Recaps

Several prominent mystical practitioners arrived at Little Jie’s home and competed to take him as a disciple, while his family struggled to choose among them. Their argument was interrupted by the arrival of the ragged Daoist Li Xuantong, whom Ma Yuling identified as the King of Feng Shui.

• Shen Xiuyuan, Yang Gaoyi, and Chan Master Jueming argued over who should take Little Jie as a disciple, with Yang Gaoyi offering his daughter and Shen offering his granddaughters as potential wives.
• Ma Yuling arrived with several young women and proposed taking Little Jie as her disciple and letting him choose a wife from among her female disciples.
• Granny Liu realized that the Yellow Weasels and foxes had created the celestial signs to summon experts to save Little Jie.
• The experts agreed that Little Jie’s family should choose his master, and Yang Gaoyi introduced his daughter to Dad as a possible future daughter-in-law.
• A ragged Daoist entered the courtyard and declared that he would take Little Jie as his disciple.
• Ma Yuling recognized the Daoist as Li Xuantong, the King of Feng Shui.

Daoist Li drove away the other visitors competing to take Little Jie as a disciple, then agreed to treat him on the condition that he take the boy away for ten years with no family contact. After Little Jie’s family accepted, Li Xuantong examined the dying child and began his treatment.

• Sect Leader Li dismissed Shen Xiuyuan, Jueming, Yang Gaoyi, and Ma Yuanling, who left without challenging him.
• Daoist Li told Little Jie’s family that he could marry and have children, but would have to train away from home for ten years without visits or contact.
• Granny Liu urged the family to accept the condition so Little Jie could survive, and they agreed.
• Li Xuantong found Little Jie near death, identified him as a born demon fetus facing eighteen deadly tribulations, and placed a hand on his head, shouting, “Get out!”

Li Xuantong saved Little Jie and claimed him as his disciple, while the narrator revealed the identities and reputations of the four feng shui masters who had also sought to teach him. Little Jie recovered at home, and three days after Li Xuantong first left, he returned to take the boy away.

• Li Xuantong pulled black qi from Little Jie, trapped it in his wine gourd, and said he would return in three days to take his disciple.
• Granny Liu confirmed that Little Jie's corpse spots, fever, and dangerous symptoms had disappeared, easing his family's fears.
• The narrator identified Chan Master Jueming, Shen Xiuyuan, Yang Gaoyi, and Ma Yuanling as leaders of the four great feng shui schools, and explained that they had all come because of Little Jie's unusual fate.
• The narrator revealed that Li Xuantong had founded the Wonder Gate School and was considered more powerful than the four masters combined.
• Little Jie woke the day after Li Xuantong left, and his family cared for him while dreading their coming separation.
• Three days later, Li Xuantong returned to take Little Jie away.

Little Jie left his family and village to become Li Xuantong’s disciple, despite his reluctance and his family’s grief. As Li Xuantong led him away, Granny Liu came to see him off and received a treasured book from the Taoist.

• Little Jie said goodbye to Xiao Pang, who worried that he would now rank last in class.
• Li Xuantong arrived to take Little Jie away, and Little Jie felt an unexpected closeness to him.
• Li Xuantong told Dad that Little Jie had exceptional aptitude and an unusual destiny, and Grandpa entrusted the boy to him.
• Little Jie’s mother ran out to embrace him and wept before Li Xuantong led him toward the door.
• Granny Liu asked Li Xuantong to care for Little Jie, and Li Xuantong gave her an old book in thanks for helping the boy survive.

Nine-year-old Wu Jie traveled with the old Daoist to Yanbei and formally became his disciple in the Strange Gate School. After the ceremony, Wu Jie learned that he was expected to become the school’s next head and spent his first night away from home feeling lonely.

• The old Daoist brought Wu Jie from Nine Mountains Village to his courtyard residence in Yanbei, where Huzi welcomed them and served Wu Jie a meal.
• Huzi taught Wu Jie the steps of the discipleship ceremony and led him to the hall, where the old Daoist explained the Strange Gate School’s rules and single-disciple lineage.
• Wu Jie recited his pledge, pressed his handprint onto the written document, presented ceremonial gifts, bowed, and served the old Daoist tea.
• The old Daoist declared Wu Jie his disciple and named him the future head of the Strange Gate School, leaving Wu Jie glum at the thought of heading a school with no other disciples.
• Huzi took Wu Jie to his room, where Wu Jie felt lonely and wondered how his family and Xiao Pang were doing.

