhai ordered the Ghost Infant to kill Zhao Erhu, who struck it but suffered bloody scratches from its attack.
• Zhao Erhu activated his Dragon Elephant Temple techniques and charged at the Ghost Infant, prompting Zhang Xianhai to recognize his affiliation.

Jiang Chen charged into the lake to face the half-step vengeful ghost Sun Meiling, shocking his classmates, and defeated her with a single punch before using water to hold her in the air. His classmates fled to safety, while Jiang Chen remained in control of the ghost and continued provoking her.

• Zhang Xianhai empowered the Ghost Infant, and Sun Meiling emerged from the lake to attack the students.
• Zhao Erhu called for Jiang Chen, who rushed at Sun Meiling and knocked her into the lake with the Great Strength Bull Demon Fist.
• Sun Meiling dragged Jiang Chen underwater, while the students believed he had sacrificed himself to hold her back and began to flee.
• Jiang Chen struck Sun Meiling with a powerful punch, blasted her out of the lake, and restrained her with streams of water.
• Jiang Chen spread Sun Meiling's limbs wider with his water manipulation, causing her humiliation to generate more Ghost Qi.

Jiang Chen defeated Steward Zhang and annihilated the ghost infant, but Steward Zhang's Blood Talisman marked Jiang Chen with a symbol connected to a Ghost King. The female ghost remained alive and obsessed with Zheng Shaoming, leaving Jiang Chen with a new suspicion and a dangerous mark.

• Jiang Chen realized the female ghost had named Zheng Shaoming and suspected Zheng Shaoming had killed her, so he left her alive and joined Zhao Erhu.
• Zhao Erhu told Jiang Chen to kill Steward Zhang while he kept the ghost infant busy, and Steward Zhang tried to flee before Jiang Chen caught him.
• Jiang Chen accidentally snapped Steward Zhang's neck while grabbing him, then a Blood Talisman emerged from the corpse and marked Jiang Chen with the character for death.
• Zhao Erhu warned that the talisman was connected to a Ghost King, while the enraged ghost infant wounded him as they fought.
• Jiang Chen compressed water into a sphere and detonated it against the wounded ghost infant, annihilating its soul and bringing his Ghost Qi total to 2720.

After Jiang Chen killed the Ghost Infant, Zhao Erhu explained that the Dark Alliance had placed a blood-talisman bounty on him and warned him to seek protection. He also revealed that Zheng Shaoming had horribly abused the female ghost before her death, then urged Jiang Chen to remember that ghosts who harmed people had become monsters.

• Jiang Chen killed the Ghost Infant with a single slap, and Zhao Erhu warned that its death had put him in serious trouble.
• Zhao Erhu told Jiang Chen that Zhang Xianhai’s Dark Alliance Blood Talisman marked him for the Hunting List and could make him worth thirty thousand points to hunters.
• Jiang Chen worried that he had no powerful family to protect him, but believed his growing strength could eventually let him face the Dark Alliance.
• Zhao Erhu explained that Zheng Shaoming had used Zhang Xianhai’s forbidden method to erase resentment caused by his abuse of the female ghost.
• Zhao Erhu warned Jiang Chen that ghosts who harmed people became monsters, and admitted that he had once ignored this rule and lost a senior fellow disciple.

Jiang Chen learned how Sun Meiling had died and discovered that she retained enough humanity to be valuable to the Netherworld. He brought her to Zheng Shaoming, where she recognized her killer and attacked him.

• Jiang Chen bound Sun Meiling with water and carried her toward the mountain entrance while Zhao Erhu explained that Zheng Shaoming must be nearby.
• Sun Die revealed that Zheng Shaoming had raped Sun Meiling, then tied her up and threw her into a lake, where she drowned.
• Zhao Erhu explained that Sun Meiling’s attempt to warn Sun Die showed she retained some humanity, and Jiang Chen called the Netherworld Bureau to report her.
• Jiang Chen and Zhao Erhu found Zheng Shaoming hiding in a talisman-covered luxury RV, while the students followed at a distance.
• Jiang Chen tore open the RV door and threw Sun Meiling inside, where she recognized Zheng Shaoming and roared that she had finally found him.

Jiang Chen and Zhao Erhu defeated Zheng Shaoming and Sun Meiling, then handed the surviving ghost over to Netherworld Messenger Xu Lei. On the bus home, Jiang Chen tallied his rewards and found he had nearly enough points to buy a mid-grade magical artifact.

• Jiang Chen and Zhao Erhu found Zheng Shaoming dead and beat Sun Meiling after she tried to ambush them.
• Xu Lei arrived, captured Sun Meiling with her shadow, and promised Jiang Chen and Zhao Erhu reward points for the ghost.
• Jiang Chen earned 500 ghost qi by complimenting Xu Lei, then considered how he might gain more from Netherworld Messengers.
• Jiang Chen and the other students boarded the Netherworld bus and headed home after the cleanup crews arrived.
• Jiang Chen counted more than 3,200 ghost qi and 3,100 Underworld App points from the trip, leaving him close to affording a mid-grade magical artifact.

