Chapter Summaries

The narrator took Xiao Pang to Second Brother Liu’s village clinic after a rooster pecked his backside, where the treatment became an ordeal. While Xiao Pang was tied to a bench, the same rooster attacked the wound again, leaving the narrator wondering whether Xiao Pang had suffered the calamity meant for him.

• The narrator helped the badly injured Xiao Pang through the village, where onlookers laughed at his unusual posture.
• At the clinic, Second Brother Liu cleaned Xiao Pang’s wound and tied him to a bench when he resisted the gentian violet.
• The narrator went inside for steamed buns while Second Brother Liu fetched anti-inflammatory medicine, leaving Xiao Pang alone.
• The same rooster jumped down from the courtyard wall and pecked Xiao Pang’s wound three times.
• Second Brother Liu noticed the wound had swollen further, and the narrator wondered whether Xiao Pang had taken his predicted calamity in his place.

After Xiao Pang was injured and taken to the county hospital, the narrator saw a death aura above Grandpa Wang and Granny Liu hurried the family home. When Grandpa Wang died that night, Granny Liu prepared Ghost-Blocking Wood and rooster blood to guard the house against the narrator’s third tribulation, but the narrator sensed someone in his room after going to bed.

• A rooster stole a steamed bun, and Big Yellow crashed into Second Brother Liu, causing him to injure Xiao Pang again and send him to the hospital.
• The narrator noticed a red glow above Grandpa Wang, who was sharing Xiao Pang’s hospital ward, and Granny Liu brought the narrator’s family there and then hurried them home.
• Granny Liu explained that Grandpa Wang was near death and warned that his death aura could endanger the narrator on the day of his tribulation.
• After Grandpa Wang died, Granny Liu had Dad prepare peach wood and rooster blood to protect the house, suspecting Grandpa Wang was the narrator’s Tribulation-Bound Person.
• The narrator went to bed on his ninth birthday and third tribulation, then sensed another person in his room.

Granny Liu discovered that Wu Jie had been possessed by a powerful unclean spirit, likely Old Man Wang, despite the courtyard’s protections. She woke Grandpa and warned him that Little Jie was in danger.

• Granny Liu heard the Chang Immortal warn that something had arrived, then found Yellow Weasels and foxes outside and the Ghost-Blocking Wood blackened by the spirit’s footprints.
• Granny Liu found Wu Jie feverish and flushed red, and sensed that the Immortal within him was weak while a powerful unclean spirit possessed him.
• Granny Liu suspected the possessing spirit was Old Man Wang, then forced open Grandpa’s door and found him affected by a red death aura.
• Granny Liu woke Grandpa and told him that Little Jie had been possessed; Grandpa hurried to Wu Jie’s room, where Granny Liu named Old Man Wang as her likely suspect.

Old Man Wang’s powerful spirit possessed Little Jie, and Granny Liu discovered that his rare pure-yang fate made him nearly impossible to resist. As Little Jie worsened and eerie signs appeared in the sky, more than a dozen cars arrived in the village at noon the next day.

• Little Jie’s family gathered around him as Old Man Wang’s possession left him near death, and Granny Liu asked Grandpa about Old Man Wang’s life and birth details.
• Granny Liu calculated that Old Man Wang had a rare four-yang, seven-killings-breaker-wolf fate that made his posthumous obsession exceptionally powerful.
• Granny Liu said Old Man Wang’s spirit had suppressed both the Chang Immortal she worshipped and the Immortal inside Little Jie, leaving her unable to save him.
• Granny Liu saw a blood-red crescent moon, restless stars, and weasels and foxes bowing on the roof.
• Little Jie remained feverish and delirious through the night, but more than a dozen cars arrived in the village at noon the next day.

As Little Jie lay near death from an evil spirit, the monk Jueming arrived and offered to cure him in exchange for taking him as a disciple. Shen Xiuyuan and then another well-connected man made competing offers, leaving the Wu family unsure whom to trust.

• Little Jie’s condition worsened despite Granny Liu’s attempts to treat him.
• Jueming arrived, said he would cure Little Jie if the boy became his disciple, and impressed Granny Liu by lighting her pipe with a wave.
• Father objected to Little Jie becoming a monk, but Grandpa urged Jueming to enter and treat the boy.
• Shen Xiuyuan arrived and offered to cure Little Jie without requiring him to become a monk, provoking Jueming’s anger.
• A middle-aged man arrived with a young girl and offered to cure Little Jie in exchange for making him her future husband and disciple.

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.