Chapter Summaries

Ninth Concubine revealed that she had used a living, resentful spirit inside a ritually refined Qiongqi statue to ruin the Luo Residence’s feng shui and drive Luo Baichuan mad. Before she could explain more, she warned that someone was hiding upstairs, and the narrator rushed toward the room and urged An Ning to run.

• Ninth Concubine explained that her cousin Xu Changming helped her obtain a Qiongqi statue from the White Lotus Sect, whose evil rituals used living people.
• Ninth Concubine said she fed her blood essence to the resentful spirit inside the Qiongqi so it would obey her and corrupt the Luo Residence’s feng shui.
• Ninth Concubine described how the ominous influence worsened the residents’ mental states, especially Luo Baichuan’s, and the narrator suspected the spirit had caused other terrifying events.
• Ninth Concubine asked the narrator how she had died, then silently indicated that someone was hiding in a room on the second floor.
• The narrator charged toward the room, grabbed its door handle, and shouted for An Ning to wake up and run.

Chen and An Ning fled attackers who ambushed them near the mourning hall, while Chen realized Assistant He was working with the assailants. They escaped Assistant He by turning back toward the mourning hall, but the chapter left them running toward a suspected ambush beneath the bridge.

• Chen fought to keep an intruder from opening the living-room door, then escaped the house with An Ning and Assistant He.
• A trained attacker jumped from a second-floor window and pinned Chen until An Ning struck him with a rock.
• Assistant He joined Chen and An Ning, said that attackers blocked the road to the mourning hall, and led them toward the river bridge.
• Chen sensed danger on the bridge, gave Assistant He his phone light, and turned back with An Ning instead of crossing.
• Assistant He chased them as Chen concluded that he had joined the attackers and that the ambush was waiting beneath the bridge.

After escaping an attack in Xu Family Village, Chen Mo and An Ning reunited with Song Xiaotian and Meng Yifan, who advised them to conceal what happened and watch Boss Lin's reaction. In a lucid dream at the Luo Residence, Xu Xiangu showed Chen Mo the two men who had attacked him, leaving him to ask who they were and why they had wanted to hurt her.

• Chen Mo and An Ning reached the mourning hall, called Song Xiaotian, and waited there for help.
• Song Xiaotian and Meng Yifan arrived, and Chen Mo told them Assistant He had been involved in the attack.
• Song Xiaotian urged them not to confront Boss Lin yet and to pretend Assistant He had simply left on his own.
• The four left Xu Family Village and booked rooms at the nearby scenic-area hotel so Chen Mo could return to see the Ninth Concubine the next night.
• Chen Mo fell asleep and dreamed he was at the Luo Residence, where Xu Xiangu showed him the two men who had attacked him.

Ninth Concubine explained how she plotted to resurrect Xu Miao by using the Luo Residence as sacrifices and manipulated Luo Baichuan into killing his wives and himself. Her plan failed when she found everyone else in the residence dead, and she could not describe the terrifying thing she had seen.

• Ninth Concubine said she had sought the Seven Deaths for a Life method to bring Xu Miao back and planned to use the Luo Residence as sacrifices.
• Ninth Concubine explained that she used the Qiongqi to influence Luo Baichuan into killing his wives and believing that he needed to hang himself to be with her.
• Ninth Concubine said she had felt vindicated when Luo Baichuan killed the concubines, but she also blamed him for Xu Miao and Xiuzhu's deaths.
• Ninth Concubine revealed that after Luo Baichuan died, she found everyone else in the Luo Residence dead as well.
• Ninth Concubine said she had intended to release the Qiongqi's vengeful spirit, but the residents were already dead, and she could not describe the terrifying thing she saw.

Ninth Concubine told the narrator about the terrifying monster in the Luo Residence, her sister Xu Miao’s reincarnation, and her regret over killing Fourth Concubine. As she warned him about the consequences of evil, a red figure arrived and took her away in chains.

• Ninth Concubine said an unknown monster had driven her from the Luo Residence and prevented her from trying to resurrect her sister.
• Ninth Concubine revealed that Xu Miao had already been reincarnated after a local Daoist priest performed rites at Fourth Concubine’s request.
• Ninth Concubine regretted killing Fourth Concubine and the others, and said she had spent her life atoning for her actions.
• Ninth Concubine warned the narrator that she would be punished for breaking the Red Lotus Arts Sect’s rules.
• A red figure appeared, chained Ninth Concubine by the neck, and vanished with her.

The narrator left Xu Family Village after learning more about the Ninth Concubine’s past and suspected that an unidentified monster was behind the later attacks. At the hospital, the group prepared to return to the construction site, while the narrator’s question revealed that Song Xiaotian’s great-grandfather was Song Qingshan.

