Recaps

After the survivors escaped the Yin Souls, they helped a dead woman give birth to a healthy girl. The narrator recognized the girl’s birthmark as Xiuzhu’s and was left wondering why Xiuzhu had been reborn into another difficult life.

• Liang Qianqian returned to Qin Yuhang and Su Li, and the narrator told them Shen Dong had betrayed them and that Gao Jianxue had died.
• The dead woman went into labor, so Su Li delivered her baby while Liang Qianqian held the flashlight.
• The narrator spotted Xiuzhu’s distinctive birthmark on the baby’s left arm and concluded she was Xiuzhu’s reincarnation.
• The Seventh Master told the woman her baby was healthy and urged her to let go; she looked at her child, nodded, and died.
• The narrator told the Seventh Master about Xiuzhu’s promise to leave the same birthmark, then cursed Heaven for giving her another miserable life.
• Thunder and lightning struck outside the cave, and the narrator dropped to his knees and apologized to God.

After the police rescued Chen Mo, Seventh Master, and the others, they cared for newborn Xiuzhu while investigators identified her dead mother, Zhao Huimin. Zhao Huimin’s family refused to take Xiuzhu, and Seventh Master suggested Chen Mo adopt her; Chen Mo realized Seventh Master could adopt her instead.

• The police brought Chen Mo, Seventh Master, the others, and newborn Xiuzhu down the mountain and took them to the county hospital for treatment and examinations.
• Chen Mo and Seventh Master told the police about Zhao Huimin’s corpse reanimating but concealed the magical battle.
• The police identified Zhao Huimin as a missing twenty-six-year-old graduate student who had disappeared while traveling alone.
• Zhao Huimin’s family claimed her body but refused to take Xiuzhu, so the police asked Chen Mo and Seventh Master to care for the baby temporarily.
• Seventh Master urged Chen Mo to adopt Xiuzhu, and Chen Mo suggested that Seventh Master adopt her because Chen Mo was too young.

The narrator urged Seventh Master to adopt Xiuzhu so she would have a safe home, and he agreed. After learning that Seventh Master was wealthy despite having no pension, the officer said the adoption appeared suitable and promised to verify his circumstances.

• The narrator persuaded Seventh Master to consider adopting Xiuzhu, and he decided that fate had brought them together.
• Seventh Master asked the officer to help him adopt Xiuzhu, and the officer began assessing his eligibility.
• Seventh Master told the officer he had no pension but owned six homes, two storefronts, a car, and two million yuan in the bank.
• The officer said Seventh Master appeared able to adopt Xiuzhu and promised to verify his circumstances before issuing a statement.

Seventh Master prepared to adopt Xiuzhu after his wealth was verified, while the survivors of the village tragedy said their farewells. Before returning to Lanjiang City, the narrator and Seventh Master met Mr. Cui, who revealed that many villagers had died before the police arrived and warned them to keep the events confidential.

• Seventh Master explained that he had bought properties while traveling when he was young and planned to leave his remaining wealth to Xiuzhu.
• The narrator and Seventh Master gave further statements to the police, who verified Seventh Master's assets and provided documentation for his adoption application.
• Qin Yuhang and Su Li thanked the narrator and Seventh Master before leaving, and Qin Yuhang reflected on his friends' deaths and the importance of family.
• The narrator and Seventh Master hired a caregiver for Xiuzhu and went to meet Mr. Cui, a Chuma Immortal possessed by a Willow Immortal.
• Mr. Cui warned that the mountain events would be kept confidential and said nearly a third of the villagers had died before the police arrived.
• The narrator and Seventh Master denied killing anyone, and the narrator asked Mr. Cui how the villagers had died.

Mr. Cui described the village’s crimes and how Liu Yan had secretly tried to protect outsiders before being rescued. A Willow Immortal possessed Mr. Cui and revealed that Granny He led the trafficking village and belonged to a revived sect marked by an Evil Buddha statue.

