Chapter Summaries

Jian Ran returned to Southern City, where the crew welcomed him back and Yu Hong asked about buying Talisman Paper at a discount. He spoke privately with Yu Shan about the threat against him and asked the old man to keep Lu Yanting from acting rashly if anything happened to him.

• Qin Hong confronted Jian Ran, accused him of cursing her, and refused to reveal who she had visited before he and Lu Yanting drove away.
• Jian Ran and Lu Yanting returned to Southern City, where Jian Ran joked about the Prince of Zhennan and learned the crew had been frightened by strange footsteps at night.
• The crew and Cultural Relics Bureau staff welcomed Jian Ran, and Yu Hong asked him to discount the price of his Talisman Paper.
• Jian Ran told Yu Shan that someone was planning to kill him, but refused the offer to bring in more professionals because he did not want to involve anyone else.
• Jian Ran asked Yu Shan to stop Lu Yanting from doing anything rash if something happened to him, and warned Yu Shan he would not forgive him if Lu Yanting came to harm.

Jian Ran investigated Qin Hong’s curse while Yu Fengyi learned he had wrongly rejected Jian Ran’s protection. At Swhayton University, Lu Yuhuan arranged to share a dorm with Jian Dan and hinted that Jian Ran had approved their relationship, leaving Jian Dan asking if it was true.

• Jian Ran asked Yu Shan about secret masters consulted by wealthy people, and Yu Shan offered to investigate while trying to recruit Jian Ran to the Cultural Relics Bureau.
• Yu Fengyi’s female Special Assistant confirmed that Qin Hong had cursed him and explained that he had thrown away Jian Ran’s protective talisman, prompting him to cancel her year-end profit-sharing bonus.
• Jian Dan arrived at Swhayton University with Lu Yuhuan, who had arranged for them to share a double dorm room.
• Jian Dan agreed to stay in the dorm after Lu Yuhuan accepted his transfer for the accommodation fee.
• At the Welcome Party, Lu Yuhuan joined Jian Dan and told him that his brother had agreed, prompting Jian Dan to ask, “Really?”

Lu Yuhuan made Jian Dan appear to be his boyfriend at a party, while Qin Hong sought a way to remove her curse. During filming, Jian Ran and Lu Yanting began an intimate scene that blurred the line between acting and reality.

• Lu Yuhuan told women at a party that Jian Dan was his boyfriend, and Jian Dan was left unable to deny the rumors as he caught Lu Yuhuan after he pretended to faint.
• Qin Hong demanded help from Master at the Shinto Shrine, and Master told her to find something Jian Ran had worn so he could help make Jian Ran disappear and lift her curse.
• Yu Hong persuaded Jian Ran to film an intimate scene with Lu Yanting, and Lu Yanting pulled Jian Ran back onto the bed when he tried to refuse.
• Lu Yanting and Jian Ran began filming the scene, with Lu Yanting pinning Jian Ran's wrists and threatening to castrate him if he moved again.

After Jian Ran returned, filming continued later into the evening, but eerie music sent the crew into chaos and drew him toward a new haunting. He went alone to confront the danger, while Lu Yanting called his Second Uncle and revealed that Jian Ran was at risk.

• Lu Yuhuan woke sore and bruised, then agreed to see Zhong Fanrui after Zhong called and said he missed him.
• Zhong Fanrui and Qin Hong celebrated the Master’s apparent influence over Lu Yuhuan and waited for a chance to deal with Jian Ran.
• Jian Ran’s return let the crew film past sunset, but strange music and singing suddenly filled the palace after filming wrapped.
• Jian Ran learned the crew was acting strangely and headed to the palace alone, telling Lu Yanting to stay behind because he was a weakness.
• Lu Yanting called his Second Uncle, told him Lu Yuhuan had fallen for Jian Ran’s younger brother, and warned that Jian Ran was in danger.

Jian Ran fought off the summoned Hell Apes in the palace, defeated their master, and collapsed into Lu Yanting’s arms after the institute arrived. Lu Zhendong investigated the poisonous remains as Yu Shan accused his department of incompetence and warned that Southern City’s cultural relics were at risk.

• Lu Zhendong cut short a briefing after learning that Jian Ran’s younger brother was in danger and ordered the institute to go to Southern City.
• Jian Ran entered the dark palace, where he found unconscious film crew members and was attacked by a swarm of Hell Apes.
• Jian Ran killed or injured many of the Hell Apes, drove the rest away, and struck their summoner, an old man, with his Golden Light Sword.
• Lu Zhendong and the institute arrived after the yin energy had disappeared, and Jian Ran collapsed into Lu Yanting’s arms after telling him that whoever backed down lost.
• A testing department staff member identified the remains as possibly belonging to Hell Apes and warned Lu Zhendong that their black residue was poisonous.
• Yu Shan confronted Lu Zhendong over his department’s record and accused it of letting charlatans endanger Southern City’s cultural relics.

