Chapter Summaries

Chen Ying used a handgun and humiliation to break Brother Cheng and his gang’s control over the rooftop. He drove the punks out of the school and concluded that a gun was the most effective way to communicate with them.

• Chen Ying fired a bullet over Li Mucheng’s head, then used the threat of more shots to make Brother Cheng choose Aji as the next target.
• Chen Ying spared Aji from an immediate shot by ordering him to slap Brother Cheng a hundred times, and Aji beat Brother Cheng until his face was badly swollen.
• Chen Ying ordered the remaining punks to remove their trousers and pull their underwear over their heads, then told Aji to try to burn the wet trousers.
• Chen Ying started a race to the school gates, threatening to shoot whoever came last, and the half-naked punks scrambled off the rooftop and ran through the school.
• Chen Ying reflected that the handgun was more persuasive than his martial arts and strength.

Chen Ying returned to class, decided to leave Tongwen Academy, and learned that Mr. Fang had tried to help him with the bullying. When police arrived to investigate a report that Chen Ying possessed a firearm, they found a toy cap gun in his desk, and Chen Ying explained it away as a reminder of his ambition to join the police.

• Chen Ying attended Mr. Fang’s lesson and considered transferring to another school to pursue more useful studies.
• Mr. Fang asked Chen Ying about the rooftop bullying, and Chen Ying said he planned to withdraw from Tongwen Academy.
• Mr. Fang warned Chen Ying about the difficulties of transferring to a foreign school and promised to help him while he remained his student.
• Director Ma brought two police officers to question Chen Ying over a report of illegal firearm possession, and Mr. Fang tried to protect him.
• The officers searched Chen Ying and his desk, where a revolver fell from his schoolbag.
• Chen Ying fired the revolver several times to show it was a toy cap gun, then told the officers he kept it to motivate himself to join the police.

Chen Ying navigated the aftermath of his confrontation with Brother Cheng while learning about Tongwen Academy’s troubled finances and the conflict over its future. As Brother Cheng’s gang entered the school looking for him, Chen Ying became trapped in a looping corridor and encountered a floating red robe.

• Chen Ying learned about the world’s history at school and told Feng Huimin he planned to become a police officer.
• Wen Xiu approached Chen Ying, mistook his actions for a fight over her, and left after Feng Huimin challenged her.
• Chen Ying overheard Fang Zhijie and Director Ma arguing about the Board of Trustees’ plans to close Tongwen Academy and the school’s opposition to colonial authorities.
• Li Mucheng and a Yisheng enforcer led a gang into Tongwen Academy to search for Chen Ying.
• Chen Ying retrieved most of the Revolver parts but became trapped in a corridor that looped past the music room.
• A red robe appeared behind Chen Ying as eerie operatic singing filled the corridor.

Chen Ying escaped a Red Garment in Tongwen Academy and headed upstairs as Yisheng’s men pursued him. Outside, Senior Constable Feng Ting learned from Mak Ho-lai that White Lanterns had trapped the school and that his daughter must remain inside the teaching building.

• A Red Garment advanced on Chen Ying, but he slipped past its sleeves and saw the stairs ahead.
• Chen Ying heard Yisheng’s men searching the floors, so he went upstairs and prepared to face them.
• White Lanterns floated above Tongwen Academy as police officers sealed off the area.
• Feng Ting tried to enter the school to find his daughter, but Mak Ho-lai stopped him and explained the White Lanterns’ deadly nature.
• Mak Ho-lai told Feng Ting that his daughter was safe inside for now but could not leave the teaching building.

Chen Ying fought Yisheng Red Pole Ren Gang to protect Wen Xiu, and a sudden surge of power let him defeat the martial artist. After Chen Ying fled with Wen Xiu, Ren Gang recognized his Coiling Python Force as a sign he was from Dragon City, then saw the red-robed ghost approaching.