• Mr. Cui told Chen Mo and Seventh Master that wronged souls had driven the villagers to suicide, and that most survivors would face punishment for their crimes.
• Mr. Cui explained that Liu Yan had pretended to be mad to frighten outsiders away, but the villagers had her tongue cut out; the police rescued her and reunited her with her family.
• When Chen Mo asked about Granny He, Mr. Cui shuddered, ate several pork hocks, and revealed that a Willow Immortal had possessed him.
• The Willow Immortal said Granny He had belonged to a religious sect that revived around a decade earlier and was involved in shady fundraising.
• The Willow Immortal identified Granny He as the village’s real mastermind and said her sect used an Evil Buddha statue as its symbol.

After learning more about Granny He’s role in the organization, the narrator and the Seventh Master returned to Lanjiang City with Xiuzhu. Their friends met Xiuzhu and marveled that she seemed to recognize them, while the Seventh Master explained that their souls’ magnetic fields could preserve a sense of familiarity.

• The Willow Immortal explained that Granny He supervised the village’s work for the organization, then left after warning the narrator and the Seventh Master that immortals could not interfere in human affairs without being invited.
• The next morning, the police made the narrator and the Seventh Master sign confidentiality agreements before they flew back to Lanjiang City with Xiuzhu.
• Song Xiaotian, Meng Yifan, and An Ning visited with baby supplies and were astonished to hear that Xiuzhu was the reincarnation of the ghost they had helped pass on.
• Xiuzhu woke without crying and smiled at them, prompting the Seventh Master to explain that her soul’s magnetic field could make her feel familiar and safe around people from her previous life.
• Meng Yifan suggested giving Xiuzhu a new name, and Song Xiaotian proposed Zhao Shufen, which made the Seventh Master glare at him.

After Du Yunting’s extravagant birthday delivery enraged An Ning, Chen Mo and the others celebrated her birthday with her. The evening ended in a horrific crash that left Du Yunting unconscious and badly injured.

• Meng Yifan’s real estate business boomed, the Seventh Master formally adopted Xiuzhu as his disciple, and An Ning’s birthday arrived.
• Du Yunting sent An Ning gifts and a company-wide birthday video, prompting her to chase his bodyguards with a broadsword.
• Chen Mo and the others calmed An Ning, then celebrated her birthday at a restaurant with the Seventh Master and Xiuzhu.
• After dinner, Chen Mo saw a speeding BMW crash into a taxi and a Hummer, killing the taxi’s driver and passenger.
• Chen Mo discovered Du Yunting was the Hummer’s passenger and had been pulled from the wreck unconscious and covered in blood.

After a deadly crash, Du Yunting survived but was attacked in the hospital and disappeared with one of his bodyguards. The Storefront crew suspected the attacks were connected to the organization, and the chapter ended with them asking why Du Yunting’s bodyguard had come to them.

• Du Yunting’s Hummer crashed downtown, killing the taxi driver, his student passenger, and the BMW driver while Du Yunting and his driver were taken to the hospital.
• Song Xiaotian and the others wondered whether the crash had been an intentional attack, possibly by the organization seeking revenge.
• Du Yunting’s bodyguard arrived at the Storefront and said Du Yunting had been attacked in the hospital and could no longer be reached.
• The bodyguard explained that two men had entered Du Yunting’s hospital room, stabbed one guard, and escaped with Du Yunting and another bodyguard.
• The bodyguard said the crash driver had a terminal illness and was already dead when the collision happened, prompting the narrator to recall Du Yunting’s earlier use of a terminally ill driver to kill Fang Man.
• The narrator asked the bodyguard why he had come to them if something had happened to Du Yunting.

After Du Yunting was targeted in two apparent assassination attempts, the narrator and Song Xiaotian investigated but found no clear lead and feared the organization was behind them. Seventh Master advised keeping Du Yunting alive as a deterrent, and Song Xiaotian realized that without Du Yunting, the organization might target his wife.

