Chapter Summaries

Yu Chenglin recounted the history of the Southern Branch Troupe before a ghost disguised as Zhao Qigong attacked the group. Yu Chenglin's incantation stopped the monster, leaving Qin Manjiang suspicious that Yu Chenglin knew more than he let on.

• Yu Chenglin explained that the Southern Branch Troupe came to Fu City a century earlier and performed for the living by day and the dead by night.
• Qin Manjiang wondered why everyone saw his body as his own despite his belief that his soul had possessed Xiao Qi, and noted that the others could no longer use their Permanent Items.
• An old caretaker appeared as a paper-thin corpse, and a creature disguised as Zhao Qigong emerged after sucking out her flesh and organs.
• Qin Manjiang and the others fled from the creature, but Yu Chenglin stopped when Qin Manjiang pretended to drop a Jade Cicada.
• Yu Chenglin chanted an incantation that made the creature's flesh constrict and immobilize it, while Qin Manjiang suspected Yu Chenglin knew something about the larger threat.

Qin Manjiang and the others realized they might have been trapped in the opera long before reaching the [Southern Branch Troupe]. After the song from “The Unicorn-Pouch” froze and transported everyone to the Opera Stage, Lin Yanqing appeared as Mei Sijun with the final Jade Cicada.

• Qin Manjiang theorized that Yu Chenglin and Zhao Qigong were acting out roles in the opera, and he, Xu Yi, and Xinxin feared they had been inside it all along.
• The song from “The Unicorn-Pouch” began again, and the sky darkened as time rushed forward and everyone in the [Southern Branch Troupe] became unable to move.
• Qin Manjiang regained his movement at the Opera Stage, where he found the others seated among living paper figures.
• Xu Yi, Shen Hai, Zhong Xueran, and Chen Zhiyuan greeted or checked on the others, and Xu Yi said the Jade Cicadas had been found and the real show had begun.
• Qin Manjiang, Yu Chenglin, and Yang each showed a Jade Cicada, and Lin Yanqing arrived as Mei Sijun, saying she had the last one.

After the five Jade Cicadas freed the Ghostly Entity beneath the well, Qin Manjiang and the others were trapped as Persons in the Opera while Mei Sijun, inhabiting Lin Yanqing’s body, explained the opera’s rules. As the Yellow Springs Opera began in a hall surrounded by a black river, the performer’s eerie song drew the audience into memories of their lives.

• Mei Sijun identified himself and explained that a five-headed Ghostly Entity had escaped after the five Jade Cicadas were found.
• Yan Xiao explained that an ancient tomb beneath the well held the Entity, and the others discovered they could not leave their seats.
• Mei Sijun said he was a Ghost in the Opera and the others were Persons in the Opera, then explained the lanterns and musicians’ role in starting the show.
• The Yellow Springs Opera began, and the black river surrounded the Opera House, leaving the group with nowhere to escape.
• Eleven paper figures performed onstage before the Opera Performer began singing, and her strange melody made everyone’s memories surface.

As the Yellow Springs Opera flooded the Opera House and turned the spectators’ feet to paper, Mei Sijun revealed that he was also Lin Yanqing and Li Yunxiu. He explained the century-old cycle of the Ghost Story and left Qin Manjiang facing the truth about their intertwined identities.

• The rising river and eerie singing trapped the spectators in their seats, and Qin Manjiang discovered that the water had turned their feet into paper.
• Mei Sijun told Qin Manjiang that the performance was the true Yellow Springs Opera and revealed that he was Mei Sijun, Lin Yanqing, and Li Yunxiu.
• Mei Sijun explained that Li Yunxiu had been chosen by the Ghost Story Game over a century earlier and had stolen Zhao Qigong’s Jade Cicada before drowning herself in the well.
• Mei Sijun said that the Jade Cicada preserved Li Yunxiu’s main soul while her other half possessed an unborn child and became Lin Yanqing.
• Mei Sijun explained that Lin Yanqing had repeatedly been reincarnated and drawn back to the Southern Branch Troupe, and said that this time the cycle had led to him.

