Chapter Summaries

Qi Gu, an unlucky former entertainer who hoped to support Floating Mist Temple, accepted a paid guest spot on the supernatural variety show Investigating the Strange. His repost of the show’s announcement revived online backlash and brought the obscure production sudden attention.

• Qi Gu bought food and fruit tea, used a little green ghost to push his wheelchair, and paid a locksmith after his key snapped in the lock.
• Qi Gu returned to his rental room, honored his late master at Floating Mist Temple, and reflected on his unlucky life and failed attempts to promote the temple.
• Qi Gu ate dinner and logged on to Weibo to repost the Investigating the Strange announcement, which introduced him as a mysticism master.
• Qi Gu’s former haters and other netizens flooded the show’s and Qi Gu’s comment sections with insults, arguments, and reactions to the guest lineup.
• The online attention noticeably increased buzz around Investigating the Strange.

Kang Hao defended Qi Gu online after a gossip account accused him of misconduct, while Qi Gu cheerfully enjoyed the insults and used a ghost in his Purple-Gold Gourd to dispose of his takeout trash. Three days later, Qi Gu arrived at a livestream shoot and met the other guests, including the frail-looking Lin Hanzhi, whom he offered QQ gummies.

• Kang Hao posted that Qi Gu had saved his grandparents and argued with commenters who accused him of being a paid shill.
• Qi Gu read the insults on Weibo, praised the commenters' memes, and had a ghost in his Purple-Gold Gourd eat his takeout trash.
• Three days later, Qi Gu arrived at the film studio complex for a variety-show livestream carrying snacks and his Purple-Gold Gourd.
• Song An, Mu Xingchen, Sha Chuan, and Vivian arrived before the final guest, Lin Hanzhi.
• Lin Hanzhi arrived after getting an IV, introduced himself, and stood beside Qi Gu, who offered him QQ gummies.

Qi Gu joined the livestreamed paranormal show and traveled with the other guests toward an abandoned clinic in Lotus Town, ignoring the online criticism as he slept and snacked. When the bus neared town, Qi Gu woke Lin Hanzhi, who seemed unusually pleased to see him.

• Song An began the livestream and introduced the guests before explaining that they would explore an abandoned clinic and solve a puzzle to leave.
• Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi fell asleep on the bus while viewers criticized Qi Gu for not engaging with the audience.
• After waking, Qi Gu noticed Sha Chuan staring at him, then accidentally rolled his eyes while clearing fluff from his own eye.
• Qi Gu spent the journey eating snacks from his pockets as the bus traveled toward Lotus Town.
• At the director's request, Qi Gu woke Lin Hanzhi, who apologized for oversleeping and continued watching Qi Gu.

The guests entered the apparently abandoned Lotus Town Health Center to film their paranormal show, while Qi Gu sensed real yin energy inside. As the group explored the dark building, Sha Chuan’s scheme to discredit Qi Gu set him up to face danger, while Qi Gu stayed focused on snacks.

• Song An brought the guests to the old health center, and Qi Gu sensed yin energy before sending his little ghost to scout it.
• Sha Chuan urged the group to enter and privately pursued a promise from Wei Cai that Shengshi Media would sign him if he crushed Qi Gu on the show.
• Qi Gu warned that noon was a time when spirits could appear and, seeing Sha Chuan’s bad fortune, predicted he would get the footage he wanted.
• Song An sent the guests inside after Qi Gu asked about lunch, promising to take them out for food after filming.
• The guests and camera operators entered the dark, cold health center, where Mu Xingchen shared glow sticks and Qi Gu offered him bear-shaped cookies.

The guests began their first mission at Lotus Town Health Center, where Sha Chuan was frightened by a ghostly-looking dummy while Qi Gu calmly identified it as plastic. Vivian completed registration after Qi Gu reassured her, and Lin Hanzhi asked to hold Qi Gu’s hand as he faced the window.

• The production team ordered the guests to register at the health center, and Sha Chuan volunteered to investigate the dark windows.
• Sha Chuan pulled a registration slip from a dummy’s mouth, screamed, and stumbled back before Qi Gu calmly checked and identified it as plastic.
• The props technician Old Ke told Song An that the dummy’s position had changed from how he had arranged it, but Song An reassured him that someone else must have moved it.
• Sha Chuan offered Lin Hanzhi’s coat to Vivian, but Lin refused and Vivian said she was scared rather than cold.
• Qi Gu gave Vivian a fruit candy and reassured her that she was protected by her merit, and she retrieved a registration slip without incident.
• With only Lin Hanzhi left, he told Qi Gu he was scared and asked to hold his hand while completing the mission.