After surviving a night of hunting ghosts, Jiang Chen returned home, slept, and prepared for an upcoming group mission by drawing cards and shopping in the Underworld App. Zhao Qian mistook his polite “Definitely next time” for romantic acceptance, while her mother planned to investigate him.

• Jiang Chen left the bus at Jiangyuan Residential Community, and Zhao Qian invited him to dinner, shopping, and a movie; he replied, “Definitely next time!”
• Zhao Qian asked her mother, saved in her contacts as Sister Zhao, for advice, and her mother decided Jiang Chen was playing hard to get and planned to visit him with Zhao Qian.
• Jiang Chen went home, slept until well after midnight, and woke refreshed before drawing two One-Star Monster Transformation Cards and a Two-Star Elder Guzhi card.
• Jiang Chen decided to save his points rather than buy a fragile magical artifact, then bought a bottle of Spirit-Gathering Pills and a bottle of Blood-Coagulating Powder.

Chen Xue took Jiang Chen to a hidden Black Market where Unusual Persons traded items beyond the reach of the Netherworld and the Dao Alliance. After navigating a concealed route through a residential complex, Jiang Chen recognized that a formation had led them to the market.

• Chen Xue waited for Jiang Chen outside Jiangbei University of Finance and Economics in a red Porsche 911, and her teasing remarks drew an envious crowd.
• Lin Youwei watched Chen Xue drive Jiang Chen away, then called Xiao Chan to ask for a car more expensive and better than a 911.
• Chen Xue told Jiang Chen she was taking him to the Black Market, where Unusual Persons traded with money or Underworld points.
• Chen Xue showed a card to enter a residential complex and led Jiang Chen along a specific route before they exited through its back gate.
• Jiang Chen and Chen Xue arrived at a crowded, old-fashioned street hidden beneath the high-rises, and Jiang Chen wondered if a formation had brought them there.

Jiang Chen explored the Black Market with Chen Xue, learned how sellers passed off fakes, and encountered the prominent young talents Yang Ziyun and Zhao Sanlong. Zhao Sanlong sensed a dangerous presence in Jiang Chen as he passed.

• Chen Xue gave Jiang Chen a mask and explained that her Chen Family armband protected them from trouble in the local Black Market.
• After browsing the stalls, Jiang Chen nearly bought a fake rune-covered saber before Chen Xue exposed the seller’s Yin Fire Talisman trick.
• Yang Ziyun entered with his family, and Jiang Chen praised his talent, earning an appreciative glance from the Yang Family heir.
• Jiang Chen recognized Yang Chan among Yang Ziyun’s group.
• Zhao Sanlong arrived, studied the crowd for weaknesses, and sensed a fierce, dangerous presence within Jiang Chen.

At the Black Market, Jiang Chen met several young talents and watched Master Liu demonstrate her new Demon-Sound Drum, an artifact that briefly incapacitated nearby Unusual Persons. Jiang Chen realized the drum resonated with Te Chu Shi’s power and might be made from hide linked to the Kui Ox, but its 10,000-point minimum bid left him unable to afford it.

• Chen Xue introduced Chen Xiaoyu, a talented member of the Chen Family, and Qin Ze, the cheerful young man from the Qin family who would join their next mission.
• Master Liu opened her shop and presented the Demon-Sound Drum, an upper-grade, mid-tier magical artifact made from unusual hide.
• Liu Yunzhu demonstrated the drum, briefly blanking the minds of Unusual Persons within range, while Yang Ziyun and others sought the C-Class experts’ assessments.
• Jiang Chen hid his unusual eyes after the drum stirred Te Chu Shi’s power, then suspected the drumhead came from a creature with Kui Ox blood.
• Liu Yunzhu announced a sealed-bid sale with a minimum of 10,000 Underworld Points, extinguishing Jiang Chen’s hopes of buying the drum.

Jiang Chen bought yin energy at the Black Market, then learned that Gu Hongya’s family was facing a deadly supernatural crisis and agreed to help if needed. He also reviewed the details of the D+ group mission at Sunward Middle School, which he would undertake the next day.

• Liu Yunzhu sold the green-skinned drum to the Qin family for 21,500 Underworld Points, and Jiang Chen bought a jar of yin energy for 100 points.
• Jiang Chen and Chen Xue left the Black Market, but Chen Xue hurried home to prepare for the next day’s mission.
• Gu Hongya told Jiang Chen that her family had suffered strange accidents and deaths, and that her father was gravely ill after an expert investigating the haunting disappeared and was found dead.
• Jiang Chen agreed to go with Gu Hongya if her family’s other experts failed to resolve the supernatural crisis.
• Jiang Chen checked Chen Xue’s mission details for the D+ group assignment at Sunward Middle School.