Mei Sijun explained how Li Yunxiu’s divided soul had trapped Yellow Springs Opera in an endless cycle, while Qin Manjiang realized his body might be a vessel for another soul. The chapter ended with Mei Sijun asking whether Qin Manjiang would still be himself if he discovered he was Professor Jiang.

• Mei Sijun remembered that he had encountered Professor Jiang in a previous Ghost Story Game, though he could recall only fragments.
• Mei Sijun compared souls to water and bodies to vessels, explaining that Li Yunxiu’s Jade Cicada-altered soul could survive outside a body and keep him reincarnating.
• Mei Sijun revealed that Yellow Springs Opera had become an uncleared Ultimate Game because Li Yunxiu’s death left its first round unfinished.
• Qin Manjiang connected the name Professor Jiang to a memory of a resolute, perceptive version of himself.
• Mei Sijun asked Qin Manjiang what he would do if he discovered he was Professor Jiang, and whether he would still be himself.

Yang, Shen Hai, and Yan Xiao broke free of [Yellow Springs Opera]'s control, and Qin Manjiang outlined a plan to escape. After Qin Manjiang helped Mei Sijun accept his own identity, Mei Sijun began a rival opera against Li Yunxiu onstage.

• Yang broke free of [Yellow Springs Opera] and urged Qin Manjiang and Mei Sijun to put survival first.
• Yang proposed gathering the Jade Cicadas to seal the Five-Headed Vengeful Ghost, and Shen Hai and Yan Xiao also awakened.
• Qin Manjiang laid out three steps: stop the rising water, end Li Yunxiu's soul and settle the first round, then summon and reseal the Five-Headed Vengeful Ghost.
• Shen Hai suggested setting up a rival stage and singing against Li Yunxiu to stop the river from rising.
• Qin Manjiang told Mei Sijun that his confusion proved he was his own person, and Mei Sijun resolved to live and sing for himself.
• Mei Sijun sang the Divine Incantation of Mount Zhongshan toward Li Yunxiu, beginning the rival opera.

Mei Sijun defeated Li Yunxiu in their opera contest, causing the river to recede and the ghost to vanish, but the Five-Headed Vengeful Ghost then emerged fused with the Southern Branch Troupe. As the group fought to escape, Mei Sijun and Yu Chenglin joined forces to use the Golden Light Mantra against it.

• Mei Sijun sang the Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra until he overpowered Li Yunxiu and the Ghost Opera Troupe, ending the flood and restoring the people who had been submerged.
• The Opera House shook and rose from the ground as the Five-Headed Vengeful Ghost appeared, revealing that it had fused with the Southern Branch Troupe.
• The ghost split the ground with a strike, and Yang pulled Yu Chenglin out of the fissure before the group continued fleeing.
• Qin Manjiang urged the group to return the Jade Cicadas to the ghost’s mouths, while Yu Chenglin proposed using the Golden Light Mantra to protect Mei Sijun and create an opening.
• Mei Sijun and Yu Chenglin led the group in reciting the Golden Light Mantra, and Mei Sijun invoked its protection as a jointed limb threatened Xinxin.

Mei Sijun and Yu Chenglin used the Golden Light Divine Incantation to protect Yang and Qin Manjiang as they charged the giant Vengeful Ghost. After Yang used his Reverse-Time Hourglass to save Qin Manjiang from a fatal blow, they prepared to attack the monster’s five heads with their Jade Cicadas.

• Mei Sijun and Yu Chenglin recited the Golden Light Divine Incantation, protecting Yang and Qin Manjiang before Mei Sijun collapsed from exhaustion.
• Yang and Qin Manjiang used their enhanced strength and speed to dodge the giant limbs and rush toward the Vengeful Ghost.
• A house-sized limb struck Qin Manjiang and nearly killed him, but Yang reversed time by five seconds and pulled him out of its path.
• Yang and Qin Manjiang reached the monster with five Jade Cicadas between them and leaped toward its five heads.

