Recaps

At Old Master Song’s birthday gathering, the Song family confronted Song Xiaotian over getting Pan Xiaorou pregnant and refusing to take responsibility. Old Master Song expelled him from the family, and Meng Yifan and Chen Mo escorted him out as the banquet approached.

• Meng Yifan returned with Song Xiaotian, who hid behind the Seventh Master before being made to face his family.
• Old Master Song rebuked Song Xiaotian for planning to leave Pan Xiaorou despite getting her pregnant, and Uncle Song joined in the scolding.
• Song Xiaotian argued that he did not like Pan Xiaorou and refused to marry her, provoking Uncle Song to threaten to beat him.
• Old Master Song disowned Song Xiaotian and told him to stop using the Song surname.
• Song Xiaotian’s mother refused to leave with him and said she and Uncle Song planned to have another child.
• Old Master Song ordered Meng Yifan and Chen Mo to see Song Xiaotian out, and they escorted him from the house while he protested.

The narrator met Daoist Xiang, a Mohist descendant, and learned about the Mohist School’s principles, history, and beliefs about spirits. Daoist Xiang began to hint that Mozi had attained a profound understanding of science, but Old Master Song interrupted him before he could explain further.

• After Song Xiaotian drove away, the narrator noticed that Old Master Song’s guests included Daoist Xiang, who had exorcised the Evil Buddha from Uncle Song and was a Mohist descendant.
• Daoist Xiang explained that the Mohist School’s ideals of Universal Love and Non-Aggression contributed to its suppression and eventual decline.
• Daoist Xiang described how Mohist teachings combined early scientific study with the principle of Exalting the Spirits.
• The narrator asked whether Mozi had truly grasped science at its highest dimension, and Daoist Xiang said there was no record before trailing off.
• Old Master Song interrupted Daoist Xiang and called everyone to take their seats for the banquet.

Chen Mo learned that Daoist Xiang knew of his Patriarch, Tang Zhui, and confirmed that Mozi had expressed the idea that metaphysics was science at its highest dimension. At Pan Xiaorou’s networking event, Chen Mo warned her that Du Yunting had apparently bought off two reporters.

• Daoist Xiang questioned Chen Mo about his interest in the Mohist School, reacted strongly to the name Tang Zhui, and examined Chen Mo’s jade pendant.
• Daoist Xiang said Mozi had never used the word “science,” but that metaphysics was what he meant by science at its highest dimension.
• Old Master Song insisted Song Xiaotian would have to marry Pan Xiaorou before he could return home.
• Chen Mo and Meng Yifan persuaded Song Xiaotian to attend Pan Xiaorou’s networking event so he could give her an answer.
• At the event, Chen Mo spotted Du Yunting speaking with two reporters and warned Pan Xiaorou that they might target her.

Pan Xiaorou faced hostile questions about her new relationship at the Exchange Conference and defended her conduct publicly. Her answer left the reporters’ attempt to damage her reputation hanging as the conference’s interview continued.

• The narrator warned Pan Xiaorou that Du Yunting was likely plotting against her, but she said she could handle the reporters.
• Pan Xiaorou asked whether Song Xiaotian had come, and the narrator told her he had gone to the bathroom to avoid her.
• Du Yunting delivered a humble, polished speech that won cheers from the Exchange Conference audience, while the narrator and Meng Yifan distrusted him.
• Two reporters Du Yunting had bribed asked Pan Xiaorou about her new relationship and whether she had been unfaithful to her late ex-husband, Xiang Kai.
• Pan Xiaorou admitted she was dating someone, said her marriage to Xiang Kai had long been over in all but name, and insisted she had never betrayed him during their marriage.

Pan Xiaorou publicly confirmed her relationship with Song Xiaotian and defended her right to choose a partner, while Song Xiaotian reacted silently. Later, Du Yunting tried to approach An Ning, who rejected him violently, and the narrator warned him to leave her alone.

