Chapter Summaries

Qiqika found an abandoned sailing ship and tried to bring it home, but a hurricane drove it toward an upside-down pyramid in a whirlpool. The pyramid exploded, and as Qiqika’s body vanished, he saw his wife and child waiting for him.

• Qiqika recalled how his livelihood on Tubuai Island collapsed after he lost his memory and tensions rose across the islands.
• After two tourists were found dead near Tapu, Qiqika suspected Petru but kept quiet and decided to go to sea.
• Qiqika discovered Petru’s abandoned sailing ship, found its weapons, supplies, and US dollars, and chose to sail it home.
• A sudden hurricane lifted Qiqika’s ship over a vast wave and carried it toward a whirlpool.
• Qiqika saw an upside-down pyramid at the whirlpool’s center, and it exploded in a dazzling blast.
• As his body disappeared, Qiqika saw his wife holding their child and waiting for him by the sea.

Bi Shenghua watched news of the unprecedented supercyclone Windmill devastate islands in the South Pacific and wondered why the world focused on weapons and politics instead of the people in danger. As she stood among the ruins of Liuying Lane, Mei Yiqiu watched Windmill on a screen and recognized it as the second arrival, worrying that time might be running short.

• Bi Shenghua watched reports explain how Windmill had rapidly grown into a stationary supercyclone, stronger and larger than any known storm.
• Windmill battered the Southern Islands as speculation spread that a weapon or alien spacecraft had caused it, and governments hinted at a new arms race.
• Bi Shenghua turned off the television and went to the rooftop terrace, where she looked over the demolished Liuying Lane and the stars.
• Mei Yiqiu studied the Dream Guide player map and a satellite image of Windmill, then said it was the second one and wondered whether there would be enough time.

The Shadow Windmill split into twin cyclones, one crossing the equator and reversing rotation as it threatened Hawaii, while the other continued across the South Pacific. As the twins headed toward Chile and East Asia, Mei Yiqiu told Mei Ziqing that the Andes would protect their location from the approaching typhoon.

• The Shadow Windmill crossed the equator through an invisible gap, reappeared north of it with reversed rotation, and prompted a super-hurricane warning for Hawaii.
• The United States government evacuated Hawaii’s residents, while the Shadow Windmill devastated unprotected islands in the South Pacific.
• The northern and southern windmills turned west along 30°N and east along 30°S, putting southern Japan, the Yangtze River Delta, and Coquimbo in Chile on their projected paths.
• Mei Ziqing urged Mei Yiqiu to prepare for the windmill’s forecast landfall in Shenzhou, but Mei Yiqiu said the Andes would weaken the cyclone before it reached them.

Hu Xing visited Bi Shenghua as a cyclone approached and tried to persuade her to leave the dangerous demolition site. Bi Shenghua chose to stay at Ruhua Bar, where Hou Biao's strange memory loss revealed that he remembered only Qingmu's order to protect her and the name Yao Jingjing.

• Hu Xing found Hou Biao standing silently among the rubble near Liuying Lane and continued to Ruhua Bar.
• Hu Xing urged Bi Shenghua to stay at her house until the cyclone passed, but Bi Shenghua decided to stay at the bar and visit Xiao Qi and Mo Yu.
• Hu Xing and Bi Shenghua teased each other about Qingmu and Shi Dazhuang as they discussed who might keep Hu Xing company.
• Hu Xing noticed Hou Biao beneath the willow, and Bi Shenghua explained that he had been standing there for days, claiming Qingmu had told him to protect her.
• Bi Shenghua told Hu Xing that Hou Biao seemed to have lost his memory and remembered only Qingmu's instructions and the name Yao Jingjing.

Yao Jingjing investigated the disturbance at her great-grandmother’s grave, where she found a severed red hair that testing dated to at least three thousand years ago and identified as belonging to an ancient European. After restoring old photographs that reminded her of Bi Shenghua, she left for Wuzhong with the mystery of the missing body unresolved, while Shi Dazhuang stayed behind because of trouble in Kuaziba.

• Yao Jingjing found a red hair near Old Madam Cuan’s disturbed grave, but could not identify anyone in the village with dyed red hair.
• Yao Jingjing took the hair to a forensic center and then Southern Yunnan University, where an associate professor tested it.
• Yao Jingjing restored Old Madam Cuan’s photographs and saw a resemblance between her great-grandmother and Bi Shenghua.
• The associate professor told Yao Jingjing the hair was at least three thousand years old and came from a pure red-haired European, then proposed an academic collaboration.
• Yao Jingjing decided to return to Wuzhong to consult Professor Mei Yiqiu and Hou Biao, but Shi Dazhuang said trouble in Kuaziba kept him from leaving.