After eight years of training, the narrator graduated from high school and his master declared his apprenticeship complete before leaving on a year-long journey. He imposed three conditions on the narrator, including earning ten million and taking his first job outside Yanbei City, and Huzi asked him for living expenses as he departed.

• The narrator studied at elite schools while his master trained him in feng shui, mystical arts, martial arts, and medicine, and his master's absences coincided with the narrator's three-year calamities.
• After eight years, the narrator graduated from high school without taking the college entrance exam, as his master had intended.
• The master said the narrator had learned enough to finish his apprenticeship and could take clients while he was away for a year.
• The master ordered the narrator to earn ten million, make his living only through his teachings, and take his first job somewhere other than Yanbei City.
• The master began to leave, and Huzi asked him to leave money for their living expenses.

After Master left with little money, Wu Jie turned away Zhang Yucheng, a wealthy businessman seeking help, because Master had forbidden his first job from being in Yanbei. The chapter left Zhang Yucheng and his daughter Yaoyao departing without help, while Huzi questioned how they would survive.

• Master left Huzi and Wu Jie a pouch containing only about 860 yuan and 35 fen before rushing away.
• Three days later, Zhang Yucheng and his daughter Yaoyao arrived at the courtyard seeking help from Sect Leader Li, who was away for a year.
• Huzi introduced Wu Jie as Master's sole direct disciple, and Zhang Yucheng asked him to handle his problem.
• Wu Jie refused to help Zhang Yucheng despite his offer of money and Yaoyao's connection to Yanbei No. 1 High School.
• After Huzi escorted Zhang Yucheng and Yaoyao out, Wu Jie explained that Master had forbidden him from taking his first job in Yanbei.

Wu Jie and Uncle Huzi ran out of money after Wu Jie refused work from Yanbei City locals under his master's rule. At a restaurant, Wu Jie faced his old classmate Wang Chaoyang's mockery and was invited to a class celebration the next day.

• Wu Jie and Uncle Huzi turned away local clients for half a month and spent nearly all their money.
• With only ten yuan left, Wu Jie and Uncle Huzi went to a restaurant and shared a bowl of noodles with greens.
• Wang Chaoyang and Li Na encountered Wu Jie, and Wang ordered expensive dishes for their table while pretending to treat him.
• Wu Jie ate the meal despite Uncle Huzi's worry about paying, then refused Wang's offer to settle the bill.
• Wang told Wu Jie that he was treating their class at Yanbei Grand Hotel the next day to celebrate getting into a top university.

The narrator accepted Wang Chaoyang’s invitation to celebrate his university admission, despite knowing Wang intended to mock him for not taking the college entrance exam. He and Uncle Huzi attended the lavish banquet, where Huzi stunned the guests with his appetite.

• Wang Chaoyang taunted the narrator about not taking the college entrance exam and invited him to a banquet at the Yanbei Grand Hotel.
• Uncle Huzi nearly attacked Wang Chaoyang, but the narrator stopped him; after Wang left with Li Na, the narrator packed up the leftovers and left Huzi to wash dishes to cover the bill.
• Uncle Huzi worried that the narrator would be embarrassed for arriving at the banquet without a gift, but the narrator looked forward to the free meal.
• The narrator and Uncle Huzi went to the hotel and found that Wang Chaoyang’s family had booked the entire third-floor banquet hall to celebrate his university admission.
• When the food arrived, Uncle Huzi ate and drank so voraciously that he astonished the guests at their table.

At Wang Chaoyang’s banquet, Wu Jie gave him a protection talisman and was mocked by his classmates. Zhang Yunyao offered to buy the talisman for a hundred thousand yuan, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Wu Jie noticed Zhang Yunyao arrive at the banquet and saw that the baleful energy around her had grown stronger.
• Uncle Huzi urged Wu Jie to leave before Wang Chaoyang asked about a gift, but Wang Chaoyang came over to toast the class.
• When classmates presented expensive gifts, Wu Jie gave Wang Chaoyang a protection talisman he had drawn himself.
• A classmate mocked Wu Jie’s gift, and another insulted him for not attending university while Wang Chaoyang watched silently.
• Zhang Yunyao offered to buy Wu Jie’s protection talisman for a hundred thousand yuan, and Wang Chaoyang questioned her judgment.

At the reunion, Zhang Yunyao recognized Wu Jie as Li Xuantong’s disciple and eagerly accepted his Peace-Safety Talisman after Wang Chaoyang rejected it. The revelation changed how his classmates treated him, leaving Wu Jie lonely and disillusioned by their newfound friendliness.