• Chen Ying abandoned the rooftop door and went downstairs after hearing a scream, where he found Wen Xiu fleeing Ren Gang and his men.
• Chen Ying stepped between Wen Xiu and Ren Gang, then fought him with Bagua while the gangsters watched.
• Chen Ying endured Ren Gang's punches until a cold current fueled his Coiling Python Force, allowing him to strike Ren Gang down.
• Chen Ying grabbed Wen Xiu and fled when a crack sounded upstairs, while Ren Gang stopped his men from pursuing and identified Chen Ying's martial art as Dragon City's Coiling Python Force.
• A red-robed figure drifted toward Ren Gang and his men, leaving them to face the ghost Chen Ying had escaped.

Chen Ying escaped the hairy creature’s pursuit when his teacher Fang Zhijie found him and Wen Xiu in a classroom. Meanwhile, Mr. Xu and the Zou family discussed the scheme to close Tongwen Academy, and the chapter ended with Chen Ying wondering where the supernatural threats had gone as white lanterns rose above the school.

• Mr. Xu explained that Tongwen Academy’s scholarly energy kept evil entities away and said someone else was exploiting the supernatural disturbance to advance their own aims.
• Mr. Zou agreed to leave the situation in Mr. Xu’s hands, then departed with Ping'er as a crow watched from above.
• Chen Ying restrained Wen Xiu in a classroom while a mass of hair moved along the corridor, and he warned her that another strange light was approaching.
• Fang Zhijie entered, found Chen Ying and Wen Xiu together, and led them to his office after Wen Xiu claimed they were dating.
• Fang Zhijie spoke with Chen Ying and Wen Xiu in the office while Feng Huimin waited for her father, and Chen Ying saw white lanterns floating higher into the sky.

Chen Ying tried to get everyone out of Tongwen Academy after encountering supernatural dangers, but Wen Xiu denied seeing anything and Fang Zhijie led them out safely. Ren Gang and his men then fell from the school roof, while Brother Cheng remained missing; Chen Ying returned home and found Wu Jie handling the white lanterns.

• Chen Ying urged Fang Zhijie and the others to leave the school, and Fang Zhijie agreed to escort them after hearing Chen Ying describe the ghosts.
• Outside, Mak Ho-lai and Feng Ting watched the white lanterns drift away, then entered the school to find Feng Huimin.
• Fang Zhijie brought Chen Ying, Wen Xiu, and Feng Huimin to the entrance, where Feng Ting and Mak Ho-lai met them.
• Ren Gang and his men fell from the rooftop, and Mak Ho-lai took charge of the scene while Brother Cheng remained unaccounted for.
• Chen Ying declined a police ride home and later found Wu Jie bringing several white lanterns into their building.

Chen Ying learned from Wu Jie that the evil entities at Tongwen Academy might have been deliberately sent there or drawn in by damage to its Crow Repays Its Parents feng shui formation. Granny urged him to seek training from Wen Ruzhi, while Wu Jie wondered why the White Lotus Sect master had come to Hong Kong and Kowloon during a severe drought in Lingnan.

• Chen Ying told Wu Jie about the evil entities at Tongwen Academy, and she explained that scholarly energy usually kept such beings away.
• Wu Jie said someone might have sent the entities to the school or broken the Crow Repays Its Parents formation that linked Tongwen Academy’s fortunes with the Zou family.
• Chen Ying asked Wu Jie to teach him how to defend himself, but she said her family’s visualization methods were too dangerous for his injured soul and suggested he seek Wen Ruzhi’s help.
• A crow carrying Granny’s thoughts arrived and told Chen Ying to go to Wen Ruzhi, saying he was a trustworthy expert and that Chen Ying must choose his own path.
• Wu Jie wondered why Wen Ruzhi had come to Hong Kong and Kowloon while Lingnan was suffering a severe drought.

Chen Ying told Wen Ruzhi about his supernatural encounters and demonstrated his Coiling Python Force, then learned the Kui Star Kicks the Dipper technique. Wen Ruzhi gave him an address in a haunted alley and ordered him to spend the night there alone as the first of two tasks.

