Recaps

Qin Manjiang and Mei Sijun learned from the Old Taoist that the [Eye Realm] could be used to create a Ghost Story Space anchored in reality. The Old Taoist revealed that the ruined Little Chongyang Temple, once overseen by the Zhong Family, had held records about the [Eye Realm], and Qin Manjiang and Mei Sijun realized Zhong Xueran was their descendant.

• Qiao Ziruo carried the silk-wrapped bones to the Old Taoist’s house and sat silently while he prepared a mourning hall.
• Qin Manjiang asked whether people had souls after death, and the Old Taoist replied that people with eyes like theirs did.
• Mei Sijun explained that the Zhong Family had kept records about the [Eye Realm], though Zhong Xueran seemed unaware of her changing eyes.
• Qin Manjiang tried to use the [Eye Realm] but got no response, and the Old Taoist identified it as an [Eye Realm Key].
• The Old Taoist explained that using the key during an abnormal change could create a Grotto-Heaven in reality where Spirit Pupil Bearers faced ghosts and demons.
• The Old Taoist said the ruined Little Chongyang Temple had belonged to the Zhong Family, leading Qin Manjiang and Mei Sijun to realize Zhong Xueran was its descendant.

Before Zhong Xueran headed to the area where [Wedding Dress] was located, Xu Yi called her on Qin Manjiang and Mei Sijun’s behalf, then confronted her about hiding her despair behind an enthusiastic persona. He left her silent after telling her she did not have to imitate Yang or pretend to be strong.

• Zhong Xueran worried about the changes in her vision and her uneasy premonition before tomorrow’s trip to [Wedding Dress].
• Xu Yi called Zhong Xueran and told her that Qin Manjiang, Mei Sijun, and Miss Qiao might not return tomorrow.
• Xu Yi recalled meeting Zhong Xueran in [Corpse Transformation], where she had risked herself to help him.
• Xu Yi told Zhong Xueran that he had seen her crying and believed she was burning herself out because she wanted to die.
• Xu Yi urged Zhong Xueran to stop imitating Yang and pretending to be carefree, and she remained silent.

Qin Manjiang, Mei Sijun, Qiao Ziruo, and Old Taoist tried to stop a Vicious Soul from returning to life through Qiao Ziruo’s grandmother’s bones. The bones stopped moving, but Qiao Ziruo vanished, and Qin Manjiang summoned [Eye Realm], which revealed a newly formed Ghost Story.

• Old Taoist’s ever-burning lamp went out as a cold wind blew into the mourning hall, and he suspected the bones did not belong to Qiao Ziruo’s grandmother.
• Water and mist appeared throughout the hall, and Old Taoist identified the phenomenon as Returning Tide Breeds Sha, warning that a Vicious Soul sought resurrection.
• Old Taoist had Qin Manjiang and Mei Sijun hold down the bones while he relit the lamp and tossed a flame into the skeleton’s chest, stopping its violent movement.
• Qin Manjiang discovered that Qiao Ziruo had disappeared, and Old Taoist said he could not tell what had happened to her.
• Qin Manjiang summoned [Eye Realm], which displayed the message that [Ghost Story: Soul Return] had formed.

Qiao Ziruo returned to Qiao Family Village through an eerie, silent journey and found a red coffin waiting in her courtyard, though she could not remember who had died. In Qiao Family Village, Qin Manjiang saw the new Ghost Story, “Soul Return,” while Mei Sijun found Qiao Ziruo alive outside the courtyard fence.

• Qiao Ziruo rode alone toward Qiao Family Village and glimpsed a funeral procession carrying a red coffin across the road.
• Qiao Ziruo got off the bus beneath blood-red sunlight and passed a silent black dog before wandering through the gray village.
• Qiao Ziruo asked an old man for directions to Qiao Liang's home, then found a red coffin in her courtyard and touched it.
• Qin Manjiang saw a new Ghost Story appear in the [Eye Realm], and Mei Sijun found Qiao Ziruo unconscious outside the courtyard fence.
• Mei Sijun confirmed that Qiao Ziruo was alive as blood-red text announced the Ghost Story “Soul Return.”

