Chapter Summaries

Xu Le unsealed the Gundo Relic, spent much of his money on food for Black Cat, and returned to school, where he learned about the Dark Tide’s casualties and listened to Madam Juya’s speech. He recognized her as strangely familiar, and Madam Juya seemed startled when she spotted him, but Xu Le had already disappeared.

• Xu Le kept 50 dollars and used the remaining 1,100 to fulfill the twin-bladed sword’s wish, unsealing the Tianrui Lifeng Twin-Bladed Sword.
• Black Cat pressured Xu Le into buying dried fish, canned cured meat, and little sausages before they returned to the dormitory, where Xu Le checked the Oddity spawn timer and slept.
• Xu Le handed Zhang Zhe’s estate and documents to the school welfare director, then overheard students discussing the A7 Polluter and the Night Watchers’ suppression of information about him.
• Xu Le went to Madam Juya’s speech, where she reported the Dark Tide’s casualties and urged Lighthouse’s people to unite and seek the light.
• Xu Le felt certain that Madam Juya was familiar but could not recall why; after their eyes met, Madam Juya turned back in surprise, but Xu Le had already left.

Xu Le visited the Night Watchers after the Black Tide and was offered a place in Lighthouse’s public service system. Although he initially resisted joining because of the danger, Bai Jing and Gu Beichen began listing benefits, and Xu Le asked to hear more.

• Xu Le recognized Madam Juya from his memories but chose not to approach her.
• Xu Le went to the B2 District Night Watchers branch at Bai Jing’s request and was left in a dark room while they assessed him.
• Bai Jing confirmed that Xu Le had become a Red Moon Warlock and offered him a choice between a cash reward and joining Lighthouse’s public service system.
• Xu Le used mental clarity to consider the risks and decided that Night Watcher fieldwork was too dangerous for him.
• Xu Le declined the offer at first, but reconsidered when Bai Jing promised clerical work and Gu Beichen described the Night Watchers’ benefits.

Xu Le accepted Bai Jing’s offer to join the Night Watchers as a clerical employee, then prepared to leave school and begin his new job. After Zheng Wen challenged him over surviving the Black Tide, Xu Le beat him and left him with advice to keep his options open.

• Bai Jing offered Xu Le a clerical position with Team 6, housing help, and other benefits, and Xu Le agreed to start work the next morning.
• Xu Le celebrated outside the branch office, informed the Academic Affairs Office that he had joined the Night Watchers, and returned to the dormitory.
• Zheng Wen questioned Xu Le about surviving the attack on classroom A7, then punched at him; Xu Le dodged and beat Zheng Wen until he stopped fighting.
• Xu Le packed his belongings and told Zheng Wen to leave himself options in case another Black Tide came.
• The next morning, Xu Le left the school with his belongings and greatsword as Zheng Wen called after him, promising to become a supernatural.

Xu Le joined the Night Watchers and began studying Warlock fundamentals under Gan at Headquarters. After a day of reading, Black Cat appeared and helped choose a name for itself, leaving Xu Le asking, "Ding... Ke?"

• Xu Le registered as a Logistics Department Night Watcher and met Gan, who offered to teach him Warlock basics for a month.
• Gan took Xu Le to Headquarters, where he explained the supernatural systems and the Red Moon's power.
• Xu Le studied alone in the Records Room and learned how light-darkness levels affected Oddities and pollution.
• Black Cat arrived as Xu Le finished reading, and the two went to find food.
• Xu Le tried to name Black Cat, but it rejected "Little Black" and pointed to characters in books until Xu Le read out "Ding... Ke?"

Xu Le returned to the Night Watchers’ branch, where Bai Jing assigned Gan to train him for the same work as Gan, then learned about a scandal involving Luo Chai and a dead woman. Wang Shu showed Xu Le to his new apartment, and Xu Le studied spell seals late into the night while Ding Ke secretly tried to write in his notebook.

• Xu Le asked Black Cat whether its name was Ding Ke and whether it could transform, then returned to the branch after dinner.
• Gan told Bai Jing that Xu Le learned quickly, and Bai Jing explained that she wanted Gan to train him for the same work, partly as preparation for future threats.
• Wang Shu reported that Luo Juning’s son, Luo Chai, had abducted a scavenger’s daughter, who was later found dead after mutating; Bai Jing ordered Wang Shu to silence the scavenger.
• Wang Shu took Xu Le to a furnished apartment near the branch, warning him not to tell family about Night Watcher business and cautioning him about keeping a black cat.
• Xu Le decided to trust Ding Ke and studied the nine spell seals until he fell asleep at his desk; Ding Ke tried to write in his notebook, then tore up the page and hid it in the toilet.

