Chapter Summaries

Qingmu asked Ruxue to eliminate a faint shadow in Xia Wenyuan’s dream, and she swallowed it by unleashing her mental power. The shadow disappeared and seemed to have been absorbed by Ruxue, while Qingmu realized he needed to remind her to protect dreamers and their consciousness.

• Qingmu asked Ruxue whether she could see the faint shadow, and she confirmed that she could.
• Qingmu asked Ruxue to get rid of the shadow and shielded Xia Wenyuan with his mental power.
• Ruxue grew larger, made the shadow rise, and approached it as it searched for her.
• Ruxue abruptly enveloped and swallowed the shadow with her mental power while Xia Wenyuan watched from a tree.
• Ruxue returned to Qingmu, and he sensed that the vanished shadow had been digested and absorbed by her.

Qingmu explored Xia Wenyuan’s childhood memory of a crow chasing him in Mulberry Garden and noticed it resembled Boss Coal. The dream left Boss Coal convinced the bird was himself, while Xia Wenyuan awoke after Qingmu ended the nightmare.

• Qingmu realized Ruxue’s psychic energy might have come from devouring consciousness entities and wondered how the Cuan Family’s old lady had enabled it.
• Qingmu kept Xia Wenyuan in his dream and protected him as he fell from a mulberry tree, then watched an enormous crow chase him.
• Qingmu and Ruxue recognized that the crow resembled Boss Coal, whom Qingmu summoned into the dream.
• Boss Coal insisted the crow’s eyes proved it was him, while Ruxue’s meow quieted him.
• Qingmu ended the dream before Xia Wenyuan could be frightened to death, and Xia Wenyuan woke with sweat on his forehead.

Boss Coal and Hanran were flown to Auckland while Qingmu learned that a major operation was coming and prepared to protect his allies. Before leaving Liuying Lane, Qingmu and Bi Shenghua shared a farewell, and she told him to wait until he returned to say what he wanted to say.

• Boss Coal and Hanran were sent from Shenzhou to Auckland in separate cages, with Boss Coal complaining throughout the flight while Hanran slept.
• Qingmu received Zhao Pengcheng's warning that a major operation was coming and suspected it was connected to the Dream Society's future takeover attempt.
• Qingmu recalled Hou Biao and directed him to focus security on Bi Shenghua, Professor Mei, and the others.
• Qingmu judged that Yao Jingjing's dream abilities and mental power were advancing rapidly.
• Qingmu and Bi Shenghua stopped by the great willow in Liuying Lane, and Bi Shenghua told him to wait until he returned before speaking; Qingmu agreed.

Qingmu accompanied Su Huilan to Auckland, where they met her pickup and reunited with Boss Coal and Hanran. Su Huilan planned to fly with Qingmu to Tubuai Island the next morning and continue by boat to the camp on Rapa.

• Qingmu and Su Huilan arrived in Auckland, and Su Huilan warned him that his public hypnotizing violated a convention tied to the Awakeners' Alliance.
• Pierce picked up Su Huilan and mistook Qingmu for her assistant, then drove them to meet the others.
• Boss Coal complained to Qingmu that researchers fed him bugs and that he had stayed silent to avoid being studied.
• Su Huilan assured Boss Coal that he officially belonged to her and took him and Hanran to a restaurant for a meal.
• Su Huilan told Qingmu they would fly to Tubuai Island the next morning and take a boat to the camp on Rapa.

Qingmu and Su Huilan traveled to Tubuai Island with Boss Coal and Hanran, then sought a boat and guide to reach Rapa Island. Su Huilan hired a local driver to take them to Petru, a notorious former pirate who had a boat and knew the surrounding islands, while the driver discovered that Crow could talk.