Qin Manjiang, Yang, and the others struggled against the Five-Headed Vengeful Ghost and the swarming paper figures as the storm worsened. Yu Chenglin arrived with a clue from the opera script: the ghost feared fire, and someone could reach its heads by setting himself alight and charging upward.

• The Five-Headed Vengeful Ghost shattered the ground, releasing waves of paper figures that attacked Yu Chenglin and the others.
• Yan Xiao and Xinxin fought the paper figures at the riverbank, with Xinxin’s Golden Light Mantra protecting her as Yan Xiao covered her flank.
• Qin Manjiang and Yang failed to reach the ghost’s heads, while their protective Golden Light weakened and the torrential rain began.
• Yu Chenglin reached Qin Manjiang and Yang and told them the ghost feared fire because it loved and controlled water.
• Yu Chenglin proposed that one of them set himself on fire and charge into the sky to get past the ghost’s defenses.

Yu Chenglin proposed using fire against the ghost, while the torrential rain endangered the paper-bodied group. Under a boat canopy, Shen Hai learned the Golden Light Mantra from Mei Sijun and used it to revive him.

• Yu Chenglin offered Qin Manjiang and Yang lamp oil so they could use fire against the ghost, and Yang rushed toward him as Qin Manjiang followed.
• The rain turned Yan Xiao and the paper figures into soaked sheets, while Xinxin tried to shield Yan Xiao from the downpour.
• Xu Yi found a wooden boat and pulled Shen Hai and Mei Sijun beneath its canopy, but the others were caught in the rain.
• Mei Sijun recited the Golden Light Mantra to teach Shen Hai, then died after exhausting his life force.
• Shen Hai recited the mantra's final line, summoned golden light, and brought Mei Sijun back to life.

Mei Sijun, Shen Hai, and Xinxin helped their companions survive as Yu Chenglin betrayed Qin Manjiang and Yang to seize the five Jade Cicadas. The group regrouped with Mei Sijun’s final Golden Light Mantra protecting Yang, and Shen Hai confronted Yu Chenglin to end the game.

• Shen Hai explained that Mei Sijun could use the Golden Light Mantra again because its protection reduced the strain, and Mei Sijun sang it twice more.
• Xinxin used Yan Xiao’s scalpel on his paper-thin body, restoring him to flesh; Yan Xiao rescued her from a black limb and ran toward the river to help the others.
• Yu Chenglin set Yang alight with lamp oil, and Yang climbed the Vengeful Ghost with Qin Manjiang and Yu Chenglin to reach its five heads.
• Yu Chenglin transferred the flames onto Qin Manjiang, stripped both men of their protection, stole the five Jade Cicadas, and left them falling from the ghost.
• Xu Yi appeared beside Yu Chenglin as Mei Sijun used his final Golden Light Mantra to protect Yang, who rescued Qin Manjiang and extinguished the flames.
• Shen Hai confronted Yu Chenglin and demanded that he hand over the Jade Cicadas and die.

Yu Chenglin used all five Jade Cicadas to become a powerful Vengeful Ghost who retained his sanity, destroying the Tall Wraith and escaping the threat of being sealed. He spared the survivors and revealed that he had sought a way to live freely despite his end-stage kidney failure.

• Yang brought the paper-thin Qin Manjiang to Yan Xiao, who used his scalpel to restore Qin Manjiang’s body.
• Yu Chenglin swallowed all five Jade Cicadas, set himself on fire, and leaped from the Vengeful Ghost to kill himself.
• The Jade Cicadas transformed Yu Chenglin’s corpse, and he rose as a Vengeful Ghost with his consciousness intact.
• Yu Chenglin blasted the Tall Wraith apart, causing the fused [Southern Branch Troupe] to erupt in flames.
• Yu Chenglin confronted the survivors, spared them, and explained that he had wanted to escape the pain and indignity of end-stage kidney failure.

