Chapter Summaries

After Lin Hanzhi’s disastrous fried egg made Qi Gu vomit, Miao Yue encouraged Qi Gu to stay in the capital and gave him a food guide. Qi Gu agreed, hoping to spend more time with Lin Hanzhi as he prepared a confession that would give him the best of everything.

• Lin Hanzhi offered to cook with Qi Gu next time, but Qi Gu’s attempt to spare his feelings by eating more of the fried egg made him vomit again.
• Lin Hanzhi comforted Qi Gu, and Miao Yue and Steward Yi realized that Lin Hanzhi had caused the food poisoning.
• Miao Yue suggested that Qi Gu stay in the capital and gave him a booklet of recommended places to eat.
• Lin Hanzhi invited Qi Gu to stay as long as he liked, and Qi Gu accepted.
• Qi Gu thought about his growing love for Lin Hanzhi and smiled as he considered preparing the best possible confession.

Lin Hanzhi and Qi Gu spent the morning together, while Qi Gu disciplined Mu Xingchen and later spoke with the Cat Ghost. The Cat Ghost revealed that Lin Hanzhi was far stronger than he pretended, but Qi Gu said he already knew Lin Hanzhi was unusual and would wait for him to open up.

• Lin Hanzhi invited Qi Gu to feed the fish and have lunch together, and Qi Gu agreed.
• Qi Gu discovered Mu Xingchen had skipped memorizing his texts and doubled his schoolwork.
• Qi Gu fed the goldfish with Lin Hanzhi, who admired him as he watched.
• The Cat Ghost thanked Qi Gu with dried fish and described its plans to torment Jiang Haojie and organize the cats.
• The Cat Ghost told Qi Gu that Lin Hanzhi seemed to be his partner and had secretly shown great strength at the General's Mansion.
• Qi Gu admitted he knew Lin Hanzhi was not ordinary and decided to wait until Lin Hanzhi chose to tell him the truth.

Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi spent several happy days together before Fang Yuanwang invited them to his wedding. After Qi Gu returned to Floating Mist Temple, Lin Hanzhi found himself stuck working at the Anomalous Affairs Bureau because resigning would make Qi Gu the next director.

• Fang Heng personally invited Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi to Fang Yuanwang’s wedding and explained that Yuanwang had fallen in love with a woman he met on the flight home.
• Lin Hanzhi came home exhausted each night, and Qi Gu waited for him while eating snacks.
• Qi Gu injured his hand with scissors, so Lin Hanzhi took him for a tetanus shot and later changed his bandage, enjoying the chance to have Qi Gu pet his head.
• Qi Gu’s wound healed, and he chose to return to Floating Mist Temple rather than interfere with Lin Hanzhi’s work, postponing his planned confession.
• After Qi Gu left the capital, Lin Hanzhi wanted to resign but kept working because Wang Shi’s secret letter said Qi Gu would become director if he stepped down.

Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi traveled to Huang Hongyuan’s hometown to investigate his uncle’s mysterious illness. After hearing the family’s account, Qi Gu learned that the uncle had used a piece of discarded wood to repair the family bed months earlier.

• Lin Hanzhi asked to stay with Qi Gu, but Huang Hongyuan’s request delayed their plans.
• Qi Gu agreed to take Lin Hanzhi with him to help Huang Hongyuan’s gravely ill uncle, and the two traveled together by train.
• Qi Gu told Lin Hanzhi that the uncle’s symptoms might indicate spirit possession and that they would need to examine him.
• Sufen met Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi at the station with her older cousin and described her husband’s worsening condition.
• Sufen recalled that her husband had found a good piece of wood months earlier and used it to repair their bed.

Qi Gu discovered that a reworked coffin board was draining Huang Andao’s lifespan and helping Huang Guoliang gain money, then arranged a fake haunting to confront Huang Guoliang. The chapter ended with the wandering ghost grabbing Huang Guoliang by the throat, frightening him sober.

• Lin Hanzhi and Qi Gu rode to Su Fen’s village with her cousin Huang Guoliang, and villagers gossiped about how he had recently acquired a new tricycle and money.
• Qi Gu found a reworked coffin board beneath Huang Andao’s mattress, with Huang Andao’s birth details written on it, and explained that it was draining his lifespan to provide coffin energy.
• Huang Andao admitted that he had made a promise to share his good fortune with Huang Guoliang, and Qi Gu suspected Huang Guoliang had used occult methods to borrow that fortune.
• Qi Gu arranged for a wandering ghost to impersonate Huang Andao, while Su Fen persuaded Huang Guoliang to come help restrain the supposed evil spirit.
• When Huang Guoliang entered Huang Andao’s room, the wandering ghost seized him by the throat and demanded that he give back its life.

Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi used a wandering ghost to frighten Huang Guoliang into confessing that he had used a videotape’s ritual to steal luck and lifespan from Huang Andao for money. Huang Guoliang revealed where he had hidden the tape, and Qi Gu burned the talisman linking the two men as Lin Hanzhi went to retrieve it.

• A wandering ghost posing as Huang Andao strangled Huang Guoliang until Qi Gu convinced him to confess.
• Huang Guoliang explained that a strange videotape had taught him to trade another person’s lifespan for wealth, and he had chosen Huang Andao as his victim.
• Huang Guoliang described using a coffin, a luck-swapping talisman, and Huang Andao’s agreement to win lottery money and later profit from gambling.
• Huang Guoliang told Qi Gu that the videotape was hidden beneath the bed boards at his home, so Qi Gu sent Lin Hanzhi to fetch it.
• Lin Hanzhi found a red talisman in Huang Guoliang’s shirt pocket and gave it to Qi Gu before leaving.
• Qi Gu burned the Borrowing Luck Talisman that connected Huang Guoliang and Huang Andao.

Qi Gu restored Huang Andao’s lifespan by transferring it back from Huang Guoliang, while Lin Hanzhi recovered the mysterious black videotape for investigation. After sharing a meal with the grateful family, Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi headed to Star-Moon Lake to camp beneath the stars, where Qi Gu summoned a water ghost to help pitch their tent.

• The wandering ghost left after Qi Gu promised to double its payment, and Su Fen beat Huang Guoliang for his betrayal.
• Qi Gu explained that the ghost had not been Huang Andao, then used incense and an incantation to return Huang Andao’s stolen lifespan and vitality.
• Lin Hanzhi returned with the black videotape, and Qi Gu asked Sang Ma to coordinate an investigation into its origin with the local authorities.
• After the book rental shop’s owner was questioned and found to have no record of the tape, Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi accepted Su Fen and Huang Andao’s offer to camp at Star-Moon Lake.
• A honeymooning viewer recognized Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi at the lake, then left them to pitch their tent.
• When Qi Gu could not drive a tent stake into the ground, Lin Hanzhi pushed one in easily, and Qi Gu summoned a water ghost to handle the rest.

Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi shared a starlit camping night, taking a couple photo and cautiously testing their feelings for each other. After the water ghost and a recruited ghost finished the tent, Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi climbed into one sleeping bag together, where their closeness left Lin Hanzhi breathless.

• The water ghost worked on the tent while Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi sat beside the lake, shared snacks, and took a photo making a heart together.
• Lin Hanzhi changed his social media pictures to their photo, and Qi Gu reposted it and offered ten Floating Mist Temple Incense Pouches to fans.
• Qi Gu paid the water ghost with gold and silver ingots, prompting it to recruit another ghost to help finish the tent.
• Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi lay together beneath the tent's stargazing roof, then shared a couples' sleeping bag when they grew cold.
• As Qi Gu crawled into the sleeping bag, he accidentally touched Lin Hanzhi somewhere intimate and offered to let him take care of himself; Lin Hanzhi refused.

Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi discussed their plans and ideal partners, revealing how much they wanted to spend a leisurely life together. They deliberately let their lips meet, then pretended the kiss had happened by accident.

• Qi Gu invited Lin Hanzhi to visit Floating Mist Temple and enjoy its shopping street with him after they returned to Z Province.
• Lin Hanzhi said he wanted to laze around with Qi Gu and admitted he preferred leisure to work.
• Qi Gu promised to help Lin Hanzhi with anything that would make his life easier.
• Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi described the kind of partners they wanted, each listing traits that matched the other.
• Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi deliberately moved toward each other and shared a kiss, then acted as though it had been accidental.

Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi spent the night at Star-Moon Lake, woke up cuddled together, and returned to Huang Andao and Su Fen’s home for breakfast. They left the village by motorized tricycle with local gifts, while Huang Guoliang later died and his relatives gave Su Fen and Huang Andao the tricycle and twenty thousand in savings.

• Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi lay awake after kissing, listened to another couple at the campsite, and eventually fell asleep.
• At dawn, Qi Gu burrowed into Lin Hanzhi’s arms to escape the sunlight, and Lin Hanzhi held him tighter before falling back asleep.
• Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi woke at eight, packed their tent, and returned to Huang Andao and Su Fen’s home.
• Su Fen served them a hearty breakfast and arranged a motorized tricycle ride, sending them off with local food gifts.
• After Huang Guoliang died, his relatives divided his property, and Su Fen and Huang Andao received the tricycle and twenty thousand in savings.

Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi brought a videotape to the Lin family’s old residence to watch it, where Qi Gu recognized an actor from his past. The actor’s recent selfie revealed that Lin Youxin was already dead.

• Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi arrived at the station carrying a sack of pig feed, and Jing Ping drove them to the Lin family’s old residence.
• On the way, Lin Hanzhi tried to persuade Qi Gu to let him stay at Floating Mist Temple, and Qi Gu realized he wanted to share a room.
• Jing Ping set up the videotape player and left Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi in the audiovisual room.
• Qi Gu recognized the first actor on the tape as Lin Youxin, someone he had once worked alongside as an extra.
• Qi Gu checked Lin Youxin’s Weibo selfie and concluded that the actor was already dead.

Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi watched Lin Youxin, who had been dead for seven days, livestream his own jump from a rooftop, then investigated the strange film Evil. After receiving Lin Youxin’s autopsy report, they prepared to meet the film’s cast and crew that afternoon, while the livestream incident began attracting public attention.

• Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi watched Lin Youxin livestream from a rooftop and leap to his death as viewers watched.
• Qi Gu informed Sang Ma, who requested a detailed autopsy report, while he and Lin Hanzhi finished watching the five dark rituals on the tape.
• Lin Hanzhi contacted director Xu Leyan and arranged for the cast and crew of Evil to meet them at the film studios that afternoon.
• Qi Gu noticed that Evil’s online synopsis described a different story from the film they had watched, despite matching credits.
• Sang Ma sent Qi Gu a report confirming Lin Youxin had died seven days earlier, and footage of his body sparked online speculation about the livestream.

Qi Gu investigated Lin Youxin’s apparent supernatural death and summoned his spirit to learn what had happened. Lin Youxin remembered nothing about dying, but his uneasy reaction to questions about filming Evil left Qi Gu with a new lead.

• Qi Gu had Lin Youxin’s Weibo account suspended and arranged for an unpublished horror video to be deleted.
• The police verified that the livestream was genuine and transferred the case to the Anomalous Affairs Bureau.
• Qi Gu contacted Lin Youxin’s family and obtained the details needed to summon his spirit.
• Qi Gu summoned Lin Youxin in the media room with Lin Hanzhi present, and Lin Youxin learned that he was dead.
• Lin Youxin said his last memory was taking the subway home after working as an extra, then denied anything strange had happened while filming Evil despite briefly looking uneasy.

Qi Gu questioned Lin Youxin about the strange ritual filmed for Evil and learned the crew may have been guided by an unseen presence to create it. After Lin Youxin said farewell to his family and departed, Qi Gu wondered about the supernatural mystery while Lin Hanzhi comforted him with fruit.

• Qi Gu had Lin Hanzhi replay Lin Youxin’s ritual scene and questioned Lin Youxin about what had happened during filming.
• Lin Youxin explained that the crew had made a second version of Evil to promote the film, but could not remember who had proposed the idea and suspected an invisible person had influenced them.
• Qi Gu assured Lin Youxin that his family would be safe and offered to let him speak with them by video call.
• Lin Youxin told his parents and sister goodbye, shared practical instructions about his belongings, and left after thanking Qi Gu.
• Lin Hanzhi brought Qi Gu fruit and snacks, and Qi Gu accepted a piece of pineapple while thinking about his embarrassment over his films.

Xu Leyan gathered the leads of Evil to meet a potential investor from the Lin family, while they debated whether Lin Youxin’s death was connected to the film. After Xu Leyan switched rooms to escape a smell of rotting meat, the stench returned as they waited.

• Xu Leyan called the remaining leads of Evil together for a meeting with a potential investor and learned that Lin Youxin had died.
• Liu Yue worried that Lin Youxin’s death and the strange gaze she had sensed might be connected to Evil, while Xue Yu and Ren An dismissed the idea.
• Xu Leyan told the actors to be polite to the investor from the Lin family’s film and television investment company.
• After reading a report about the smell surrounding Lin Youxin’s death, Xu Leyan noticed the same stench mixed with the gardenia fragrance in the private room.
• Xu Leyan moved the group to another private room, but the smell of rotting meat gradually returned as they waited.

