Recaps

Qin Manjiang learned that the Ghost Story Game punished players who tried to reveal its existence, then heard Xi Wutong disclose that Lower River Village had suffered a river-drowning death by suicide each year for twenty years. Xi Wutong left Qin Manyi’s involvement in the latest death unexplained, despite a witness placing her at the river.

• Qin Manjiang questioned Xi Wutong about the Ghost Story Game icon, but she offered to tell him important information about himself instead.
• When Qin Manjiang considered explaining the game, he suffered intense head pain and saw a warning that players must not disclose the game or they would be eliminated.
• Qin Manjiang refused to explain the icon, but suggested Xi Wutong could work out its meaning herself.
• Qin Manjiang revealed that he knew Old Qin had adopted him, and Xi Wutong confirmed that they were not blood relatives.
• Xi Wutong told Qin Manjiang that Lower River Village had recorded one homicide a year for twenty years, with the victims—including his adoptive parents—walking into the river and drowning themselves.
• Xi Wutong said Qin Manyi would not be prosecuted for the latest death, though a witness had seen her by the river when the victim drowned.

Qin Manjiang resolved to settle his life through the Ghost Story Game and agreed to accompany Qin Manyi to a psychiatric hospital. The game then summoned players for two stories and unexpectedly activated a third mode, leaving Yang as its sole exploring player.

• Qin Manjiang learned that Lower River Village had become a Ghost Story destination known for its yearly suicides, and he agreed to contact Xi Wutong if he investigated there.
• Qin Manjiang decided he could not return to normal life and would keep playing the game, while holding on to memories of Old Qin, his adoptive mother, and Li Xijiu.
• The South Sky Road Branch told Qin Manjiang that Qin Manyi would be sent to Sleep Mountain Psychiatric Hospital, and he agreed to accompany her and sign a statement.
• Qin Manjiang tapped the Ghost Story Game icon as it began, and the game summoned him and five other players for the multiplayer story Sick Sheep.
• The game activated Challenge Mode for Close Your Eyes, then unexpectedly opened Exploration Mode and named Yang as its exploring player.

Qin Manjiang received the rules and opening lines for the Sick Sheep Ghost Story, which would send him to Xianyang Village in seven days alongside several other players. Before Qin Manyi left for a psychiatric hospital, she secretly warned him not to trust the other players and told him to find her on September third.

• Qin Manjiang read the Sick Sheep Ghost Story’s opening lines and learned that arriving late, leaving early, or dying would count as game failure.
• Qin Manjiang searched online for Xianyang Village and considered the other players assigned to the game, including the Ten Seats player So Annoying.
• Qin Manjiang visited Giantwood Hospital to see Qin Manyi before she was transferred to Sleep Mountain Psychiatric Hospital.
• Qin Manyi initially rejected Qin Manjiang’s company, then pulled him aside and warned him not to trust the other players.
• Qin Manyi told Qin Manjiang to visit her at the psychiatric hospital on September third, the anniversary of their father’s death.

Chen Ping sneaked into Xianyang Village’s Immortal Sheep Ancestral Hall and witnessed the villagers transform Li Rong into the Sheep Immortal through a horrific ritual. The next morning, Qin Manjiang arrived in Maishan County for the game and met a man who introduced himself as Boss Shi.

• Chen Ping followed the village chief’s son through a hidden hole into the ancestral hall and discovered the villagers preparing Li Rong for the Sheep Transformation Festival.
• The village chief covered Li Rong’s body in strange symbols, drove black sheep horns into her temples, and fused a sheepskin with her flesh as the villagers welcomed her as the Sheep Immortal.
• Chen Ping made a noise while trying to escape, causing the village chief’s brush to fall; the villagers restored it and went searching for the intruder.
• After the villagers left, Li Rong opened her eyes in the empty ancestral hall, though the village believed she should not have awakened.
• On August 20, Qin Manjiang waited in Maishan County for the bus to Xianyang Village, and a middle-aged man in an SUV introduced himself as Boss Shi.