• Zhang Yunyao asked Wu Jie for the Peace-Safety Talisman, and he gave it to her for free rather than sell it in Yanbei.
• Zhang Yunyao told the classmates that Wu Jie was Li Xuantong’s disciple and explained the talisman’s value.
• Mr. Wang berated Wang Chaoyang for rejecting and mocking the talisman, then invited Wu Jie to the head table and asked for another one.
• Wu Jie declined Mr. Wang’s invitation and told Zhang Yunyao to wait outside so they could talk after the banquet.
• Wu Jie stayed at the reunion as classmates flocked to curry favor with him, and he felt lonely and nostalgic for their former indifference.

Wu Jie overheard Wang Chaoyang assaulting Li Na but chose not to intervene, then spoke privately with Zhang Yunyao about trouble at her family’s ancestral graves. After hearing that the graves were seeping bloody water and her brother was suffering terrifying nightmares, Wu Jie was left to consider the danger.

• Wu Jie overheard Wang Chaoyang accuse Li Na of still wanting Wu Jie, slap her, and threaten to force himself on her, but he walked away without intervening.
• Uncle Huzi told Wu Jie he had packed enough food for the next day, and Zhang Yunyao called Wu Jie over by a Rolls-Royce.
• Wu Jie thanked Zhang Yunyao for defending him at the banquet and explained that his master had forbidden him from taking his first job in Yanbei City.
• Zhang Yunyao told Wu Jie that the trees at her family’s ancestral graves kept withering, black vapor rose from the burial mounds, and her brother had nightmares about jumping to his death.
• Zhang Yunyao explained that attempts to move the graves had stopped when bloody water seeped from the ground before the workers dug a meter down.

Wu accepted Zhang Yunyao’s family’s feng shui case because their ancestral graves were in Yongfeng County, outside the area where his master forbade him to work. He took a hundred-thousand-yuan deposit and planned to travel there with Zhang Yunyao’s father the next morning.

• Zhang Yunyao told Wu that bloody water had seeped from her family’s burial ground and her brother was suffering nightly nightmares, while other feng shui masters had failed to help.
• Wu realized the problem was in Yongfeng County rather than Yanbei and agreed to inspect the graves.
• Zhang Yunyao gave Wu a bank card containing a hundred thousand yuan as a deposit.
• Zhang Yunyao said her father would pick Wu up early the next morning, then left to tell him the news.
• Uncle Huzi teased Wu about Zhang Yunyao’s flushed face and accidentally hinted at a young widow from Wu’s master’s past before changing the subject.

Wu accepted a job to investigate the Zhang Family’s troubled ancestral graves in Yongfeng County, where the family’s fortune had turned into a deadly threat. At the graves, he saw that Zhang Yunliang was surrounded by baleful energy, but Zhang Yunliang accused him of being a fraud.

• Uncle Huzi worried that Wu might be breaking his master’s rules, but Wu explained that the Zhang Family’s graves were outside Yanbei and confirmed that their bank card held one hundred thousand yuan.
• Zhang Yucheng picked up Wu and Uncle Huzi, then explained how a Taoist’s burial-site advice had brought the Zhang Family generations of prosperity.
• Zhang Yucheng said the graves’ trees had withered, red water had seeped from the ground, and Zhang Yunliang had begun dreaming of jumping off a building.
• Wu and Uncle Huzi traveled with Zhang Yucheng to the ancestral graves, where they met Zhang Yunliang and several workers.
• Wu noticed that Zhang Yunliang’s life palace was dark and baleful energy covered his head, then asked whether he had encountered anything unclean.
• Zhang Yunliang sneered at Wu and accused him of pretending to be a master to swindle the family.

Young Master Wu inspected the Zhang Family’s ancestral burial ground after bloody water appeared there and the newly planted trees withered. He found the feng shui layout was sound, but the digging uncovered bloody water and a carved wooden box, leaving the source of the trouble unresolved.

• Zhang Yunliang accused Young Master Wu of being a fraud, and Zhang Yucheng collapsed after chasing him before recovering with medicine.
• Zhang Yucheng and Zhang Yunyao apologized, and Young Master Wu agreed to inspect the ancestral graves despite the hostile welcome.
• Young Master Wu identified the burial ground as a dragon-tiger exorcism acupoint and concluded that the feng shui layout itself was not the cause of the trouble.
• Young Master Wu ordered workers to dig at two grave mounds, where bloody water seeped from the ground.
• The workers unearthed a black-cloth-covered wooden box carved with strange symbols, and Young Master Wu told them to take it out.

Young Master Wu uncovered three ritual objects hidden in the Zhang Family ancestral burial ground and identified them as part of a formation draining the family's fortune. When Zhang Yucheng opened the final box and was struck by baleful qi, Young Master Wu treated him with a silver needle and brought him back to his senses.