Xia Nan led the group into Old Town to investigate Huai'an Residential Complex and the ghost story [Wedding Dress]. After they arrived beneath the old locust tree, Xu Yi saw Zhong Xueran wearing a wedding dress in a car mirror, but the reflection quickly returned to normal.

• Qin Manjiang, Mei Sijun, and Qiao Ziruo failed to meet the group, so Xia Nan led eight players toward Huai'an Residential Complex.
• The group entered Old Town and noticed its gloomy buildings, empty streets, and birds flying without flapping their wings.
• The players reached the old locust tree, where quiet vendors and visitors sold and carried red strings.
• Yan Xiao sensed a strong presence of death and noted that the dark, shifting clouds brought no wind.
• Xu Yi saw Zhong Xueran with a gray face, pupil-less eyes, and a red wedding dress in a car mirror, but the image returned to normal when he looked again.

Qiao Ziruo encountered a ghostly version of her grandmother and was drawn into a strange scene around a coffin, while Qin Manjiang, Mei Sijun, and the Old Taoist discovered that she had been caught in a new Ghost Story Game called “soul return.” The chapter left the three men trying to use the Old Taoist’s Three Pure Ones Bell to bring Qiao Ziruo’s soul back before dawn.

• Qiao Ziruo embraced her grandmother, who led her away from the coffin and told her to stay with her, while Qiao Ziruo noticed her grandmother was ice-cold and left no footprints in the flour.
• Qiao Ziruo’s grandmother entered the incense-filled main room and vanished amid smoke and a faint bell sound, leaving Qiao Ziruo confused by changes in the village.
• Qin Manjiang, Mei Sijun, and the Old Taoist found Qiao Ziruo unconscious in the courtyard and learned that a Ghost Story Game called “soul return” had trapped them there.
• The Old Taoist explained that Qiao Ziruo’s soul had been taken and that they needed to bring it back before dawn to prevent her body from dying and her soul from being extinguished.
• The Old Taoist revealed a Three Pure Ones Bell and rang it in an attempt to wake Qiao Ziruo.

Mei Sijun proposed using Yellow Springs Opera to enter Soul Return Night and search for Qiao Ziruo’s soul, while Qiao Ziruo wandered through the ghostly village and nearly became trapped. The chapter ended with Mei Sijun and the Old Taoist agreeing that he and Qin Manjiang would enter Soul Return Night, leaving Qin Manjiang confused.

• Mei Sijun suggested that a passage of Yellow Springs Opera could connect them to the place holding Qiao Ziruo’s soul, and the Old Taoist agreed it was worth trying.
• Qiao Ziruo approached the coffin and tried to eat an offering bun, but spat it out after finding its taste revolting.
• Qiao Ziruo inhaled the sandalwood incense and felt stronger, then mistook paper figures for her grandmother and fled the courtyard in fear.
• Qiao Ziruo ran through familiar roads without reaching the village, and her grandmother seized her wrist and told her it was time to eat.
• Mei Sijun and the Old Taoist agreed that Mei Sijun and Qin Manjiang would enter Soul Return Night while the Old Taoist stood guard, but Qin Manjiang asked what they were talking about.

Xu Yi and the others entered the old courtyard beneath the locust tree, where the tree drew most visitors into a trance. When Xu Yi touched two names carved into its trunk, he saw a vision of a groom climbing the tree amid twisted corpses and recognized Home Flower among them.

• Xu Yi warned the group that he had seen Zhong Xueran in a wedding dress in the car mirror, but a group mirror check showed no one had changed.
• Xu Yi and the others entered the courtyard and watched visitors tie their red strings to the locust tree while falling into a trance.
• Xu Yi and Chen Zhiyuan remained unaffected and discussed how the tree guided people's emotions; Chen Zhiyuan pointed out two names carved into the trunk.
• Xu Yi touched the names Liu Junyan and Shen Hong and saw a drenched groom climbing the tree above a pattern of corpses with twisted necks.
• Xu Yi recognized Home Flower among the bodies in his vision.

The Infinite Eye Realm began the [Wedding dress] ghost story selection, alarming players with the memory of its previous rapid massacre. Five players were chosen, and then the realm pulled Qin Manjiang from the ongoing [Soul Return] story and summoned a man identified as Abyss.

