Chapter Summaries

Yu Qinghuan tried to warn Qin Manjiang not to enter the Two-Way District, but the Vengeful Ghost in an ancient red wedding dress cornered her in an alley. Qin Manjiang reached her in time and pulled her to safety, though the ghost remained a threat.

• Yu Qinghuan hid in an alley after escaping the red bridal sedan chair and called Qin Manjiang to warn him about the district.
• Yu Qinghuan mistook a figure at the alley's far exit for Qin Manjiang, then realized it was the woman in the ancient red wedding dress.
• The real Qin Manjiang answered Yu Qinghuan's call from inside the district, and she shouted for him to escape while describing the ghost's disguises and copies.
• A figure approached Yu Qinghuan from the other end of the alley, but its warm hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her away.
• Qin Manjiang led Yu Qinghuan out of the alley to the roadside and asked if she was okay.

Qin Manjiang found Yu Qinghuan in the Two-Way District, where she discovered that her fingernails had turned red and feared she was becoming the Wedding Dress Vengeful Ghost. Nie Yunzhen reached Fan Cheng’s home and saw someone waving from his window, but she suspected the figure might not be him.

• The bridal sedan chair passed through the darkness and disappeared, while Qin Manjiang noticed that Yu Qinghuan’s fingernails had turned entirely red.
• Yu Qinghuan feared the ghost had cursed her and tried to leave Qin Manjiang, but he stopped her and explained that he had found her by hearing her call to him.
• Qin Manjiang persuaded Yu Qinghuan to go with him, and she asked where they were going before he answered, “My place!”
• Nie Yunzhen arrived at Fan Cheng’s residential complex, worried because he had not contacted her after saying that something had come in.
• Nie Yunzhen saw a figure waving from Fan Cheng’s lit sixth-floor window and wondered whether it was really him.

Trapped in Qiao Family Village, Qiao Ziruo questioned her memories and sought clues about the relative who had died. Outside the soul-return realm, Mei Sijun learned how the Old Taoist believed they could resolve the Ghost Story, but the plan depended on Qiao Ziruo realizing the truth without breaking her connection to her body.

• Qiao Ziruo discovered that she could leave the courtyard and reached the village, where she questioned a silent old man about the Qiao family death.
• The old man pointed toward the Qiao family burial ground, and Qiao Ziruo decided to go there before her grandmother appeared and called her back to eat.
• Mei Sijun challenged the Old Taoist about his spirit pupil, and the Old Taoist revealed an eyeball embedded in a metal ritual ring.
• The Old Taoist explained that an evil soul had drawn Qiao Ziruo into its realm to make her complete the first seven days after death in its place.
• The Old Taoist said Qiao Ziruo had to recognize that she had died in the ghost's place and arrange her relative's funeral again, while preserving the memories connecting her soul to her body.

Mei Sijun and the Old Taoist entered the Vengeful Ghost’s Soul Return Realm to find Qiao Ziruo, who had been lured home by her dead grandmother. Qiao Ziruo began eating the strange feast her grandmother prepared, while the old woman’s face peeled away and a sinister smile appeared.

• Mei Sijun sang the Yellow Springs Opera, and he and the Old Taoist entered the Soul Return Realm.
• Mei Sijun messaged Qiao Ziruo, but she could not remember who he was when his message arrived.
• Qiao Ziruo’s grandmother persuaded her to return home, and Qiao Ziruo noticed a coffin in the courtyard.
• Qiao Ziruo found a table covered with tiny bowls of food, while her grandmother refused to eat and urged her to begin.
• Qiao Ziruo ate the food and lost control, as her grandmother’s skin peeled away and a strange laugh entered her eyes.

Qin Manjiang sheltered Yu Qinghuan after the [Wedding Dress] ghost transformed her hands, and they learned that Zhong Xueran was undergoing a similar change. Yu Qinghuan questioned how the ghost could locate Players so precisely, leaving the group facing a possible threat they had no way to escape.

• Qin Manjiang gave Yu Qinghuan his sister’s empty 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 Vengeful Ghost Carrying the Sedan Chair.
• Qin Manjiang saw that Yu Qinghuan’s hands were taking on the [Wedding Dress] ghost’s appearance and suspected women were being cursed.
• Yu Qinghuan reported that Nie Yunzhen had not answered her call.
• Yu Qinghuan warned that the female ghost might imitate phone calls and questioned how it could locate Players while appearing and disappearing without warning.

Qin Manjiang realized that the Ghost Story had already begun and that its opening lines pointed to a hidden story involving a female ghost and a “you.” He escaped Qin Manyi’s bedroom with Yu Qinghuan, whose body had been controlled by the ghost, but the mystery of who “you” was remained unresolved.

