Chapter Summaries

After Du Ruhai had the shop demolished in retaliation, Meng Yifan closed it, and the group went to search Zhao Laoqi's home for Du Mingyang's ashes. They found a divination predicting uninvited guests that night, just as Zhao Laoqi appeared in the doorway.

• The group returned to find Du Ruhai had wrecked the shop, destroying its equipment and documents.
• Meng Yifan closed the damaged shop, and some employees resigned rather than transfer to the other location.
• The narrator, Song Xiaotian, and Meng Yifan watched Zhao Laoqi's home until he left in the evening.
• The three broke into Zhao Laoqi's building and searched its floors for Du Mingyang's ashes.
• The narrator read Zhao Laoqi's blackboard prediction that uninvited guests would arrive during the hour of the Dog, then saw Zhao Laoqi standing in the doorway.

The narrator, Meng Yifan, and Song Xiaotian confronted Zhao Laoqi at his home and forced him to reveal the hidden ashes of Du Mingyang. Zhao Laoqi warned them that Du Mingyang and his mother were vengeful ghosts forming a dangerous Mother-Child Sha.

• Zhao Laoqi caught the narrator and Meng Yifan searching his home and fought them when they demanded Du Mingyang's ashes.
• Song Xiaotian arrived, defeated Zhao Laoqi, and helped the others tie him to a chair.
• The narrator noticed Zhao Laoqi glance toward the next room and told Meng Yifan to search there.
• Meng Yifan found Du Mingyang's real Ash Urn hidden in the next room.
• Zhao Laoqi warned that Du Mingyang and his mother were vengeful ghosts and that together they formed a dangerous Mother-Child Sha.

The narrator, Meng Yifan, and Song Xiaotian confronted Zhao Laoqi over betraying them, but learned he had found letters that could prove Du Ruhai was Lü Zhengxian. Zhao Laoqi proposed working together to steal the letters and revealed his personal connection to a series of murders fifteen years earlier.

• The narrator demanded answers from Zhao Laoqi about betraying them, and Song Xiaotian threatened him with a knife until he agreed to talk.
• Zhao Laoqi said letters from Lü Jun addressed Du Ruhai as Zhengxian and identified him as his son.
• Zhao Laoqi explained that the letters were in a safe in Du Ruhai's private lounge at his club, and offered to help steal them.
• Song Xiaotian questioned Zhao Laoqi's motives and said cooperation required trust and understanding.
• Zhao Laoqi revealed that he was related to a victim in a series of seven identical murders in Lanjiang City fifteen years earlier.

Zhao Laoqi revealed that his nephew was among the victims of the Lanjiang City murders, and the group agreed to work with him to retrieve letters from Du Ruhai’s club. On the way there, he explained the danger of Du Mingyang’s ashes and admitted he was also searching for Du Yuwei.

• Zhao Laoqi said his nephew Zhao Zimu had been murdered in the earlier killings, and that his brother and sister-in-law later died by suicide.
• Song Xiaotian and the narrator decided to trust Zhao Laoqi, then pretended they had verified his story and accused him of lying before agreeing to form an alliance.
• Zhao Laoqi proposed leading the group into the club while Du Ruhai was away so they could retrieve the letters and leave quickly.
• The four traveled toward the club with Du Mingyang’s ashes, and Zhao Laoqi explained that reuniting Du Mingyang with Du Yuwei could create a dangerous mother-child sha.
• When the narrator challenged him about the ghost he had helped bury, Zhao Laoqi admitted he was looking for Du Yuwei to help oppose Du Ruhai and guide her toward rebirth.

Song Xiaotian, Meng Yifan, and the narrator followed Zhao Laoqi into Du Ruhai’s lavish clubhouse, hoping to reach the room holding the letters. Zhao Laoqi betrayed them, and Du Ruhai appeared as about twenty waiters surrounded them.

• Song Xiaotian sent Zhao Laoqi to buy cigarettes while warning that the three of them could not fully trust him.
• The narrator hid Du Mingyang’s ashes under the car seat, and the group entered the clubhouse with Zhao Laoqi.
• Zhao Laoqi showed them the clubhouse and explained that its waiters were also its bodyguards.
• Song Xiaotian recognized his former boss, who had fired him, as the boss left a room with a woman.
• On the upper floor, Song Xiaotian suspected Zhao Laoqi had signaled the manager, and Zhao Laoqi fled.
• Waiters poured into the corridor and surrounded the three men as Du Ruhai emerged with wine and told them they might as well stay.