Qin Manjiang joined Shi Lianshan and several other players preparing to enter Xianyang Village for a seven-day Ghost Story. With So Annoying still missing, they agreed to leave without the tenth-ranked player and trust that they could catch up.

• Shi Lianshan offered Qin Manjiang a ride and warned him that remote villages could have strange customs, drawing on his experience dealing antiques.
• Liu Jingqing arrived in her car, introduced herself as Pond Fish, and accepted Shi Lianshan’s offer to ride in his SUV.
• He Jian, also known as Knife-and-Brush Clerk, and Chen Ping, known as Green Vine, arrived with supplies and urged the group to cooperate and share information.
• The players realized So Annoying had not arrived and had never met the tenth-ranked player before.
• Qin Manjiang suggested they head to Xianyang Village without waiting, and the others agreed.

As the group drove toward Weird Village, Qin Manjiang learned about Spirit Pupil rewards and the differences between Challenge Mode and Exploration Mode, then realized Li Xijiu might explain why he received no reward in his Beginner Level. Chen Ping said Qin resembled a professor who had died twenty years earlier, triggering a bizarre episode in Qin before he abruptly returned to normal.

• He Jian and Shi Lianshan explained Spirit Pupil rewards, purchasable items, and how Challenge Mode differed from Exploration Mode.
• Liu Jingqing recalled that Yang had once received all the Spirit Pupils after a multiplayer game's full-party escape.
• Qin Manjiang realized Li Xijiu had participated in his Beginner Level and wondered whether that explained his missing rewards.
• Qin Manjiang confronted Chen Ping, who said Qin looked identical to a young professor from his university who had died twenty years earlier.
• Qin Manjiang moved and drank coffee mechanically, alarming the group, then returned to normal and asked what was wrong.

Qin Manjiang and the others entered Xianyang Village as the Sick Sheep Ghost Story began, finding a village where every household kept black sheep that watched them. After registering and being led to an inn, they saw Brother Chen’s reflection turn into a black sheep, leaving them uncertain whether the villagers were becoming sheep or sheep were becoming human.

• Shi Lianshan drove Qin Manjiang and the others to Xianyang Village and warned Qin Manjiang about the dangers of Multiplayer Mode.
• The five players entered Xianyang Village, and a blood-red barrier sealed it off from the outside world.
• Qin Manjiang noticed the black sheep staring at the group, and a middle-aged villager invited them to register for the Sheep Transformation Festival.
• Brother Chen registered the visitors and led them to an inn, where his reflection briefly showed the face of a black sheep.

While keeping watch, Qin Manjiang accompanied Liu Jingqing to the restroom, where she shared her theory that the Sick Sheep story described a village ritual to create a god. A sheep-headed ghost appeared in the corridor, and Liu Jingqing deduced that it could move only in the dark just as it flashed into existence before Qin Manjiang.

• Qin Manjiang watched over the sleeping group while Liu Jingqing rested before her turn on watch.
• Liu Jingqing asked Qin Manjiang to accompany her to the restroom and wait outside while she spoke.
• Liu Jingqing explained that the Sick Sheep story’s opening suggested villagers were altering a person as part of a god-making ritual.
• Qin Manjiang sensed something watching him and saw a sheep’s head at the window, but Liu Jingqing continued speaking inside the restroom.
• As the corridor lights repeatedly went out, the sheep’s head moved closer, and Liu Jingqing deduced that it could move only in darkness.
• The lights went out again, and the sheep’s head appeared directly before Qin Manjiang.

Qin Manjiang discovered that the black sheep's head could move whenever he blinked while looking at it, and he rescued Liu Jingqing from the restroom without abandoning her. The ghost vanished when Qin Manjiang blinked as the High-Intensity Flashlight came on, and the others woke to hear what had happened.

• Qin Manjiang realized the sheep's head moved when he blinked and held his gaze on it to keep it still.
• Qin Manjiang broke open the restroom door, pulled Liu Jingqing out, and warned her to keep her eyes shut as they retreated.
• Qin Manjiang instructed Liu Jingqing to retrieve the High-Intensity Flashlight while keeping her head lowered.
• Qin Manjiang blinked as the flashlight came on, and the sheep's head vanished.
• Liu Jingqing asked if Qin Manjiang was all right, waking He Jian and the others, and Qin Manjiang told them a ghost had come.