Shi Dazhuang and Yu Meiren visited the martyrs' cemetery, where she mourned her parents and learned about the continuing drug trade in Masuba. Yu Meiren left a roast chicken at her parents' grave and told them about her life in Wuzhong, while Teacher Qingmu remained missing.

• Shi Dazhuang and Yu Meiren visited the graves of Yu Gang, his wife, and their fallen comrades with Peng Jiahu.
• Peng Jiahu told Shi Dazhuang that small drug gangs still operated, and explained that You Ka had taken control of Masuba while keeping his drugs out of China.
• Shi Dazhuang said Teacher Qingmu had disappeared and could not be found if he did not want to be found.
• Yu Meiren asked to buy a chicken for her father, and Peng Jiahu returned with a roast chicken and liquor after accepting her saved money for the chicken.
• Yu Meiren placed the chicken before her parents' headstone and told them about her life in Wuzhong, her friends, and how much she missed them.

Shi Dazhuang and Yu Meiren returned to Mangdian, where the town’s growth reminded them how much had changed since their last visit. At a shop that had once belonged to Medicine Granny, they encountered Yusang, who recognized Shi Dazhuang as Papa Shi.

• Peng Jiahu entrusted Shi Dazhuang and Yu Meiren to Chen Changshou’s protection before returning to Baoteng.
• Shi Dazhuang and Yu Meiren stayed overnight in the newly developed Mangdian and heard Chen Changshou describe the region’s tourism and border security.
• Yu Meiren mistook a beggar for Beggar Yeye, gave him her remaining change, and felt upset when children chased after him.
• Shi Dazhuang and Yu Meiren explored the lively souvenir shops on Tobacco and Hemp Street.
• At the former shop of Medicine Granny, Yusang emerged with a rattan craft, recognized Shi Dazhuang, and was greeted by Yu Meiren as Brother Yusang.

Shi Dazhuang and Yu Meiren reunite with Yusang and learn how Kuaziba has prospered since leaving opium behind. They discover that Grandpa Enkun has died, and Yusang’s wife comforts Yu Meiren by describing his legacy and saying he has gone ahead to a pure place.

• Shi Dazhuang and Yu Meiren meet Yusang, who introduces his wife and welcomes them to a belated wedding feast.
• Yusang tells Shi Dazhuang that Kuaziba has a new road, improved homes, and a cooperative that sells mountain products and wickerwork.
• Yusang reveals that Grandpa Enkun died a month earlier, and Yu Meiren breaks down in grief.
• Yusang’s wife recounts how Grandpa Enkun helped Kuaziba abandon opium, build livelihoods, and bring a road to the valley.
• Yu Meiren calms down and asks whether Grandpa Enkun will become a star.

Yu Meiren awakened the life-giving power in Grandpa Enkun’s ebony cane at his grave and declared that she would stay in Kuaziba. As she pulled the cane from the earth, Bi Shenghua sensed the upheaval from afar and rushed toward Liuying Lane.

• Shi Dazhuang took Yu Meiren to Kuaziba, where she paid respects at Grandpa Enkun’s grave beside the graves of Yu Gang and Lemao.
• Yu Meiren touched Grandpa Enkun’s cane, and the dead wood sprouted into an evergreen tree as life surged across the hillside.
• Shi Dazhuang saw Grandpa Enkun appear in a dreamlike vision, then heard Yu Meiren say she would not return to Wuzhong because Kuaziba was her home.
• Yu Meiren pulled the cane from the earth, gathering the land’s vitality into her hand.
• Bi Shenghua saw a vision of a giant uprooting a tree, then rushed from the New Ruhua Bar toward Liuying Lane.

Xia Tian traveled to Southern Yunnan hoping to persuade Yu Meiren to return to Wuzhong, but decided he wanted to stay near her. Yu Meiren refused to go back with him and encouraged him to return home, while their promise to meet again was fulfilled years later when Xia Tian saw a canopy tree and blue poppy in the mountains.

• Xia Tian flew to Spring City with Hu Xing, but his father, Xia Changzheng, arrived too late to stop him from leaving Wuzhong.
• Captivated by Mangdian and Kuaziba, Xia Tian decided he wanted to stay, and Xia Changzheng agreed to invest in the area and build a school.
• Xia Tian asked Yu Meiren whether she would return with him if his great-uncle refused to let him stay, but she said no and urged him to go home.
• Yu Meiren told Xia Tian that he could return to see the beautiful scenery and shared her mother's story that a blue poppy would bloom for a canopy tree that grew taller than the mountains.
• Xia Tian returned to Wuzhong after Xia Wenyuan and Wu Lixia refused to let him live in a distant border town, while Xia Changzheng went to Ruihekou to oversee the tourism investment.
• Years later, Xia Tian visited Southern Yunnan and saw a canopy tree and blue poppy on a mountain scree slope.

