Chapter Summaries

Fan Cheng realized the Vengeful Ghost used clothing to track and attack its victims, then stripped naked to evade it. After the ghost vanished into its red down jacket, unseen hands seized his neck.

• Fan Cheng saw a red down jacket drift toward his hiding place and concluded the Vengeful Ghost had found him.
• Fan Cheng hid in a concrete pipe as rain began, then tried to warn the others that clothing could serve as the ghost's medium.
• Fan Cheng spotted the ghost's pale legs at the pipe's entrance and fled into the rain.
• Fan Cheng removed his underwear and watched the ghost lose track of him, then saw it disappear into the red down jacket.
• Fan Cheng felt a pair of long, thin hands press against his neck.

Xu Yi and Zhong Xueran struggled to escape the vengeful ghosts rising beneath the Old Locust Tree. They both reached the branches, but a ghost grabbed Zhong Xueran’s ankle as more hands reached for them.

• Dozens of skeletal male ghosts crawled from the ground and surrounded Xu Yi and Zhong Xueran.
• Zhong Xueran urged Xu Yi to climb, but he told her to escape along the branches and leave him behind.
• Zhong Xueran climbed down and helped Xu Yi reach a branch by letting him step on her shoulders.
• Xu Yi pulled Zhong Xueran up toward the branch as ghosts closed in below.
• A ghost seized Zhong Xueran’s ankle, while a mass of ghostly hands reached up toward them.

Xu Yi searched for a way to rescue Zhong Xueran from the ghosts beneath the Old Locust Tree, while she tried to divert them with the Three Pure Ones Bell. The chapter ended with Zhong Xueran still trapped and Chen Zhiyuan confiding in Yan Xiao as his condition worsened.

• Xu Yi considered using his three unused One-Time Items but realized none could directly save Zhong Xueran except the dangerous Nuo Opera Mask.
• Xu Yi recalled that wearing the Nuo Opera Mask could make him a ghost if he failed to remove it within three minutes.
• Zhong Xueran threw the Three Pure Ones Bell away, drawing most of the ghosts toward it.
• Zhong Xueran discovered that the ghost gripping her ankle had not been distracted and remained focused on her.
• Chen Zhiyuan watched the storm and told Yan Xiao things he might soon forget, while Yan Xiao took notes.

Yan Xiao learned that Zhong Xueran’s self-destructive nature predated the game, while Chen Zhiyuan’s mind and memories continued to deteriorate. As Xu Yi rescued Zhong Xueran with the Nuo Opera Mask, they faced a horde of ghosts with only three minutes to escape before he might never remove it.

• Chen Zhiyuan told Yan Xiao that Zhong Xueran had long harbored a desire to die, and that helping others in the game had given her a sense of purpose.
• Chen Zhiyuan said he wanted more people to live, though he feared he would forget that promise; Yan Xiao left and called a middle-aged man, who agreed to help Fu City’s players in exchange for their spirit pupils.
• Zhong Xueran let go of the Old Locust Tree, but Xu Yi caught her and put on the Nuo Opera Mask to save her from the vengeful ghost dragging her down.
• Xu Yi severed the ghost’s arm, caught Zhong Xueran, and carried her toward the courtyard gate as dozens of faster, more aggressive ghosts surrounded them.
• Zhong Xueran realized the Old Locust Tree seemed to suppress the ghosts and feared Xu Yi would be trapped in the mask if they could not escape within three minutes.

Xu Yi carried the injured Zhong Xueran through a courtyard of Vengeful Ghosts while the Nuo Opera Mask’s three-minute limit ran down. Realizing they could not escape Old Town on foot, Xu Yi told her to call a car, but Zhong Xueran refused and asked him to put her down.

• Zhong Xueran reconsidered Xu Yi’s joking persona as she realized how serious and physically strong he was.
• Xu Yi carried Zhong Xueran past the Vengeful Ghosts and out of the courtyard, while she suspected the creatures might be controlled corpses rather than ghosts.
• Zhong Xueran saw that they had little time left and could not walk out of Old Town before the mask’s power wore off.
• Xu Yi struggled to tell Zhong Xueran to call a car, but she closed her eyes and said it was too late and asked him to put her down.

As Xu Yi carried Zhong Xueran through Old Town, she reflected on her family’s cursed inheritance and began to trust his determination to save her. When the Nuo Opera Mask’s safe-use time ran out, Xu Yi let it root into his flesh rather than remove it, continuing onward at the cost of his life so Zhong Xueran could reach safety.