Qin Manjiang and the others analyzed the Sheep Ghost’s attack and agreed that it could be summoned by words, move through darkness, and isolate its target in a silent domain. At dawn, the Village Chief’s group found the Wang Family guards mutilated and the Immortal Sheep missing from the Ancestral Hall.

• Qin Manjiang recounted how the Sheep Ghost appeared after Liu Jingqing discussed her interpretation of the Opening Lines, and the group connected its arrival to their conversation.
• Chen Ping suggested the Sheep Ghost might still be lurking nearby, while Qin Manjiang concluded it could isolate a chosen victim in a silent domain and advised everyone to travel in pairs or groups of three.
• Qin Manjiang noticed that his displayed emotions did not match what he truly felt, but set the concern aside for the moment.
• At dawn on the day of the Sheep Transformation Festival, the Village Chief led the wealthy families into the Ancestral Hall and found the Wang Family guards dismembered outside.
• The Village Chief ordered the group to check on the Immortal Sheep, but they found its cushion empty.

Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing learned about the Sheep Transformation Festival and the six families said to have prospered through the Sheep Immortal’s wishes. Their village tour ended when a commotion broke out at the Hundred-Meter Banquet, where a woman cried over her son.

• The Village Chief ordered the village leaders to conceal what had happened in the Ancestral Hall and told the Wang Family head to preside over the festivities and find the Immortal Sheep.
• Qin Manjiang woke at the inn, ate food Liu Jingqing had brought, and learned the others had gone to investigate the village.
• Xiao Ran arrived to guide Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing around Xianyang Village, pointing out the wealthy Chen, Wang, Zhang, Li, Sun, and Xie families.
• Xiao Ran explained that the Sheep Transformation Festival chose someone to play the Sheep Immortal and someone to make a wish, and said the six families had prospered after making wishes.
• Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing recognized the Ancestral Hall as the place described in the opening lines and headed with Xiao Ran to the Hundred-Meter Banquet.
• The villagers grew agitated near the banquet, and Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing ran toward the square after hearing a woman cry for her son to get up.

Qin Manjiang investigated Zhang Yang’s gruesome death during preparations for the Sheep Transformation Festival and discovered a supernatural presence connected to the Ancestral Hall. After leaving Wang Ju behind, he realized Miss Xiao Ran, who had guided them to the village, had disappeared.

• Qin Manjiang examined Zhang Yang’s body as Wang Ju tried to remove it and postpone reporting the death until after the festival.
• Zhang Yang’s mother told Qin Manjiang that her son had seen something after returning from the Hundred-Meter Banquet, then tore at his face and stabbed himself with a chopstick.
• Qin Manjiang pointed out that the wounds on Zhang Yang’s face could form the character “Wang,” frightening Wang Ju, who knew two Wang Family members had died in the Ancestral Hall.
• Qin Manjiang stood where Zhang Yang had stopped and faced the Ancestral Hall, then saw a black sheep’s face in the marble’s reflection and led Liu Jingqing away.
• Qin Manjiang admitted he had lied about the “Wang” character to unsettle Wang Ju, then asked Liu Jingqing where Miss Xiao Ran had gone.

Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing investigated the Sheep Immortal’s apparent method of killing and found Brother Chen dead in his home. The Chen Family’s younger members agreed to tell Qin Manjiang what they knew in exchange for his help, leaving him to suspect their situation was worse than it appeared.

• Qin Manjiang explained that the Sheep Immortal could possess people in darkness or target them through mirrors, and said Brother Chen’s reflection had shown a sheep’s face first.
• Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing visited the Chen residence and discovered Brother Chen dead, with knives embedded in his temples and his face scraped away.
• Qin Manjiang questioned the Chen Family about a bottle beside the body, prompting an argument over whether Brother Chen had been allowed to drink despite his liver disease.
• Qin Manjiang warned the Chen Family’s younger members that they might be next to die and hinted that he knew something about the Sheep Immortal.
• Liu Jingqing helped Qin Manjiang bluff the younger Chen Family members, who agreed to share what they knew if he helped them.
• Qin Manjiang told Liu Jingqing that their desperation suggested the danger was worse than what they had seen.