• The Infinite Eye Realm summoned players, but Qin Manjiang, Mei Sijun, and Qiao Ziruo remained trapped in another ghost story, prompting Shen Hai to suspect the realm’s selection could not override an active game.
• The fifth spirit pupil revealed the [Wedding dress] ghost story and ordered players to survive six hours at Huai'an Residential Complex three days later; the players recalled that its previous run had killed everyone in under half an hour.
• The realm selected Xu Yi, Fan Cheng, Nie Yunzhen, Yu Qinghuan, and Zhong Xueran, drawing concern from the other players.
• After the five selections seemed complete, the largest pupil moved again, and Qin Manjiang vanished from the [Soul Return] ghost story just as Old Taoist prepared to ring the Three Pure Ones Bell.
• The Infinite Eye Realm summoned Qin Manjiang before the players, where the bloody name Abyss appeared above him.

Qin Manjiang was pulled into [Wedding Dress] before he could return to [Soul Return], so he asked Mei Sijun to take over and help Qiao. On the road, Xu Yi and Zhong Xueran saw a wedding sedan procession linked to [Wedding Dress], leaving them to wonder whether the ghost story had begun affecting the real world.

• Qin Manjiang was chosen for [Wedding Dress] and called Mei Sijun, asking him to handle [Soul Return] and help her.
• Mei Sijun told Qin Manjiang to focus on finding his fellow players, then questioned why the Old Taoist could enter the realm without a Spirit Pupil.
• Xu Yi and Zhong Xueran discussed why the previous players had died within thirty minutes, and Xu Yi suggested the ghost story might be story-based.
• Xu Yi stopped the car when he and Zhong Xueran saw eight indistinct men carrying a red sedan chair across the road to suona music.
• Xu Yi sped away with Zhong Xueran, and they wondered whether [Wedding Dress] had begun affecting the real world or whether the procession was an illusion.

After escaping Old Town, Xu Yi discovered that Zhong Xueran’s lips had been marked with red Lip Rouge, suggesting a Vengeful Ghost was already affecting her. Meanwhile, Fan Cheng saw a bridal sedan chair and then a Female Ghost in a Wedding Dress outside his home before the Game had begun, and her eerie laughter left him trapped in fear.

• Xu Yi noticed crimson Lip Rouge on Zhong Xueran’s lips and realized something was wrong with her.
• Xu Yi showed Zhong Xueran her reflection and decided to take her home because Old Town seemed dangerous.
• Fan Cheng heard suonas and saw eight eerie men carrying a red sedan chair toward his apartment door.
• Fan Cheng convinced himself the apparition was only a hallucination and waited after the suonas stopped.
• Fan Cheng looked through the peephole and saw a Female Ghost in a red Wedding Dress outside his door, laughing eerily.

Qin Manjiang reunited with Li Xijiu and learned that Nie Yunzhen wanted to join him for the [Wedding Dress] Ghost Story, but he refused her. Yu Qinghuan then encountered two eerie bridal processions that blocked both ends of the sidewalk.

• Qin Manjiang met Li Xijiu, who was using Xia Nan’s body, and tried to ask where he had been.
• Nie Yunzhen approached Qin Manjiang, said she wanted to speak with Jiang Du, and offered the [Fortune and Misfortune Pendulum]’s guidance that a man and a woman should act together.
• Qin Manjiang refused Nie Yunzhen and said he would team up with another woman, while Li Xijiu realized Qin Manjiang believed she would be harmed by getting close to him.
• Yu Qinghuan hurried home as a bridal procession carrying a red sedan chair appeared ahead of her.
• Yu Qinghuan turned to flee and saw another procession carrying a red sedan chair blocking the other end of the sidewalk.

Fan Cheng was attacked by the Wedding Dress Vengeful Ghost before the Ghost Story Game began, and Nie Yunzhen concluded that a man and a woman had to face it together. The ghost infiltrated Fan Cheng’s bedroom through his coat rack, and Nie Yunzhen rushed to his address after their call disconnected.