Xu Le learned that Gan would teach him the Guyinduo secret language, a divination deck for Mediums, and discovered that his talent was connected to it. He used his guyinduo vision to reveal the first card’s true image and meaning.

• Xu Le overheard Lighthouse Guards discussing Luo Chai’s arrest and Luo Juning being held accountable after protests over the abuse of a Mutant’s family.
• Gan told Xu Le they would study at the branch and introduced the Guyinduo secret language as a Medium’s tool for communicating with fate.
• Xu Le recognized that the Guyinduo secret language seemed connected to his talents, and Gan showed him a deck of fourteen cards.
• Xu Le turned over the first black card and used his guyinduo vision to reveal a girl nestled against a dead black sheep, with meanings of disaster upright and light nurtured in darkness reversed.

Xu Le studied the Guyinduo Fate Cards with Gan and learned how to perform divination. During his first attempt, he drew on the Guyinduo Soul Tree’s spirit energy and saw the threads controlling Gan’s fate, including a black mark between Gan’s eyebrows.

• Xu Le remembered seeing the Black Sheep Girl when he first activated Guyinduo Vision, and Gan warned him that Guyinduo’s power could trap him in dangerous thoughts.
• Gan explained the meanings of the Guyinduo Fate Cards and taught Xu Le divination over several days, then lent him his old deck.
• Gan invited Xu Le to practice divination on him, and Xu Le realized the Guyinduo Soul Tree had absorbed all his Red Moon Spirit.
• Xu Le entered the Tranquil State and drew a drop of Guyinduo Spirit Energy from the Soul Tree, which shook his mental world and sent spirit energy radiating around him.
• Xu Le infused the Puppet on Strings card and saw a fate thread linking it to Gan, a black mark between Gan’s eyebrows, and countless named threads tightening around Gan like a puppet’s strings.

Xu Le used the Guyinduo Soul Tree to remove a teammate’s fear pollution after Gan had left, saving her from mutating. Exhausted afterward, he learned that Gu Beichen planned to treat him to dinner, and decided to bring Ding Ke along.

• Gan left after advising Xu Le that fate could be hinted at but not easily changed, and Xu Le wondered how to save someone controlled by fate.
• Wang Shu brought back an injured woman polluted by fear, and Xu Le saw that she would mutate within minutes.
• Xu Le used a Psyche Worm to stabilize the woman and the Guyinduo Soul Tree to absorb her fear and destroy the Child of Fear, clearing her pollution.
• Xu Le saw that absorbing fear had ripened a fear fruit and grown another, but decided to wait until he could research them at Headquarters.
• Gu Beichen invited Xu Le to dinner, and Xu Le decided he would bring Ding Ke and take home any leftovers.

Xu Le joined Wang Shu, Gu Beichen, and Li Shunliu for dinner, where Wang Shu tried to recruit him for internal duties despite his contract. The team dropped the subject, and the gathering ended with Ding Ke getting carried away after tasting cola.

• Xu Le waited outside the Branch Office with Ding Ke until Wang Shu and Gu Beichen returned with Li Shunliu, who thanked Xu Le for saving her.
• Gu Beichen invited everyone to dinner at the Bright Hotel, where Wang Shu explained that mutations and corruption had become more frequent and Lighthouse's dark rules had changed.
• Wang Shu asked Xu Le to help with the team's workload, but Xu Le cited his contract and Li Shunliu pointed out that he knew he was capable.
• Wang Shu argued that work within Lighthouse City counted as internal duties, prompting Xu Le to accuse him of exploiting a university student.
• The group stopped discussing assignments and ate together, while Ding Ke devoured expensive sausages and went wild after sneaking a cup of cola.

Xu Le weighed his new duties as a Night Watcher and rejected Wang Man, who was leaving for Zion the next day. When he saw her being pressured to drink by men from the Zion Arts Troupe, he used his authority to make the Bright Hotel manager intervene without starting a diplomatic incident.

• Wang Shu urged Xu Le to consider joining Night Watcher assignments, while Xu Le admitted he doubted his own strength and might need to act sooner than planned.
• Wang Man learned Xu Le had joined the Night Watchers and would stay in Lighthouse, then left after he responded coldly to her plans to return to Zion.
• Xu Le initially walked away when Wang Man drank with two men from the Zion Arts Troupe, but returned after Wang Shu went back inside to protect her.
• Xu Le warned Wang Shu that assaulting the troupe members could create diplomatic trouble and proposed making the hotel manager handle the situation instead.
• Xu Le planted a Black Cicada fragment on the manager and accused him of possessing Oddity remains, then threatened him with prosecution until the manager headed toward Wang Man's table.