• The narrator concluded that the Red Lotus Patriarch had taken the Ninth Concubine and that an unknown monster was the likeliest culprit behind the later attacks.
• The narrator and An Ning said goodbye to the old man, learned that the Thunder Ancestor Temple had been destroyed amid persecution of Mystic Sect traditions, and paid respects to the Ninth Concubine at the mourning hall.
• On the way to the hospital, the narrator told An Ning and Song Xiaotian about the dream, while Song Xiaotian urged the group to abandon the dangerous investigation.
• The narrator told the Seventh Master about the clues from Xu Family Village and the attack, and the Seventh Master said they should wait for Boss Lin to call about the missing Assistant He.
• The narrator asked Song Xiaotian whether he knew Song Qingshan, and Song Xiaotian revealed that Song Qingshan was his great-grandfather.

Song Xiaotian learned that Daoist Song Qingshan was his great-grandfather, and his grandfather confirmed the stories about the old master. The grandfather recognized Seventh Master Zhao Qiankun and revealed that Song Qingshan had foreseen Zhao, the seventh son in his family, would eventually return to the Luo Residence to address its unresolved evil.

• Song Xiaotian revealed that his great-grandfather was Song Qingshan, the wandering occult practitioner who had once dealt with the Luo Residence.
• Seventh Master suggested Song Xiaotian's grandfather might also have inherited occult skills, so Song Xiaotian called him to ask about the stories.
• Song Xiaotian's grandfather confirmed the stories were true and recognized the Luo Residence in Lin City.
• Song Xiaotian introduced his grandfather to Seventh Master, and the old man identified Seventh Master's injury as the result of Daoist Thunder Magic.
• Seventh Master explained that he had been given to a wandering Daoist as a child, and the old man recognized him as the seventh son his father had predicted would visit the Luo Residence.
• Song Xiaotian's grandfather said Song Qingshan had been unable to resolve the Luo Residence's wronged souls and had predicted that Zhao would return when the time was ripe to address the root cause.

Song Xiaotian’s grandfather explained that resolving the Luo Residence haunting required tracing the monster’s cause and effect, and advised Seventh Master to obtain a battle-tested military blade. After sending them an address to collect one, he ended the call, and Boss Lin called as the group prepared to leave.

• Song Xiaotian’s grandfather explained why Daoist Song had waited for the right timing, conditions, and person to address the wronged souls at the Luo Residence.
• The grandfather said the monster must have a cause and effect that the group needed to trace and resolve, and warned them that the site was dangerous.
• He recommended an ancestral butcher’s knife or, preferably, a military blade that had seen battle, and offered to arrange one from a hundred-year-old veteran.
• The grandfather sent the group an address and contact details for collecting the weapon, while Song Xiaotian admitted he did not know much about his grandfather’s past.
• Boss Lin called, and Seventh Master told the narrator to answer without mentioning the attack from the previous night.

Chen Mo concealed Assistant He's disappearance from Boss Lin, then joined the others as Lin Yin brought him a home-cooked meal and openly showed him attention. The group left for lunch before their planned visit to a veteran, where An Ning asked Chen Mo whether he liked Lin Yin.

• Boss Lin called Chen Mo to ask whether Assistant He was with him, and Chen Mo claimed they had separated in Xu Family Village that morning.
• Seventh Master judged Boss Lin's concern genuine, and the group planned to visit a veteran at two o'clock.
• Lin Yin brought meals for Seventh Master and Chen Mo, including the shredded pork with green peppers Chen Mo liked.
• Lin Yin offered to cook for Chen Mo and told him she would be waiting at home, prompting the others to tease him about marrying into the Lin family.
• At a nearby restaurant, An Ning asked Chen Mo whether he liked Lin Yin.

Chen and his companions borrowed a battle-worn broadsword from a veteran to use against the trouble they faced. Back at the Lin residence, Lin Yin revealed that her brother Xiaohua had terminal leukemia and asked Chen whether a person’s life could be extended.

• Chen told Song Xiaotian and An Ning that his fate brought misfortune to his wife and relatives, and Song Xiaotian worried about being affected.
• Chen, Song Xiaotian, and An Ning visited the veteran, who showed them his old squad leader’s broadsword and let them borrow it.
• The veteran explained the blade’s history and warned them to keep it wrapped when they were not using it.
• Song Xiaotian drove Chen to the Lin residence, where Lin Yin led him to prepare medicine for Seventh Master.
• Lin Yin told Chen that Xiaohua had fainted and was in the hospital with terminal leukemia.
• Lin Yin asked whether people’s lives could be extended, and Chen asked where she had heard about it.