• Fan Cheng panicked when the Wedding Dress Vengeful Ghost appeared outside his home, then attacked what he thought was inside his rising quilt and found it empty.
• Fan Cheng told Nie Yunzhen that the ghost was outside his door, and she said Xu Yi and Zhong Xueran had encountered it in a bridal sedan.
• Nie Yunzhen explained that a favorable clue suggested a man and a woman had to work together to keep the ghost away.
• As Fan Cheng gave Nie Yunzhen his address, the ghost emerged from his down jacket and followed him when he tried to leave the bedroom.
• Fan Cheng realized the coat rack had moved with him, said the ghost was inside, and lost his call with Nie Yunzhen.
• Nie Yunzhen hurried to Fan Cheng’s address, fearing he would die before the game began.

Yu Qinghuan fled through an empty, looping district while the Wedding Dress Vengeful Ghost pursued her in a red sedan. She called Qin Manjiang for help, and he headed into the district with the doll [I], while Li Xijiu stayed behind.

• Yu Qinghuan ran through the deserted district, unable to escape its streets or find anyone, as eight ghostly carriers followed her sedan in eerie hops.
• Yu Qinghuan answered Qin Manjiang’s call and told him a ghost was chasing her; she said she could hold on for twenty minutes.
• Qin Manjiang told Yu Qinghuan to endure while he and Li Xijiu drove toward the Two-Way District.
• Qin Manjiang recalled seeing a figure resembling Li Xijiu in the Cinema and wondered whether it had really been him.
• Qin Manjiang warned Li Xijiu that the Wedding Dress ghost could move through the real world without area restrictions, then ran into the district carrying [I].
• Li Xijiu watched Qin Manjiang go and murmured that he could not lose.

Yu Qinghuan mistook the Wedding Dress Female Ghost for Qin Manjiang after calling him for help, then realized the figure was a trap. Qin Manjiang reached her in time and pulled her out of the alley, leaving them at the roadside.

• Yu Qinghuan hid in a narrow alley and called Qin Manjiang to warn him about the Two-Way District.
• A figure appeared at the alley entrance, and Yu Qinghuan recognized its ancient red wedding dress as belonging to the Wedding Dress Female Ghost.
• The real Qin Manjiang answered the call, and Yu Qinghuan warned him about the ghost and its ability to create doppelgangers.
• A figure at the other end of the alley reached for Yu Qinghuan, but its warm hand revealed that it was Qin Manjiang.
• Qin Manjiang pulled Yu Qinghuan out of the alley and stopped with her at the roadside.

Qin Manjiang found Yu Qinghuan after the wedding sedan ghost disappeared, then noticed her fingernails had turned red and persuaded her to leave with him. Meanwhile, Nie Yunzhen reached Fan Cheng’s apartment and saw someone waving from his window, but she doubted it was really him.

• The wedding sedan ghost vanished into the darkness, while Qin Manjiang felt something secretly pinch him and sensed the danger had increased.
• Qin Manjiang noticed Yu Qinghuan’s fingernails were entirely red, and Yu Qinghuan realized they looked like the Wedding Dress Vengeful Ghost’s hands.
• Yu Qinghuan feared she was cursed and tried to leave alone, but Qin Manjiang stopped her and explained he had found her by hearing her call out to him.
• Qin Manjiang persuaded Yu Qinghuan to go with him, and she asked where they were going before he said his place.
• Nie Yunzhen reached Fan Cheng’s apartment and saw a figure waving from the sixth-floor window, but she wondered whether it was really Fan Cheng.

Trapped in the Soul Return Realm, Qiao Ziruo searched for answers about a death in her family while Mei Sijun questioned the Old Taoist about the Ghost Story. The Old Taoist explained how Qiao Ziruo could resolve the realm—and warned that recognizing her memories as false could prevent her soul from returning to her body.