• Qin Manjiang and Yu Qinghuan discussed the Vengeful Ghost’s limits and worried when Nie Yunzhen stopped answering her phone.
• Yu Qinghuan recited the opening lines, and Qin Manjiang realized that the game might already have started because the doll had acted in the real world.
• A quilt began to bulge as blood poured from beneath it, and a pale hand reached out while Yu Qinghuan became unable to look away.
• Yu Qinghuan tried to put her fingers in her mouth, but Qin Manjiang stopped her; she then smashed a hole through the locked bedroom door with one swing.
• Qin Manjiang led Yu Qinghuan outside and concluded that the opening lines hinted that “you” had moved time forward and that the Ghost Story had a hidden narrative.

Xu Yi realized the Players were reenacting the events described in the Opening Lines and feared that Zhong Xueran’s transformation was part of the same fate. He used his Fated Die after the Game began, and its result left him smiling.

• Xu Yi received Qin Manjiang’s message that the Game had begun and sent him the photograph of the two names carved into the Old Locust Tree.
• Zhong Xueran emerged from the bathroom visibly transformed, while Xu Yi avoided telling her about the Players’ plans.
• Zhong Xueran stared at her reflection and then fixed her gaze on Xu Yi’s refrigerator.
• Xu Yi suspected that the Players were reenacting the past of the man and bride in the Opening Lines, with the women’s transformations foreshadowing death and decay.
• Xu Yi untied his Fated Die, used it, and smiled at the number it showed.

Qin Manjiang, Yu Qinghuan, and Li Xijiu investigated the identities of Liu Junyan and Shen Hong and traced the old locust tree’s romance rumors to an online post. Yu Qinghuan found that the post was made by a user named Wedding Dress and ended the chapter stunned by the account’s profile picture.

• Qin Manjiang asked Li Xijiu to help identify the people whose names had been carved into the old locust tree.
• Yu Qinghuan recalled that claims about the tree’s romance-granting power first appeared online on November ninth and searched for the original post.
• Li Xijiu used Zhou Fan’s computer to find hundreds of people named Liu Junyan and thousands named Shen Hong, so he and Qin Manjiang began checking them by residence.
• Yu Qinghuan found the post titled “South City Locust Tree-Pledge of Love,” published by an account named Wedding Dress.
• Yu Qinghuan opened the account’s profile picture and saw a bright red traditional bridal wedding dress.

Yu Qinghuan was overwhelmed by the wedding dress image until Qin Manjiang calmed her by saying he forgave her, then destroyed her phone. Qin Manjiang concluded the Wedding Dress Ghost Story was evolving in real time because its creator was still alive, and Yu Qinghuan recognized Shen Hong’s hands as the ones she had changed into.

• Yu Qinghuan saw the red wedding dress on her phone and began crying, apologizing, and violently banging her head against a desk.
• Qin Manjiang held Yu Qinghuan down and told her he forgave her, which immediately stopped her struggle.
• Li Xijiu took the phone, but the wedding dress image kept reopening, so Qin Manjiang smashed the phone to shut it off.
• Qin Manjiang explained that the Wedding Dress Ghost Story was changing alongside real events and concluded that the person who created it was still alive.
• Li Xijiu found records showing that Liu Junyan and Shen Hong were a couple living in Wenshui District, West City, and Yu Qinghuan recognized Shen Hong’s hands as the ones she had changed into.

Jiang Du called Nie Yunzhen through Qin Manjiang’s body and triggered the return of Nie Yunzhen’s younger, bewildered personality. Qin Manjiang reunited with her and set out with Yu Qinghuan to investigate Liu Junyan and Shen Hong, while Fan Cheng watched Nie leave without seeing him.

• Nie Yunzhen answered a call from Jiang Du, who warned her that Qin Manjiang was close to dying and asked her to help him.
• Nie Yunzhen’s original personality resurfaced, and Jiang Du impersonated Qin Manjiang to ask her to meet at the General Bureau.
• Qin Manjiang realized Jiang Du had taken control during a gap in his memory and called Nie Yunzhen back.
• Nie Yunzhen sounded confused and could not find the General Bureau, so Qin Manjiang directed her to take a car there.
• Qin Manjiang took the car keys from Li Xijiu and left with Yu Qinghuan to pick up Nie Yunzhen before visiting Liu Junyan and Shen Hong.
• Fan Cheng watched from his window as Nie Yunzhen left the complex, unaware that he was there.

Fan Cheng used his Heart of Delusion to escape the Vengeful Ghost and headed for Wenshui District after receiving Qin Manjiang’s message. Meanwhile, Qin Manjiang and Yu Qinghuan met Nie Yunzhen and Bai Hongdan outside the General Bureau, and Qin Manjiang was confused by their unexpected arrival together.

