Chapter Summaries

The narrator and Grandmaster arranged Professor Hu’s requested simple funeral after Professor Hu swallowed poison and died. At the cremation room, five knife-wielding people arrived, leaving the narrator and Xiang Yifeng facing an apparent threat.

• Professor Hu calmly swallowed a lethal poison pill after telling the narrator he was ready to die.
• Grandmaster told university administrators that Professor Hu had foreseen his death and asked for his body to be taken off campus.
• The hearse broke down, so Grandmaster arranged for Professor Hu’s body to be moved to Hu Zhiwen’s car; Xiang Yifeng repaired the hearse and later rode with Zhang Rong and the narrator.
• At the funeral home, the narrator used a suggestion to make the hearse employees believe Professor Hu’s body was in the hearse, then paid a body handler to let them accompany it to the cremation room.
• Five people carrying knives entered the cremation room.

Chen Mo and his companions used a diversion at the Funeral Home to protect Professor Hu’s body while Grandmaster’s group secured his Earth Soul at a City God Temple. After Professor Hu was cremated and buried, Chen Mo’s senior brothers went to rescue the surviving captives taken for the Life Extension.

• Xiang Yifeng, Zhang Rong, and Chen Mo ambushed five men who came to steal Professor Hu’s body, killing their leader and capturing the other four.
• Grandmaster told Chen Mo to question the captives about the people taken for Professor Hu’s Life Extension, while Xiang Yifeng and Zhang Rong went to find them.
• One captive said seven people had been captured, five were still alive, and they were held in an abandoned factory on the outskirts.
• Grandmaster arrived and ordered Shi Xiu and another senior brother to take the four captives to a deserted place and guard them.
• Professor Hu’s body was cremated, and Hu Zhiwen and his wife buried his ashes in the Cemetery.
• Grandmaster asked Hu Zhiwen to tell the police he knew nothing about their activities, and Hu Zhiwen agreed.

The narrator dreamed that Zhang Rong had died, then found that Zhang Rong and Xiang Yifeng were still missing and received a wandering soul hexagram when asking about their situation. The narrator and the other senior brothers feared that something had happened to them.

• At dinner, Grandmaster suddenly spat out two bloody teeth, unsettling the narrator.
• The narrator dreamed that Zhang Rong entered the hotel room and was found hanging in the bathroom, then woke to find that he had not returned.
• At 1:30 a.m., the narrator worried that Zhang Rong and Xiang Yifeng had not contacted the group and cast a hexagram about them.
• The narrator drew a wandering soul hexagram and interpreted it as a grave sign about Zhang Rong and Xiang Yifeng.
• The narrator left the room and found other senior brothers awake; one said they had dreamed something had happened to Xiang Yifeng.

After learning that Zhang Rong and Xiang Yifeng were likely dead, Chen Mo and the Qingyang Temple group found their heads at an abandoned factory and returned to the Hotel grieving. Grandmaster later asked Chen Mo whether the Patriarch he had met in a dream was named Tang Zhui.

• Master tried to divine the meaning of Zhang Rong and Xiang Yifeng's departure but tore up his notes before sharing the result.
• Grandmaster had Shi Xiu interrogate four men, who revealed the Tang Family had set an ambush and might have killed Zhang Rong and Xiang Yifeng.
• Chen Mo and the others searched the abandoned factory and found Zhang Rong's and Xiang Yifeng's heads.
• Grandmaster wrapped the heads in yellow cloth, sent them back to Qingyang Temple, and vowed to find Tang Tianming's people and avenge them.
• Grandmaster asked Chen Mo whether the Patriarch from his dream had been named Tang Zhui.

Grandmaster revealed that the Patriarch, Tang Zhui, was his biological father and urged the narrator to keep his abilities concealed. He sent the narrator back to Qingyang Temple while he and a few senior brothers prepared to avenge Zhang Rong and Xiang Yifeng.

• Grandmaster told the narrator that Tang Zhui had been his biological father and explained how his parents had left him with a butcher while fleeing danger.
• Grandmaster warned the narrator that standing out too much could bring disaster and advised him to conceal his abilities until the time was right.
• Grandmaster told the narrator to return to Qingyang Temple with his master and senior brothers to see Zhang Rong and Xiang Yifeng off.
• Grandmaster revealed that he knew who had killed the two senior brothers and planned to take a few others to seek revenge.
• The narrator warned Grandmaster that Tang Tianming might have prepared a trap, but Grandmaster insisted he had made his own arrangements.