During the paranormal show, Lin Hanzhi asked Qi Gu for comfort, but Qi Gu taught him a protective hand seal and incantation instead. The other guests tried it and gathered around Qi Gu, while Sha Chuan stayed apart and grew resentful; meanwhile, the show’s rising viewership delighted the production team.

• Lin Hanzhi asked Qi Gu to hold his hand, but Qi Gu suggested he hold on to his cameraman so he could keep eating his spicy strips.
• Lin Hanzhi pulled the registration slip from the mannequin, knocked it over, then returned to Qi Gu and asked again for comfort.
• Qi Gu taught Lin Hanzhi a hand seal and incantation, which Lin Hanzhi repeated and said made him feel warmer.
• Vivian and Mu Xingchen learned the incantation too, and Qi Gu gave Lin Hanzhi beef candy for helping teach them.
• Sha Chuan watched the group from a distance, dismissed the hand seal as a psychological trick, and became resentful when Qi Gu did not invite him over.
• Song An and the production staff celebrated as the livestream audience grew from fifty thousand to two hundred thousand viewers.

Qi Gu identified the foul-smelling puddle as rotting pig's blood arranged by the production team, but he sensed that a separate drop of blood from the ceiling was sinister. As the group climbed toward the second floor, Vivian cried out that something had grabbed her skirt, leaving everyone afraid of what was behind them.

• Mu Xingchen found a foul-smelling puddle on the lobby floor, and Qi Gu identified it as deliberately rotted pig's blood used as a prop.
• Qi Gu saw a different drop of blood fall from the ceiling and pulled Lin Hanzhi away from it.
• Sha Chuan caught a drop of the strange blood and sniffed it despite Qi Gu's warning.
• Vivian suggested the group move to the second floor, and Qi Gu led them up the dark staircase.
• Vivian cried out that something had grabbed her skirt while Sha Chuan deliberately lagged behind her.

As the group climbed the stairs, Sha Chuan encountered a ghost that Qi Gu secretly drove away with spiritual light. Outside, the production crew discovered that the mannequins used on set had come from the acupuncture room, leaving them to realize something dangerous was inside.

• Qi Gu told the group to recite an incantation and form a hand seal as they climbed, and Lin Hanzhi, Vivian, and Mu Xingchen followed his instructions.
• Sha Chuan hurried ahead and saw a ghostly face beside his reflection in a mirror, but Mu Xingchen saw only the mirror.
• Qi Gu flicked a speck of spiritual light at the malevolent ghost, which vanished before Sha Chuan looked again.
• Old Ke and Song An watched the footage, while Song An assumed the ghostly figure was an elaborate prop.
• Xiao Li denied setting up the figure and revealed that the mannequins had been taken from the acupuncture room, making the crew fear that something inside was wreaking havoc.

After a chilling check-in machine spoke despite being unplugged, the guests realized the health center held a real supernatural threat and looked to Qi Gu for protection. Qi Gu agreed to guard them as they searched their consultation rooms, while Sha Chuan blamed him for the danger.

• Mu Xingchen taught Sha Chuan the incantation and hand seal, but Sha Chuan struggled to memorize them.
• When the production team failed to respond, the lead camera operator instructed the guests to explore the second floor and search their assigned consultation rooms.
• Lin Hanzhi scanned Qi Gu’s registration slip, and the unplugged check-in machine announced Qi Gu’s appointment before playing eerie crawling, dragging, and chopping sounds.
• Lin Hanzhi confirmed the machine had no battery compartment, and the guests gathered around Qi Gu for protection.
• Qi Gu promised to guard the consultation rooms while the others searched for clues, and Sha Chuan silently blamed him for the ghost’s attention.

As Qi Gu investigated the haunted health center, clips of his ghost-fighting skills sent new viewers flooding into the livestream. Outside, Song An called the police for help, while a green ghost slipped into Qi Gu’s room and caught Lin Hanzhi and Vivian’s attention.

• A Weibo clip of Qi Gu driving off a ghost sparked an argument that drew crowds into the livestream.
• Song An failed to contact the guests or open the health center’s entrance, so he called the police despite Zhang Aicai’s protests.
• Pubu Gesang told Song An to wait outside and promised to arrive in about half an hour.
• Qi Gu entered Consultation Room Three, where a dummy lunged at him, then ordered the ghost possessing it to squat in the corner.
• A little green ghost passed through the guests and entered the room, while Lin Hanzhi and Vivian watched it and Lin Hanzhi scrutinized its path.