He Jian, Shi Lianshan, and Chen Ping entered the Ancestral Hall grounds through a hidden hole, only to find themselves trapped in the Sheep Ghost’s silent domain. Inside the hall, Chen Ping saw offerings that the others could not, revealed signs of death, and asked them to state their wishes.

• He Jian, Shi Lianshan, and Chen Ping found a hidden opening in the wall and crawled into the Ancestral Hall grounds.
• He Jian and Shi Lianshan grew suspicious of Chen Ping, who had been steering them toward the hall.
• The three discovered that the grounds had fallen silent and that the hole they entered through had disappeared.
• Chen Ping urged them onward, and they entered the inner hall through an unfastened window.
• Chen Ping claimed to see Sheep Horns and Sheepskin on empty trays, then manifested bloody tears and marks of strangulation.
• Chen Ping asked He Jian and Shi Lianshan to tell him their wishes.

Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing learned the details of the village’s human sacrifice ritual and questioned who would replace Li Rong as the Immortal Sheep. The festival was suspended after the village chief’s corpse fell onto the platform, and Qin Manjiang followed Wang Ju as he fled.

• Chen Rui confessed that the villagers had sacrificed Li Rong to become the Immortal Sheep, and said she had vanished after the ritual.
• Qin Manjiang questioned Chen Rui about Li Rong’s disappearance and warned him not to threaten those he had asked for help.
• Qin Manjiang reasoned that the vengeful ghost might not be Li Rong, since past Immortal Sheep could have wished for revenge, and he and Liu Jingqing went to identify her replacement.
• Wang Ju revealed that Chen Ping was the Immortal Sheep and began drawing the festival’s lucky winner.
• The village chief’s corpse fell onto the platform, prompting Wang Ju to suspend the festival and flee.
• Qin Manjiang told Liu Jingqing to follow Wang Ju.

Qin Manjiang reasoned that the village’s method for controlling the Immortal Sheep and the cost of wishes might reveal paths to survival, while wondering whether Chen Ping was another Immortal Sheep. In the Ancestral Hall, Shi Lianshan wished to leave Xianyang Village alive in seven days, and Chen Ping granted it by devouring his limbs while keeping him alive before demanding He Jian’s wish.

• Qin Manjiang told Liu Jingqing that the village chief may have known how to control the Immortal Sheep, but the village chief’s death made him suspect there could be two Immortal Sheep.
• Qin Manjiang linked Zhang Yang’s wish to leave the village and Chen Shixing’s bottle of liquor to the possibility that wishes came with a price.
• Chen Ping cornered Shi Lianshan and He Jian in the locked Ancestral Hall and demanded that they make wishes.
• Shi Lianshan wished to leave Xianyang Village alive in seven days, and Chen Ping answered, “As you wish.”
• Chen Ping devoured Shi Lianshan’s hands and legs while leaving him alive, then turned to He Jian and said, “Your turn.”

He Jian stopped Chen Ping’s Vengeful Ghost for fifteen minutes with a carefully worded wish, then faced Shi Lianshan’s plea to die after the ghost had mutilated him. He left Shi Lianshan behind and fled toward the crowded Village Central Square, hoping to survive until the ghost could move again.

• As the Vengeful Ghost approached, He Jian wished for it to cease all activity for fifteen minutes, and it froze in place.
• He Jian tried to carry Shi Lianshan, but Shi Lianshan begged him to leave him and let him die.
• He Jian covered Shi Lianshan’s face with his blood-soaked shirt as Shi Lianshan gave him the Off-Road Vehicle keys and urged him to stay alive.
• He Jian escaped the Ancestral Hall and ran toward the Village Central Square, where the festival crowd might deter the Vengeful Ghost.

Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing followed Wang Ju into the Old Village Chief’s home, where Wang Ju sought the Writing Brush said to control the Immortal Sheep. Li Rong’s ghost killed him, and just as the pair were cornered, Zhong Xueran appeared and rescued them.