• Du Yunting's bodyguard asked the narrator, Song Xiaotian, and An Ning to save Du Yunting for five million, but they refused because of their longstanding hatred of him.
• The narrator and Song Xiaotian agreed to investigate whether the organization had attacked Du Yunting, and Song Xiaotian found that a cancer-stricken driver had deliberately crashed into him for money left to the driver's family.
• Song Xiaotian reported that two hired criminals had also attacked Du Yunting in the hospital and remained at large, while Du Yunting was still out of contact.
• The narrator called Seventh Master, who arrived with Xiuzhu and advised them that keeping Du Yunting alive could deter the organization from retaliating against them.
• Seventh Master asked who would become Lanjiang City's leading business owner if Du Yunting died, and Song Xiaotian realized the organization might target his wife.

The narrator, Song Xiaotian, and An Ning agreed to rescue Du Yunting because doing so could deter the organization from targeting them, while putting their own safety first. They met Du Yunting’s father, Du Rushan, who revealed that Du Yunting had angered a criminal organization and driven Huang Wenhui and his family to their deaths.

• Seventh Master persuaded the narrator, Song Xiaotian, and An Ning that rescuing Du Yunting could show the organization they stood together and discourage it from entering Lanjiang City.
• The bodyguard returned the next morning and offered a deposit of five hundred thousand and at least a million in total payment for bringing Du Yunting back.
• The narrator, Song Xiaotian, and An Ning agreed to help while prioritizing their safety, then went with the bodyguard to meet Du Rushan.
• Du Rushan said Du Yunting had offended a criminal organization late last year and had driven Huang Wenhui, his wife, and his daughter to their deaths.

The narrator learned that Huang Wenlong had kidnapped Du Yunting to avenge his brother Huang Wenhui and demanded twenty million in ransom. Song Xiaotian judged Du Yunting’s chances of surviving to be very low, while Du Rushan insisted they do everything possible to save him.

• Du Rushan explained that Du Yunting had driven Huang Wenhui to suicide, then submitted evidence that led to the collapse of Huang Wenhui’s company and the deaths of his wife and daughter.
• Du Rushan revealed that Huang Wenlong, recently returned from overseas, had paid the wife of the driver involved in Du Yunting’s crash and was suspected of seeking revenge.
• Du Rushan showed a ransom text demanding twenty million for Du Yunting’s life and warning him not to call the police.
• Song Xiaotian analyzed the kidnapper’s plan and warned Du Rushan that Huang Wenlong could kill Du Yunting even after receiving the money.
• Du Rushan asked the narrator and Song Xiaotian to do everything possible to save his son, and promised a reward.
• After leaving the Weihai Group, Song Xiaotian told the narrator that Du Yunting had only a one-in-ten chance of returning alive because Huang Wenlong wanted revenge more than money.

After Huang Wenlong demanded more ransom and arranged a hostage exchange in Chongqing, the narrator and the bodyguards set out to rescue Du Yunting. The narrator suspected the exchange would take place at the Huang family old residence and decided to inspect it before daybreak.

• Du Rushan showed the narrator and Song Xiaotian a video confirming that Du Yunting was alive but badly injured and tortured.
• Song Xiaotian suspected Huang Wenlong had chosen Chongqing for a trap, while Du Rushan explained that Chongqing was tied to Huang Wenlong’s dead family.
• Du Rushan hired the narrator’s group to rescue Du Yunting and sent them to Chongqing with more than fifty bodyguards, led by Wang Jun and Jiang Dalei.
• On the highway, the narrator reasoned that Huang Wenlong wanted to kill Du Yunting as revenge and might choose the Huang family old residence for the exchange.
• After learning the old residence had been abandoned since Huang Wenhui’s family died there, the narrator proposed inspecting it before daybreak.