After the attack on Jian Ran, Lu Yanting learned that Zhong Fanrui might be manipulating Lu Yuhuan. Zhong Fanrui arrived and provoked a jealous confrontation between Lu Yuhuan and Jian Dan, which ended with Jian Dan preparing to leave.

• Yu Shan warned Lu Zhendong that the charlatan who summoned Hell Apes was dangerous and that the Institute of Non-Natural Research needed to act.
• Lu Yuhuan told Lu Yanting that he had unexpectedly confessed he missed Zhong Fanrui and suspected Zhong was bewitching him.
• Lu Yuhuan went to the airport to pick up Zhong Fanrui, while Jian Dan reacted jealously and left for class distracted.
• Zhong Fanrui visited Jian Dan’s dorm and announced he would stay with Lu Yuhuan, prompting Jian Dan to pack and leave.
• Lu Yuhuan rushed out of the bathroom to stop Jian Dan, but Jian Dan shoved him away and challenged him to stay with Zhong Fanrui.

Jian Ran recovered after three days of sleep and learned the film crew could finish the movie, while the Master who had tried to harm him remained at large. After Jian Dan warned that Zhong Fanrui seemed to be controlling Lu Yuhuan, Jian Ran advised him to use talisman ashes, and Jian Dan invited them out for a welcome celebration.

• Jian Ran woke after three days and two nights, and Lu Yanting finally went to sleep after staying by his side.
• Jian Ran learned Director Yu was hospitalized but the crew had enough footage to complete the film, and Yu Shan told him the Master had escaped the Institute of Non-Natural Research.
• Jian Ran refused Yu Shan's offer of protection and dismissed Lu Zhendong's concerns about Jian Dan and Lu Yuhuan.
• Jian Dan called Jian Ran from overseas and said Zhong Fanrui had moved into his dorm with Lu Yuhuan, whose behavior seemed controlled.
• Jian Ran told Jian Dan to burn the talisman paper and get Lu Yuhuan to drink the ashes, and Jian Dan invited Lu Yuhuan and Zhong Fanrui to celebrate their arrival.

Jian Dan used a beer mixed with burned paper to help Lu Yuhuan resist Zhong Fanrui’s control, while Zhong Fanrui learned that the Master was missing and began suspecting Jian Ran had also been possessed. The night ended with Lu Yuhuan still struggling against the curse and Zhong Fanrui plotting to restore the past.

• Jian Dan slipped burned-paper ashes into Lu Yuhuan’s beer, and Lu Yuhuan drank it despite Zhong Fanrui’s attempt to stop him.
• Lu Yuhuan refused to let Zhong Fanrui sleep in his room, prompting Zhong Fanrui to call Qin Hong and learn that the Master could not be found.
• Zhong Fanrui returned and saw Lu Yuhuan gazing affectionately at Jian Dan, then tried to draw Jian Dan into discussing his brother Jian Ran.
• Zhong Fanrui suspected Jian Ran had been possessed and thought restoring him to his former self would help him regain the advantage.
• Zhong Fanrui pretended to feel ill and asked to leave, but Lu Yuhuan resisted his advances and insisted he would sleep on the couch.

Jian Ran learned that his mother had gone missing and organized a search while he and Lu Yanting rushed back to Beijing. At the airport, powerful elders and reporters gathered to welcome them, and the elders competed to share news with Jian Ran.

• Jian Ran refused the Institute of Non-Natural Research's recruitment and left with Lu Yanting for Beijing.
• The hospital told Jian Ran that his mother had left and not returned, so he used a divination technique to locate her southwest and asked his customer group to search.
• Jian Ran contacted Jian Dan for a photo of their mother, then told him to stay at school while the search continued.
• Lu Yanting arranged for his grandfather to send searchers, while Old Man Bai and Old Madam Gu also promised to help.
• After Jian Ran and Lu Yanting landed in Beijing, they found Old Master Lu, Old Man Bai, and Grandma Gu waiting among black Maybachs as reporters tried to photograph them.

Qin Hong led the sinister old man to the factory where Jian Ran’s mother was being held, while Jian Ran rushed to find her after learning that Old Master Lu had located her. At the factory, an unseen attacker overpowered Qin Hong’s men and seized her by the throat, threatening to send her to hell.