• Chen Ying read a newspaper report attacking Tongwen Academy and suspected someone was targeting the Zou family.
• Chen Ying visited Wen Ruzhi and sparred with him, but none of his attacks could reach him.
• Wen Ruzhi explained the martial arts realms of No Thought, No Mind and Hundred Changes of Military Strategy, then agreed to teach Chen Ying a move for dealing with evil entities.
• Wen Ruzhi taught Chen Ying the principles of Kui Star Kicks the Dipper, though Chen Ying only partly grasped how to circulate his blood and qi.
• Wen Ruzhi gave Chen Ying an address at a haunted temple on Rongyi Street and told him to spend the night there alone as his first task.

Chen Ying went to Rongyi Street to investigate the haunted temple at 93 Rongyi Street, where he encountered Hua Shanrong hiding from an Underworld Assassination Order. The chapter left Chen Ying asking why Hua Shanrong had come to the temple as Hua Shanrong began explaining his troubles.

• Chen Ying visited Rongyi Street, where the residents warned him that the ruined temple at 93 Rongyi Street was its most vicious haunted place.
• Chen Ying stayed behind as the street emptied and entered the overgrown temple at the end of the lane.
• A gray figure tumbled from behind the statue and begged Chen Ying for mercy, then revealed himself as Hua Shanrong.
• Hua Shanrong showed Chen Ying coin-shaped red marks on his arm and said Wo On Sing had issued an Underworld Assassination Order against him.
• Hua Shanrong explained that Wo On Sing's elders blamed him for fleeing when Fat Bear was killed, and Chen Ying asked why he had come to the temple.

Hua Shanrong told Chen Ying how taking Fat Bear’s gold chain brought a supernatural affliction and led him to hide in an abandoned City God Temple. As Wen Ruzhi discussed Chen Ying’s training and his White Lotus Sect ties with a powerful local ally, Chen Ying faced a collection of apparitions and answered one creature’s strange question with nonsense.

• Hua Shanrong explained that Wo On Sing had issued an Underworld Assassination Order against him and that red, coin-shaped sores had ruined his right arm after he accepted Fat Bear’s gold chain.
• Hua Shanrong said a spirit medium had sent him to sleep in the abandoned City God Temple so the yin energy clinging to him would return to the Netherworld, and Chen Ying said he had come to help.
• Wen Ruzhi ate dog-meat hot pot with a middle-aged man who questioned his presence in Hong Kong-Kowloon City and warned that Chen Ying could be left in a difficult position.
• Wen Ruzhi said he planned to bring Chen Ying through the door and revealed that Chen Ying had developed Coiling Python Force in two months; he had sent him to practice at haunted Rongyi Street.
• A red embroidered shoe circled the City God Temple, something struggled beneath a stone-covered well, and a skinless creature at the entrance asked Chen Ying whether it looked like a human or a god.
• Chen Ying ignored the creature’s question at first, then gave it a solemn, nonsensical reply about Bluetooth, Italian pasta, and concrete.

Chen Ying defeated a demon that sought recognition as a god, but its venomous resentment left him ravenous and filled with baleful qi. After he drained some sickness from Hua Shanrong, the other threats around Rongyi Street fell quiet, while a new evil aura rose inside the temple.

• Chen Ying confused the demon with contradictory questions, then attacked it with Eight Trigram Palm as it tried to stop his interference.
• The demon unleashed its accumulated resentment, but Chen Ying resisted its control and restored his blood and qi through the Twelve-Storey Tower.
• Chen Ying killed the demon with Kui Star Kicks the Dipper, destroying the foundation of its existence.
• Chen Ying's hunger returned, and he drew a cold current from Hua Shanrong's arm, causing its copper-coin-shaped sores to fade.
• The well, red embroidered shoes, and other dangers around Rongyi Street went quiet, but an evil aura arose inside the temple.