• 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 hallway empty.
• Fan Cheng left the residential complex and took a taxi to Wenshui District, while wondering whether Qin Manjiang’s invitation might be a trap.
• Yu Qinghuan remarked that Qin Manjiang seemed to have lost weight as they waited outside the General Bureau.
• Bai Hongdan arrived with Nie Yunzhen and invited Qin Manjiang to get into her car, leaving him puzzled about how they had ended up together.

Xu Yi discovered that Zhong Xueran had vanished into the refrigerator and faced her eerie transformation as his own body withered. Meanwhile, Bai Hongdan revealed her knowledge of the Eye Realm to Qin Manjiang, and Yu Qinghuan suddenly began trembling in the car.

• Xu Yi reviewed the apartment camera and saw Zhong Xueran walk into the refrigerator’s blind spot.
• Xu Yi found a frost-covered woman inside the refrigerator who looked nothing like Zhong Xueran, and she grabbed his arm as the lights went out.
• Xu Yi’s legs shriveled, leaving him unable to stand, while the woman crawled from the refrigerator and an inhuman shadow appeared beside her.
• Bai Hongdan told Qin Manjiang she had discovered the Eye Realm and believed it had entered a closed settlement phase.
• Qin Manjiang suspected Bai Hongdan had learned the truth from a former player and that she was following or protecting Nie Yunzhen.
• Yu Qinghuan suddenly drew up her legs and began trembling in the car.

Qin Manjiang realized that the Ghost Story was a resurrection ritual using female Players as vessels and male Players as offerings, while he and Yu Qinghuan were already being affected. As a ghost dragged Xu Yi away, Zhong Xueran woke up and used a bell to make them vanish.

• Yu Qinghuan took on Shen Hong’s appearance and voice, while Qin Manjiang’s body withered as she clung to him.
• Qin Manjiang concluded that the Players were caught in a resurrection ritual in which female Players served as vessels and male Players were sacrificed.
• Qin Manjiang told Bai Hongdan to return home after dropping them in Wenshui District and suggested she visit Qiao Family Village the next day.
• A ghost dragged Xu Yi through the corridor while Zhong Xueran followed in a trance.
• Zhong Xueran winked at Xu Yi, grabbed his collar, and rang a bell that made them vanish from the ghost’s control.

Fan Cheng's [Delusion Doppelganger] investigated Wenshui District, where he discovered the Bride's shadow directly behind him and suspected the Female Ghost had been hiding in every player's blind spot. Qin Manjiang and the others arrived, and Fan Cheng was startled by the unfamiliar Yu Qinghuan as the group prepared to investigate the district's connection to the Ghost Story.

• Fan Cheng's [Delusion Doppelganger] reached Wenshui District ahead of Qin Manjiang and sensed powerful sinister energy as he walked through the abandoned development area.
• A lock of hair touched Fan Cheng's finger, and he saw a red figure that stayed just beyond his sight whenever he turned.
• Fan Cheng spotted a woman's shadow pressed behind his own and realized the Bride might have been beside the players all along, hidden from their view.
• Fan Cheng feared that the Female Ghost might also be following his real body, but he hesitated to abandon the [Delusion Doppelganger] and return to it.
• Qin Manjiang, Nie Yunzhen, and Yu Qinghuan arrived in Wenshui District, and Fan Cheng recognized Yu Qinghuan as an unfamiliar woman.

Zhong Xueran told Xu Yi the memories she had seen while becoming the Female Ghost, revealing that Shen Hong’s father and husband had been driven to make a wedding dress from her skin. She said Shen Hong’s skinned corpse had been buried beneath the locust tree.

• Xu Yi and Zhong Xueran appeared outside Huai'an Residential Complex after Zhong Xueran used the Three Pure Ones Bell to escape the twisted shadow.
• Zhong Xueran explained that she had seen the Vengeful Ghost’s memories and told Xu Yi that the Wedding Dress was the source of the Ghost Story.
• Shen Yi and his apprentice Liu Junyan each began making a wedding dress for Shen Hong, but both grew increasingly disturbed as their work continued.
• Shen Hong burned the unfinished dresses, yet Shen Yi and Liu Junyan continued behaving strangely and refused to take her to the hospital when she fell ill.
• Shen Yi and Liu Junyan skinned Shen Hong while she lay helpless in bed, intending to use her skin to make the finest wedding dress.
• Zhong Xueran told Xu Yi that Shen Hong’s skinned corpse had been buried beneath the enormous locust tree.

Yu Qinghuan recovered memories revealing that the wedding dress fabric from Wenshui District had driven Shen Hong’s father and husband mad. Shen Hong’s account ended with her death, leaving the players with a clue about the fabric and its connection to the haunting.