• Pan Xiaorou admitted she was dating someone and said public opinion had no right to dictate her choices.
• Pan Xiaorou declined to reveal Song Xiaotian's identity and invited everyone to celebrate with them when they married.
• Song Xiaotian lowered his head as the narrator and the others left him alone and mingled at the event.
• Du Yunting poured An Ning a glass of wine and tried to persuade her to get to know him.
• An Ning splashed the wine in Du Yunting's face and insulted him, while the narrator stopped her from reaching for her knife.
• The narrator pulled Du Yunting away from An Ning and warned him not to test his patience.

The narrator confronted Du Yunting, who claimed his pursuit of immortality and study of Buddhist teachings had changed him, but denied ordering reporters to expose private information. Meanwhile, Song Xiaotian apologized to Pan Xiaorou for his prejudice toward her previous marriage and said he was ready to take responsibility, leaving their relationship poised for reconciliation.

• Du Yunting boasted that he had achieved immortality and said philosophy and Buddhist teachings had transformed his way of thinking.
• The narrator challenged Du Yunting over his alleged role in exposing someone's private life and warned him about karmic retribution.
• The narrator and the shop staff followed Song Xiaotian and Pan Xiaorou to a garden to overhear their conversation.
• Pan Xiaorou told Song Xiaotian she had admitted to her previous marriage because she saw no reason to deny it and would accept whatever he decided.
• Song Xiaotian apologized for letting his pride and prejudice make him avoid Pan Xiaorou and said he wanted to shoulder his responsibilities as a man and father.
• Meng Yifan began recording Song Xiaotian's apology, while the narrator prepared to video-call Seventh Master to watch with them.

Song Xiaotian confessed his love to Pan Xiaorou, who revealed her pregnancy report was fake, and he proposed to her. They left together, while Chen Mo and Meng Yifan joked about being abandoned in their empty home.

• Song Xiaotian told Pan Xiaorou that he loved her and wanted to be with her, insisting his feelings came from affection rather than guilt or responsibility.
• Pan Xiaorou revealed that she had forged her pregnancy report, and Song Xiaotian said he still wanted her and proposed.
• Song Xiaotian carried Pan Xiaorou to his car and drove away as Chen Mo, Meng Yifan, Lin Qiao, An Ning, and Seventh Master teased them about kissing.
• Chen Mo and Meng Yifan took An Ning home, then joked that Song Xiaotian would no longer return to their now-empty home.

After Song Xiaotian moved in with Rou'er, the narrator and An Ning struggled to find customers for the shop. Brother Liu offered them a high-paying job investigating supernatural events on a film set, and told them an actress had died during a hanging scene filmed at a suspected haunted location.

• Song Xiaotian said he would keep working and move in with Rou'er after work, while asking the narrator and Meng Yifan to tell his family he still lived with them.
• The narrator and An Ning handed out flyers on Guanyin Street after two prospective customers blocked the narrator's number.
• Brother Liu offered the narrator a share of a 200,000 payment to investigate a supernatural problem in the entertainment industry.
• The narrator got Meng Yifan's permission to take the job, then rode with An Ning to meet Brother Liu.
• Brother Liu explained that one actress had broken her leg and the second female lead had died while filming a hanging scene at the Film and Television Base.
• Brother Liu said the producer suspected the location was haunted and had offered 200,000 for someone to investigate.

Chen Mo and An Ning went to investigate a horror film production where an actress had died during a hanging scene, despite the crew’s claims that the rig had been tested. The chapter ended with Sun Yuan confirming that the crew had performed its usual ritual to honor the gods, leaving the cause of the incidents unexplained.