The narrator, Meng Yifan, and Song Xiaotian were trapped by Du Ruhai after Zhao Laoqi betrayed them and framed them for stealing Du Mingyang’s ashes. Song Xiaotian’s sworn brother Lin Zhifeng appeared among Du Ruhai’s men, leaving Song Xiaotian torn between them as the narrator and Meng Yifan feared being left to die.

• The narrator and Meng Yifan cursed Zhao Laoqi for betraying them, but Du Ruhai insisted Zhao was his honored guest and mocked their suspicions.
• Meng Yifan revealed that they had dug up a grave, and the narrator admitted they had taken the ashes while accusing Zhao Laoqi of switching Du Mingyang’s ashes.
• Zhao Laoqi denied the accusation and pointed out that the ashes were in the trio’s car, while Du Ruhai ordered his bodyguards to seize them and feed them to the dogs.
• Song Xiaotian fought off two bodyguards with paired batons, but Du Ruhai summoned dozens more men to surround them.
• Lin Zhifeng emerged and recognized Song Xiaotian as his sworn brother, then demanded that Song apologize to Du Ruhai while the narrator and Meng Yifan feared Song would leave them behind.

Song Xiaotian appeared to side with Du Ruhai, but Chen Mo revealed that the urn held Li Xiumei’s ashes, unleashing her ghost in the corridor. As Li Xiumei called out Lü Zhengxian’s name, a bodyguard stabbed himself in the neck.

• Du Ruhai tried to turn Song Xiaotian against Chen Mo and Meng Yifan by offering to help avenge Song Xiaotian’s sister.
• Song Xiaotian went to Du Ruhai’s side and handed over Chen Mo’s car keys in exchange for their lives.
• Du Ruhai’s man returned with an urn containing Li Xiumei’s ashes instead of Du Mingyang’s.
• Chen Mo identified the ashes as Li Xiumei’s and called Du Ruhai Lü Zhengxian, frightening Du Ruhai into dropping the urn.
• The corridor went dark, and Li Xiumei’s ghost appeared and called out Lü Zhengxian’s name.
• Chen Mo accidentally grabbed a bodyguard, who then stabbed himself in the neck.

After escaping Du Ruhai’s club, Chen Mo and Meng Yifan learned that Song Xiaotian had been undercover as a police officer. Song revealed that he had been gathering evidence against Lin Zhifeng and his allies, leaving the group to hide in Lanjiang City while the investigation moved forward.

• Song Xiaotian pulled Chen Mo and Meng Yifan down the emergency stairs after Li Xiumei knocked Zhao Laoqi away.
• Song Xiaotian fought past the club’s bodyguards and struck the manager before escaping with Chen Mo and Meng Yifan.
• Song Xiaotian refused to let Lin Zhifeng into the car and told a contact that his cover had been blown and he had gathered evidence of Lin Zhifeng’s crimes.
• Song Xiaotian revealed that he was still a cop and had gone undercover to investigate the Serial Murder Case from fifteen years earlier.
• Song Xiaotian explained that he and his mentor had shifted their plan toward putting Lin Zhifeng and his backers in prison, despite risking prosecution for their unauthorized investigation.

Song Xiaotian revealed why he had helped the narrator and Meng Yifan, then explained Zhao Laoqi’s role in their escape and warned that Du Ruhai might have retrieved the letters. He left to deliver evidence against Lin Zhifeng and corrupt officials, asking the others not to contact him.

• Song Xiaotian explained that the narrator’s deductions had solved the case he had spent a year investigating, and said he had arranged for Li Xiumei’s ashes to be brought up to keep the group alive.
• Song Xiaotian said he had fallen out with Lin Zhifeng and might no longer be able to remain a police officer, while assuring the group that his mentor would soon act against the criminal underworld and corrupt officials.
• The narrator reasoned that Zhao Laoqi had known Li Xiumei was in their car and had played them rather than intending to kill them; Song Xiaotian suspected Zhao Laoqi had also watched Du Ruhai retrieve or photograph the letters.
• Song Xiaotian drove the narrator and Meng Yifan to White Stone Mountain, then left in his Buick to hand evidence against Lin Zhifeng and corrupt officials to his mentor.
• The narrator and Meng Yifan worried about Song Xiaotian’s safety and admitted they were too weak to help him.

After Li Xiumei failed to kill Lü Zhengxian, Chen Mo dreamed that Du Yuwei thanked him for helping her find her child. He discovered Du Yuwei had taken Du Mingyang’s ashes and left a note summoning him alone to Tianxing Amusement Park at midnight, and he headed there by taxi.