• Wang Ju searched the Old Village Chief’s room for the Writing Brush while Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing watched from the Back Courtyard.
• Wang Ju found the Wooden Box hidden behind a Dressing Mirror, but it was empty, and the mannequin head he carried transformed into Li Rong’s head.
• Li Rong’s Vengeful Ghost dragged Wang Ju into its mouth and killed him as Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing looked on.
• Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing tried to flee, but the residence’s doors and windows shut and Li Rong’s ghost trapped them in the courtyard.
• A bell rang, transporting Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing out of danger, and Zhong Xueran introduced herself as So Annoying.

Zhong Xueran explained how she infiltrated Xianyang Village, stole the brush that controlled the Immortal Sheep, and helped Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing escape. As the three found the village mysteriously deserted, He Jian warned them that Chen Ping was a ghost, and Zhong Xueran reacted to hearing the player’s name.

• Zhong Xueran told Qin Manjiang and Liu Jingqing that the village’s festival used a ritual to summon the Immortal Sheep into human vessels, killing at least seven people over the years.
• Zhong Xueran revealed that she had stolen the writing brush from the village chief’s house because it could protect her from and control the Immortal Sheep.
• Qin Manjiang and Zhong Xueran agreed that the village chief deserved to die, while Liu Jingqing struggled with their response.
• The three discovered that Xianyang Village was empty and suspected that the previous night’s failed ritual had caused the strange events.
• He Jian appeared, warned them to flee to the Village Central Square, and said Chen Ping was a ghost; Zhong Xueran asked whether Chen Ping was one of the players.

In the [Close Your Eyes] Challenge Mode game, Horsehead with a Sword, Thousand Miles, Lemonade with Ice, Xingqiu, and Fragrant Grass at Sunset wrongly voted for Lemonade with Ice, and the ghost killed her and another figure. Meanwhile, Zhong Xueran explained the Evil Curse Pendant to He Jian and the others, and Qin Manjiang realized that three people had now died.

• Horsehead with a Sword woke in an abandoned Murder Mystery Shop with four other players and learned the rules of [Close Your Eyes], where they had to identify a vengeful ghost among ten people.
• Fragrant Grass at Sunset and Thousand Miles silently agreed to cooperate, while Horsehead with a Sword and Xingqiu recognized each other; all four grew suspicious of the unfamiliar Lemonade with Ice.
• The players introduced themselves, and Lemonade with Ice said her name was Yang Yiyi; the others voted for her seat, number nine.
• The vote was wrong: Yang Yiyi was beheaded during the eyes-closed phase, another figure vanished, and the game continued with the vengeful ghost still unidentified.
• At Xianyang Village, Zhong Xueran explained that the Evil Curse Pendant had let someone possess Chen Ping, who died and became the new Immortal Sheep; Qin Manjiang then said that made three deaths.

Qin Manjiang realized the group might already be trapped in the Immortal Sheep’s Silent Domain, where their urge to reach the Village Central Square had been planted. As Li Rong-headed goats closed in and Chen Ping’s restriction ended, he assigned everyone roles in a plan to escape.

• Qin Manjiang questioned whether Chen Ping truly followed the rules of wishes, then suspected the silent, empty village was the Immortal Sheep’s Silent Domain.
• Liu Jingqing spotted a woman’s head on a goat, and the black goats emerged with Li Rong’s head and chased the group, especially targeting Zhong Xueran.
• He Jian realized his fifteen-minute wish had expired and Chen Ping could move again, while Liu Jingqing began to tire.
• Qin Manjiang told He Jian to draw Chen Ping away, Zhong Xueran to lead the goats away after giving the Writing Brush to Liu Jingqing, and Liu Jingqing to use it to break the Silent Domain.
• Qin Manjiang urged the others to trust him, saying he did not want any more regrets.

Liu Jingqing overcame her fear and figured out how to use the Writing Brush to seal the Sheep Immortal, then rushed toward the Ancestral Hall. Qin Manjiang encountered Chen Ping before he could help her further.