• Zhong Xueran remembered that the Three Pure Ones Bell and Single Pure Bell came from her family’s cursed inheritance, and that she had entered the Ghost Story World to avoid passing it on.
• Xu Yi continued carrying Zhong Xueran through the rain and told her to trust him, so she ordered a ride to pick them up in Old Town.
• As the mask’s remaining safe-use time dwindled, Zhong Xueran felt protected by Xu Yi and gradually realized what he planned to do.
• When the safe-use time ended, Xu Yi kept walking instead of removing the Nuo Opera Mask, whose black nails pierced his flesh and began drawing blood.
• Zhong Xueran understood that Xu Yi had chosen to let the mask kill him so his continued steps could carry her toward life.

Qin Manjiang concluded that Liu Junyan was using curses as part of a ritual to revive Shen Hong, and that the ghosts were being ordered to drain and transform players rather than kill them outright. Meanwhile, Fan Cheng accepted help from a stranger named Xiao Shen, whose identity remained uncertain.

• Qin Manjiang reasoned that the ghosts’ failure to kill players suggested they were controlled by Liu Junyan, who might still be alive and seeking to revive Shen Hong.
• Qin Manjiang realized that players who avoided places connected to the Ghost Story could delay attacks, while teamed players faced a faster ritual that could kill them before the game officially began.
• Fan Cheng, caught naked in the rain, turned and punched at a man who had approached him with an umbrella.
• The man offered Fan Cheng shelter and a ride, and introduced himself as Xiao Shen.

Qin Manjiang realized Liu Junyan was likely behind the Ghost Story’s anomalies, then learned Xu Yi was trapped in the Nuo Opera Mask while protecting Zhong Xueran. Zhong Xueran desperately tried to remove it as Xu Yi carried her through Old Town, leaving their survival uncertain.

• Qin Manjiang concluded that finding and dealing with Liu Junyan was the key to ending the Ghost Story.
• Qin Manjiang called Xu Yi, received no answer, and then learned from Zhong Xueran that Xu Yi had worn the Nuo Opera Mask for more than three minutes.
• Zhong Xueran explained that gaunt Vengeful Ghosts had surrounded them near the Old Locust Tree while they searched for Shen Hong’s corpse.
• Qin Manjiang told Zhong Xueran to remove the mask because Liu Junyan’s orders, not the mask, were stopping the ghosts from attacking.
• Zhong Xueran tore at the mask despite its spikes piercing her hands, while Xu Yi carried her forward, unconscious and covered in blood.

Qin Manjiang pieced together the ghost story and contacted Yan Xiao to rescue Xu Yi and Zhong Xueran, then warned Fan Cheng that Liu Junyan might still be alive. Fan Cheng realized the driver helping him was Liu Junyan, whose grotesquely moving neck raised doubts about whether he was still human.

• Qin Manjiang called Yan Xiao and asked him to pick up the possibly injured Xu Yi and Zhong Xueran in Old Town, warning him to bring medical supplies.
• Qin Manjiang messaged Fan Cheng with his deductions, and Fan Cheng reported that only Shen Yi's body had been at Shen Hong and Liu Junyan's last residence.
• Qin Manjiang concluded that Liu Junyan was missing and might be carrying out a ritual to bring Shen Hong back to life at the game's official start time.
• Qin Manjiang grew suspicious of the man driving Fan Cheng and asked whether he had questioned why Fan Cheng was naked.
• Fan Cheng realized the driver, who had introduced himself as Xiao Shen, was Liu Junyan, and saw another face moving beneath the flesh of his neck.

Fan Cheng fled Liu Junyan’s car after causing a crash, but a ghostly woman stopped him and he lost consciousness. In Old Town, Zhong Xueran removed the Nuo Mask from Xu Yi’s face and discovered he was dead, yet he still took another step while carrying her.

• Liu Junyan calmed the ghostly woman emerging from his neck and the car seat, but Fan Cheng attacked him and yanked the steering wheel.
• The car crashed into the guardrail and central divider, and Fan Cheng escaped while Liu Junyan appeared unconscious.
• Fan Cheng crawled across the rain-soaked road, but an unfamiliar woman’s face appeared behind him and he lost consciousness.
• Zhong Xueran tore the Nuo Mask from Xu Yi’s face, damaging her hands in the process.
• Zhong Xueran found that Xu Yi had died, but he took another step forward while still carrying her.