• Qiao Ziruo discovered that her call history had no record of the message that brought her to the village and decided to ask the villagers who had died.
• Qiao Ziruo reached the old man outside Li Gui's house, and his pointing gesture led her to realize she could search the Qiao family burial ground for answers.
• Grandma appeared and scolded Qiao Ziruo for wandering away just as she was about to go to the burial ground.
• Mei Sijun challenged the Old Taoist about being trapped in the Ghost Story despite claiming not to possess a Spirit Pupil, and the Old Taoist revealed an eyeball embedded in his ritual ring.
• The Old Taoist explained that Qiao Ziruo's deceased relative had become an evil soul and was trying to return to life by making her complete the first seven days of mourning in its place.
• The Old Taoist said Qiao Ziruo had to arrange a new funeral and bury her relative again, but warned that realizing her memories were illusory could sever her soul from her body.

Mei Sijun and the Old Taoist entered the Soul Return Realm to find Qiao Ziruo, who was being led home by her dead grandmother. Qiao Ziruo began eating the strange feast her grandmother had prepared, while the old woman’s face peeled away behind her.

• Mei Sijun sang the Yellow Springs Opera with the Old Taoist beside Qiao Ziruo, sending them into the Soul Return Realm.
• Mei Sijun and the Old Taoist arrived at the village and agreed to pretend they were dead.
• Qiao Ziruo received Mei Sijun’s message but could not remember who he was, and she hid it from her grandmother.
• Qiao Ziruo followed her grandmother home, where she saw a coffin and a table covered with countless small bowls of food.
• Qiao Ziruo’s grandmother ordered her to eat as patches of skin fell from her face, and Qiao Ziruo began wolfing down the food.

Qin Manjiang brought Yu Qinghuan home after the [Wedding Dress] Female Ghost’s features began spreading across her hands, then learned that Zhong Xueran had suffered a similar change. Yu Qinghuan warned that the ghost might mimic phone calls and questioned how the players could survive if it could locate them and appear anywhere.

• Qin Manjiang set Yu Qinghuan up in Qin Manyi’s room and arranged for them to contact Xu Yi and Nie Yunzhen.
• Xu Yi told Qin Manjiang that Zhong Xueran’s lips had turned blood-red after they encountered the Vengeful Ghost Carrying the Sedan Chair.
• Qin Manjiang revealed that Yu Qinghuan’s hands were changing and suspected that women had been cursed; Yu Qinghuan could not reach Nie Yunzhen.
• Yu Qinghuan suggested that the Female Ghost might imitate players answering phones and said its ability to locate players and appear without warning seemed impossible to escape.

Qin Manjiang and Yu Qinghuan realized the ghost story had already begun when a haunting force trapped them in Qin Manyi’s bedroom. They escaped after Yu Qinghuan broke through the door, and Qin Manjiang concluded that the opening lines pointed to a hidden story involving a female ghost and a mysterious “you.”

• Qin Manjiang agreed with Yu Qinghuan that the Vengeful Ghost’s ability to locate players had to be restricted, and noted that Nie Yunzhen had gone silent after seeking Fan Cheng.
• Yu Qinghuan recalled Nie Yunzhen’s [Shared-Fate Lock], prompting Qin Manjiang to suspect that the game had started because [I] had acted in the real world.
• Yu Qinghuan recited the opening lines, and a black cat appeared at the window as the quilt on the bed began to bulge.
• The bedroom door slammed shut while blood and a pale hand emerged from beneath the quilt, drawing Yu Qinghuan toward it.
• Qin Manjiang stopped Yu Qinghuan from putting the hand in her mouth, and she smashed a hole through the door with one swing.
• Qin Manjiang led Yu Qinghuan out and concluded that the opening lines hinted at a female ghost and a “you” who had moved time forward.

Xu Yi realized that the women who witnessed the wedding sedan were transforming and suspected the Ghost Story was reenacting the fate of the pair described in the Opening Lines. He used his Fated Die and smiled at the result, while Zhong Xueran’s transformation left her drawn toward Xu Yi’s refrigerator.

• Xu Yi received Qin Manjiang’s messages and sent him the photograph showing the names Liu Junyan and Shen Hong.
• Zhong Xueran emerged from the washroom with ashen skin and a changed face, and Xu Yi decided not to tell her about his plans.
• Zhong Xueran stared at her reflection and then began walking toward Xu Yi’s refrigerator.
• Xu Yi deduced that the players’ ordeal was reenacting the past of the man and woman in the Opening Lines, and feared the women would eventually die and decay.
• Xu Yi removed his Fated Die, activated it, and smiled after seeing the number it rolled.