• Fan Cheng saw a woman in red behind Nie Yunzhen, while Nie Yunzhen saw a ghost behind Fan Cheng, and Qin Manjiang pieced together how the haunting affected players differently.
• Yu Qinghuan began recalling images of Shen Hong, Shen Yi, and Liu Junyan as the ghosts behind Fan Cheng and Nie Yunzhen seemed to awaken.
• Shen Hong realized the fabric used for her wedding dress, not the dressmaking itself, had caused her father and husband to become abnormal.
• Shen Hong tried to crawl out of her home and seek help, but Liu Junyan dragged her back while Shen Yi cut more skin from her body.
• Shen Hong died after murmuring Wenshui District, and Shen Yi and Liu Junyan regained their senses before insisting there was still time to put the wedding dress on her.

After Yu Qinghuan fainted, Fan Cheng concluded that Shen Hong’s wedding dress was likely at the couple’s last home or her burial place. He left for Number 39, Wenshui District, carrying Qin Manjiang’s Permanent Item, while Qin stayed behind with Yu Qinghuan.

• Yu Qinghuan fainted after recounting scenes of Shen Hong’s death, and Nie Yunzhen supported her.
• Fan Cheng reasoned that Liu Junyan may have prolonged Shen Hong’s life with the wedding dress and that finding it could change the Players’ fate.
• Qin Manjiang received Xu Yi’s message identifying Number 39, Wenshui District, as Shen Hong and Liu Junyan’s last home and the burial place as another location shown in Zhong Xueran’s scenes.
• Fan Cheng decided to investigate Number 39 alone despite Qin Manjiang’s warning to wait until morning.
• Qin Manjiang gave Fan Cheng his doll Permanent Item, and Fan Cheng left for Wenshui District.

Fan Cheng entered Shen Hong and Liu Junyan’s old home to search for the Wedding Dress, but encountered a desiccated corpse on the stairs. The corpse crushed his doppelganger’s wrist, and Fan Cheng saw something horrifying in the mirror.

• Fan Cheng broke into Shen Hong and Liu Junyan’s house, where rows of bright-red wedding dresses filled the room.
• Fan Cheng saw a blood-covered woman behind him in the full-length mirror, but no one stood there when he turned around.
• Fan Cheng found a desiccated corpse by the stairs and suspected it might be Shen Hong’s father.
• The corpse grabbed Fan Cheng’s wrist, and Fan Cheng broke its skeletal arm before trying to flee.
• The corpse’s hand kept gripping Fan Cheng and crushed his wrist, after which he looked in the mirror and turned deathly pale.

As Qin Manjiang struggled to survive the changes affecting him and Yu Qinghuan, he questioned Jiang Du about the Ghost Story Game and the connection between them. Jiang Du revealed that Qin Manjiang was his permanent item, a doll named [I] that had absorbed his emotions and become a living person, and that the young man later awakened the same item.

• Qin Manjiang reached a guesthouse with Nie Yunzhen and Yu Qinghuan, then realized his limbs were wasting away and Yu Qinghuan was slowly turning into someone else.
• Qin Manjiang reasoned that the male players’ physical decline and the female players’ transformation into ghosts were linked, and that understanding the connection might reveal the hidden rule.
• Qin Manjiang asked Jiang Du what ghost stories were, and Jiang Du described them as a game run by a higher being for its own amusement.
• Qin Manjiang proposed that Jiang Du help him create another body, but Jiang Du explained that he had not created Qin Manjiang’s body and had received it without control over it.
• Jiang Du revealed that his permanent item had been a doll named [I], which absorbed his emotions, became a baby, and grew into Qin Manjiang before awakening the same permanent item in the Ghost Story Game.

Jiang Du revealed his fear that he might be a continuation of the doll [I] and urged Qin Manjiang to look for the force keeping players alive rather than fixating on the story’s rules. Qin Manjiang realized the curse draining the male players was feeding the women’s transformation into the Female Ghost, and concluded the ghost was trying to make the Bride live.

• Jiang Du told Qin Manjiang that he was adopted, had obtained the doll [I] as a Permanent Item, and feared he might have been born from its previous holder.
• Jiang Du warned Qin Manjiang to identify what limited the ghosts and kept players alive, then disappeared after telling him not to leave the body unusable.
• Qin Manjiang reconsidered the players’ conditions and suspected that Fan Cheng and Nie Yunzhen needed each other to break their hauntings.
• Qin Manjiang reasoned that the male players’ curse could only be lifted by the ghost that cast it.
• Qin Manjiang realized the curse was draining the men’s life force to transform the women into the Female Ghost, so the ghost’s goal was to keep the Bride alive.