• Qin Hong told the old man that Jian Ran might be possessed and offered to take him to Jian Ran’s mother.
• Old Master Lu told Jian Ran he had found evidence that his father was wrongfully imprisoned and had narrowed down his mother’s location.
• Jian Ran hurried with Lu Yanting to rescue his mother after warning that his divination predicted danger.
• Qin Hong arrived at the abandoned factory and admitted to Jian Ran’s mother that she had framed her husband and never intended to overturn the verdict.
• A cold wind shattered the factory’s lights, and an unknown force knocked Qin Hong’s lackeys down.
• A dark shadow seized Qin Hong by the throat and threatened to send her to hell.

Jian Ran rescued his mother from Qin Hong, who was arrested, while Lu Yanting failed to find the person who had escaped. Jian Ran agreed to join the wilderness survival show Extreme Survival for its enormous pay, and Lu Yanting planned to join him.

• Jian Ran nearly killed Qin Hong, but his mother persuaded him to stop before police arrested Qin Hong for suspected kidnapping.
• Yu Zhuo escorted Qin Hong away, while Lu Yanting told Jian Ran that he had failed to find the escaped person.
• Jian Ran sent Jian Dan word that he was safe, then accepted Xu Xuda's offer to join Extreme Survival after learning it paid two hundred million per season.
• Lu Yanting agreed to contact Su Yuan about joining the show with Jian Ran.
• News of Jian Ran and Lu Yanting's possible reunion on the show spread online, and Su Yuan teased them about spending the night together.

Jian Ran and Lu Yanting agreed to join Extreme Survival after Jian Ran insisted the director treat them equally. The show announced that its weeklong survival challenge would take place in a dangerous primeval jungle, prompting intense online speculation before filming began.

• Xu Xuda took Jian Ran to sign a contract, and the director offered him a hundred million upfront and the highest guest fee.
• Jian Ran learned that Lu Yanting's participation was still under discussion and challenged Director Wang Pangzi over his reluctance to cast Lu.
• Lu Yanting arrived, and Jian Ran threatened to leave unless they were both treated equally, prompting Wang Pangzi to offer them both places.
• Jian Ran and Lu Yanting signed their contracts, and the production team announced the show and its filming location.
• Extreme Survival revealed that the guests would attempt to survive for a week in a primeval jungle known for its mass grave, persistent fog, and missing explorers.

Jian Dan learned that Zhong Fanrui’s mother had been detained over suspected kidnapping and past crimes, while Lu Yuhuan helped drive Zhong Fanrui away. On the way to a jungle-survival variety show, Jian Ran clashed with the guests who doubted his abilities and caught them planning to test him.

• Jian Dan told Zhong Fanrui that his mother had been detained for suspected kidnapping and that evidence of her past embezzlement and framing had been submitted to the police.
• Lu Yuhuan refused to leave with Zhong Fanrui, who departed the dorm, and then asked Jian Dan for a reward for his performance.
• On the bus, Jian Ran told Lu Yanting he planned to compete with him for Best Actor, then demanded a rest-stop break after Wang Pangzi introduced the show’s non-celebrity guests.
• Jian Ran accused Wang Pangzi of setting a trap to put him in his place, while Lu Yanting glared down the hostile guests as Jian Ran fell asleep.
• At the rest area, several guests agreed to test Jian Ran’s abilities in the jungle, but Jian Ran overheard them and asked how they planned to do it.

Jian Ran and Lu Yanting suspected that the Extreme Survival crew and guests had hidden motives as they reached the Jungle of Death. After Wang Pangzi announced the seven-day survival challenge, Jian Ran refused to enter the jungle immediately, warning that doing so would be dangerous.

• On the bus, Jian Ran and Lu Yanting agreed that the guests and crew seemed more suited to a tomb-raiding expedition than a variety show.
• After the bus reached the jungle, Jian Ran divined an ominous result and gave Lu Yanting talisman papers, while Lu Yanting revealed that he was on the Forbes List.
• Wang Pangzi began the livestream and explained that the guests had to work together to survive seven days and reach the map's center, though he kept the map from the cameras.
• Jian Ran objected to entering the Jungle of Death at that hour and said he would wait an hour before going in.

Jian Ran warned that Death Jungle was filled with evil ghosts and that an old adversary had followed them there, but the crew entered anyway. As night fell, he and Lu Yanting shared a tent while Jian Ran warned Wei Jingchen that the night might change his understanding of the jungle.

• Jian Ran told Lu Yanting that evil ghosts remained in the jungle and that the old man had followed them, making the coming battle difficult.
• After Fu Haidong calculated that they should wait an hour, the crew entered the jungle, where Jian Ran apologized after stepping on something buried in the soil and Wei Jingchen stomped on a protruding bone.
• Jian Ran asked Wang Pangzi whether the crew had to escape unharmed to receive their full payment, and Lu Yanting promised to cover any shortfall if Jian Ran stopped worrying about the others.
• The crew made camp after dark, and Lu Yanting and Jian Ran agreed to share a tent.
• Jian Ran suspected the map's central location was a mass grave and warned Wei Jingchen to sleep alone; Wei Jingchen angrily chose the farthest tent.

