Chapter Summaries

Xu Yi and Zhong Xueran were surrounded by unknown figures at the Old Locust Tree as a storm broke, while Fan Cheng discovered that a Vengeful Ghost had killed his Delusion Doppelganger through its clothing. The chapter left Xu Yi urging Zhong Xueran to climb the tree and Fan Cheng fleeing in his underwear, convinced the ghost was still after him.

• Xu Yi told Zhong Xueran that his bad luck made staying near him dangerous, but she refused to leave while she searched for a way to stop turning into the Female Ghost.
• Rain began pouring at the Old Locust Tree, and Xu Yi and Zhong Xueran took shelter beneath it.
• Lightning revealed silent figures surrounding the tree, and Xu Yi shoved Zhong Xueran and told her to climb.
• Fan Cheng woke after his Delusion Doppelganger was crushed by the clothing it wore and realized fabric could serve as a medium for the Vengeful Ghost.
• Fan Cheng stripped down and ran from his apartment complex to find somewhere without clothes, fearing the ghost was still watching him.

Fan Cheng discovered that the Vengeful Ghost could travel through clothing and stripped off everything to evade it. After the ghost vanished into its red down jacket, unseen hands seized his neck, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Fan Cheng saw a red down jacket floating toward him and hid inside a concrete pipe.
• When rain began, Fan Cheng realized the ghost might still be tracking him and tried to message Nie Yunzhen that clothing was linked to the Vengeful Ghost.
• Fan Cheng spotted the ghost's pale legs outside the pipe and fled into the rain.
• Fan Cheng removed and discarded his underwear, then watched the ghost lose track of him before it disappeared into the red down jacket.
• A pair of icy hands suddenly pressed against Fan Cheng's neck.

Xu Yi and Zhong Xueran tried to escape into the Old Locust Tree as dozens of male Vengeful Ghosts emerged beneath it. Xu Yi reached the tree with Zhong Xueran’s help, but a ghost grabbed her ankle as the others reached for them.

• Zhong Xueran climbed the Old Locust Tree, but Xu Yi’s weakened limbs and the slippery trunk kept him from following.
• Dozens of male Vengeful Ghosts crawled from the ground and closed in around the tree.
• Zhong Xueran climbed back down and helped Xu Yi climb by letting him step on her shoulders.
• Xu Yi reached a branch and pulled Zhong Xueran up after him.
• A mud-covered ghost grabbed Zhong Xueran’s ankle while more ghostly hands reached toward them.

Xu Yi realized that the [Nuo Opera Mask] was his only way to save Zhong Xueran from the ghosts beneath the Old Locust Tree, while she tried to escape by throwing away the [Three Pure Ones Bell]. The chapter ended with one ghost still gripping her ankle and Chen Zhiyuan worrying about them as Yan Xiao recorded his words.

• Xu Yi considered his three unused single-use items and concluded that the dangerous [Nuo Opera Mask] was his only option for saving Zhong Xueran.
• Zhong Xueran threw the [Three Pure Ones Bell] away, drawing most of the ghosts toward it.
• Zhong Xueran found that the ghost holding her ankle had not moved, leaving her trapped beneath the tree.
• Chen Zhiyuan watched the storm in Fu City and worried about how they were doing while Yan Xiao took notes.

Chen Zhiyuan revealed Zhong Xueran’s longstanding self-destructive tendencies, prompting Yan Xiao to call a businessman and offer the Spirit Pupils of every player in Fu City in exchange for their survival. Meanwhile, Xu Yi used the Nuo Opera Mask to save Zhong Xueran, and they faced a swarm of vengeful ghosts with only three minutes before the mask might become impossible to remove.

• Chen Zhiyuan told Yan Xiao that Zhong Xueran had wanted to die since before entering the game, and that helping others had given her a sense of worth.
• Chen Zhiyuan said he wanted more people to survive but feared he would forget that purpose as his memory deteriorated.
• Yan Xiao called a middle-aged businessman and offered the Spirit Pupils of every player in Fu City in exchange for helping them survive.
• As Zhong Xueran fell from the Old Locust Tree, Xu Yi caught her and put on the Nuo Opera Mask to fight the vengeful ghost holding her.
• Xu Yi broke the ghost’s arm, lifted Zhong Xueran, and walked toward the courtyard gate as vengeful ghosts surrounded them.
• Zhong Xueran realized they had three minutes to escape before Xu Yi might never be able to remove the Nuo Opera Mask.

Xu Yi carried the injured Zhong Xueran through a storm while the [Nuo Opera Mask] held back the creatures pursuing them, and she began to reconsider how little she knew about him. As the mask’s three-minute limit ran down and escape on foot seemed impossible, Xu Yi told her to call a ride, but Zhong Xueran refused and told him to put her down.