• Chen Mo brought Li Xiumei’s ashes home and learned from her apparition that she had failed to kill Lü Zhengxian.
• Chen Mo dreamed that Du Yuwei, wearing a red wedding dress and veil, embraced him and thanked him for helping her find her child.
• Chen Mo found that Du Mingyang’s ashes were missing from his car and discovered Du Yuwei’s note inviting him to Tianxing Amusement Park alone at midnight.
• Chen Mo spent the day at the shop, then took a taxi to Tianxing Amusement Park after drinking with Meng Yifan.

The narrator met Du Yuwei at Tianxing Amusement Park, where she asked him to hold her ghostly baby and ride the Ferris wheel with her. During the ride, he admitted that he blamed her and others for Fang Man’s death, but Du Yuwei told him their fates had always been connected.

• The narrator climbed into the closed Tianxing Amusement Park at Du Yuwei’s request and found her in a red bridal gown with her baby.
• Du Yuwei apologized for frightening him and asked him to hold her child, who recognized him as the person who had reunited mother and son.
• Du Yuwei told the narrator that amusement parks reminded her of her family and asked him to ride the Ferris wheel with her.
• Du Yuwei used her power as a Yin Soul to make the unpowered Ferris wheel move.
• The narrator told Du Yuwei that he hated her and blamed her, Li Xiumei, and the person behind Fang Man’s death for ruining his future.
• Du Yuwei said Lü Zhengxian was only an accomplice and told the narrator that their fates had been the same from the beginning.

The narrator pressed Du Yuwei for the identity of the person behind her family’s murder and Fang Man’s death, but she said she did not know his name. As dawn approached, Du Yuwei shared memories of a boy sacrificed in the first Seven Deaths for a Life and said she would not return home until her enemy was dead.

• The narrator demanded the identity of the person who hired Lü Zhengxian and Li Xiumei, but Du Yuwei said she could not remember his name or appearance.
• Du Yuwei recalled spending three happy days as a child with Li Fuguang, who was later sacrificed as the seventh victim in the first round of Seven Deaths for a Life.
• Du Yuwei told the narrator that the ritual had saved the seriously ill son of the person who ordered her family’s murder.
• At the top of the Ferris wheel, Du Yuwei said she hated Lanjiang City and would not return to Qin Island until her enemy was dead.
• The narrator rode the amusement park attractions with Du Yuwei and her child, took a photo with them, and sensed someone watching nearby.

After a strange night with Du Yuwei and her son, the narrator questioned his childhood illness and sold his car to help save the shop. The chapter ended when Song Xiaotian texted that he was going to prison and the police were about to arrest him.

• The narrator found that a photo from the amusement park showed only an empty swing, with neither him nor Du Yuwei and her son in it.
• A little girl gave the narrator a lollipop, triggering a hazy memory of another girl giving him one when he was young.
• The narrator asked Meng Yifan about his severe childhood illness and learned that he had suddenly recovered after doctors feared he would not survive.
• The narrator sold his car for 320,000 yuan to help keep the shop afloat.
• Song Xiaotian texted the narrator that he was going to prison and the police were coming to arrest him.

After Song Xiaotian warned Chen Mo that he had been arrested and pointed him toward a lead in Xiaoman’s death, Chen Mo and Meng Yifan were chased and brutally beaten. A mysterious woman in a black dress and red heels appeared, and the attackers seemingly jumped into the river.

• Song Xiaotian told Chen Mo that he was under investigation and urged him to seek help from his father, while identifying Wang Hua at Rongda Electronics Factory as a lead in Xiaoman’s death.
• Chen Mo showed Song Xiaotian’s messages to Meng Yifan, and they drove toward the address Song Xiaotian had sent.
• Meng Yifan spotted a car following them, and he and Chen Mo tried to escape before running out of gas near a river.
• Five tattooed men attacked Chen Mo and Meng Yifan with steel pipes and discussed throwing them into the river.
• A woman in a black dress and red heels arrived, and the five attackers walked to the railing and jumped into the river as Chen Mo passed out.

After surviving an attack, Chen Mo and Meng Yifan went to Song Qing for help getting Song Xiaotian released from police custody. Song Qing promised to secure his son’s release within two days, while Chen Mo left to investigate Xiaoman’s death and its connection to Du Ruhai.