The narrator told Lin Yin that life should not be prolonged by harming someone else, and she cried before leaning on his shoulder. When Lin Yin asked whether people should accept fate or resist it, he shared a story about how one intervention changed several lives and asked her to judge the disciple's actions.

• The narrator warned Lin Yin that trying to extend a life could harm another person and said he would never save a loved one that way.
• Lin Yin cried, rested her head on the narrator's shoulder, and apologized after regaining her composure.
• The narrator noticed Lin Yin's Book of Changes and explained that it was a philosophy book rather than a mystical text.
• Lin Yin asked whether people should follow fate or resist unfairness, so the narrator told her a story about a disciple whose intervention changed the fates of a poor man, a rich man, and a young traveler.
• The narrator asked Lin Yin whether the disciple had been right or wrong to intervene.

Chen explained to Lin Yin how Taoist natural law and fate shaped life, death, and reincarnation, using a story about a doomed ship and Rat as examples. In Boss Lin’s study, Chen found a list of seven names and addresses, all in Lanjiang City, and was stunned.

• Chen told Lin Yin that the Heavenly Dao had saved a poor man and a young man through a wallet theft and a false accusation, though the apprentice who revealed the truth did not know the ship was doomed.
• Chen explained that interfering with death and reincarnation could prolong suffering and create karmic debts, citing Rat and Xiao Xuan as an example.
• Lin Yin said Chen’s ideas helped her understand the principles and led him to Boss Lin’s study to look at Taoist books.
• Chen noticed the old book Fate Pattern Resolution and suspected Boss Lin was seeking a way to save his son through metaphysics.
• Chen photographed a sheet listing seven names and addresses, then realized every address was in Lanjiang City.

Chen Mo found a list of seven Lanjiang City residents in Boss Lin’s study and suspected it might be connected to a life-exchange ritual meant to save Boss Lin’s leukemia-stricken son. Meanwhile, Song Xiaotian rejected Pan Xiaorou and later discovered she was missing, leaving Chen Mo and him alarmed by a mysterious man’s phone call.

• Chen Mo photographed the seven names and addresses in Boss Lin’s study, then asked Song Xiaotian to investigate them.
• Lin Yin packed Seventh Master’s medicine and insisted on driving Chen Mo to the hospital, while Chen Mo believed her affection for him would eventually fade.
• Chen Mo showed Song Xiaotian and Meng Yifan the list and explained Lin Xiaohua’s leukemia, prompting them to consider whether Boss Lin planned a Seven Deaths for a Life ritual.
• Pan Xiaorou invited Song Xiaotian to visit Lin City’s sights, but he refused and announced that he would make clear he did not like her and would get a separate room.
• At eleven, Song Xiaotian told Chen Mo that Pan Xiaorou had not returned; Chen Mo called her, and an unknown man answered that she was with him.

Jiang Dahai kidnapped Pan Xiaorou to force the narrator and his companions to meet him at an abandoned construction site. They found Pan Xiaorou unharmed, but Assistant He was among the knife-wielding men waiting there.

• Jiang Dahai called the narrator, admitted he had Pan Xiaorou, and ordered the group to come to an unfinished building complex without alerting Lin Jinhua.
• The narrator, Song Xiaotian, Meng Yifan, and An Ning drove to the address after Seventh Master warned them to stay humble and prioritize their safety.
• An Ning disappeared as the group entered the abandoned complex, and Song Xiaotian seized a man who had been signaling with a flashlight to demand Pan Xiaorou’s location.
• The man led them inside, where they found Pan Xiaorou tied to a chair but unharmed.
• The group saw about a dozen armed men, including Assistant He.

The narrator, Song Xiaotian, Meng Yifan, and Pan Xiaorou were trapped by Jiang Dahai’s men, who planned to kill them. An Ning’s surprise attack let Song Xiaotian break free and fight the crowd as the others escaped.

• The narrator confronted Jiang Dahai’s aide and learned that Jiang blamed Lin Jinhua for stealing his business and wanted revenge.
• Four-Eyes rejected the narrator’s offer to leave Lin City and ordered his men to kill them, while threatening Pan Xiaorou to restrain Song Xiaotian.
• As the armed men closed in, An Ning struck the two thugs holding Pan Xiaorou with bricks.
• Song Xiaotian attacked Four-Eyes and the surrounding men, then freed Pan Xiaorou.
• Song Xiaotian told the narrator, Meng Yifan, and Pan Xiaorou to escape while he held off the crowd, and the narrator saw him fight off more than fifty men.