• Zhong Xueran realized Xu Yi was taking the danger seriously and noticed his strength and attentiveness as he carried her through the courtyard, keeping the creatures at bay with the [Nuo Opera Mask].
• Xu Yi carried Zhong Xueran onto the old street, where they faced a long route out of Old Town and only a little over a minute remained before the mask became dangerous.
• Zhong Xueran wondered whether the pursuing creatures were controlled corpses rather than ghosts and questioned who might be controlling them.
• Xu Yi struggled to tell Zhong Xueran to call a ride, but she refused and asked him to put her down so they could enjoy the rain.

As Xu Yi carried Zhong Xueran through Old Town, she recalled the Zhong Family curse and tried to understand his plan. When the Nuo Opera Mask’s safe-use time ran out, Xu Yi let it root into his flesh so he could keep walking and carry her toward safety, at the cost of his life.

• Zhong Xueran recalled that the Three Pure Ones Bell was her family’s supernatural legacy and the Single Pure Bell represented their cursed fate, which she had entered the Game to avoid passing on.
• Xu Yi struggled to tell Zhong Xueran to trust him, and she ordered a ride that would arrive in twenty minutes.
• Zhong Xueran felt protected as Xu Yi carried her through the rain, despite the corpses following them and the mask’s dwindling safe-use time.
• As the mask’s three minutes expired, Zhong Xueran realized Xu Yi planned to keep it on and tried to escape his arms.
• Sharp black nails pierced Xu Yi’s face as the Nuo Opera Mask rooted into his flesh, and he continued walking with Zhong Xueran toward life.

Qin Manjiang realized that Liu Junyan might be controlling the ghosts and using the players in a ritual to revive Shen Hong, which meant the ghosts might be forbidden from killing them before the game began. As Qin Manjiang considered whether Liu Junyan had to protect the players for now, Fan Cheng accepted a ride from a stranger who called himself Xiao Shen.

• Qin Manjiang reasoned that the ghosts had repeatedly spared players because Liu Junyan was controlling them and wanted the players killed by a curse rather than killed outright.
• Qin Manjiang concluded that opposite-sex players were being used in a ritual, with the male offering vitality and the female offering her body, and that their time was running out.
• Qin Manjiang suspected Liu Junyan might have to protect the players until the game officially began.
• In the rain, Fan Cheng encountered a thin man with an umbrella, accepted his help, and got into his car.
• Fan Cheng introduced himself, and the man said to call him Xiao Shen.

Qin Manjiang realized Liu Junyan was likely controlling the Ghost Story and urged Zhong Xueran to remove Xu Yi’s Nuo Opera Mask. As Xu Yi lost consciousness and the mask resisted removal, Zhong Xueran desperately tried to save him, leaving only a sliver of hope.

• Qin Manjiang concluded that finding Liu Junyan was the key to stopping the curses and Vengeful Ghosts, then called Xu Yi and Zhong Xueran.
• Zhong Xueran told Qin Manjiang that Xu Yi had worn the Nuo Opera Mask for over three minutes while leading her away from gaunt Vengeful Ghosts in Old Town.
• Qin Manjiang told Zhong Xueran to remove the mask, explaining that Liu Junyan’s orders—not the mask—were preventing the ghosts from attacking.
• Zhong Xueran clawed at the mask despite its black spikes piercing her fingers, while Xu Yi continued walking without awareness.
• Qin Manjiang listened in silence and hoped his luck would let Xu Yi survive.

Qin Manjiang contacted Yan Xiao to retrieve Xu Yi and Zhong Xueran, then exchanged deductions with the missing Fan Cheng. Fan Cheng realized his helpful driver was Liu Junyan, whose grotesquely changing body left his humanity in doubt.

• Qin Manjiang asked Yan Xiao to go to Old Town and bring back the possibly injured Xu Yi and Zhong Xueran, and Yan Xiao set out with medical supplies.
• With Fan Cheng overdue, Qin Manjiang sent him his deductions about the case and the players’ situations.
• Fan Cheng learned that Liu Junyan might still be alive and using the wedding dress’s curse to resurrect Shen Hong, then told Qin Manjiang what he had found.
• Qin Manjiang concluded that Liu Junyan was missing from both known locations and warned Fan Cheng to question the driver who had picked him up.
• Fan Cheng noticed the driver had adjusted the seat and mirror, recognized the clue that the car was not his, and realized the driver calling himself Xiao Shen was Liu Junyan.
• Fan Cheng saw flesh writhing around Liu Junyan’s neck and another face emerging, and wondered whether Liu Junyan was still human.

Fan Cheng crashed Liu Junyan’s car and crawled away, but an unfamiliar woman’s face stopped him and he passed out. In Old Town, Zhong Xueran removed the Nuo Mask from Xu Yi, discovered he was dead, and watched him take another step while still carrying her.

