Chapter Summaries

Chen Zhiyuan’s group planned to investigate the viral Acacia Tree, which they feared might be connected to a mutation of the [Wedding Dress] ghost story. Xia Nan then revealed that several superhuman killers were active in Fu City and showed the group a photograph of a man who looked like Qin Manjiang.

• Xu Yi explained that crowds were visiting the Acacia Tree in Huai'an Residential Complex, and the group suspected it was linked to [Wedding Dress].
• Liu Jingqing, Qiao Ziruo, and Yan Xiao agreed to visit the tree, and Chen Zhiyuan arranged for everyone to meet there the next day.
• Xia Nan reported that several unusual killers had been linked to murders and disappearances in Fu City, and that they were looking for someone.
• Xia Nan showed the group a photograph of a bespectacled man in a white coat who strongly resembled Qin Manjiang.

Xia Nan reunited with Qin Manjiang and asked him and the others to help lure out the people killing and eating victims in Fu City. The group agreed to investigate, while Xia Nan privately revealed that he would eventually give control of his life back; Qin Manjiang was left at the Clear Pupil Bar with a tearful Qiao Ziruo.

• Xia Nan told Qin Manjiang and the others that Officer Zhou wanted them to use Qin Manjiang as bait to draw out the killers, and Qin Manjiang asked whether they had been released by him.
• Xia Nan nodded, and Qin Manjiang welcomed him back before punching him in the chest and announcing that they would visit the South City Old Locust Tree the next day.
• Xia Nan revealed that the killers might be players from other cities with spirit pupils, prompting Shen Hai, Xu Yi, Yan Xiao, Zhong Xueran, and Mei Sijun to volunteer to help.
• Xia Nan limited the group and left the Clear Pupil Bar, privately promising to return control of his life to Xia Nan after this stretch of time.
• At the Clear Pupil Bar, Lin Ci watched as Qiao Ziruo gripped Qin Manjiang's wrist and cried, and Qin Manjiang asked why she was crying.

Qin Manjiang took Qiao Ziruo to Qiao Family Village after she dreamed that her deceased grandmother could not hold on much longer, just as her family was relocating the grave. At the grave, Zhao Fengchuan and Lin’s attempt to create a Ghost Story went awry as it absorbed more Spirit Pupils, and someone arrived to stop the digging.

• Qiao Ziruo told Qin Manjiang that she had dreamed of her grandmother and learned that her father was moving the grave.
• Qin Manjiang agreed to accompany Qiao Ziruo to Qiao Family Village, and Mei Sijun drove them there.
• Zhao Fengchuan questioned Qiao Liang about his daughter, then ordered him out of the car.
• Zhao Fengchuan and Lin watched as an old Taoist began the grave relocation rites, and Lin reported that their experiment was still absorbing Spirit Pupils.
• The digging men reached the coffin amid unnatural winds, and a voice from behind the crowd shouted for them to stop.

Qin Manjiang and his companions arrived as Qiao Ziruo’s grandmother’s grave was uncovered, revealing a body with unnaturally intact eyes. Mei Sijun explained the danger and the history of ghost stories, then pointed out that Zhong Xueran’s family might be connected to Taoist knowledge, leaving Qin Manjiang with questions to ask her.

• Qin Manjiang, Qiao Ziruo, and Mei Sijun reached the grave as Zhao Fengchuan and Lin slipped away.
• Qiao Ziruo tried to rush to her grandmother’s remains, but the Old Taoist restrained her and warned that the coffin was dangerous.
• The crowd discovered that Old Lady Qiao’s eyeballs had not rotted, and people panicked at the thought of a haunting.
• The Old Taoist explained that the poplar wood coffin had allowed sinister influences to taint the body, while Mei Sijun warned that the dead might seek out their descendants.
• Mei Sijun told Qin Manjiang that Taoists learned how to handle ghost stories from old records and suggested Zhong Xueran’s family had such knowledge.
• Mei Sijun noted that Zhong Xueran possessed a [Three Pure Ones Bell] and advised Qin Manjiang to ask her about it.

After Qiao Ziruo’s grandmother’s grave was disturbed, Old Taoist gathered her bones and explained that her lost soul might return that night, though it could come back as a Vicious Soul. Qiao Ziruo followed him to her former home, while Qin Manjiang resolved to resist the Eye Realm’s control over the Ghost Story.

• Qin Manjiang stopped Old Taoist from leaving and demanded to know how they could deal with the disturbed grave.
• Old Taoist realized Qin Manjiang, Mei Sijun, and Qiao Ziruo were natural-born Spirit Pupil Bearers and mentioned the Eye Realm.
• Old Taoist told Qiao Ziruo that her grandmother’s soul had been lost with the Soul-Summoning Banner, then gathered the bones in red silk and instructed her to add soil from beneath the coffin.
• Qiao Ziruo asked what would happen if her grandmother’s soul did not return, and Old Taoist warned that a Vicious Soul might come back instead.
• Old Taoist wrapped the remains and led Qiao Ziruo, Qin Manjiang, and Mei Sijun down the mountain to her former home.
• Qin Manjiang suspected the Eye Realm was tracking the Ghost Story’s progress and decided to resist it.

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.