Qi Gu discovered that the clinic mannequins contained soulless Yin Corpses, then found a clue card showing a sinister-looking man. The production team realized the picture had replaced their planned photo, and Song An recognized a familiar detail but could not remember where he had seen it.

• Qi Gu asked Green Ghost about the clinic, and Green Ghost reported that the mannequins contained Yin Corpses whose souls were missing.
• Qi Gu sent Green Ghost back into his gourd, and the frightened cameraman trembled as Qi Gu explained he had been talking to an unseen friend.
• Qi Gu found a puzzle-piece clue card showing half a man's face and handed it to Mu Xingchen.
• Mu Xingchen, Vivian, and the other guests examined the strange man's image before entering their assigned consultation rooms.
• Xiao Li told Song An and Old Ke that the production team had prepared a photo of the clinic, not the man's face, and Song An found the mole familiar.

Qi Gu waited in the haunted clinic while news confirmed that his fortune-telling had saved Kang Hao’s grandparents from a burglary. As online attacks turned into apologies and renewed insults, Tiancheng Law Firm began sending legal warnings to the paid trolls.

• Qi Gu sat outside Consultation Room Three, eating snacks while viewers mocked him online.
• Viewers watched a news report confirming that Kang Hao’s grandparents had been injured in a burglary and that Qi Gu had urged Kang Hao to return home beforehand.
• Kang Hao identified himself as the commenter OkayOkayOkayOkay, defended Qi Gu on camera, and threatened legal action against those who had insulted him.
• Netizens apologized to Qi Gu or searched for his fortune-telling contact information, while others continued to attack him.
• Tiancheng Law Firm tagged the paid troll Night Meteor and announced it would sue on Qi Gu’s behalf.
• Over the next three hours, every paid troll who had viciously insulted Qi Gu received a warning letter from Tiancheng Law Firm.

The troll boss retaliated against Wei Cai by exposing him as the smear campaign’s mastermind, damaging his reputation and costing him a potential star. Meanwhile, Qi Gu remained relaxed at the clinic as Lin Hanzhi smashed a moving skeleton and then played up a tiny cut for Qi Gu’s attention.

• After Wei Cai refused to take responsibility for the troll campaign, the troll boss ordered his accounts to apologize and identify Wei Cai as the mastermind.
• The troll accounts exposed Wei Cai, dividing netizens and prompting a major star to decide against signing with him.
• Qi Gu calmly ate braised eggs in the clinic corridor while viewers discussed the campaign and his appetite.
• Lin Hanzhi and the camera operator searched examination room one, where a moving skeleton startled Lin Hanzhi.
• Lin Hanzhi smashed the skeleton with a thick medical book, then worried aloud about paying for the damage.
• Lin Hanzhi showed Qi Gu a tiny cut and asked for medicine, but Qi Gu told him it had healed after three seconds.

Qi Gu led the guests to a locked room containing the final puzzle piece, using Green Ghost to open the door after his instant-noodle lock-picking attempt failed. Vivian sensed the young ghost and, believing it might be her abducted child, learned it had died after being drowned for its disability and gave it a little horse charm.

• Mu Xingchen assembled the puzzle and identified a locked room as the likely place to find the missing piece.
• Qi Gu tried to open the lock with a piece of crispy noodle, but it snapped inside the keyhole.
• Qi Gu sent Green Ghost through the door, and the little ghost opened it from inside.
• Vivian sensed Green Ghost and asked Qi Gu how it had died; he told her it had been drowned because it was born with a disability.
• Vivian gave Green Ghost the leather horse charm from her Hermès bag, and the ghost thanked her.

After finding a room filled with human remains and victims’ belongings, Qi Gu and the others realized the abandoned clinic had been used by the long-sought murderer Diao Huaqing. Qi Gu identified Diao’s address for the police, but the costly divination left him weak in Lin Hanzhi’s arms.

• Qi Gu gave Vivian, Mu Xingchen, and Lin Hanzhi his contact information, then entered room six with the group.
• Sha Chuan discovered human remains in the display cases, and the group found victims’ clothing, shoes, and identity cards.
• A puzzle piece revealed Diao Huaqing’s face, and viewers recognized him as the Birch City murderer who had vanished twenty years earlier.
• Lin Hanzhi found and removed a hidden camera, prompting the group to realize Diao might be watching them and preparing to flee.
• Qi Gu told the livestream that Diao lived in building five of Begonia Residential Community on Magnolia Street in Lotus Town, then collapsed into Lin Hanzhi’s arms after the divination drained him.