Mei Sijun’s chant melted Yu Chenglin, whose power depended on the Jade Cicadas, after Qin Manjiang revealed he had switched the real one for a decoy. The group realized they were paper figures meant to be burned and returned to the real world by walking into the flames, completing the Yellow Springs Opera Ghost Story.

• Qin Manjiang urged Mei Sijun to sing the [Pure Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra], and the chant caused Yu Chenglin to melt away.
• Qin Manjiang revealed that he had switched Yu Chenglin’s Jade Cicada for a piece of ordinary jade and kept the real one.
• Yang and Qin Manjiang realized the group’s bodies were paper figures and that fire would send them back once the Ghost Story ended.
• Nie Yunzhen explained that paper figures were burned to send the dead to another world, helping Yang understand why the flames had not burned them before.
• Yang stepped into the fire and burned to ash; the others followed, and Qin Manjiang tossed the real Jade Cicada into the mud before entering the flames.
• The Ghost Story announced that the Yellow Springs Opera was completed.

After surviving the Yellow Springs Opera, Qin Manjiang returned to reality with the others and learned that six days had passed. As the group went their separate ways, Mei Sijun offered him support, but the name Professor Jiang suddenly triggered a painful reaction in Qin Manjiang.

• Qin Manjiang watched Mr. Dense Forest-Yu Chenglin's body dissolve into black particles, and Yang explained that Ghost Story Game victims vanished without a trace.
• Qin Manjiang asked Yang to help him find a job, and Yang agreed.
• Chen Zhiyuan noticed that six days had passed in the real world while the group had experienced only a short time in the opera-script world.
• Yang told everyone to go home and rest, and the exhausted players began to leave.
• Mei Sijun told Qin Manjiang that he would always recognize him as Qin Manjiang, no matter what happened.
• Qin Manjiang thought that nothing could change him, then the words Professor Jiang appeared in his mind and caused him sudden pain.

Qin Manjiang resisted his body’s attempt to erase the name Jiang Du, and Nie Yunzhen recognized him as Jiang Du before fainting. Meanwhile, Yang chose to enter the Permanent Logout Challenge despite Chen Zhiyuan’s warnings, and Qin Manjiang began searching for Professor Jiang the next morning.

• Xu Yi noticed that Qin Manjiang seemed as if he had been locked up again, and Qin Manjiang kept repeating the name Professor Jiang despite the pain of resisting his body’s efforts to make him forget.
• Nie Yunzhen heard Qin Manjiang say Jiang Du, recognized him, and fainted.
• Chen Zhiyuan warned Yang that the Permanent Logout Challenge was likely a trap designed to take his Spirit Pupils, but Yang said he was tired and wanted to try it.
• Yang refused to let Chen Zhiyuan use Nie Yunzhen to test the challenge first and explained that the game had cost him his career, family ties, and lover.
• The next morning, Qin Manjiang remembered the name Jiang Du and searched online for the professor before his phone vibrated.

Ghost Story Game announced a month-long suspension and warned players to stay in Fu City, while Qin Manjiang discovered that Jiang Du looked exactly like him and considered investigating the professor’s disappearance. Yang then offered Qin Manjiang a paid job dealing with a supernatural disturbance at Baihong Building and explained how Spirit Pupils affect ghosts.