Bian Ziyuan met Mei Ziqing at Ruhua Bar for drinks, where they shared a sake bomb and discussed the approaching typhoon Windmill. Their conversation was interrupted by a man who claimed Shenzhou was protected by a mysterious barrier, leaving Mei Ziqing curious.

• Bian Ziyuan arrived at Ruhua Bar and waited for Mei Ziqing, hoping to get a seat in the dim corner.
• Mei Ziqing joined Bian Ziyuan after learning the bar's proprietress had just left, and Xiao Qi prepared her a sake bomb.
• Bian Ziyuan asked Mei Ziqing about Windmill, and she said the professor believed it would not make landfall because the Andes Mountains would block it.
• A male customer told Mei Ziqing that a mysterious barrier hid Shenzhou and would keep the typhoon from making landfall.

A drunk man spun tales about Shenzhou’s supernatural barrier while trying to seduce Mei Ziqing, and Bian Ziyuan eventually shoved him away. The man’s accomplices pinned Bian Ziyuan against the bar, but Xiao Qi intervened and challenged him.

• A drunken man approached Mei Ziqing and claimed Kunlun was a barrier, then tried to read her palm while Bian Ziyuan grew jealous and angry.
• The man explained Shenzhou’s protection through a tale of two dragons, Guanyin, and the region’s prosperity, while Mei Ziqing questioned his claims.
• After the man invited Mei Ziqing somewhere quiet to tell her fortune, Bian Ziyuan shoved him and ordered him to leave.
• The man fell into nearby patrons and knocked drinks over, then demanded Bian Ziyuan pay for them while onlookers blamed Bian Ziyuan.
• Several men grabbed Bian Ziyuan and pinned him against the bar, but Xiao Qi confronted the drunken man and warned him to stop.

Xiao Qi handled a bar disturbance calmly, while Bian Ziyuan felt humiliated and longed to return to his virtual world. After Bian Ziyuan saw a strange red-haired man whose glance gave him a vision of frozen corpses, Mei Ziqing suggested he make his dream world real.

• Xiao Qi gave the provocative man a way to back down, offered him liquor, and covered the other customers’ bills before the man and his companions left.
• Xiao Qi served Bian Ziyuan vodka, and Mei Ziqing questioned him about how he had handled the troublemakers.
• Bian Ziyuan sat with Mei Ziqing and wished he could use the Space Box and Dream Guide to return to his virtual world.
• Bian Ziyuan noticed a hooded, red-haired man in the darkest corner, and the man’s glance made him see people frozen inside icebergs.
• Mei Ziqing comforted Bian Ziyuan and suggested he make his dream world real, leaving him startled by the idea.

Bi Shenghua remembered Qingmu and the willow while visiting Ruhua Bar, then rushed to Liuying Lane after seeing a vision of the tree being uprooted. She found an old man beneath the willow instead of Qingmu and recognized him as Professor Mei Yiqiu.

• Bi Shenghua reminisced about her old bar, Qingmu, and the talking bird while sitting in Ruhua Bar.
• Bi Shenghua saw a vision of a hand pulling the willow from the ground and dropped her cocktail glass.
• Bi Shenghua hurried back to the ruins of Liuying Lane to check on the willow.
• Bi Shenghua saw a figure beneath the tree and hoped Qingmu had returned, but the figure opened an umbrella.
• Bi Shenghua approached the old man and greeted Professor Mei Yiqiu.

Mei Yiqiu visited Bi Shenghua at the ruined Mulberry Garden and offered her advice on its redevelopment. He left her with paintings revealing what the garden had looked like before its destruction.

• Mei Yiqiu met Bi Shenghua in the rain and hinted that a hidden barrier lay beneath the tree in Wuzhong.
• Bi Shenghua told Mei Yiqiu she could find no records of the old Mulberry Garden and that the ancient tree’s roots obstructed construction.
• Mei Yiqiu noticed a key hidden beneath a succulent and recited a poem as Bi Shenghua opened the house.
• Mei Yiqiu visited Qingmu’s preserved room, remarked that Bi Shenghua resembled an old friend, and gave her a stack of landscape paintings.
• Bi Shenghua recognized the mulberry tree in the final painting, and Mei Yiqiu confirmed that the paintings depicted Mulberry Garden as it once was.

Mei Yiqiu gave Bi Shenghua historical paintings that helped her understand the Mulberry Garden’s layout, then entrusted her with a device called the Key to the Dreamscape. He warned that using it at the appropriate time could save humanity or reduce Earth’s population by half, and left Bi Shenghua with a warning about her Space Box.