• Su Huilan arranged a private plane to take Qingmu, Boss Coal, and Hanran to Mataura, where they continued to Tubuai Island.
• Su Huilan decided they needed a boat and a knowledgeable guide to explore the islands around Rapa.
• Su Huilan offered a young local driver three hundred dollars to take them to Petru, and he reluctantly agreed.
• Su Huilan told Qingmu that Petru was a former pirate with a boat and extensive knowledge of the nearby islands.
• As the driver explained the history of his old convertible, he noticed Crow talking and cried out in terror.

Qingmu and Su Huilan followed Qiqika through the woods to the edge of a Tapu while seeking Petru. Just as Qiqika pointed out the route ahead, an unseen attacker struck him down.

• Qingmu and Su Huilan persuaded Qiqika to guide them toward Petru, and Qingmu’s crow frightened the driver into leading them through the woods.
• Su Huilan explained the local Polynesian dialect while Qiqika guided them around dangerous plants and insects.
• Qiqika showed them a bare hill covered with Tapu, ancestral temples whose grounds islanders were forbidden to enter.
• Qiqika pointed out another route around the Tapu and explained that the canyon where Petru lived could only be reached by crossing the hill.
• A sudden whoosh and bang sounded, and Qiqika fell to the ground.

Qiqika was caught in a series of linked traps, and Qingmu and Su Huilan discovered that a hidden sniper was using the traps to herd them. Qingmu realized the sniper was testing them and warned that another trap lay behind the tree, leaving the group still under threat.

• Qiqika triggered a rope trap and was left hanging upside down from a tree.
• Qingmu spotted a second trap: releasing Qiqika would trigger three sharpened wooden arrows aimed at him and his rescuer.
• Su Huilan warned Qingmu that linked traps likely included a third, and Qingmu sensed a sniper watching from the hillside.
• Qingmu identified the sniper as a hunter playing with them and deduced that a concealed trap lay behind the tree.
• Qingmu moved his hand to dislodge Crow from his shoulder while explaining that the sniper was testing their skill.

Qingmu and Crow drew Petru’s fire while Su Huilan examined the traps around the hanging Qiqika. She discovered a concealed pit beneath him, revealing that freeing him recklessly would have killed him.

• After Crow cawed, Qingmu charged up the hillside in a zigzag while the sniper fired at him and Crow distracted the shooter with his mental power.
• Su Huilan left the cat and suitcase behind, climbed the tree, and found a mechanism that would swing three arrows toward anyone caught in a hidden net.
• Su Huilan realized that the trapmaker had designed the snares as a merciless hunting game and questioned why Qiqika had been left alive.
• Before loosening the rope, Su Huilan inspected the ground beneath Qiqika and uncovered a straw mat concealing a pit lined with sharpened stakes.

Qingmu advanced toward a sniper whose bullets carried mental power, learning to divert their trajectories with his own mind. As he neared the gunman, a powerful mental force formed an invisible barrier in his path.

• Qingmu sensed the hillside gunman’s threat and suspected the man had deliberately revealed his presence.
• Crow distracted the gunman, allowing Qingmu to charge forward as a bullet streaked past Crow and into the sky.
• The gunman fired twice at Qingmu, but Qingmu used his mental power to alter the bullets’ trajectories.
• Qingmu slowed his approach and continued toward the gunman while Crow circled overhead.
• Qingmu took another step and felt a surging mental force blocking his path like an invisible wall.

Su Huilan disarmed the trap and rescued Qiqika, then sent him away with money and a warning to keep quiet. She returned to find Hanran raiding the suitcase while Qingmu remained motionless near the Tapu stones, facing the unseen gunman.

• Su Huilan released the tree mechanism and used a rope and stick to swing Qiqika out of the pit, where an animal trap caught his backside.
• Su Huilan removed the trap, gave Qiqika money for medical treatment, and warned him not to tell anyone what had happened.
• Qiqika swore to keep quiet and hurried away.
• Su Huilan headed toward the hillside to help Qingmu while avoiding the gunman's line of sight.
• Su Huilan returned to the suitcase and found Hanran eating potato chips inside it.
• Su Huilan lifted Hanran onto her shoulder and saw Qingmu standing motionless near the Tapu stone piles as Crow circled overhead.