Song Xiaotian rescued the group from Jiang Dahai’s men, but Assistant He escaped after betraying Boss Lin. At a villa arranged by Boss Lin, the group waited for him to deal with Jiang Dahai and Assistant He.

• Song Xiaotian beat the armed men, including Four-Eyed Kid, while the narrator and Meng Yifan stopped him from killing Four-Eyed Kid.
• Song Xiaotian announced that he would see the construction-site conflict through to the end and threatened Jiang Dahai.
• Pan Xiaorou reunited with Song Xiaotian, and Meng Yifan drove everyone to the hospital, where a doctor treated Song Xiaotian’s injuries.
• The narrator told Boss Lin that Jiang Dahai’s men had attacked them and that Assistant He had betrayed him and escaped.
• Boss Lin apologized to Pan Xiaorou and the others, then arranged for everyone to stay at his villa while he went to deal with Jiang Dahai and Assistant He.

After Pan Xiaorou left for the airport, Song Xiaotian relayed her warning that Lin Yin might not be as harmless as she seemed. The narrator dismissed the suspicion at first, but Song Xiaotian’s question about whether Lin Yin’s interest in him was an act left him uneasy.

• The narrator, Meng Yifan, and Song Xiaotian praised An Ning for saving them the previous night, then found Lin Yin preparing breakfast for everyone.
• Lin Yin explained that she worked as a junior supervisor at her family’s company and was caring for the group because Seventh Master had been injured.
• Song Xiaotian drove Pan Xiaorou to the airport while the others rested, leaving the narrator alone with Lin Yin for a while.
• After returning to the residential complex, Song Xiaotian told the narrator that Pan Xiaorou had warned them to be careful around Lin Yin.
• Song Xiaotian questioned whether Lin Yin’s apparent interest in the narrator might be an act, leaving the narrator wondering what she wanted.

Song Xiaotian uncovered evidence that Lin Jinhua had a Seven Deaths for a Life list and had reported Jiang Dahai months earlier, contradicting his story. The group realized Lin Jinhua may have staged the kidnapping and earlier attacks, but they did not yet know his purpose.

• Seventh Master argued that Lin Yin seemed sincere and questioned whether Lin Jinhua could be involved in anything suspicious.
• Song Xiaotian showed a photo of seven names sharing an October 20 birthday, and the narrator recognized it as the list from Lin Jinhua's study.
• The narrator explained that the list was a Seven Deaths for a Life list, apparently intended to prolong Lin Jinhua's son's life.
• Song Xiaotian showed an arrest warrant proving Jiang Dahai had been arrested three months earlier after Lin Jinhua reported him.
• The narrator and Seventh Master questioned how Jiang Dahai could have directed recent attacks, then suspected that Lin Jinhua's men had staged them and the kidnapping.

The narrator concluded that Boss Lin and Du Yunting had conspired to target Seventh Master and the others, and that the apparent kidnapping had been staged to mislead them. The group realized Lin Yin might be helping her father, and suspected she would poison everyone at the villa.

• The narrator connected the arrest warrant for Jiang Dahai to clues showing that Boss Lin had ordered the attacks and Assistant He had never betrayed him.
• Seventh Master became furious when he learned Boss Lin had targeted him, and the narrator explained that Du Yunting had enlisted Boss Lin to set a trap.
• Seventh Master and Song Xiaotian acknowledged that Du Yunting was a dangerous enemy who would be difficult to defeat.
• Song Xiaotian reasoned that Lin Yin was likely monitoring the group and that the kidnapping had been staged to make them suspect Jiang Dahai.
• The narrator and Seventh Master realized that Lin Yin could poison everyone at the villa.

Chen Mo and the others discovered Lin Yin had brought potassium cyanide to poison them, so they secretly replaced it and prepared to watch her. While walking with Lin Yin, Chen Mo spoke about Fang Man’s murder and called Lin Yin a good person, leaving her silent and seemingly troubled.

• Lin Yin served the group a meal, and Chen Mo persuaded her to eat from it first while he watched for signs of poison.
• Chen Mo told An Ning and Meng Yifan that Lin Yin had poison in her handbag, and An Ning secretly retrieved a sample.
• Song Xiaotian identified the powder as potassium cyanide, and Chen Mo ordered An Ning to replace it with sugar while Meng Yifan bought a pinhole camera and Song Xiaotian bought knives.
• Chen Mo took Lin Yin for a walk to keep her away from her handbag as the others carried out his instructions.
• Chen Mo told Lin Yin that Fang Man had been murdered and that he despised people who took lives for selfish reasons, then assured Lin Yin that he considered her kind and sincere.