• Fan Cheng saw a woman’s face emerge from Liu Junyan’s neck and the seat beside him, then watched Liu Junyan calm the ghost by calling to Ahong.
• Fan Cheng yanked the steering wheel, crashing the car into the guardrail and central divider; he escaped the wreck while Liu Junyan appeared unconscious.
• Fan Cheng crawled through the rain but felt something pinning his foot and saw an unfamiliar woman’s face before he passed out.
• Zhong Xueran pried the Nuo Mask off Xu Yi’s face, badly injuring her hands in the process.
• Zhong Xueran found that Xu Yi had died, but he shakily took another step forward while still carrying her.

Xu Yi remembered how Xiao Li became his friend at the Orphanage and how her final words taught him to face life and rain without fear. In the present, the memory ended as Yan Xiao pulled Zhong Xueran away, put Xu Yi’s rigid body in the car, and drove off amid approaching corpses.

• Xu Yi recalled losing his parents in a car accident and becoming a withdrawn, candy-loving child at the Orphanage.
• Xiao Li stood up to Xu Yi when he bullied the other children, then gave him candy and became his self-proclaimed friend.
• Xiao Li urged Xu Yi to attend school so he could stop fearing rain, and he shoved her, causing her to collapse.
• An Orphanage mother told Xu Yi that Xiao Li had terminal cancer and had been abandoned by her family.
• Xiao Li handed Xu Yi two pieces of candy and told him to go to school, smile, and live happily before medical staff rushed her into the hospital.
• Yan Xiao pulled Zhong Xueran away from Xu Yi, placed Xu Yi’s rigid body in the car, and drove away as corpses closed in.

Qin Manjiang realized that Liu Junyan’s resurrection ritual was advancing toward a point when the Ghost Story would become impossible to survive, and he worried that the players had little time to stop it. Nie Yunzhen asked how Liu Junyan knew the ritual could resurrect Shen Hong.

• Qin Manjiang inferred that the previous players died because the ritual had reached its irreversible final stage, and that time was steadily worsening the curse.
• He concluded that killing the other players would not stop the ritual’s separate progress on each sacrifice, so the players needed to act before the ritual advanced further.
• Nie Yunzhen found Qin Manjiang studying the problem, and he told her that Yu Qinghuan was becoming the Female Ghost while his own life force was draining away.
• Qin Manjiang considered searching for Shen Hong and Liu Junyan’s wedding dress at Huai'an Residential Complex or their former home, but doubted that finding it would stop the Ghost Story.
• Nie Yunzhen asked Qin Manjiang how Liu Junyan knew that his ritual could resurrect Shen Hong.

Qin Manjiang realized Liu Junyan’s actions were tied to the wedding dress and questioned whether its resurrection ritual could truly bring Shen Hong back. Meanwhile, Liu Junyan tortured Fan Cheng to make new clothes for Ahong, and Yan Xiao told Zhong Xueran that the person she wanted to save was already dead.

• Nie Yunzhen’s questions made Qin Manjiang recognize that Liu Junyan was once an ordinary craftsman and suspect that the wedding dress had taught him the resurrection ritual.
• Qin Manjiang recalled Fan Cheng’s encounter with Liu Junyan and wondered why Liu Junyan had taken him, then questioned whether the wedding dress’s ritual could actually resurrect Shen Hong.
• Fan Cheng woke in a basement and watched Liu Junyan remove his skin and cut into his chest while keeping him conscious, saying he was making new clothes for Ahong.
• Zhong Xueran urged Yan Xiao to stab the Scalpel into someone’s heart and promised to find a way to win the Game within thirty minutes.
• Yan Xiao remained silent as Zhong Xueran pleaded with him, then told her that the person she wanted to save was already dead.

Yan Xiao took Xu Yi’s body away after telling Zhong Xueran that Xu Yi had been saving himself, leaving her alone in the rain. Qin Manjiang sent Nie Yunzhen to investigate the Old Locust Tree while he searched for Liu Junyan, then noticed that sleeping Yu Qinghuan’s face seemed unfamiliar.

• Yan Xiao rejected Zhong Xueran’s attempt to use the Nuo Mask on Xu Yi, threw her out of the car, and drove away with Xu Yi’s body.
• Zhong Xueran reconsidered Xu Yi’s behavior as dawn approached and stood alone in the rain.
• Qin Manjiang learned that Nie Yunzhen’s Shared-Fate Lock was already bound to him, preventing them from investigating together.
• Qin Manjiang told Nie Yunzhen to dig beneath the Old Locust Tree and check whether Shen Hong’s body was there and wearing a wedding dress.
• Qin Manjiang went to search the place where Liu Junyan might be hiding, while Nie Yunzhen left to investigate the tree.
• Qin Manjiang studied Yu Qinghuan as she slept and wondered whose face he was seeing.