Chen Ying fled Rongyi Street as an immense three-faced being began to manifest, then was rescued by Wen Ruzhi and Lu Zhengxing. Wen accepted Chen Ying as his disciple, while Mr. Xu punished the old woman who had interfered with his plans and changed his appearance to resemble someone from the Zou family.

• Chen Ying dragged Floral Shirt Rong out of Rongyi Street as a colossal shadow rose from the ruined temple and began to recede.
• Wen Ruzhi and Lu Zhengxing rushed toward Rongyi Street, while researchers detected a possible Class A spiritual disaster and MacHollie refused to bypass official procedure.
• Chen Ying told Wen Ruzhi how he had found Floral Shirt Rong in the ruined temple, and Lu Zhengxing proposed investigating the spirit medium and taking Floral Shirt Rong to Dragon City for questioning.
• Wen Ruzhi accepted Chen Ying as his disciple, with Lu Zhengxing as witness, and warned him not to betray his country and people.
• Mr. Xu blamed the old woman for ruining his formation, transformed her into a crawling ghost, and altered his face while trying to resemble a member of the Zou family.

Chen Ying continued training under Wen Ruzhi, who taught him Through-Arm Fist and sent him to help Hua Shanrong at a Wo On Sing hearing. As they headed there, Chen Ying learned that rumors had already turned him into Dragon City Zhong Kui’s famed disciple and Ren Gang’s killer.

• Chen Ying improved his Coiling Python Force by keeping a heavy, water-filled iron ball spinning in the air, while Wen Ruzhi explained the path toward transforming strength.
• Wen Ruzhi taught Chen Ying Through-Arm Fist and gave him medical books, then explained that Hua Shanrong had returned from Dragon City after foreign intervention halted the investigation into the ruined-temple affair.
• Wen Ruzhi told Chen Ying to accompany Hua Shanrong to settle trouble within Wo On Sing, explaining that Lu had arranged matters and that the trip would serve as a test.
• Hua Shanrong asked Chen Ying to attend a Wo On Sing hearing and help him prove whether he was loyal or a traitor.
• On the drive, Yu Tai praised Chen Ying as Dragon City Zhong Kui’s disciple and claimed Yisheng’s Ren Gang had fallen to him; Chen Ying wondered how those stories had spread.

Chen Ying accompanied Yu Tai and Hua Shanrong to Wo On Sing, where the elders debated whether to honor Dragon City's request to spare Hua Shanrong. They offered Hua Shanrong one month to kill Fire Dragon, leaving his fate tied to whether he could meet the condition.

• Chen Ying considered Dragon City's influence as Yu Tai drove him and Hua Shanrong to Wo On Sing.
• Ko Lo Wah and the elders argued over whether to withdraw the assassination order against Hua Shanrong, with some fearing Dragon City and others defending Wo On Sing's authority.
• Ko Lo Wah proposed that Hua Shanrong kill Fire Dragon within a month; success would earn him a banquet and a choice of position, while failure would bring Three Knives and Six Holes.
• The elders approved Ko Lo Wah's proposal and summoned Chen Ying, Yu Tai, and Hua Shanrong upstairs.
• Ko Lo Wah welcomed Chen Ying and told Hua Shanrong that Wo On Sing had given him an opportunity to seize.

Chen Ying confronted Wo On Sing’s elders over their treatment of Hua Shanrong and the society’s hostility toward Dragon City. After Chen Ying walked out, Hua Shanrong chose to leave with him, and they headed for the docks because Chen Ying believed someone was coming after him.

• Ko Lo Wah ordered Hua Shanrong to kill Fire Dragon within a month, while the elders admitted they had taken over Fat Bear’s territory and offered little support.
• Mah Yau Wu insulted Chen Ying and threatened Hua Shanrong, prompting Chen Ying to accuse him of holding a personal grudge and warn that he would hold him responsible for any attack.
• Chen Ying left the meeting after warning the elders not to provoke him, while they argued over how to respond.
• Hua Shanrong asked to leave with Chen Ying, and Yu Tai blocked him before ultimately letting him pass.
• Hua Shanrong caught up with Chen Ying outside and said he would stand by him; Chen Ying told him someone was coming after him and took him toward the docks.