After arriving in Chongqing, Chen and his companions searched the Huang Family House for clues about Du Yunting’s captivity and the planned exchange. They found grenades hidden beneath the family offering table, suggesting Huang Wenlong intended to use the house as the exchange site and threaten the rescue party.

• Chen suspected the Huang Family House was a likely exchange location and took An Ning, Wang Jun, and Jiang Dalei to scout it while Song Xiaotian stayed outside.
• Chen reasoned that Du Yunting was probably being held in the mountains and warned the others about the house’s ghosts before they climbed inside.
• The group searched the basement and living room, where they found memorial portraits of Huang Wenhui and his family on an offering table.
• Chen noticed that the incense burner was dust-free and concluded Huang Wenlong had recently visited to pay his respects.
• An Ning smelled gunpowder, crawled beneath the offering table, and found two grenades hidden there.

Chen and his companions discovered that Huang Wenlong had hidden grenades beneath the offering table and planned to replace them, but Yin Souls cut off their phone signal. As they searched the old house for Huang Wenhui’s family, Chen captured the daughter’s ghost, only to be seized by unseen hands at the end.

• An Ning found two grenades hidden beneath the offering table, and Wang Jun proposed replacing them with empty fakes before Huang Wenlong arrived.
• The group lost their phone signal and realized Yin Souls were watching them in the old house.
• Chen led everyone upstairs to find and capture Huang Wenhui’s family, while Wang Jun and Jiang Dalei panicked at the prospect of ghosts.
• Chen pulled Huang Wenhui’s daughter’s ghost down, subdued her, and sealed her in a talisman that An Ning placed in a bottle.
• A chill swept over Chen’s neck, and a pair of hands suddenly grabbed his ankles.

Chen Mo survived the Huang Family House’s noose illusion and sent the husband and wife Yin Souls away, then returned to the hotel while Wang Jun arranged the grenade swap. Huang Wenlong called that night and ordered exactly three people to arrive at the house by 10:30, threatening to kill Du Yunting if anyone else came within two kilometers.

• Jiang Dalei knocked Chen Mo aside, and Chen Mo became trapped in a noose hallucination until An Ning cut through it with the Broadsword.
• Chen Mo used the Spirit-Invoking Art to summon and seize the husband and wife Yin Souls, forcing them to disappear.
• Chen Mo, An Ning, and Wang Jun returned to the hotel while Wang Jun arranged for identical empty grenades to be brought in and swapped.
• After resting, Chen Mo learned that Huang Wenlong had entered the Huang Family House with three masked people and that the grenades had been swapped.
• Huang Wenlong called Wang Jun and demanded that only three people reach the front gate by 10:30, warning that he would kill Du Yunting if anyone else came within two kilometers.

Chen Mo, Song Xiaotian, and Wang Jun went to the Huang Family Old Residence to exchange money for Du Yunting, following Huang Wenlong’s unusual demands. Du Yunting staggered out badly wounded, but Song Xiaotian and Wang Jun were missing, and Du collapsed before reaching the gate.

• Wang Jun ordered the other teams to withdraw beyond two kilometers, then drove with Chen Mo and Song Xiaotian to the Huang Family Old Residence.
• On the way, Song Xiaotian and Wang Jun discussed Huang Wenlong’s strange demand that three people come to the exchange and agreed not to risk their lives for Du Yunting.
• Huang Wenlong told them by phone that only two of them could enter while the third waited at the gate, and said he would release Du Yunting after receiving the money.
• Song Xiaotian and Wang Jun went inside while Chen Mo waited at the gate, increasingly worried as several minutes passed.
• Du Yunting staggered out covered in knife wounds, but Song Xiaotian and Wang Jun did not appear, and Du collapsed before reaching the gate.

Chen Mo and Song Xiaotian were captured after Du Yunting staged his own kidnapping to lure members of the organization into a trap. Du Yunting revealed that he had copied Chen Mo’s earlier setup, and explained that Huang Wenlong had been an actor while the real man had been cremated.