After Grandmaster and the senior disciples left to avenge Zhang Rong and Xiang Yifeng, the narrator, his master, and the others flew back toward Qingyang Temple. At the airport, his master warned that the police were coming, and the group was arrested; the narrator endured harsh interrogation while fearing what had happened to Grandmaster and the others.

• Grandmaster took Zhuge Ming and the senior disciples to seek revenge, while the narrator, his master, and Shi Xiu were ordered to return to Qingyang Temple.
• The narrator and Zhuge Ming exchanged farewells, and the narrator urged him to come back safely.
• The group flew toward Qingyang Temple, but after landing at City A's airport, the narrator's master learned that the police might search the temple and ordered Zhang Rong's and Xiang Yifeng's heads buried.
• The narrator's master warned everyone to say nothing about Qingyang Temple, and police officers arrested them at the airport.
• The narrator endured deprivation during interrogation and feared that Grandmaster and the others had been trapped by Tang Tianming.

After being released from detention, Chen Mo and the others returned to Qingyang Temple to find Grandmaster and his companions missing, with no word of their fate. Chen Mo suspected Grandmaster had anticipated trouble, but he kept his doubts about Grandmaster’s decisions to himself.

• Chen Mo, Master, Shi Xiu, and the others were released after two days in detention and flew back to Qingyang Temple.
• A senior martial brother told them that the police had searched the temple and questioned several martial uncles, but no one had heard from Grandmaster or his companions.
• Master ordered everyone to remain at the temple and say nothing if the police questioned them.
• Shi Xiu and the others asked Chen Mo to explain Grandmaster’s disappearance, and Chen Mo reasoned that Grandmaster might have known trouble was coming because he had left them behind.
• Chen Mo privately questioned why Grandmaster had sent Zhang Rong and Xiang Yifeng alone into danger in Mohe, but he could not bring himself to suspect Grandmaster of deliberately causing their deaths.

After Qingyang Temple’s disciples waited for news of their missing elders, Chen Mo dreamed that Zhang Rong, Xiang Yifeng, Zhuge Ming, Grandmaster, and the others had returned only to die before him. He woke in tears when his master summoned him to the main hall with news about Grandmaster and the others.

• Chen Mo refused Shi Xiu and the others’ suggestion to attempt a rescue, warning that Tang Tianming could use false information to trap them.
• Chen Mo remembered Zhang Rong, left a lit cigarette outside his room, and went to sleep after two days and nights of interrogation.
• Chen Mo dreamed that Zhuge Ming and the senior brothers returned, followed by Zhang Rong and Xiang Yifeng, and feared they were all dead.
• In the dream, Zhang Rong and Xiang Yifeng appeared headless, while the others, including Grandmaster, were shot and collapsed before Chen Mo.
• Chen Mo woke from the nightmare to his master knocking and calling him to the main hall because there was news of Grandmaster and the others.

After Boss Lei brought back five urns from Mohe, Qingyang Temple mourned the deaths of Grandmaster and four others. Chen Mo confronted his master about failing to stop Grandmaster, who explained that a divination had forced him to choose who would survive and said he could not yet reveal the reason for Grandmaster’s actions.

• Chen Mo went to the main hall with Shi Xiu and the others, where his master told them to recite the Scripture for Resolving Grievances and Eradicating Sins while they waited for Boss Lei.
• Boss Lei arrived with five urns and said Grandmaster and the others had been shot by police, then cremated after being accused of hostage-taking, murder, and resisting arrest.
• Shi Xiu called for revenge against the Tang Family, but Chen Mo’s master slapped him and ordered the temple gates closed for the mourning rites.
• During five days of mourning, Chen Mo suspected the Tang Family had manipulated events and confronted his master for not stopping Grandmaster from going to Mohe.
• Chen Mo’s master said Grandmaster’s divination had shown that some had to meet the calamity to leave survivors, and he insisted Grandmaster’s actions had a necessary reason that he could not yet disclose.

Master explained that Grandmaster had sacrificed Zhang Rong and Xiang Yifeng to preserve as many people as possible and prepare for the Tang Family’s destruction, which he predicted would reach a turning point within three months. During Grandmaster’s Seventh Day, Old Master Song and Daoist Master Lan kept vigil, and the narrator later found someone who looked like Grandmaster writing in the Steward’s Office.

• Master told the narrator about Meng Sheng and explained the Mohist ideals of keeping one’s word, seeing actions through, and laying down one’s life for righteousness.
• Master said Grandmaster had chosen a move to preserve as many people as possible and prepare for the Tang Family’s eventual destruction, which he expected within three months.
• After six days of funeral rites, Old Master Song, Uncle Song, Song Xiaotian, and Daoist Master Lan arrived at Qingyang Temple to pay their respects to Grandmaster.
• Old Master Song and Daoist Master Lan sent the exhausted disciples away and kept vigil with Grandmaster on the final night.
• The narrator woke at one in the morning, went to the Steward’s Office, and saw a familiar figure writing with a Chinese Brush, whom he called Grandmaster.