Qin Manjiang, Li Xijiu, and Yu Qinghuan investigated the names carved into the Old Locust Tree and searched for the first post about its love wishes. Yu Qinghuan found that the post belonged to an account called Wedding Dress and discovered its profile picture was a red bridal gown.

• Li Xijiu picked up Qin Manjiang and Yu Qinghuan, and Yu Qinghuan said the Old Locust Tree’s love-wish posts first appeared online on November ninth.
• At the General Bureau, Li Xijiu used Zhou Fan’s computer to search for Liu Junyan and Shen Hong, but the results contained thousands of people.
• Qin Manjiang told Li Xijiu to narrow the results by looking for people with the two names who lived in the same area, while Yu Qinghuan searched for the original post.
• Yu Qinghuan found a post titled [South City Locust Tree-Pledge of Love] from an account named Wedding Dress.
• Yu Qinghuan opened the account’s profile and saw that its picture showed a bright red traditional bridal wedding dress.

Yu Qinghuan was possessed after seeing the Red Wedding Dress, but Qin Manjiang stopped her by telling her he forgave her. Qin Manjiang concluded that the Wedding Dress Ghost Story was changing in real time because its creator was still alive, and Yu Qinghuan recognized the hands in Shen Hong’s photograph as the hands her own had become.

• Yu Qinghuan saw the blood-red wedding dress on her phone and began sobbing, apologizing, and repeatedly striking her head against the desk.
• Qin Manjiang restrained Yu Qinghuan and calmed her by saying he forgave her, while Li Xijiu took the phone and Qin Manjiang smashed it after the image kept reopening.
• Yu Qinghuan regained control and told Qin Manjiang that the wedding dress was the source of the haunting.
• Qin Manjiang reasoned that the Wedding Dress Ghost Story was unfolding in real time and that the person who created it had not died.
• Li Xijiu found Liu Junyan and Shen Hong, a couple whose information had not been updated in over a month, and Yu Qinghuan recognized Shen Hong’s hands as the hands her own had become.

Jiang Du called Nie Yunzhen and triggered the return of her quieter, newly awakened personality, who agreed to meet Qin Manjiang. Qin Manjiang realized Nie Yunzhen’s change and set out with Yu Qinghuan, while Fan Cheng watched her leave without noticing him.

• Nie Yunzhen answered a call from Qin Manjiang and recognized Jiang Du’s voice, then angrily confronted him.
• Jiang Du said Qin Manjiang was close to dying after uncovering the Game’s key and asked Nie Yunzhen to help him; her reaction revealed that a second personality had awakened.
• Jiang Du imitated Qin Manjiang’s voice and asked Nie Yunzhen to come to the General Bureau, and she agreed.
• Qin Manjiang realized he had lost time and found Nie Yunzhen’s number in his call history; when he called her, he recognized the newly awakened personality and guided her to the General Bureau.
• Qin Manjiang took the car keys from Li Xijiu and left with Yu Qinghuan to meet Nie Yunzhen and investigate Liu Junyan and Shen Hong’s homes.
• Fan Cheng watched from the window as Nie Yunzhen left the complex, unaware that he was there.

Fan Cheng used his Heart of Delusion to escape a Vengeful Ghost and headed to Wenshui District after receiving Qin Manjiang’s message. At the same time, Qin Manjiang and Yu Qinghuan encountered Nie Yunzhen and Bai Hongdan in a car, while Fan Cheng noticed his body seemed to be getting thinner.

• Fan Cheng received Qin Manjiang’s message announcing that the game had begun in Wenshui District, West City.
• Fan Cheng activated the Heart of Delusion, sent his Delusion Doppelganger out of his apartment, and found the corridor empty.
• Fan Cheng left the residential complex, took a taxi to Wenshui District, and noticed that he seemed to have gotten thinner.
• Yu Qinghuan told Qin Manjiang that he looked thinner, though neither of them could explain why.
• Bai Hongdan arrived with Nie Yunzhen in a private car and invited Qin Manjiang to get in.