• Ghost Story Game announced a one-month upgrade, suspended games, and warned players not to leave Fu City; Qin Manjiang found that both his game and Relic Phone had stopped working.
• Qin Manjiang ate breakfast with Nie Yunzhen and found online records showing that Professor Jiang Du had been missing for more than four years.
• Qin Manjiang showed Nie Yunzhen Jiang Du’s photograph, which looked almost exactly like him, but she said she did not know whether it was Jiang Du.
• Qin Manjiang considered visiting Moon City to investigate Jiang Du, then remembered his plans to visit Lower River Village with Qin Manyi and Xi Wutong.
• Yang offered Qin Manjiang a job investigating strange occurrences at Baihong Building for a hundred thousand and explained how Spirit Pupils attract and suppress ghosts.

Tang Baihe’s first day at Baihong Building began with a terrifying elevator encounter, while Qin Manjiang saw the supernatural scene she could not and considered dealing with the building’s emerging Ghost Story for a fee. They reached the twenty-seventh floor, where the elevator opened again on its own behind them.

• Tang Baihe entered an elevator filled with flies and bloodied water, saw a ghostly figure, and fled when it returned to the first floor.
• Tang Baihe clung to Qin Manjiang, and security guards found the elevator clean despite her account of what she had seen.
• Tang Baihe and Qin Manjiang rode together to the twenty-seventh floor, where Qin Manjiang saw bloody fingerprints and streaks that Tang Baihe could not see.
• Qin Manjiang considered resolving the supernatural incident for a one-time payment, and the elevator doors suddenly opened again after they stepped out on the twenty-seventh floor.

On her first day at Baihong, Tang Baihe stayed late and encountered Qin Manjiang, who was secretly investigating the supposedly haunted building. When they heard the elevator open, Qin Manjiang grabbed her wrist and told her to stay quiet.

• Qin Manjiang received an access pass and spent the day looking around the twenty-seventh floor while Tang Baihe struggled to focus on her work.
• Tang Baihe stayed after hours to read work documents, then heard slow footsteps in the corridor as she prepared to leave.
• Qin Manjiang appeared outside the glass door and startled Tang Baihe, who recognized him from the elevator that morning.
• Tang Baihe apologized and asked Qin Manjiang's name, and he introduced himself as Little Qin and said he supposed he was in security.
• Tang Baihe heard the distant elevator open, and Qin Manjiang froze before grabbing her wrist and telling her not to speak.

Qin Manjiang and Tang Baihe hid from a blood-trailing presence in the Baihong Building and escaped by taking the stairs. Outside, Qin Manjiang suspected the entity had left the ninth floor to search for something on the twenty-seventh.

• Qin Manjiang pulled Tang Baihe into the advertising department and hid with her when he sensed something approaching from the elevator.
• Qin Manjiang and Tang Baihe listened as footsteps and dragging sounds passed the office, then slipped out after the presence moved away.
• Qin Manjiang saw blood trails that Tang Baihe could not see and stopped her from entering the blood-smeared elevator.
• Qin Manjiang led Tang Baihe down the fire escape, and they ran out of the Baihong Building.
• Qin Manjiang remembered the bloody fingerprint on the elevator's ninth-floor button and wondered why the entity had searched the twenty-seventh floor.

After escaping the haunted building, Qin Manjiang accompanied Tang Baihe home and learned from Xi Wutong that Nie Yunzhen had been declared dead twenty years earlier in Moon City. The clues surrounding Nie Yunzhen and Professor Jiang Du both pointed toward Moon City, leaving Qin Manjiang uneasy about whether he would have to go there.

• Tang Baihe called the police to report suspicious activity and a possible corpse smell, then asked Qin Manjiang to escort her home.
• Tang Baihe learned Qin Manjiang had dropped out of Fucheng University and encouraged him to return to school.
• Xi Wutong told Qin Manjiang that Nie Yunzhen was from Moon City and had been declared dead twenty years ago after the March 7 Dismemberment Case.
• Qin Manjiang recalled that Nie Yunzhen had received zero Spirit Pupil rewards in the Yellow Springs Opera and wondered whether she was human.
• Xi Wutong advised Qin Manjiang to visit Moon City to investigate, and Qin Manjiang noticed that his recent clues all seemed to lead there.