• Young Master Wu found a tortured cat corpse in a black wooden box and explained that someone had tampered with the Zhang Family ancestral graves to ruin their feng shui.
• Young Master Wu directed the workers to uncover a red box containing nine decapitated snakes, then predicted the location and color of a final ritual object.
• Zhang Yucheng opened the white box despite Young Master Wu's warning, and black vapor struck him down.
• Young Master Wu stopped Zhang Yunyao and the others from touching Zhang Yucheng, then used a silver needle to release black blood and restore his breathing.

After Zhang Yucheng nearly died from opening the final warding box, Young Master Wu identified its contents as a fresh grudge bone and explained how the objects had ruined the Zhang Family’s ancestral feng shui. He warned that relocating the graves would be dangerous because the disturbed, well-preserved corpses might become undead.

• Zhang Yucheng opened the white box and nearly died when its black mist struck him, but Young Master Wu saved him.
• Young Master Wu examined the box and found a fresh human skull carved with tiny talismanic inscriptions.
• Young Master Wu identified the skull as a grudge bone and explained that it both damaged the Zhang Family’s feng shui and threatened anyone who opened the box.
• Young Master Wu explained how the dead cat, headless snakes, and grudge bone had ruined the dragon-tiger exorcism acupoint and disturbed the ancestors buried there.
• Zhang Yucheng asked Young Master Wu to find a new burial site, and Young Master Wu warned that relocating the graves could cause the preserved corpses to become undead.

Wu ordered the Zhang Family to burn the unearthed boxes and relocate every grave after keeping the coffins at home for three days. At midnight, he began digging up the graves with Zhang Yunyao, Zhang Yunliang, and eight workers, but Zhang Yunyao received an alarming phone call after two preserved bodies were transferred into new coffins.

• Wu told Zhang Yucheng to burn the wooden boxes and dig up every grave at midnight, keeping the coffins at home for three days before reburying them.
• At the Zhang Family's old house, Zhang Yunyao explained that Zhang Yunliang had suffered nightly nightmares for over twenty days, and Wu wondered if they were connected to the ancestral graves.
• Zhang Yucheng's blood pressure left him unable to go to the cemetery, so he sent Zhang Yunyao and Zhang Yunliang with Wu and warned Zhang Yunliang to cooperate.
• Wu led the group and eight workers to the cemetery, where the workers unearthed two rotted coffins containing perfectly preserved bodies.
• Wu had the workers move the elderly couple's bodies into new coffins, and Zhang Yunyao then received a phone call that made her anxious.

Wu left the Zhang Family ancestral graves under guard and returned with Zhang Yunyao to find her father possessed by an unclean spirit. He confronted the spirit as Zhang Yucheng, wearing makeup, asked whether they thought he was pretty.

• Zhang Yunyao told Wu that Zhang Yucheng had gone mad at home and was speaking in a woman's voice, so Wu paused the grave relocation and went with her.
• Wu sensed heavy yin energy around the Zhang Family residence, kicked open the barred gates, and found Housekeeper Wang unconscious with a bleeding head.
• Wu bandaged Housekeeper Wang while eerie laughter sounded from the house, then followed it to Zhang Yucheng's bedroom.
• Wu saw Zhang Yucheng combing his hair at a dressing table, shrouded in baleful qi, and recognized that an unclean spirit had possessed him.
• Zhang Yucheng turned toward Wu and Zhang Yunyao with makeup on his face, laughed, and asked whether they thought he was pretty, while Wu prepared the Ghost-Slaying Formula.

The narrator fought a resentful female ghost that possessed Zhang Yucheng and then Steward Wang, while Zhang Yunyao watched in fear. The chapter ended with the narrator pinning Steward Wang down and pressing a Thunder Talisman to his head.

• Zhang Yucheng, possessed by a ghost, approached Zhang Yunyao and the narrator and asked if he looked pretty.
• The narrator struck Zhang Yucheng with the Ghost-Slaying Art, but the ghost dodged further attacks and fled into the living room.
• The narrator used a Cloud Thunder Talisman to drive the ghost out of Zhang Yucheng, but it possessed the injured Steward Wang instead.
• The narrator placed an Evil-Warding Talisman over Zhang Yucheng's heart and gave Zhang Yunyao another to protect herself.
• The ghost, speaking through Steward Wang, threatened to kill the Zhang Family and the narrator, then hurled objects at him.
• The narrator dodged the flying objects, tackled Steward Wang, and pressed a Thunder Talisman to the top of his head.