• Brother Liu told Chen Mo and An Ning that the second female lead had been hanged during filming even though the rig had passed its safety test, and that the police had taken the prop master into custody.
• Chen Mo and An Ning arrived at the film studio complex, where Brother Liu introduced them to his cousin Sun Yuan, a stagehand on the production.
• Sun Yuan said the crew’s director, Hong Gang, made horror films and that the production had suffered two incidents, including the actress’s death.
• Chen Mo asked whether the crew had held a ritual to honor the gods before filming, explaining why crews used such rituals, especially for horror productions.
• Sun Yuan confirmed that the crew had held its customary ritual, but said nothing strange had happened on previous films and the current production’s incidents had left everyone on edge.

Sun Yuan brought Chen and An Ning to the film set, where the crew faced pressure from an angry investor and a tight filming schedule. Chen cast a hexagram and determined that the courtyard was haunted by a female ghost.

• Sun Yuan led Chen, An Ning, and Brother Liu to the courtyard and was berated by investor Mr. Wang over the death connected to the film.
• Chen and An Ning met Director Hong, who warned them that filming could not be delayed and stressed the consequences of further accidents.
• The assistant director explained that filming would continue that night, so Chen and An Ning had to investigate while protecting the cast and crew.
• Chen cast a hexagram to find out whether the courtyard was haunted and saw two official ghost lines, one of them moving.
• Chen examined the moving line and concluded that a female ghost haunted the courtyard.

Chen used a hexagram to link the crew’s accidents to a female ghost and led everyone to a restroom where a candle flame changed color. A frightening apparition turned out to be Wu Yiyi in costume, but the assistant director believed Chen and asked how to deal with the haunting.

• Chen inferred from the hexagram that a female ghost from outside the Siheyuan was behind the crew’s accidents, which had happened on the tenth and thirteenth.
• Chen used his phone’s compass to lead the group to a restroom and showed them a candle flame turning green.
• The assistant director doubted Chen’s demonstration, but Chen explained that the ghost had possessed the second female lead in the restroom, and the assistant director began to believe him.
• A door creaked open and a disheveled female figure appeared, frightening the group before the assistant director identified her as Wu Yiyi, the director’s assistant in ghost makeup.
• The assistant director begged Chen for protection, and Chen said he needed to learn who the ghost was, where she came from, and why she was hurting people before making contact with her.

Chen Mo and An Ning joined the film crew to investigate trouble surrounding a production, then discovered a supernatural presence during a night shoot. The chapter ended with Lu Yihao apparently being strangled by Wu Yiyi as a Seven-Holed, Blood-Crying Infant appeared on her shoulder.

• The assistant director arranged to film the ghost scene after dark and asked Sun Yuan to look after Chen Mo.
• Chen Mo negotiated Brother Liu's share of the payment down to thirty percent before Brother Liu left the Film and Television Base.
• Sun Yuan told Chen Mo and An Ning that Lu Yihao was a scandal-plagued internet celebrity backed by the film's investor, and Lu Yihao reluctantly agreed to shoot.
• Wu Yiyi played the female ghost and gripped Lu Yihao's throat for a scene, making him appear to suffocate for real.
• Chen Mo used the Soul-Illuminating Mirror technique, revealing a Seven-Holed, Blood-Crying Infant clinging to Wu Yiyi's shoulder as the crew panicked.
• Chen Mo and An Ning rushed to help Lu Yihao after the director shouted for someone to save him.

Chen and An Ning saved Lu Yihao from an Infant Spirit possessing Wu Yiyi, but Lu Yihao insulted them and An Ning and Chen fought back. The commotion ended when Zhao Xingyun was possessed by another female ghost and stood on a platform’s edge, apparently about to jump.

• Chen played a rooster crowing beside Wu Yiyi, causing the Infant Spirit to release Lu Yihao and flee.
• Chen confirmed Wu Yiyi was unconscious but alive, while Lu Yihao berated the director and cursed Chen and An Ning for not saving him sooner.
• An Ning slapped Lu Yihao twice, and Chen kicked him after Lu Yihao insulted her; the crew rushed to restrain them.
• The photographer alerted the director that Zhao Xingyun had climbed onto a raised platform, and the director urged her to come down.
• Chen used the Soul-Illuminating Mirror and saw a female ghost clinging to Zhao Xingyun’s back, apparently trying to make her jump.