Chen Mo spoke with Grandmaster’s spirit on the seventh day after his death and received a piece of calligraphy and a letter. After Grandmaster disappeared, Chen Mo found Old Master Song and Daoist Lan dead in meditation before Grandmaster’s memorial portrait.

• Grandmaster gave Chen Mo his calligraphy as a wedding gift and told him to read the letter beneath his mattress after leaving Qingyang Temple.
• Grandmaster said goodbye to Chen Mo and disappeared alongside Old Master Song and Daoist Lan.
• Chen Mo rushed to the Spirit Hall and alerted Song Xiaotian and the others that no one inside was answering.
• Song Xiaotian broke down the Spirit Hall door, and Chen Mo discovered Old Master Song and Daoist Lan had died in meditation.
• Chen Mo confirmed both elders were dead and understood they had come to join Grandmaster after settling their affairs.

After Old Master Song and Daoist Lan died, the narrator stayed at Qingyang Temple to help care for the senior brothers and sisters, then prepared to return to Lanjiang City to face the Tang Family. The chapter ended at dawn, when his master waited outside his room and told him it was time to leave.

• Song Xiaotian and Uncle Song carried Old Master Song and Daoist Lan down the mountain to be buried beside Grandmaster at Wangyue Village.
• The narrator comforted Song Xiaotian, learned that his godson was named Song Xinglin, and watched him and Uncle Song leave with the bodies.
• The narrator continued helping at Qingyang Temple and dreamed of Grandmaster, Old Master Song, and Daoist Lan riding across the grasslands with a young man named Li Mu.
• The narrator delayed his departure by a week, then packed to return to Lanjiang City and plan how to wipe out the Tang Family.
• Unable to sleep, the narrator walked around Qingyang Temple until dawn, when his master waited outside his room and told him he was leaving.

The narrator prepared to leave Qingyang Temple after Master taught him the Eight Sabres of Breaking the Edge. Before departing, he read and burned Grandmaster's letter, which revealed the truth about the cave and Judge Temple and warned that his fate would soon turn alongside the Tang family's; he left the mountain in tears.

• Master taught the narrator the Eight Sabres of Breaking the Edge and urged him to keep practicing after he returned home.
• The narrator found Grandmaster's letter beneath his mattress and learned that the coffin and his look-alike in the Zhang Family Village cave were real, and that Grandmaster had also concealed the truth about the Judge Temple in Tang Family Village.
• The narrator burned the letter as instructed and realized that the Tang family's coming destruction would affect whether he could live with An Ning and care for Master.
• The narrator said goodbye to Zhang Rong and Zhuge Ming in his memories, then ate breakfast and faced his tearful senior brothers and sisters at the temple gate.
• Shi Xiu offered to see the narrator off, but the narrator told him not to be anyone's lapdog and left Qingyang Temple without looking back until he reached the foot of the mountain.

After returning to Lanjiang City, the narrator reunited with An Ning, Meng Yifan, Song Xiaotian, Seventh Master, and Xiuzhu, then told Seventh Master about the deaths at Qingyang Temple. Seventh Master calculated the narrator's fate for the next two months and said he would die.

• The narrator returned to Lanjiang City and reunited with his friends and Xiuzhu at the airport.
• The group ate together, and the narrator told Meng Yifan that he and An Ning would not return to work at his office yet.
• The narrator and An Ning went to stay with Seventh Master, and the narrator explained how his grandmaster and fellow disciples had died.
• The narrator asked Seventh Master to calculate his fate over the next two months and paid him ten thousand yuan.
• Seventh Master cast a Yin Pan Qimen chart and told the narrator that he would die.

The narrator agreed to register his marriage with An Ning before facing the Tang Family, then rushed to buy her a diamond ring. After a chaotic morning and a misunderstanding, he gave An Ning the ring and took her to register their marriage.

• An Ning asked when she and the narrator would get married, and he agreed to register their marriage the next day despite his coming fight with the Tang Family.
• The narrator went out before dawn to buy An Ning a diamond ring but was mistaken for a robber and detained by police officers.
• The narrator returned home with the ring and learned from Seventh Master that An Ning was crying because she thought he had left.
• The narrator gave An Ning the diamond ring, put it on her finger, and invited her to register their marriage.