Xu Yi remembered how Xiao Li became his friend at the Orphanage, gave him candy, and urged him to live happily before dying from cancer. In the present, he recalled her words as Zhong Xueran tried to save him, but Yan Xiao pulled her away and drove off with Xu Yi while corpses closed in.

• Xu Yi recalled losing his parents in a car accident and becoming withdrawn and afraid of rain at the Orphanage.
• Xiao Li stood up to Xu Yi when he bullied the other children, then gave him candy and became his friend.
• Xiao Li urged Xu Yi to attend school, but he shoved her during a storm and she collapsed.
• An Orphanage mom told Xu Yi that Xiao Li had cancer and had been abandoned by her family; Xiao Li urged him to smile and live happily before being rushed into the hospital.
• Remembering Xiao Li's words during a rainy Game, Xu Yi recognized that Zhong Xueran was like his former self.
• Yan Xiao pulled Zhong Xueran away from Xu Yi, put Xu Yi's body in the car, and drove away as corpses approached.

Qin Manjiang realized the players’ survival chances were worsening as Liu Junyan’s ritual to resurrect Shen Hong progressed, and that they needed to stop it quickly. As he struggled to find a way, Nie Yunzhen asked how Liu Junyan knew the ritual could resurrect Shen Hong.

• Qin Manjiang inferred that the ritual’s final stage would make the game unwinnable and that each player’s curse progressed independently.
• Qin Manjiang concluded that the players’ best chance to stop the ritual was within the current day.
• Nie Yunzhen found Qin Manjiang watching the storm and asked what was troubling him.
• Qin Manjiang explained that he could not find a way to halt the ritual, despite Yu Qinghuan’s transformation and his own loss of life force.
• Nie Yunzhen asked how Liu Junyan knew the ritual could resurrect Shen Hong.

Qin Manjiang realized Liu Junyan’s resurrection ritual had come from the wedding dress and questioned whether it would truly revive Shen Hong. Meanwhile, Liu Junyan tortured Fan Cheng to make a new outfit for Ahong, while Zhong Xueran begged Yan Xiao to save Fan Cheng, and Yan Xiao said Fan Cheng was already dead.

• Qin Manjiang concluded Liu Junyan had the wedding dress and began questioning why he had gone to find Fan Cheng.
• Fan Cheng woke in a basement with Liu Junyan removing his skin while keeping him conscious and preparing to make clothes for Ahong.
• Liu Junyan said the new clothes would let Ahong come back to life and that they would be together forever.
• Zhong Xueran urged Yan Xiao to stab a scalpel into Fan Cheng’s heart and promised to win the Game within thirty minutes.
• Yan Xiao told Zhong Xueran that Fan Cheng was already dead.

Yan Xiao left Zhong Xueran behind after telling her Xu Yi had been saving himself, while Qin Manjiang prepared to investigate the ongoing ritual. The chapter ended with Qin Manjiang realizing that the sleeping Yu Qinghuan’s face might not be her own.

• Yan Xiao told Zhong Xueran that Xu Yi was dead and had been saving himself, then drove away with Xu Yi’s corpse and left her in the rain.
• Qin Manjiang asked Nie Yunzhen to use her Shared-Fate Lock on Yu Qinghuan, but Nie Yunzhen revealed that she had already locked onto Qin Manjiang.
• Qin Manjiang sent Nie Yunzhen to dig beneath the Old Locust Tree and check for Shen Hong’s corpse and whether it wore a wedding dress.
• Qin Manjiang decided to search the place where Liu Junyan might be hiding while the ritual continued.
• Qin Manjiang looked at the sleeping Yu Qinghuan and wondered whose face she was wearing.

Qin Manjiang realized that the visions of Shen Hong’s past came from another person’s perspective, suggesting someone unseen had been present when the ghost story began. When Yu Qinghuan transformed, he accepted Jiang Du’s deal for help, and Jiang Du revealed her original face by cutting away the ghostly layer covering it.

• Qin Manjiang questioned whether Shen Hong had ever existed and asked Yu Qinghuan whether her visions had been from Shen Hong’s perspective.
• Yu Qinghuan said the scenes included Shen Yi, Shen Hong, and Liu Junyan, leading Qin Manjiang to conclude that someone else’s perspective had gone unnoticed.
• Yu Qinghuan convulsed and transformed into a stranger’s ghostly face, leaving Qin Manjiang unable to help her.
• 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, used a fruit knife to peel away the ghostly face covering Yu Qinghuan, and revealed her bloodied original face.