Chen used a recording of a crying baby to lure the female ghost away from Zhao Xingyun, then struggled to stop her when a crew member provoked the ghost. He drove the ghost out by slapping and threatening her, leaving Zhao Xingyun unconscious with normal pupils.

• Chen realized Zhao Xingyun was being controlled by a female ghost and noticed Lu Yihao looked terrified of her strange dance.
• Chen suspected the female ghost and the Infant Spirit that had attacked Lu Yihao were connected, then played a recording of a crying baby.
• The ghost led Zhao Xingyun down from the platform toward the sound, allowing Chen to approach and ask whether she was looking for her child.
• As Chen tried to learn the ghost's name, someone rushed out and provoked her, so An Ning pulled Zhao Xingyun down with yellow cloth.
• Unable to find chopsticks to exorcise the ghost safely, Chen slapped Zhao Xingyun and threatened the ghost until she convulsed and fell unconscious.

Master Chen drove the female ghost away and learned that Lu Yihao had brought her to the film set after provoking her. He suspected screenwriter Su Yi had a personal connection to Lu Yihao and pressed him about his sister, leaving Su Yi silent.

• Master Chen drove the female ghost out of Zhao Xingyun and learned a crew member had been pushed by Lu Yihao to keep him from identifying her.
• Master Chen told Director Hong that Lu Yihao had provoked the ghost, and explained that she and the infant spirit were a mother and son seeking revenge over Lu Yihao’s past.
• Sun Yuan revealed that Lu Yihao had previously been accused of sleeping with fans and causing one to miscarry.
• Master Chen pointed out that the film’s plot closely resembled Lu Yihao’s history and asked who had written the script.
• Director Hong summoned screenwriter Su Yi, and Master Chen questioned him about his sister and her relationship with Lu Yihao.
• Su Yi lowered his head instead of answering when Master Chen asked whether something had happened to his sister.

Su Yi revealed that his younger sister, Su Lan, became pregnant by Lu Yihao, disappeared after he pressured her to abort the baby, and inspired the script that exposed him. He ended by describing recurring dreams in which Su Lan said a rope was around her neck and she could not come home.

• Hong Gang confronted Su Yi, who insisted he had not intended to hurt anyone and began explaining what happened to his sister.
• Su Yi said Su Lan was a devoted fan of Lu Yihao, began dating him after meeting him through a film, and became pregnant before their family ever met him.
• Su Yi said Su Lan disappeared around April last year after Lu Yihao refused to take responsibility for the pregnancy and tried to force her to have an abortion.
• Su Yi admitted that he gave the paparazzi evidence against Lu Yihao, while Hong Gang explained that Lu Yihao’s backers abandoned him and that he had already secured another wealthy connection.
• Su Yi said he had written the script based on Su Lan and described dreams in which she held a baby at their old home and said a rope around her neck kept her from returning.

Su Yi confessed that he had sabotaged the first supporting actress and planned to kill Lu Yihao, but denied causing the second female lead’s death or the night’s incident. The narrator concluded Su Lan had been strangled by Lu Yihao and could not be helped without confronting him, while the director fired Su Yi and An Ning followed him to exchange contact information.

• Su Yi admitted that he had altered a prop to make the first supporting actress fall, and planned to frighten Lu Yihao before killing him to avenge Su Lan.
• Su Yi denied causing the second female lead’s death or the incident that night, and said he had suspected Su Lan’s ghost when Zhao Xingyun danced.
• The narrator concluded that Lu Yihao had strangled Su Lan with the rope still around her neck and buried her remains, leaving her unable to return to the Underworld.
• Su Yi begged the narrator to help find Su Lan’s remains, but the narrator said involving Lu Yihao was unavoidable and there was no real solution without exposing the murder.
• The director fired Su Yi and said the crew would keep his actions secret, and An Ning followed Su Yi out to exchange contact information.