• Liu Jingqing struggled with the responsibility Qin Manjiang had given her, then steadied herself and recalled clues about the Sheep Immortal.
• Liu Jingqing recognized the mark between Li Rong's eyebrows as the mark made by the Writing Brush and worked out how it could be used.
• Liu Jingqing called Qin Manjiang for help, but their call was cut off as he suggested the Sheep Immortal might take the form of an inanimate object.
• Liu Jingqing connected the Opening Lines to the Ancestral Hall's circular entrance and realized it marked the Sheep Immortal's true form, then ran there.
• Qin Manjiang ran into Chen Ping, who asked him to state his wish.

Zhong Xueran deduced how the three ghosts’ abilities worked and used the Three Pure Ones Bell to escape the Black Sheep. He Jian received a possibly false message directing him to the Chen Family's house, while Liu Jingqing dispelled the Silent Domain at the Ancestral Hall and discovered the slaughtered players and clues to Li Rong’s death.

• Zhong Xueran reasoned that Chen Ping had inherited the wish-granting power, while Li Rong collected the price of wishes and the Immortal Sheep had another ability.
• Zhong Xueran threw the Three Pure Ones Bell to distract the Black Sheep, then fled as she considered how few people could legitimately make wishes.
• He Jian recalled Shi Lianshan’s words about becoming the roof over his family and resolved to survive before receiving a message telling him to go to the Chen Family's house.
• He Jian wondered whether Qin Manjiang had sent the message or a ghost was luring him, and hesitated over whether to trust it.
• Liu Jingqing used her bloodied Writing Brush on the Ancestral Hall threshold, dispelling the Silent Domain and finding corpses inside and outside.
• Liu Jingqing received images through the Writing Brush that revealed how Li Rong had died, then walked into the Ancestral Hall.

Qin Manjiang avoided “Chen Ping’s” demand by reciting the Sick Sheep Ghost Story, while Zhong Xueran and He Jian rushed to the Chen Family’s house to use the wish ritual. As He Jian was killed and Zhong Xueran began her wish, Liu Jingqing transformed herself into the Immortal Sheep and made a wish of her own.

• Qin Manjiang recited Liu Jingqing’s account of the Sick Sheep Ghost Story, causing “Chen Ping” to vanish as Qin’s reflection became a black sheep.
• Zhong Xueran met He Jian at the Chen Family’s house and learned that Qin Manjiang had sent him there; she forced a family member to reveal where the real Chen Ping was being kept.
• Zhong Xueran had the real Chen Ping draw her name so she could wish for the Ghost Story to be erased, while He Jian stood guard against Li Rong and “Chen Ping.”
• The real Chen Ping chose Zhong Xueran, but Li Rong killed He Jian before Zhong Xueran could finish stating her wish.
• At the Ancestral Hall, Liu Jingqing used the Writing Brush to see the Sheep Horns and Sheepskin, put them on, and drove the horns’ Iron Nails into her temples to become the Immortal Sheep.
• Liu Jingqing resisted the Immortal Sheep’s vast consciousness and began to make a wish.

Zhong Xueran and Liu Jingqing each made a wish to Chen Ping, leading to the disappearance of Li Rong, Chen Ping, and Green Vine. Qin Manjiang then used a deliberately impossible wish to expose and defeat the Immortal Sheep, clearing the Sick Sheep Ghost Story.

• Zhong Xueran wished that nothing in Xianyang Village could harm outsiders, but Chen Ping transformed into a black sheep and attacked her.
• Liu Jingqing wished that Li Rong could have her wish, prompting Li Rong to seize Chen Ping and Green Vine and drag them into a fissure.
• Zhong Xueran escaped the Back Courtyard as the three ghosts vanished, while Liu Jingqing collapsed after hearing Li Rong thank her.
• Qin Manjiang recognized the black sheep in his phone as the true source of the danger and asked it to grant another wish.
• Qin Manjiang wished that one strand of his hair would not break, then snapped it to prove the Immortal Sheep had failed.
• The Ghost Story Game's spiral eye appeared and destroyed the gigantic black sheep, and Qin Manjiang's phone announced that Sick Sheep had been cleared.