Jiang Du stopped Yu Qinghuan’s curse by cutting away the affected skin and decided to find the mysterious fourth person. Meanwhile, Nie Yunzhen reached the Old Locust Tree and suspected Liu Junyan had buried its victims beneath it.

• Jiang Du cut the cursed skin from Yu Qinghuan’s face, stopping the curse, and told her they would find the fourth person.
• Qin Manjiang realized Jiang Du had identified the fourth person and wondered whether his own abilities had only come from Jiang Du’s preparations.
• Nie Yunzhen hurried to Huai’an Residential Complex, where she suspected the Old Locust Tree was connected to deaths caused by the curse.
• Nie Yunzhen stopped beneath the tree and wondered whether Liu Junyan had killed and buried the victims there.

Jiang Du deduced that the mysterious fabric seller had deliberately arranged for the Shen family to make wedding dresses and create the ghost story. He led Yu Qinghuan to the seller’s house, then revealed he had found it by asking locals who was close to death.

• Jiang Du explained that the fabric itself was harmless until it was made into wedding dresses, which triggered the ghost story.
• Yu Qinghuan realized the seller had specifically chosen the Shen family because they still made traditional wedding dresses by hand.
• Jiang Du concluded that the seller was the fourth person involved and the true instigator behind the ghost story.
• Jiang Du brought Yu Qinghuan to an old house instead of Shen Hong and Liu Junyan’s residence, and she asked whether it was the seller’s home.
• Jiang Du said he had asked locals which elderly people were doing poorly and which young people were seriously ill, explaining that he had been finding out who was about to die.

Jiang Du took Yu Qinghuan to Mr. Yan’s home and questioned him about the fabric and his life-prolonging ritual. He offered to trade for the fabric, then revealed the Vengeful Ghost’s face skin and sent it flying at Yu Qinghuan.

• Jiang Du brought Yu Qinghuan to Mr. Yan’s residence, where the frail man invited them inside.
• Jiang Du asked Mr. Yan about his method of prolonging his life, and Mr. Yan admitted the fabric came from his family and was said to originate in a demon-filled grotto-heaven.
• Jiang Du proposed that Mr. Yan give him some fabric in exchange for not interrupting the ritual.
• Mr. Yan dismissed the offer and said Yu Qinghuan was useless because her ritual had already been ruined.
• Jiang Du revealed the Vengeful Ghost’s face skin and hurled it at Yu Qinghuan, leaving her struggling on the ground in disbelief.

Jiang Du let Mr. Yan believe he had traded Yu Qinghuan for the uncut curse fabric, hoping to learn how Mr. Yan controlled the Wedding Dress. Mr. Yan revealed himself in the scarlet garment and began reaching for Yu Qinghuan’s motionless body, leaving Jiang Du poised to act.

• Jiang Du kept control of Qin Manjiang’s body through their one-hour agreement while Qin Manjiang struggled to intervene.
• Mr. Yan explained that ordinary people’s life force could not flow, but Players with the Spirit Pupil made suitable sacrifices.
• Mr. Yan revealed the Wedding Dress emerging from his body and claimed he could take Jiang Du’s life without bargaining.
• Yu Qinghuan went still, and Mr. Yan assumed she had died during the flawed ritual.
• Mr. Yan unraveled the Wedding Dress into living red tendrils and sent them reaching toward Yu Qinghuan.

Nie Yunzhen and Zhong Xueran found Shen Hong inside the hollow Old Locust Tree and severed the red tendrils connecting her to it. The disturbance made Liu Junyan lose the ghostly face on his neck, freeing Fan Cheng from its restraint as he reached for a scalpel.

• Nie Yunzhen searched beneath the Old Locust Tree for Shen Hong’s body until Zhong Xueran returned and deduced that Shen Hong was hidden inside the tree.
• Nie Yunzhen and Zhong Xueran smashed open the hollow trunk and found Shen Hong standing inside in a red wedding dress, connected to the tree by writhing red tendrils.
• Nie Yunzhen messaged Qin Manjiang about their discovery, then cut through the tendrils as Shen Hong opened her eyes and the tendrils screamed.
• Liu Junyan screamed in the basement as the ghostly face of Shen Hong writhed on his neck, then suddenly vanished.
• Fan Cheng realized the force restraining him had disappeared and reached for the scalpel beside his hand.