• Chen Mo found Du Yunting apparently dead and rushed into the villa to look for Song Xiaotian, where Wang Jun held him at knifepoint.
• Wang Jun’s masked allies drugged Chen Mo, and he later woke to find Song Xiaotian, Wang Jun, and the supposedly dead Du Yunting in a room with surveillance footage.
• Du Yunting revealed that he had staged the kidnapping and ordered his people to carry Chen Mo and Song Xiaotian outside.
• Song Xiaotian woke and confronted Wang Jun as Chen Mo explained that Du Yunting had tricked them.
• Du Yunting explained that he had lured the organization’s members into a trap by copying Chen Mo’s earlier plan, then confirmed that Huang Wenlong had been an actor and the real Huang Wenlong had been cremated.

Du Yunting revealed that he had staged his kidnapping and car accident to deceive the narrator, Song Xiaotian, and the organization while exposing its Chongqing branch. He also admitted that he had secretly swindled thirty million from Du Rushan, leaving the narrator stunned by the scale of his plan.

• The narrator confronted Du Yunting about the deaths caused by the staged car crash, and Du Yunting said the taxi driver had accidentally caused the deaths while carrying out his plan.
• Du Yunting explained that he had killed the real Huang Wenlong and hired people to make it seem as though Huang Wenlong had kidnapped him.
• Du Yunting said he had used the narrator and Song Xiaotian to draw out God Judge and the organization's Chongqing members, and the narrator and Song Xiaotian beat God Judge after he insulted the narrator.
• The narrator discovered that Jiang Dalei was tied up, and Du Yunting and Wang Jun explained that Jiang Dalei had been Qingyuan's spy and had sabotaged their efforts.
• Du Yunting said Du Rushan had not known about the scheme, then revealed that he had maneuvered the old man into giving him thirty million.

After Du Yunting exposed and killed the organization members, he refused to pay Song Xiaotian and the narrator for rescuing him. They returned to Lanjiang City and confronted him at Weihai Group, where Song Xiaotian threatened to kidnap him again.

• Du Yunting ordered his men to kill the organization members and dispose of their bodies, while Song Xiaotian and the narrator waited in another room.
• Du Yunting refused to pay the promised ten million or five million, claiming he had never made those offers, then drove away without giving them any money or a ride.
• Song Xiaotian and the narrator walked back to the hotel and told An Ning that Du Yunting had fooled them and refused to pay.
• The next day, Song Xiaotian and the narrator went to Weihai Group to demand payment, but Du Yunting said he had no money and lectured them about being greedy.
• Song Xiaotian threatened to kidnap Du Yunting again, and Du Yunting warned him that he would call the police if Song Xiaotian hit him.

Song Xiaotian failed to collect much money from Du Yunting, but the Seventh Master reassured him that their trouble with the organization had likely ended for now. The next day, the narrator learned that Xu Hui believed a male shadow had been following her home and planned to investigate that night.

• Song Xiaotian stripped Du Yunting's office of its furnishings and sold them for just over twenty thousand yuan.
• The Seventh Master and Meng Yifan laughed at Song Xiaotian's small haul but said the loss had helped deter the organization from attacking again.
• Xie Peng brought his cousin and Xu Hui to the shop, explaining that Xu Hui thought a ghost was following her home after evening study sessions.
• The narrator identified the shadow as a recently deceased male ghost and gave Xu Hui a talisman, promising to wait outside her school that night.

The narrator followed Xu Hui and discovered that the ghost shadow was protecting her from two thugs demanding her imprisoned father’s debt. After Song Xiaotian arrived and defeated the men, he began interrogating them.

• The narrator followed Xu Hui through the Old City District and noticed two thugs tailing her.
• When the thugs tried to corner Xu Hui, the ghost tripped one of them, revealing that it was protecting her.
• The thugs demanded that Xu Hui repay the million owed by her father, Xu Dajun, and threatened her when she refused.
• The narrator sent Xu Hui home and confronted the thugs, who tried to attack him.
• Song Xiaotian arrived, knocked both thugs down, and began threatening them for targeting Xu Hui.