Chen received only fifty thousand yuan from the director for helping Lu Yihao, Wu Yiyi, and Zhao Xingyun, then split the money with An Ning and Brother Liu. As Chen returned to his room, he spotted Su Lan, a woman in white holding a baby, watching a hotel room across the road.

• The director decided to stop filming and planned to expose Lu Yihao to his father-in-law, then paid Chen fifty thousand yuan instead of the promised two hundred thousand.
• Sun Yuan urged Chen to save Lu Yihao's and the investor's phone numbers in case another paid job arose, and Chen saved both numbers.
• Chen split the payment with An Ning after deducting Brother Liu's share, and An Ning asked why Chen always divided their earnings equally.
• Chen transferred Brother Liu's share and called to complain that the payment had been cut; Brother Liu was furious at the small amount.
• Chen saw a woman in white with a rope around her neck holding a baby and staring at a hotel room, then recognized her as Su Lan.

After Wang Jianguo asked Master Chen to help Lu Yihao, Chen and An Ning found Lu Yihao gravely weakened and covered in wet fetal-like hair, with sixteen eyelid-like fissures across his body. The chapter leaves them confronting the possibility that eight pairs of eyes lie beneath the fissures.

• Sun Yuan told Chen that the investor had ended his collaboration with the director and wanted Chen's contact details.
• Wang Jianguo called Chen to ask for help, and Chen agreed to visit with An Ning.
• Wang Jianguo and Wang Xiaoxiao explained that Lu Yihao had grown increasingly ill over the past two days and led Chen and An Ning to him.
• Chen recognized Lu Yihao's gaunt appearance as a sign that something was draining his yang energy, vital essence, and blood.
• Wang Jianguo removed Lu Yihao's blanket, revealing wet fetal-like hair and sixteen eyelid-like fissures covering his body.

Chen examined Lu Yihao and discovered eight infant spirits had attached themselves to his body after Lu Yihao caused at least eight abortions. Seventh Master identified the condition as resembling a parasitic twin and said the Meishan Ritual Arts Sect would need to handle it because treating Lu Yihao could be fatal.

• Chen found eight pairs of eye-like cracks on Lu Yihao's body and realized eight infant spirits were inhabiting him.
• Wang Guojiang and Wang Xiaoxiao left the room while Chen examined Lu Yihao further.
• Chen called Seventh Master, who was horrified by Lu Yihao's condition when Chen showed him on video.
• Seventh Master explained that the infant spirits were trying to be reborn through Lu Yihao but would be unable to reincarnate if he died.
• After examining Lu Yihao's face and tongue, Seventh Master linked the infestation to Lu Yihao's excessive sex and depleted essence, energy, and spirit.
• Seventh Master said Lu Yihao's case was dangerous and that someone from the Meishan Ritual Arts Sect would need to treat him.

After Wang Jiangguo refused to save Lu Yihao, Chen left the Wang residence, but Su Yi soon asked him to help find his missing sister Su Lan’s remains. Chen decided to save Lu Yihao so he could bargain for the location, and planned to contact Wang Xiaoxiao for help.

• Seventh Master told Chen to use ginger and cinnabar to temporarily suppress the Infant Spirits in Lu Yihao, and offered to contact the Meishan Ritual Arts Sect.
• Wang Jiangguo paid Chen twenty thousand yuan to leave Lu Yihao to die, so Chen and An Ning departed before Wang Xiaoxiao returned.
• Seventh Master warned Chen that Lu Yihao’s death would also prevent the Infant Spirits inside him from reincarnating.
• Su Yi begged Chen to help find Su Lan’s remains so his ailing mother could take her home for burial.
• Chen decided to save Lu Yihao in exchange for Su Lan’s burial place and proposed contacting Wang Xiaoxiao, who could bring Lu Yihao to them.