Wu drove the female ghost out of Steward Wang and Zhang Yucheng, then learned Zhang Yunliang had resumed digging at the ancestral graves despite the danger. As Wu and Zhang Yunyao hurried to stop him, Wu collapsed and saw an eight-tailed fox warn him not to go.

• Wu placed an Evil-Warding Talisman on Steward Wang and drove the foul thing away after it fled from Zhang Yunyao.
• Zhang Yucheng woke and told Wu that he had felt a woman beside him before losing consciousness, while insisting he had not offended anyone.
• Uncle Huzi called Wu to report that Zhang Yunliang had ordered the workers to keep digging up coffins at the ancestral graves.
• Wu urged Zhang Yunyao to drive him to the graves, and Zhang Yucheng tried but failed to join them because he was too weak.
• Wu collapsed outside the courtyard, and an eight-tailed fox appeared as a beautiful woman who warned him not to go.

After the Eight-Tailed Fox warned Wu not to go, he ignored the omen and hurried with Zhang Yunyao to the Zhang Family's ancestral graves. They found the burial ground deserted and filled with baleful qi, and Wu's compass spun wildly before strange sounds began nearby.

• The Eight-Tailed Fox appeared as a beautiful woman and warned Wu not to leave, but he recovered and insisted on going to protect Uncle Huzi.
• Zhang Yunyao helped the dizzy Wu drive to the ancestral graves, where he feared Zhang Yunliang's workers had disturbed the coffins in the wrong order.
• Wu and Zhang Yunyao reached the burial ground and found no one there, only scattered coffins and dense baleful qi.
• Wu's compass needle spun wildly, so he put it away and took out his Heavenly Canopy Ruler for protection.
• Strange sounds came from nearby as Wu and Zhang Yunyao stood at the graves.

Wu and Zhang Yunyao discovered Zhang Yunliang rendering oil from a corpse in the grove, and Wu tried to stop him. Zhang Yunliang attacked Wu, while the corpse appeared to move.

• Wu and Zhang Yunyao followed Zhang Yunliang into a grove near the Zhang Family Ancestral Graveyard.
• They found Zhang Yunliang holding a red candle beneath a corpse’s chin and collecting the dripping corpse oil.
• Wu told Zhang Yunyao to stay back, then approached Zhang Yunliang with the Heavenly Canopy Ruler.
• The corpse opened its white eyes as Wu used the Daoist Roar Technique to call out to Zhang Yunliang.
• Zhang Yunliang threw the candle at Wu, lunged at him, and tried to strangle him; Wu struck him with the Heavenly Canopy Ruler, but it had no effect.
• Wu saw the corpse seem to move as Zhang Yunliang attacked him.

The narrator freed Zhang Yunliang from an evil spell, but the Zhang Family ancestor's corpse transformed into an undead. The narrator charged at the creature and was left facing it alone after ordering Zhang Yunyao to flee.

• The narrator recognized that an evil spell controlled Zhang Yunliang, and Zhang Yunyao struck him with a rock so the narrator could break free.
• The narrator used the Outer Binding Seal to free Zhang Yunliang from the mind control.
• Zhang Yunyao noticed the ancestor's corpse moving, and it awakened as an undead with fangs and long claws.
• The narrator ordered Zhang Yunyao to wait in the car, then fought the undead with the Heavenly Canopy Ruler.
• The undead and the narrator struck each other and were thrown several meters, leaving the narrator's arm numb as he prepared to fight again.

Young Master Wu fought a jiangshi while Zhang Yunyao tried to help, then chased the creature to the Zhang Family's ancestral burial ground. He subdued it with a corpse-suppressing talisman after spitting blood from his tongue into its face, but suffered deep shoulder wounds.

• Young Master Wu told Zhang Yunyao to leave as he faced the jiangshi, and he spotted a dark figure among the trees who might have controlled Zhang Yunliang.
• Young Master Wu struck the jiangshi with the Heavenly Canopy Ruler and drew a corpse-suppressing talisman in blood on his palm.
• The jiangshi changed targets and pursued Zhang Yunyao to the Zhang Family's ancestral burial ground, where she dodged it among the coffins.
• Young Master Wu leaped from a coffin and struck the jiangshi on the forehead, but it knocked him down and pinned him.
• Young Master Wu spat blood from the tip of his tongue into the jiangshi's face, then pressed his talisman onto its head and immobilized it.
• Zhang Yunyao bandaged Young Master Wu's wounded shoulders, and he added another corpse-suppressing talisman to the jiangshi's forehead.