Zhong Fanrui visited Qin Hong in detention, but left planning to transfer the family assets before her trial. In the Death Jungle, Wei Jingchen was attacked by a skeleton he had stepped on and was rescued by Jian Ran, leaving Wang Pangzi convinced Jian Ran had real abilities.

• Zhong Fanrui visited Qin Hong, who insisted Jian Ran was an impostor and urged him to have the supposed impostor killed.
• Zhong Fanrui left Qin Hong and planned to move the assets before her trial so they would not be confiscated.
• Wei Jingchen refused Wang Pangzi's offer to share a tent, while the crew's livestream camera stayed on overnight.
• A skeleton grabbed Wei Jingchen and demanded his arm back, and Jian Ran rushed in to pull it away before Wei Jingchen fainted.
• Wei Jingchen told Wang Pangzi that the skeleton had come for revenge, and Wang Pangzi concluded Jian Ran had abilities the crew needed.

The group ventured deeper into the Death Jungle, where Jian Ran warned that continuing would be futile as they were trapped in a loop. When Liu Yuheng attacked Fu Donghai in a sudden frenzy, Jian Ran intervened with a slap.

• Wei Jingchen thanked Jian Ran for helping him, while Liu Yuheng mocked Jian Ran’s closeness with Lu Yanting.
• Wang Pangzi led the group into the misty jungle, and Jian Ran let slip that he used to carry buckets of water every day.
• Fu Donghai warned that danger lay ahead, but Jian Ran said they would not face a fatal threat, so Wang Pangzi ordered the group onward.
• The cameraman and Wang Pangzi realized they had passed the same place repeatedly, and Fu Donghai said something was trying to kill them.
• Liu Yuheng raised a tool to stab Fu Donghai, but Jian Ran rushed forward and slapped him to stop him.

Jian Ran led the production team through the Death Jungle, where Liu Yuheng’s sudden violent outburst ended after Jian Ran slapped him twice. At an abandoned campsite, Jian Ran touched the bones and saw a vision of someone being killed by a dagger.

• Liu Yuheng attacked Jian Ran, who deflected his blows and slapped him twice before burning talismans to light the way through the fog.
• Liu Yuheng realized his rage had felt unnatural and followed the group with less arrogance.
• Fu Donghai used his compass to guide the production team south, and Wang Pangzi admitted the campsite ahead was their destination.
• Jian Ran and Lu Yanting examined the skeletal remains at the abandoned campsite, while Wei Jingchen warned Jian Ran not to touch them.
• Jian Ran touched the bones and saw a vision of a panicked person being killed by someone wielding a dagger.

Jian Ran discovered that the skeletons in the Death Jungle had killed one another, then learned Wang Pangzi's crew was searching for a dangerous lost national treasure. As the group camped for the night, Jian Ran suggested telling ghost stories, and the cameraman was startled when Jian Ran accurately described the ending of his encounter with a ghost.

• Jian Ran told Lu Yanting that the people whose skeletons they found had died killing one another, not from poison.
• Wang Pangzi and Liu Yuheng discussed concealing their mission from Jian Ran, but Jian Ran confronted them about the marked location and learned they worked for secret higher-ups.
• Wang Pangzi revealed that the crew had come to find a lost national treasure, while Fu Haidong urged everyone to leave before it was too late.
• Lu Yanting wondered whether the Death Jungle's curse was connected to Southern City, and Jian Ran said the truth would emerge soon.
• At the camp, Jian Ran proposed telling ghost stories, and Lu Yanting and the cameraman recounted encounters with ghosts.
• Jian Ran described the hungry ghost girl's threat to eat human flesh, prompting the cameraman to jump up and accuse Jian Ran of having been there.

During a campfire ghost-story session, Jian Ran exposed Wei Yuxi as a long-dead spirit tied to a village murder and research work. Wei Yuxi attacked the group, but Jian Ran slapped her twisted neck back into place as the livestream camera came back on.

• Jian Ran reignited the campfire with Talisman Paper after a sinister gust blew it out, while Fu Haidong warned that yin energy would surge after midnight.
• Wei Yuxi told a story about a young woman who killed and dismembered a man, and Jian Ran challenged her with details that made her visibly angry.
• Jian Ran told Wei Yuxi she had been dead for a long time, and she turned her head around and revealed herself as a ghost seeking company for her research.
• Fu Haidong clung to Wang Pangzi as the group panicked, while Wei Jingchen and Liu Yuheng fled into the bushes.
• Wei Yuxi lunged at Jian Ran, who slapped her twisted neck straight as the camera reconnected and captured the hit.