Qin Manjiang realized Shen Hong might not have been the original figure in the Wedding Dress story and that another perspective had gone unnoticed. When Yu Qinghuan was possessed by a ghostly face, he accepted Jiang Du’s demand for an hour of daily control in exchange for help, and Jiang Du revealed Yu Qinghuan’s real face by cutting away the ghostly layer.

• Qin Manjiang questioned whether Shen Hong had truly existed and asked Yu Qinghuan whose perspective she had seen; she realized the scenes included Shen Yi, Shen Hong, and Liu Junyan, implying another person was involved.
• Yu Qinghuan convulsed in pain, and a sinister unfamiliar face and voice replaced her own.
• Jiang Du offered to save Yu Qinghuan in exchange for one hour of control over Qin Manjiang’s body each day, and Qin Manjiang agreed.
• Jiang Du took control, picked up a fruit knife, and cut away the ghostly face covering Yu Qinghuan’s own bloodied face.

Jiang Du stopped Yu Qinghuan’s curse by cutting away the affected skin and set out to find the Ghost Story’s fourth person. Meanwhile, Nie Yunzhen reached the Old Locust Tree, suspecting it concealed victims killed by the curse, while Qin Manjiang began to doubt his own abilities and place in the body he shared with Jiang Du.

• Jiang Du cut the cursed layer of skin from Yu Qinghuan’s face, halting her transformation, and kept control of the body for their agreed hour.
• Jiang Du told Yu Qinghuan they were going to find the fourth person, leaving Qin Manjiang stunned by how much Jiang Du had already deduced.
• Qin Manjiang wondered whether his past success had depended on Jiang Du’s prepared abilities and concluded that, without them, he was an ordinary person.
• Nie Yunzhen hurried to Huai'an Residential Complex and reasoned that the shriveled corpses beneath the Old Locust Tree were victims drained of vitality by the curse.
• Nie Yunzhen arrived at the tree with a shovel and wondered whether Liu Junyan had killed and buried the victims there.

Jiang Du deduced that the mysterious seller had deliberately given the antique fabric to the Shen Family, knowing it would trigger the wedding-dress ghost story. He and Yu Qinghuan found the seller’s likely home, and Jiang Du revealed he had been asking locals who was close to death.

• Jiang Du explained that the memory scenes showed an unseen fourth person present when Shen Yi and Liu Junyan went mad.
• Jiang Du reasoned that the fabric alone had caused no haunting; making it into traditional wedding dresses had triggered the ghost story.
• Yu Qinghuan realized the seller had deliberately chosen the Shen Family because it was the only shop still making traditional wedding dresses by hand.
• Jiang Du and Yu Qinghuan arrived at an old house that Jiang Du believed belonged to the seller and prepared to enter.
• Jiang Du told Yu Qinghuan he had asked locals which elderly people were doing poorly and which young people were seriously ill, to find out who was about to die.

Jiang Du brought Yu Qinghuan to Mr. Yan, the source of the ghost story, and asked for some of his family's mysterious fabric in exchange for letting his ritual continue. The chapter ended with Jiang Du revealing that Yu Qinghuan was his gift and unleashing the Vengeful Ghost's facial skin on her.

• Jiang Du and Yu Qinghuan entered Mr. Yan's residence and found him looking like a refined, sickly middle-aged man.
• Jiang Du told Mr. Yan he knew what he had done and asked about his life-prolonging method.
• Mr. Yan said the fabric was a family heirloom said to come from a hidden realm filled with demons, monsters, and ghosts.
• Jiang Du offered not to interrupt Mr. Yan's ritual in exchange for some of the fabric, then called Yu Qinghuan a gift.
• Mr. Yan said Yu Qinghuan was useless because her ritual had already been disrupted, and Jiang Du revealed the Vengeful Ghost's human facial skin.
• Jiang Du threw the facial skin toward Yu Qinghuan, and it attached itself to her face as she struggled in disbelief.

Jiang Du sacrificed Yu Qinghuan to make Mr. Yan reveal the Red Wedding Dress and how it used living life force. As Mr. Yan’s tendrils reached for Yu Qinghuan, Jiang Du saw his chance to act.

• Jiang Du kept control of Qin Manjiang’s body under their one-hour agreement while Qin Manjiang struggled to stop him.
• Jiang Du offered Yu Qinghuan in exchange for the uncut cursed fabric, and Mr. Yan praised his willingness to sacrifice her.
• Mr. Yan explained that ordinary people’s life force could not flow, while Players with Spirit Pupils made suitable sacrifices.
• Mr. Yan donned the Red Wedding Dress and revealed it could absorb life force and control the Vengeful Ghosts it created.
• Yu Qinghuan went still, and Mr. Yan unraveled the Wedding Dress into living red tendrils that reached toward her.