Jiang Chen studied a profiler’s theory about the nameless schoolgirl whose death had haunted Sunward Middle School, then joined Chen Xue and a group of operatives outside the closed school. The team waited for a Yang Family member to arrive, while Jiang Chen noticed that Liu Kai and a middle-aged woman seemed to recognize Qin Ze.

• Jiang Chen read a theory that a bullied girl known as XX had been pushed from a balcony after classmates accused her of cursing a popular student.
• Jiang Chen speculated that the popular student might have helped bully XX before the girl’s death.
• Chen Xue picked Jiang Chen up, and they passed a guarded park to reach Sunward Middle School.
• Jiang Chen and Chen Xue met the waiting operatives, and Qin Ze introduced his cousins Qin Hai and Qin Feiyang, Liu Kai, and the others.
• Qin Ze said the team was waiting for a beauty from the Yang Family, and Jiang Chen noticed Liu Kai and a middle-aged woman give Qin Ze meaningful looks.

Qin Ze split the Unusual Persons into teams to investigate Sunward Middle School, assigning Jiang Chen, Chen Xue, and Yang Chan to search the campus grounds. As the three approached the sports field, Yang Chan warned them about the ghost security guard who burned joss paper beside the flower beds.

• Qin Ze divided the group among the classroom buildings, girls’ dormitory, and campus grounds, leaving Jiang Chen, Chen Xue, and Yang Chan to investigate the grounds.
• Yang Chan recognized Jiang Chen as someone Lin Youwei liked and told him to give up on her, so Jiang Chen teased Yang Chan by claiming she liked women.
• Chen Xue mistook Jiang Chen’s teasing for confirmation and began spreading the gossip, while Yang Chan angrily denied it and followed them onto campus.
• Jiang Chen, Chen Xue, and Yang Chan felt the temperature drop as they entered and headed toward the sports field, where they found piles of black ash.
• Yang Chan warned Jiang Chen and Chen Xue that the ghost security guard appeared burning joss paper by the flower beds and that people who encountered him later died.

Jiang Chen lured out the running ghost Sun Zheming and used gossip to frighten him into revealing the story of the murdered Class Four homeroom teacher. After Jiang Chen broadcast Sun Zheming’s account across campus, the teacher’s ghost turned its murderous attention toward them.

• Yang Chan and Chen Xue explained that the sports field’s running ghost lured runners into exhaustion, and Jiang Chen volunteered to draw it out.
• Jiang Chen met Sun Zheming on the track, resisted his hypnotic conversation by steering their chat toward girls and gossip, and made Sun Zheming panic by loudly repeating rumors about Director Ma Hong.
• When Jiang Chen asked about the girl who had been pushed from a building, Sun Zheming redirected him to the Class Four homeroom teacher, who had witnessed the death but stayed silent.
• Sun Zheming explained that the teacher was later murdered with her eyes gouged out and mouth sewn shut, and that her ghost now killed people in classrooms.
• Jiang Chen played Sun Zheming’s recorded account through a megaphone, drawing the teacher’s ghost’s murderous gaze toward Sun Zheming.

Jiang Chen, Chen Xue, and Yang Chan worked together to defeat Sun Zheming, then investigated the Equipment Room, where they found signs that several ghosts had recently been present. The room was empty, leaving them unsure whether the ghosts had gone out to harm people or someone had already dealt with them.

• Jiang Chen baited Sun Zheming into attacking, allowing Chen Xue and Yang Chan to ambush and destroy the superior vicious ghost.
• Yang Chan reluctantly let Jiang Chen lead the group, and he chose to investigate the Equipment Room.
• Chen Xue explained that several people had died or gone missing in the Equipment Room, where witnesses had heard voices despite finding it empty.
• Jiang Chen knocked on the door, tossed Sun Zheming's corpse through a window, then opened the Equipment Room and found it empty and cold.
• Chen Xue used a talisman to reveal resentment-filled handprints and drag marks, then said the ghosts had left a few hours earlier.

Jiang Chen, Yang Chan, and Chen Xue suspected Qin Ze and Liu Kai’s groups had hidden motives, then found the Paper-Burning Security Guard, Zhang Hua. They tricked him into revealing himself as their target and launched a coordinated attack, but Zhang Hua retaliated with a curse.

• Yang Chan persuaded Jiang Chen and Chen Xue not to tell Qin Ze and Liu Kai about the ghosts’ disappearance because the other groups seemed to have their own agendas.
• The three crossed the sports field to find Zhang Hua mourning beside a flower bed while holding a cleaver.
• Jiang Chen and Yang Chan loudly discussed a murder plan, drawing Zhang Hua close as he tried to learn their intended victim’s name.
• Jiang Chen told Zhang Hua that they planned to kill Zhang Hua, then grabbed his neck and crushed it with Great Strength Bull Demon Fist.
• Zhang Hua burned spirit money and cursed Jiang Chen, causing pain in his right arm, while Yang Chan kicked Zhang Hua and Chen Xue attacked with a Golden Light Talisman.