Chen Ying discovered that someone had planted drugs in the Chen family's warehouses and suspected a plot against him. After Yan Ren arrived with officers and arrested him, Chen Ying realized the police inspector had pointed him toward the person behind the setup, and Hua Shanrong arrived with a group of people.

• Chen Ying took Hua Shanrong to inspect the Chen family's dockside warehouses because he suspected someone was targeting him.
• Uncle Qing sniffed out three packages of Siamese drugs hidden among the rice sacks, and Chen Ying sent him to deliver them to Mr. Wen and warn A-Jie.
• Chen Ying asked Hua Shanrong to report the contraband to the police and bring officers to the warehouses.
• Yan Ren arrived with police, arrested Chen Ying, and ordered his men to search the warehouses, but they found nothing.
• Chen Ying thanked Yan Ren for pointing him toward the person behind the plot, and Hua Shanrong appeared with a group of people.

Chen Ying escaped Yan Ren’s drug-smuggling arrest after Lan Li intervened, then concluded that the police and gang troubles were coordinated to target Granny. He decided to leave the little house and disrupt the plot by heading to Dragon City with a package of Two Lions Holding the Globe.

• Lan Li confronted Yan Ren over the search, and Yan Ren released Chen Ying and withdrew his team.
• Chen Ying warned his companions not to trust Lan Li and reasoned that the gang and police incidents were part of one coordinated plan.
• Uncle Qing reported that Mr. Wen had taken two packages of Two Lions Holding the Globe, while Chen Ying brought the remaining package to the little house.
• Chen Ying learned that Granny had left to help the Lingnan Jiedu Office locate the Drought Demon and suspected that she was the true target.
• Chen Ying told Wu Jie to contact Granny and borrowed Uncle Qing, deciding to go to Dragon City and use the remaining package to disrupt the enemy’s plan.

Chen Ying and Hua Shanrong bought weapons from Lin Jin in Dragon City, disguising their immediate plans by claiming they would hire gunmen and act the next day. Chen Ying then revealed they would use the guns to rob Mah Yau Wu’s gold shop, calling it legitimate business.

• Chen Ying, Uncle Qing, and Hua Shanrong entered Dragon City to contact Lin Jin, an arms dealer and manpower broker.
• Hua Shanrong traded a packet of Two Lions Holding the Globe goods for five Zhongwu Type 56 submachine guns and arranged to hire four gunmen for the following day.
• Lin Jin handed over the guns, and Chen Ying’s group left Dragon City carrying them.
• Hua Shanrong complained that Lin Jin had overcharged him, then asked Chen Ying where they would wait for the gunmen.
• Chen Ying explained that the purchase and hiring arrangement were a diversion, and said they would rob Mah Yau Wu’s gold shop that night.

Mah Yau Wu warned Fire Dragon that Hua Shanrong was coming after him, while Yan Ren became acting Inspector just as Chen Ying and Hua Shanrong robbed a gold shop. Chen Ying followed Yan Ren and planned to kill whoever he met before going to see MacLehose.

• Mah Yau Wu called Fire Dragon and warned him that Hua Shanrong had obtained Type 56 rifles and was coming after him.
• Yan Ren's superior announced his retirement and made Yan Ren acting Inspector of Eastern District Three, advising him to keep the gangs and the British in check.
• News broke that three men from Zhongzhou had robbed the Jixiang Gold Shop, and Yan Ren's superior went to handle the case while Yan Ren took charge at the station.
• Chen Ying and Hua Shanrong watched Yan Ren leave the police station after robbing the gold shop, while Uncle Qing explained that the car would not attract attention.
• Chen Ying decided to follow Yan Ren, kill whoever he met, and then go see MacLehose.