• Chen Mo and Meng Yifan woke injured in the hospital and learned that someone had left them there, while Chen Mo suspected that two versions of Du Yuwei might exist.
• Chen Mo and Meng Yifan left the hospital and took a taxi to the teahouse where Song Xiaotian’s father, Song Qing, worked.
• Chen Mo told Song Qing that Song Xiaotian had been arrested after going undercover, and Song Qing promised to get him released within two days.
• Chen Mo revealed that he and Meng Yifan had nearly been killed after offending Du Ruhai, the head of Weihai Group.
• Song Qing asked whether Du Ruhai was connected to Xiaoman’s death, and Chen Mo said he was leaving to investigate the matter.

Chen Mo and Meng Yifan went to Rongda Electronics Factory to find Wang Hua and investigate his stolen motorcycle, suspecting the thief worked there as a manager. After returning Wang Hua’s keys and arranging for him to collect the motorcycle, Chen Mo headed to the security office to investigate further.

• Chen Mo and Meng Yifan entered Rongda Electronics Factory and realized the First Case Offender might be a manager there, putting Chen Mo’s father at risk.
• Chen Mo’s father spotted them, questioned their injuries, and heard their cover story about being attacked by robbers.
• Chen Mo asked his father to introduce them to Wang Hua and claimed he had unknowingly bought Wang Hua’s stolen motorcycle.
• Wang Hua confirmed the motorcycle was his and said it had been stolen inside the factory while the security cameras were switched off and the guard was ill.
• Chen Mo returned Wang Hua’s keys, then left his father and Meng Yifan and went to the security office.

Chen Mo investigated the guard who had been on duty when the factory cameras were switched off, then discovered that his father’s old personal seal had gone missing. As Chen Mo began to suspect his father’s connection to the stolen motorcycle and Fang Man’s death, his grandfather confirmed that he had lost the seal.

• Chen Mo questioned the guard about the cameras and offered him five thousand yuan to identify who had switched them off.
• Chen Mo noticed his father’s new personal seal and learned that his grandfather had lost the old one while bringing it to the factory.
• Chen Mo connected the missing seal to the seal fragment that had fallen from a man during the night they summoned Li Xiumei’s spirit.
• Meng Yifan urged Chen Mo to call his grandfather, who admitted that he had lost the seal and scolded Chen Mo for asking about it.

After learning that the security guard might identify who stole the motorcycle, the narrator waited for him at the hospital. The guard appeared soaked and crying, then led the narrator to a pond where the narrator saw the guard’s corpse.

• The narrator called his grandpa and was relieved to learn his dad was not responsible for Fang Man’s death.
• The narrator and Meng Yifan returned to the hospital with serious injuries, and the narrator waited for the factory security guard to call about the motorcycle theft.
• Meng Yifan showed the narrator a report that five men who attacked them had died after jumping into a river, and they argued about Du Yuwei.
• The narrator dreamed that his mother feared and rejected him, then woke to find the crying security guard standing in the ward doorway.
• The narrator followed the security guard to a pond, where a lotus leaf moved aside to reveal the guard’s dead body.

Chen Mo saw what he believed was the dead Factory Security Guard at the hospital and feared the guard had been killed for knowing about the First Case Offender’s stolen motorcycle. He tried to warn his father away from the factory, but his father refused, and the chapter ended with news that a factory security guard had drowned in the river.

• Chen Mo saw a corpse in the hospital pool that vanished, while the Hospital Security Guard insisted no other guard had been there.
• Chen Mo told Meng Yifan that the Factory Security Guard might be dead and that the First Case Offender could have killed him to keep him from revealing the motorcycle theft.
• Chen Mo called his father and urged him to take leave from the factory, but his father refused and hung up after Chen Mo panicked and said he was going to die.
• Chen Mo and Meng Yifan left the hospital and drove to the factory to get Chen Mo’s father away from danger.
• Chen Mo’s father told them a security guard had gone missing and that police had reported a body with a factory work badge, possibly the guard, had drowned in the river.

Chen Mo realized the dead security guard had likely been murdered because he knew who killed Fang Man, and he persuaded his father to leave the factory for safety. His father agreed to take leave but urged Chen Mo to abandon the investigation and move away with the family.

• Chen Mo recalled that the security guard’s red face and wet clothes suggested he had been drunk before someone drowned him.
• Chen Mo and Meng Yifan asked Chen Mo’s father about the guard’s acquaintances and drinking companions, but he knew little about them.
• Chen Mo and Meng Yifan brought Chen Mo’s father to the car, where Chen Mo explained that Fang Man’s killer had stolen Wang Hua’s motorcycle and that the guard had known the thief.
• Chen Mo told his father that the guard’s death put him at risk, and his father agreed to ask Old Huang for leave and stay away from the factory.
• Chen Mo’s father urged him to stop investigating and suggested that the family move somewhere else.