Qi Gu read Hua Yun’s diary and learned how she had sacrificed everything to pay for her grandmother’s dialysis before Diao Huaqing killed her. Hua Yun begged him to use the talismans she carried to save the other trapped Yin Corpses.

• Qi Gu read Hua Yun’s diary, which recorded her plans to support her grandmother and buy her a silver bracelet.
• Qi Gu called Hua Yun from the corridor, and she appeared as a severely distorted spirit who struggled to remember her identity.
• Hua Yun’s memories revealed that Diao Huaqing had murdered her and the other clinic victims, who became trapped Yin Corpses.
• The Taoist had separated and sealed the souls of Yin Corpses losing their sanity, but he later disappeared, leaving Hua Yun alone.
• Hua Yun handed Qi Gu the talismans and pleaded with him to save the sealed Yin Corpses.

After Qi Gu’s report about Diao Huaqing went viral, police arrested the fugitive murderer at Begonia Residential Community. At the clinic, eight-year-old Pubu Gesang revealed that he outranked the officers, leaving Li Xiang stunned.

• Netizens circulated Diao Huaqing’s name and victims’ ID cards, prompting relatives to recognize possible missing family members.
• Plainclothes police surrounded Begonia Residential Community after receiving tips.
• Diao Huaqing tried to flee with his valuables, but officers arrested him at the community gate.
• A second squad arrived at the clinic to collect evidence and met Song An and Pubu Gesang.
• Pubu Gesang stopped Li Xiang from entering the clinic, then showed him credentials proving his senior position in the Anomalous Events Management Bureau.

At the Lotus Town Health Center, Qi Gu freed nine tortured spirits who had been sealed away for three years, and Hua Yun told them that Diao Huaqing had been located and the police were going to arrest him. Their families watched the livestream and donated in hopes that Qi Gu could help them speak with their loved ones, drawing a huge new audience as the broadcast topped Snowflake’s rankings.

• Li Xiang learned that Pubu Gesang belonged to the Anomalous Events Management Bureau and waited with him outside the tent while Pubu Gesang watched Qi Gu on the monitor.
• Qi Gu examined the talisman Hua Yun held and burned it, releasing nine spirits who had been sealed for three years.
• Hua Yun reunited with the spirits and told them that Qi Gu had found Diao Huaqing and the police were going to arrest him.
• The victims’ families asked Qi Gu to let their loved ones speak to them and sent donations to the livestream.
• The donations pushed the livestream past one hundred thousand yuan and onto Snowflake’s homepage leaderboard, bringing in many new viewers.

Qi Gu helped the trapped ghosts speak to their families before underworld officers took them away, and the broadcast ended after Diao Huaqing was brought to justice. Outside the health center, Qi Gu donated his reward and chose to celebrate with grilled meat, while Lin Hanzhi’s unusual offer of a ride was turned down.

• Qi Gu used his blood to let the ghosts speak human language, and Hua Yun said goodbye to her grandmother while Vivian promised to support her grandmother’s care.
• Underworld officers arrived and took the ghosts away as viewers thanked Qi Gu for helping them and preventing further victims.
• Li Xiang thanked Qi Gu for helping capture Diao Huaqing and offered him the fugitive’s reward of about eight hundred thousand yuan; Qi Gu asked him to donate it to charity.
• Lin Hanzhi offered Qi Gu a ride home, but Qi Gu declined and told Song An he would go home after dinner.
• Qi Gu chose grilled meat, and Song An invited the staff and guests to join them while Sha Chuan left alone.

Qi Gu investigated the disappearance of Vivian’s son and discovered a sinister spell hidden beneath the crib in the Han Family’s old residence. He identified it as part of an evil art that could exchange the fates of two children, but the chapter ended before he explained what had happened to Vivian’s son.

• Song An thanked Qi Gu for protecting the crew and promised to raise his pay, while Qi Gu insisted on receiving five thousand a day in installments.
• Mu Xingchen asked to become Qi Gu’s disciple, and Qi Gu declined for the time being.
• Vivian told Qi Gu that her son had been taken by their nanny and sold when he was one, and asked him to help find him.
• Qi Gu accompanied Vivian to the Han Family’s old residence, where her husband Han Yunshu reluctantly let him inspect the nursery.
• Qi Gu lifted the crib’s wooden base and revealed blood-red markings that he identified as a concealment spell hiding a Life-Exchange Evil Art capable of swapping the fates of two children with identical birth charts.