After An Ning and Chen Mo registered their marriage, Tang Tianming contacted Chen Mo and challenged him to stop an impending major move. The chapter ended with Chen Mo accepting the challenge and warning Tang Tianming that he would die.

• An Ning discovered she needed a household-registration certificate to marry Chen Mo, so she went to the orphanage to obtain one.
• An Ning returned with the certificate two days later, and she and Chen Mo registered their marriage.
• Chen Mo and An Ning stayed at Seventh Master's home, enjoying a peaceful life while Chen Mo trained and spent time with friends.
• Tang Tianming video-called Chen Mo, congratulated him on his marriage, and explained that he did not consider Wu Huaqing his father.
• Tang Tianming revealed that he had planned to kill Chen Mo and Daoist Xiang at Mohe, but Daoist Xiang sent Chen Mo away and died in his place.
• Tang Tianming challenged Chen Mo to stop his coming major operation, and Chen Mo accepted while threatening to kill him.

The narrator realized Tang Tianming’s growing arrogance was the opening in the Tang Family’s decline, but he could not determine what Tang Tianming planned. The Patriarch divined that the coming event involved many deaths, and the narrator suspected Tang Tianming would sacrifice an entire planeload of people.

• Tang Tianming contacted the narrator and told him to go stop something, prompting the narrator to see his arrogance as the first sign of the Tang Family’s decline.
• The narrator dreamed of the Patriarch and explained Grandmaster’s sacrifice and his uncertainty about the turning point.
• The Patriarch had the narrator roll a die, which landed on eight and selected the Before Completion hexagram.
• The Patriarch interpreted the hexagram as an ill omen involving large numbers of deaths and asked what could fly through the sky and cross rivers or seas.
• The narrator realized the clue pointed to a plane and feared Tang Tianming planned to sacrifice everyone aboard.

After Tang Tianming revealed that an international flight from Lanjiang City on the ninth might be his sacrificial target, I struggled with whether to stop it and risk bearing the passengers’ karma. Song Xiaotian recalled a fortune-teller who had stopped a doomed flight and suffered a string of terrible accidents afterward, leaving the cost of intervention hanging over us.

• I told Seventh Master that Tang Tianming might use a major disaster as a sacrifice to eliminate the flaws of Seven Deaths for a Life, and Seventh Master agreed that this was possible.
• Seventh Master explained that stopping the crash might bring me severe retribution if the passengers were fated to die, while saving them could earn merit if they were not.
• Song Xiaotian visited, and Tang Tianming sent me the cryptic message, “The ninth. Lanjiang City to overseas.”
• I found the only international flight departing Lanjiang City Airport on the ninth, and Seventh Master estimated it would carry at least two hundred passengers.
• Song Xiaotian recounted how a fortune-teller had stopped a flight by claiming there was a bomb after predicting the captain would cause a crash, then suffered accidents that left him without his legs and blind.

The narrator and Song Xiaotian found fortune-teller Wang Jun to ask how he had foreseen a plane crash and suffered for preventing it. Wang Jun explained that the coming disaster might be preventable if its intended cause was deliberate, but the narrator still had to determine whether Tang Tianming truly planned to cause it.

• The narrator learned from Song Xiaotian that the fortune-teller was named Wang Jun and lived in the Wang family Plain, so they drove there together.
• On the way, Song Xiaotian urged the narrator to consider his family and leave dangerous conflicts behind, while the narrator insisted he needed to avenge Grandmaster and his fellow senior disciples.
• The narrator and Song Xiaotian found Wang Jun blind and severely disabled, and asked him about the plane crash he had once predicted.
• The narrator told Wang Jun that someone planned to sacrifice everyone aboard a plane scheduled to fly the day after tomorrow.
• Wang Jun said the plane disasters were similar but differed in cause, and asked whether the person behind the coming disaster truly intended to carry it out.

The narrator suspected Tang Tianming was using the threat of a plane sacrifice to conceal a plan involving water, so he deliberately caused a bomb scare to stop the flight and get arrested. Two days later, Brother Liu took custody of him and gave him the handcuff key.

• The narrator booked a seat on the ninth's flight after deciding he might need to stop Tang Tianming, despite fearing the consequences.
• Song Xiaotian found the narrator at the airport and warned him not to risk becoming like Master Wang.
• The narrator reasoned that Tang Tianming might be planning a sacrifice in water rather than in the sky, and asked Song Xiaotian to alert his master to watch the Tang Family.
• The narrator boarded the plane and shouted that it had a bomb, causing panic before security restrained him.
• The airport police detained the narrator for two days, then handed him over to Brother Liu on suspicion of multiple intentional homicides.
• After driving away from the police station, Brother Liu gave the narrator the key to his handcuffs.