Xu Leyan grew increasingly alarmed by a stench that nobody else in the private dining room could smell, and tried to calm himself with medicated oil. When he noticed an empty chair between Ren An and Xue Yu, the others reacted as if they had finally realized something was wrong.

• Xu Leyan complained about a growing foul smell, but Liu Yue, Xue Yu, and Ren An all insisted there was no odor.
• Xu Leyan left the room to smoke, and Liu Yue briefly came out asking for a cigarette before retreating inside.
• After the waitress also denied smelling anything, Xu Leyan feared he was the first to notice a supernatural threat.
• Xu Leyan prayed to the restaurant's God of Wealth statue and dabbed medicated oil beneath his nose, masking the stench.
• Xu Leyan spotted an empty chair between Ren An and Xue Yu, and all three companions turned toward it with stricken expressions.

Liu Yue, Xue Yu, Ren An, and Xu Leyan mistook the strange smell and an apparent ghost for signs that Xu Leyan was dead. Lin Hanzhi and Qi Gu arrived, and Qi Gu revealed that all four of them were already dead.

• Liu Yue, Xue Yu, and Ren An noticed a strange smell and suspected the mark near Xu Leyan's eye resembled livor mortis.
• Liu Yue, Xue Yu, and Ren An plotted to escape Xu Leyan, but he kept watch and blocked their attempts.
• Xue Yu and Ren An saw Lin Youxin's distinctive sneakers in the empty chair and rushed for the door.
• Lin Hanzhi and Qi Gu entered, and Xu Leyan warned them about something unclean in the room.
• Qi Gu dispelled the ghostly avatar in Lin Youxin's seat and told the four that they were already dead.

Qi Gu told the four people in the private room that they were dead, and they recounted what they remembered before dying. He revealed that Liu Yue’s Buddha Amulet had housed a Ghost Fetus that had protected her from a calamity and then absorbed her life force, while the Ghost Fetus’s tragic past left Liu Yue and the spirit blameless.

• Qi Gu explained that the four people were ghosts, and they discovered lividity on their bodies.
• Xu Leyan, Liu Yue, and the others described what they remembered, but none could recall how they had died.
• Qi Gu burned away Liu Yue’s illusion and revealed the Buddha Amulet she had worn around her neck.
• Qi Gu explained that the Ghost Fetus had saved Liu Yue from a major calamity and later absorbed her life force because it was too weak to control itself.
• The Ghost Fetus crawled away after Liu Yue recoiled, and its past showed how it had been abandoned, made into an amulet, and tried to protect Liu Yue without knowing how to ask for offerings.

Qi Gu investigated the deaths of the cast of Evil and uncovered dark arts, a manipulative ghost, and a powerful Evil God worshipped by Ren An. After realizing the threat was tied to the film’s crew and locations, Lin Hanzhi asked the survivors to list every filming site.

• Liu Yue realized the ghost fetus had tried to help her, then picked up and embraced the tiny ghost.
• Xue Yu described gaining a wealthy, generous boyfriend through a dark art, while Qi Gu questioned the cast about their experiences and Ren An recounted making a wish to a statue.
• Qi Gu noticed the cast could not agree on what the prop master or screenwriter looked like, and Xue Yu found no mention of either in their group chat.
• Qi Gu concluded that a ghost had confused the cast and lured them to their deaths, while a more powerful Evil God stood behind it.
• Lin Hanzhi asked the cast to name every filming location for Evil.

Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi discussed going to Min Di, grew closer during the journey and at Floating Mist Temple, and prepared to meet Qi Gu’s Shifu. The chapter ended with them offering food and incense at Shifu’s shrine.

• The Anomalous Affairs Bureau found that the extra whose luck had been borrowed died of a strange illness, and the birth details on the coffin matched his.
• Qi Gu slowed the corpses’ transformation so Xu Leyan and the others could say goodbye to their families, then discussed a possible trip to Min Di with Lin Hanzhi.
• Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi exchanged likes on a comment about their relationship, and fans treated the gestures as an official announcement.
• At Floating Mist Temple, Qi Gu prepared fresh bedding for Lin Hanzhi, and Golden Toad enthusiastically praised them as a loving couple.
• Qi Gu invited Lin Hanzhi to meet his Shifu, and they brought food to the shrine and lit incense together.