Song Xiaotian drove off the loan sharks harassing Xu Hui, and the narrator discovered the ghost following her was Ji Ziyang, a teenage boy who had died in the taxi crash. Ji Ziyang said he was protecting Xu Hui and began telling them how they had met.

• Song Xiaotian learned the two men were loan-shark enforcers targeting Xu Hui over her father’s debt, then threatened them into leaving her alone.
• The narrator told Song Xiaotian that Ji Ziyang’s ghost was standing behind him, frightening him into dropping his cigarette.
• Ji Ziyang said he was protecting Xu Hui and remembered taking a taxi to meet her before a crash.
• The narrator realized Ji Ziyang had been the high school student killed in the taxi crash on the ninth.
• Ji Ziyang began telling the narrator and Song Xiaotian about his relationship with Xu Hui.

The chapter recounted Ji Ziyang’s troubled childhood and how rescuing Xu Hui led him to fall in love with her. After rejecting her confession, he resolved to change his life and eventually set out to see her with a fountain pen, but died in a traffic accident on the way.

• Ji Ziyang was abandoned by his parents and, after his aunt died and his uncle left him behind, drifted into street life.
• Ji Ziyang and his friends rescued Xu Hui from two men demanding repayment of her father’s loan-shark debt, and he began escorting her home from school.
• Xu Hui confessed her feelings, but Ji Ziyang rejected her because he believed he would hold back her future.
• Ji Ziyang continued watching over Xu Hui and, after learning her grades had fallen, decided to improve himself and earn money so he could be worthy of her.
• Ji Ziyang bought Xu Hui a fountain pen and died in a taxi accident while traveling to see her.

The narrator and Song Xiaotian tried to fulfill Ji Ziyang’s final wish by finding the fountain pen he had bought for Xu Hui and delivering his message to her. They could not find the original pen, but Xu Hui received a replacement and heard Ji Ziyang’s words as he remained at the Seventh Master’s home.

• Ji Ziyang asked the narrator to find his fountain pen and give it to Xu Hui without telling her he was dead.
• Song Xiaotian searched Ji Ziyang’s belongings at the Traffic Police Team but could not find the pen, while the narrator took Ji Ziyang to the Seventh Master’s home.
• The narrator told Ji Ziyang they would give Xu Hui a replacement pen, and Ji Ziyang shared the final words he wanted passed on to her.
• The narrator and Song Xiaotian visited Xu Hui and gave her the replacement fountain pen from Ji Ziyang.
• Xu Hui asked to see Ji Ziyang, and the narrator told her he had gone away to work before relaying Ji Ziyang’s feelings and hopes for her future.

The narrator and Song Xiaotian learned that Xu Hui had been found dead in a river, and Brother Liu’s investigation suggested her death might not have been a suicide or accident. Song Xiaotian nearly went after the men who had harassed her, but calmed down and used their ID photos to seek one man’s phone number.

• The narrator and Song Xiaotian learned from Xie Peng that Xu Hui had gone missing and was identified as a body recovered from Dongli Park’s river.
• The narrator rejected Song Xiaotian’s suspicion that Xu Hui had died by suicide, while Song Xiaotian feared she had been murdered by the loan shark company.
• The narrator asked Brother Liu to investigate, and Brother Liu said Xu Hui’s death seemed suspicious because the authorities were keeping details secret and she had been found far from home and school.
• Song Xiaotian demanded An Ning’s Broadsword and vowed to kill the people he blamed, but the narrator and An Ning stopped him and persuaded him to calm down.
• Song Xiaotian called the mother of Wu Tong, one of the men who had harassed Xu Hui, pretending he wanted to repay a loan so he could get Wu Tong’s number.