Qingmu pushed through the immense mental barrier surrounding the Tapu and traced the sniper’s shots to Petru, who was hiding among the rocks. After Qingmu seized control of Petru’s consciousness, Petru could only ask who he was.

• Qingmu sensed that the mental barrier around the Tapu was a vast storm with an empty center, where he suspected the sniper was hiding.
• Qingmu forced his way through the barrier and deflected the bullets Petru fired at him.
• Qingmu used the bullets’ trajectories to pinpoint Petru behind a pile of rocks.
• Qingmu seized Petru’s consciousness, leaving him unable to move except to speak.
• Petru asked Qingmu, “Who are you?”

Qingmu confronted Petru, the red-bearded pirate, while investigating a strange magnetic field among the rocks. The standoff ended with Crow landing on Qingmu’s head and speaking to Petru in English.

• Qingmu disarmed Petru and released his mental restraint, but Petru sprang up and attacked him with a kick and kukri.
• Qingmu blocked Petru’s attack, and their brief clash sent Petru to his knees before he rolled away and prepared to fight again.
• Qingmu examined the rocks and discussed the powerful magnetic field with Su Huilan while Petru considered escaping toward the sea.
• Crow glided down onto Qingmu’s head and complained to Petru in English that he had shot him.

Su Huilan confronted Petru and asked him to captain a boat in exchange for freedom. After explaining that powerful governments had effectively trapped him on the island, she left him to consider her offer.

• Hanran bristled at Petru, while the crow demanded that Qingmu avenge the shot and pretended to die after falling from his head.
• Petru refused to answer the crow, and Su Huilan asked him to rent her a boat and serve as its captain.
• Petru denied renting boats, then offered to let Su Huilan take his vessel from a bay behind the canyon.
• Su Huilan said she would pay Petru with freedom, and he laughed, claiming he could sail wherever he wanted.
• Su Huilan listed the governments and intelligence agencies pursuing Petru and explained why he could not safely return to the Gulf of Aden or the Indian Ocean.
• Petru asked what Su Huilan wanted, and she repeated that she wanted to rent a boat.

Su Huilan offered Petru a chance to escape his hunted life and free Lawiye from an Egyptian prison, prompting the story of how his love for her led him to become a pirate. Petru had built his fearsome reputation to protect Lawiye, while covert support from powerful groups helped him thrive at sea.

• Petru said he had given up on returning to his former life, and Su Huilan challenged his claim that he wanted to retire on the island.
• Su Huilan offered to give Petru a new identity and help him live safely, then revealed that she could also free Lawiye from an Egyptian prison.
• Petru remembered how he had met Lawiye, rescued her from an Italian club, and fled across Europe with her before they were captured in Cairo.
• After escaping prison, Petru found Lawiye tortured in Muhammad Lazad's villa, killed Lazad and his associates, and became a notorious fugitive.
• Petru fled to Somalia, became Redbeard Petru, and protected Lawiye by building a pirate fleet that robbed selectively while targeting Saudi and Egyptian ships.
• Petru's rules and enemies brought him covert support from the United States, Russia, and the Christian Church.

Petru built Redbeard’s power while seeking Lawiye’s release, then hijacked an Indian warship and survived a costly clash with the India Navy. His fame and ambitions grew until he robbed a ship he should never have robbed.

• Petru refused to kidnap hostages for ransom and failed to persuade Egypt to release Lawiye, though his intermediaries ensured she lived comfortably in prison.
• Petru faced Indian naval escorts and rival pirate leaders, then planned a strike to prove Redbeard could not be challenged.
• Petru and his elite pirates hijacked a Saudi crown prince’s merchant convoy, poisoned the Indian destroyer’s crew, and seized the warship.
• Petru used the hijacked destroyer and two submarines to lure the Indian rescue fleet into a costly battle near the Carlsberg Ridge.
• Petru’s victory made him famous among pirates and expanded his influence, while political intermediaries tempted him with the prospect of ruling Somalia.
• Petru’s ambitions continued until he robbed a ship he should never have robbed.