Chen persuaded Wang Xiaoxiao to bring Lu Yihao out of the villa complex, promising to save him for fifty thousand yuan. With help arranged by Seventh Master, they headed to Huangjiagou, leaving Wang Xiaoxiao wondering why her father had refused Chen’s help.

• Chen called Seventh Master and asked him to contact the Meishan Ritual Arts Sect again about saving Lu Yihao.
• Chen memorized Wang Xiaoxiao’s phone number from the villa complex’s resident list, then called her and asked her to bring Lu Yihao out with fifty thousand yuan ready.
• Wang Xiaoxiao brought Lu Yihao out in a wheelchair and joined Chen, Su Yi, and An Ning in Su Yi’s car.
• Chen called Seventh Master, learned that help was arranged in Huangjiagou, and directed Su Yi to drive there.
• Wang Xiaoxiao asked why Wang Jianguo had rejected Chen’s help, but Chen told her they would discuss it after Lu Yihao was saved.

Chen and Seventh Master brought the unconscious Lu Yihao to two Meishan Ritual Arts Sect masters at their pig farm, where they examined his severe condition and prepared to treat him. Before the ritual began, Chen arranged to wake Lu Yihao so Su Yi could question him about Su Lan’s whereabouts.

• Seventh Master took the group to the Feng brothers’ pig farm, where the masters examined Lu Yihao and blamed his condition on his sexual excesses and eight abortions.
• The fat master said Lu Yihao’s condition could be treated but was unusually severe, and he asked Wang Xiaoxiao to buy eight large roosters for the ritual.
• Su Yi worried Lu Yihao might refuse to reveal Su Lan’s whereabouts after being saved, so Chen asked the masters to wake him first.
• The fat master tried silver needles on Lu Yihao, then slapped him twice until he woke, and Chen asked whether he recognized him.

Lu Yihao confessed to killing his pregnant ex, Su Lan, and hiding her remains in the western suburbs, prompting a police search. As the two Masters prepared to exorcise him, they accused Seventh Master of stealing Meishan Ritual Arts and made him cover his eyes.

• Lu Yihao admitted that Su Lan was his ex, confessed to strangling her while she slept, and described burying her dismembered remains in woods at the foot of a mountain in the western suburbs.
• The narrator called Song Xiaotian to report Lu Yihao’s confession and arrange for the police to search for Su Lan’s remains.
• Lu Yihao said he had forgotten how many women he had made abort, then pretended to be unconscious when Wang Xiaoxiao and An Ning returned.
• The narrator noticed An Ning wearing a new Little Genius smartwatch but could not get her to explain why she had it.
• The two Masters prepared to exorcise Lu Yihao and separate the Infant Spirits, then gave Seventh Master a black cloth to cover his eyes so he could not learn their Meishan Ritual Arts.
• The thin Master accused Seventh Master of stealing the sect’s Spirit-Invoking Art, and the narrator realized Seventh Master had also claimed Summon Qiongqi as a secret art of the sect.

The two Meishan masters performed a ritual to remove eight infant spirits from Lu Yihao and transfer them into dead chickens. The chickens came back to life, and the masters planned to release them so the spirits could reincarnate when the chickens died again.

• Seventh Master was blindfolded and tied to a pillar so he could not secretly learn the Meishan masters’ ritual.
• The thin master beheaded eight roosters, reattached their heads with red cloth, and the two masters wrapped Lu Yihao in yellow cloth.
• An Ning secretly filmed the ritual with a children’s watch while the masters chanted over Lu Yihao for nearly two hours.
• The fat master sprayed water mixed with paper ash over the eight dead chickens, which revived before the group.
• The fat master explained that the eight infant spirits had left Lu Yihao and possessed the chickens, which the masters would release into the mountains so the spirits could reincarnate after the chickens died.