• Bi Shenghua compared Mei Yiqiu’s paintings and confirmed that the ancient willow stood where the Mulberry Garden’s giant mulberry tree had once grown.
• Mei Yiqiu asked Bi Shenghua to accept a keylike device and warned that its worst possible outcome would be humanity’s population and civilization falling back to levels of the 1960s.
• Mei Yiqiu explained that he trusted Bi Shenghua because someone he trusted most trusted her, and because he saw hope in her.
• Bi Shenghua agreed to take the device, which Mei Yiqiu named the Key to the Dreamscape, and he told her to follow her heart when the appropriate time came.
• Mei Yiqiu noticed Bi Shenghua’s Space Box and told her to lock it in a cabinet and never use it.

Bi Shenghua explored the Space Box world but kept her hopes for Qingmu in reality, then agreed to protect the secret while Mei Yiqiu promised to restrict minors’ access. After Bi Shenghua took the memory-impaired Hou Biao to KFC, Yao Jingjing arrived at Ruhua Bar and encountered a mysterious cloaked figure.

• Bi Shenghua entered the Space Box world, saw the three gods, and recreated Liuying Lane without giving up hope for the real Qingmu.
• Bi Shenghua asked Mei Yiqiu whether she could warn children about the game, and he said he would seek restrictions for minors.
• Bi Shenghua promised to keep what happened secret until prompted, and Mei Yiqiu added that she could tell Qingmu.
• Bi Shenghua found Hou Biao waiting for her and took him to KFC after learning he remembered little beyond Qingmu’s instruction and Yao Jingjing’s name.
• Yao Jingjing returned to Wuzhong, heard about Hou Biao from Bi Shenghua, and went to Ruhua Bar to meet them.
• At Ruhua Bar, Yao Jingjing noticed a cloaked figure with curled red hair, who beckoned and commanded her to sit.

Yao Jingjing met Ramesses, who revealed a connection between her great-grandmother, the tree in an old photograph, and a cat from the Holy Land. He warned that a battle for humanity’s freedom had begun, leaving Yao Jingjing without answers about the battle or her family’s past.

• Yao Jingjing confronted Ramesses in a bar and used her mental power to resist his illusion.
• Ramesses recognized that a tree had taught Yao Jingjing and showed her a vision matching a photograph from her great-grandmother’s home.
• Yao Jingjing identified Ramesses as the man connected to the strand of red hair and questioned him about her great-grandmother’s missing body.
• Ramesses pointed out that Yao Jingjing’s great-grandmother had not aged across decades of photographs and asked about a cat from the Holy Land.
• Yao Jingjing denied knowing where the cat was, and Ramesses accepted that she was telling the truth.
• Ramesses declared that humanity’s battle for freedom had begun and said no one could escape fate.

Ramesses tested Yao Jingjing with a desert dream, where she endured scorching hardship and found Hou Biao beside her. After they woke holding hands, Ramesses revealed that Yao Jingjing's great-grandmother's grave was empty and that she may still be alive.

• Ramesses drew Yao Jingjing into a vast desert dream and tested her with fire and an unreachable oasis.
• Yao Jingjing saw Hou Biao come to her, and they clasped hands and struggled together toward the oasis.
• A voice shattered the dream, and Yao Jingjing woke facing Hou Biao with their hands still clasped.
• Bi Shenghua left Hou Biao with Yao Jingjing and asked who Ramesses was.
• Ramesses left the bar and told Yao Jingjing that her great-grandmother's grave was empty, her photographs showed no signs of aging, and she might still be alive.

Bian Ziyuan’s humiliation and fantasies at the bar turned into a vision of himself as a powerful mechanical hero, leaving him convinced that consciousness could choose different bodies. A month later, he traveled to Japan and had a chip implanted in the back of his neck.

• After leaving Mei Ziqing, Bian Ziyuan went home in the rain, brooded over his failure, and imagined her comforting him as he showered.
• Bian Ziyuan remembered his pride as a computer genius, wrote down his resolve, and used the Space Box to create a world from his consciousness.
• In his imagined return to the bar, Bian Ziyuan impressed Mei Ziqing, threw out the harasser, and became a steel-bodied hero cheered by the crowd.
• Bian Ziyuan lost his strength when he encountered the two icy gazes, fell, and formed the conviction that mechanical bodies were humanity’s future.
• Bian Ziyuan awoke in the bar with Mei Ziqing opposite him and left beside her, feeling that he had regained his hope.
• A month later, Bian Ziyuan traveled to Japan and entered a secret underground laboratory, where mechanical arms implanted a chip in his neck.