Petru suspected an Egyptian trap after a pirate team vanished while pursuing an ordinary freighter, but found no sign of a naval ambush. He intercepted the ship and boarded it, only to discover that it carried a single person.

• Petru enforced harsh rules for ships sailing from Egypt, and his raids disrupted Egyptian maritime trade.
• A small pirate band sent to follow an unescorted freighter disappeared along with its boats and crew.
• Petru recalled how he had outmaneuvered the multinational Operation Strike Red and later Egyptian attacks.
• Petru watched the freighter and found no surrounding warships or submarines as it sailed southeast.
• Petru stopped the freighter and boarded it with his pirates, discovering that only one person was aboard.

Petru realized the calm man in the freighter’s wheelhouse had trapped the pirates in a dream, and he used his lucid-dreaming training to hide that he had seen through it. The dream took a disturbing turn, and Petru weighed whether to wake and attack or wait for a chance to escape.

• Petru turned to leave the wheelhouse but found himself in a dark room where Lawiye was being tortured.
• Petru recognized that he was dreaming and recalled how Pastor had taught him to control his dreams.
• Petru suspected the man aboard the ship had hypnotized the pirates and decided to pretend he was still unaware.
• Petru approached Lawiye, but the dream transformed him into her torturer, leaving him to consider how to escape.

Petru recognized that a powerful Mental Awakening practitioner had trapped him and the pirates in dreams while making them sleepwalk toward the cargo hold. He kept his mental resistance hidden, but realized that whatever awaited them inside was likely death.

• Petru recalled the priest’s warning that he had to kill a Mental Awakening master instantly or risk living out a false lifetime in a dream.
• Petru chose not to resist openly because he could not tell whether waking or firing a weapon would be real, and he waited for a chance to survive.
• In his dream, Petru chased Lawiye through a series of places while the Saudi tycoon taunted him and his mental suppression weakened.
• Petru recognized that the dream’s route matched the path from the ship’s wheelhouse to its cargo hold.
• Petru realized that he and the other pirates were sleepwalking toward the cargo hold, where the missing pirates might already be trapped.

Petru escaped the dream controlling him, then ordered the freighter destroyed after his sniper shots failed to hit the man aboard. His pirates found a mummy and ancient nautical charts among the wreckage, leaving Petru with a mysterious box marked by a strange symbol.

• Petru jumped overboard in his dream and woke in the sea after biting his tongue, then swam away from the ship and contacted his companions.
• Petru tried to shoot the man aboard the freighter with an L115A3, but the man sensed the danger and ducked into the cabin.
• Petru ordered the submarine to fire torpedoes at the freighter and launched a rocket at its wheelhouse, destroying the ship.
• Petru searched for his pirate brothers but found no survivors or bodies.
• Petru's men recovered an iron box from the wreckage, sank the mummy inside its crystal coffin, and gave Petru the wooden box on its chest.
• Petru found ancient nautical charts marked with island locations inside the wooden box, which bore a symbol of two joined triangles and a short vertical line.

Petru recalled how he acquired the ancient charts and how they helped him evade a succession of powerful pursuers. While hiding in the South Pacific, he discovered that the charts marked ghost islands and mysterious stone structures, but he still did not know what the central triangle represented.

• Petru remembered seizing the mummy and charts, then losing the mummy when his men threw it into the sea.
• After powerful pursuers began hunting him, Petru killed one attacker and fled across the world, keeping the charts because he believed they were the reason he remained alive.
• Petru found that several charted islands lay near the South Pacific Basin, and learned that some appeared and vanished after sailors left them.
• Petru found piles of stones on islands linked to the charts' central triangle, but repeated searches of the triangle's location revealed only open ocean.
• Petru discovered a similar stone structure on Tubuai Island, where locals called it Tapu and warned that approaching it could offend the gods and drive people mad.